The Hunt for the Sensible Sandal

Whenever I increase my mileage, I’m on the lookout for any aches and pains. I want to prevent injury as I train for my half marathon in October, so when I feel the slightest muscle twinge, I assess my situation and see what’s going on.

The other day when I got out of bed, the bottoms of my feet hurt. Sharp little stabby pains that went away once I got moving. It happened the next morning too, so I immediately got out my phone and started asking Google about foot pain. Note: I’m not a foot doctor and when you have a medical issue you really should see a doctor. But, I wanted to get an idea of what I might be dealing with and most importantly, what I could do to help it out so I could keep running. Of course, plantar fasciitis popped up immediately when I listed my symptoms, so I started looking for causes and solutions.

Possible causes? Running and increasing mileage. Tight calves. Unsupportive shoes. Ding, ding and ding.

Seemed that my increased running combined with my $2 Old Navy flip-flops were giving me a bit of trouble. I pretty much immediately stretched my calves and then went shopping. Hashtag you know you’re old when you go looking specifically for sensible shoes with arch support. Because it’s summer and I have a longstanding love affair with shoes of the flip-flop variety, I wanted to go in a general sandal direction, but I clearly needed support. I looked at some sporty sandals of the Teva variety, but as soon as I saw some Vionic sandals at DSW, I knew that’s what I was getting. I remembered the foot bliss from my Dr. Weil walking shoes and knew Vionic was much more about foot comfort and good alignment than anything. They didn’t have the two Vionic styles I was interested in in my size, so I kept looking and came across these:

Snakeskin. Seriously, self? Has New Jersey gotten into your blood or something? But they were comfortable and I liked them and I decided you know what, I can be a snakeskin kind of girl. The price honestly had me hesitate for a moment. I mean, $80 is a step up from $2 flops. But again, the foot bliss in my memory bank. And the arch support. So I threw down a $25 gift card I had (note: the card didn’t come from the company) and ponied up the rest knowing they’d be worth it. My purchasing decision was only solidified when the lady at checkout asked if I’d ever owned a pair of Vionics. She confirmed that she had a pair and that her feet never hurt when wearing them.

It’s been over a week, and they’ve quickly become my go-to shoe. They are super comfortable and are definitely a step up in style from my rubber kicks. They’re quick to slip on when I have to get out of the house quickly. And the strap that crosses over is Velcro and can be tightened for an easily customized fit. Plus, the added tightness adds to the midfoot and arch support.

Best of all? My morning foot pain is gone, so they’ve already paid for themselves, in my opinion. In short, I’m already sad about retiring them in a couple of months and brainstorming which pair of Vionics I can get for fall. I’ve come to terms with the fact that maybe it’s better to own one really good pair of shoes than a multitude of flip-flops. I think I’m officially an adult.

Do you go looking for the sensible shoes or are you a tough cookie who can rock a heel? I see heels and laugh. –—Erin