Happy Trails: Saucony Ride (2008)

We've had a good run. Or two.

With my latest shoe purchase, the days for my oldest shoes were numbered. Today, we had one last dog-accompanied run in my little red shoes, and I've got them officially retired, at least from regular running rotation. I'm not going to throw them out yet, in case I want to do a mud race or something of that nature, but as far as day-to-day running, I've officially worn a hole in the sole, and that means they're out.

I feel like I should write a shoe-bituary when I send my shoes out to the proverbial pasture. The last time I retired a set, it was a little bit more difficult. I'd had those for many years, and they were so destroyed that a running store in Montana offered to display them out of sheer awe.

Ah, the Runner's Edge. It was a nice little place in downtown Missoula, and the only reason I remember the name is that it was on the free socks they gave me with the purchase. My mother came out to see my touring show in the summer of 2008, and while there, she decided that I needed new running shoes, just because she could see my toes through the webbing on top of the pair that I was wearing. We found the shop, tried out several pairs, and ended up with the Saucony Ride, which I then wore on a hike up with a mountain with my mother that week.

Since then, my little red shoes hadn't seen a ton of mileage until I restarted running in December of 2010. Then, they got plenty of use, carrying me through 12 weeks of training and 26 miles of Austin. Shortly after the Austin marathon, I bought a new pair of Rides, having had such great success with the pair I'd loved for years.

As my mileage kicked up through last year, and especially early this year, I knew that I couldn't keep using them, even only once every four days. With the soles worn out and the uppers cutting slightly into my foot, it just didn't make sense.

So thank you, Saucony, for a great pair of shoes. They're pretty beaten up now, and I'll have to post pictures of the damage at some point, but for now, I'll remember them for getting me restarted in running. For completing the Austin marathon. And running the mountains of Montana. And maybe some day, they'll take me through my first mud run. But for now, I've got them in the back of my closet, getting some much needed rest.

Happy trails, little shoes.

Sunday's Run:
56 Degrees, dark
3.98 Miles