This is in fact a story of a man who wore the wrong sized ski boots.
The day was Sunday 22nd Jan 2012.
Up in the Sierra Nevada mountains of Spain there are some good wide slopes to hurtle down. The fool (lets call him Nick) in this tale is a chap that should've known better.
He went through his check list before heading up to the slopes that morning.
Ski socks - check
Ski's - check
thermal top - check
ski jacket - check
Ski trousers- check
Ski Boots - check
It turned out that all of his ski gear was borrowed from a friend. His main decision was whether the boots he was going to use would be of any use. He squeezed them onto his feet, snapped the clips down and stood. Nick (the fool) contemplated the following things, are they too tight? when I start to ski will my feet expand too much making these too small? Will I do any lasting damage to my lower legs and feet by having boots that don't fit me properly?
The one thing that that he didn't really ask himself was 'am I just convincing myself these will be fine so that I can save a bit of money?'
There was the sudden reality check for Nick as soon as he arrived at the slopes going up in the first gondola of the morning. He tried in vain to reassure himself that it's only for the day, he is man enough to take a little discomfort. In actual fact it turned out he wasn't :-(
About an hour into the day his legs had been working hard, feet getting hot, enlarging under the constant use and rapidly decreasing space inside the demon boots. His friends asking all the while if he was fine?? quite merrily replying 'yeah I'm sound - what nice weather it is as well', all the while saying to himself that 'if it's this uncomfortable now I can't wait for the next 3 hours!'
Turn, turn, turn, woosh...... 'this skiing is great' (what I will point out is that whilst I was skiing it actually took the pain away for a brief minute.....I repeat A BRIEF MINUTE)
What started as a fun day on the slopes for Nick started to take its toll...... he didn't need to be asked again about how he was doing, it was evident. He didn't even want to acknowledge the beautiful surroundings, the witty banter from his friends, all he could do was look down at his legs and apologise for the decision he had made as they were making him pay for his frugal choice!! 'Never again I promise, just stop hurting, I can't feel my feet!'
What he could feel is the boots compressing his right medial soleus (right calf) to the point of submission.
It finally happened where the numbness in the feet, the pressing on the calf's had gotten too much 'I can't go on! leave me here, I'll be fine' (actual words)
At a chair lift he had the relief that he had craved and it's not often you will see someone taking their ski boots and socks off on the mountain-yet here sat the fool for all to look at.
The End.
To be fair I have never experienced that level of pain through skiing or running. It painfully reminded me that the choice of footwear you decide to get has to be the right one otherwise you will end up on your backside, barefoot, unable to walk, nerves shot to hell, and not wanting to move. I couldn't actually raise (dorsiflex) my right ankle as the muscle had been squashed that much. It was very tender! Seeing me hobble along would've made you laugh......I wanted to cry! haha
I am actually in the process of deciding what trail shoe will be best for me during the transalpine event. This bad skiing decision was just over the course of a few hours. I will be running for 8 consecutive days through the Alps so I had better learn from this and pick the shoes that will give me the best chance of staying pain free, safe and able to keep going.
I understand how the body should move when you run and for me picking a shoe shouldn't just be one that is just based on comfort and cushioning- something most shoe stores use as their selling point and one that in the past I have fallen for.
I actually wear my Vibram Five Fingers quite a lot for weight training, sprinting and road running as these allow my feet to move in the way they are actually designed. The are a lot of bones, tendons, muscles, fascia and the like in and around the foot and ankle which in a conventional shoe design are 'protected' by thick soles which in actual fact block the natural movement of your feet which then has a impact on how your ankles, knees, hips and lower back react and move to the demands of running. (you can also link in upper body complaints to bad footwear)
What you get then are niggling injuries such as 'runners knee' or other excess loading complaints through the ITB, deep hip rotators, 'shin splints'.....the list goes on.
As much as I like and endorse barefoot shoes such as Vibram Five Fingers I know for my event that they won't be viable due to the terrain I will be running along. I need to find a shoe that won't affect my technique, is lightweight, doesn't impair my body's movements too much and one that protects my feet for my event.
The morale of the story - try not to borrow all of a friends gear as no persons body is exactly the same as another's. Also don't let the price of footwear lead you into a bad choice. If it costs more than you have then save up the extra money to get the right shoes for your feet. Protect your feet otherwise you won't be out running at all.
Oh one more thing - learn how to run correctly, build up muscle through strength conditioning work and keep your muscles adhesion free and mobile (Sports massage, ART etc)
Don't be a fool...have the right tools (this is shockingly bad but it does rhyme! haha)
