Training
Training Blogs
Feet of endurance
February 2, 2010By Rebecca Gardiner
Day 19 of 130
Ks covered: 112
Ks to go: 990
General mood: Need a nap
Running highlight: 10K in 58min
Equipment status: New shoes and orthotics still in box waiting for test run
Body status: On the mend
Cows should be nice to me, because I could kill the beef industry just by taking my shoes off . Seriously, one look at the gore below my ankles could turn anyone vegetarian.
OK, I’m exaggerating, but there’s a reason runners’ feet don’t have the same aspirational status as dancers’ legs or NBA players’ biceps. The wear and tear of running renders them, perhaps forever, slightly below tennis elbow on the anatomical hierarchy.
And my feet? Well, let’s just say that if feet are soldiers in the war of running, mine look more like grizzled veterans than the clean-cut graduates of West Point…albeit they do point west, when I want them too.
True, there are good things about my hooves. Mostly, it would be really, really hard to run without them (although not impossible aka running legends Oscar Pistorius and Terry Fox). They do help with balance and, give them a little polish and I’ve heard some can even look pretty. Talk to a podiatrist and they’ll tell you feet are important for spine alignment and stuff like that. And believe me, I have talked to a podiatrist or two in my time. The most recent looked at my feet and simply said “Woa.”
When asked for a more detailed analysis, he explained that on a scale of 1 to 10, (10 being the worst he’s ever seen) my feet are a 9.2 for over-pronation. Not a test you want to ace. Actually my feet are a minor obsession. Running has turned my toenails black and during one phase I spent so much money on my ripped-by-orthotics-feet that Johnson and Johnson started sending me shareholder communications.
Currently, I run with a disintegrating pair of 10-year-old leather “walking” orthotics. In fact, I’ve worn them for the past week as I walk past the new “running” ones sitting untouched by my back door. The trepidation of having my feet broken in once again is almost too much to bear.
But maybe it’s time for a more radical change. Science says I should skip the orthotics and sneaker combo altogether and go for a pair of high heels. So what if that pair of Manolo Blahniks breaks both my ankles? My feet will feel awesome — move over Carrie Bradshaw! Or, I could go truly Kenyan and train barefoot. Recent studies tout the benefits, but I’ll be honest, I’ve grown attached to my toes so the frostbite may not agree with me.
Ultimately however, my feet get me there, one step at a time - unless I fall over, which happens roughly twice a season - so I am proud of them, and the whole litter of piggies. Since I last wrote, they’ve pounded through another 29K. So what if they look like gas-station jerky - they’re far enough away from my head that, at dusk, if I squint when I look at them, they seem just fine.
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Rebecca Gardiner
By her own admission Rebecca Gardiner is a very average runner, committed to proving you don’t have to be serious to go seriously fast - maybe. Will she ever make it out of the back of the pack? This blog-for-the-everyman is packed with death-defying feats of endurance, record-breaking attempts -- and occasionally some actual running.
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Thanks for sharing Rebecca!
You’d think the cushioned-barefoot-bigmoney-chi-sockless-posing-webfooted running scientists would all get together and get their stories straight. I don’t know what I’m supposed to put, or not put on my feet any longer.
The good thing is, I just received a very informative personalized newsletter in my email guaranteeing I could lose 20 pounds (for only a $100) just by taking their amazing herbal supplement. I’m, so glad there is real science being done out there on our behalf.
I’m positive that if I can get down to about 115 pounds on my 5 foot 10 inch frame, I’d have to close to being Kenyan fast.
Don’t forget to tie a pork chop around your neck on your training runs until you get those orthotics sorted out, it will help keep any stray dogs away from your feet.
’til next time,
J.
Great post today….I too get bad feet which can be quite embarrassing in the summer time but I take solace in knowing that they may not be pretty but MAN can they run KM’s….Little things like painting my toes, taking a pumice to them and putting cream on before bed have made a noticeable difference over time. As for orthotics I recently moved to ” neoprene” orthotics which are AMAZING! They don’t smell, they are soft on my feet and they absorb moisture….Something to look into perhaps.
Keep up the great running..And remember, love your running feet and they will love you back :o)
This is giving me deja vu.
I published an article on AOL today about fitness fashion and mentioned that I have $15 socks for running, asserting that they were worth it.
Well, I got raked over the coals by some anonymous posters, saying I was “elitist” and a “show off” for spending so much on socks.
Exactly how expensive socks make me a show off is beyond me.
Anyway, this isn’t supposed to be about me. My point was that I really love my expensive socks because they sure make a difference to my feet.
James
3 things:
1. Black toe is cool.
2. A pedicure is the best reward for a 29K week. And if your toenails are a pretty colour, you won’t even notice that the rest of your foot looks like chopped liver.
3. OMG, you are 10% of the way through your training already!
I thought I was the only one! Preach on, my Canadian sister!
I agree with James: the $15 socks rock! I have a few pairs of expensive running socks that have lasted me years — probably only pennies per run.
haha - loved today’s post! I looked down at my feet last night to see a) some pretty brutal callouses, b) one black toenail that is likely to fall off soon and c) some lovely sneaker “marks”.
I too have some insoles that my physio says I must put in but the thought of breaking them in frightens me so they are sitting NEXT to my new shoes (also not yet broken in - the old, falling apart shoes being just TOO comfy!) staring at me.
Nice to relate to this post!
I love your blog - So inspirational!! I have never run a marathon… I have never run a half-marathon… I ran a third once
and then didn’t run for two years 
Oops!!
I am just getting back into it and will be running the half in Ottawa (bucket list item #3 - run a half before I hit 40). I look forward to reading your blogs and realizing that my own aches and pains can only be half as bad as yours (since I’m “only” doing a half) and since you are able to take the aches and pains in such great stride, I might as well just suck it up and get on with it! Thanks for keeping me entertained and motivated!