New Feet

 Meet my new feet.  As I mentioned before, I've gotten back into running.  Or rather slow plodding, but that doesn't sound nearly so glamorous, now does it?

Yes, I got "those weird toe shoes". They're called Vibram Five-Fingers. And they're wonderful!

.  Here's me pouring it all out the last stretch of a marathon.  My roommates and a friend who had done the half marathon and were waiting for me at the end ran the last mile with me to cheer me on.  See me held together by braces???  I've worn a knee brace on my right knee since middle school.  I started the shin splint guards with a stress fracture during training for my first marathon (which I never got to run).  And also notice my left heel is poised ready to take the full brunt of the force of all my weight plunging onto the concrete. 

Now lets look at how God designed the foot... the BALL of the foot is designed to withstand impact.  NOT the heel.  Wearing shoes gives us the notion we should wail our heals against the ground.  But that weakens various muscles all through our feet and legs that we need to run without injury and strain.  Hence those "weird toe shoes."  If I run in my Vibrams with a heel-first form, it HURTS.  So I run with the ball of my foot taking the impact.  I also tend to keep my feet more under me.  My stride isn't so long.  Thrusting that leg way out in front can strain all sorts of body parts... but you can only throw a leg way out there if the heel is hitting first.  It took a long time to shift my form without thinking about it.  Friends who had never run before were starting a "Couch to 5K" program and I joined with them figuring it would be a perfect time to change my form and get my feet used to this.

But the couch to 5K actually went too FAST for me.  I was doing good for a few weeks then got tendinitis and didn't know it until I had REALLY hurt myself.  My wonderful chiropractor got me fixed up and I was out for about 4 weeks.  I ran for less than a week when Prissy Hip showed up.  Prissy Hip is what I named my hip that goes wacko every once in a while.  Usually at Christmas time to be honest.  I don't sit well.  When I sit a lot (as I was doing while dealing with tendinitis or at the sewing machine making Christmas gifts), my hip gets moody and I'm left to waddle with a cane and lay down.  We can hold Aaron responsible because it all started when I was pregnant with him.  So Prissy Hip kept me from running about another 4 weeks.  Then I got sick- out another week.  By this time my friends were leaving me in the dust.  I'm now able to run 1-2 miles a day in my Vibrams with no negative affects. 

And a little girl has been begging to come with me.  So I let her.  No, they don't make Vibrams for little girls, but when her feet stop growing, she'll use them too. 

Its nice to have a little time with just my girl.  She can't run quite as far... well, without complaining at least.  So I do my run then come back home and pick her up for a short one.  Then we do our farm chores together. 

She by far my best 6 yr old friend.  :-)