OK, I'm not really superstitious or anything, but I can't help noting that every single time I buy a new pair of running shoes, I contract some hideous illness, get injured, whatever... that prevents me from training.
This has been going on for quite a few years.
I bought my first new pair of running shoes a couple of weeks before my first race - an 8K in Asheboro North Carolina. Not more than a week into the new shoes I got strep-throat accompanied by fever and the trots. Yeah, I ran the race - but it was HIGHLY unpleasant since I wasn't really able to prepare properly. Still, it didn't keep me from running.
Then there were the new shoes I bought late in the fall season. Within a week, I had a freak accident and fell off a curb twisting my ankle, keeping me down for a week.
Last year I bought a new pair of Asics when I was training for the LA Marathon and blew out my IT band. I'm still not completely recovered from this injury over a year later.
Three weeks ago I replaced my shoes (long overdue) and out of nowhere came an absolutely horrific ear infection (never had one in my life) that was so painful I was taking painkillers just to sit upright. After a truly nasty treatment involving hot water and a high power injection device, that turned into a bad head cold and now, I'm just coming back after two weeks of down time.
OK, it may just be me but I think something weird is going on here. Am I paranoid? Mere coincidence? You make the call. I'm just looking forward to running the next 250 miles trouble free...until it's time to buy a new pair of running shoes! ;-)