March: Sole

   If only your feet could speak-then again, they probably do, but as with cabdriver philosophy or bartender psychoanalysis, you accept their empathy and ignore their wisdom. After all, you live above your feet; you tower over them. Their advice is simplistic. Such condescension can hurt you. A little streetwise smarts from your feet can save you worlds of trouble.

   Most of us buy running shoes, for example, to quiet the body's grievances. Runners will devote years to searching for shoes that make workouts bearable, only to find new aches 20 miles into a fresh pair. Your feet would tell you that running shoes usually aren't the problem. Foot and back troubles typically arise from street shoes, sandals, office heels, work boots, and the horrible, even absurd other footwear we don throughout the day. You will ease the suffering of your workouts by investing more wisely in non-running shoes.

   Likewise, most of us are suckers for high-minded technical blather. The $9-billion-a-year athletic footwear industry pours millions into researching pronation, supination, movement control, and other variants in foot architecture and movement. Practically applied, these abstractions can point you to generally suitable running shoes. But they're guidelines, not prescriptions. Salespeople will babble this jargon with authoritative gas, often only half understanding it. Your feet would remind you that a salesperson ultimately wants to sell you shoes, not solve your foot problems.

   By the way, does your salesperson run? A quick glance at his (or her) physique will tell you. This may seem trivial, but a runner's empathy is gold for solving pain. Years of agony can be alleviated with only a few words exchanged. When a fellow runner says she feels your pain, she means it.

   Is there an ideal season to shop for shoes? Retailers tend to liquidate inventory during the winter holidays in order to make room for new models that arrive soon thereafter. Sales abound. And because few people give shoes as Christmas gifts, shoe-department sales staffs tend to have a lot of free time on their hands. This is the time to use it.

   Now take some shopping advice from your feet. Buy your shoes in the afternoon, preferably after a run. Your feet swell throughout the day, and you want them fully engorged. Have them measured every time you purchase shoes - and make sure you stand on the still-ubiquitous Brannock Device: no sitting.

   Obviously you'll want to try on both shoes; each of your feet is unique in size and architecture and so is each shoe in any pair. If possible, run - even if it's just down the block or through the lingerie department. Let your toes wedge into the soft recesses. Pay attention to arch support and where the back hits your heel. These are the only qualities you'll be able to test until the shoes are broken in.

   Once you've settled on shoes you like, buy two pairs. It is a law of nature that the moment you find perfect running shoes, the manufacturer will discontinue making them.