Wednesday, March 2, 2011

New Shoes and a Weird Cat

Happy Wednesday. I have two things to share that will drastically change the course of your life.

Thing One: I finally got new trail runners. I took a mental health day from work yesterday and after Bill and I finished an out-and-back on our road bikes (and in the sunshine) we stopped at the Bryn Mawr Running Company, located not in Bryn Mawr but in Philadelphia, of course.

I recognized the owner/guy who helped me find shoes right away -- he'd helped my friend Kate try on every pair of shoe for sale at the expo for the Philadelphia Half Marathon/Distance Run/Rock N Roll/Whatever It Is Called Now. She must have tried on 15 pairs of shoes and he was helpful, nice and patient. I am a sucker for good customer service so I remembered him.

I tried on no less than 787 pairs of shoes and finally settled on -- drumroll, please -- another pair of Brooks Cascadias. The new version seems to have eliminated the gripes I have with the older version I've been running in for the past few months. The recycled laces on the old pair are tubular and come untied if I looked at them weird, blinked or took a step. I ended up locking them closed with plastic clamps to keep them from coming undone -- a bit of a pain in the ass. The new pair, however, still have recycled laces (yay, Earth) but they are flat and, miracle, stay tied!

The new shoes also have a wider tongue and strategically placed eyelets equating to a snugger fit -- the old ones always felt a bit shifty. Wore them on my hill repeat trail run today and they felt decent. Plus the running store dude gave me a 10 percent discount. Sweet, because once I settled on the Cascadias I briefly contemplated ordering them online from REI to take advantage of Bill's discount but I knew that would be a dick move. And the running store dude's move ensured that I will be back there whenever REI doesn't have what I am looking for.

Thing two: My cat Vivian likes to eat spinach. I think he is a vegetarian at heart. Whenever I am making anything with spinach, which is a lot of the time (best vegetable ever) he is all over it like it's a raw, juicy hunk of slimy fish. Weirdo.
That is all.

6 comments:

Mallory said...

Yay for new shoes!! They sound like they are exactly what you wanted!!! I love that you two bike together. That rocks.

joanna said...

are you going to post another video showing vivian throwing up the piece of spinach 5 minutes later? i know him too well...

Abby said...

Keep me posted on how the new cascadias hold up. I've tried them in the past and didn't like them, but they're really comfortable (when I'm not running in them), so I'd definitely give them another shot.

Terri said...

We have a cat that likes potato chips, but spinach is awfully weird for a cat, isn't it?

Laurie said...

Jojo (I have decided to start calling you that) -- He never barfs spinach. Everything else he hurls, but not spinach.
And yep, Terri, spinach is weird. He eats chips, too, but only baked Lays. Maybe he's just trying to be healthy.

Kim said...

Aww, I love that your cat eats spinach! The only human food our cat likes is popcorn. And it has to be pretty salty and oily.

Interesting about the shoelaces on the old shoes. I have never heard of recycled laces or that issue!