OMG Shoes

Helloooooo! As promised, the shoe post is here. Well, it's about shoes and feet. Anyway, it's below.

FIRST ...

I totally just completed Day 1 of Week 4!!! WEEK 4!!!

• Warm up 5 minutes
• Run 3 minutes, walk 1.5 minutes
• Run 5 minutes, walk 2.5 minutes
• Repeat the run/walks
• Cool down 5 minutes

That's right, I said RUN 5 MINUTES! I did it! Ah I was scared I couldn't do it, but I totally kicked those 5 minutes to the curb. Okay, maybe I toed it inch-by-inch to the curb, but it got curbed ... twice. POW!

Second, the new headphones are phenomenal. Love them. They're loud enough to drown out every bit of my breathing. Faaahhh-bulous!

Third, I registered for the Big Brothers/Big Sisters WCPO/BigK 5K today! Yay another run! Yay for getting gross and sweaty in front of work people!

Fourth, the little old man who walks faster than I run was at the park again tonight. Apparently he's been there every night for the last 11 years. How do I know? Because I got up the nerve to ask him for a picture when my workout was finished! Here he is ...



After this shot he asked me back to his truck to look at a picture of him. No joke. I, of course, accepted, like the genius I am. Don't worry, I pulled out my car key and held it firmly between my fingers like a good, safe citizen and stayed about 5 steps back from his car. Really, he wanted to show me what he looked like before he started running ... before he lost 94 pounds and kept it off for 11 years by walking and running at Veterans Memorial Park. He then showed every middle-aged woman who was finishing or starting her workout at that moment, and they all seemed to know who he was. I guess he has been exercising there for a long time. I thanked him for the photo and for sharing his story and for his encouragement (he said I could do it too, and to drink lots of water), stretched out and went home. That was awesome. Good night, I'd say. =)

*****

Okay, now onto an important topic: shoes.

Did you watch the videos? Did you love them? Or, are you now seriously worried about me? All three, probably.

I'll just dive right in ...

I have heinous feet. They are big, wide, and oddly shaped. And no, I’m not exaggerating. The prettiest part about my feet is my first tattoo, perched boldly atop my right foot, and even that’s subject to preference.

"My Right Foot, " by Carrie at Hybrid Image Tattoo and Body Piercing.

So, these feet ... how big? How wide? How oddly shaped?

My current running shoe is a men’s 4E 10.5. If I’m lucky, I can find women’s dress and casual shoes in 11 or 12 wide, but sometimes those are even too snug. I don’t think my running shoes fit perfectly, though; I’m probably better suited for a 2E because I’m starting to slide around a bit.

So yeah, long and wide feet. They’re also quite flat on top and high toward the ankle. I have a high arch, a protruding “ball,” and surprisingly no bunions or whatnot. I also have a Morton’s toe, which apparently means I’m some kind of royalty, but to me it means that it’s hard to get shoes to fit just right. All this crap, combined with the weight I’ve been carrying around since I was a wee one, means that my feet hurt a lot. Fortunately I don’t have plantar fasciitis or anything (not to my knowledge), but I’m still always considering my foot comfort.

Lastly, I have weak ankles and my feet roll outwards, or under pronate (over supination). Yay fun!

(My mother apologizes for passing along the big-and-wide-feet gene, but I think I’ll forgive her this monstrosity. I’d much rather put the blame on a more deserving party—like my old gym teachers. Yeah. Stupid gym teachers.) The moral of the story is that finding shoes is really difficult. Finding athletic shoes is a little easier, but they’re usually men’s shoes and extremely unattractive. I ruin running shoes quite quickly, too, because of the under pronation. (Rolling out + obesity = shoes that break-in to a rolled out position = sore ankles from lack of support.)

The shoes I have now are sadly dying. I’m starting to slide around in them a lot and I can tell the foam is starting to squish up on the outer edges. I like these shoes! They don’t pinch me or make my toes fall asleep or rub my heels the wrong way. I like them so much that this is my second pair of the exact same shoe. Unfortunately they don’t make these shoes anymore. It’s probably a good thing since they’re cross trainers (really light cross trainers, though).

I fully understand that I need to go to get professionally fitted for new shoes, but this is so painful, people. Shoes are expensive. Plus I realize I probably need some kind of insert and they’ll wear out soon anyway and … ugh! Stupid shoes.

Oh, AND I’ve already tried the experts. Sometime in January 2009, I dragged a friend of mine to Bob Roncker’s Running Spot in O’Bryonsville. (That was my first real itch to try running, by the way. I think that’s when I first tried C25K and gave up on it immediately.) A man there (quite possibly Mr. Roncker himself) listened to what I had to say about my feet issues (including my frustration with breaking shoes in too quickly) and my desire to start running, and sold me a pair of $120 running shoes. When I started working out at my gym that March, it was clear the shoes were not right. There were men’s 11s, I think, and normal width for men (D). They were ugly, first of all. They gave me blisters on my heels because the backs were so high. They made my toes go numb. They pinched the sides of my feet. And, of course, they broke-in really quickly and started to slant to one side. Gah!

$120, meet the toilet.

So maybe you understand my hesitation in trying this again. I just don’t want to throw that money away again.

There are a few differences this time around:

1. I’m actually a runner now and kind of know what I'm talking about.
   
2. I won’t leave that store until I’ve run all over the place in the shoes.
3. The sales person WILL watch my gait and WILL look at my old shoes to figure out what my needs are.
4. I WILL bring shoes back if they don’t do what I want them to do.
5. I’m going to try Fleet Feet in Blue Ash instead of Roncker’s.

So, what do I want to hear from you today?

I want to know what your feet issues are and how you’ve dealt with them. Also, most importantly, have you worked with someone at Fleet Feet who is super knowledgeable and friendly and actually listens? If so, please tell me so I can make sure I deal with that person. Thanks for reading about the most disgusting topic in the word (feet), and thanks for any advice or stories you have!