The Pool, My Camera and a Foot Injury

Kansas summer in my teeny tiny town is awesome mainly because the town pool is only a block from our house. Heck I can see it as I'm typing this! For the last two summers, when we've set records for high summer temps and consecutive days over a 100 degrees, the kids and I spent a LOT of time there!! Thankfully this summer, so far, has been much more pleasant. Can you believe that this week our SW Kansas temps have only been in the mid 80's?? And greener than I've ever seen it at this time of year! 

We've still been at the pool plenty this summer though. The boys especially have enjoyed it because this year they are old enough to go to the pool all on their own...no Mom or annoying sister! (And boy have they been annoying one another lately!! How many days until school starts??) Why is it that when there is TONS of room at the pool (or in the house, outside, etc.) they INSIST on being RIGHT NEXT to their sibling and bugging the heck out of one another?? 

Usually I spend pool time in the pool playing with Yahoo. I'm not the average Pool Mom. I LOVE getting in and playing with all the kids. Wrestling with the boys, and them trying to dunk me, has gotten a bit more difficult this summer though. Whoa, my boys are getting big...and STRONG! One of these days, not too far in the future, they'll be able to just pick me up and throw me in the pool! 

OMG, just found this image of Yahoo from two summers ago. Wow!! Didn't realize how much she's grown!! 

As much as I love playing in the pool with the kids I've had to take a break from the pool (more about that in a minute) but the upside is that Yahoo can go in the pool on her own and I've been sitting poolside playing with the zoom lens on my camera. It's got a manual focus on it that I'm still trying to master and I found the pool is a great place to practice! 

I can't believe I got this shot of Yahoo!! LOVE IT! 

I just love watching how confident my boys are in the pool! I don't think there's much they aren't comfortable doing in the water. 

Yip was such a great brother (one day at least) while I was sidelined he played with Yahoo and as he said, "took over" for me. 

I'll have to keep this image for when they get older as proof that they do love one another!! 

So, why am I sidelined? Turns out I've overdone it wearing my Vibram Shoes!!  I was having some major pain in my feet and turns out I have a heel spur and patellar fasciitis which means the tendons across the bottoms of my feet are inflamed. OUCH!! Which makes walking barefoot on the bottom of a concrete swimming pool practically unbearable! 

So no running for a while! Honestly, it's driving me nuts too. Doc did say I could bike or swim, which I've been alternately doing. I don't know how Lance Armstrong does it though. Those bike seats!!! OUCH! And  I've been trying to swim laps at the pool in the mornings but most of the time I feel like I'm flailing and drowning. Michael Phelps sure makes it look easy! I REALLY miss running but I'm trying to be a good girl and do exactly as the doc says. Hopefully by the first day of school I'll be back on the track! 

Do you like my duct tape feet? Ha!! I know it's hillbilly but it sure works better, and is cheaper, than athletic tape! Has anyone out there had a heel spur before? Is there hope for me and my sanity? 

Ten Things that's prevented me from Blogging this week.

1. Lost my 3 year old daughter at the fairgrounds (she just went to the bathroom, dang independence!)

2. Sucked in and bought the Shades of Grey Trilogy on Monday (I've finished two!!)

3. Cut and cut and cut and glued and glued and glued wedding invitations. (I'm so tired of looking at them I kind of hope she doesn't send me one!!!)

4. Harvest in the garden!! Cucumbers, summer squash, eggplant, oh my!

5. Sat my shift in the 4H Fair Concession stand. (Hey, I got more Grey reading time in!!!)

6. Swimming, swimming and swimming. Hey, it's 106 out and I have the town pool practically in my back yard...you'd choose swimming over blogging too!

7. Trying to catch up my 52 Week Project....I'm behind...I know!!!

8. Cleaned up the church from Vacation Bible School, I'm so glad it's over but the woman who organized VBS is already planning for a Christmas performance....Old Time Christmas on the Prairie!! I'm already excited!!

9. Bought a new pair of Vibram Shoes....


I LOVE that they are pink and kind of girly!!! I've worn them all over town today. (Yes, I realize that buying a pair of shoes in no way actually prevented me from blogging but I like to show them off!)

10. Okay, I can't think of a 10th thing that's kept me from blogging but I'm sure there is something else. I just can't get over how much busier summer is than any other time of year. How does that happen?

So, what's keeping you busy this summer?

Me, My Shoes and My Major Pains in the....

Feet! Pains in the feet...what were you thinking? 

You know the stereotype about women? That we just love to shop, especially for shoes? That's not me. And never has been. Shopping for shoes or clothes has never been enjoyable to me. I just want to get what I need and get out. Imagine my despair when I had to throw out all my shoes and replace them. Oh no!!! 

Let me explain..I've suffered from foot pain for at least ten years. It had been on and off and, up until a year and a half ago, I could always do something to ease the pain. Put arch supports in my shoes, stop running for a while or just buy a new pair of shoes. I had to completely give up wearing flip flops about 5 years ago because they hurt my feet so badly. But about a year and half ago I was having serious and consistent foot pain for months that wouldn't go away no matter what I did. Many days I was on the verge of tears because the pain was so bad. I was to the point where I was running on my treadmill barefoot and I had a pair of flimsy canvas shoes I wore all the time because that was the closest to being barefoot. I didn't own one pair of shoes that didn't hurt and going barefoot was the only thing that could ease the pain. 

I finally went to a podiatrist who measured my feet and, lo and behold, I was wearing the wrong size shoes. I had been wearing size 9 since high school and the doctor said I needed a 8 1/2 wide shoe AND I had high rigid arches. I was wearing shoes that were too small, squeezing my feet and didn't have enough support. 

Great (insert sarcasm). I had to buy new shoes. 

I've went through a lot of shoes in the past year. Some worked (I bought men's cowboy boots because they are wider than women's and they feel great), some failed miserably (I still have to put arch supports in most of my shoes). But I just have to share the VERY BEST SHOES OF ALL TIME!!! 

Okabashi Shoes.

4 Reasons this company is awesome! 

1. Made in the USA

2. These shoes are completely recyclable. 

When your shoes wear out, send them back to Okabashi and they'll make them into a new pair. 

3. My feet have NEVER hurt in Okabashi shoes. (They're endorsed by the American Chiropractic Society.)

4. VERY affordable. Prices range from $13 - $20 dollars a pair. 

I just received two new pairs last week. These are Clogs. 

The Okabashi shoes are rubber like, not soft and foamy like Crocs but sturdier. 

Each pair of Okabashi shoes have a built in arch support. I've been wearing these brown ones all over the house and I've forgotten that I'm even wearing them. They are that comfortable. 

Please ignore my ugly toes. 

I also got a new pair of Classic Flip Flops this week! 

Last summer I wore a green pair of Okabashi flip flops everyday. No joke. I wore them to church, in the garden, EVERY WHERE! They felt so very good on my feet. I hadn't been able to wear flip flops for 5 years! Okabashi has been a blessing for my feet. 

My green ones aren't worn out either; they really do last. 

I just wanted a second pair for the summer. (Guilty pleasure)

My favorite part of these Okabashi shoes are the little bumps. It's like getting a foot massage all day long! That's my idea of heaven right there. 

GREAT SHOE #2 -Vibram 

I run a lot; 20+ miles a week. I did end up getting new running shoes after I remeasured my feet but I enjoyed running barefoot so much that I kept doing it a few days a week on my treadmill for the past year. Although running barefoot feels good, with my high arches I can't do it everyday or my feet start really hurting again. I have found that my feet feel much stronger than they did a year ago. 

DR bought me a pair of Vibram FiveFinger shoes for Christmas!

I admit, I over did in these shoes the first week I had them and ran in them 4 days in a row and my feet hurt for a week. I'm smarter now; a couple days on and a couple days off. 

Basically the philosophy is that our bodies were never made to shoes and the shoes we do wear make the muscles in our feet and legs weak and throws off our alignment. Naturally, our feet are designed to work best barefoot but after decades of wearing shoes (on concrete, not natural), it takes time to adjust to wearing or running in these shoes on a daily basis. 

So even though my feet should be able to go barefoot, I've spent too much time in other shoes and I don't have the strength in my arches (yet) to wear these shoes everyday. 

Despite not being able to wear them everyday I do love these shoes. They are comfortable to run in and much warmer than I anticipated. I don't wear socks with them though you can buy toe socks off the Vibram website. There's plenty of traction so I don't have to worry about slipping in them. The bottom of these shoes are strong enough too that I don't have to worry about anything poking into my feet as I run. It's kind of difficult getting used to putting them on, I'm still working on getting the right toes in the right holes! And when you run in these you almost have to relearn your stride. I don't take as long of steps and my feet land more on the ball of my feet rather than the heel. I have found myself lately running at a faster pace in these shoes than traditional running shoes and that's encouraging! Vibram's aren't cheap though; $100+ per pair. However if they strengthen my feet I think the price is worth it. 

My feet problems are probably totally different than yours but if you are looking for a new pair of shoes I definitely recommend that you check out Okabashi and Vibram FiveFingers! That may have something just for you. 

These shoes are making me constipated.

Let me start off by telling you I'm a runner. I've considered myself a runner since I was 16 years old and joined my high school cross country team. (Wow, has it been 18 years ago?) I've played volleyball, basketball, tennis and hiked all over the place. Needless to say, I've always had an active lifestyle. But sometimes I feel like my past is catching up to me!


For the last few years I've had some recurring pain in my right foot. I've learned this means I've stressed or pulled my foot muscles in some way. Usually rest and arch supports does the trick and I'm back to my old self in a couple weeks. Recently the old pain resurfaced, I wasn't able to run and was having trouble resting my foot the way I needed to. Oh the injustice!! Maybe I can't rest it correctly because with three kids I spend a lot more time on my feet than before!

Last week I was in WalMart and came across this pair of shoes. I wasn't planning on buying a new pair but as I looked at them something flicked in my brain. Wasn't the sole of this shoe designed to strengthen your feet somehow? Didn't I remember they were supposed to mimic your feet walking in sand or something? I vaguely remembered reading something about this type of shoe years before.


On a whim, for $25, I bought this pair of shoes and wore them for the next 4 hours. Late in the afternoon I realized my abs and butt muscles were working hard at keeping me balanced on those funky curves and boy, did I feel constipated! All those clenching muscles can't be good for keeping bathroom visits on schedule. But my feet were comfortable!


Then I hopped on the Internet to read up on these shoes and realized I probably wasn't supposed to have worn them for that long on the very first day. These are Danskin's version of the MBT or Mubai Barefoot Technology. True MBT shoes are priced in the $200+ range. This type of shoe was designed to imitate the footfall of the African Mubai tribe who walk in soft sand and have perfect posture. (If you want to read some more on MBT here is a couple informative sites I found; here, here and here.)


During the first week I wore them the pain in my foot decreased everyday. I wasn't icing it as much and I was lots less grumpy, always a plus! On the other hand other parts of my body (ankles, hips, knees) became sore because I was using muscles I hadn't used, or used correctly, in a long time.

In the middle of the week I took a 40 minute walk and they felt great but I realized just how bad my posture must be. Toward the end of the walk I had to work harder and harder to stand up straight and not slouch. Of course I probably wouldn't have noticed my posture without these shoes.

The pain in my foot is gone now but I'm not sure the shoes had much to do with it. (I did a few other things that I think had a bigger impact on my recovery.) On the other hand I really like walking around in these shoes. It's like getting a mini workout without trying!
So, anyone out there ever have shoes like these longer than a week? What do you think? Do you like em' or are they over rated? Could you ever see yourself wearing something like these?