I've eaten well for the first two days of the 19 day challenge, although it feels like a lot longer than two days. It's starting to get warm here and is supposed to be about 25 C this weekend and with the humidex could feel like 31 C. With warm weather like that it is tough not to think of sitting on the deck and having some cool beers. This weekend will be a real test of commitment and discipline.
I had a appointment with a Podiatrist this morning. All he wanted to do was put me in Orthotics. He had the basic pair for $500 or the athletic pair for $750. I tried to ask him about the new theory that the more expensive the shoe and support, the greater the risk of injury. I recently read this at
http://runnersweb.com/running/RunnersWeb_External_Links.html?http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1170253/The-painful-truth-trainers-Are-expensive-running-shoes-waste-money.html
A lot of triathletes are telling me they have heard the same thing as outlined in the article. They are also seeing more runners running barefoot or with old style shoes.
When I asked the doctor about this, it went in one ear and out the other and he just kept telling me I need orthotics. He was pushing pretty hard and even gave me his cell number if I decided to get them. He as a little too aggressive and it seemed a little tacky for him to give me his cell phone number. I think I'm going to get some cheap runners like the article suggested and try that out first.
After wearing two left shoes yesterday I've decided to make sure it doesn't happen again and have now organized myself differently. Rather than having one bag that has my swimming and weight training equipment and clothing, I've now got two bags. One has all my swimming stuff and the other has my gym stuff and my gym bag has an old pair of shoes permanently put in it. This way I won't be putting in and taking out gear all the time and forgetting to put something back in the bag.
At lunch time I did my tempo swim. I wasn't looking forward to it, but I jumped in the pool and put one stroke in front of the other. The main speed session was 20 x 100's and I was happy with my performance. I did all of them between 1:42 - 1:48. Trying to keep them all under 1:50 made the swim a little more interesting and helped the time go by. I think I improved my technique and hopefully I won't forget what I did on my next swim. I've never enjoyed swimming and so far going only 2 times a week as opposed to 3 times has not slowed me down a bit. As a matter of fact I think I'm swimming faster than last year. Strange.
Tempo Swim - 1:07:24 / 3000 meters
Ate well yesterday
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2 comments:
Re. expensive running shoes and orthotics, I can tell you that I made some effort a few years back to improve my biomechanical efficiency as a runner and try to mid/forefoot-strike more. If you're a reasonably fast runner (and I see from your mapmyrun tweets that you are), you generally can't be a heel-striker anyway, it's too slow and plodding to result in any good speed. All those really expensive shoes like the Asics Gel Kinsei are designed for heavy plodding heel strikers, guys who run 4:30 marathons and such. As far as I'm concerned, if you can run ~5 min/km, less is more in shoes.
I started out first trying some barefoot running on the grass and realised to my surprise that I was already a pretty good midfoot striker. Then I picked up some Puma H Street shoes, which are just like running barefoot, and gradually started using them more and more. All the supporting muscles around my feet got stronger, and I got to the point where I even ran a half-marathon in them! Nowadays I use them in sprint tris and 5k races if the road surface is smooth and there aren't any sharp corners, as the sole is quite thin and there's basically no support at the heelcup. They are super light and super fast though.
Since then I've gone back to "regular" shoes mostly: my main shoes are Asics DS Trainers for long runs, Asics Gel Banditos for tempo runs and Asics DS Racers for track work and racing. Obviously I'm an Asics user :) but every brand has its various level of lightweight shoes. They like to advertise the heavy clunky expensive ones of course, but lightweight trainers and racers are where it's at!
Best of luck with your foot issues, but I don't think you'll regret trying out a lighter shoe with less cushioning, and leaving the orthotics and heavier shoes alone unless the "less is more" approach doesn't work.
Maryka, thats for the feedback. I thought I was going down the right path and now you've confirmed it. I'm going to try the less expensive shoes. Apprechiate the comments.
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