Day 158: A girl and her shoes...

"Mama always said there's an awful lot you can tell about a person by their shoes. Where they're going, where they've been. I've worn lots of shoes. I bet if I think about it real hard, I could remember my first pair of shoes. Mama said they'd take me anywhere. She said they was my magic shoes."--Forrest Gump. 

 I, like most girls, love shoes. Guys just don't get it. Maybe they have a pair of black shoes, brown shoes, perhaps a few pairs of athletic shoes, flip flops, and down here in Texas, cowboy boots. And they're done. 

I almost tried to guess at the number of shoes I own, but then I thought, "duh, go count 'em, moron." And I did. 71. I don't know if that's a lot relative to my other shoe-loving friends. I'm not Imelda Marcos, but I guess I'm pretty close to a Carrie Bradshaw (estimates have her at about 100 pairs) although I've never come anywhere close to spending what she did for a pair of Manolos or Jimmy Choos. No, I'm a Target girl, so while Carrie's shoes may have averaged in the $400/pair range, I'd say mine are closer to $30/pair.

Again, guys don't usually get it, but there's just something about a pair of shoes. I've got all kinds, lots of high, high heels that make me about 6 feet tall. And who doesn't like to feel 6 feet tall?? I actually feel odd in flats, maybe that's because my 11 year old daughter is creeping up to my height, and so when I hike up on top of a pair of 5 inch heels, I can pretend she's not growing up as fast as she is. 

So the Mudder...it's a crazy thing, this Mudder. Training is going well. I'm in a groove. All is good. But it still scares the snot outta me. It's gonna be hard. Harder than anything I've ever tried to do, including the half. That was just running and trying not to fall down, and I guess I didn't try hard enough since I did fall down. Even though my knee's not ready for the run, I knew I'd need a new pair of shoes to start training in, hopefully next month, because my last-year-Mudder shoes are pretty worn out. 

So because I have this unbelievably wide foot, I have to buy New Balance shoes, and I was playing on their website yesterday, looking for the latest version of the shoe I bought last year. And there they were. Like a work of art. A collection of happy colors that I would love to have on my wall if it was in a frame. Even better, though, then a painting...SHOES that look like they were made for me. 

I get they're not for everyone. They've been called "gaudy" and "U-G-L-Y" and have been compared to an acid trip. Even my daughter is not a fan. "Mom...really?" But that's the thing about shoes...you don't buy them for other people, do you? 

I couldn't find a more perfect pair of magic shoes for me. 

 Yes, I know they'll be destroyed at The Mudder. I imagine I will, too. I'll probably be wishing I could click them together three times and get back home at about the first obstacle. 

 But in this quest to get my orange headband, I have a heckuva long way to go. May as well get there wearing the most fabulous shoes I can find. After all, they'll take me anywhere.