Good Feet

Life rarely goes just the way I thought it would. Let me paint you a picture with regards to Isaac. He attends two different Mother's Day Out programs, both at churches. One had a "Fall Carnival" (with no costumes allowed) and the other had a "Fall Festival," but the kids could ONLY come dressed as nursery rhyme characters. Well, Isaac chose to be a fire fighter for Halloween this year, so I didn't exactly have a nursery rhyme character costume lying around. And I didn't want to buy one for just one little party. They could be found online (costly, mind you) but not here in local stores.

So, I did what any good mom would do: I made one. By hand. No sewing machine (because I lent mine out ages ago and am, frankly, intimidated by it anyway). I thought "How hard could it be? I'm going to do it simply." Famous last words. I sat in my dining room and hand sewed Humpty Dumpty for THREE HOURS earlier this week.

In goes Humpty to get his trick-or-treat on! Notice the rick rack break line in his shell.

Next I made a beeline for Memphis to go purchase my new orthotics! I was a bit concerned that they wouldn't be "custom," but I arrived at The Good Feet Store and learned that they had 115 varieties, based on the measurements of my feet. I walked across an upside down ink tray that produced impressions of my feet on white paper. The kind fellow said that I had great arches, thanks to my six-year-old orthotics. He said it in a kind of way that indicated "You really shouldn't have such great arches, considering how much you run." Ha!

He brought out two types of inserts, based on my foot length, width and arch position. Detailed, I know. Who needs custom for $200 more? We decided on the lesser of the two (lesser in terms of what they do and how much they cost). He thought the lesser would do a great job for me. He also thought they just might make me less of a heel striker. Now we're talkin'! If that's true, my shoes should last a bit longer.

These will take some getting used to, as did my old ones. Six years ago, I didn't respect the transition time enough and ended up with an overuse injury in my left foot. That resulted in time off and sadness. Here comes the unexpected revelation: I am going to very, very slowly get back to running and NOT be hard-headed and let my feet do what they need to do. I will run "for fun," which is a major change for this "I only train" girl. I might even get out there Garmin-free! I will target a spring marathon and confidently train for it closer to the end of the year. The Mississippi Blues Marathon is not going anywhere. Maybe 2013 will be my year to tackle the hills of Jackson.

Yay for me and my new zen-like running attitude. Quite a change!