Buying Shoes

I have difficult feet.  My left foot is significantly larger than my right foot, so much so that I can't remember the last time I had a pair of shoes that fit properly.  I either squeeze my bigger foot into a shoe that is too small or wear two socks on my smaller foot to have the shoe still flop when it hits the ground.  It's a never-ending battle.  As a consequence I have had a beautiful black toenail on my smaller foot, affectionately called my "runt" foot, for the past 2 years or more.  By the time the yucky toenail grows out I've usually already injured the toe again to reveal yet another black toenail.  It's a vicious cycle of injury and ingrown, and some times infected, toenails.  Yum!

So my husband took me to Flying Feet to buy some new running shoes.  We were prepared to spend a lot of time at the store and were resolved to the fact that I'd probably need to buy two pairs of shoes to get a proper fit.  I tried to warn the squirrely college kid who waited on us that he was in for a daunting task, but he sort of laughed it off.  He looked at my old shoes and quickly chastised me for not buying a new pair many miles ago.  Yeah yeah.  Oh, I forgot to mention that he also chuckled when I told him I'm going to run a marathon, that I currently run 3-6 miles per week, the most I've ever run at one time was 9 miles, and that I got my training plan off the internet from a free source.  I just chuckled back at him that, yes, I know I'm crazy.  Yes, I know I'll probably get shin splints.  Yes, I fully understand what I'm getting myself into.

Anyway, he measured my feet.  He also made me stand on the heat-sensitive board that evaluates your arches.  See, the funny thing is that when they measure my feet they only look to be slightly different, but when I put shoes on all the sudden the difference is magnified.  I don't quite know how to explain that.  He started bring out shoes, and we started trying them on.  He'd scratch his head, go to the stock room, and bring out more shoes.  We even tried men's shoes thinking the size might be between two women's sizes.  He finally acknowledged that I'd have to start trying two different sizes.  Of course, I was thinking, "yeah, silly, I told you that already!"  So the madness went on.  Finally, Greg, the owner of the store who I've known for many years come over to help the poor kid out.  And I must say, that kid tried so hard.  I even stumped Greg, who has been selling running shoes for at least 30 years.  He remembered having trouble fitting me in the past, but never this much.  I reminded him that I've never been fond of running, so a perfect fit was never this important.

In the end Greg said he still wasn't sure if we'd gotten the right fit, but I was satisfied and I walked out with two shoes: a 9.5 narrow for the left (Greg wanted me to try the 10!  I've never worn bigger than a 9 before, even in Nike, which runs small.) and 8.5 narrow for the runt.  Not too bad!  I got the Brooks Ghost, a light-weight, neutral alignment shoe with good full-length cushioning.  Brooks will actually allow Greg to sell two different sizes for just $25 extra charge.  Thank you, Brooks!  However, instead of sending the reciprocal replacement, they send him two full sets of shoes, which is silly but easier I guess. 

My goal in life is to find my sole mate.  Wouldn't it be awesome if there's some one out there with the exact opposite feet?  However, we'd have to share the same tastes in shoes, which would be difficult.  There is a website which claims to match you with such a person, but you have to pay just to sign up - seems a little scam-ish to me.  Maybe I'll place a personal ad: Right Runt foot seeks Left runt foot who enjoys running, basketball, and kitten heels.  Operating room shoes a plus!  If you're out there, call me.

I'm Running A Marathon

I have decided to run a marathon, simply because I want to prove to myself that I can do it.  I have never been much of a runner.  Honestly, I don't really enjoy running.  I would much rather play basketball or soccer or tennis.  Running, however, has always been a part of my family.  My parents both coached track and field at one time or another, my sister ran track and cross country in college, my mom started running again in her 50s and can beat me in a 5k.  My family has entered many a fun run or 5k over the years.  Now I married a runner too.  My husband has completed 8 marathons, basically with no training, and thinks I should be able to run a marathon easily. (Did I mention he's nuts?!)

I must reiterate that I am not doing this for "fun."  Running 26.2 miles is not my idea of fun, but I still want to do it.  Over the course of my 27 years there have been more than a few occasions where I took the easy way out.  During medical school this caught up to me, as there is no easy way through medical school.  The past 4+ years have been extremely challenging.  There have been many times where I questioned my abilities, and frankly lost all sense of self-confidence.  Fortunately, I somehow clawed myself back into the game, and I will be finishing my credits in December.  I will then finish my research project and, if all goes as planned, begin residency next July.  It is "untraditional" to finish medical school in December, which will leave me with 6 months before starting residency.  When I started thinking of ways to spend this time, my mouth said, "Maybe I'll run a marathon."  My head obviously wasn't working that day.

But, the idea has hung around long enough that I've started to think running a marathon is a good idea.  I think finishing the race would give me an unbelievable sense of accomplishment.  The key is that I will have to use my mind to conquer my body's desire to give up.  And believe me my body is going to want to quit after about the first week of training.  I'm not quite at my heaviest weight, but I'm close to it.  My body mass index is teetering at 24, with a BMI of 25 being the medical definition of "overweight."  I'm not particularly preoccupied with losing weight at this point, but that would certainly be a bonus.  I know which parts of my diet will improve simply by wanting to feel better while I'm running.

I am writing this blog as a motivational tool for myself, but I hope others may find it interesting, inspiring, or funny.  I am witty occasionally.  Words of encouragement are always welcome.

So, February 19th is the day.  I will be running the Myrtle Beach Marathon in Myrtle Beach, SC.  Once my loan money comes in I am going to register!  I want to tell you about my shoe-buying experience, but I should be asleep already.  I have to be in Hershey by 5:30 tomorrow morning, so I'll keep you in suspense for now.  Hint: I have a runt foot.