Love thy shoe manufacturer

This summer I made a sucker purchase when I went with a friend to my favorite running store, Playmakers, so she could buy new running shoes. I glanced at the trail shoes and then made the mistake of trying these on. Of course it was love at first step; Asics shoes make my feet feel at home the moment I put them on. I was smitten and began training in these to prepare for the upcoming Legend 10 mile Trail Run at Sleepy Hollow Park. My shoes and I had a fine time, so fine that when my road shoes ran out of steam in late summer I switched over to these full time. Unfortunately and to my dismay I put them on one day and the uppers on both sides were coming apart from the sole.


I wrote to the Asics people and explained my situation:

"Hello,

I have been wearing Asics running shoes for at least the past
10 years, usually the 2000+ series, and have been very happy
with the quality and durability of the shoes I have worn.
This summer, in addition to my road shoes, I purchased the Asics
2140 Trail shoes and fell in love with the fit.  Unfortunately,
when I went to put them on today I noticed that they felt a little
funny and when I inspected them further the upper on both shoes at
the inside of the toe box was completely coming away from the sole.
I have never in thousands of miles in at least 30 pairs of Asics
had a shoe(s!) fall apart on me.  Is this a common problem with
this model? I assumed that if anything a trail shoe would be
constructed to withstand the wear and tear of trails and not
literally fall apart.  I consistently replace my shoes at 400-500
miles and then continue to use them as "lawn mowing" shoes but these
are shot.

I hope if this is a known problem that you are doing something to
resolve it as I would love to use the 2140 Trail shoe as a winter
trainer but not if I can't depend on it to stay together."

Sincerely,
Mechelle Kuchar




Not long after I received a response:

"Hi Mechelle,

Thank you for contacting the ASICS America Corporation. ASICS
is very concerned that you were not happy with your recent purchase
of our product. ASICS warranties shoes for two years from the
manufacture date against any manufacturing defects.  I have not run
into this problem with this shoe yet and it has been out since January.
If you want to send it in so we can take a look at it for you.  The
footwear must go through a brief inspection before we can move forward
to make sure that they have not been misused or abused.  Please package
the shoes in a sturdy container and mail to:

ASICS America Corporation
Consumer Relations Department
29 Parker, #100
Irvine, CA 92618

If available, also send the original box and copy of the
receipt.  Additionally, please indicate your address, telephone
number, e-mail address and what the problem is with the product.
Once ASICS has received your package, ASICS will make every effort
to resolve this problem for you as quickly as possible. Please note
that ASICS does not refund direct to consumers.  If a defect is found
we will replace the product for the same or comparable model.

If you live in Canada, do not send you shoes to us.  Please contact our
Canadian Distributor to resolve the problem.  AQP can be reached at the
following 800-567-3405.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me again."

Thank you,

Carol Herrig
Consumer Relations
ASICS America Corporation
29 Parker Suite 100
Irvine, CA 92618
1(800) 678-9435


I promptly sent them off and today received
a replacement pair, but not the pair I
was expecting.  Hello!  Asics GEL-Trabuco Trail 12WR,
whatever all those letters
and numbers mean.

There was no note in the box and I have no idea
why I was sent this pair and not a replacement of the Trail 2140's, but I'm a friendly gal (sometimes) so I'll give these a try. After all they match my new watch and cooler weather but not freezing weather training jacket, quite possibly someone is trying to make me fashion savvy.

Why I rarely post anymore

Yesterday I noticed that my posting this year has been rather pathetic but for good reason. Between the four beauties in the bin of this combine and the combine itself I just can't seem to sit down long enough to get a coherent sentence out.
After I realized how little I've written this year (136 posts last year, 33 so far this year) I decided to try to do better. Then I looked around the office (to save Vinnie's pride and protect his privacy I didn't take a photo) and realized something must be done to restore order. My first task was to clear out the Official Used Car Guides from 2005 so they could join their cousins dating back to the early 90's in the granery.

As soon as I got started on my little office project I got the "farming call" in which I was instructed to fill up four gas cans and meet him at the school where there were beans to be combined and to make sure to take my phone in case he broke down on the way. ALL of our farm equipment is older than me and some probably older than my grandma so running out of fuel is usually the least of our problems.

I grabbed the cash, the dog and headed up town in the Ford farm truck, not to be confused with the Chevy farm *uck (Gibby couldn't say t's when he was younger and it earned itself a nickname). By the time I met Vinnie at the field he was already broke down and I was further instructed to sit it the cab and push levers around while he shoved his arm in little doors and tried to unclogged the belts. Fortunately the combine did not eat my husband and all his appendages were still attached. This grand success brought about an offer to "Go for a round?" Anyone that is a farmer's wife knows that if you turn your husband down for a ride in the combine to see the glory of their labor pouring into the bin is like turning down their plea for s*x. The dog was waiting in the truck eyeing the free newspaper Vinnie found on the side of the road and was insistent I keep because it was free (we already had this issue and I'm sure it was a school board member that tossed it because of the incriminating article on the front page), but I knew better so I said sure with as much enthusiasm as I could muster.

I'm sure new combines run nice and smooth but this baby is from 1967 and it vibrates like a bed in a motel I once slept on where you could put quarters in the little bedside machine. My job tonight was to to keep my eye on the belt that caused the back-up in the first place because "If that thing stops moving it'll clog like a nun's (you fill in the blank because I just can't print what he said)." It didn't clog, we didn't get stuck in the mud, we didn't hit the telephone poles scattered in the field, and we didn't mess up the school yard (even though I told Vinnie our school board is VERY supportive of farmers and he had nary a worry if he did any damage).

We made our round and I was free to return to my dog and the now chewed up free newspaper.

Now the office is slightly cleaner with much less dust and things (really, "things" is the only way to describe the vast amount of stuff found under his paperwork) and I can get back to blogging until he moves onto the next field.

October

I don't know where October went but I'm going to miss it. There wasn't enough "fall" around these parts and I know the snow is going to be flying soon. This month was spent dreaming of German chocolate cake for Vinnie's birthday upon which the children were kind enough to plant 39 candles that he managed to blow out in one breath.
There were also plans for Halloween costumes, candy and the one day a year that I wear my most hilarious and detested race t-shirt. (You just gotta love the ingenious race director or local designer of this cancer awareness t-shirt) And really, I guess I don't completely dislike it, it just isn't practical to wear any other time of the year. It was a one time race so there are very few of these babies out there and I wear it loud and proud on Halloween day!

Happy tricking and treating!

Feckless Friday

It is late and I'm lazy when it is late, especially when I'm on my evening vicodin but after reading today's feckless posts by Abby and friends I had to play too. First, let me note, that I had to Google the term feckless because my brain seems to have difficulty comprehending the word as it appears. But now I get it and I certainly had no sense of responsibility whatsoever when I showed up to the allergy clinic for allergy testing with a bag full of chocolate covered nuts to eat during my appointment. I'm always thinking about my next snack and heard horror stories about the amount of time I would be sitting with allergens injected under my skin waiting for a reaction. So I brought protein, in the form of nuts, to an allergy clinic.

Fergie Days

There is nothing like having man's best friend on your side.

Fly Guy

Summer flew in and out this year in more ways than one. The older I get the quicker time really does seem to move, I always thought old people were making that up, but they weren't.

Bridge Run 09'

I don't know if I'll ever get around to doing justice to the 2009 Bridge Run. The whole weekend was amazing, from dinner on Friday at the Ugly Bar to eating 5 slices of fudge on way home with cousin Gary. The view was not something that could be captured on film-the sun rising over Mackinac Island on my left with moon on my right. Go here to check out fellow ambassador and Bridge Runner Sarah's photos (You can see me in the group with Governor Granholm, and the back of my head on the bridge with the blue hat on). She ran with her camera.




I met Bobby Crim at the spaghetti dinner where he gave a very motivational speech about staying fit for life and ended his talk as he jumped up and sat on the table with his legs spread apart and touched his forehead to the tabletop. He is 78 and ran the bridge with us.


A view from our hotel room as walkers are crossing over. Getting up at 4am was a challenge but the payoff was being done first and getting to gawk at everyone else.

The crowds coming over the bridge.

The grumpy runner that didn't smile when fellow runner Tim made a joke in the porta-john line.