I have been wearing New Balance shoes for several years, and always more or less the same style, now called the "409" if I am not mistaken. Size eleven and a half.
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| New Balance 409s |
Right before I left for Italy three weeks ago today, I bought a brand new pair of these to give my feet more support and comfort than the six-month-old pair I've been wearing lately. Great, easy purchase. Even wore them for a day or two before leaving to help start the break-in process.
After a day or two in Italy, I noticed my feet were in slight pain, and that the shoes were feeling a bit tight. Ok, a few more days of break-in and all will be fine.
Well, after those days, the pain didn't go away. And the shoes continued to feel too tight, as if they were about a half size too small. And instead of getting better, my feet just hurt more and more with each passing day.
I know that there is not always total size continuity from batch to batch of shoes like this, so I figured this eleven and a half was not true to the last few pairs I've had.
Walking around Florence, Bologna, Montlacino, Alba, New York never got easier, and in fact, was often very painful. Buying a new pair of shoes once I got home was tops on my list of things to do once back in Portland.
So, today, after getting home and unpacking a bit, I got ready to go out to get a nice hot bowl of Chinese soup. As I poked around for my shoes, I saw my new pair of New Balance resting in the hallway. But I wanted to wear my old pair since the shoes I wore on my trip were headed to the Goodwill pile.
But wait, these new New Balance shoes looked strange. They were darker, with more blue stripes all of a sudden.
And then it hit me. They were NOT the shoes I took to Italy! I was in such a hurry to get out the door on time when I left three weeks ago, I didn't notice I put on an old pair of shoes I bought last year, Adidas, that were, in fact, about half a size too small.
What an idiot! My feet suffered for three weeks of walking eight hours a day or more because I wore shoes that were too fucking small to begin with!
So, my New Balance are absolutely brand new, unworn, and un-Italianated. I really screwed up big time on this one.
And I've been apologizing to my feet profusely for the last few hours. Please forgive me, feets!
If the shoe fits...but if it doesn't, well, get rid of them as soon as possible so you don't do what I just did!
What a lame mo'fo!!!
1 comment:
You, my friend, are, in fact, a true idiot. Why didn't you just buy new shoes in Italy?
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