The Right Foot Forward

They say when you're working toward a healthy lifestyle you need to give yourself everything you need to succeed. That usually means buying the correct foods to eat - which I have been doing - but today I treated myself to two new pairs of shoes to help me become a better athlete. Or at least help me look the part.

When I was in high school I ran Cross Country for one year before I moved to New Jersey. It sucked and I sucked, but I did it and I actually got to the point that I could run for more than 45 minutes on hills and terrain without stopping. (Not too bad for a couch potato with a career record of 15 years being idle.) However, I was always brought down by an incessant obstacle: my feet would become numb when I was running. That similar feeling when you cut off the circulation and your feet "fall asleep."

My entire running career revolved around my feet falling asleep at about the second mile in to the workout. It affected every time I tried to run for distance because it was either uncomfortable or I'd have to take my shoes off to let my feet "breathe" and return to normal. In short, it was a pain in the ass.

Finally, FINALLY, I went today to get a new pair of running shoes and a pair of shoes for CrossFit (they're Inov8's and they're amazing). I felt silly explaining to "Megan - The Sales Girl" that my feet fall asleep and thankfully she understood what I was saying and had a solution: I had wide feet and my shoes weren't fitting correctly.

After trying on a few pairs I found my favorite: they feel like I'm walking on Fluffernutter. They're light weight, comfortable and the best part is they don't feel tight. Hallelujah!

Tomorrow is the first tryout for the shoes so wish them luck. I've always wanted to say "I'm a runner" and really mean it. Perhaps buying myself a new pair of kicks will be the gateway to reaching my second fitness goal of running a half-marathon in the next year or so.

To Be Continued...