Hand-me-down Birkenstocks save the day!
Ever since being injured back in March, I have had various injury niggles to contend with and its driving me mad. That planned marathon attempt is looking ever distant as I struggle to manage any consistent training .
But help seems to have arrived in an unexpected form. With the arrival of warmer days, I have dug out an old pair of Birkenstock sandals that were handed down to be by my good friend Caroline (her feet like mine have grown in middle age and she no longer fits them). When I first put them on, I found it really hard to walk in them, but I persevered and within about 15 minutes they actually felt great. All those strange little heel pains miraculously disappeared and by the end of the day my feet felt in really good shape!
I did wonder if it was just the change of shoes from my daily converse habit, but now I am convinced they have been a kind of miracle cure for my foot problems. Each time I wear them it alters the way I walk - obviously in open sandals it is impossible to hit the ground with a heel strike, so you walk with a mid foot strike which is the way I should run barefoot. It’s like daily technique training for me, which is great, especially with my impossibly busy life.
So maybe these original ‘healthy shoes’ shoes are on to something after all - and maybe they are the perfect leisure shoe for bare footers! According to Birkenstock the original contoured footbed is designed with one purpose in mind - walking in comfort. They certainly do that.
From a style point of view, they are borderline acceptable. I can only do the classic single strap madrid or flip-flop style Gizeh or I start to feel a bit too commune (especially as I am a vegetarian and have an old (not cool) camper van) My other half is also a bit sniffy about their sex appeal status…but he’s a man so I am ignoring his style judgement! Rock-on Birkenstocks - I love you, especially if you help get me back on track with my running!
Now the only dilemma is what to wear when it gets cold again - but I shall cross that bridge when I get there.