Oh I got some new shoes on...

I have a love hate relationship with shoes.  When I was in my shoe unit for college I absolutely hated shoes passionately!  Having to rip the insole out (making new insoles), rip the sole off, pull out nails, adding lifts, adding stablizers, putting them back together, and then starting all over again.  The smell of burnt rubber from the sole of a tennis shoe is not a nice thing to smell.  In fact it was because of my shoe unit that I almost quit my degree (thankfully I stuck it through and had a new love hate relationship with KAFO's).  As much as I complained about shoes during school it was all very interesting to learn that shoe making really hasn't changed since they were initially created.  Working in a store that sells different types of shoes I hear complaints all the time that they are being poorly put together with rubber cement in China, well to be honest that's actually how the soles of shoes are assembled with plain old rubber cement.


After I finished my Orthotic Technology degree I had to complete clinicals which I completed at the VA Medical Center.  I absolutely love that place.  The VA did a lot to help my uncle while he was there and I think it is a great place to honor those who have put their lives on the line for us.  Unfortunately there are non-veterans who have posed as veterans and made it much harder for actual veterans to receive the medical care that they deserve.  Anyway, I worked closely in the prosthetics part of the VA and got to meet many wonderful and talented people... and then I got to work with feet.

Feet now sort of creep me out a little bit.  They are somewhat disgusting.  I can no longer enjoy wearing high heels because I have seen what happens to your feet when you wear them too often.  Let me tell you hammer toe is not a pretty sight and gathering what I got from patients it is incredibly painful.  Don't believe me just look up hammer toe and you may be scared to wear heels the next time you want to.  I have since worn primarily tennis shoes and have come to love them!



My new Saucony running shoes!



Lately I've been thinking of trying to work my way up to running a 5K.  This is kind of a big deal for me since the last time I ran a mile was in 2nd grade, seriously 2nd grade.  I was really good at coming up with excuses to not run during gym class when it came to the mile run.  It is also a big deal because well I'm not sure I am supposed to run because it is bad on your bones and joints.  Crazy to think that healthy things can actually harm our bodies.  With my new goal of course I had to go on a shopping trip to buy proper running footwear and I must say I am very excited to start working on my goal next week.

Hopefully, in the later part of this year I will be able to complete running in my first 5K!  So if anybody wants to run a 5K let me know I can always use an excuse to have to go back to MN.  Or if anybody has any advise on how to develop a training plan (I've found a few by just looking online and through my many fitness magazines) I would love any and all the help I can get.