Marla, the editor of Ohio Sports & Fitness, and I were going to meet with Dr. Mark Mendeszoon, a podiatrist and the owner of Achilles Running Shop in Mentor. I would be conducting an interview with him that Marla would tape to be part of the magazine’s on-line edition to be published in December. I’d sent her a couple of emails outlining the kinds of questions I hoped to cover with Mark for a story whose focus would be foot care, injuries, and running shoes.
“You know I’ve never interviewed anyone before…right?” I asked. She knew this and said it would be informal and would go smoothly.
“I want to get some footage of him fitting you for some of those minimalist shoes,” she said.
“So…like clean socks and…uh…presentable feet would be good. Wish I had them,” I said, but she figured I was kidding. I wasn’t. My socks...this pair WAS clean...but were stained with all the mud I seem to find myself in. And there definitely wasn’t anything I could do with my feet...short notice or otherwise.
“You’re not shy in front of a camera, are you?” she asked.
I suppose the word ‘shy’ has not been used in the same sentence with my name in a year…or twenty. And I’m not…but this guy had such a hard name to say and I kept struggling with who I was when I was trying to describe me…and I knew this interview and marketing piece would likely end up being shown during the Super Bowl…second half…but still I wanted to be, you know, like the Fonz…cool.
We got to the store, met the staff, and set up the shoot…which meant Marla put this teeny, weenie camera on my giant tripod and made sure the background full of shoes wasn’t too busy. She asked me what I thought and when I said I said it did look busy, she checked again and...ignored my artistic input. About as much respect as I get from Holly.
I won’t go over the entire interview...you’ll get to see that when the December edition goes live, but I pretty much was...well...great! Mark addressed common running issues and then went into the whole minimalist shoe thing, including the Vibram finger shoe you may have seen people wearing lately. He said that the company, recognizing that the shoe is hard to put on (I couldn’t get it over my funky toes) had come out with a four-toed shoe. As a thorough investigative reporter, I jumped all over this.
“Seriously...Mark...I mean people with four toes? That has got to be a very limited market,” I said. He looked at the camera...and then at me...and then cracked up. I’m thinking it will hit the editing floor, but I thought it was insightful reporting.
His store did impress the hell out of me, though. They truly know how to fit a runner based on his or her physical needs and training load. They’ll put you in a shoe and then videotape your running gait on a short, straight section of track they have in the store. Flashing it overhead on a giant monitor and slowing it down to almost ‘no motion’, they can analyze the inconstancies or issues in your gait and fit you with the most appropriate shoe. And with Mark to back up the staff, they may have the only running shoe store with a podiatrist as an owner in the country. Perfect fit for everyone from the weekend warrior to the high mileage running junkie.
I’d done a Survival Workout before going to the interview in hopes that I’d still looked pumped when Marla did the filming. Probably won’t notice...but it was worth a try. I had the same Paleo dinner that I’d prepared the previous evening...scrambled eggs with spinach, mushrooms and chicken...because we still had all the ingredients in the frig and I’m not much for creativity. I had shared information about the diet and my success following it with Marla and Mark, though I admitted to the modifications I’ve incorporated...and with excellent results. Let me finish by saying if you need footwear for running, Achilles Running Shop is worth the trip.
Survival Workout duration: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100 to 150 bpm.Calories burned during workout: 600.
How funny. I know Doc Mendaszoon! He helped me out...even made custom inserts for my track spikes when I had turf toe...you are right. His store does have a good set up. He had me run on the treadmill to look at my form, which as you know is pretty goofy (foot sticking out to the side).
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