Blue was my first pair of Saucony Kinvara 2's. A little story about how Blue and I met. I did what many runners do when buying a new pair of running shoes. I went to my local running store, did the whole fitting, gait examination, blah, blah, blah. The fine people at VA Runner informed me that my stride and gait was not to dissimilar from Quasimoto. They recommended shoes that looked like they had a monster truck tread on the bottom. I got the shoes home and they were great.
That is, until I tried to run more than five miles in them. If I did anything more than five miles, I got crippling pain in the side of my right knee. I took the shoes back to the store and talked to the salesman. They gave me another gait examination and, after more insults about how I run like Frankenstein, he assured me I had the right shoes. The diagnosis was to strengthen my IT band, stretch and warm up the muscle. Another words, the shoe was fine, but I'm a dumbass.
I tried the whole routine for about a week before I got tired of it. In my opinion there is no reason running should be this hard, nor should it require some extensive pre/post run ritual. You go outside, you run and that should be that. There's also evidence to support the idea that warming up and stretching before running is bullshit, but I digress. I had signed up for Spartan Race and I needed a fix. I was inclined to go after a pair of cross country shoes because I knew Spartan Race would largely be off road and it was my understanding that these shoes would shed water quickly.
It was around this time that my wife had bought a pair of hot pink Kinvara 2's. For those that are unaware, the Kinvaras are Saucony line of barefoot/minimalist running shoe. When my wife showed them to me, I silently thought she was an idiot that was going to wreck her shins, knees, feet, etc, but I was a supportive (but dismissive) husband and kept my thoughts to myself and simply said "Oh wow, those are nice, couldn't you find ones that were pinker." She took her Kinvaras out for a cruise and raved about them. I assumed she was just trying to justify her purchase to herself, and I assumed her breakdown would come in fairly short order.
Another month of agony and knee pain went by for me, while my wife was happy and injury free. (Note: the more people read my blog, the more they will realize that my wife is much more savvy than I). One day while we were walking through the mall we decided to stop at a local discount shoe store. They just so happened to have the men's Kinvara 2s for half price. I was still having knee pain and I still had enough time before Spartan to start my training regimen over and grow accustomed to these shoes. I spotted Blue and picked them up, thinking, if nothing else I could lift weights in them. So, it was with great trepidation that I brought Blue home.
I strapped Blue on for a test drive the next day. It was different. I was still running like Frankenstein, but it was not bothering me like it used to. The knee pain was gone, my shins weren't hurting, and I was running faster. I was happy, but I didn't want to get too excited. I only started off with a mile. I slowly increased my mileage every week and Blue stayed with me. I loved the way Blue gripped the pavement. Slowly, but surely, I was starting to have intimate feelings for Blue and then Blue did something I never expected. I took Blue out off road and we ran through puddles, mud, etc. What I found out was that Blue did not hold water. I thrashed the puddles and put them through as much punishment as I could on that run and Blue just shook it off. It was then and there that I Blue and I's relationship was consummated.
Then I took Blue to Run Amuck, a 3.5 obstacle race. Blue and I kicked ass. We finished in the top 50 overall and I was in the top 10 for my age group. It was my first race in several years and it was there that I fell in love with the sport of mud running/obstacle racing, but it was also the first signs of wear on Blue. You see, Blue did not quite recover from the rigor of Run Amuck and the training I did leading up to it. It was my dream that Blue and I would stand triumphant at the end of Spartan Race, but alas it was not to be.
After Run Amuck, Blue began to give out. Blue was beginning to cause pain in my shins and in my knees. I refused to believe it. Blue and I were going to have our moment, but I began to realize that Blue's time was running short when I looked under Blue's sole saw this.
Blue is the shoe on the right
As you can see. Blue had significant tread damage. Blue was wearing out. Blue was... Dying. I didn't believe it. I wouldn't believe it. My wife urged me several times to switch to Blues replacement, but I wouldn't hear of it. Blue and I wear going to Spartan Race. That was, until yesterday. Blue and I were in the Crossfit room at the gym. We were kicking ass and doing our squats and then I looked down and I saw this:
There's a hole in Blue's toe box.
It was there that I decided that Blue would need to be retired, but I'd remiss if I didn't mention that Blue went out like a champ. Blue and I squatted our 200 lb goal yesterday and Blue's last run was a cool even 10 miles in 1:22:24. Blue's last stretch of that run was a thing of beauty. Blue finished hard with a 7:13 mile. So, it is with great sadness that I ended Blue's career today. Thank you, Blue. You have served me well.
With Blue's departure, we welcome Blue's replacement, Red.
It's nice to meet you, Red. I just want you to know, you have some mighty awesome shoes to replace.
You are a nerd but I still love ya.
ReplyDeleteOh and if I could find pinker shoes, you know I would buy them ;)