 Hello there my beautiful, lovely internet friends. This was not planned, but we can't we can't get them away Welcome back to my channel. Thank you for joining me here today for my dogs growling at each other Many people have been asking what is going on with my running blade because I made a lot of content around it I was super excited and then I have just said absolutely nothing about it One of the biggest things that happened is I realized that this blade though fantastic It's really built for sprinting and I'm looking for something that I can do a 5k width Which is coming up in a couple weeks I'm working on behind the scenes for quite some time working with a dutch company called levitate to try a new blade But there is one serious drawback if you are me and challenged with handy things And it's that I I need to assemble this myself and the only thing I can assemble it on Though I don't think you can even see my leg because my dog's in the way The only thing I can assemble it on is the socket that I currently have meaning I have to detach the foot I currently have and I've never done that before because I'm terrified to mess it up But I figure there's no time like the present to just face that fear and if I can't get it put back together then I'll call my prosthetist and panic and cry we'll figure it out So this blade is by a company called levitate and something that is really unique about them And I really hope this works for me is that they are direct to consumers So you don't have to go through your prosthetist office. Also, they are $2,000 flat Which if you're an amputee, you know that that is nothing even close to how expensive blades usually are Let's open it up and see if I can Attach a new foot to my foot. So it kind of comes in like an Ikea kit We just got we got all the tools. We've got very little instruction and we got the blade I feel like it started to lay out all the parts and pieces. That's what my dad always told me What do we got here? Let's take inventory Let's pray to god that a shepherd doesn't come and lay all over this again Maybe organizing things will make me feel a little more confident It's like when you build something with Legos and you gotta lay out all the pieces first So go there easy to find one thing that is needed about this is it does come In theory with everything you need to like adjust it to your height and everything Hopefully that's supposed to happen. I need to keep this piece on I know that for sure because that's actually like what holds the suction because I know that this Looks like this. I I sound like a professional. I sound so confident One of the serious drawbacks of not having a foot is I like used to grab things with my feet all the time So now I've got to like figure out a way to hold my little nub in anyone washing versus going to be like She should not be doing this Definitely not be trusted with her own equipment. Everyone has different lengths with their amputation, right? Mine's about six inches below my knee and because I'm not a super tall person That means that I'm not going to need a lot of extra height This comes with like a ton of pieces where you can extend it up really high I actually think I am like the model person to try this out on my own Because a lot of other people are super handy with this kind of stuff and I am terrified of it and not So if I can figure this out, I will feel extraordinarily confident In recommending it to other people wash your things. Is that what it is? Do you know what these are lori? Because I don't It's a nut I think that just illustrates how much you know What's this called? That's a nut Like one of the most basic possible things I will say I like on a completely superficial note. I really like the way this looks I feel like it's very sleek. There's no way that it's gonna be that simple But in theory it should be that simple Oh, we're getting somewhere boy. Oh, yeah, let me just Guess at the actual lining up Oh, this is gonna be so different to learn how to run it so I can obviously feel that I haven't like tightened it down yet It does feel like this side like my hips are higher. I don't know. I'm gonna get just the right height Tighten it down and we're gonna try to run on it. There's no way it's actually that simple though All of my anxiety for today moving up this little would have been For nothing The easiest way to do it is to hold that wrench steady and then use the allen wrench and twist the nut any man lessons with lori Four years in the army corps of engineers will do that. Oh, yeah, for real It's a nut I think we have assembled it properly. Oh, I can already tell it's a lot like bouncier Which is exactly what we're looking for. All right. Wish me luck getting up the stairs without falling I always feel like a dinosaur or like a raptor with these on it's a huge shout-out to Are you just gonna ruin the shout-out? Yes, you are. You need to get sponsored by a dog trainer Hi, thank you so much to brooks and zappos adaptive for sending me your singles If you don't know about zappos adaptive they have incredible adaptive gear clothing shoes You can buy single pairs of shoes because I only need one running shoe because the other one's a blade. Let's try it Let's try running. It's like has more bounce to it. So I just adjusted it inward a little bit put another sock on first like Extra padding the impact does not quite feel fantastic on the bottom of my leg I do like that this one like this blade is significantly smaller because with the other one when I'd walk I'd accidentally turn in And got like so many bruises right there I know any running coach for watching this is going to be move your arms more It feels okay, though. This might have actually worked Which is fantastic. So the goal is is walking or running a 5k in a couple weeks This feels way better for that. Like I don't feel the same pressure in my knee and my hips This was a lot easier to assemble than I thought it might be There is still the giant question mark of can I get my foot back on? I think I've gained some confidence in my skills I didn't hit my head on the trainers All right now the real challenge getting the foot back on Also, it's almost puppy dinner time as you might notice. They are very aware of the clock Hi So I attempted to make markings in permanent marker Like where it's supposed to line up if this actually works. I will feel Amazing that I actually did this myself. I should have learned how to do this Literally two years ago, but I've just been terrified to adjust anything So I'm like, what if I mess it up? But this is a part of me like this is something I use every day something I travel with I really should know how all the parts and pieces work So I think this is a good exercise and kind of forcing me to learn Thank you. Oh my god It feels like dead weight after Being on something so bouncy Getting off the slidewalk at the airport. Yes, I'm going really fast. Then you get off and you're like, oh, I'm so slow Actually, that's a very good comparison to what it feels like Let me just make sure it's that and not that I did something terribly wrong with the alignment Are the black dots in the black in the back lined up like yeah, like there mostly This actually works That is really cool Hello there So it is a couple days later And I wanted to give you a quick update on how this has been working out because it's been absolutely fantastic That video that you just saw was me just kind of like trying it out for the first time But after spending a little bit more time on this, it really feels amazing I sincerely think I'll be able to actually run a 5k in a month or two We'll see I figured out how to get the angle right on this and a little bit more about my gait And how to relax more into it not be so tight on one side because I think I'm like trying to protect my body But actually relaxing into running starts feeling a lot better When I started thinking about getting back into running one of my biggest concerns was protecting the rest of my body Specifically protecting my remaining foot my left foot the only meat foot I have left I started researching what I could actually do to make sure my foot stays protected The first thing that always comes up is of course always good running shoes And as I looked into things Brooks came up front and center This is actually the first single shoe that I bought from zappos adaptive I have a whole video about it that I'll link up here And this was actually before I was partnered with zappos adaptive and Brooks Since then they are sponsoring this video. They sent me a bunch of amazing gear that I've been trying out Oh my gosh, there's so many shoes in here color is absolute perfection We've got an adorable Brooks running shirt that is oh so soft. Oh these are gonna fit perfectly too and an absolutely perfect Running zip up. This is amazing. This is something I'll probably wear every time I go running It's like light enough to provide a little bit of a little bit of coverage a little bit of warmth But not be smothering growing up. I don't think I understood the importance of investing in good gear But as a 30 year old now, I know that I want to protect my body and having good shoes is where a lot of that starts for me So thank you so much to zappos adaptive and Brooks for sponsoring this video If you follow me on instagram, you've heard me talk about zappos adaptive a lot I am so excited about what they are doing They're providing adaptive clothing and gear and shoes and the ability to buy one shoe at a time If you only need one if your other foot happens to be a blade There are a lot of other uses for that They are a fantastic company that actually listens to and serves the disabled community and beyond so please go check them out Also, they are just genuinely delightful and lovely people who I love having a chance to work with I am actually getting ready right now to go for a light jog with my friend onica onica the amputee You can find her on instagram. She is an absolute delight as well. And uh, we're gonna try We're gonna try running together. I'll be honest. She's way more fit than I am So I am a little intimidated. I'm gonna have to stop at least 10 times as much as she does But I'll still get there. I'll still get there Which means that I'm gonna turn off the camera get this hooked on to my socket here and go for a jog Thank you so much for listening and watching. Thank you so much to my amazing patrons for making these videos possible And to you watching this video right now Thank you so much for spending a few minutes out of your day here with me today You could be anywhere else in the world doing anything else And you chose to hang out with me for a few minutes and I truly appreciate that I love you guys. I'm thinking about you and I'll see you in the next video. Bye guys