Speed Bump

OK, I'm officially not ever shopping at your store again, Road Runner Sports!  You might have screwed my 2010 racing season up for good!

I went in last weekend to get a new pair of shoes.  Mine were starting to get a bit fatigued and I thought it would be nice to have a new pair for my race next weekend.  They were Mizuno Wave Rider 12s, a neutral shoe.  I never had any problems with them and enjoyed running in them.

At Road Runner Sports, one of the things I liked (read that, liked!  I'm not liking you guys anymore!) about their store is that they have some pressure sensitive mats and a video camera on a treadmill that can analyze how you step, how high your arch is, etc.

Well, my left foot overpronates a bit.  Nothing to be worried about, and while I do have nagging pains every once in a while on my left side, it's nothing I freak out about.  I just make sure I stretch and chalk it up to my body's unique idiosyncrasy.

The girl at RRS practically snapped at me, "Who said it was OK for you to run in neutrals!  You should be in stability shoes!".

For the record, no, no I do not need to be in stability shoes.  Give me my neutral Mizunos and leave my overpronating left foot alone.

So last night, I get the great idea to test out the new shoes (also Mizunos, but stability ones, with a stiffer sole) during my speed workout.  My feet hurt a bit after the run, but I chalked it up to just breaking-in pains.  By 9:00 PM, my left foot had a swollen lump on it (near the back of the arch) and was very painful.  I iced it, and tried to go to sleep.

12:30 AM - I decided to go to the hospital, since the darn foot woke me up and I couldn't put a lot of weight on it.

4:30 AM - The doctor decides to "aspirate" the hematoma (bruise), but we get nothing.  Great.  I've been poked thrice (once for the numbing agent, two tries for the "aspiration") for nothing.  The doctor did say she could inject some liquid Motrin, but I decline.  They send me home with crutches.  I'm slightly grateful for the crutches, because I'm not sure how I could have gotten to my car otherwise.

7:20 AM - I arrive at work after a short nap, sans crutches.  For whatever reason my foot doesn't mind walking around so much.

All of this wouldn't be so stressful if I didn't have San Francisco's half next weekend.  They don't defer registration, and I think even if I could get it deferred it's past the deadline (July 11th).  Brilliant.

I'm totally going to return those shoes and never shop there again.  If they're willing to exchange me some Wave Rider 13s (supposed to be very similar to the 12s) I'll concede them that, but no more shopping there for me.  It's gonna be Village Runner or A Snail's Pace all the way.

Since I'm doing so well today I'm hoping I can just take it easy this week and next and be OK for the half marathon.  I hope.  Man it would suck having to tell my parents they can't watch me race because some blond bimbo at the store tried to tell me what would "work better" for my feet than what was already working fine.  I should make her pay for the hotel and registration fee.