Peek at Fleet Feet Sports

I need more running gear like I need another black toe nail.

Well, except for shoes. One of the two pairs of Brooks Ravennas I rotate between is dangerously close to retirement age, aka 400 miles, and having a pair waiting in the closet could never a bad thing.

(Unless you ask my husband, who will say that it is a bad thing to spend $110 on shoes to just let them hang out.)

But, back to the story. While I'm not in the market for anything specific, I couldn't resist stopping by the newest running spot in the city -- Fleet Feet Sports Fort Wayne.

The store, a locally owned franchise, opened Thursday in Coventry Plaza and has the things you'd expect in a running store -- clothes, shoes, nutrition and accessories. A display of everything a runner could need for Fort4Fitness training greeted customers, and inspirational signs adorned the brightly colored walls to help with motivation.

I flipped through a couple racks of patterned tights and shorts before I reminded myself that I do not need tights. Right now, at least.

I headed over to the nutrition display, partly to see whether they had my beloved salted caramel Gu (they did not) and what flavors of Nunn they offered (many, including Lemon Tea, but not Kona Kola).

While I was debating the Lemon Tea, an employee -- and the owner's daughter -- came over. We chatted about my upcoming race schedule, which includes Hood to Coast, Oak Brook Half Marathon, Fort4Fitness (obviously) and Veterans Marathon. I shared a bit about my training and my goal to eat more calories on long runs this time around.

I somehow ended the conversation by buying a Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bonk Breaker but considered it a win since my total was less than $5 and not $500.

As I was checking out, I did do a bit of reporting and asked whether the Wednesday night pub runs had started. The answer? Not yet. She said hopefully in a week or two.