Dear Martha,
I realize the road to find each other was a long and treacherous one. I understand that you went through many other shoes before you found us, and once you did, it was love at first site. The minute we were put on your feet, we knew that this was meant to be and that together we would all travel some beautiful and dirt filled miles!
We were so excited to get dirty with you. We were excited to get muddy with you. We were prepared for the long hard miles you were going to put us through.
We remember our first run together with your running friends. We were excited to show you exactly what we could do for you. You had so much faith in us. Let's face it, who takes a brand new pair of shoes out for their first run when the distance is scheduled for 22 miles? Thank you for having that much faith in us. We had so much fun romping through the dirt and dust with you. It was a gorgeous day! Even if some of it was really hard! We remember the conversations we had with you and your feet and the goals we all set together. It was an exciting day to actually FEEL your passion for the sport we were created for.
And we were totally excited to share the huge victories that were coming your way, like finishing your first 100 mile run at the end of March and becoming a finisher in the Idaho Ultra Trail Series this year. We also knew that at some point, during this journey, you were going to have to find a twin set to swap us out, and we weren't even jealous. We were going to practice compersion and be totally happy that you shared your love of running the trials with another pair of shoes and that we got to share you with another pair of shoes. Cause let's face it, to run that many miles and reach those huge goals, it just takes more than one pair of amazing shoes. It might have even taken a commune of shoes. And that is okay as long as we could be part of reaching your goals.
At the beginning of January, when you realized you were going to have to put your running on a hiatus, we completely understood. When you decided to take up Yoga (which required bare feet) and Spinning (which required your cycling shoes), we didn't feel neglected. We only wanted what was best for you. Then when you realized that your back was so injured that you couldn't even do THOSE things, we sat in the closet and cried for you. We love you and totally understand what you are feeling and missing out on. We miss it too.
When you laid flat on your back and cried as you felt yourself gaining weight and cried from physical pain and cried from emotional pain and just felt like you were going backwards, we cried for you too. Our mission in life is to help you reach your goals and we felt powerless sitting in the dark closet listening to you cry. We wanted more than anything to be able to slip over your feet and let our laces hug with the huge bows you tied. But we also had faith in you. We have seen your courage. Heck, we have FELT your courage and your strength. We have felt your determination and your joy. You may run us hard, but that is what we like. That is what we are made for. So we KNEW it wouldn't take you long to get back out there at some point. And when you were strong enough, we KNEW we would be the first shoes you reached for. We had faith in you!
So today, even though it wasn't the first day you have worn us since your back injury, we just wanted to send you a love letter on Valentines Day and thank you for slipping us on your feet today and taking us to the gym (even if the gym is not what we were built for). We wanted to thank you for loving yourself enough to never give up. We wanted to tell you just how proud of you that we truly are. We know that you look at the dreadmill and wish you were in the mountains. We know that you look at your pace on the dreadmill and dream of your faster days. But today, you did a 20 minute mile which is the fastest you have done since January 1st! You have shaved off 10 minutes per mile just in the last couple of weeks! And we have been there to celebrate with you. We watched you today as you did leg weights and you increased the amount you were lifting. And even though we were not getting dirty, we celebrated because we know this is what makes you happy. We know that soon, you will be well enough to do everything you love doing (including those things that don't include us). Why? Because you are our favorite runner! You are the most courageous runner we know. We love you and your impossible to fit feet! We were made for you and we are here to support you and your impossibly high arches in any way we can...even if its cheering for you from our shelf in the closet! We love you!
Thank you for taking care of yourself on Valentines Day and for letting us be part of it!!!!
With love,
Your faithful trail running shoes.
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