Lost in Leawood and My New Tennis Shoe Design

I was in Leawood, KS for last few days.  I arrived back home last night at midnight after driving 2.5 hours.  However, even though I was gone, I still kept with my running regimen.  Friday morning I got up at 4:30 – did all the usual coffee, protein bar, vitamins and water routine.  Then had to wait for the sun to come up.  So around 6:30 (still a bit dark), I headed out.  Leawood is a beautiful area and lots to look at as you go by.  I was so noticing of the beautiful landscaping, that I wasn’t making note of some of the streets I was passing.  Leawood and Overland Park Kansas really do a number on visitors…their streets jump.  A street may be in one area then end and it begins a mile or so over in another area.

So, I’m running along, feeling pretty good and went out about 2 miles then decide to come back.  As I get close to the cross street, I realize things are looking differently now that the sun is up.  So, I have my phone with me and plug in the address to Google maps.  As I follow those directions they end up leading me to wrong place.   The streets have now twisted and turned so much, I am lost.  When’s the last time you were lost?  I haven’t been lost since my Mom took me to Mattingly’s in Downtown JC and I wandered off to see the Goldfish.  I was 20.  Ha!  No, seriously, I was 5 (if you click on “5” you’ll see a short video of me and my family from back then).

So, here I am, staying with a benefactor for Vitae, the organization I work for, and I’m lost.  How foolish would I look to call her and say, “Hey, I went out on my morning run and got lost?”  No way, I was not making that call.  So as I’m walking around I see a man who’s also walking.  I asked him for help.  After I answered a few questions, he agreed.  He told me he’s lived there for 40 years and still gets lost.  The winding streets in the many subdivisions are endless.  So, we start one way and realize that isn’t right.  Then go another.  End up at a street with the same name but wrong house #’s.  Then he realizes we’re in wrong subdivision.  So we head over to another area.  Finally, we find the street and then the house back.  I realized my error once we left the subdivision.   I thanked him and went on into the house like nothing was wrong.

What started out to be a 4 mile run turned into 6 miles.   St. Anthony came through though and brought me help to find my way.

What’s funny is, everyone there has a sprinkler system and all were on when I started out.  Got zapped by one that took me by surprise even, but when I got back into the neighborhood, my wet footprints were still present on some of the side walks.  The other interesting point to note, the man who helped me out, grew up in the neighboring city to my home town.

No running for me today.  I am going on my long run tomorrow so I’m saving up for those 11 miles.

Because my toes (black toe nails)  are so bruised from running, they really hurt when I had my closed toe heels on Thursday night.  In fact, Friday I wore my tennis shoes all day because of such.  Last night though, that was not an option.  So I purchased a pair of these to get me through the evening reception – I thought they looked like they had some personality…

If you can’t tell, they are covered in black sequin.  Not typically  what I would wear to such an event, but they worked.  Because they were flat, they weren’t pushing my toes into the top of the shoe like my heels were.

I have purchased so many tennis shoes over the last 2 years trying to solve the bruised toe issue.  Each time going to “experts” and hearing how I won’t have that problem any more and then another toe gets bruised.  I started out with 1 and now have 3 good shiners.  What to do?  Maybe cut the toe area out of my tennis shoes.  Below are the tennis shoes I want to develop.  Something that still is connected to the sole to keep it from flapping or tripping a runner, but also doesn’t crowd toes.  There is probably a fine line between buffering them and crowding.  Well, this is something I’m going to pursue for sure.  I’ll let you know how it goes.