No, I haven't forgotten about this blog. I just wanted to make sure that when I returned to it, there would be something really weird for you all to see. Check. Done.
These are what my family calls "Mom's Creepy Toe Shoes". A couple of weeks ago I had the flu. It was the kind of flu that took me out of the office for about a week. It was the kind of flu where I slept all the time and had a fever for three days. Where I lost four pounds, and not from working out.
During my days after the fever broke, I didn't have a lot of energy, so I got to sit on the couch and read. And my excuse for not reading anything school related is that...well...I had the flu. So, I read this book called "Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen" by Christopher McDougall. It's worth checking out, even if you are not a runner. The people in this book run Ultramarathons. We're talking more than 50 mile races. A large part of the book focuses on the barefoot running movement and the science and theory behind it. Not only that, but and you get to learn all about the Tarahumara people.
I'm not sure if I was just still loopy from the flu, but I read this book and thought, "Barefoot running...huh...that makes sense." The next weekend I went out to the track and ran barefoot. Bad idea. So, I took a lead from the book and went and picked up these Vibram FiveFinger shoes. The particular pair I have are made for road running.
The feeling of putting these puppies on is like stuffing extra-large pregnant feet into a scuba suit made for a mouse. You have to slowly inch your way in, because if your toes don't make it into their little sausage casings it just isn't going to work out well. Once on, I have to say - very, very comfortable. It does take a minute to get over the fact that you now have gorilla feet and your toes are splayed out like a tree frog.
As for running in them - I'm a huge fan. The first time I took them out for a 4-mile spin. It took a bit to get my gait adjusted and my feet to figure out that I didn't need to have such hard impact. I could tell my feet needed to get stronger, after all I haven't run barefoot since...well...never. This past weekend I felt strong enough to take them out for a 10-mile run. Still feeling tight in my feet, but on the upside I have not had any hip or lower back pain from the longer miles. I'm not sure if I'm going to run my marathon in them, but I like the idea of training in them and wearing them around. Besides, it's kind of funny to see the reactions people have when they realize I'm not barefoot in the grocery store.
School related news - by this time next week I will have finished all my interviews. I've also decided to get some of the interviews transcribed by a professional - couldn't take doing it myself anymore. This means that by the end of the month I will be coding data and starting to pull this all together. Then I'm going to have to start writing. I'm wondering if perhaps there is some new creepy thing out there to help my hands/fingers so I can type faster and be more natural - like my new shoes. Perhaps these? http://www.handerpants.com/
