THE BEST SNEAKERS FOR TIRED FEET

I have struggled with foot pain for years. Way back in my early twenties, I thought it would be a great idea to go from not being a runner to training for a marathon in like four months. While it was amazing, empowering, and so much fun, I wrecked my body during those four months, and have suffered from terrible plantar fasciitis ever since.

Pregnancy has thrown in a whole other element with my feet, and the struggle continues. I know I am close to the end and will hopefully have less pain when the baby is finally here, but the pain I am in at the end of the day had become almost unbearable. I do a lot of walking on a daily basis, and even a “slow day” for me is at least three miles of walking, but I average closer to five, sometimes more. It is just the way of city life!

I remember my final straw being when I woke up to pee in the middle of the night after a long day of errands. My plantar fasciitis was so inflamed, I considered crawling to the bathroom to avoid having to put pressure on my feet. I laughed about it the next day but knew I couldn’t continue on like this.

Up till around 32 weeks, I was managing ok by wearing some super sexy Crocs in the house at all times. Such a fashion statement! I was wearing a pair of Brooks whenever I had to do a decent amount of walking, but they just weren’t doing what I needed them to do for my tired, aching feet.

After much Googling and plenty of hashtag stalking on the gram, I decided to try two different pairs of shoes and see which I liked best. The first pair I saw frequently recommended was the Hoka One One Clifton 7 Running Shoe. The runner-up was the On Cloud Running Shoe. Both shoes were meant to have plenty of support, cushion, and stability while being great for those with higher arches and/or plantar fasciitis.

The On Cloud Running Shoe is super cute, and I was hoping that it would be the right shoe for me. But I didn’t even leave the house in them. They didn’t have nearly enough arch support in the sole and felt almost TOO cushy. I need something a bit more firm to keep my foot stabilized, so these immediately went back.

The Hoka One One Clifton 7 Running Shoe is also a great-looking pair of sneakers, and I love that I went outside my black shoe comfort zone for something bright and fun. Putting these on was like a Cinderella moment. They just fit my foot SO well.

The Hoka One One Clifton 7 Running Shoe do come in a wide width, but I typically don’t get a wide sneaker for myself. I have an in between foot, but find wide width sneakers to be too loose in the heel cup. I was worried these would be too narrow through the toe box, but they fit great from front to back.

Yesterday was a super busy day for me. I’ve been slowing things down now that I am close to the end of this pregnancy, but I couldn’t avoid so many things in one day. I clocked just over seven miles, which I haven’t done in a hot minute! By the end of the day, my body was DYING. My hips were screaming, the sciatic nerve was on fire, but surprisingly, my feet were ok! They were definitely tired, but I had none of the miserable feelings that I experienced before when I would have a big day of walking. No marbles in my heels, no need to stretch every time I needed to take a few steps. And throughout the night, I never once considered crawling to the bathroom.

I know it is still early days and I won’t know how the Hoka One One Clifton 7 Running Shoe wear over time, but I am absolutely in love with them from first walk around the neighborhood. I’m already tempted to grab a second pair in all white or try a few new styles.