R.I.P., Red 2006 Mizuno Wave Rider 9s

You were strong, loyal sneakers, braving the mud and the rain, the scorching heat and the pounding you took on the pavement of New York and Boston, all to run with me. You withstood scores of training runs at dawn and dusk, ferried countless ChampionChips and my faithful Road ID, and made a crucial return to service when your counterparts, the purple 2007 Mizuno Wave Rider 9s, were cruelly decimated by an ill-conceived decision to wear them through the muddy downpours of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and then take to them with a blow-dryer -- a beating from which they never fully recovered.

This morning, you came through in the clutch one last time, carrying me to a new personal record in the second annual New York City half marathon at 2:04:55 -- surpassing our last performance in the NYC half by fifteen precious seconds! And thus, it is with a heavy but grateful heart that I send you to your retirement, passing the Road ID to the brand-new Mizuno Wave Rider 10s.

Red Mizuno Wave Rider 9s, you will always fill a special sneaker-shaped place in my heart, second only to my 2004 pink Mizuno Wave Precision 3s in which I ran the Cape Cod Marathon...and that's really saying something.

Lay down your laces, red 2006 Mizuno Wave Rider 9s, and rest at last.