Little did I know what a mini-furore it would start...
The entry was innocent enough - a photo and comment thus:
4km swim, spot in the sun drying off, latte in hand, watching the boats go by. Seems like a pretty good way to spend our 1st anniversary in Sydney. Only thing missing is Pete - out running somewhere around the harbour.
Facebook post finished we carried on with our day, enjoying the spring weather that Sydney has graced us with. That evening we got home and logged onto Facebook, where I found the beginnings of a spirited debate about, of all things, my choice of footwear.
Get those things off your feet!
Keep them on Toni!
NO - I say get them off!
Never has a pair of shoes so divided a nation as Crocs (or their imitators). Boy was I glad those friends of mine live in separate locations around New Zealand - and on the opposite side of the Tasman to me, otherwise I'd be concerned that they'd come and do a night time raid on my shoe collection...or each other!
Such passion, though, has inspired me - and so I dedicate this blog to the passionate followers of my feet: Jacky, Mel and Jacqui. And likely to the horror of the two J's, I also dedicate this commentary to the ugliest shoes ever invented.
Because they are also the saviour of any athlete - which I found out quite by accident.
I'll call them uglies. And I'm doing this for two reasons. Firstly, they're not Crocs. Secondly, I'm the first to admit they're no fashion statement. In normal circumstances I would never own a pair and, indeed, admit to being one of the "non-believers" who used to look at Crocs and think, who in their right mind would part with good cash for a pair of them.
However that all changed in 2007 when good friends, the Rurus, decided to do this mad adventure which involved them cycling the length of New Zealand as a fundraiser for the Child Cancer Foundation. At the beginning of their trip they were given a stack of NothinZ to sell, the proceeds of which would go to their fundraising tally. NothinZ are like Crocs (but better!) and with the batch the Rurus were selling, you could have any colour you wanted, as long as it was flouro orange.
So being a good friend and supporter of the cause, a pair were dutifully purchased. And little would I know it but a love affair would begin...
You see they are SO comfy on the soles of your feet. It's like walking on marshmallows. And they have LOTS of space around your toes. And they don't care if they get wet.
So how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...
Post-marathon or ironman: When my toenails are mangled and touching them feels like red hot pokers are being stuck in, my uglies will encase my feet and come nowhere near touching my hyper-sensitive nails. The softness of the soles will gently caress the bottom of my tired, aching, blistered feet as I make my way back home.
Tramping: My uglies will hang off the outside of pack, weighing nothing and serving as a fantastic beacon of colour should I ever get lost in the bush. Fantastic to put feet into after a long day's tramping and a welcome change from the day's tramping boots. The colour also makes them easy to spot when they've been dragged away from the tent by a Weka who thought they looked rather fetching...(yes, that really happened!)
Travel: They make great travelling companions - toss them into the bike case where they will be kind to your baggage allowance (weighing approximately 0.01 micrograms) and also act as extra padding for your precious bike cargo.
Swimming: My uglies don't care if they get wet - it's like water off a duck's back. Wear them poolside to stop you sliding around on the wet tile surfaces.
I'm so attached to my NothinZ that I would be absolutely devastated should they be lost or otherwise rendered unwearable. To help the unthinkable, then, I've picked up a backup pair of uglies. The red ones were five bucks, on special online from Rivers. They're good, but not a patch on the NothinZ and so they are my B pair. They do the understudy stuff, things like taking me to the pool, or trips down to the basement.
For my events, A-races, it's the A pair I rely on and the orange NothinZ get taken out to do the important work. Next weekend, after the Sydney marathon, it'll be the orange NothinZ that I'll be dreaming of, from about the 30km mark.
Ugly as sin, but proof that you can't judge a book by its cover.
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