June 8, 2010
Recently I have fallen back in love with running. Each week as the weekend approaches I look forward to sleeping in and my Saturday morning run down the Embarcadero along the water. Running now brings back the same feelings that I felt when I was 8 and running wild with my brothers around the neighborhood that I grew up in. Sometimes the sweet memories of of playing in the street with my friends get so strong that I end up tearing up a little, then I end up looking like a crazy lady running down the street crying.
I can’t put a exact date on it, but a few years ago I made a conscious decision that I was going to fall back in love with running. I followed training plans diligently, and gradually increased my distance until I was running 5 miles with no endurance problems, but with major pain that ran the length of both of my legs despite taking pain killers, using heat and cold therapy and doing yoga. The pain was so bad that I had to stop.
A few months ago I was at REI browsing and got interested in the Vibram 5 finger shoes. I will admit that I routinely laughed under my breath at people I saw wearing them in San Francisco as they are the hands down ugliest shoes that I have ever seen. I bought the shoes and they are what convinced the that I could love running again. After my first in them run I didn’t feel any pain and noticed that wearing them had completely changed my gait. I have continued running almost every weekend in my hideous 5 fingers, and I can’t wait to complete my first official race in 2 weeks, a 5K wearing them. After that I hope that following the WILD 101 program can help me to increase my distance so that I can do a 10K by the end of the summer. Thank you Team WILD and 5 fingers!
Love it, Erky! I promise I won't laugh at you if I see you running along the Embarcadero. I'll share my tissues b/c I always tear up while running b/c I can't believe I'm doing it AND so are you! I'm proud of you.