Feet that are not feet and that's why they hurt

There is a type of shoe that is more annoying than usual.

When I wear them, I can only stand them for a few minutes.

And when I take them off, it feels like my feet have come out of a compression chamber.

I feel my toes stretch.

As if they were breathing again.

And although the toes don't breathe, as they are so tight inside the shoes, the simple fact that they are free gives me the sensation that they breathe again.


The thing is that I hadn't worn them for months and I didn't remember that claustrophobic feeling.

To be honest, I didn't like it.

But it's not as bad as it looks.

I could be talking about an elegant Castilian-type shoe or one with a stiletto heel.

The kind you wear with a suit.

Stiff and with a narrow shape.

But no.

I wasn't at a wedding, I was at the climbing wall.

They call them 'cat feet'.

They are specific climbing shoes.  

They are not suitable for anything else.

They are flat, without reinforcements and flexible. So far, so good.

But.

I once read to a self-help guru (someday I'll tell you about my dark side), that buts are the negations of the unsatisfied.

If you say 'but' you can't be happy.

But very narrow.

They also advise you to wear one or two sizes below your foot size.

So that all the strength is concentrated in the toe.

In the Middle Ages they used the garrotte vile and in climbing the cat's feet'.

For this reason, when I started climbing a few years ago, I couldn't handle them.

And I bought one size more than recommended.

So I used the Merrell Trail Glove in version 3, which have a saw-tooth pattern on the tip of the sole.

It doesn't scale the same, you lose a lot of grip.

But my toes didn't suffer.

Well, last Thursday I wore my cat feet again and the sensation was bittersweet.

Sweet.

On the one hand, I'm back to climbing, to sharing laughs and chatting with friends.

Climbing mixes physical activity with a little bit of self-improvement, of overcoming fear, which makes you feel really good.

Sour.

And on the other hand, I have felt the discomfort of wearing narrow, compressive shoes.

Love and hate.

Freedom and prison at the same time.

The solution?

To put them on just enough to climb.

When I go down, I take them off quickly and stay barefoot or with pure minimalist shoes:

The Merrell Vapor Glove 4.

And so on all day long. Putting on and taking off shoes.

Because (cat) feet are not feet and they hurt.

How hard it is to climb being a minimalist!

Your health starts with your feet.