I take my first awkward steps like a fresh born fawn fumbling and uncertain. How can the cyclical pattern of running, which I had done for so many miles feel like translating a line of foreign prose? It’s the breathable mesh and supportive, synthetic upper materials that actually exists in these shoes unlike the others that were now road worn.
As I tried to find my footing, I couldn’t for the life of me remember how I ran. Was it heel, toe, heel toe, toe heel, toe heel, heel toe, toe heel? Every combination felt wrong. I know how to do this, I reminded myself. I’ve been running for years. I’ve broken in new shoes over and over again. It will fall into place, won’t it?
And as I let go of trying to overanalyze and identify the problem, I realized the pain in my right ankle, left knee, and right hamstring were absent. They had been present for every run for the last three weeks in growing intensity, but I didn’t feel any of them anymore. The Infinity Wave cushioning in the heel combined with the SmoothRide engineering was working to alleviate and realign my body.
I rounded the corner to home.
There it is…my stride.
My pace sped up.
I breathed a sigh of relief as I whizzed through the stop sign.