I'm a SOLE man

I have to write a letter to the company SOLE for their heat moldable footbeds. Although they're more pricey than your standard Dr. Scholl's, they're less expensive than custom orthodics from a doctor and work just the same if not better.

The same foot that had the stress fracture was acting up like mad. I could barely walk. I knew I couldn't have re-fractured it. What was up? After doing some serious reading, I did the following:

- Applied a cold gelpack and elevated the leg
- Did various flexibility exercises (doing foot swirls, flexing my toes)
- Used the yoga toes to spread my toes and metatarsals
- Massaged the foot, focusing between the metatarsals
- Hot water foot soaks

It eased things, but there was still some lingering feelings of soreness. I finally opted to get the last thing I needed: Solid footbeds.

Seems that SOLE is only one of a few companies that makes a really solid footbed where the whole thing is solid, not just the arch and heel. At $45 a pop, those things better be good. After just testing them without baking, it convinced me. My foot stopped hurting. It even stopped hurting outside of the shoe. The tendons and muscles settled in the right places along with the bones and joints in the foot. I bought two for my running shoes (the Dean Karnazes versions) and one version that was meant for lighter use. I actually walked and ran for two miles with the dog and my feet felt awesome! My calves and shins hurt due to being deconditioned, but the feet were feeling great!

I have an uphill struggle to get myself back to normal, but I'm more positive that I'll be able to get back into the swing of things and do the Cascade Crest 100 like I wanted.