Mid-Life Crisis?
I don’t know about you, but I’m certainly not getting any younger and over the past year or so I’ve let my fitness levels drop. Maybe I’m going through a mid-life crisis, but when in Bristol last weekend I actually bought myself a pair of running shoes!! Hopefully they won’t be just for show either.
I nearly didn’t even get as far as that in my quest to regain some fitness though. The first sports shop I went in had, as exepcted, a wide rainge of fashionable trainers and good selection of ‘proper’ running shoes too. But when I looked at the prices I almost instantly resigned myself to a life of increasing flabbines as the cheapes pair was £109!!!! Can that be right, not only am I getting a little less lean but I’m now expecting consumer goods to be half the price they actually are, maybe I’m accumulating years quicker than I thought. Surely I’m not that old.
However, the next shop restored my hope as I found several pairs of running shoe for around £30. Of course, they only came in sizes 4,5 or 13, but eventually I found an affordable pair and decided to buy them. The assistant put them behind the counter and I went up to pay. At which point the girl behind the cash-desk said “Which ones are your, the Reeboks or Nikes”….. “Ummmm, I’m not sure, they’re size 9 and £30!” I replied and got a quizzical look from the girl. Something tells me they weren’t used to people buying running shoes in order to actually go running and the most important thing to most of their customers is the name on the shoe… Oh well, I’m showing my age yet again!
So, the big question.. Where are these ‘cool’ Reebok running shoes? Still in the box? Nope, I have actually used them (OK, only twice so far) but I have been for a run. Not far, not particularly fast but it was a run and it was quite enjoyable. Gone, for now are the days when I ran, cycled and swam almost every day, gone are my days of competing in and winning triathlons, but hopefully I can put those days behind me and now simply exercise without competitive impetus but simply for its health and well-being benefits. How long it will last I don’t know, but at least I’ve made a start and who knows this time next year I may be fitter, leaner and feeling younger.
