The G Running Diary

Bad Feet: 9/2/04

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I'm working on being able to just run for 30 minutes regularly. I believe my fitness would be better if I could do that, and I would drop some of the fat that I'm carrying. Then I plan to get back into doing 50Ks. The trouble is that my leg keeps bothering me. I think it's just scar tissue that needs working out now and the injury is healed. But I want to make sure I have enough support in my shoes so that I don't reinjure the leg. My theory is that my arches are flattening and that causes strain on the anterior tibial tendon and muscle.

So, I set off today wearing Asics Kayanos, which are a stability shoe, and put in my orthotics from Dr. Hannaford. I've been wearing the orthotics a lot for walking around, but haven't worn them for running in about two years. I was only going for 30 minutes, so what could go wrong? Well, I headed out in one direction, and at about 20 minutes, realized I had blisters in my arches on both feet. And there wasn't a quick way home. So, that's a lesson. Severe blisters can actually happen in a short amount of time. I ran back because walking hurt about the same amount, so I thought I might as well get it over with quicker. I paused to tighten up my shoes, figuring locking things in place might help. It didn't help the blisters, but it did feel better to run. Lesson number two is, if you have hyper mobile feet (part of the thing motion control shoes are trying to correct), running in loose fitting shoes is a bad idea.

I lanced and patched up my feet when I got home. They are still on fire. I also iced my leg, which felt good. Next I will try the same shoes but with a different insert. I believe I need more support than the shoe provides, but I still struggle with the concept that a flat foot needs a high arch in the shoe. That just doesn't seem right.