I’m the proud owner of a brand-spanking new pair of beautiful running shoes. I happened to be at the Nike outlet the other day and happened to come across an incredibly good deal on Nike Free Runs 5.0: $26. I was then told that I should get three pairs. I’m seriously considering it. Run to your nearest Nike Outlet store (see what I did there?) while the good deals are still there, although there are other brands to consider: Altra, Asics, Innov8, and Underarmour (depending on whether you’re running inside, outside or on trails). Also, you have to consider what kind of sole you want. I’m a fan of the minimalist soles, but it just depends on your feet and body type. For more information on running shoes, refer to this awesome shoe review from Runner’s World.

Now that my feet are now properly covered during my daily outings, I’ll admit that my shoes developed holes in the soles some time ago. But good running shoes are expensive, and I’m remarkably stingy when it comes to digging into my savings. In fact, a few months back, I was running along in my holey shoes, dodging the big pebbles as best I could, when I felt a sharp pain in the bottom of my foot. Assuming that I’d stepped on a particularly sharp rock, I tried to run through the pain like I always do, but it just got worse. So I stopped, looked at the bottom of my foot—seeing as how both my socks and shoes contained matching holes—and found a thin wire embedded in the bottom of my foot.