Shoes make the man

I started to run into problems with my feet running track in high school. I was a middle distance runner and ran the 1/2 mile, and the mile. Like all kids I was really excited about the prospect of a new pair of specialty shoes and couldn't wait to put on the spikes that I would be wearing on the track. Unfortunately for me I had flat feet and didn't know it which resulted foot pain and major blisters in the area of where my arch should have been.


After high school, knowing full well that I had flat feet, I was able to pass the medical exam and join the Marines. I was in the infantry in the Marines and the standard issue black boot made me and my flat feet miserable. Try a 20 mile force march with full gear in those boots with flat feet, it isn’t pretty.


Almost 20 years later and my feet have only got worse, now I'm dealing with Planar Fasciitis which gives me an excruciating pain in my left heel and arch. Its worse in the morning and after I've been sitting for a few hours and has been steadily bothering me for about 6 months now. It goes away once you start walking for a few minutes but hurts very much the next day after running, so I haven't been running at all and limit my aerobic activity to walking only.


I'll wear shoes for years until they're talking if you know what I mean. My wife on the other hand likes to change hers out before they start coming apart. A couple of days ago my wife and I went down to Fleet Feet in Santa Rosa to purchase some new shoes. The guy did a good job with the sales process and I walked out with a pair of the Nike Air Equalons, $130. Why am I telling you all this? For the last 3 days I have been running again and while there is a little pain it is nothing compared to what I would have expected.


Get yourself a good pair of shoes, your feet will thank you for it.