Lydia’s 60-Day Reset
I used to spend my days off recovering from my shifts. Now, they feel like days off again.
An RN on the one question she stopped asking about work shoes — and the clog detail that changed what she looks for.
After twelve hours on my feet, I wasn’t just tired. I was deciding what to cancel the next day so I could stay off them.
Breakfast out. A walk with my husband. The little things I worked so hard to have time for.
I thought that was simply part of being a nurse — until I started questioning how I chose my shoes.
Before I said yes to plans, I checked how much walking was involved.
I had the day off. I wanted to go.
But my first thought was: How far would we have to park? Could we sit down right away?
After a stretch of twelve-hour shifts, I’d come home and sit down before even changing out of my scrubs.
So I texted back. I was saving my feet for my next shift.
If you nodded at two or more, keep reading. This is the part I wish someone had told me sooner.
We all had a favorite shoe. We were all still looking for a better one.
When a coworker asked what I’d done on my days off, I told her: “Mostly stayed off my feet.”
“Same.”
Soon, we were comparing shoes. Clogs. Running shoes. Gel inserts. The extra-soft pair someone swore by.
Everyone had a recommendation. Then came the familiar question:
“Have you found anything better?”
We’d started treating sore feet like another part of the uniform. But I began to wonder whether we were asking the right question.
I’d been checking softness. I hadn’t been looking closely at support.
My shoe-shopping routine was simple: press the sole, take a few steps, look for that soft, sinking feeling.
I was judging an entire shift by a few seconds.
Then I started reading about how our feet carry weight. In one study of healthy adults standing still, the rearfoot carried roughly 55% of the load on each foot.*
*Average rearfoot loading in one static-standing study. Loading varies by person and activity. This was not a PIPU product test. [Study citation]
That made me pay more attention to the heel. Footwear guidance also discussed arch support alongside heel cushioning — two things I’d been treating as interchangeable.
Softness alone couldn’t tell me how a shoe supported my foot.
And where is the cushioning placed?
Eventually, I stopped making plans I might have to cancel.
I left mornings open after my shifts. Let my husband walk the dog. Told friends I’d check my schedule when I already knew I was free.
Each decision seemed small. Together, they were changing my days off. I was getting through work by giving things up afterward.
I wanted breakfast with a friend back on the calendar. So I kept looking — with different questions this time.
It looked like another clog. Then I noticed what was inside.
While looking into supportive footwear, I came across PIPU, a Korean footwear brand. At first, it looked familiar.
Then I noticed the bright, peanut-shaped heel pad — and a footbed described as supporting three arches, not one.
Why that shape? Why three arches? I wanted to understand the design before trying another pair.
Two details made the design worth a closer look.
A footbed designed with three arches in mind.
PIPU’s developer describes considering the inner arch, outer arch, and transverse arch (the arch running across the foot) when shaping the footbed. The design brings those areas of support together with cushioning.
A heel pad with a reason for its extra curve.
According to the developer, the peanut shape extends beyond a simple oval to cushion the area around an inner-side bony prominence of the heel. That extra curve broadens the pad’s outline exactly where he wanted the cushioning to reach.
I’d been hopeful about shoes before. So I looked for evidence.
PIPU provided a foot-pressure comparison: a conventional shoe above, PIPU below. Red means concentrated pressure; blue means it’s spread out.
The images caught my attention. But I wanted to understand who was behind them.
I expected a marketing story. What I found was a man who has spent more than thirty years looking at feet.
The man who spent thirty years asking why feet hurt
A dinner invitation that changed his work
On a training trip in a completely different field, a local executive drove him into the mountains to a workshop molding custom insoles for competitive skiers. He thought about the people back home whose feet hurt every day — and went back for years of winter workshops to learn how it was done.
Four and a half hours without thinking about his feet
His first fitting back home was for an executive who played golf. Afterward, Kim asked how his feet had felt. The man couldn’t remember.
“If one grain of rice gets in your shoe, you stop and shake it out. He played four and a half hours and forgot his feet were there. That’s when I knew we were onto something.”
A clinic just for feet
He opened a foot-care center fitting custom insoles and handmade shoes, ran a study group where physicians came to learn about feet, and taught footwear design at a university.
One athlete, one spot on the heel
A professional athlete pointed to one spot on the inner side of his heel. Every cushion Kim could find was round or egg-shaped and sat in the middle. So he carved one to follow that spot. It came out looking like an upside-down peanut — and word spread through the team, then to other sports.
Still revising the heel
He has fitted thousands of feet over three decades. That peanut shape, refined through years of revisions, is the green pad inside every PIPU clog. When people ask what it does, he’s careful:
“No single insole fixes everything. Stretching and strength matter too. But the support has to start in the right place.”
Dong-yeop Kim studied industrial engineering and rehabilitation science. He is not a physician or a U.S.-licensed podiatrist, and he has a financial interest in PIPU.
None of that guaranteed the shoes would work for me. But it was the first time a brand could tell me why its heel pad had the shape it did. My own experience would still matter most.
What my first 2 weeks actually looked like
How it compared to what was already in my locker
My own notes, based on the shoes I’d actually worn. Your options may differ.
Before ordering, I wanted to understand my options.
What if the fit wasn’t right? What if I didn’t like the support? I wanted clear conditions before spending money on another pair.
The questions I had before ordering
I had the tab open for days. Here’s what I wanted to know.
Is a clog allowed on my unit?+
Check your workplace footwear policy first. Some patient-care areas require closed-back or closed-toe designs.
How does sizing run?+
Check the size chart on the product page — it takes a minute. If you’re between sizes and guess wrong, size exchanges are free (you only cover shipping).
Will the support feel strange at first?+
If you’re used to flat, soft footbeds, arch support can feel noticeable at first. For me it took a few shifts before it just felt normal.
Can I clean them after a shift?+
I wipe mine down after every shift. Follow the care instructions on the product page for the shell and the heel pad.
What if they don’t work for me?+
That was my biggest worry too. PIPU offers a 30-day guarantee: if your feet don’t feel better, you can return them. That’s what made me comfortable trying.
Your next day off deserves something to look forward to.
Breakfast with a friend. A walk you want to take. Saying yes because you have the day off. If you recognize the questions I started asking, take a closer look.
This is a paid advertisement. Lydia Kim is a registered nurse who received PIPU products and compensation from PIPU. The opinions and experiences are her own. Individual experiences vary.
PIPU clogs are footwear designed for comfort and support. They are not a medical device and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you have ongoing foot pain, talk to a healthcare provider. Check your workplace footwear policy before wearing open-design clogs in patient-care areas.