Can a Man Love Shoes?

Only $500 a pair, that seems reasonable...

Manolo Blahnik, Jimmy Choo, Prada...we all know that women love shoes and that they can buy them by the truckload and still never have enough.  Thanks to shows like "Sex in the City", the aforementioned shoes have become even more popular and now its even more common for woman to pays hundreds and hundreds of dollars for even a single pair and think nothing of it adding to their collection of dozens already buried in the closet.  But what about men?  We have to wear shoes too, but most men only have a few pair and wear them until they pretty much fall apart before we buy new ones.  Can we love shoes too, can we ever have the feeling of excitement and elation just from footwear?  Sure some guys buy the latest basketball shoes like Air Jordan's and whatnot and certainly there are guys in West Hollywood that love shoes, but I'm talking about most men, the masses, what are we missing?

Original Air Jordan's they aren't cheap either...

When I decided I was going to start running I went to Dick's Sporting Goods, went to the running shoes section, saw they had a bunch on clearance and looked for a pair.  I soon realized why most of the shoes were on clearance, they only had odd sizes left to sell, 6 or 14 with little in between.  After asking the clerk to check on about 4 pair to see if they had my size, 10, I was about ready to give up and just buy a pair not on clearance when the clerk came back and said he had a pair of 10's for me.  They were a dull gray pair of Nike Air Max, not exactly exciting looking or fancy by any stretch and gray, really?  But I tried them on and they fit perfectly.  I've worn shoes my whole life and I never remembered a pair of shoes fitting so perfectly and feeling so good on my feet.  So despite their appearance, the perfect fit and right price made this a win-win and with that I paid for them and headed home.


Nike Air Max, but in gray?

As I wrote my earlier blog, I really did buy the shoes, drive right back home, put them on and went out running.  Having run before(many years ago in high school) I knew that you really wanted and needed 2 things out of running shoes; you want them to be comfortable so that you almost don't feel them, letting you concentrate on everything else and you want them to be as light as possible.  These shoes were both of those things.  Everyday I put them on and they fit like a glove, I ran mile after mile, I never got a blister, my shoelaces never came untied, the shoes were perfect for me and they did exactly what they were supposed, make me give zero thought to them so that I could concentrate all my energy on getting through my daily run. 

I only wore them to run in, never for anything else, besides a quick trip to Chicago last fall when I knew that I may need to sprint through the airport as I had a series of connections.  They worked great, they were true road shoes, they could handle the constant pounding of the pavement, the rain, dirt and whatever else I came across.  They made my feet feel indestructible, that I could step on a rock or a log or whatever was in the road and that I would never have to worry that they would rip or breakdown.  After a month or two I started to look at the tread, it was still really strong.  Sure it was worn down in spots but overall the tread was in great shape, so I kept using them.

Come August I finally decided to buy a new pair of running shoes, but only for races.  I was running a lot of races at that point and I thought I would buy a pair more specific to racing, not every day training shoes.  Although I should point out that every time I went to a race, I'd see people with their fancy shoes and running outfits and water packs, iPod's, etc... you'd think most of these people were going on a month long trek, not running 3.1 miles and yet race after race I'd pass most of them with my basic gray Nike's, leaving them and their fancy duds in the dust.  But thanks to my local running store, Sole Sports, I did end up buying a great pair of Saucony Kinvara III's.  They turned out to be great shoes, even lighter, more stylish and great for racing and by only using them to race in and the occasional long-run, they would last a long time, certainly through the marathon and more importantly they would make my everyday grays last longer.

Kinvara III's, they make me feel faster, whether I am or not...

Starting in August is when I also started running at Papago Park in Tempe on Wednesday nights through the trails and foothills and behind the Phoenix Zoo.  It's a much different type of running, no pavement or solid footing, instead its a lot of rocks and up and downs and unevenness.  Also during this time I started doing a lot of hiking of the peaks around Phoenix; Camelback, Squaw Peak, McDowell Mountains.  I always wore my gray shoes for the hikes and they continued to get more beat up on the rock and rough terrain.  But they still held firm, the tread was still good and the fit still perfect.

Like something out of a Far Side cartoon, when we run past the zoo the Rams always line up and watch us without fail.

Around November I noticed a tiny bit of fraying on one of the shoes, didn't think much of it and kept running.  But then one fateful Wednesday night my shoes finally had enough and they split, both shoes, on both sides.  I literally ran right out of them.  I still finished the run that night, but when I was done, I knew the shoes were too.  So the next weekend I went to the store and bought another pair of everyday running shoes.  As luck would have it they were on clearance too, so why not buy them I figured, it worked before.  The next few days I put on my new shoes to run each morning, the fit never quite as good, the shoes a little stiff, but to be expected because they were new.  But it made me realize those gray shoes, they were perfect. Perfect for me.  Perfect at that time of my life for me to buy.  They logged well over 1000 miles and helped me go from a pathetically out of shape guy that could barely run a mile and a half, to one that could run 20 miles and climb mountains.  They were always there, they could always be counted on.  At a time in my life when I seemed to have little control over the big things happening, maybe just having one thing that I knew I could count on every day, maybe that was just something simple that I needed.  In a weird way it was sad to see them sitting in my closet and not put them on.  Throughout all of my running and training for the marathon, I ran different roads/trails every day, I wore different clothes, the weather was different, but one thing was always constant, my gray Nikes.  They had gotten me into the shape and position and I was in and now they had to be retired.  It seemed so odd to have feelings for shoes.

The replacements, the Nike Downshifter's, on clearance of course.

But isn't this all a little dramatic, these are just shoes we are talking about after all.  I mean, can I really love them, they are shoes?!?!?!?  So maybe I don't, maybe I just love what they represented for me at that time in my life.  It didn't matter that they were cheap or un-stylish or not a traditional hiking shoe for hiking the mountains, they always were there and always came through.  They were comfortable and allowed me to focus and concentrate on getting through a run, nothing more.  Maybe that was just something I needed to see again, to feel again, consistency, dependability.  But I'll tell you this, I can't throw them away, even though they are useless as far as being able to run in, they sit in the box they came in, in my closet, nowhere near a trash can.  Maybe someday I will throw them out, but not right now, and maybe I'll never understand someone getting excited about new high heels or the latest slingback something or other, but I am not ashamed to say, that I am a man, and I do love my shoes!  Well those gray Nikes anyways.

Worn tread, red dust from the foothills, split sides, but lots of memories....

****If you have a favorite pair of shoes or story of your own please share in the comments.