blisters

one of the problems of having to wear smart work shoes by day, and relying on my trainers to get me round crazy distances, is that it is hard finding work shoes that fit.

for years i was exactly a size 10, and could get any shoes, and say "size 10 - they'll be fine - try them on you say? well i want to make sure you have made them right - i know my feet are a size 10, so if they don't fit it must be something to do with your poor cobblership"

you know how mars bars aren't as big as they used to be? so they can avoid putting the price up all the time, they just shave a gram off here and there and keep the price constant. (allegedly). Marks and Spencers have started charging more for larger bras as they cost more to make. understandable.

i have a feeling a similar thing is happening with shoes. my last two pairs of work shoes have been size 9 and a half. half sizes are awfully fashionable at the moment it seems, and i tried the size 10 and my feet rattled around.

what i suspect is that my feet have been downsized as part of the reaction to the economic downturn. (they can't be making shoes bigger - that would be crazy).

if you look at big fat people on uk living or channel five's "the man who had to be hoisted out of his house using a crane" you'll see their feet are a relatively normal size. it is impossible to have fat feet - certainly the bit of the foot that actually get walked on, occasionally you'll see a strap digging into the top bit of the foot...

I've lost 3 stone in the course of my running career, but none of that excess weight was ever on my feet.

the result of course has been that my work shoes aren't quite the snug fit they used to be. even though they are a smaller size, they still aren't quite right - one pair pinches the sole slightly, and the other is too harsh at the ankle.

this has left a strange incompatibility between my feet, which seem to be attempting to adjust to the bizarre dimensions of M&S and Clarke's shoes, and my trainers (which are still a size 10, and still seem to fit perfectly).

9 miles into my planned 12 miles home last night (office to westminster to london bridge to home - lots of tourist dodging up and down the thames path) i started getting pains in my feet, along with a more normal headache (too much coffee and screen time) . the feet were hurting while i walked to help out the head, and the head was hurting while i run to help out the feet.

as a result of this catch 22, i took a slight shortcut on the northern line, and ended up doing 10 miles instead of 12. i have a couple of days off the running now, but i'm hopefully doing a long bike ride tomorrow (proving to my friend Kev that even though i have a carbon fibre bike, he's still MUCH faster than me.)