Memoirs of a Soon-to-Be Former Fat Guy

Greetings!

It’s been good to be wearing a regular shoe. The Toe. That. Will. Not. Heal. is now the Toe. That Would. Not. Heal. That’s right… the Boot of Shame has been put back in storage until the next time it’s needed.

My first stop after leaving the foot doctor on Tuesday was at Inside Track. This place is apparently THE running store for central PA and I can see why. The owner, Mark, took one look at me and knew I was dealing with overpronation and hammer toes and knew which shoe would work for me. I picked up my Brooks Beasts today and I can’t wait to start breaking them in. He was able to fit me up, knew exactly how these shoes ran in terms of sizing, and was able to get a pair of size 13 EEEE shoes in just two days.

Speaking of our upcoming 5K, I’ll be posting some information regarding fundraising in the coming weeks. I’ll be raising money for the Avon Walk through Team All Ears. Too many of us know someone who has been impacted by breast cancer, whether directly or indirectly, and it’s my hope that we will have a cure in my lifetime. Keep your eyes peeled.

My new Brooks Beasts

I’ve always struggled with shoes… I think I kept trying to squeeze my feet into smaller shoes, not for any reason other than I hated trying them on. Plus, the last time I tried a size that was a little wider then what I was sued to, I could feel my ankle grinding. Not a good feeling. But, I figure if I’m going to do this 5K, I’d better have decent shoes for it. Mark assured me that while my trusty New Balance trainers were fine for general use and working out, these would be a far better option for any serious roadwork. I was sold the second I slipped them on and walked around outside (Could you see Foot Locker or Dick’s let you wear the shoes outside?). These have plenty of cushion and the motion control insoles really cradled my feet. I was concerned about the length difference in my feet, but they seem OK to start. If there’s a problem, Brooks will even create a mixed-pair order for me. Good to know.

So, speaking of shoes, I’m in a wedding on Saturday. I went to Men’s Wearhouse to get fitted and was presented with the dreaded rental shoe problem. Is there nothing worse than rental shoes? I mean, they don’t fit, they feel cheap, and they want to charge you $20 extra to torture your own feet. I was worried that I would have issues, so I went in search of my dress wingtips, which I might add I wore to my wedding almost nine years ago. They aren’t the greatest fit ever, but they should be enough to get me through the day, and Lord knows they are a better fit and quality than the rental shoes. I mean, seriously, bowling shoes are much more comfortable and don’t cost $20 to rent.

Other than that, I’ve been managing to keep food down today. My lunch was a crab burrito that we found at the store last night. It’s pretty spicy, not too much rice and loaded with beans, crab meat, and salsa. Oh, and Supportive Partner Woman (Still the bestest wife ever!) located some Copper River salmon and picked up a small piece. If you’ve never had this salmon, it’s easily the best you can find. It’s wonderfully red with no added dyes like the farm-raised stuff. (Also, I love seeing “Atlantic salmon – product of Chile… guess nobody ever looked at a map to see exactly where Chile is) I’m looking forward to plank roasting it and just having it melt in my mouth. The season only runs about a month, but,  well, damn.

We also attended the Friends of the Library book sale at Franklin & Marshall college. Gotta love when you can score three big bags of books for around $35. Plus, all the proceeds benefit the library. After we read the books, we wind up donating most of them back to the library, so they can be sold again. I would prefer to keep them, but storage space becomes a premium in a townhouse.

At any rate, I have an appointment with the boys tomorrow. I think I’ll be breaking out the Beasts and seeing if they get Ryan approval. I’m also going to invest in some decent socks that should help the blister conditions. The guys at Inside Track said that cotton socks are a bad choice because of how much moisture they hold. We will see what happens.

Hope that you all have a great day!

Song of the Day: Nineteen Forever – Joe Jackson