I Have an Addiction!

Yup, it’s true. I mean, check this nonsense out:

My dad used to call me Imelda after Imelda Marcos, the lady who had about a zillion pairs of shoes. And it’s true– I still have a lot. However, I was tossing around the idea of spring cleaning (yeah, probably not going to happen!) and I made the realization that at least a third of my shoes fall into the active wear category.

I’ll own it: this makes me feel a smidgen better about this ridiculous extravagance. I mean, at least they serve a purpose, right?!

Let’s check them out!

First up on this ridiculous list of shoes is all of my running footwear. This is the category that I have been stressing about the most lately. Until now, I’ve always run in Brooks Adrenalines and lightly dabbled in minimalist shoes with the Merrell Pace Gloves and Vibram Five Fingers. The VFFs don’t work for me because of the toes: my lovely feet, among their other issues, have bunions, and the seam on the VFFs digs into one of them. I can wear them if I’m just walking around, but that’s about it. When I made that realization, I switched to the Pace Gloves for 0 drop shoes and have been pretty happy…..I’m just not ready to run more than a mile in them yet because my calves might blow up!

Cycling shoes are next on my list, but luckily, there are only two pairs: my Shimano roadies (right) and my Nike mountain bike shoes (left).

I bought the Nikes when I first started using clipless pedals and those green monsters are the same shoes that I used to cycle across the country. I purposely picked mountain shoes because they have a softer, more rubbery sole (similar to running shoes) while road shoes only have hard plastic on the bottom. This makes your stroke more powerful because they are more stiff, but it also means they can be tricky to walk on rocks (or grocery store floors!) I will admit that I think it’s time to retire the Nikes and get a new pair of mountain shoes…. but it hasn’t happened yet 🙂

Winter is walking out the door currently (!) but I’m still keeping all of my snow-related shoes out just in case! I’m not convinced that this 70 degree weather is going to last!

Randomness, yes? I included my new birthday snowshoes because they have the word “shoe” in them. I figure that counts, right? The rest are basic winter shoes: the blue plastic boot (cause I didn’t feel like lugging both upstairs!) is my Nordica ski boot, the black ones with orange laces are my Scarpa mountaineering boots, and the white ice skates…. are white ice skates. Don’t even laugh about the fact that I have ice skates– I think it’s pretty ridiculous too!

And for the record? Those purple looking slipper things are the most comfortable winter camping shoe ever made! They are all down so they are totally warm but they have a hard sole so you can wear them outside. My sis got them for me at REI and I’ve loved ’em ever since!

Last, but not least is all of my summer hiking gear!I love this category and I get excited every year when it comes time to get up in the mountains!

(L-R): Chaco Hiking Sandals, La Sportiva climbing shoes, and Merrell hiking boots

I’m sure you’re starting to notice a trend, but while I’m not super company-loyal in many aspects of my life, I am loyal to specific outdoor gear companies. There is nothing worse than having a pair of hiking boots freak out on you when you’re 10 miles into the backcountry! (And yes, it’s happened!) I’ve been very happy with Merrell hiking boots over the past 10 years or so, and I seem to bounce from model to model. I bought these last year when I realized my old pair had approximately zero tread left on the bottom!

The climbing shoes are ANCIENT! Like, seriously old…. but I’m happy with them, so why change it up? I love my Chaco’s also, and they are perfect for easy day hikes when it’s 500 degrees outside and I absolutely don’t need full-on hiking boots. I love that they are adjustable too because my feet swell like a mother when I’m hiking all day!

So what inspired this massive dialogue on all of my shoes? I got a new pair, of course!

I told y’all last week that I was selected to be a member of Columbia’s OmniTen. I also mentioned that they had sent a big ol’ box of gear that I was dying to try out! Some remains untested as of yet, but unfortunately, the shoes that I received had been a few sizes too small. However, my mom was psyched because conveniently, they were her size. She’s been strolling around in her new Powerdrain shoes while I anxiously waited the arrival of mine!

And they came yesterday! They are part of Columbia’s new line of spring gear and I am loving the concept although I’ve only worn them in my living room as of now. The shoe allows water to drain so that your feet aren’t covered with sloshing water when you’re hiking around! This will be key for spring hikes when all the snowpack from the mountains is melting. I’m also liking the quickdraw laces just because I’m lazy and hate shoes that come untied. It’s a pet peeve!