Hello world! It’s been a while. I have been running races and even had a PR in a 5k in April, a 24:27! At least I think it was a PR. I injured my psoas, which is just plain fun to say but not so fun to rehab in January. The psoas led to a hip flexor issue but I watched a million youtube videos and through a greater power and much stronger glutes, I have persevered!
If feel like my Altras contributed to my psoas pull/glute weakness. Though I love the zero drop, I felt like I had little arch support. As a runner with very high arches, I struggle to find a balance between restriction and support. I switched to Saucony Kinveras, which I liked for their light weight feel and support but after a few months, I began to get that familiar plantar plate ache, this time on the opposite foot. My plantar plate tear previously took me out of commission for about 2 months, I didn’t want to lose the best part of the spring/summer so I backed off and went back to my Hokas. I taped my 2nd toe down to prevent the curling I was starting to see and began a vigorous toe exercise regimen. I never thought my life would revolve around glute exercises and toe lifts, but, here I am.
After wearing the Hokas for a few weeks, the rocker bottom allowed me to take that strain off toes, I started looking for other options. I didn’t likt the narrow toe box on the Hokas, and I do feel the excessive stack height throws off my gait and doesn’t allow me to engage my now incredible glutes. I have never been as comfortable wearign a show as I was with the Altra Escalante but after a 10 mile race, and a very sore psoas, I checked into other zero or low drop shoes. I found the Topo Magnifly 3. These shoes are very comfortable, feel supportive but not bulky. Unlike the Altras, they don’t look like clown shoes. Not that there’s anything wrong with that…. I removed the insert and used these alleged zero drop insoles to allow for a little more shock control. I can’t believe I paid this much for an insert, but my toe has been ok so far!
Back to the black hole that is Etsy. It reminds me of the halcyon days of yore when I was first on facebook and I wanted to see every comment and like. Like this blog, I will go months without posting and then go on a rager. I didn’t paint as much during the pandemic as I thought I would when contemplating what I would do during a pandemic. My house was busy all of the time and I just didn’t make it a priority. Recently I started painting again, I don’t have a lot more wall space and I hate trying to make prints, so I just started throwing more stuff on Etsy. Some of the work is generally appealing and some is a little more artsy-fartsy. Either way, the posting process is cumbersome and I have no idea how to use Instagram but I made a page anyway. I don’t share it because I somehow want to be anonymous which makes no sense, pretty much the same thing I do with this blog. A quiet, dignified Etsy shop. That 2 people a week visit. I have actually had 7 sales which is more than I thought I would have but less than I would need to make this an actual occupation. I would have to figure out how to make prints and doo-dads with my prints on them and that makes me want to take a nap, though if I am following my own advice and learning new tricks, I guess I should learn. Here are the latest additions to my Etsy shop!
