My feet.

They are what help me to pound the pavement, leaving me free to get from A to B or go for a hard run. 

They look smashing in dainty sandals, and I have found that painting my toenails red puts a particular smile on my face. 

But they also take quite a beating.

I looked down at my feet the other day and thought about just how tough I am on them. They are ridden with mosquito bites; my heels have cuts across the back from wearing gorgeous flats that look nice, hurt a lot. The soles of my feet ache from wearing unsupported shoes, and my toenails, now unpainted and not making me grin, are black and blue from going on especially long, hard runs. 

As I peered down at them, they seemed to be saying, "Why, oh, why do you do this to me?" My left big toe even seemed to be drooping a bit.

It made me sad. 

On a day-to-day basis I think about so many aspects of my health—the right foods to eat, exercising, clearing my mind of unnecessary mental clutter. But little, if ever, do I think about my feet. 

Much of my commute to work is on foot and so often I am not wearing solid, supportive shoes. Be it any number of reasons—usually, because I want to wear cute shoes—I will think of one for the right pair of footgear. 

But that's just it: They're not the "right" shoes. In fact, they are horrible to my tootsies. 

So, today I resolved to wearing my comfy sneakers to work; that is, at least until I got to the office where I could slip into a chic pair of black wedges. It was a compromise. After all, I sit at my desk for most of the day, so how much harm can those adorable shoes be doing?

Let me tell you—my feet already feel so much better. I am pretty sure that straying big toe even embraced the little one next to it. 

I don't know that I will ever give up a stylish pair of shoes, but I am learning there is a middle ground. It's a truth to which we so often pay little attention, but how can we ignore that we only get one set of feet?

Here are a few of my favorite kicks that have been making their way out of the back of my closet:

• J-41 Mary Jane Wedge ($45!) 
• Asics Gel Kayano ($140) — my favorite pair of running shoes
  
• Simple Satire Shoes ($70)

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Caroline Shannon has been a journalist for six years, working for several publications, including Ideal Bite, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, First30Days, Maniac magazine and The Glass Hammer. She is a certified Pilates instructor and takes a long, hard run just as seriously as she does several Hint ‘O Mint Newman-O’s. She can be reached at www.carolineshannon.com.