I have finally replaced my walking sneakers. I got a snazzy new red and white pair that I wore home from the store like a kid. Suddenly the gray and yellow ones that have cushioned my feet for hundreds of miles seemed hideous. I'll save them for yard work now.

I remember in Jr. High that new white sneakers were embarrassing. I would scuff them up intentionally. I think the whole world's attitude toward athletic footwear has changed in the last 25 years.

I bought my old sneakers over a year ago in Texas with my friend Julie because we were training together for the Avon Marathon Walk. We bought matching shoes. What an event that was. Besides the weekend with my dear friend and hours of uninterrupted time to visit, what made the Avon Walk memorable was the rain.

It was raining at dawn when we were gathering at the starting point, listening to the poignant speeches of people walking in honor of breast cancer survivors and victims. It was raining as we slogged through so many puddles that we quit trying to walk around them. It was pouring as we ate our boxed lunches like hobos hunched under plastic rain ponchos. The rain let up for a few hours in the afternoon when we hobbled into the medic tent, Julie with a stress fracture to her foot and me with my throbbing knee. We limped into the tent city at Catholic University with ice packs taped to our injuries and were assigned a puddle as our tent site. After showers in a truck and dinner in the mess tent, we turned in for an early evening just as the rain returned. The wind rattled our tent and the rain soon began dripping in. Our injuries stiffened and we made a pathetic, limping dash to the latrines in the night in the downpour. The latrines were dry and warm. I started to fall asleep in there. Julie opened my door to check on me. How bad is it when the latrine in more comfortable than the tent? Thank goodness we had air mattresses because we woke with standing water in our tent and spongy sleeping bags.

So those are the sneakers I've replaced. The salesgirl scolded me for having used them so hard. She told me to never go that long without replacing again. Even though they were completely used, I hate to get rid of them entirely. Those shoes have walked through some great stories.