Shoe Changes to Make After Injury

Perhaps you should change away from being a fore or midfoot striker. You probably are running too slow to do that efficiently.

No, I that's my natural stride. I'd do a lot more damage if I was a heel striker. The problem with most running shoes is that they are made for heel striking (thick cushioned heels). This forced me to land too far on my toes, which I think caused the pressure/pain in my tibia.

You need a sugar daddy to buy you an alter-G treadmill!

I train in Asics HyperSpeed 2s. Nice and light, but tons of cushion in the forefoot (although pointy rocks seem to somehow penetrate it and those hurt to step on), just watch your footing where there are lots of rocks and you'll be fine.

Get a full trainer. I got a 2nd met stress fracture a year and a half ago and I switched to a very cushioned shoe. I also would practice running small amounts barefoot around the track to improve my form as far as minimizing forces on my foot when I strike. Just try to make your foot strike as silent as possible and it means you are doing a good job. Transferring that low-force form to a cushioned trainer has helped me stay completely injury free even when running %150 of the mileage I was doing when I got the stress fracture.

A word of caution on the Nike Frees. My friend, who trained regularly with them at 65 mpw, started doing hard workouts once XC season started and after a week of 75-80 on the pavement and track, just snapped his 2nd met. Doesn't sound too desirable.

The Nike Lunar Trainer (not racer) is a unique shoe. While it is minimalist in structure it has a lot of cush, which, according to Nike, will last quite a while. I ran a marathon in the Lunar Racer and really liked the amount of cushion it had. Best of luck to you.

surely there is a middle ground between an Asics Pirana and a Wave Rider

Lunar Trainer, Zoom RS series (Jasari/etc) Hayward 3, all have more cushion, Speedstar 3's, etc

I used to run daily in the Zoom Streak XC, loved the shoe but slowly felt like I needed a bit more cushioning. For me the Brooks T5 is the answer, you may want to look into that.

Lose weight. I'm always amazed at runners who fret about an extra ounce or two on their shoes when they're carrying around an extra 10 or 15 pounds on their bodies. Excess body weight does more to injure runners than shoes ever did. Think of all the extra shock that gets sent through your body thousands of times during a run.

Less body weight = less injury.

Don't lose weight...might lose some of your boobs.

okay wrote:

Lose weight. I'm always amazed at runners who fret about an extra ounce or two on their shoes when they're carrying around an extra 10 or 15 pounds on their bodies. Excess body weight does more to injure runners than shoes ever did. Think of all the extra shock that gets sent through your body thousands of times during a run.

Less body weight = less injury.

Let me add: this assumes you have weight to lose. I've found the old "2 pounds per inch of height" rule is a remarkably accurate guide. When I allow my weight to creep above this level, an injury inevitably follows. When my weight is below this, I run strong and healthy. Why? Less body weight = less force being sent throughout the body while running.

I do have weight to lose, but I need to run to lose it. Kind of a catch 22. I'm hoping the strength training will speed things up. My metabolism sucks because I had some eating issues and was underweight and undernourished for a few years, hence the bad bones (aka female athlete triad). Then the injuries came and I gained weight. Ugh. Anyway, I definitely know I need to lose weight, but it's going to happen at a slow rate unfortunately. FYI my first stress fracture happened when I was 5'7, 108 lbs. I'm heavier now, but this just shows I get injured no matter what kind of shape I'm in.

bitch you suck. just start riding a bike

You are right that most training shoes are technically meant for heel striking but that shouldn't stop you from using them. Granted, I don't know very much about your injury history, but it seems that you need more under your foot. Don't go with a stability shoe or anything like that, just stick with neutral, cushioning shoes (still light enough, but more substantial). It will take some time to adjust to these but you will.

I am also a midfoot striker but had serious problems with patellar tendinitis (not to mention two cases of stress fractures) and had to switch to stability trainers. I still strike with my midfoot (no wear whatsoever on the heel) and I actually feel that by having to adjust to the trainers, it improved my running economy. I still use flats (Nike Lunar Racer) but only twice a week (long run and tempo run).

Hopefully this helps, good luck

txRUNNERgirl wrote:

I do have weight to lose, but I need to run to lose it.

Actually, changes in diet and eating habits would have more impact on weight than exercise would.

Also, get your butt in the pool or on a bike if you need to burn calories. Just because you go with you "natural stride" doesn't mean it is your ideal stride. I have seen plenty of forefoot strikers who strike too far ahead of their center of gravity. The stride is trainable, I know from first-hand experience.

TxRunnergirl, Why not try a minimalist shoe, take out the insole and replace with an over the counter insole with a little extra padding?

That is what I recommend to my runners who do better with minimal shoes with less heel bulk.

Definitely run around the inside of the track on the grass barefoot whenever you can. I usually do the last two miles of my runs barefoot on the track. There was an essay on here a few weeks ago about it, really interesting.

there it is