These Shoes Aren't Made for Walking

Me out having dinner with two close friends, both of whom are avid runners:

Me: Yeah, so I'm thinking about getting new shoes for the 30k walk in September.
Friend 1: Don't you already have a pair?
Me: Yeah, but when I walk in them, my feet get really, really hot, after, like, 1 km. And when I take them off afterward, steam comes out of my shoes.
Friend 1: That' not good. But it'll take some time to break in new shoes.
Me: I know. The ones I have are pretty comfy. I mean, I put in two pairs of insoles inside them...
Friend 1: O_o WHY would you do that???
Me: Cuz' I don't have enough bounce in my step. And I felt like I was leaning backwards all the time.
Friend 2: That's not right. Those shoes aren't right. You're not supposed to do that.
Me: ...Yeah...well...I guess...

You'd think that, having worked at Foot Locker, I would have clued into the whole these-shoes-aren't-good-for-running thing. I actually have another pair of running shoes from those old days which I wear at work, but they're boys' size 6--about half a size too large and not great for long- distance anything. They're great for standing in, and for short jaunts, and they're damn snazzy; but not so good for much else.

So I went out today and bought new shoes. Nothing fancy--these New Balance WT460GPs were on sale ($59.99), and they fit. I've never been one to spend a lot on running shoes. The sales guy told me off the bat to put the Nikes down, despite my long-standing success with them for comfort, since I was doing a long-distance walk. As it is, these seem to be comfy enough, and give me the necessary support on the outer edge of my feet since I tend to supinate. I'm testing them around the house as I write this.

I also splurged on some fancy double-layer anti-blister socks (no, not the rainbow ones in the picture, though wouldn't THOSE be AWESOME?) as recommended by many of my colleagues who have done the 60k walk before. Interestingly, the sports shop had a pair that cost $1 extra and had a pink ribbon on them. I didn't buy those. I'm going to be surrounded by enough pink that day (it was unavoidable with my shoes). No need to remind myself why I'm doing this with socks.

On the fund-raising front, little sister Jenny has informed me that my cousin Kan is brining in a whole bunch of clean, still-in-good-condition garbage cans that her company is getting rid of for some reason. They're going to sell them at the hardware store (CAAM United Hardware, 160 Augusta Ave. in Kensington Market, celebrating 25 years in business!) and donate the proceeds directly to my campaign.

I asked her to give the project a classy, marketable name like Trash for Titties, or Cans for Cans.

Okay, maybe not.

More details to come!