Yesterday, when Kevin was kindly giving me a lift to work, the traffic light turned yellow as we approached one of the busier intersections of the trip. He stopped a little abruptly and we sat there for a full second in the inside lane before a car on the outside sailed through a clear red light at the same time someone turning left across the road in front of us connected with them and sent them careening on the the sidewalk a little outside of the driver’s intended path. The left turner paused, took a good look at the car they’d connected with and drove away (!!) and the light runner got out if her car. We carried on to my workplace so I could get to the office and Kevin looped back. I carried on with my day and he checked out the scene, but nothing ever came of it. Nobody asked what he saw or for his number.
As an aside: would you call the police to report what you’d seen if you were us?
Here’s the really weird thing: when he cane to pick me up to do some Friday afternoon errands, THE SAME ACCIDENT HAD HAPPENED IN THE EXACT SAME SPOT just moments before he got there. There must have been greater impact in this one because the cars were more damaged and a full crew of emergency responders was there.
So, we don’t know whether to think that accidents are occurring in that intersection (Third Avenue and Stewardson for you locals) at much higher frequency than we’d ever realized (as a pedestrian I’ve had several close calls when trying to cross, but I’ve never seen cars crash/ed there) or if it’s a freak thing that we saw the same thing twice in the same day. Perhaps a bit of both?
Part of the reason a ride to work was so helpful and also part of the reason we were running errands was because I am currently without walking shoes. I had great intentions for these Brooks. I’d really wanted to love them and I imagined us going everywhere together. Then after only a couple of trips back and forth, they started chewing up the back of one of my heels. I have them a break and hoped it was a bad shoe-sock combination or something like that. Last week I confirmed that it wasn’t when it happened all over again. Sad.
So, I paid a visit to Fit First Footwear in Burnaby. Kevin has bought a couple of pairs of shoes there and has been really happy with them. The woman who helped me was superb. I’d explained to her that I was looking for a neutral shoe to wear for walking and that I didn’t want to pay a lot for them. I invest a significant amount in my running shoes and, while I wasn’t interested in going super cheap, I didn’t want to spend the same on my every day shoe. (When I write it out now, it sounds dumber than it seems.) She did a great job, bringing me at least five options under $100. I tried on a pair of Asics first and I really liked them. I shot down the next three (Adidas, Nike, Brooks) and then tried a New Balance shoe that I liked a lot and would have bought if it hadn’t only been available in wide in my size. It came down to the Asics and the NB and I thought about excusing the slight mis-size, but worried that once they got a little worn in, they’d become useless to me. I didn’t know how to choose. So I asked to try a Hoka. I didn’t like the first one so I did what anyone else would do, I tried another. And then another. With the third, I found something that seemed like it would work for me. Now, Hokas are hitting their prime. While they used to be hard to find in stores, they’re now on display in most running specialty shops. People who wear them are devoted to them. I mean, they are designed to make running easier – it’s a no brainer. They say that once you’ve worn Hoka, you’ll always wear Hoka. Two of my closest runners (including the one that I live with) are Hoka disciples and I wanted to join the club. So I did. (And happily kissed that cost consciousness goodbye.)
I bought the Clifton 5s and strapped them on as soon as a I got home. Sadly, after a couple of hours of wearing them, I noticed some familiar pain in both feet with some soreness radiating into one of my calves. I knew these shoes were not meant to be for me, but I lived in denial for a little while longer. By bedtime, I’d accepted the truth and packed my Hoka experiment back into its box.
This is one thing I totally underestimated when I started running – the need to care for my feet. Sounds silly, I know, but it’s a full time gig and no decision can be made too lightly.
Back to the drawing board.
On the bright side, I bought some local sriracha (local sriracha!) at Fridays on Front last night and it is to die for.
