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September 14, 2017: Footfalls

In order to run, one must have decent footwear and also some sense as to where one’s feet are landing. I really don’t have either. The shoes that I purchased the other day are too tight in the toe box – I can feel my toes touching the tops of them. Go figure. The reason why I purchased these shoes was so that I’d have more toe room. I looked on the box and sure enough, they are size eight. I really do have a size eight and a half foot.

So I took these new shoes which weren’t new because I wore them once on the trail, muddying them, and very politely asked the nice sales clerk if I could do an exchange. And he (as if to best me) said



that no, they are a small shop so they don’t do exchanges. But if I turned in the shoes I purchased, I’d get forty percent off the cost of the next pair.

I did not show how disappointed I was. Rather, I continue to chat with him. This was doing a Pete – Pete has, in talking to people, often gotten them to change their minds about things. This did not work for me. I also thought that perhaps having had my hair cut and tinted might help. Nope. The next move would have been to show some cleavage or wiggle my hips, but by then I was done.

The clerk (who was not the clerk that I purchased the shoes from) did say something that was obvious but of interest to me and this is that when trail running, one has varied terrain. And when road running, one has unvaried terrain. So my thinking is that one would want two differing types of shoes for these differing types of running.

I used to prefer road running. Now I prefer trail running. So I need a good trail running shoe.

I’m going to have to continue to wear the new shoes, even though they don’t fit. How a sales clerk (who is himself a runner) could in good conscience allow this is beyond me. The store made a sale and the sale was final.

I am not going to purchase any more shoes from this place. I will instead purchase shoes at REI in Anchorage because they have a generous return policy. This, I now know, counts for a great deal.

This afternoon I put on a pair of lightweight socks and wore my shoes – I didn’t run much – just wore them in walking the horses to and from the trail, on the trail ride, and in working in the Playground of Higher Knowledge. These shoes are not a perfect fit but they are going to have to do.

I spent time with the horses, concentrating on my footfalls in relation to their footfalls. This is making me, and perhaps them, more aware of our feet and where we are placing them. And amazingly, my hips have ceased to hurt me. Now I had been thinking that I needed to go by the book in doing body awareness work – but I am thinking that just being cognizant of what one is doing in relation to my posture and movement can bring about change. And the same is holding true for the horses.

Body awareness – I feel like it’s helping me and my horses to be in better balance.

Next: 255. 9/15/17: Winter Approaches

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