How I survived a vegan sleep over

When my friend told me she was going vegan, I wondered, why? After spending eighteen hours with her, how has been answered. Arriving at her home around 7pm, she had dinner in the making: black-eyed pea croquettes, corn muffins and collard greens. Everything freshly prepared and everything was delicious. Who knew something called black-eyed pea croquettes would be something you reached for more of? Breakfast included a fresh pomegranate and everything bagels with cream cheese and hummus. Oh, I almost forgot, the late night snack of Oreo cookies, they are completely vegan, much to my delight.

Power breakfast equipped us for an exercise walk around the neighborhood with Lucy, my friend’s black lab. Cold outside, we bundled up in sweatshirts with hoodies with our running shoes. Of course, I had my orthotic inserts in, I don’t seem to leave home without them these days. While walking and talking, we reflected on the Dr. Oz video we had watched online during breakfast: How to find the best shoe for you.

My friend and I both have plantar fasciitis (PF), though I’ve been the only one to diagnose her condition as of yet. Dr. Oz’s video specifically mentioned those with lower arches – us – being prone to PF, and he demonstrated the Vibram Five Finger Shoes. I’ve only seen these shoes in person once, on a hippie chick facilitating a hula hooping event at the park (that’s probably another blog post altogether). In the brief online video, Dr. Oz demonstrates how our ancestors ran, not heel-to-toe, but more like a seventy-year old man shuffling down the road. So, a few minutes into our walk around the neighborhood, we started running. Running like our ancestors did, maybe.

Anyway, there were, shuffling down the street, springing up off our arches. Discussing how our ancestors could run for miles across the prairies and marshes, run for 26.2 miles without stopping. It was great, we were actually doing it – running! Our entire walk lasted at least thirty minutes and it felt great. When we got back to her home, we each iced our foot for about twenty minutes and took an 800mg of ibuprofen. I consider the walk, with those few minutes of running, a success.

I’m thinking about trying it again tomorrow, that shuffle run. Thinking about how insecure I am to run through my own neighborhood and shuffle along. Thinking about how a day veganism was quite tasty. Thinking about how great it felt to do something different today.