So Possible´

When I started my professional career, I had never really worn high heels with the exception of an occasional wedding. In those instances, the shoes came right off as soon as possible. When I did start wearing heels, I purchased those really fat heels so that I didn’t look like I was walking on a tightrope the whole time. I wore those chunky monkeys for several years before graduating to the real deal.

At one point in my career, I knew I was moving up the proverbial ladder, so I wanted to start dressing more sharply. I purchased a new wardrobe, accessories, and of course shoes! I began to don stilettos to work on a daily basis, only trading them in for sneakers on casual Friday. Eventually, I even wore them on casual day, I would just wear a pair of heels that were a little bit more funky or colorful. I got to where I could wear them all day with no issues at all. I walked in them as naturally as I walked in bare feet. I loved my heels. I loved buying them. I loved wearing them. I loved how they made me feel. For some reason, at the time, wearing the heels made me feel powerful. I think part of it had to do with the fact that I was succeeding in a male dominated industry and when I wore heels it made me that much taller then my hot headed boss. Body language says a lot, and when you literally look down on someone, it can have an affect.

I eventually progressed into wearing heels out more too. I have never been one to have tons of nights out on the town, but when I did go out, I wore heels. Girls night out? Heels. Birthday party (even a kid’s)? Heels. Date night? Of course heels! Run a 5k?…. Ok, not heels, but I did have one pair that I was so comfortable in that I swear I could have run one wearing them. My shoe collection began to look like the stereotypical woman’s collection. It was many pairs of heels in different heights, textures and colors. I really did love my heels, some of which I wore way beyond their life span. It’s tough to find comfortable pairs sometimes. Heels and I were seemingly inseparable. Even when I got into running and started triathlon, when some people start making athletic wear their everyday apparel, I wore my heels.

And then, it happened. One night in the middle of the night, I went to stretch my feet and had the absolute worst calf cramp I had ever had! It was like I was in a sci-fi movie and had just been hit with a curse that was transforming me into stone, starting with my calf! It seized up like a rock. I actually shouted out loud, waking poor Darin in the process. He helped me try to rub out the pain and eventually, it calmed back down and I was able to go back to bed. I chalked it up to being caused by the way I stretched my leg and went about my business. It happened again, a few nights later. I was in agony! I called my sister over and she used some massage techniques to ease the surrounding muscles. I figured I was good and expected no more issues. Boy, was I wrong. It took some time but eventually, I had the same problem again. My calf complete seized up in the middle of the night.

I did some research online (of course) and ended up stumbling on some information regarding what high heels do to the anatomy and I was forever changed. I went shopping for cute flats and any shoes appropriate for work that didn’t have a high heel. What I didn’t account for, was that all my pants were hemmed to wear with heels. I had to have them all hemmed. It took some getting used to, but I slowly acclimated to not wearing heels at work.

It had been many months since I had donned a pair of heels, when my son informed us of his fifth grade dance. He didn’t want us to dress super fancy but thought nice jeans and heels would be appropriate. Jeans and heels were one of my favorite staple items. I love the way a flashy pair of heels looks with a great fitting pair of jeans. I went for the big guns. My 4.5 inch Jessica Simpson glitter covered shoes that graduated slowly from rose gold to a deep bronze. I love these shoes. I wore them to my brother’s wedding and danced for hours on end in them. They are sexy, they are flashy, they are beautiful and comfortable. They are perfect. Well, they were. When I put them on, I had all kinds of bodily reactions. My feet cringed. If my calves had eyes, they looked at me like I was crazy. My walk was nowhere near the perfect saunter I had developed over the years. I thought that it had just been a while, and if I gave it time, I would be back to my old heel wearing self. We went out to dinner and just walking though the parking lot was hard. We headed to the dance, and I was dreading the thought of having to even remotely consider dancing in them. I told myself that if my boy wanted to dance, I would have to suck it up. Thankfully, he didn’t want to dance. I think he knew that when I cut loose, he was bound to get embarrassed. I held on and finally made it to the car. Once there, I immediately kicked the shoes off, looking at them as if they had just insulted my mother.

I have decided to clean the closet out and donate just about every pair of heels I own. I may hold on to the Jessica Simpsons should the occasion ever arise that I need to wear amazing heels, for not more than 30 minutes. I think that society has trained us to think that heels are sexy, yet more professional. It’s a funny juxtaposition. Only once I started doing triathlon and trying to take better care of my body did I realize the damage they could do. I do miss the look, and sometimes how they made me feel, but I certainly don’t miss the anguish they eventually brought on. Sure, there are stretches I can do to offset the issue, but who has time for that? I don’t stretch enough in general as it is. Sometimes we have to give up one thing we love in order to move on to something we could love even more… like Vibrams. Yeah, I went to the opposite end of the spectrum and now I love me some Vibrams!

The weather hasn’t exactly been cooperating with my attempt at riding my new commuter bike everywhere, but I have still gotten several rides under my belt. When I headed out on my first adventure, a ride to target, I was really excited. I wasn’t sure how many miles it was, and I took the most direct route. I was thrilled when I made it there in around ten minutes. I don’t know why I thought it would be much longer, but turns out it’s just over a mile away. I rolled up and placed my bike against the rack. My hands shook as I was trying to figure out Darin’s bike lock. I was both nervous and excited. I rode to Target and I didn’t fall or die! I took my lights, water bottle and bag off the bike and plopped them into my backpack and headed in to do some light shopping. Thank goodness I had a list, or I would have forgotten what I had gone for. I got my few things, checked out and headed back to the bike rack. I put everything back on, took off the lock and headed back home. I got back and told Darin I wanted to ride everywhere, as much as possible!

We rode to lunch that afternoon. I wasn’t sure how I would handle riding right after eating. I train in an empty stomach mostly. When I do eat before activity, I usually plan it so that I have plenty of time to digest. I could have probably had a lighter lunch, but I did ok just the same. I can’t describe how free I felt. I wasn’t terrified that I would crash at any moment. I didn’t watch for pebbles in panic that if I hit one, I could go flying. I wasn’t afraid that I would forget to un-clip and have a zero mile per hour fall. I actually felt comfortable on the bike. I felt like a kid again. Except for the part where I used to want to do tricks on the bike, that part is gone.

I want to ride in the rain, but not when the lightning warnings tell you to seek shelter immediately, and not when the puddles are so deep cars can’t make it through. It was like that for a few days in a row, so I wasn’t able to ride but was eagerly waiting for it to subside. It finally did and I found any excuse I could to run an errand on my bike. Almost out of vitamins? Gotta ride over to Walgreens. Forgot something at Target, gotta ride over to get it. I was super excited this evening to ride to the pool for my swim. I had the day off, so I was able to take the time to do so. I will say that riding with a swimsuit under my shorts is not ideal. The pool is just over two miles away and it felt really good to ride out there, go for my swim and then ride back home. Guess it’s like a mini bike, swim, bike brick workout.

There are a few downsides to riding the way I have been. The first is the traffic. I am working on being more comfortable on the actual roads, so of course there will be traffic, but it’s pretty bad here. The drivers have no courtesy whatsoever for cyclists. It makes me nervous, but it’s just something I have to deal with. The roads where we live absolutely suck for cycling. That was one of the reasons I had issues on my road bike. There are chunks out of the road and cracks that run the entire length of the bike lanes. The nice thing about my new bike is that they are far less hazardous. One thing I did not think of, that is a bit of a downer when riding is the number of dead things you see. Frogs are the norm, even in a car, but I have seen more dead things on my rides than I care to. Lizards, snakes, birds, a duckling, and large things that used to be furry but are so far gone I cannot tell what they once were. It’s unfortunate how many things cars kill, even more unfortunate how many of them just remain there.

While there are those few negatives, I am hopeful that I will be able to continue to ride as much as I can. I look forward to translating that comfort level to my road bike. I’m even trying to figure out how I can ride to work. I’ll have to figure out where I can store my bike. I’ll probably give it a try on a Friday at first. This way, I can wear jeans and not have to worry about changing shoes. I may have to wait until the weather cools down some. I am not sure any amount of wipes or towelling off will hide the fact that I sweat like a beast when I ride! We shall see.

I May Never Heel Again!

Committed to Commute