Anniversary Look Back: Shoes And Socks (And An Announcement)

Continuing my one-year anniversary series, today I'm going to take a quick look at how my feelings about shoes and socks have changed. Hold on to your seats, folks. This is e-x-c-i-t-i-n-g.

So, a few past blogs to reference in case you haven't been reading since the beginning:

1. My feet issues
   
2. When I got my Mizunos
3. Confusion about lacing up
4. When I addressed the sock issue

My feet are still the bane of my existence. I wear strictly flats now and still dream of the day that big ol' athletic shoes will become proper office attire.

The shoe topic is relatively easy. I still love them. And I can finally lace them up without worrying about tying them too tightly (turns out I like them pretty stinkin' loose). It took me until this winter of running around my parking lot to figure it out. I've started seriously considering low-profile running shoes, though. I'll definitely have to give them a good trial run at Fleet Feet before making a decision.

Now, socks? Well, it turns out I've become a bit of a sock snob. I blame my BFF Jeff, who worked at lululemon athletica (with the pompous lowercase company name) in NYC until about a week ago. He got me a pair of men's socks for Christmas (he knows me so well), and they're the best thing ever.

The lululemon man socks I've fallen in love with and man legs that do not come with purchase (not mine).

They're $14. Yeah.

A year ago, I didn't even know there was a proper kind of running sock. A little less than a year ago, I began to wonder what the big deal was and stuck to my Hanes lo-cut cotton athletic socks. A little after that, I started wondering if my sock choice had something to do with the burning sensation I felt on the bottom of my feet. And now? Now I am now hooked on $14 socks. I now have 3 pairs.

To be fair, I bought a 3-pack of these Converse athletic socks back in December with my Nordstrom Rack Groupon (same one I used for my favorite running pants) and they're super comfy too.

The runners up, forever in the shadow of the lululemon socks.

So, what's next for me? What will be my next snotty runner obsession? I'm feeling the need for some special sunglasses, or maybe a GPS watch ...

To be continued.

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AH, I almost forgot! I have HUGE news! Beginning Monday, April 25, I will be participating in another 20 days of Cincinnati Adventure Fitness Boot Camp for Women!!! I'm so fortunate to get to do this again and I can't wait to kick my own ass. I lost between 20 and 30 pounds the first time without much effort on the food front; this time, no holds barred, people. What's even better is that I'll have a buddy this time! My mom's acquaintance, Roselyn, will be sweating right next to me. I love that so many of you have tried it out and succeeded and I can't wait to get back to it.

One small, teensy concern, though. The first week of boot camp falls during the week before the Half Pig. And then I have to go back to camp the Monday following the Sunday run. I took that Monday off work as a planned recovery day, yet I will apparently be at boot camp. EEEK!

So, big BIG news! Who else wants to join in the ABC fun? =)

New Kicks, New Connection

After a three day weekend spent trying to get my new Internet set up, I can finally say that I have reliable service--except when it decides not to work. UGH! Technology and I are not friends right now. We're usually tight, too. For now--frienemies.


But, I hope you enjoyed reading my pre-written posts. At least the one about my weight loss. I've been thinking about it more over the last week, especially after finding a dress that really slims me down, and I'm really impressed with my weight loss, y'all! 35 pounds?! That's a lot! Granted, when you take into account my starting weight, it's like an average person losing 15 pounds, but still, 15 pounds is a lot for an average sized person to lose, right? (You'll have to fill me in here because I have no idea.) So, another pat on my back, please. Thanks. =)


Moving on ... I got another new thing this weekend! NEW SHOES! I was finally able to get out to Fleet Feet and get my monstrous feet fitted for some proper running shoes.


I have nothing but good things to say about Fleet Feet at this point. My shoe fitter (I think her name was Bridget) took a great deal of time with me on a busy Saturday afternoon, all for the sake of finding the perfect fit. I tried on somewhere around 8 to 10 pairs of shoes and took 5 or 6 of them for a spin on the sidewalk outside. She videotaped my feet as I jogged on the treadmill inside and we watched the video back in slow motion to analyze my gait. (Turns out I have a neutral, healthy gait instead of the rolled-out one I thought I had.) I can't believe it; I can actually run in a straight line!



Well, my healthy stride in mind, she set out to find me a pair of really cushiony, comfy shoes. Unfortunately I still had to get dude shoes because my feet are so big and fairly wide. Bridget (I'll just assume that's her name from now on) stared at my feet longer than I did at times. She didn't let me settle for "okay" shoes, which I tend to do with everything because I hate shopping so much. She paid attention to the spots where the shoes were snug and/or loose and found me the perfect pair.


I -- LOVE -- THEM!


Ladies and gentlemen, meet my brand new size 11 2E (men's) Mizuno Wave Inspire 6 running shoes.

Yes, this is a shameless and gratuitous promotion of my calf muscles at a demi-releve. I earned those!

(Actually, I've had the calves forever. I just wanted to show them off like my friend Anne did. And my calves' northern and southern neighbors have shaped up nicely recently.)

I took the shoes for a test run on Sunday afternoon on the Five Mile Trail (I only did 1.2 miles out and back, 2.4 miles total), and they did pretty well! I had a teensy bit of the typical new shoe toe numbness, but it went away before I finished. Then I got that burning sensation on the bottom of my feet ... totally a new shoe feeling too. I'm confident these will break in in no time since they're so squishy. Uh, and they're light! The shoes I was using before are technically cross trainers, albeit lightweight ones. I'm so ready to roll in these puppies. Bring on more 5Ks!

Speaking of 5Ks, I signed up for another one last week. It's the Run to Remember in Anderson Township and it's this Saturday at a nearby park. The course is a little lame, but it's flat and it's in my part of town. Plus it's, if you couldn't tell by its name, a run to remember individuals from Anderson Township who have passed away. I actually have a bit of a distant personal connection to two of the honorees. I went to school with Erin and graduated with her sister, Liz. My mom's former co-worker, Sean, was married to honoree Marty. Their stories, along with the other honorees' stories, are just so heartbreaking. Check out the website to read about them. I'll be thinking of them and someone else during my run.

My honoree

Hopefully it's a happy atmosphere so I can keep it together enough to breathe and see straight.

So, this week I'm hoping to get out and run at least twice before Saturday. I'm glad I don't have to wait until it's late in the evening to get outside, but I'm sad the long days of summer are over. Now I actually have to start rushing home (if I'm not being attacked by a to-do list at work) in order to get out in the daylight. I'll never be happy, huh?

Thanks for reading, and thanks for bearing with me during the Internet debacle.

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!