Only two pairs of shoes pictured are not mine. From top left across and from the left again: my nice shoes, my new Montrail Hardrocks, old Montrail Continental Divides (work shoes), good cycling shoes, old cycling shoes, canyoneering shoes, M’s old sneaks, crappy Continental Divides (see below), Goretex trail runners, old Vitesses, M’s Scarpa approach shoes (which she never wears), my Chaco sandals (the oldest and highest mileage shoes pictured).

That’s a lot. 10, to be exact, not including my one pair of climbing shoes which live in the back of the truck. Imelda Traildust.

I write this because this afternoon I noticed that the Vitesses, only four months old, had no midsole left under the balls of my feet. With the Red Hot 50k 16 days away, that is no good. Off to the store.

I’ve now had 5 pairs of trail shoes in the last year. All Montrails. First was a pair of first generation Continental Divides, which were perfect. Then I got two pairs of the second gens (both pictured above), which did not fit the same. I could never get either to not rub my heels badly, the X pair far worse than the O, and they never got too many miles until I got the Vitesses in October and retired the better O pair to work and around town duty. The Vitesses worked ok, but didn’t have as rigid a foot plate as I’ve come to appreciate (the soles being my feet point in ultras), and the toe box was a bit small. So, my new Hardrocks.

Funny thing is the sizes. In order: 10.5, 11, 11, 11, 11.5. My feet have gotten bigger. Must be all the hard work in the last 18 months. Weird.

I survived my visit to the hospital in good order, too. Had an excellent Thai lunch to brake the fast, waited for a while to de-gas, then went shoe shopping, and to yoga class. Sigh. Once again a difficult life I have.

I’m considering attaching the braclet to my bike. Or perhaps my pack.

And best of all, Fred’s running the Red Hot 50k! Which of course begs the question; do I have a prayer keeping up this time? Maybe?

Also, pair X of shoes is free to a good home [edit: taken]. I’ve worn them for perhaps 50 miles, and they’ve sat untouched for 8 months. I’ve never had foot funk, either. If anyone with not too wide size 11 feet wants some shoes, email me your address. I need to get the tally back in single digits.