Time For New Shoes

Is it Time For New Shoes? I don't mean a new pair of the same old shoes you have been running in since they started making that cut of shoe. I mean a completely different type of shoe. Did you have to change your shoes the last time you had a running injury to correct for the injury? Well now that you have corrected the injury you should look to fixing your running form next. You don't keep taking medication after you are feeling well, do you?


There are shoes out there to "fix" over-pronation, under-pronating, "weak" ankles, and flat feet. There is no shoe produced to help your run form, unless you make the conscious effort to run better. Running better requires you to feel what is wrong. Sometimes it is as if your feet are as far from your sense of awareness as China is from Des Moines. Stand on one leg and feel for the ground underneath your feet. Can you feel the ground? Can you feel anything uneven around the contact surface of your foot? If not then take your shoe off and feel the ground.

Now is the big definer of who should be running- Stand on one leg for 30-60 seconds. Having trouble? Take break. Take a breath. Try again. Still having trouble? Then maybe you should address your muscle and balance issues before attempt to move through those weaknesses. If you go to a personal trainer who loads your muscles without testing to see what you can control then you just may end the day with an injury.

Most people think that "Running is the most natural thing in the world" and they are right to a point. Running from a charging bear is perfectly natural, as is running from a perceived assailant. With these activities you run until you feel like it is safe or until you cannot run anymore. Running at a low to moderate intensity for an extended period of time is not the natural style of running.
The barefoot running community says that running barefoot is the safest way to run, but I think they are missing a MAJOR component of our history of running: we did not adapt on even surfaced, well paved roads. When we adapted as hunter/gatherers we ran silently through the woods and fields over sticks and rocks and roots, activating muscles in the hips and thighs that become inactive or dysfunctional while sitting at desks, driving cars, or even running barefoot on paved surfaces.
Running barefoot is a great way to make a visceral connection with how the foot meets the road surface. This connection is the start of correcting movement dysfunction in your running form, though I do not advocate running barefoot (nor do I discourage it for those who are interested, just use caution). When you feel your heel hit the ground it can limit how long you stride and how heavy you let your foot hit. This awareness and some self control can allow you to become a better, more efficient runner. More efficient running can lead to less injury and, given time, faster overall time regardless of your age.

Some tips for becoming a better runner:
1- Allow yourself to slow down. You don't have to set a PR every run.
2- Don't run if something hurts. Running can be uncomfortable on the lungs and the muscles, but if something hurts then you need to address it before it becomes an injury.
3- Use a running coach for a session or 2. A coach is the best way to improve your running skills.
4- View distance running as a skill that can be improved like drawing or writing.
5- Start slow and short. Training for a marathon can begin with a 1 mile run.