February Love - Number 4

There are few things in life I love more than getting new running shoes. Since I tend to be a little bit thrifty (my sisters have called me "cheap" - they probably aren't too far off), I only get a pair of running shoes once a year. I try and monitor how far I run in them, and since most experts say shoes are good for 300-400 miles, I'm usually good (I ran 418 miles last year - I might push them a little farther than I should, but see above {cheap.})

So, a story. A few weeks ago on our 13th wedding anniversary date (dinner at Chili's sans kids) we went to the Nike Factory store (which is kind of like the porn store for runners. Ohhhhh the thumb-hole jackets, ohhhhh the running socks, ohhhhhh the fancy running outfits.) I happened to find the newest version of my favorite flavor of running shoes - the Nike Zoom Structure 15. They were cute (last year's version (as shown above) were white on white with some blue thrown in for good measure - boring!) - checking in with a grey/white/turquoise blue pattern. Priced at $79, I thought they were a steal. So I bought then and took them home and ran in them a few times. I like them, but I didn't love them, but I figured they would do okay.

Fast forward to the next weekend. While waiting for a table to open up at Olive Garden, I went in to the Nordstrom Rack. As I browsed the fancy-schmancy high heels in the shoe department, I did a double take when I found a pair of last year's Nike Zoom Structure 14 priced at $49! They were brand new! Without even trying them on, I claimed them as mine. But wait, it gets even better.

I went up to the register. I had remembered a few days before that the $20 coupon I got when I opened a Nordstom debit card had dissapeared and I'd never used it. I told this to the cashier, and she kindly called the credit department who could see that I had a $20 unused coupon on my account. She applied the coupon to my shoes, making them $29. $29 dollars, people! I spend more on dinner than that. I threw in some Puma socks for $7 (because I love the Puma socks - best non-wool socks you can buy, in my opinion) and strolled out of the store.

It was a dream come true. Getting my favorite running shoes (last year's model was on of my favorites over the past few years - this is my fourth or fifth pair of Zooms) made me happy. Getting them at $49 made me even happier. And saving an additional $20 made me want to cartwheel out of the store (would have been awkward, but was tempting!)

So this week, I'm loving good deals and the happiness that comes from running in a new pair of shoes. And I love that I was able to take back the first pair without any hassels (seriously - if you ever buy running shoes and you can't take them back in 30 days if they don't work - buy your shoes somewhere else!) I can't wait to get this pair just as dirty and worn down as the last pair.

Do you have a favorite type of exercise shoe?