Hey! Guess what! I ran my first 5K (3.1 miles) race in years! In the pouring rain! And WON!! Out of all the females! In my age group! (don't ask which age group)
Pretty neat, uh?!
How many female runners in your age group were there, you ask?
Um.
One.
But still . . .
It was my first race wearing those really weird looking shoes with the individual toes. I know - but this is how it happened. I'd been having really bad knee problems (do NOT insert 'old woman' jokes here) and I read that the regular running shoe, you know, the NORMAL shoes, that 'everybody else on the entire planet except my weird mom' wears, the ones with the cushion for the heels and the insole for the arches and the gel for extra padding and the sleek design, just to look cool - well - according to -yes - quite a lot of people - okay - say that those shoes can actually cause some leg and foot pain. They are just not natural. They say that God made us barefoot, so why don't we just walk around the world with the feet God gave us? Well, these people - even weirder than this mom - started running - racing - without shoes and they started having less and less pain in their legs and feet. So I thought I'd give it a try. Couldn't hurt, right??
Now, barefoot running has been around for - well - FOREVER of course - but not too many people especially since NIKE - race without shoes. Too - well - weird I spose. But one guy liked the idea of barefoot running, but he must have lived say, in South Dakota, on a gravel road and tried to run in January or something and after that clearly didn't work, thought there has to be a better way. So he made this wacky plastic thing shaped like a foot molded for each toe, attached a mesh thing over the top, added Velcro and Eureka! The 5 Finger Shoe was born. And it's really gaining in popularity. And you become Mr. or Mrs. or Miss (or Ms.) Popularity just because of the looks, giggles, stares and smirks, and at least a half a dozen 'are those comfortable' comments every time you wear them. If nothing else, it's a great way to start a conversation, right?!
And I have to say, I have had no more pain in my knees since I started wearing them. And I am totally serious. Well, except for the three days when I decided to run in my regular running shoes again and instantly the pain was so bad I could hardly walk up and down the stairs. So, I'm a convert. A very weird looking one, I'll admit. And my children (well, a couple of them) are completely mortified and totally embarrassed - but hey. I did win a race wearing them, so there. ;)
