Running just got serious

You know I recently took up running? Well, I read the book a bit more. Before the bit about pasta, the author, Ruth Field, talks about running shoes. She stresses earlier in the book you're not to get special running shoes till later. Well, it's later now. I'm not following her advice exactly, so I decided I'm enough of a proper runner to get some proper running shoes.

Field gives advice about buying running shoes: buy the ones the man or woman in the shop tells you to buy because they know best and you know nothing. That's probably true in my case.

On Wednesday, I went to the shop. The assistant approached me. He asked a series of questions, no doubt engineered to find the perfect running shoes for me.

"What kind of runner are you?"

"A reluctant one." Apparently, not a useful response when it comes to selecting running shoes.

"How far do you run in a week?"

I explained to him I'd run four miles on Monday and four miles that day, and that four miles was a long way for me.

He asked about how I run. I was stymied. He asked to see the soles of my shoes. I showed him the soles of my shoes. He peered at them. He announced I needed <technical term> support.

He asked about my price range. I told him.

He picked a shoe from the display and announced I needed this pair.

"Do they come in any other colours?"

"No. There are these [white and pink] ones, but they're not as good."

I picked up a purple and grey pair.

"You can't have those because <technical reason>."

I did what Field said, and bought the ones the man said to buy, even though they're garishly lary.

I took them out for my first run today. They are lighter and boingier than my old trainers. They might just work.