Monday, January 23, 2012

Aw, Shoe-t

I suppose this will be a positive and negative blog post. I’ll start with the good…

I completed Week 3 (aka Week 2-1) of half marathon training this week, and I’m steadily on schedule to complete Week 4 (2-2). The current schedule is working out just fine so far. I did an extra x-train day yesterday (Sunday), which was a scheduled rest day, but it was just an upper body workout with no cardio, so it shouldn’t have a negative impact on running. In fact, the only thing that seems to be negatively impacting my running is my diet. I’ve had far too many “cheat days”. I was hardcore frustrated a few nights ago that I really just felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere in this “shaping up” process. I’ve lost about 5 lbs over the course of a year (and really, that was only triggered by getting an organ removed). I thought I was doing everything possible to lose weight – after all, I eat healthy ALL the time… right? I noticed last week that in one day, I had 4 desserts. If you know me, you know I enjoy a good smorgasbord vs. one big piece of something, so it was half a cookie from a guy in the office, half a muffin, a small slice of (rich) cake, and a few pieces of chocolate. I’ve also had an insatiable onion ring craving, so even 10 of those is a massive setback. My mileage has barely increased right now… I’m probably burning an extra 500 calories/week at most and just can’t afford to have 4 desserts in one day… even if they’re little ones! I’m hoping to become a bit more aware of my eating, especially with my cousin’s wedding 2 weeks away. One massive advantage of going to Scotland for a wedding is hill running! I think that might offset some of the wedding cake.

On to the negatives… the shoes. As I mentioned in a previous post, I bought a new pair of Saucony Progrid Echelons last week. They’re the exact same as the ones I currently own, so I figured they wouldn’t have any issues. I took them for a spin on my long run on Saturday and was shocked to feel that my left foot felt like it was halfway over the sole of the shoes, spilling out into the narrow arch area. Basically, the inner wall of the shoe was supporting my arch (rather than the shoe). I hadn’t realized that over a year, I’d broken in my shoes to the point that I was running on the inside of it, and not the actual shoe. I also became hyper-aware of the outer part of my right foot (where the pinky toe is) was pressing against the side of the shoe. I realized that this just wasn’t going to fly and I either needed a wide, or a different shoe. Unfortunately the Running Room doesn’t carry wides in 10.5 mens in the Echelon. The guy at the store suggested I bring them back and try out a New Balance one (which I think I tried and didn’t like last year) and an Asics one. If there’s still no luck in there, then they’ll order me a wide.

Here’s my major dilemma:
I had orthotics prescribed to me a few months ago. I tried them out and the left one is definitely just way too strong. I gave up and just continued running in my neutral shoes with only inserts akin to Smart Feet in my shoes. My peroneal injury has gotten WAY better since I stopped running with orthotics (I had older orthotics that I ran in up until 2010). I get “creaky” here and there (sometimes tight calves or glutes), but I haven’t had a nagging injury that’s put me out of commission in almost 2 years.

Do I get my orthotics fixed and THEN buy a new pair of shoes? Or, do I just give up on getting orthotics that work (it’s taken 5+ years to find anything and nothing’s been successful), and maybe look at more supportive shoes?

I’m going to give the orthotics one last try since they felt “almost” right. If there’s no dice, it’s time to retry stabilizing shoes!

Anne

1 comment:

  1. I read something in a magazine that said you should run barefoot.

    ReplyDelete