You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man.

I think I've been using my razor blade since last July (barring the week we were in Winnipeg where I used my dad's). What's this about? Follow the bread crumbs!

Sooo, a couple of things. I was pleasantly surprised at how funny Gingy (the gingerbread man) was in the Shrek movies. Very funny. Very satisfying. Couldn't ever justify seeing any of that franchise in the theaters. Seeing Shrek the Third (in the theatre), in fact, was the subject of animated discussion between my wife and I prior to our subsequent courtship. I'm certain it was my adamant refusal that planted the seeds of love. So principled.

Anyway, my topic, and I do have one, is running.

My wife and I are non-competitive distance runners. So we do the miles but we ain't breaking any records. We still want to squeeze every last mile out our shoes.

Two ways to save over the long haul with running shoes.

1) Don't be fooled by mild wear on the sole. Just because you see some wear does not mean you have to replace the shoe. Not a big deal. If it's really rainy or icy out, you probably shouldn't be going too quickly anywhere . . . which brings to mind one of my personal chestnuts, "If you're going too fast to control yourself, you're probably going too fast." I think it's true walking, running, driving, or in relationships.

-Sole wear is natural and you don't need to replace your shoes at the first sign of it.

2)Secondly, think about the way you run. Are you a heel striker? Are you a fore foot striker? There are schools of thought that suggest modern running shoe technology has not been good for the mechanics of running. I'm inclined to agree. Instead of running on the balls of our feet, as we're inclined in bare feet or in the shoes you see in old marathon pictures, we have these cushiony heels. These are great for walking but not as necessary or useful for running. If you think of your knee and your ankle as shock absorbers they diffuse the shock of the impact that runs up your leg with each foot strike. If you land on the heel, the impact has one less joint to diffuse through. However, if you land and take off from the forefoot, you're using both the ankle and the knee to absorb shock thereby taking some of the load off of the shoe, which is why you bought the expensive cushioning show in the first place. Anyway, don't answer now, just think about it.

-If you let your body cushion your stride when running, you don't have to spend so much extra money doing it artificially.

If you're thinking of changing anything about the way you run, do it slowly.

Run to the hills.