The Day Mizuno Responded To My Brazen Advances

Has there ever been a time in your life when you've pursued someone shamelessly?  I know I have.  I have...almost no shame.  It never hurts to ask, right?

I remember one time in college when I had a crush on some dude who was studying abroad.  He came back to visit between his two semesters abroad.  The last night he was there, I professed my love, telling him he "Would be hard pressed to find anyone better for him than me."  

My crush stared back at me blankly and said "Uh.  You know I'm going back to Argentina for another semester".

source

Clearly he didn't agree with my statement that I was his soulmate.  I got sad but it ended up ok.
It doesn't always work out, does it?  But sometimes...sometimes...it just does.


The Mizuno Story

I've been a huge fan of Mizuno running shoes for many years.  To say I've spent thousands of dollars on their shoes throughout the years is no exaggeration.  I like the firm ride, the wide toe box, and the fact that I haven't gotten injured wearing them ever.  I own three different models, the Ronin (racer), the Elixir (lightweight trainer), and the Inspire (stability).

I also love the company.  While I have zero insight on how they operate, I know they've got nice people in charge.  On a whim back in 2010, I emailed the President of Mizuno Running, just to tell him that I loved the shoes and wanted to know a little more about the company.  The dude emailed me back a very thoughtful email and answered all of my questions in detail.   He clearly spent time on it.  Not bad for a busy executive interacting with a stranger.  


A few weeks back, I decided I'd brazenly email Mizuno again to tell them I had a blog and wanted to get more involved with their brand.  They flirted with me once, why not again, right?  After I emailed them, I got a note saying that they'd forwarded my note the marketing department.   I figured I'd get lost in the shuffle and never hear from them again.

But imagine my surprise when one fine morning, I got these tweets:

Mizuno wanted to talk with me!  No unrequited love!!   They said they'd love to get me more involved with them, which pretty much made me the happiest person ever.  And now I have some awesome new shoes and clothes to try out!  Here's what they sent me:

The Inspire 8 (review here).

The Wave Musha (stability racers! review here).

And some new clothes:

I haven't tried either of the shoes (I got them tonight), so I can't review them yet, but I am especially excited to try the new model of the Inspire as it is supposed to be a great update.  As for the clothes, I know I'm going to like the shirt and shorts because they have simple styling that aligns with the way I dress normally.  The sizing is also good for me, because their stuff runs small and also appears to work for someone petite with boobs and hips (uh yeah that's me).

Bottom line, I'm really excited to work with Mizuno in whatever capacity I can.  Frankly, I thought I'd have to be an elite to ever have anyone from a running company talk with me.  I guess you just have to love the product and have a blog with a lot of MS Paint and Picnik edits!  What a dream come true.

So I guess...it never hurts to ask.  Even if that dude from college didn't love me back, my favorite shoe company did.  And let's be honest.  I care way more about the shoes.