How I learned the importance of running shoes
My First Year of Running, (that's how I think of it, like it's a title) included a 7 mile race and two half marathons, with another half marathon relay (that's a quarter marathon, which sounds less impressive). I was finding my happy pace that year, chugging along toward my first half marathon.
To be blunt, it stunk. It took all my secret dreams of a smooth and easy race and crushed them. I walked the last 2 miles. Afterward, I dragged my stiff self home and figured I could do better. So half marathon number two came up and I aced it. That's a personal definition, as there were so many people who did it "better" than me in terms of time, or energy left over, or really fun outfits. But for me, I accomplished my goal of proving that I could actually run, with no stops for walking, a half marathon.
To be blunt, it stunk. It took all my secret dreams of a smooth and easy race and crushed them. I walked the last 2 miles. Afterward, I dragged my stiff self home and figured I could do better. So half marathon number two came up and I aced it. That's a personal definition, as there were so many people who did it "better" than me in terms of time, or energy left over, or really fun outfits. But for me, I accomplished my goal of proving that I could actually run, with no stops for walking, a half marathon.
But I lost three toenails as a result and took a month off to recover. That seemed pretty excessive, even to my untrained, newbie running mind. Do you know how long it takes toenails to grow back? Over that entire summer I had to bare my scary looking runner's feet to the world. I developed a love hate relationship with my shoes, too. This makes sense, as it paired nicely with my love hate relationship with running at the time. But I'm no quitter and I knew I could find some solutions if I kept working the problem from different angles.
I started out in a pair of Brooks Ghost 7 shoes in a fun blue color that were really comfortable. They got me through all my early training and my first race, the "Lucky Seven," happily enough. My debut into the challenge of running did not involve any problems I could attribute to my shoes at that point. Then, I followed some advice to switch brands when it came time to get new shoes. The logic was that if the shoe is causing any correction you don't want, continuing in that shoe could lead to wear and tear problems in your body. Even though I'd had no problems up to that point, it was postulated that perhaps I was just a ticking time bomb of problems to come if I wore the same shoe too long. That seemed reasonable, and I didn't want to tempt fate, so I switched to a pair of Saucony Rides. They looked really cool and they felt great.
One of the things that makes me a good runner is my ability to endure discomfort and rally when things are tough. These are things all runners develop, otherwise you'd quit running the first time you got blisters or gasped for air like a fish out of water. So when I started to develop knee pain, I figured I needed more stretching and maybe some strength training. The problem in my knee was only happening on one side, so it seemed reasonable that I either have a different gait on that side or a weakness somewhere in the hip or leg. These both could be true, but since this is a blog about shoes, you've probably figured out where I'm going with this.
So weeks, WEEKS, go by and I'm still frustrated by knee pain. It was fairly classic iliotibial band syndrome with a knife-like stab of pain in the outside of the knee that would cause me to gasp in pain when it kicked in. Sometimes the pain was so bad I'd have to stop for a minute just to be able to walk again. Runners can be a bit dense at times, especially when determined to overcome some ailment, and in my determination to overcome this, I had completely forgotten I'd changed shoes before it started happening. Eventually, after about four months of wearing the shoes, a little light bulb blinked on in my mind and I started to wonder if I should change them.
First, let me say that I think the Saucony Ride shoe line is completely fantastic. This wasn't an issue of the shoe being made poorly or bad technology or any kind of ding against them. But it wasn't the shoe for me at the time. I discovered something called the Heel-Toe Offset and it changed everything for me. The Heel-Toe Offset is simply the difference in height between your heel and your toe in a shoe. Some shoes raise the heels more than others, and the Brooks Ghost shoe I'd started in had an offset of 11+ millimeters. The Saucony Rides, however, have a much lower offset of 7-8mm. There are many runners who run at all different offsets, and higher is not necessarily better, but it made a difference for me.
So I went back to an 11+ mm offset and slowly ran my muscles out of the problem. What was happening was that the change was too hard on my system. I had a lot going on, being a new runner. All kinds of things change when you start running, and it's a slow process! Your joints, muscles, tendons, everything has to undergo change to deal with the repetitive movement and the strike on the ground. My body simply wasn't ready to take another change in the process. So my calves locked up hard, which pulled on my knee and the problem just worked it's way right up to my hip. Once I switched the shoes, and kept doing daily stretching and foam rolling, the kinks worked their way back out and the pain stopped.
Now that I've got a couple years of running experience, I'm careful with any change in shoes. I still like to brand surf a bit (I'm currently in love with a pair of Hoka One One Clifton series), but I am very aware of any changes that happen in my body in the weeks after a shoe shift.
When I change shoes, I always look up the grid of information on each shoe on Running Warehouse. They have a terrific website with information on every shoe, including the heel-toe offset, pronation control and stack height.
Pronation is when your ankle joint allows your foot to collapse inward when you run, so a pronation control shoe will give added support on the inner edge of the shoe to keep your foot in a more stable position. Stack Height is the thickness of the sole of the shoe.
If you live somewhere that has a good running store, their shoe department is usually staffed with knowledgeable people who have all this information. If you like to shop from home, or find a great deal on a running shoe in a store that isn't so staffed, look the shoe up on Running Warehouse to get as much information as you can before you buy. I also will only buy shoes from a store that will allow me to return them for store credit, even if I've already worn them. Fleet Feet and Running Warehouse both have this policy. It's important, because it takes a few runs to find out how the shoe really works for you. If you have a running shoe you like already, look it up and use it as your guide for buying a new pair so you don't switch attributes to abruptly on yourself.
Lastly, when you get a new pair of kicks you love, post a photo and tell the world. Because even your non-runner friends can appreciate a little shoe porn.
One of the things that makes me a good runner is my ability to endure discomfort and rally when things are tough. These are things all runners develop, otherwise you'd quit running the first time you got blisters or gasped for air like a fish out of water. So when I started to develop knee pain, I figured I needed more stretching and maybe some strength training. The problem in my knee was only happening on one side, so it seemed reasonable that I either have a different gait on that side or a weakness somewhere in the hip or leg. These both could be true, but since this is a blog about shoes, you've probably figured out where I'm going with this.
So weeks, WEEKS, go by and I'm still frustrated by knee pain. It was fairly classic iliotibial band syndrome with a knife-like stab of pain in the outside of the knee that would cause me to gasp in pain when it kicked in. Sometimes the pain was so bad I'd have to stop for a minute just to be able to walk again. Runners can be a bit dense at times, especially when determined to overcome some ailment, and in my determination to overcome this, I had completely forgotten I'd changed shoes before it started happening. Eventually, after about four months of wearing the shoes, a little light bulb blinked on in my mind and I started to wonder if I should change them.
First, let me say that I think the Saucony Ride shoe line is completely fantastic. This wasn't an issue of the shoe being made poorly or bad technology or any kind of ding against them. But it wasn't the shoe for me at the time. I discovered something called the Heel-Toe Offset and it changed everything for me. The Heel-Toe Offset is simply the difference in height between your heel and your toe in a shoe. Some shoes raise the heels more than others, and the Brooks Ghost shoe I'd started in had an offset of 11+ millimeters. The Saucony Rides, however, have a much lower offset of 7-8mm. There are many runners who run at all different offsets, and higher is not necessarily better, but it made a difference for me.
So I went back to an 11+ mm offset and slowly ran my muscles out of the problem. What was happening was that the change was too hard on my system. I had a lot going on, being a new runner. All kinds of things change when you start running, and it's a slow process! Your joints, muscles, tendons, everything has to undergo change to deal with the repetitive movement and the strike on the ground. My body simply wasn't ready to take another change in the process. So my calves locked up hard, which pulled on my knee and the problem just worked it's way right up to my hip. Once I switched the shoes, and kept doing daily stretching and foam rolling, the kinks worked their way back out and the pain stopped.
Now that I've got a couple years of running experience, I'm careful with any change in shoes. I still like to brand surf a bit (I'm currently in love with a pair of Hoka One One Clifton series), but I am very aware of any changes that happen in my body in the weeks after a shoe shift.
When I change shoes, I always look up the grid of information on each shoe on Running Warehouse. They have a terrific website with information on every shoe, including the heel-toe offset, pronation control and stack height.
Pronation is when your ankle joint allows your foot to collapse inward when you run, so a pronation control shoe will give added support on the inner edge of the shoe to keep your foot in a more stable position. Stack Height is the thickness of the sole of the shoe.
If you live somewhere that has a good running store, their shoe department is usually staffed with knowledgeable people who have all this information. If you like to shop from home, or find a great deal on a running shoe in a store that isn't so staffed, look the shoe up on Running Warehouse to get as much information as you can before you buy. I also will only buy shoes from a store that will allow me to return them for store credit, even if I've already worn them. Fleet Feet and Running Warehouse both have this policy. It's important, because it takes a few runs to find out how the shoe really works for you. If you have a running shoe you like already, look it up and use it as your guide for buying a new pair so you don't switch attributes to abruptly on yourself.Lastly, when you get a new pair of kicks you love, post a photo and tell the world. Because even your non-runner friends can appreciate a little shoe porn.
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