running: the dawn

This may come as a shock to most…I love wearing high heels. 

I used to wear heels all the time.  Before my teaching days, I worked in an office environment.  I wore heels nearly every day.  95% because I’m short and don’t like to take the time/energy/money to get my pants tailored to fit properly, but the other 5% is because I love them.  Heels are so cute!  They dress up any outfit (aside from sweats) and make me feel more presentable and fashionable. 

Even as a teacher 3 out of 5 days I am usually in a heel of some kind.  Yes, I know they aren’t the best for my posture.  Yes, they do hurt my feet after a full day of teaching.  But I love them. 

Lately, I have been forced out of my beloved pumps.  Because I love running more.  At the beginning of my training I would still wear heels once or twice a week when I wasn’t too sore.  Now though, I’m either sore from a hard workout or worried that wearing the heels will tighten my calf muscles too much leading me to injure myself.  Since my desire to continue to train outweighs my fashion sense, I have not worn a heel in over a month.  [gasp!]

While I was getting ready this morning the time came to pick my shoes for the day.  I opened my closet and stared longingly at my collection of heels on the top shelf.  They seemed sad.  Lonely.  I wanted nothing more than to pick my favorite pair and throw them on.  Then I remembered my knee.  It hurt while running yesterday.  I have another 5 mile run planned tonight.  It’s just not the day for heels.  [sigh]

So, on went the Birkenstock clogs that have been my go-to shoes for the past few months.  Yes, I do own and wear cute and colorful flats, which helps my need to be expressive through my footwear.  It’s just not the same though. 

Each day that I say no to the heels, I know that I’m making a wise decision.  I know that I have my priorities laid out correctly.  But that message doesn’t always make it from my head down to my feet…