A Lesson in Orthotics
About five weeks ago, I took up running. I do it about 4-5 times a week now, and I absolutely love it. Now, I'm not in the marathon running league quite yet -- I have a ways to go -- but I can hold my own. Anyway, in about week two of running I noticed that after 20 mins my left foot would start to hurt right at the bottom of my foot. Then in week three, my right foot would also hurt after 30 mins. Conclusion: I needed new runners.
I went to my local Running Room where they examined my feet, and watched me walk a bit. The sales lady told me that I have flat feet, and that I pronate (sic?). She then brought out pair after pair of runners, until I found a pair that felt right. I settled with Basics GT2100's, a mere $150 (plus tax).
After breaking them in a bit, I took them out on their maiden run...and what a difference! I could run farther and faster, and the feet didn't hurt. Now I could finally experience the "runner's high".
When I bought those runners, it got me thinking more and more about my feet. I spend a minimum of 10 hours a day, 5-6 days a week wearing high heels. Obviously, not good at all for the feet, the knees or the back. Conclusion: I needed orthotics.
Went to a doctor, got my feet checked out with this cool scanning thing and they sent my scans off to a lab where my orthotics could be made. Two weeks later (yesterday), I have orthotics to put into my high heels.
When you get a set of orthotics, they come with some instructions. The instructions say that you should not jump right into wearing them all day, instead you should start out by wearing them for 30 mins then an hour and so forth.
I like results fast, therefore I decided I would wear my orthotics to work. I also decided that if they got too uncomfortable, I would take them out in the middle of the day. First mistake: wearing them to work. Second mistake: actually thinking I would have time to take them out, when I usually don't even have time for a washroom break. In my great wisdom, I headed to work wearing a brand new pair of orthotics.
As the day progressed, I could feel that my left ankle was getting a bit sore. Today was one of those days where I had so much to do, and not nearly enough time (ok, so that's everyday). Needless to say, I did not get a chance to take them out and I ended up wearing them for almost 10 hours today.
At the end of the work day, I changed into my running gear and went to my favourite running place. As I was warming up, I could feel the soreness in my ankle a bit. I didn't think anything of it and went on with my regular routine. When I started to run, the ankle started to scream. I could not run for even five minutes today! I was so disappointed, I had to walk my run route and it felt so...wrong.
As a result of this fiasco, I have not been able to destress. When that happens, I can't get to sleep at night. I will be up all night long, thinking of the lesson I learned today:
The instructions are there for a reason...follow them.
I went to my local Running Room where they examined my feet, and watched me walk a bit. The sales lady told me that I have flat feet, and that I pronate (sic?). She then brought out pair after pair of runners, until I found a pair that felt right. I settled with Basics GT2100's, a mere $150 (plus tax).
After breaking them in a bit, I took them out on their maiden run...and what a difference! I could run farther and faster, and the feet didn't hurt. Now I could finally experience the "runner's high".
When I bought those runners, it got me thinking more and more about my feet. I spend a minimum of 10 hours a day, 5-6 days a week wearing high heels. Obviously, not good at all for the feet, the knees or the back. Conclusion: I needed orthotics.
Went to a doctor, got my feet checked out with this cool scanning thing and they sent my scans off to a lab where my orthotics could be made. Two weeks later (yesterday), I have orthotics to put into my high heels.
When you get a set of orthotics, they come with some instructions. The instructions say that you should not jump right into wearing them all day, instead you should start out by wearing them for 30 mins then an hour and so forth.
I like results fast, therefore I decided I would wear my orthotics to work. I also decided that if they got too uncomfortable, I would take them out in the middle of the day. First mistake: wearing them to work. Second mistake: actually thinking I would have time to take them out, when I usually don't even have time for a washroom break. In my great wisdom, I headed to work wearing a brand new pair of orthotics.
As the day progressed, I could feel that my left ankle was getting a bit sore. Today was one of those days where I had so much to do, and not nearly enough time (ok, so that's everyday). Needless to say, I did not get a chance to take them out and I ended up wearing them for almost 10 hours today.
At the end of the work day, I changed into my running gear and went to my favourite running place. As I was warming up, I could feel the soreness in my ankle a bit. I didn't think anything of it and went on with my regular routine. When I started to run, the ankle started to scream. I could not run for even five minutes today! I was so disappointed, I had to walk my run route and it felt so...wrong.
As a result of this fiasco, I have not been able to destress. When that happens, I can't get to sleep at night. I will be up all night long, thinking of the lesson I learned today:
The instructions are there for a reason...follow them.
posted by Elle at 9:26 p.m.
2 Comments:
Hey thanks for posting on my blog. And I think you should have learned another lesson too. Never, ever wear high-heals. If you think that guys think they're hot, you're wrong. And if your boss says they're required for work, you have a human rights complaint that needs to be filed, stat!
Agreed on the high heels. My mom always tells me, "Buy clothes that make you feel good, but spend your money on good shoes, bras and underwear."
I've never had the balance, or desire really, to wear heels. I tried once for my high-school grad and that was DISASTEROUS.
My feet get sore easily, so I completely understand about the new running shoes and orthotics - maybe try slippin those babies into a comfy pair of Doc's or Mary-Janes. Your feet will thank you over and over again.
PS-thanks for the comment on my blog...it's the only way to know that others are really out there ;)
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