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for Ossine Shoes

I have been looking for a good pair of walking/running shoes. For a few weeks now. Because I want to make good use of my Fitness Center pass. And because I get terrible shin splints if I just walk from my van to Wal-Mart. Really!

So here's me, at the Fitness Center: I check out the treadmill for 20 minutes, trying to figure it out. Finally I've got it, and I hop on and set it for 15 minutes. I don't have the greatest lung stamina in the world, but I figured I could handle 15 minutes. So I'm walking along and doing pretty well—for about 8 minutes. And then I feel this terrible burning; not in my lungs, my heart is not racing. But my shins are burning up. I look at the timer; 7 minutes 45 seconds left. I tell myself, "I'm halfway done. I can go to the end." And I look up at the excessively boring and soundless television screens overhead, to keep my mind off my shins. I glance back at my timer when I think I might die from the pain in my legs. Four minutes left. I tell myself, "It's only four minutes—I can do that." And then I find myself checking the timer every 30 to 45 seconds.
"Two minutes left—I can do that."
"30 seconds—I can do that."

When my agonizing 15 minutes is done I stretch my legs as well as I can and then go in for another 15 minutes of torture. And that's all I can do. I hobble out to my car and drive home. It's really aggravating because I want to keep going; get my heart beating; work up a sweat. But my legs just won't do it.

Well, I've tried taking a several-day break, I've tried doing all kinds of leg-stretches, I've tried all kinds of lower-leg exercises. To no avail. Every little walk I take causes my shins and the tops of my feet pain. I began to suspect my shoes, which were bought at that nation-wide seller of cheap shoes. My friend, Kim, echoed this suspicion. She said, "Get yourself a good pair of shoes!"

So the quest for good shoes started. I went to sporting-goods stores and to athletic-shoe stores, and a few others. They would measure my feet—at a 6 1/2 to maybe a 7—and point me toward my size. If I asked a question like, "What's the difference between walking shoes and running shoes?" I didn't get very satisfactory answers.

Today I went to Ossine shoes.

Bruce and I discovered Ossine Shoes when we were first married (maybe even when we were dating), and the store was a little hole-in-the-wall in a strip-mall. It is a family operation, run by a nice Korean man, who sold his shoes for amazing-good prices. We were happy for them when they grew enough to move into their own building.

Well, today a salesman greeted me and asked what I was looking for. I told him my sad story: I need good walking shoes because I get horrible shin-splints and I know nothing about shoes, my experience being limited to Payless Shoe Store.

And he says, "Take off your socks and shoes and show me your legs." No. That's not what he really said. (He's twenty years younger than me; he doesn't really want to see my legs.) He really said to take off my socks and shoes and roll my pant legs up to my knees. That was different; this might be an exciting trip after all. Then he had me do these crazy things that no other shoe-salesperson did; things like stand there, and walk across the floor while he knelt down and watched my feet. And then he measured my feet and said I should wear a 7 1/2 shoe—which kind of surprised me. But, guess what? He was right! He picked out a few pairs which would keep my feet in the right position when I walk, and they all felt fabulous! It was a tough decision, but I finally did choose one and took it home with me. It was far more pricey than Payless shoes—about three times more; but they feel about a thousand times better. (And the price was comparable, or even less, than Foot Locker.)

Yes, I am now the happy owner of some well-fitted, comfortable shoes with arch support and everything! Hooray!

And tomorrow it's back to the gym. Wish me luck!


And if you're looking for good shoes and excellent service, visit Ossine Shoes and Gifts at 7576 South Redwood Road.