New Shoes

The big boot in which my left foot and lower leg have been encased for the past three weeks has been replaced with a smaller ankle brace that is designed to be worn with regular shoes. It’s certainly less cumbersome than the three-pound boot, but I had no shoes, except an old pair of bedroom slippers, that I could comfortably fit my foot into with the brace on. Since I doubted I could wear the slippers every day for the next six weeks, I had to go shoe shopping. I figured a slightly larger size in a wide width would work. When I entered the store, I expected to find an array of wide size shoes in their own special corner -- after all, women’s clothes are organized that way, but I soon discovered that while wide sizes were marked with a green “W” on the box, they were mixed in with all the other sizes, according to style. I also learned there were not many wide shoes in small sizes. If only I wore a 9, or a 12, instead of a 6. And since I was at a discount store, there were no helpful clerks to facilitate my search, but eventually I found some pseudo “running” shoes to try on. Of course, the companion shoe for my right foot was much too big, so I decided I should buy a second pair in my regular size so my feet would match. I didn’t really care what my feet looked like, but I was concerned walking would be more difficult with different type shoes on each foot, and they were on sale. Then I had to search for that pair. There weren’t any in my actual size, however, so I compromised with a half-size larger that’s a little long in the toe, but seems to fit okay otherwise.

The best thing about having shoes on both feet again is that riding a stationary bike is much easier. I cycled twice last week wearing my boot, managing an average speed of about 6 mph – 4 mph with both feet, 8 mph right foot only. Today, my pedal strokes were much smoother and I averaged 10-12 mph with both feet. That I soon might be riding my own bike on a trainer seems much more possible.