hard to part

running in my new shoes today, i felt like i was skipping over clouds, as light as air and as graceful as a ballerina floating on stage. they were invigorating, if you can describe shoes that way. but as i took them off and placed them next to my previous pair of running shoes, i thought to myself: when am i going to get rid of these? and for that matter, when am i going to get rid of the other three pairs of torn-up, overly used shoes that are still piled in the closet?

there's something about my running shoes that makes it terribly difficult for me to let go. they are the physical manifestation of my time spent on the trails - every tear and flattened sole, a reflection of my feet pounding the surfaces in search of clarity. and then there's the pair of shoes that carried me through the finish line of my first half-marathon, and the other pair that helped me beat my race time in my second half-marathon.

i look at all my old running shoes as if they are time capsules, locking in the memories of challenges and triumphs, stressors and newfound freedom. but looking at this pile, i've come to the conclusion that these running shoes are just that - shoes. they are things, not the memories themselves. my heart and mind have already engrained the emotions from my running, and so with that, i'm finally going to let my shoes go.

my dear, sweet running shoes.