The Day before the First Day I Never Went Running

I get a kick out how I find about things long before they become the norm or popular. When I was in high school and early college years, I was the first to know about hip hop artists. Later college years it was Neo Soul artists. I gave up on RnB after Jodeci. Not too long after college due to going blonde and jacking up my hair, I was forced to go natural. No hairstylist in Virginia wanted to touch my hair. They were scared. Finally I flew back home to Georgia, and went to my mom’s hairstylist in Griffin. She told me I had to cut it off and start over. At that time, there were natural hair products in every store. There were natural hair videos all over YouTube. (Click here for my favorite natural hair YouTube channel). I ended up getting the infamous texturizer because I did not know what to do with a TWA (teeny weeny afro – natural hair term). I’ll finish the story of how I overcame my hair tragedy in a natural hair journey post.

Another thing I discovered before it became a nationwide phenomenon is Black Girls Run. I found them over two years ago via Twitter. At the time, I did not know a lot of Black women that ran leisurely. As a matter of fact I did not know any at all – unless they were running for public office or participated in some kind of sport. I was inspired by the BGR blog, and sent them a tweet about how to get started running. They mentioned the Couch to 5K program. So umm, yea, two years went by, and I never tried it, but everyone is talking about Black Girls Run as if it was birthed overnight. My girl Christy runs with them. My cousin Karon runs with them. They took over Atlanta one weekend last month. They are in Essence Magazine and everywhere else.

Although I knew about BGR first (sounds so childish), I decided to jump on the bandwagon. I had just gotten my health report back from the Practical Weight Management program. It stated what my current state of health looks like with suggestions of certain tests as well as suggestions of what I should eat in the next 30 days to achieve at least 5 pounds of weight loss. In addition Dr. Fatoki emailed me every day for like 2 weeks asking when was I going to get started with the program. So last week I got a Facebook event invite from the Black Girls Run Atlanta group for the Couch to 5k training. I thought this was a sign.

I was super excited thinking about how the program and this opportunity coming about at the same time. I did not know much about running, except you need running shoes. I put a post on my Facebook asking friends that run where to find running shoes. The same thing everyone said was that I needed a gait test and the shoes would cost around $100. I found a store in McDonough called NewSole Running.  This guy named Blake was very helpful. He did the gait test and gave me the 3 best shoes for my feet. I pick a pair of Newton Running shoes that I really liked. When I got to the register, the price was not around $100. It was closer to $200. I don’t know if I was embarrassed that I didn’t have that kind of money for running shoes or if it was because I was in shock over the price. I told Black that I would come back the next day with the money and to hold the shoes for me.

I immediately called Christy. She asked me why didn’t I get a cheaper shoe or better yet ask the price for the other 2 pairs of shoes Blake brought out. I didn’t have an answer. So I think it was shock because that I didn’t have common sense at that moment. I got over the embarrassment or shock quickly after thinking about the money I would lose because my track record shows that I would not commit to running. That is a lot of money to give away for something I may not like. Also, the reason I want to run is not because I love running or any physical activity. It is because I want to lose weight. One thing for sure, I see fat people run all the time. I don’t want to be fat and running a 5K race. Dr Fatoki told me that exercise only counts for 20% of weight loss. He said for that reason it is important that I find a physical activity that I enjoy doing. So is this as another sign as running was not for me.

A week later, after cutting back on the milk (I’m down to a half a gallon a week), to drinking more water and eating less fried food, I started having more energy. I wanted to do some sort of physical activity. I do enjoy walking, and from past visits to the gym, I love the elliptical machine. The problem was I didn’t even have walking shoes or regular sneakers. I did remember Blake from NewSole Running telling me that the Newton’s were good for walking as well as how I land on my feet. Also, when I walk my feet roll out towards my ankles. When I was a child, I was supposed to get the braces to correct the turnout of my feet, but the doctor said it wasn’t necessary. He told my mom just to keep rotating my legs and feet inward every time she changed my diaper. Always get a second opinion! So Blake said the Newton’s would also help with my feet turning out.

Two weeks later I was back at NewSole Running. I bought the shoes. I got a discount for it being my first time purchasing shoes. The total came up to about $160. The second guy that was there was not as friendly as Blake. He was like “so what do you want.” I wanted to say “running shoes, duh”. I’m big on customer service by the way. You can sell me anything if you have good customer service. I felt like he was rushing me, and I didn’t want to stay a second longer in the store so I didn’t try on the shoes. I remember the shoes were bigger than my regular shoe size, 10. So I told him to get me a 10.5.

Last Sunday, I set the alarm clock on my phone to wake me up at 7 am every day to go walking. Monday morning I woke up early, got dressed, put on the shoes, and they were too little! The ball of my foot did not line up over the middle of the red actuator lugs on the bottom on the shoes. Lining up properly gave my foot that trampoline feeling. I did not have that bouncing feeling like I had when I tried on the shoes with Blake. Was this a sign that I shouldn’t have bought those shoes?

Well I will take back the shoes, but the only reason I haven’t is because I don’t want to run into the 2^nd guy that was there. It was not a welcoming experience. I think I will just call the store and find out who’s working that day. If it’s not Blake, I’ll just ask when he’s working and take the shoes back that day. How awesome is that!?!

Please leave comments and subscribe to my blog. That’s my motivation for writing. Thank you!!