Bonjour! First off I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday celebrations to the fullest, and rang in the new year in the best way possible. But enough about celebrating, lets get back to running!
First, I just wanted to say that my leg pains and possible injuries are a thing of the past. I have ran everyday since Christmas Eve (minus 2 days off for a break) and have yet to be in pain! The minimum amount I ran was 3 miles and the only thing I feel besides a healthy body is the usual slight muscle soreness. I am not sure if I stated in here before about my leg pains, but it was pretty bad. I have been running on and off for about 8 or 9 years now and have ran far distances (well, as far as 8 miles) before but this past 5 to 6 months, I have had horrible leg pains on my inner calf. Not shin splints, just horrible muscle soreness, after only running 2 or 3 miles, which for me isn't too far. Even after the Turkey Trot I was in a lot more pain than expected, it hurt to walk and even stretching for more time before and after runs, I could not shake this leg pain. It was driving me absolutely crazy, I thought my legs were doomed. I tried to think of reasons why this was happening, I made sure I was more hydrated before runs, ate enough protein in my diet, and gave myself 1 day in between runs, (when usually I could run 4 to 5 days in a row without problem). Still, the leg pain would come back every single time.
I then started to observe my feet while running. I would look down at my feet while outside and (when the weather forced me inside) on the treadmill. I watched my stride, studied what my feet were doing, how my ankles moved, how my legs reacted as my feet pounded down again and again. Now I know I have high arches in my feet, I always have, and therefore have always purchased running shoes with more pronounced arch support. But what I noticed now was that each time I stepped, my ankles were slightly pointed out while my foot was going much more inward. When I focused just on my stride, I could feel it; I was not landing properly on my feet, my feet kept rolling inward and my shoes were not supporting this movement at all, if anything they made it worse! And each time I stepped down, I could feel more strain on the inside of my legs. I had found my problem. I was an over-pronator, and my Nike running shoes were not suited for my needs. After some research, I found some wonderful Asics shoes that are specifically for people with a stride like mine.
The purpose of this story I just shared is to help all you current and future runners realize just how important the proper running shoe is! It can make or break your run, the wrong shoe can destroy your stride and put you at risk for a lot of injuries, while the right running shoe can make you feel like you are running on air, or clouds, and that you can keep going forever. So I am here to help you realize what kind of foot you have, how to identify the type of stride you have, and what types of shoes to look for to suit your specific stride.
1. What kind of foot you have: Basically, this test just determines if you have a high arch, a neutral arch, or flat feet. There is a simple test you can use to determine this, all you need is your bare feet, a little bit of water in a bowl, and a paper bag. Stand up, dip your bare foot (or both feet if you wish) into the shallow bowl of water and while your foot is still wet (but not drenched) step onto the paper bag to leave an imprint of your foot on it. When you step off of the bag, your foot print should reveal of you have a high arch or not. The skinnier the section of where your arch should be at on the print, the higher your arch is (which makes sense). And of course, the larger the section, the flatter your foot is. When I did this, I had a more neutral print. People with flatter feet tend to over-pronate and sometimes even severely over-pronate. People with neutral feet to higher arched feet tend to over pronate (this is me) and people with high arches tend to under pronate. What does this mean?
2. Over Pronation and Under Pronation: Over pronation means that as you run, your foot tends to roll inwards more; therefore, you need a lot more support on the inner area of your shoe. A sign of this can be seen on your current running shoes: If you look at the bottom of your shoe, pay attention to the inside edges of the shoe. If you notice the inside tends to be a lot more worn out than the rest of your shoe, then you definitely over pronate! A shoe with more support on the inside will help your foot stabilize more and keep it from actually over pronating, as over pronating results on more stress on the foot, which in turn can cause a lot of stress on your legs and hips. These shoes will usually contain names or descriptions such as "Motion Control" or "Stabilizing" and though they tend to be a bit heavier, the results are well worth the extra ounces. Under pronation means that as you run, your foot tends to move to the outside or outer edge more. This results in more shock absorption on the legs and less on the heel (where it should be). People who under pronate will have the outer edges of their current running shoes more worn out. Under pronators need more cushioning throughout their entire running shoe in order to compensate for their reduced shock absorption. These types of shoes will usually be marked as "Neutral" shoes (don't let the name fool you, they are for under pronators!) as these shoes will have ample cushioning throughout the entire shoe. These shoes wont be as heavy as ones for over pronators, but will definitely feel a little bulky. Other ways to see if you over or under pronate is to look at your ankles. If your ankles are pointing more outwards, your foot is actually hitting the ground more on the inner sole (over pronation) and if your ankle is pointing more inwards, your foot is actually hitting more on the outer sole (under pronation).
Most runners are actually over pronators, but if you are curious check just in case! If you are lucky enough to be a neutral strider, than shoes such as the Nike Free Runs are good for you because you don't need any corrective design in your shoes!
Hmm all this talk of pronation is making me hungry...maybe because I am typing this on my lunch break instead of actually eating my lunch...or maybe because I have a new wonderful pro-running food to share with you all!!!!!!!!!
WILD Salmon (emphasis on the Wild part) is a great food in general. For me, I eat it raw or cooked (I actually prefer it raw when sushi-grade!) Why is salmon so awesome? For one, it tastes great but also it has wonderfully high levels of Omega-3 Fatty Acids! What do these beautiful Omega-3s do for us? For one, they act as an anti-inflammatory which means they can help us feel less sore after runs by soothing our achy joints. For another, WILD Salmon and its yummy fishy oils can increase heart stroke volume (amount of blood the heart pumps in each contraction) and cardiac output (total amount of blood pumped by the heart). This makes for a happy strong and healthy heart, and we all know how important that is.
Also a side note, I put a large emphasis on Wild Salmon (not Farm Raised!!!!!!!!) because farm raised salmon is typically a dirtier fish, with a lot of contamination not only from being in close quarters, but also from the *feed* they are provided with. Why get icky farm-raised fish when you can have fresh wild caught salmon? I won't lecture on my own personal food ethics and rules, but if you are interested go ahead and Google it or read up on some journals about it. And that is my rant!
I hope this post helps you prevent possible injury and helps you get proper shoes for your run. In case any of you were wondering, the shoes I had were Nike Air Max (a great shoe, just not for me) and I am now using Asics Gel Foundation (a great shoe that an expert helped me pick out). And I love my new shoes they are awesome!
Happy Running, work off that Holiday food!
No comments:
Post a Comment