A Shoe Thing

Facebook status from today.

 When I started running two years ago (two years?! Yes, two years. Damn.), I was advised by G. the Meanie to get to the local Fleet Feet to be fitted for a proper running shoe. My $25 clearance shoes were not going to cut it for running, so off I went to walk barefoot in a store, worrying all the while if my feet were stinky and how silly I might look.

It paid off, big-time. I was matched up with the New Balance 850...and I happily destroyed my way through four pairs until December, when I was introduced to the "upgrade." And the "upgrade" just didn't work for me.

First, there was the hard-to-explain soreness in the tiny muscles on the top of my left foot. Just my left foot. M. the Reasonable gave me some stretches to do to combat that, and I noticed that the pain only occurred when I was walking--I didn't notice it at all when running.

But then came the blisters. Again, my left foot got the brunt of this, though I'm sporting some tiny, not-painful blisters on my right toes, and there was the mysterious incident of bleeding on my right foot a few weeks ago.

Needless to say, I was starting to get a little frustrated. Then came the shin splints.

Last Tuesday, I noticed them, in the last half mile of my 2.5-mile run. I have had a blessed absence of shin splints in recent months--they used to plague me in a big way in my earliest running days--so when I get them, I notice them and I'm particularly unhappy to see them again. Welcome old friends, they are not. On Wednesday, I mentioned them to M. ("Holy shin splints, Batman!!") and his immediate reply was, "Take a couple days off of running." (G. the Meanie would have told me to push through the pain, but M. takes a more let's-not-hurt-ourselves approach to this.)

I didn't run on Wednesday, and I didn't run on Thursday. I nearly chewed through my running socks in frustration (okay, not really). On Friday I had my regular gym assignment, which included some short, high-incline sprints on the treadmill. I did a bit of treadmill running to warm up, and noticed that my shins still hurt. My sprints were downright excruciating.

Frustrated, I sent a whiny text to my ever-so-patient trainer, and it was decided I should get fitted for new shoes...but first, see how my Sunday run goes.

And then I went out there on Sunday...and instead of kicking bum, I had mine roundly kicked. The first quarter-mile wasn't so bad, but before long, my shins were whining...then yelling...then screaming. I mean screaming bloody murder. I powered through the first half of my course, and then gave in and walked for a minute. In the second half, I alternated between forcing myself to run and allowing myself to walk, and I finished my run almost 4 minutes slower than my usual average time. Needless to say, I didn't feel great, though I was proud of myself for pushing. (Only to be told, on Monday, by M., "This is my fault--I should have told you not to run if you were in pain.")

On Monday morning, M. immediately asked how Sunday's run went. "It was really, really painful," I told him. We agreed it must be my shoes (how tired could I really be with all those rest days?) and I was instructed to stick to the cycle for my cardio until I could get to Fleet Feet for a new pair of shoes. I searched all over Google for the NB 850 old model that I loved so well, but alas, none of the clearance outlets had it in my size.

So today, armed with a little help from Mom and Dad (thank you, guys, you're awesome!!), I set off for Fleet Feet to walk barefoot and not worry one bit about the smell of my feet (after two years, you really do stop caring) and I was fitted for new running shoes. The gal who helped me brought out three possibilities. The first pair felt nice. The second pair, not so much. The arch support was so noticeable, I knew it would bug me when running. Then came the third pair of shoes...the Mizuno Wave Alchemy 11. They are super-light, and they hug my feet, whereas my NB shoes sort of rattled around more on my foot. I admit to being a wee bit reluctant to change a good thing sometimes, and I was unsure about starting over with a new type of running shoe...but these ones feel so lovely on my feet that I can't wait to get out there tomorrow and give them a good run.

I just used the words "can't wait to" and "run" in the same sentence. Meanwhile, the devil just bought a pair of ice skates.

You have to admit, they're pretty!