Today I went to a store called Road Runner Sports in NJ where they have a shoe fitting system called, “Shoe Dog,” which reads your foot type and analyzes your trot. My foot type was exactly as expected. High arches with a semi-curve and normal pronation. I need orthotics and a neutral shoe. The pair they suggested is literally the exact pair I wear.
Next they videotaped me as I ran barefoot on the treadmill. Unfortunately, I wasn’t quite wearing the right outfit for a jog… I had on a skirt and silk top with a mostly decorative bra. Zero support. I almost knocked myself out!
The woman operating the machines and analyzing the results was a professional athlete. She came in second in her age group in the most recent NYC Marathon so I was looking forward to her reflections. I put my shoes back on and went over to her where she was in front of the monitor, giggling and oohing and ahhing through the playback.
“What?” I asked, a little bit nervous.
“Very interesting! Amazing! You have amazing feet. Look at you! Are you a dancer?”
“Um, a dancer?” I asked thinking, look at me – do I look like a dancer? But remembering I did take years of dancing as a kid I said tentatively, “No, but I took ballet when I was little...”
“Do you wear high heels a lot? Sometimes we see this in people who wear high heels. Because really, you have the most amazing little gait. It’s perfect. Don't change a thing. You run the way Ultra Marathoners run – on the balls of your feet. I wish I ran like that.” I scrunched my nose up and gave her a confused look. “Come here,” she said and drew me closer to the TV, rewound the tape, and pointed at my heels as I ran, “See. Your heels literally never touch the ground. It’s amazing! I can’t run like that!” She was right. Weird!
I’ve read about Ultra Marathoners, and running on the balls of your feet, and even running barefoot. It never occurred to me that I ran that way. I’ve never been trained to run. I’ve never had a coach watch me, or even a friend watch and analyze my gait. This made me feel for a moment that I might be special… possibly even gifted! How could this be? If only the rest of my body would go “ultra” I’d be all set.
The marathon woman told me to keep going. I beamed! To be thought of as a person with potential, in a field where just a few months ago I felt only hatred, fear and disassociation… what a good moment. I hustled around the store and bought up three new tank tops and two pairs of good shorts. It’s really a fine store with highly functional clothing that’s fashionable but not over the top like Lululemon can sometimes be with its ruffled running gear and wild prints.
Upon returning to the city I called a few friends and proudly told them about my experience. My head swelled a little bit… so I decided to take myself outside for a quick run, to enjoy the sunshine and appreciate the uniqueness of my gifted twinkle toes. I really needed to clear my head today. I considered running 5 miles but I haven’t been sleeping or fueling right for days so settled with once around the Lower Loop.
I started out fast and focused on my feet. Funny, my heels felt like they were touching the ground with every strike. It didn’t feel like I was running on the balls of my feet at all... But I’d seen the videotape. My run got challenging pretty quickly. I’d over-dressed in a hat, gloves and 2 layers. When I stopped to take most of it off and try to hang things from one another, I lost interest. I managed to drag myself to the finish but must say this was a pretty lame day for running.
Tomorrow I’m going to be running 8-9 miles and I expect to channel my ballet best, and be on point.
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