I have not worked out at all this week. Yup, you read that right. I have sidelined myself due to what started out as my Xbox Toe injury and turned into me hobbling around like an old lady complaining to anyone who will listen about my arch pain.
Allow me to tell you more than you ever wanted to know about my feet. They are a size 7 1/2 AAA. Not triple A as in they will help you if you ever become stranded by the road triple A, but AAA as in very narrow. They also have high arches. Now if I were to actually buy shoes that really fit me instead buying cheap ones from Target, it would cost a lot. If truth be told it is not even the cost that is stopping me from buying narrow shoes, it is the inconvenience of it all. I don’t like shoe shopping. I never have because nothing ever fits and if it does fit it is either hideous looking or heinously expensive. And I am frugal.
The first week I rocked my Xbox/Kinect workout I did it barefoot. Yup, I ran through the streets of Manhattan and London barefoot. The second week, fearing rug burn of the toe, I wore my plastic bottle New Balance shoes that I won free. They look funky, fit fairly well because I can pull tight the laces, but they have no arch support. Here is my trifecta of workout blunders that in the end took me down.
- When I wore shoes I wore crappy ones for working out.
- In my eagerness to destroy my muffin top, I worked out longer and harder than my goal causing my feet to start cursing me. Actually the fact that I enjoyed working out helped to drive this.
- And, this is a big one – my inability to control the technology behind my workout program. If you flail wildly with your arm and hand at just the wrong time, the Kinect thinks you want to replay the workout you just completed instead of what you really want to do which is go to the menu and selecting something easier allowing you to catch your breath and not die. I flail at the wrong time often and then instead of standing there like a dork, I actually do the same grueling workout back to back. It hurts. And apparently my left arch decided to protest. Husband is starting to think I should go see a doctor but since my foot is still attached to my person and I can put weight on it, I continue to tell him I am fine.
So there you have it. I have been researching exercise shoes for people who have annoyingly high arches and am steeling myself for a trip to a real shoe store. If you have high arches, are frugal, and have found shoes for walking and running that you love, please let me know. I will let you be my personal shoe shopper and I will pay you in homemade cookies.
Shoes On The Wrong Feet 
I wish I could help!!!!
I wish you could help too. I make very good oatmeal chocolate chip cookies…
I’ll be right over!!
I have narrow feet and need arch supports. I don’t have suggestions for athletic shoes, but I do suggest–and I know it will pain you–investing in something like Dansko or Birkenstocks. I don’t have to worry about how they fit my heel because they don’t touch it and the arch feels great. And they will last 20 times longer than anything you buy at Target. I wear a 7 1/2 and that equates to a 38 or 39 in those. And no more back or leg pain from archless shoes!
I used to have a pair of Birkenstocks back when I was in college and they were great. I think you are right that even though it will pain the frugal part of me, it is worth the investment in the long run. I have a list of athletic shoes from my internet search that sound like they will be good for arch support so it is just the act of getting into a store and trying them on. I have two days left where both boys are in school in the morning and then summer vacation starts. I think shoe shopping would best be done without the boy herd.
Shoes, you need better shoes. 😉 I hope you start to feel better. I, too, have a muffin top, but it is the freezer (and the ice cream contained therein) that is keeping me back. Grrrrr.
I do! 🙂 It is really quite silly of me limping around like this.
I am in no way dieting, just enjoying exercising. I simply cannot give up my evening dish of ice cream. Mmmmm.
It is definitely a week for feet problems huh???
Well, if I had an extra bone in my foot to brag about, it would help the situation. 😉
I can hear it now,”Dude you don’t wanna mess with me…I got an extra bone in my foot.”
You so know I would say that!
I don’t have any shoe suggestions, but if it makes you feel any better I haven’t worked out all year and I have no shoe/foot issues to blame! 🙂
Does it make me a horrible person if your comment does make me feel better? 🙂
Good luck with the shoe shopping. i wonder if the term xbox toe injury will make it into the lexicon – kind of like tennis elbow.
Your comment made me laugh out loud! It was either your comment or the two glasses of wine I had with dinner tonight, but seriously that was funny! I think Xbox Toe Injury should be considered for the next edition of Webster’s. Thanks for the laugh!
I hope you find the right shoes that is comfortable and hugs your fit like a perfect, soothing glove. I have a flat foot and getting the right shoes is a hit and miss. Once I get the right shoe, I wear it till its worn out. Thanks for sharing a fun post.
I am waiting for my foot to fully heal before I go out and try on any shoes. I sure hope it gets better soon so I can continue on with my exercises.
LOL I had a similar problem a couple of months ago! Of course, my reasons for wearing crappy shoes during my daily double workouts were exceptionally LARGE feet with high arches and bunyons! Yeah, talk about impossible to find cute shoes at ANY price that fit right! And like you, my workouts fell by the curbside for a week while I recovered. Abnormal feet SUCK! I feel your pain! 🙂
Over the years I have been insanely jealous of normal footed people, especially in high school when I had to wear ugly “uncool” shoes. I have never really found the perfect shoe for me but now I am on a quest and will not stop until I find one that works for me.
I am flat-footed. Together, we are normal.
I wish you and your toe well…and the muffin top too.
Great post. Made me laugh, thanks.
Hehehe – together we are normal.
I will find decent shoes, rally the workout thing, and defeat the muffin top. First I must walk without limping from the pain. I will bounce back soon!
I have high arches and I buy the Danskos for everyday and Mizunos to work out. Try the Mizunos – they are great! 🙂
Oh, I wish I would have read your recommendation of Mizunos earlier. I just got myself a pair of Asics Gel-Keyano 17. They do not come narrow but I can tie them tight the arch support felt good. I tried on some Newbalance, Saucony ProGrid Guide 3’s and I think a Ryka Moira – all shoes I found on a little internet search for exercise shoes for narrow and high arch feet. I will try out my new shoes tomorrow with a light work out and see how they work. Thanks for the suggestion, I will tuck it away and give those a try if need be. And yes, I will be Dansko shopping next. 🙂
Good luck with the shoe shopping and I hope your foot gets better soon. 🙂