shoes news

Since COVID came about, I have been pounding the pavement more than normal.  The gym is closed, so no more treadmill and I have found that my me-time out in the dark morning air is what keeps me going each day.  I have been consistently walking 5 miles each morning before getting the workday started.  My feet have been taking a beating.  About 8 weeks ago, I decided I needed new shoes.  My feet were rubbing and I was getting blisters.  I reached out to a podiatrist friend to see brands she suggested as I felt that my normal go-to Saucony's just weren't right anymore.  DUMB IDEA!

As my friend said everyone's feet are different and no shoe is perfect for any given two people, I decided to order Asics that were on sale, plus the ole handy buy one get one half off sale at Shoe Carnival.  Online, of course.  I got two of the same pair in my normal size.  The first few walks were miserable but my brain was telling me I just had to break them in.  I even bought some inserts thinking i just needed a little extra support.  Fast forward a few weeks, I was having the same issue on the top of my foot plus, big and bad blisters.  I called Shoe Carnival to see if they would accept the other ones I hadn't tried on yet back.  Absolutely, no problem.  On a whim, I told them my issue and asked if they would also consider taking back the ones I had been wearing for three weeks because they were awful for my feet.  The manager told me to bring them in and she would help me the best she could.

I headed over to the local store and first asked to be fitted.  WHO KNEW that when losing 100+ pounds, you may also drop an entire shoe size and go from needing wide ones to needing normal ones?  Well, that explains my problems!  I found one of my old faithful pairs in the adjusted size and decided on those, having to order the second pair since there were no more remaining.  When I got to register, the sweet lady, Emerald, said she would absolutely take both pairs back!  What?  That is amazing!  I almost felt kind of bad for the return but then took a moment to think about how wonderful the customer service was and how I will try not to go anywhere but there to ever buy shoes again!

I am slowly getting back to walking comfortably - the current blisters are still working their course.  However, the fit feels amazingly better already!

Moral of the story is - it never hurts to ask.  I can't tell you how many times I have asked a million questions about surrogacy, some of which weren't received so well, but I have learned my boundaries in this game.  And, trust your intuition!  If something doesn't feel right (no pun intended), investigate.  Be informed.  Be your best!