New Shoes

Part of walking to work everyday is you wear out shoes. It's not a huge deal but from time to time I need to start up a new pair. I have a bit of a system. When it's time to start a new pair I shine them up and wear them at the office for a week. I walk back and forth in the only pair to start breaking in the new ones. It works pretty well. This year I was on a week long course that didn't involve the usual walking so, I just wore them that week and they were good to go.

The thing about breaking in a new pair of leather shoes is you are never really sure where the leather is going to bend. It is a bit different in each place. Sometimes you get a really good crease starting and sometimes it doesn't quite work out.

My right shoe bent very nicely. There are a couple of spots that rubbed a bit differently but it only lead to very mild discomfort. The left shoe is a whole different story. It bent about the worst way possible. A fairly deep crease is folding right onto the inner joint of my big toe and has managed to rub the skin raw.

I admit it's a painful when I start walking to work. After about 10 minutes the pain subsides and I can pick up the pace to my normal speed. I've had to cover the affected area with a band-aid sinceTuesday to keep the damage under control. It's the price you pay for new shoes.

The only way out of this minor predicament is to keep wearing the shoes and continue to break them in. I'm hoping the long week-end will give the skin on my foot a chance to heal a bit so I don't need to buy more band-aids. Eventually it will be back to normal.

I know this is a first world problem but it is an issue nonetheless. Nothing is as comfortable as an old beat up pair of shoes but you also have to look good and sometimes, that takes some effort.