When you've got big feet...

...you have some big ass shoes! I stopped by the Shoe Shack when I was home last weekend and bought myself a new pair of running shoes. You know, a pair that, oh I dunno, won't give my toes blisters, give me black toenails, and make my toenails start to fall off! The shoes that I were running with were already size 13, so with my insoles, the folks at the Shoe Shack (thanks Alan - I think it was) fitted me with size 14. I had my doubts at first, but it definitely felt good to have room in my shoes for my feet to breath. They also are definitely lighter and faster feeling than my Asics Gel Kayanos, and anything helps when you're always one of the biggest guys in a race.

I also have to include a blatant advertisement for my SOLE custom insoles. I use them in my running and cycling shoes. However until this weekend I had never actually customized them to my feet. I had just been wearing them as is straight out of the box. But damn, I didn't know what I was missing! I stuck my new size 14 insoles in the oven for a bit (according to the directions), put them in my shoes, stood in them, walked around a bit, and my feet were like, "Where have you been all my life?!" Not only do my feet now feel better in my running shoes, but they also run better. I can noticably tell that my feet also are straighter and strike better with every step. So with all that, what are you waiting for? Go get some SOLEs!

As I touched on at the start of this entry, my feet, specifically my left foot, are not looking the best. The toes on my right foot are a little roughed up but my left food is well, freakin disgusting. It's middle toe and, for lack of a better description, ring-finger toe are blistered at the tip and their toenails are dead. Not only are they dead, but the nails are hanging on for dear life. The ring-finger toe toenail is black and has a good 'foot hold' on its toe, but the middle toe toenail is clinging on to its perch by a finger nail. You know the TV commercial where the little foot fungus guy flips open the big toenail like the trunk of a car? Yeah, my toenail can do that. I'm just waiting for it to come loose in my shoe or to get caught while I'm putting on jeans and get yanked off.

As I'm running at least 20 miles tomorrow, it's time for bed.