Product Review

This blog is dedicated to my feet. I have some very well used feet, they definately experience a beating on a daily basis. Because of this, I feel very strongly about treating my poor feet with great care when it comes to my footwear.

To start with, my feet are quite possibly the most horrific, wretched, ugly things that have ever been attached to a pair of ankles. It's not so much that I have gnarled feet, or that they are too fat or too skinny, my toes aren't oddly shaped (sausage-y or middle toes longer than big toe), and I do not have warts. The problem is that my feet are just plain old beaten up, they should be in a battered women's sheltered and I should be charged with assault. I could go into great detail (however, I may lose readers if I do that), but I will paint a picture for you...
I've lost a lot of toe nails (all of them at one point in my running life), what happens is that for various reasons, I'll get blood blisteres under my toenail, which is extremely painful, so to relieve the pressure of the blister, the toe nail comes off. Sometimes the blister makes the toenail fall off, other times, I must perform a minor procedure which I like to refer to as a toenailectomy (it hurts but not as much as if I didn't do it). Luckily, in recent years, I have adjusted the size of my running shoes to give my toes just a bit more space, which has cut back on this significantly, unfortunately, the damage is done, toe nails just never grow back as nicely the second (or 100th) time.

Also, I have some pretty heavy duty callouses. I work hard for my callouses (lots of long hard runs), and its great to have them because they save my feet from a lot of pain. However, these callouses eventually get to a point where they are starting to take over my whole foot. At this point the callouses need to be shaved down a bit. I haven't quite mastered the art of this procedure yet, as I usually end up with a giant hole in my foot where I completely remove the callous. At times, I have also gotten a giant blister under the callous, much like the toe nail issue, which causes a similar problem of excruciating pain from the pressure of the blister... needless to say, the callouses must come off. Unfortunately the fresh virgin skin underneath the callous usually blisteres quite easily, and I have to begin the long hard task of turning that skin back into a callous. It's a vicious cycle of pain, minor surgery (performed by me, in my bathroom) and then more pain. But once I get those callouses... it's great, my feet can endure anything!
I could go on (and on and on and on), I could tell you about my bunion, or my recent stint with Athlete's foot, but I'm going to go ahead and stop there (to save the little bit of pride that I have left...).

Needless to say, I try my very hardest to treat my feet whenever I have the oppertunity. I feel extremely guilty for what I put them through, not that I'm going to change anything, but at least I feel guilty about it (see... I really should be charged with assult). The best way that I know how to treat my feet is by using the best of the best footwear! I try my very hardest never to wear cheap/unsupportive shoes, and I feel very strongly about not subjecting my poor feet (or knees for that matter) into high heels!

When it comes to my running shoes, I am extremely particular. In fact, I simply won't run unless they are in my specific running shoes. I use the Gel Nimbus model by Asics. I've been using these shoes (seen below) for over 5 years now. Asics has updated the model every year, but made no major changes, which I am eternally greatful for, when you have a good thing, change is not always welcomed. I follow the "500 mile" rule pretty faithfully, meaning that I replace my shoes after they have ran 500 mile, which actually works out to be every 4 months for me, so I average at least 3 pairs of Gel Numbus a year. The Nimbus is considered a "cushioning" shoe, which is good for me because I tend to be a bit heavy on my feet, and also appropriate because I wear orthodics, so a supportive shoe (which the Nimbus is not) would actually overcorrect my feet. I do know a thing or two about all these things because I worked at the Running Room while attending Univeristy. As staff, we got a lot of promotional shoes (for extremely good prices, or even free), which we were encouraged to use to add to our knowledge for when we sold the shoes. I refused to run in them, but I certainly enjoyed having an entire closet full of shoes that I could pick to wear to work. I still use all my free running shoes, I match all the various colors to match the various colors of scrubs that I wear to work now, it's great, I'm very coordinated. Anyways, seen below is my loved running shoe, I would highly recommend Asics (the model may vary depending on your foot type) if you are a foot-abuser like I am. Your feet may actually forgive you! The Nimbus usually goes for $180 - $200 /pair depending where you get them (usually cheapest at the Running Room, but they usually have a buy-one-get-one-half-off at Sport Chek)




The next treat I like to give my feet is seen below, the Sanuk sandal/shoe. It's a shoe and a sandal having an identity crisis. I'm actually quite new to the Sanuk world, but I would highly recommend these great inventions! In the summer it is so nice to be able to wear flipflops, what foot wouldn't enjoy the fresh air and freedom to see the world? However, due to various open wounds (weekly minor surgery's), blisters and plain old ugly-ness, it's not completely ideal for the general public to see my feet. The Sanuks allow my to hide my shame (ugly feet), but still enjoy the benefit of sandals, and they are extremely comfortable, and come in a very wide variety of colors and patterns. The only down fall is that they are slightly pricey, $60/pair, which seems a bit much for a pair of sandals. Also to be noted, they don't stink, and they clean up very well, I also just found out that you can buy them online at the Sanuk website, for only $45 USD/pair, which might be just slightly cheaper. I would highly recommend!

So this is my product review for shoes. If you are a high-heel wearer, I think you should consider trading your pumps in for some good ol' trusty asics (your joints will thank you!), but clearly, who am I to judge when it comes to foot abuse! Wear your heels with pride, our feet can become friends at the foot-abuse support group.