Freaky Feet

I am purposefully posting this early in my blogging life when I know I have as few readers as possible...

Luckily for you, the resolution on my iPhone is not that great, so what you are looking at is a slightly censored version of what my feet really look like. The gash-looking thing on my big toe is the leftovers of a righteous blood blister. The puke-yellow callous is what happens when I don't use a cheese grater, otherwise known as a Ped Egg, to scrape off layers of abused skin on a weekly basis. If you wonder why I compare it to a cheese grater, take the shavings from my Ped Egg, put them on some spaghetti, and you tell me if you can tell the difference between them and fresh Parmesan cheese. Practical joke, anyone?

Runners definitely have a thing about their feet. A good blister provides the same amount of pride to a runner as a puppy does for a 3rd grader on show-and-tell day. The question "Do you want to touch it?" may not get quite the same reaction from on-lookers, however. I remember my dad had this small jewelry box that contained retired toenails. If the most embarrassing thing your dad has ever done in front of your friends is to ask them to pull the proverbial finger, you've got nothing on me.

All the same, I decided to end my run at 5.4 miles yesterday when I started to feel that tell-tale hot feeling on the balls of my feet. After running on all those luxurious dirt trails in California, my dogs were rebelling a bit against the concrete and asphalt. While my feet were a little tender, the knees felt great- better, even, than after my 3 mile run on Saturday night. I ran in a pair of thin-soled 15 dollar Adidas that I found at a discount store called Twice as Nice in Half Moon Bay after the ocean beat my Asics in a game of chicken. I have been skeptical of the minimalist shoe/barefoot trend ever since my brother tried to convince me of it last Christmas, but perhaps my experimentation will (I can't believe I'm saying this) prove him right? More to come about my brother and shoe experimentation soon....