A hole in my shoe appears after about a year of owning any pair of sneakers.
Every time I go to see a rolfer, which is usually once or twice a year, the initial assessment is always the same.
My body and weight tend to lean a bit to the right.
This gentle rightward shift is a major improvement for someone who literally lived on the outside of his feet for the majority of his life.
And I mean literally— I would spend hours on the outer edges of my feet with the entire inner foot up off the floor.
It is amazing how prevalent this pattern is; I spend my days staring surreptitiously at the posture of strangers and far too many stand in this exact fashion.
But back to my current pattern of leaning slightly to the right.
My favorite sneakers for the last few years have been Merrill’s and their minimal line—the road glove, trail glove and my all time favorite sneaker, the vapor glove.
The pair in the photo above is the most comfortable footwear I have ever worn and I am loathe to replace them even as they fall apart
I know it is time for new sneakers when they all show a telltale hole at the right pinky toe.
This hole in my shoe started showing in my sneakers a few years ago and happens with remarkable consistency.
When it comes to my regular shoes they tend to expand at the same spot without ripping.
As much as I work on this right side imbalance, I have made much headway.
All of my issues are on my right side, stemming from a martial arts injury (which is curious since I have never done martial arts and that is the subject of another post that I have been meaning to write since the start of this blog) where a loud pop in my right groin left my right side hobbled for going on a decade now.
These days I am dealing with an issue on the right side of my neck that manifest when my right psoas is unhappy though when the injury first occurred it completely blew out my right sacroiliac joint.
My tight right psoas causes a slight turnout in the right foot which is what leads to these consistent wear issues.
The upside is that injury led me to my chiropractor in Tribeca who I think is amazing and wouldn’t have met without pain of some sort.
Anyway… I am scared to trade in the sneakers pictured above for fear that the next pair won’t fit as perfectly but I am going to have to make the move soon as the hole in my shoe is turning into a major tear.
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