Voting with my wallet

Last week, the CEO of Under Armour said "To have such a pro-business president is something that is a real asset for the country." You can read the Reuter article covering this here.

I disagree with both the premise that 45 is pro-business and that he’s an asset for our country. So I’m voting with my wallet.

I got a gift card to a local specialty running store for my birthday and made sure I didn’t get anything from Under Armour. Instead, I got the Nike top I'm wearing here.

I realize I am one person and almost certainly will not change Kevin Plank’s mind about anything. But I am going to do what I can where I am, and that means I will no longer purchase anything from his company.

Quit changing the shoes!

I’m not hard on my shoes. I think I’ve had one pair that needed actual repairs and it was because the tip of the heel came off (pointy heels). Usually, though, I wear them for years.

And that goes for my running shoes too. I know, I know, you’re supposed to switch running shoes every six months which has always struck me as ridiculous. I don’t put massive miles on my shoes and I’m not at all hard on them. I wore my Nike Free shoes, which I got when we lived in Boston, for years. Sure, toward the end I could tell it was time to replace them . . . but it took a while.

Since I don’t buy running shoes all that often, I end up having to find whatever is the most current version of the version I bought before. Sometimes that works out, but not always. Case in point, those Nike Free shoes I mentioned? Nike changed the last so much that they didn’t work for me any more. That’s when I switched to Brooks.

That was three years ago. I got smart, though, and after I’d been running in the Brooks for a couple of months, I ordered another pair so that when the current pair wore out, I’d have a pair ready to go.

Two weeks ago, I knew it was time. I was getting some twinges in my knee which generally means I’m not running correctly, so I got out the new shoes and ooo. Yes, the old ones were worn out.

Then I looked online, thinking I’d order another pair. Only guess what? Brooks doesn’t make that version any more. Mine are PureCadence 2 and now the model is PureCadence 5. Ugh.

I guess I should mark my calendar for a couple of years from now so I can start searching then for the next pair of running shoes.

New shoes on the left, old shoes on the right. Same model.

Cinderella?

I swear I’m not Cinderella—I wear a respectable 7.5 in my street shoes. But holy cow it’s hard to find shoes I can use for cardio workouts. I have no meat on my feet, they’re narrow plus I have long-ish toes. I’ve now bought and returned four pairs of shoes with a fifth pair ordered.

Here’s a photo of my running shoes on the left, cardio shoes on the right.

My running shoes are Brooks, I love them but because I had to size up to accommodate my toes, I also have to wear thick running socks.

The cardio shoes are Mizuno, and I got them nine, maybe ten years ago. They were fantastic and would still be fantastic today only as with the running jacket I mentioned here, they were damaged in our flood. Unfortunately, while the restoration process made them look great (super white!), the leather also shrank and now they pinch the toes on my left foot.

Now you might say hey, that flood was nearly seven years ago. What gives, why haven’t you replaced them already? Oh I’ve tried. And then I would focus on running and sort of ignore these shoes.

But when it’s below 20F out or there’s any snow or ice, I don’t run. I am not at all interested in falling and breaking a hip. I also turn to cardio when my aerobic fitness needs a boost, which is the case this year. Hence the not-all-that-sudden urgency.

I’ve tried Asics, Nikes, New Balance and a current version of Mizunos. They are all much too wide, so much so that socks won’t fix it. Next up is a pair of Rykas. In the meantime, I’ve put a shoe tree in the left shoe in hopes that the shoe might stretch just a tiny bit. A girl can dream.

When it pays to pay

I bought this running jacket in 2007 and paid $75 for it. At the time, I was outraged at the price--$75 for a glorified windbreaker? Was I certifiably insane? But I needed a running jacket because I am incapable of running on a treadmill. I either run outside in all kinds of weather or I don’t run at all, so when the temp heads south, I need a jacket.

I’ve worn this jacket for nine years of cool and cold weather running. It survived our flood in 2009 and the harsh chemical restoration process to remove all the nastiness left by that flood. I’ve washed it too many times to count, and line dried it on hangers, draped over a towel rack or a shower rod. I’ve rolled it up to take on trips across the country and around the world, and it’s been a champ.

Here we are nine years later with a jacket that still does what it’s supposed to do. Sure, the Nike swoosh is pretty much gone. But look at the reflecting detail across the chest—that’s still reflecting. The zipper still works. Sweat somehow magically gets wicked out (I have no idea how that works, I just know that it does), and it makes a great outer layer with two running shirts underneath when the temp gets below 30F.

If I did a cost per wearing, I’m confident I’d be in the pennies at this point. So maybe this is a good example for me to keep in mind when I say I want fewer items of higher quality clothing.

A rant

Dear Nike, Reebok, Road ID and JogALite (also to a lesser extent Athleta),

What is up with the lack of reflective material on your workout clothing??

I have a Nike running shirt that I otherwise love but it has the teeny-tiniest of reflective stripes at the back of the neck (it’s hidden under my not very large pony tail) plus a slender sliver on my left shoulder. That’s it.

Because I cannot imagine wearing a crossing guard vest while running, I bought “reflective” strips from Road ID (top) and JogALite (middle) that are supposed be very reflective – they wrap around my arms and legs and honestly I don’t know why I bother. They reflect very little although the JogALite strips are made from plastic so the plastic is shiny. Not the same thing though.

Reebock isn’t any better. Neither is Athleta, although my running bra has some reflective materials on it. That doesn’t help much though since it’s October, and oh yeah, tomorrow morning when I run the temp is supposed to be around 30°F. So it’s not like I’m wearing just the bra.

By the way, bright colors don’t equal reflective material. Your neon running shirt won’t help me with being seen at 5 a.m. when it’s utterly dark here and I’m out running in a neighborhood without sidewalks.  Grrrr.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Brooks,

Your running shoes have an amazing amount of good reflective stuff on them. That’s why I’ve ordered your reflective running jacket and can't wait until it gets here tomorrow after work. I sincerely hope it’s as good as your shoes because if so, you will have a die hard fan for life from me.

The reason for this rant is pretty simple – I nearly hit a runner one evening a couple of weeks ago. Like me, he had some reflective stuff on but like mine it really didn’t work. I saw something similar this morning – two women stupidly walking down the middle of the street, one had a thin strip of reflective tape on her jacket but it was very, very dim. I only saw her because the sun was finally starting to come up.

More running randomness

I’m running in the new Brooks shoes now but the jury is still out on whether or not they’ll be OK. My feet have no meat on them so my ankle bones sit closer to the bottoms of my heels than most people’s do. This means that my shoes – whether running or normal – need to be lower cut around the ankle or else I’m in pain.

Speaking of pain, the hot, humid weather is back in Kansas and my runs are pretty darn miserable because of it. When I’m running up the last, long hill, I have a little mantra that keeps me going:

• Here’s the houses that’s for sale – three more blocks (to the top of the hill)
• OK here’s the pool house – two more blocks, I can do it
• Now the Marine’s house, can’t stop here because oh the shame
• Whew, made it!

The one house that was for sale the last time I did a post like this, the one listed for $1.5million, is no longer on the market. I have no idea if it sold or not but the one next to it is now available.

One of the reasons I run so early in the morning is because I prefer to run in the dark, with less traffic and no glare from the sun. Ironically, I run faster in the dark and am more aware of the potential tripping hazards due to cracks in the sidewalk. If I ever do take a tumble, I can guarantee you it will be because I ran during the day or some driver had their lights on high beam and blinded me so I tripped.