High Heel Nemesis

Who in the world would ever want to put these hideously ugly shoes on their feet? Certainly not a priss pot who wears high heels just about everywhere she goes!!!

These, my friends, are my running shoes. Before you ask, I will answer . . . no they have do not have any support.

So why run in them?

I've been running for quite a while. I tend to be one of those people who just "wing it." Jon, on the other hand, when he finds something he's interested in, he learns just about everything he can about it.

Last March when he started running he developed really bad shin splints. So bad, in fact, that he thought he had a stress fracture. He immediately started researching ways to help shin splints.

He came across barefoot running.

We'd seen a couple of barefoot runners in races we'd run. I just thought they were the type of people that were "going green" . . . doing away with shoes and all . . . making a statement . . . that kind of thing.

I was wrong.

After Jon researching barefoot running he discovered a few things.

• that is why the Kenyans are so fast . . .they run barefoot.
• barefoot running actually keeps your running form the way it should be. with the bulkiness of a tennis shoe's heel, most runners heel strike, which causes lots of injuries.
• he came across a man who calls himself "Barefoot Rick." This man had tried orthotics and all sorts of other modalities to help with his "runner's knees." He was about to have knee replacement surgery and discovered barefoot running. Not only did he NOT have his knee replacement surgery, but he has run 52 marathons since then . . . barefoot.
• when you have tennis shoes on they push your toes in . . . God designed for your toes to be spread out (Tell that to my high heels:)) and it makes you run faster.

Running completely barefoot was absolutely out of the question for me. I did not want to have glass or rocks in my feet. Jon and I did got out to the soccer fields one day and ran 4 miles completely barefoot. It was great! You felt so free . . . . like a little kid again. But road races do not have cushiony grass beneath your feet . . . you have the hard pavement of the road with glass, rocks, and other debris.

Jon found the best alternative to barefoot running was these shoes called, Vibram Five Fingers. We each got a pair and have been running in them ever since.

Guess what? His shin splints went away almost immediately.

There is a transition period though. I have been running for 8 years, so you'd think my calves were in pretty good shape. Not so when you run barefoot . . . there is a part of your calf muscle you never use when you run in tennis shoes. Both of our calves were very sore for the first 4-6 weeks.

The other thing I love about these shoes? You meet LOTS of new people and y'all know what a people lover I am. People are curious and want to know what these strange, ugly things are. Jon teases me and says, "Even if they hurt your feet you'd still wear them because of the people we meet." He's right . . . I would.

Any questions? Feel free to ask and I'll try to answer the best I can.