Growing up in a naked house and not being allowed outside to play, I hardly ever wore shoes. I've been a bare foot kind of girl since forever. Don't get me wrong- I love a good shoe and at one point I had more shoes in my closet than money in the bank (FOR SHAME!) but I'm only truly happy when barefoot.
Last year, when my feet started giving me problems, I panicked a little. Of course I figured I MUST have cancer of the pinkie toe or something and I'd lose my feet. See, I'm what's known as a life-long pedestrian. I have zero plans to get a license or car so my feet are my vehicles. If they break my life is over.
That's how I felt when I got my plantar fasciitis diagnosis in the spring: MY LIFE. IS OVER. I let myself get so fat that my feet could no longer support my body, and something as simple as walking to the bathroom caused me excruciating pain. Of course, it also doesn't help that throughout my life I've worn shoes like this:
and this:
and their equally bad for you cousin, this:
So the podiatrist advised me to get fitted for some really good sneakers and invest in some orthotics, and also suggested some stretches for my foot. She also prescribed some heavy-duty pain meds (which I only took twice and then gave up on) for when my foot was acting a plum fool. And act a plum fool it did, especially during and after boot camp classes. At first my new Asics felt as if they were sent from heaven. It was like walking on clouds. But then they started to feel heavy and ineffective. My feet were still in pain and now my shins were starting to hurt, too.
First thing I did was QUIT boot camp (I already covered that here). But to take it a step further, I now need to replace my heavy, ineffective sneakers with something that will actually make my tootsies feel good. As I started to read more about a Primal lifestyle, I noticed they were recommending people build up the muscles in their feet and go barefoot or wear one of these dorky-ass motherfucking shoes:
I hate them. HATE THEM. They look dumb and I cannot tolerate anything that requires my toes to be separated from one another. THEY BELONG TOGETHER! But then, while participating in Summer Streets with Mari, we came across the PERFECT shoe to simulate being barefoot without looking like a hipster doofus: the Merrell Barefoot Pace Glove.
They are not paying me to say this (I WISH!) but I tried on this shoe and jumped around in it and OH MY GOD my feet were sooooooo happy! I can just imagine how much lighter on my feet I'll be in my boxing class with these bad boys. And Zumba and Socacize will be more enjoyable for sure.
As with everything else that's good for you, these shoes are AT LEAST $100, but they're machine washable and durable and can be used for running, jumping, and even climbing trees! If you buy yourself nothing else this year, I recommend getting these sneakers. Your feet would be so grateful!
*smooches...saving all my pennies to invest in my feet*
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these puppies and I have a loooong journey ahead of us; might as well be comfy!
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