TFB Quick Bytes - If our Running Shoes Could Talk

In this episode of "Time for bRUNch - Quick Bytes Edition," Coaches Shelby and Christine delve into a lighthearted and imaginative discussion about what their running shoes would say if they could talk.

Exploring the relationship between runners and their trusted footwear, the coaches share personal anecdotes, insights, and humorous anecdotes that shed light on the unique bond runners develop with their running shoes.

We want to hear from you. Join the conversation on what your shoes would say if they could talk with the bRUNch crew. Join the community here or reach out to us at info@timeforbrunch.com 

Transcript

Shelby (00:00.450)
Hello friends, Coach Shelby and Coach Christine welcoming you in and letting you know it's time for brunch Quick Bites edition, where you already know you can grab your miles with a side of smiles. You can take them on the run maybe midday in the afternoon or a late night snack attack. Regardless of what you're doing, maybe you're running, maybe you're walking, maybe you are commuting in your car, we are glad you turned us on and we're gonna add some fun to this fun Quick Bites.

because we have a very special guest come into the brunch table. They are called Lefty and Righty, and they are our running shoes. And they're gonna tell us what they would say if they could talk, which I feel these might be the most dangerous guests we've ever brought to the brunch table, Christine.

Christine (00:50.103)
You know, the minute that we started talking about this topic in preparation of it, I was like, I cannot wait to ask her what she names her shoes, because I know you name all of your inanimate objects. So do they have, because they're a pair, do they have the same name? Do they have separate names? I just heard you say lefty and righty. I don't know if that's your actual shoes names, but how would you introduce your shoes?

Shelby (01:09.822)
Yeah. Hello, I am Shelby Shoes. Welcome to my podcast. I apologize for the slight odor and dampness, but we just got back from a long run and let's just say we kicked that pavement. And that is their actual voice. Very soothing, very zen.

Christine (01:14.411)
Hahaha

Christine (01:27.471)
Yay. Okay. That's their actual voice. Oh, I like that. Wow. That's so interesting. So I'm sure it surprises no one that mine have a slightly faster cadence and they are definitely not quite so zen, but they are full, chock full of energy. Um, I do not name my shoes. I never ever have named my shoes, but it's really super interesting.

Shelby (01:39.906)
Hehehe

Shelby (01:49.582)
Shocker.

Christine (01:54.651)
that I did once, I was at a bookstore and just thumbing through some books and a book literally fell from the shelf and it opened into the specific, I opened up the page and it was like a little prayer or chant or mantra that you should write on the bottom of your shoes to keep you safe on all of your runs. And I was like, what? This is wild. Like what are the chances that this would happen to open? I know, right? I did.

Shelby (02:14.647)
Huh?

Shelby (02:17.282)
That's a weird omen. You better have gone home and actually done it.

Christine (02:22.279)
Do I remember what it was? No. But I think it was you write something like safe on one shoe, bottom, a sole, and one like sound on the other one. And you kind of just take time to really honor the fact that you're grateful for your shoes, keeping you safe and sound when you're out on the run. And I was like, that's such an interesting way of looking at it. So I did.

Shelby (02:24.290)
hahahaha

Shelby (02:41.558)
Why do I feel like somebody totally ripped that off from Toy Story about riding Andy on the bottom of the shoes?

Christine (02:47.739)
I bet they did. Yeah. They said you had to write it on a heel. And then they said to check often to rewrite the, the whatever the words. And I don't, I just did it the one time. Yeah, seriously. We've got miles to run and our shoes have things to say. So tell me some of the things that maybe your shoes over the years would say, what would your first pair of running shoes say?

Shelby (02:55.343)
Ain't nobody got time for that.

Shelby (03:06.966)
What the F are you doing, girl? Like a little, I don't even, I got these shoes. I can still picture them. I'll have to try to find a picture of them. And they were cute as can be. So not the right running shoes for me. I can say that years later with the knowledge, but they probably would honestly say, what do you think you're doing? This is not what I meant for. Can we stop now? I mean, it would be, you know, fear.

Christine (03:19.323)
Mm-hmm. Right.

Shelby (03:35.938)
from inside out. That's with those running shoes. That's the voice in my head. Very, very standoffish. But I mean, they did the job.

Christine (03:37.216)
Yes.

Christine (03:44.835)
Oh, so wait, do you have like a little bit of fear and then maybe a little bit of inside out disgust? Like, like we were just living our best lives in the closet and now you've made us go out and do this.

Shelby (03:55.238)
No, that's what my new shoes say. All my new shoes start out like disgust, like, um, excuse me, there's some dirt here. Can we avoid that? I actually did have, I got a pair of shoes. They were non-running shoes, so I'm slightly cheating here. But they were so cute. I got such a good deal on them. They were brand spanking new out of the box. So what do I do? I take them for a walk and I step on a frog.

Christine (04:23.388)
Oh, is it, is that my fault? Is that because I put that into the world? Okay. This for this one time.

Shelby (04:24.746)
I screeched. No, this is actually before I even knew you. So you are not to be blamed for this one. For this one. If I do it again, totally, I am sending you the cleaning bill. I'd be like, Christine, sorry. You put the bad mojo on me. But I audibly shrieked. And I'm pretty sure all of my shoes would agree at the same time. And it wasn't. What do you think your first pair of running shoes would say to you?

Christine (04:38.946)
Oh, that's so gross.

Christine (04:44.792)
Yeah, it's gross.

Christine (04:53.991)
I think very similar to you. They'd be like, what are you doing? Cause I think that I just grabbed, I literally grabbed a pair of, I think it was maybe Adidas, like a pair of black Adidas, maybe even, I might be really aging myself. Like maybe Fila. I don't even know. They were like something that I'm sure they were just hanging around and I threw them on and took them out. And I don't remember actually coming back like with a big, huge feeling of

Shelby (05:08.162)
Hahaha

Christine (05:21.975)
success, nor do I come back thinking that that sucked. So, but I do remember thinking, yes, you should like, I think they had dust on them. I really had to dust them off when I put them on. So they had to have been thinking like, is it, I can't, I don't know, finally they get to see the light of day if they were excited about that opportunity, or if it was like, you know, we've just been chillaxing for the past few years. Why are we, why are we doing this now? Kind of wicking them out of their slumber. And I agree with you. It wasn't until actually, I,

Robly had been running in those for about three months before I decided to go and get fitted and learn more about what shoes I should be wearing for the actual activity.

Shelby (06:01.762)
That's actually a pretty decent turnaround from going from not running to three months, being like, I'm gonna go be a responsible adult, because I was not that responsible adult.

Christine (06:10.443)
I ran rather consistently though. And like, does it surprise you that I got like super duper into it? So started reading and researching and all that stuff. So my, yeah, I know. So my research had led me to believe that a pair of new shoes would be helpful with all of like the little things that popped up during those first few months of running in terms of like little nickels and pains and aches. But I was also really worried and I've talked about this before. I was worried that I was going to give up on myself. So I didn't feel like.

Shelby (06:17.967)
You reading?

Christine (06:39.999)
spending money on running shoes because they're not cheap, would have really been well deserved in a weird way. So it was something where I definitely wanted to make sure that I stuck with this efficiently. And that was kind of like my reward was to go get a new pair of shoes once I was done with the specific program. So that was like what I set up. I was like, if I'm consistent and I do my three runs per week for these 12 weeks, I'll reward myself with a pair of shoes. So that's what I did.

Shelby (07:07.970)
You're adorable. I love that. What do you think that your shoes would say, the ones that you wore for your very first marathon?

Christine (07:09.662)
Ugh.

Christine (07:17.003)
Oh my God. First of all, I had a hard time getting rid of those. And I think you now know me well enough to, yes, of course. As I say, I don't like keeping clutter around unnecessarily.

Shelby (07:21.366)
You got rid of them?

Shelby (07:26.513)
Oh, I know. We're so different that way.

Christine (07:30.267)
So I usually will let things go very easily. It's just like, it is what it is. But I did have a hard time letting those go because I felt like, I mean, they traveled so much with me. Like they not only, I mean, of course I wore them during my training. I feel like I connected really closely to the actual part of my long runs and then wearing them for the marathon. Oh, I think those shoes would have said to me how incredibly.

proud they were because those were the shoes that I credit for helping me to rewrite my story. That's really when I started to feel like I don't give up easily. I do have tenacity and persistence and determination. And I think that that was such a very special, they were like my first quill, like for me to repend my story and my narrative.

Shelby (08:19.054)
That was beautiful.

Christine (08:20.423)
I am so cheesy and about that, but it's, it's just, it really is how I feel about them.

Shelby (08:22.702)
I love that. I'm also severely distraught that you got rid of them. I'm not going to lie. Like, it's like a knife to my heart right now because I still, I mean, granted, I didn't run my first marathon that long ago, but I still have them. And I actually did write on them. No lie, I wrote my daughter's birthday and I wrote full send because it was around the time that Molly Seidel was really...

Christine (08:45.703)
Oh.

Shelby (08:51.070)
encapsulating the full Senate. I just I loved that because it was like go big or go home. There was no turning back. And I actually wore them. They're now walking shoes for me, because again, I can't get rid of them. And I actually wore them when I came for springtime surprise. Those were my go to walking around shoes because it seemed very, very poetic that they were there.

Christine (09:08.500)
Awwww.

Christine (09:14.075)
So I didn't get rid of them immediately. And I should say, I mean, that first marathon was over a decade ago. So we'll see if your shoes hang out for a decade.

Shelby (09:22.542)
Challenge accepted.

Christine (09:25.403)
You're going to now go get them like put like the little baby shoes, first baby shoes. You're going to put them in like whatever those molds are.

Shelby (09:31.182)
that's not normal, I think it's normal. It's fine. They don't smell that bad. You can get the deodorizer balls and just throw them in there. But I think my shoes would probably say thank you because that was a rough time and it took everything in my power not to give up. Like I was crying, I was snotting everywhere. It was not a good look, but yeah.

Christine (09:36.727)
Uh-huh, uh-huh.

Christine (09:59.271)
for your marathon or your training? Okay. Ha ha.

Shelby (10:02.058)
pick one and the answer is yes. It was just a really hard season and the marathon, it did not go even. They always say not to go into expectations for your first marathon. And I didn't. But then it just decided to say, hold my beer and really throw everything into the washing machine. Listen, it was there. It was a decision. I regret it. Let's not rub it in.

Christine (10:07.952)
Okay.

Christine (10:22.427)
because you chose your first marathon in Florida.

Shelby (10:30.678)
But yeah, no, I think they would just say thank you for staying with it and believing in myself enough to know that I could make it to the finish line, no matter how horrendous it might've looked.

Christine (10:33.441)
Aww.

Christine (10:43.943)
Do you have, now I'm talking about not your shoes, but talking about inner Shelby, do you not have great pride in knowing that you haven't actually had really easy seasons? I've not heard you say like you had a training season that was like off and poppin' and super easy.

Shelby (11:01.934)
Uh, yeah, no, I have not. I think that's because I do. And that's where I think all of my shoes collectively would say thank you because each pair of shoes I've had has literally given me the foundation to be where I'm at. I don't now that you say that though. Yeah, no, I have not had easy seasons. I probably would say because honestly, half of my running years have been.

Christine (11:03.871)
And yet you come back to it over and over again. Isn't that amazing?

Shelby (11:29.858)
post child. So any parents out there, especially those of young kids or who have had young kids know that's a whole other ball of wax and a definitely another conversation for another day. But yeah, I mean, overall, it's just, it helps me be me and it's worth coming back for. And I do agree though, running shoes before becoming a runner and

seen the value and the merit of getting a good pair of running shoes, I did not spend that much on any shoe. And now it's the only shoe that I will spend money on.

Christine (12:09.143)
Yeah, I would agree. I wouldn't say it's the only shoe that I'll spend money on, but it's something where now even all of my other shoes, I make sure that they're comfortable so they don't impede any aspect of my running. Where before I was that girl who would wear all what I now refer to as sitting heels, which means that you shouldn't do anything but sit your ass down on them. And sorry for using that language, my friends. But that's literally what I wore. I wore the highest possible heels, had the biggest hair.

Shelby (12:29.144)
Haha.

Christine (12:38.583)
all that jazz. But anyway, so nowadays it's all about like making sure that the shoes that I put on, even when I'm not running, are still comfortable enough that they're not going to cause any issues for my running. But I think that my shoes over the years would probably have changed their tune a little bit. They would likely still have a sense of pride. I think that they would have a lot more sense of adventure because they've been able to, I mean, my shoes now have like passport stickers. I've been able to travel the world with them.

I think that there'd be a lot of that conversation of some of the memories that we've had, but I think also that some of my shoes would remind me very gently how hard it is to really work on your form. So I've mentioned it before that I don't think I have a natural inclination to running. And while there is, I feel like I'm much better suited from...

just a body type for other physical activities. Like I really do feel like strength training is more of my jam, but yet I love running the most. So I think that that's something that you would definitely see. Like the wear pattern of my shoes has changed over the years as I've worked really, really fastidiously on trying to be more conscious of my cadence or shortening my stride. So I think that that's something that is always fun to also look at if you think of it as, as we change through our seasons and we continue to work on this very simple at its core sport.

but yet so many little tweaks that we could make to help us improve as we continue to roll through.

Shelby (14:05.590)
Do you ever, and I'm gonna be shocked if you do do this, do you ever look at like the wall, you know when you go into a store and you see like the wall of running shoes, do you ever feel like they're all looking at you like, pick me, pick me, take me home like new puppies? Am I the, okay, I gotta know guys, am I the only one that does that and like thinks about that?

Christine (14:12.079)
Mm-hmm.

Christine (14:17.931)
No, absolutely not.

Christine (14:23.035)
But wait, but, but, but Shelby, I was wondering if we could actually have this conversation and that you wouldn't get incredibly sad at some point because you would want to go get all of your shoes and like have them like right next to you and pet them, maybe create like an animated movie for them. I feel, I feel like we're going to see a Disney or Pixar short all dedicated to running shoes here in the next few months. And Shelby is going to lead that effort.

Shelby (14:40.278)
You make me sound creepy.

Christine (14:53.200)
But...

Shelby (14:53.258)
You know what it is? I think it's because when I was a kid, Brave Little Toaster was a really popular movie. Do you remember that movie? God, okay. If anybody remembers Brave Little Toaster, no, it was not a book. I'm pretty sure I watched this movie before I could run, but it was about a brave little toaster and all of its friends and there was a vacuum and like all the inanimate objects came to life. Wow, I'm really unpacking a lot of my childhood and things are starting to really come into focus and make sense.

Christine (15:00.339)
No. Was it a book? OK, there you go.

Christine (15:21.867)
Well, with that said, as we continue to unpack that, let's talk about a few different statements that maybe some running shoes have said, and I'm curious. You tell me if your running shoes have said this, or you think that at some point they will say this, but have your running shoes said, you know, those early morning runs, I know they're tough to start, but we've built a really super strong bond we've powered through fatigue and doubt emerging stronger before the crack of dawn each time.

Shelby (15:49.096)
No.

Christine (15:49.799)
I'm sorry.

Christine (15:52.443)
I love you. Like absolutely not. So wait, are you 100% camp midday runner, evening runner?

Shelby (16:00.110)
I would say more evening runner. Mid days are hard because it's Florida. It's hot. It just doesn't happen. I would love to be a morning runner. But as we've talked before, just because we would love for it to be one way does not mean that it's realistic. Do your shoes sit there and say, Christine, it's a beautiful day. Let's go and frolic through the grass.

Christine (16:04.063)
Right.

Christine (16:18.767)
Yeah, absolutely.

Christine (16:23.643)
So there's no doubt that when it comes to my preference of running time, I am Goldilocks. I like it to be not too early and not too late, but like you said, we live on the surface of the sun in summertime. So that's not quite possible though. I will say there's some wonderful adaptations and acclimation that can be done or with heat training. I'm not going to get into that. It's a little bit like runner 2.0 for this conversation, but

Christine (16:48.903)
I would say that yes, I do get that beckoning of going out for early morning runs, not as early as my local run group where they all meet like at five o'clock, which means I get up at four and I think that they're kind of loony. I'm usually getting up about the time that they're already running. And I say that looniness with love, like anytime you call a runner a little kooky, I think that it's a badge of honor.

Shelby (17:06.637)
Hehehe

Shelby (17:10.030)
about Sam, like we take a lot of pride in that. And really, if you're a runner and you're not a little weird, are you even really running?

Christine (17:15.892)
You have to be right, right? You should give us a call and let us know. But I think of coach.

Shelby (17:20.046)
I feel like I need your shoes pep talk because your shoes sound a lot friendlier than my shoes.

Christine (17:22.911)
I'm okay. That's a great, that's another great conversation. So do they have more of like a, like, do they, do they backtalk you? Do you're sure they do? They're sassy.

Shelby (17:33.086)
Oh yeah, my shoes are sassy. Like take my sassiness and my dryness and my quick wit and just multiply it basically by two because there's two shoes, so it works. Yeah, no, my shoes troll me. They look at me from the door and they're like, you're gonna go? You're gonna do this? Come on, like I'm just sitting here. It's like that adult puppy that still wants to go, but it's gonna challenge you just a little bit to make sure you know that

Christine (17:45.942)
Oh my word.

Shelby (18:02.818)
You're not topped off.

Christine (18:05.207)
Interesting, interesting. I think that my shoes always come from a place of encouragement, but they're not necessarily as Zen as your shoes are. So there's that, you know, take, take that for what you will. I will tell you that my running shoes, all of them have to be asking me what's up with my big toe on my left toe. Like my left big toe has created a hole in every single one of my running shoes. And I don't know why I assume, cause I, I actually do really get my toenails cut very, very short.

Shelby (18:06.166)
Hehehehehehe

Christine (18:32.623)
Um, for the specific reason of making sure that I don't lose a toenail and all of that jazz. So anyway, but yet I still managed to wear through a hole. So there has to be something in how I'm running in my running gate that causes that left toe to kind of go up there and tickle the inside of the shoe. And I'm sure that my shoe is probably irritated about that and would ask me to stop because I could probably get more wear out of my shoes if it wasn't for that. But that

Shelby (18:58.950)
If only they actually did talk, that would save a lot of time.

Christine (19:01.963)
Yeah, like they could tell me like, what am I doing? And I'm sure that they would yell at me.

Shelby (19:04.686)
Is there a shoe therapist out there? Can we put them on like a soft little pillow and have the therapist talk to our shoes?

Christine (19:09.495)
I'm sure see you would put yours in a soft little pill even though they talk mean to you.

Shelby (19:14.570)
Well, it's so funny. Like I described my shoes as zen, but I guess maybe my shoes are just me. Like I'm zen, but then at the same time, I'm a little sassy, a little feisty. But I do relate to the wear because my right insole always, it has wear marks where my left doesn't. So maybe we're just super rough on our right side.

Christine (19:26.223)
Hmm, interesting.

Christine (19:37.255)
Probably. Well, mine's my left. So together we could definitely do like a three legged race if we ever needed to get tied together. We know that I'll power with my left. You power with your right. We're all good to go. I know. Maybe for the retreat we'll have a little bit of fun with that. Now, I am curious if you have a conversation with your socks as well. Like, do your socks talk to your shoes? Do they say anything in particular? Like, hey, you're so lucky to have me because I'm taking the brunt of the sweat right now or?

Shelby (19:45.782)
I mean, that's not a bad idea.

Shelby (19:50.508)
Hehehehe

Shelby (20:08.190)
You know, as weird as this is gonna sound, I don't know if I've ever put stock in my socks to what they say. I've definitely let the sneakers be the sole... They get all the love, even though I do love my socks, but that's what you did there, but uh...

Christine (20:19.951)
The shoes get all the love. They are soul mates.

Christine (20:27.523)
Well, I think they probably have a little bit of, you can't have one without the other. So maybe next time that you're lacing up, it's good for you to give a little appreciation to your socks as well. With that said friends, we cannot wait to hear from you. What kind of tone does your shoes have with you? Do they give you a motivational pep talk? Do they kind of give you a little bit of sass or feistiness? But we want you to definitely give yourself a high five and a pat on the back and meet us again for our long.

brunch on Friday. We've got so much fun in store. It's dare I say a little spicy. With that said friends, we're gonna keep on keep it on with our running shoes of course, and we're gonna continue serving more miles with...

Shelby (21:10.990)
Some shoe smiles.