It's All About the Shoes!

I've talked about how important shoes are to the sport you are playing.  It's essential equipment.

Well, it didn't even occur to me that there would be an appropriate shoe for lifting.  Apparently there is.

I'm really not the position to put out any money.  I just recently had to have my wedding ring re-sized and I will soon need to renew my gym membership.  I went all over today trying to find a good solution but it seems that I will have to fork over at least $40 for some Converse All-Stars (Chuck Taylors).  I spent the afternoon dragging the kids all over town trying to find an inexpensive options.  Apparently, Target carries One-Stars which are almost the same as All-Stars but $20 cheaper.  I saw them on the Target website but I couldn't find them in the store.  I then tried two other stores in the complex (T.J. Maxx and Famous Footwear).  Famous Footwear had a pair for $25 but they had all kinds of bright pink designs on them.  I would have taken them because of the price but they only had one register (despite having three workers in the store and only two customers) and a woman was doing a return and taking forever with her questions (that the cashier had answered already) and my son had to use the bathroom.  Since he's 5 and I had no change of clothes for him, I put the shoes down.  I wasn't thrilled with the color anyway and thought I might do okay close to home.  So we headed into town but the prices were just the same: about $40 for a pair so I couldn't buy them. Trudging through snow and freezing rain to find shoes for lifting . . . not my idea of fun.

Anyway, my sneakers (cross-trainers and running shoes) are on their last legs.  This means that I am looking at almost $200 after just six months.  (((sigh)))  I'm making them work by wearing my orthotics constantly.  But I have to be honest, I'm getting really annoyed at having to switch those things between shoes.  I get to the gym, take off my winter boots, take out the orthotic, put it in my sneaker.  And then do the reverse when it's time to go home.  Too fussy!

I'm really intrigued by the Vibram Five Fingers not just because it's all the rage right now but because they would be appropriate for running, lifting and aerobics.  And they are less than $90.  From an economic standpoint, that's great.  But I still do not want to put out $90 right now.  It seems I will have to just suck it up.  My only thing is that I'm a little nervous about them being a waste of money.  I am flat-footed and have found that the orthotics really help eliminate fatigue and ankle  pain.  I feel it's a little risk that I'm taking sinking money into these shoes.  I hope it pays off.