The Blather About Senior Project: Continued

Ok, I have found my charger. (Forgive any spelling errors please, I am typing with one hand while doing this, multi-tasking here).

     The paper part of my senior project is the pros and cons of barefoot running vs shod running and the comparisons thereof.  The physical project part of it is learning how to fix up feet that have been hurt in sports by a teacher at my school, (not real name b/c I don't have permission yet) Mrs. Renbye. Rhymes  with rugby.
     I have not actually gotten to the physical project part because of certain circumstances and timing, but I told myself that I would get it done as soon as I get the paper part set up and sent off. 
     However, most of the information that I have gathered for the paper part is quite interesting to behold.  I find very little on the subject of shoes and what they do to your feet and if they help you at all.  From what I have seen from my observations, they only give protection and all the gadgetry is not needed.  For instance, the arches in the shoes for a certain foot type that I cannot remember at the moment.  Every place that I have researched of people with this in their shoes have said that it hurts them more then it helps them.  T'is no wonder why I have never liked tennis shoes.
     On the other foot, the shoe companies and those who have never stepped outside of their shoes for a whole day out of fear claim that the shoes protect them and give them the comfort that they need. I can see how the whole protection thing comes in, but if my feet hurt from merely walking in shoes for meagerly 5 minutes then there is something wrong.


     Now, to get off subject a little bit, I was never one for tennis shoes, so I might be a little bias to the information about the good of tennis shoes. I would always mention to my mom about how scrunchy the shoes felt on my feet and that they would always become odorous after I had used them.  So my only relief was flip flops.  Awhile ago there was this yahoo news report about this growing trend of barefoot runners and walkers across the nation. The day before I had thought of what I was to do about my senior project. Well, I had decided that I would not do something that I liked as my project. Sports was the number one, so I looked for something in sports that I could cover but not be too taxing on my part.  (go ahead, sports people, go ahead and laugh, because all sports are taxing in some way.)
I thought of swimming, but all of the pools that I knew of were closed already, and I knew that to get a membership at the place down the way was way too much for my budget, so the next one on my list was running.  All you are doing for running is moving your feet at a faster pace then you normally would, right?  One thing about me that one should know is that I am 17 and 220 pounds.  JUST so someone doesn't get the wrong idea, I have a big-boned body, meaning that my bone structure is big to compared to the surrounding flesh.  BUT, I am a bit overweight for my body type.  Back on off-subject, running was the next best thing.  Now I have this thing that I do not run unless I absolutely MUST, so this will be something that is challenging to myself.

So this is where it all leads to, this blog.  Actually I was just getting tired of not speaking and getting my thought straightened out so I could write my paper, so it has helped some. As for the research, I will attempt to get everything up here as far a resources and where I found it and all that.  Gives me a place to keep everything other then on my desktop.  If you have anything via resources, your own experience with the shoes and non shoes, or if your a podiatrist and wish to give your expertise on this matter would be VERY helpful.  No cursing please or I will delete your comment regardless.  Thank you.