As I mentioned in my last blog, I recently got an email asking me if I wanted to review a pair of running shoes and keep them in return for putting up a link to an online sports shop site. I have been on an enforced economy drive and have been re-assessing the usefulness of trainers I had once cast aside but not thrown out. I recently took the insoles out of a pair of Nike Pegasus I had started wearing again and found that I'd written "July 2009" inside them. Presumably to stop me from keeping my trainers too long. I've even been getting some use out of my Asics 2050s which are a bit too stability for me - by deciding to break them down through use to better suit my needs. In the old days when you got a pair of shoes you wore them in. That meant enduring rubs, blisters and battered toes until finally your feet prevailed and the shoes started to conform to your will. And the old days are back, or so it would seem - just today I discovered that the Cashline has started dispensing fivers again. At first I thought I was having a flashback to old university days.
So, anyway, of course I wanted a free pair of shoes and would be only too pleased to write about them and provide a link. It was that or start running in climbing shoes or football boots.
I had a limit of £50 so chose the Nike Pegasus 27+ Trail Shoes in an attractive grey and lime colour scheme. "Did you CHOOSE that colour??", expostulated Peter, just showing that tastes vary because I think they are HOT. I chose them because I knew they would fit and I've had them before and they're a good all-rounder. They're cushy enough to use on tarmac but grippy and firm enough to hold your foot on trail or rough ground. They are, in fact, ideal for bimbling down the John Muir Way on trail, road and beach if you're going a long way and are more worried about comfort than speed.
I thought I would take them out on their inaugural run today - and do a long run down the coast to North Berwick and get the train back. You know the script. There was the prevailing westerly to blow me along the coast. The only snag was the sky was terminally grey and I was a bit hungover and I didn't feel like it. Somehow or other I woke up feeling gloomy but thought I might perk up once I got going. It was a lot less fun setting off alone now that Peter is injured. The sun came out briefly but then tucked itself away again behind layers and layers of grey cotton wool.
The shoes were fine - a little heavier than road shoes, but they're meant to be. My spirits were refusing to rise however and as I approached Prestonpans I played with the idea of getting a train home and eating chicken soup for lunch instead of carrying on. If I had a tail it would have wagged at the idea. The deal was sealed.
As I had 15 minutes to wait for the train I ran up a trail (the only trail, sadly, my shoes got today) beside the railway and came upon a large depressing looking monument to a dead Colonel, with four lions, one at each corner. Somehow or other it seemed to sum up the atmosphere of the day.
There are some good prices on running shoes at Sports Direct. Worth checking out.
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