Me and Connie and our racing flats

I found myself telling this story to some friends during our Wednesday morning sojourn at Lake Medina. So now, I'll tell it again here. It's an oldie but goodie.

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The year is 2010. I'm working at Second Sole Medina with Connie Gardner. She had ordered a pair of yellow (with sparkly laces) Mizuno Ronin 2 racing flats and is excitedly trying them on. "They're way too big," she exclaims. We determine that the shoes are sold in unisex sizes; women's are 1 1/2 sizes smaller than the corresponding men's, so they would need to order them accordingly. But since Connie didn't know this, she is now stuck with big shoes. She begins to consider whether and how to return them.

"Just for the heck of it, let me try them on," I say. And they fit like gloves. 

I don't usually wear racing flats. I consider myself too big and lumbering for them, and I figure I need the cushioning and support that normal training shoes provide. But I figure that in this case, I'll make an exception: "I'll buy them from you," I say. They definitely are comfortable, and who knows, maybe they'll help me run faster.

"You have a half-marathon coming up, right?" she asks. "Stomp the Grapes, this Saturday," I answer. "Wear them, and if you can run a minute faster than your last half, then I'll let you pay me," she says.

Wait a minute. This is just the opposite of the type of incentive that I would have thought up, had I been in her shoes (so to speak). I would have thought that if I run well, I should get them for free, and if I run poorly, that's when I should have to pay.  As it is, you might call it a negative incentive. 

Yet I'm not really surprised. I just consider it 'Connie logic.' If I run well, I will earn the right to pay her and keep the shoes.

What happened, you ask? You can read the old race report by clicking here, but I will summarize it by saying that I did indeed earn the right to pay Connie.

P.S. Funniest part of all: I STILL HAVE THE SHOES! I wore them for a few races back in the day, then placed them in the garage where they became buried by other old running shoes. They appear to be in very nice shape and still fit like gloves. The laces even still sparkle. But I most likely won't be wearing them again anytime soon. I'm even more big and lumbering than I was in 2010.

The laces still sparkle