I Have a Confession…

I'm not normal.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know what you're thinking.

I ran across a blog the other day that talked about what we as a society consider normal and that maybe that isn't such a good thing. He was relating it to how we handle our finances (spending more than we earn) and then how we see pregnancy and birth as a medical condition that needs to be micromanaged by doctors (he and his wife just had a baby). It got me thinking about what is considered normal and then how I'm not normal.

My DH and are are trying to live debt free. Right now we're paying off the stupid debt that we've piled up over the last few years. We're setting aside money every month to be able to pay for a car with cash when one of ours finally goes. We're setting aside money to buy land to retire to. We're done taking out loans for things that don't hold value.
We've had two of our kids at home. Not because we see the hospital and doctors as evil, but because we wanted something different than the typical hospital birth.

And even with my running I'm not normal. You see, I run in Vibram Five Finger shoes, or about as close to barefoot as you can get without being barefoot. I don't have a barefoot testimony like my DH does (doctor told him that he should reconsider running because of the tendonitis, bone spurs and over pronation). He went and got fitted for the "perfect" pair of shoes for him and ended up in more pain than when he started. He switched to VFF's and has been pain free for the last 7 months, and dare I say it, actually enjoys running.

Me, I've never had serious injuries. Oh sure, I've had shin splints and aches and pains, but nothing that sidelined me for months at a time. Even the one time I sprained my ankle running I was only out for a week.

So why do I run in minimalist shoes? Because it's fun. Because it makes running enjoyable again (running competitively for 8yrs gets old fast). And because I've seen times I haven't run since college. This year alone I've set a PR in every distance I've raced (5k, 10k, 15k and HM). My "easy" pace is over a minute faster than what it was this time last year. And most importantly, I haven't had any aches or pains that I've had to take time off for in the last few months.

I'm not saying everyone should start running barefoot, but if the normal way of running isn't working, why not try something different? If the normal fad diets and quick fixes aren't working, why not try something different?