How a Pair of Shoes Made Me Love Running
My relationship with running has always been…complicated. On one hand, it’s a condition of my employment. I have to take a physical fitness test once a year, which includes a 1.5-mile run. On the other hand, I HATE running!
I played a lot of sports in high school and would say I’ve always been pretty active. Running for pleasure, though? No way. For 35 years of my life, I’ve despised running any longer than was required of me. Here’s a few reasons I felt that way:
- I hate running in circles
- It hurts my knees and feet
- I’ve never been good at it
This all changed in October 2021 when I met someone who is now one of my best friends at a training course we had to attend for work. He talked me into running a half-marathon — something I never thought I’d do in a million years.
I started slow, using a Hal Higden running program (look him up, he’s legendary!) specifically for half-marathon training. I really didn’t enjoy the training at all…but I stuck with it. I eventually finished the 13.1 miles, but hurt my knee 1/3 of the way into the run and had to limp my way across the finish line.
In January 2022, that same friend told me about the Taji 100 and convinced me to do it with him. This challenge has you run 100 miles in the month of February (about 3.55 miles/day). I knew that my legs wouldn’t hold up without some help, so I started researching shoes with a lot of cushioning. Eventually, I discovered so-called “Super Shoes.”
After some more research, I ended up buying the ASICS Metaspeed Edge running shoes (I had a 40% coupon, which was the biggest factor). They have a carbon fiber plate to help spring you forward, and a TON of cushioning. This was the biggest purchase I had ever made on running gear, so I was really hoping it would make a difference. To be honest, I wasn’t very optimistic.
To say they made a difference is an understatement. As soon as I put them on, I knew they were unlike any other shoe I had ever worn. I’ve been running on them for almost 500 miles now, and I’ve experienced zero knee pain. None. Even more amazing is that I actually look forward to running now!
If you’re at all on the fence about making a big purchase for a nice piece of gear for a favored or hated hobby, I recommend going for it (as long as it’s in your budget)! You never know what the result may be…for me, it was truly a life-changing decision.
