when i got my first email account in 1996 it was at aol and based on the first few letters of my name and last name plus the final letter combined. so i was sandschuz@aol.com
that lasted about a month before i moved over to earthlink and set up an account which i still have to this day, with a similar, but slightly modified spelling.
now, on the other side of the world, i am having to set up a new account (not that i’m sure i’ll use it). i decided to stop being obscure and call a spade, well, a shoe… so, sandshoes@…..co.za, it is.
which brings me to my point. yes, yes, there is one, i promise.
sandshoes, when i was growing up, meant trainers. sneakers. plimsolls. according to the encarta dictionary: U.K. light canvas shoe: a light low-cut canvas shoe with a rubber sole
there were no nikes, reeboks, etc. you wore your sandshoes in order to run or exercise or if you were like me, you combined them with some slouchy socks and some or other funky outfit and you made a fashion statement a la cindy lauper or madonna. (god, am i aging myself here!)
then came the sneaker revolution – and countless ways to empty one’s bank account. decent running shoes, which are a necessity when you’re not just walking the treadmill once a week, cost a fortune, i’ve discovered.
when i got to the track yesterday, 3 mozambican women i’ve seen working out at the track before, were warming up. i think i overheard one of them, who said her name is maria, mention to someone that she was training for the olympics. i stopped to talk to them about yes, you guessed it – sandshoes…
O.M.G.! i just, on a whim, googled MARIA RUNNER OLYMPICS – and discovered the following: her name is MARIA de LURDES MUTOLA and she is an OLYMPICS GOLD MEDAL WINNER! i am training on the same track as an olympic athlete!
i’m not worthy! i’m not worthy!
anyway, to get back to my original point – like i said, yes, there is one! not having any idea who she was, i stopped and spoke to her and another runner about the fact that my feet and my lower legs have been hurting. they immediately pointed to my shoes. i’ve been running in nike shox’s and (i should have guessed she was someone of note when she said she was sponsored by nike!) she said that it was the shoes which were causing the pain. they suggested that i get nike pegasus running shoes, but when i went and tried them on at the store that afternoon, they didn’t seem to be the shoe for me. the guy helping me eventually realized that he probably was not going to get a sale out of me and suggested that i go to a specialist running shop in randburg to get professionally fitted. so, i suppose a field trip is in order!
the run, b.t.w. sucked! i started out too fast i think and right from lap 1, all i could think about, was giving up. i could barely believe it when i made it to the end of lap 10, especially when i tried to speed up on that last lap, nearly ran out of steam about 1/3 into it and had to slog my way to the end. i managed to shave almost a minute off my last time, but it did not feel good.
mind over matter. i mind. it matters. though hey, i’m JUST DOing IT anyway!
Cyber Sass - My Whorl 