I Think I’m a Saucony Ride Girl Now
For the foreseeable future, at least. The Kinvara 15s still aren’t available up here yet, and at this point I don’t know if I can trust the Kinvara quality. The 14s were really, really bad. The Rides are working well for me. I ran my first marathon in the 17s and everything felt good! These also seem like they’re more durable in the Kinvaras, meaning they’ll last longer and I’ll have to do less frantic shoe hoarding (or will I???).
I’m still a little sore in my knees and hips after my walks/runs, but I think that’s just because I’m so used to the Kinvaras. I wore them exclusively for about twelve years, after all. The Rides have a slightly different shape to their soles and I can tell they affect my gait differently.
Anyway. I know nobody cares, but that’s where things are standing with the shoe situation for now.
Well, it finally happened.
I had to get new shoes that were not Kinvaras.
I ended up getting the Saucony Ride 17s. They look like this:
(The color is more…minty?…in real life; the picture doesn’t do the color justice. I kinda dig it.)
They definitely feel different than the Kinvaras, even just walking around in them for three minutes or so in Sporting Life. We’ll see how they do out in the wild on Monday.
I’m scared.
Edit: here’s a better picture of them in the sun. I love the color, haha.
The Last of the Kinvaras (by James Fenimore Cooper)
So that last pair of Kinvara 13s in my size finally came from the Running Room the other day and today was the day to put them on!
OH
MY
GOD
I forgot how GOOD a new pair of 13s felt. It’s like I’m walking on ANGELS’ SOULS.
Saucony, please just bring these back. I promise we won’t be mad.
(The Running Room doesn’t have the 15s yet, but I’m scared of them already, haha.)
I’d like to issue a formal apology to the Kinvara 11s
Ugh.
SO.
I’m having a really rough time with the Kinvara 14s – rough enough that I actually reverted back to wearing my old worn-out Kinvara 11s (the ones I just finished with prior to this pair of 14s). While they’re not nearly as comfortable as the Kinvara 13s, they’re better than the 14s because it doesn’t feel like my ankle is getting actively eaten by a chainsaw when I wear them.
An angry bear, maybe, but not a chainsaw.
ANYWAY.
I was looking at the Running Room website last night to see if they had the Kinvara 15s yet and they had ONE PAIR LEFT of the Kinvara 13s in my size. I have never gotten my credit card out so fast, haha.
So at least I’ll have one more pair of 13s before having to go back to an inferior iteration again.
I have not been having a good time with shoes lately.
These Kinvara 14s…
Hurt.
The accidental Kinvara 11 pair I was wearing before this hurt the top of my feet constantly except when I was running. When I was running, the 11s were amazing.
These 14s don’t hurt the top of my feet, but the right one is grinding into the base of my outer ankle and it feels like someone is stabbing it with a row of needles.
Not a fun feeling.
Also, they already feel really worn down, as if I’ve already gone 500+ miles in them. Especially when running.
Sooooooo yeah. Not a fan.
The Kinvara 15s are out on the Saucony website, but the Running Room doesn’t have them yet. And though my sizing has been consistent for like the past eight iterations, I don’t want to risk ordering a pair of 15s without trying them on first to be sure of the size.
So I guess we’ll have to deal with pain for a bit.
No pain no gain, though, right?
So I’m Dumb
(title states something that is obvious and well-known by everyone who knows me)
A month or so ago, I finally ran out of my stockpile of Kinvara 13s, which have been – by FAR – the best-fitting versions of the Kinvaras that I have ever worn (and I’ve been wearing them since the Kinvara 3s).
I had bought one pair of Kinvara 14s a while back and had been saving them until I ran out of the 13s. So last month, when my last 13s died, I reached into my pile of shoeboxes and pulled out the one box containing a pair of shoes, put them on, and went about my nonsense.
I’d assumed that I was wearing the 14s, which was super disappointing to me, because these shoes were TERRIBLE. The tongue was way thicker than it was on the 13s and the laces (no matter how loosely or tightly I laced them) really hurt the tops of my feet. Like, to the point I had to sit with them unlaced for the first week or so until I really broke them in. They felt amazing when I was running, but if I was just wearing them or if I was walking in them, they felt like garbage.
But I have hunted the 13s out of existence, so once that pair of shoes started to wear out a week or so ago, I decided I’d just have to get another pair of the 14s and suffer through them (and possibly future pairs as well) until the 15s came out.
So on to Amazon I went and bought some 14s with a gift card my mom-in-law gave me for Christmas ($40 for shoes? YAY!).
Well, I finally had to switch out the first pair of 14s today because they had 500+ miles on them. So I open the Amazon box and, upon taking out the shoes, noticed that they looked really different than the 14s I’d been wearing. Different tread, different tongue, different laces, those kinds of things.
I was like what the hell, did I accidentally buy the Kinvara Pros (a supposedly better and definitely more expensive Kinvara)? But I checked the box and it just said Kinvara 14 with the correct size and everything.
Then I went back into my pile of shoeboxes and hunted for my original Kinvara 14 box.
To my surprise, that box still contained a pair of shoes.
So what had I done? Well, several years ago, I had bought a single pair of the Kinvara 11 shoes but never wore them because I also had a stockpile of Kinvara 10s. Once I worked through all the 10s, the Kinvara 12s were already out, so I decided to keep that one pair of Kinvara 11s as an “emergency pair” and just jumped right to the 12s.
Well, that “emergency pair” was actually the pair I had been wearing. Yes, I had grabbed the Kinvara 11s instead of the Kinvara 14s from my shoebox pile.
LIKE AN IDIOT.
In my defense, the two pairs were almost identical in color, so I think that when I grabbed that box, all I really noticed was that it was full of shoes and just assumed it was the 14s box and not the 11s box, since I thought I’d tucked the 11s box far away from all my others.
But I guess I didn’t.
The upside? I will never have to wear the horrible 11s again because they don’t exist anymore, and the new actual 14s are really comfortable.
So…
Yeah.
Good job, moron.
Alpha…Wanna Bet?
So everyone’s saying how this new generation is screwed and are citing stuff like skibidi toilet and other weird-ass internet stuff that has made its way into the generational slang.
But I think y’all are forgetting the incredibly weird internet stuff that Millennials were exposed to and referenced and absorbed into offline culture.
Like…we all remember early Newgrounds and Albino Blacksheep, right?
Animutation was its own weird world.
Just sayin’.
The Great Purge
I have trouble getting rid of stuff.
This includes stuff that is no longer of practical use, like my dozens of old Kinvaras that I’ve worn down with 500+ miles each.
But there are too many old pairs in the house; they’re really starting to clutter up the back room where Pepper’s litter box is (and the recycling bins and the furnace and the water heater), so I finally (with a lot of prompting by Nate) had to get rid of them today.
Here is a picture of them all before the purge:
That’s 45 pairs of shoes. You can see Pepper sitting next to the pile for scale, haha.
Now it’s time to start a new pile!
Kinvara Shoe Grave: Party Hard
Look at this madness.
LOOK AT IT.
I can’t remember when I got rid of all my older burned-through Kinvaras, but this is the newest graveyard. They fill up a whole recycling bin.
I have a problem.
Let’s Do the Time Warp Agaaaaaaaain!
HEYOOOOO so I’ve been in a nostalgic mood lately (what else is new?) and wanted to re-live the Old Tubes via early YouTube videos and AlbinoBlackSheep.
So here were are. Let’s reminisce.
The ultimate oldie. I had a friend in high school who looked just like this dude.
Another classic oldie.
AlbinoBlackSheep was a fantastic website for Flash animations like this. “OHIOOOOOOOOOO!”
Can’t forget this one, either.
GOD, WE ARE OLD
I have this song. I can’t unhear these lyrics.
Maddie, how often did we quote from this when we were at U of I? I still say “let’s get ‘em” in my head when I’m buying something expensive.
This one too, oh my god. Benny Lava is a legend.
So energetic.
I think Aaron found this one. We were shouting “WHAT?!?!?!” at each other for months after we first watched this.
Al Gore getting murdered by earths is the funniest thing in this whole video.
The Beetis.
This was another one we quoted a lot in the house. “DON’TYOUFUCKINGLOOKATME!”
I still love this so much.
Yayz.
New Kinvaras!
NEW SHOES, YO!
I burn through Kinvaras so quickly (every month and a half) that all the employees at the Running Room know who I am, haha. I went in there to get these and one of the guys was like, “you’re back here already? Didn’t I sell you shoes like six weeks ago?”
Party time.
(Sorry, there’s not much going on and I’m stressed about getting through the rest of this semester.)
Today, I did something I’ve never done before:
I sized down in shoes.
Ya, I know. DAFUQ.
My current Kinvaras are worn down as hell (because, you know, it’s been a month and a half since I bought them) so I dragged Nate down to the Running Room on our walk to get a new pair.
They didn’t have my size 9 in the Kinvara 9’s and I was kind of scared to try the new Kinvara 10’s, but the lady brought me a size 8.5 in the Kinvara 9’s and they seemed to fit fine.
So I got ‘em.
I’m going to know every employee in that store by the end of the year, I’m sure.
OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW (sorta)
Hello there.
So it’s the start of a new month today! That means trading out a few of the old things that I’ve been using for a while and starting with some new.
1. New backpack.
This actually isn’t something I’m just starting to use today, but that’s only because the old one was literally unable to be used in its final state and I needed some sort of backpack before today. But it’s new enough, so I’m counting it.
2. New shoes.
Look at these gorgeous Kinvaras! They’re so bright and festive and soon-to-be-demolished-by-my-walking.
3. New iPod!
The iPod I’ve had since February 2012 is finally to the point where it won’t hold a charge long enough to last one of my walks. It’s also to the point where its storage is completely full of music. So I got a new one with double the storage and a new healthy battery. I was also able to find an owl case for it, so that’s really good.
WOO!
Oh my god, shoes.
I AM THE KINVARA QUEEN
And this isn’t even all of them, holy hell. I have issues.
I’m completely under Saucony’s thumb and I don’t even care
Ayyyyyyy, so today I broke in my third pair of shoes this year. As far as my previous pair goes, here are some stats, all cumulative since March 20th:
Distance: 839.96 miles
Steps: 1,815,832
Average speed: 4.54 mph
Total time spent walking: 189 hours and 20 minutes (that’s like 7.8 days of walking, haha)
Hooray for a new pair of shoes!
Edit: blister party 2k17!
Edit 2: blister party 2k17, it is now 4:00 in the morning and I’m calling the cops. Please stop.
Edit 3: the blisters have bought the downstairs condo and are partying 24/7. Send help.
Shoe-In
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE KINVARA 8’s!
They’re so pretty! And new!
That won’t last long.
I’ll break them in on Saturday, because Saturday marks 2 months since I got my current pair of shoes. By then, I should have close to 850 miles on them. WOO!
Edit: Remember when I did that project where I took a picture of the soles of my shoes every 50 miles to document the wear? Nate gave me the idea to take a picture of the soles of these new shoes every day, because that would basically be increments of approximately 15 miles. It’ll be a lot of pictures, but it’ll also look super cool when I .gif them all together. (Edit 2: LAWL, THAT DIDN’T HAPPEN)
The Changing of the Shoes
Woah, the first two minutes of this song gives me goosebumps, holy hell. Was not expecting that from Deadmau5.
Anyway.
Today is the three month anniversary of my walking shoes. It’s also time to switch them out, as I’ve gone over 1,000 miles on them (1,061.52, to be exact) and they’re just starting to get holey on the bottoms. I think these have taken a longer time to wear out than my previous two pairs because I’ve done a fair amount of my miles by running rather than walking in these shoes, and I definitely drag my heels less when I’m running versus when I’m walking.
As far as a mileage update goes, I’ve gone a total of 3,186.41 miles since January 1st, so I should hopefully hit 3,500 for the year pretty easily.
Hopefully.
Though I’ve heard we’re supposed to get a death winter, so who knows.
Oh my god, shoes.
KINVARA HAUL!
Tri-State happened to have three pair in my size (two of the pairs were the new Kinvara 7s!), so I did what I had to do.
I’m not ashamed.
(Hopefully these will last me the rest of the year at least.)
SOMEONE NEEDS NEW SHOES
(Hint: it’s me.)
I’ve gone a little over 1,400 miles in these, so giant holes in the soles are no fault of the shoes themselves. And in case you’re curious as to what my socks look like:
Yeah.
And yes, I was in a bathroom stall taking pictures of my shoes and socks. Deal with it.
Oof.
Hahahaha, look what I did to these shoes, man.
If I ever let my shoes get as chewed up as these and refuse to get a new pair until a certain number of miles have been reached and/or a new month starts, one of you needs to forcibly drag me to a store that sells Kinvaras and then make me buy a new pair, ‘cause these new shoes are making me feel like I’m walking on air.
I have learned my lesson, feet. Many apologies to you.
In This Blog: Claudia Ruins Another Pair of Shoes
In news that is likely quite shocking: 1,450 miles of walking will murder a pair of shoes.
I’ve had my Kinvara 5’s since September 8, 2014. Since then, I’ve walked 1,450 miles in them while up here in Calgary. Have some walking stats!
Total distance: 1,450.28 miles (2,334 kilometers)
Total steps: 3,062,328 steps
Total time: 370 hours (15.41 days)
Most mileage in a single day: 22.9 miles (April 29)
Least (non-zero) mileage in a single day: 0.37 miles (April 11) (We just walked from Nate’s place to the new condo and back)
Boxplots!
1,450 miles is approximately the distance from Vancouver, BC to Winnipeg, MB. Or, if you want to go north-south, it’s approximately the distance from Milwaukee, WI to Miami, FL.
Pretty snazzy.
So unless I die or something, I’m pretty sure I’ll hit 1,500 miles by the end of the year (which was my goal). If I can get to 2,000, I’d be super happy.
WOO! My Kinvara 5’s can now retire. It’s time for the new ones to earn their stay.
KINVARAAAAAAAAAS!
I got my new shoes today!
(Picture from website because I can’t find the picture I took of the ones I bought)
These are the Kinvara 6’s. I actually had to buy a size 8 (which I’ve never done; I’m usually a size 6 in most shoes or, in the Kinvaras, a size 7.5) because the 6’s are narrower than the 5’s and my feet are like freaking flippers.
But no holes in the soles!
Can’t wear them until Friday, though. Those are the rules.
Also, from the Canada Revenue Agency: “On April 24, the CRA issued a communication to some Canadians that referred to an incorrect filing deadline for 2014 income tax and benefit returns of May 5, 2015, rather than April 30, 2015….As a result, and at Minister Findlay’s request, 2014 income tax and benefit returns filed by midnight on May 5, 2015, will not incur interest or penalties.”
Hahaha.
i’m in ur country, walkin ur cities
HEEEEEEEEEEEEEY, guess who hit 1,000 miles on her pair of shoes?
*points at self*
Nate and I went on a very nice 11-mile walk this afternoon (which included getting poutine and candy), which put me above 1,000 miles on my shoes. Check them out!
So that’s 1,000 miles since I moved to Calgary, which was September 1st of last year (though I guess I didn’t wear those shoes until the 8th, but whatevs). I’m going to try to get to 1,500 miles on them before I break down and get a new pair (mainly because I want to wait until the Kinvara 6’s come out), but no promises. The heels, as you can see, are really starting to wear through.
Here are some stats:
Miles: 1,029.41
Time: 265 hours, 44 minutes, 43 seconds (that’s like 11 days)
Steps: 2,173,614
Woo!
ALSO: we watched Guardians of the Galaxy last night, so now I’m all caught up for Age of Ultron in May. I’d have to say my three favorite movies were, in order, The Avengers, Thor, and Iron Man 3. Thor: The Dark World had the best soundtrack, though.
ALSO ALSO: rainbow sprinkle pretzels. Is there a better candy to represent me? I think not.
LET’S GET ‘EM
I HAVE HAD
THIS SONG
STUCK IN MY HEAD ALL DAMN DAY
Remember when we’d just randomly quote parts of this?
Eigenblogger 