After some wrong-address faffing about (I’m actually not in Rochester, Minnesota this winter), I received a couple of new pairs of running shoes yesterday. I mentioned some time ago that I’ve stopped regularly patronizing the two more-or-less local running shops I had sequentially given my business to. One began taking me for granted; its service became perfunctory. The other had assumed from the start that this chubby old guy must be entirely ignorant of the sport. I’m not sure which was more annoying. At any rate, I am now a satisfied customer of RoadRunner Sports.

With this order, I took two steps forward and one step back (in time, at least). First, along with the shoes, I ordered a new reflective vest for early-morning shuffling. This Nathan Streak is vastly better than the ancient, stiff old thing from the ’70s that I’ve been using.

It’s got velcro attachments instead of tie cords (which inevitably came untied), and it’s really light and flexible. I won’t even know I’m wearing it. Cars, I hope, will.

I’m on something of a shoe quest. I’m hoping to find something a little less elderly-feeling that still protects my aging dogs (and ankles, and knees, and legs, and hips, and back…). My second step forward, the Asics Speedstar 4 is a lighter, less padded, trainer that may turn out to be more shoe (or should I say less shoe?) than I can handle at this stage of life. But, although red and black is not exactly me (though I’ve worn worse), I want to try something a little lighter and firmer on my feet. We’ll see.

The step back is a pair of Asics’ obsolete but decent (for me) GT 2110, an earlier, somehow less ploddy-feeling model of the 2030s I’m wearing, but not enjoying, now. One of the good things about RoadRunner is that they seem to maintain a large supply of runners’ former favorites.

So now it’s on to the usual new-shoe ritual: stripping out the cheap supplied innersoles; replacing them with simple Spenco slip-ins (to be topped by my orthotics at shuffle time); lacing up a pair of LockLaces, the gimmick that ain’t; and shuffling the whole package out to the nearest mud puddle or pile of mung to anoint them.

The best thing of all is that H will be here by the middle of this coming week, and I’ll be able to test these new platforms out with her. Even a disaster will be a joy.