Make it Dramatic!

Someone I respect recently made a comment that has stuck with me...If you want to make a big change, you have to Make it Dramatic! ie - If you only want to make a small change, you can just make a small change and can achieve the goal. BUT if you want to make a big change, then you have to rethink your methods and make a dramatic change.

Since the end of 2009, I have been plagued on and off with Plantar Fasciitis. I have been to a podiatrist - the first time she sold me some orthotics to put in my work shoes and told me to wear my running shoes whenever possible. I wore the dress orthotics, and wore the running shoes whenever my feet were sore. However, I also read "Born to Run" and researched online to try to figure out a way to 'fix' whatever is wrong and causing the pain. I went back to the Podiatrist this week and tried to discuss possible solutions to the problem that didn't include more orthotics, but she said that they typically don't use physical therapy etc unless the orthotics don't work. If I continue to have problems after I get the $500 custom orthotics (my insurance may cover these, I haven't even checked) then we could consider putting me on a treadmill with a video camera and looking for any imbalances etc.

That was not the answer that I was looking for. I would like to try to go the route of strengthening my feet and possibly transitioning to a more midfoot strike (I am currently a solid heal striker). So...I decided to go the complete opposite of her advise and bought these yesterday:









Cute, huh? Yeah, you're right - they are pretty funny looking. I plan to slowly integrate these into my training. Heal striking in these babies would HURT (absolutely no cushion). I am hoping that they will both help strengthen my feet and get me to feel comfortable with shorter strides and faster turnover.

How's that for Dramatic??

I haven't run in them yet - I am hoping to try them out for a short portion of my run tomorrow morning. I did wear them around for a couple hours last night though and they actually feel pretty good. I will keep you updated on how the grand experiment goes...