New shoes and a funny story

Happy Monday, everybody! I am not a big fan of daylight savings time, at least not the first week of it. It is hard to get up when it is dark outside. However, today is a beautiful, sunny day around here so I guess I should be grateful for the extra hour of daylight tonight.

Well, I did it. I bought me some "real" running shoes on Saturday. Yes, I spent $95 on shoes. That is well beyond my usual Payless budget. Okay, I have been off the Payless budget since I got diagnosed with plantar fasciitis last year, but still I have never spent $95 on a pair of tennis shoes before. So here they are:


These are my Saucony shoes

They are great! They offer me lots of support and are very comfortable. I enjoyed walking/running in these today out in the sunshine. My neighborhood has a lot of little trails around it. Today, I found one that has a mile marker so I will be able to keep track of my distance. Yay!

Now, to the funny story. I was going to a running store to purchase my shoes. I had heard from others that the salespeople will watch you run and help you pick out a shoe that fits your running style. So, on my way to the running store I was feeling really anxious. Some of the thoughts that were running, no pun intended, through my head were, "They are going to wonder what the fat lady is doing in the store", "Will they laugh at me when I start running" and"Do I really want them to see me run?". I'm sure joking about my running style with my husband before I left didn't help. We were joking about how I could do the "Phoebe run" for the salesmen. The "Phoebe run" is from an episode of Friends that is hilarious! Do any of you remember it?

Anyway, back to my story. When I got to the store I was happy to see a big "sale" sign hanging on the store. Well, apparently I was not the only one excited by the sale because it was packed. I walked in and there were tons of people.

A salesman asked if I had been helped. I told him no and that I heard this was the place to come to find some running shoes. While we were waiting for an available chair so I could try on some shoes, he asked me, "So have you ever been fit before?". I couldn't believe he was asking me if I had ever been fit/in shape before! Did I really look that out of place, that he wondered if I had ever been in shape in my life. I kind of stuttered and stammered away about how I had never really ran before but had been walking/running for the last couple of months. He just said, "Okay".

Finally a chair was available and he had me take off my shoes and walk for him. He noticed that when I walk my feet tend to turn in a little. He said that is fairly common. Is it or was he just trying to make up for his "fit" question? He went and got three different shoes that he thought would offer me good support. I tried them on and ran a little with each on. Then I decided on the Sauconys. The running part was very uncomfortable for me. I thought, "Do I want to run away from him so he can see my big behind shaking or do I want to run towards him and then I can see him watching me run?" Although it was pretty crowded I was able to tune out the others that may have been watching me, thank heavens.

The whole way driving home I was still anxious. I kept thinking about his "fit" question. I thought that was a weird question and thought he should have asked me if I had ever been a runner before. I mean after all, some people are fit although they are not runners! The whole experience was really emotional, actually. I couldn't believe I had been so anxious. I guess I know one of the reasons I have not joined a gym before. It would take a lot for me to be able to walk through the doors and exercise in front of people.

I got home and was talking to my husband about the experience. I told him how the guy had asked me if I had ever been fit before. My husband got a funny look on his face and then said, "Oh, have you ever been fitted (for a shoe) before." Yes, it took my husband to tell me that the salesperson was not inquiring about my fitness level, but really just wanted to know if I had ever been fit for a shoe before! Feel free to laugh now. My husband and I got a good laugh out of it!

My anxiety level and self-consciousness had caused me to misinterpret what the man had been trying to ask me. I wonder how often we misunderstand what others are saying to us because of our own issues with our weight? Do you think that has ever happened to you?

I hope my embarrassing story has given you a chuckle and that you can enjoy the rest of your Monday!