Shoe Changes to Make After Injury

txRUNNERgirl wrote:

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.

No you don't. Diet has FAR more to do with your body weight than exercise ever will. You can lose weight without running a step. It's all about being disciplined in your diet.

Also, you can do low impact exercises like swimming and biking to burn calories.

Just to clarify things, I am biking 60-120 minutes every day @ 90-110 rpm, as well as lifting 3x per week. I also eat a healthy diet. I was a vegetarian, now I occasionally eat some fish, along with vegetables, fruit, low-fat or fat-free dairy and whole grains. I avoid processed foods as much as possible.

Here's an idea. I apologize if someone as already mentioned this. Your probably getting injured because of your excessive CAFFEINE intake. CAFFEINE inhibits the absorption of CALCIUM. Calcium is sort of important for bone health, especially in runners. I bet this would help you stay healthy. Again, someone has already told you this but...

WTF does 90-110 RPM have to do with anything. What matters is the load (i.e. wattage) you are working at, not the RPM. Isn't is pretty obvious that if f you aren't losing weight doing what you are doing, you're doing something wrong?

Hate to say it but that's exactly what I thought.

you need to eat meat. More protein = stronger = less injuries.

There's also probably something biomechanically wrong with you, if you got a stress fracture running 30-40 mpw.

I'm really looking for shoe advice, not medical advice. No offense to anyone, but I'd rather listen to my doctor for that and not argue on letsrun about it. As far as caffeine intake affecting bone loss, I don't believe that has been proven.

uh, Newton??

No offense, but I think taking weight off and improving calium intake would work better than finding the right shoe.

Did you ever consider the construction of the Piranha?

The Piranha is a very stiff shoe. Also, there are huge gaps in the midsole/sole which creates less surface area on the sole. This could distribute your weight load onto isolated points on your feet.

What do you think?

Also, how is your form? Are you over striding? How many step/min do you run? There are a lot of factors that could go into your stress fracture (some of which have been discussed already). But if you are looking for shoe recommendations...

I would say stay away from those high-tech, super light weight road racing flats, these shoes are not made for training. Try a more flexible shoe that has more surface area on the sole. I like xc flats. These are usually flexible, have a lot of surface area on the sole, very protective from rocks and crap that can bruise your feet, and they don't vary much from company to company.

why not go back to something like the adizero RC? Sounds like you were OK running in those; they have a nice, low heel, and some decent cushioning. Oftentimes, what worked for you in the past can work for you again in the future.

TxRunnergirl,

Did the doctor say the shoes are what caused the stress fracture?

I think jrunnerxc82 is right about the Pirahna. I ordered them online and I should have gotten at least a half size smaller. I ordered the size I wore in other brands, but the Asics fit bigger. I should have exchanged them, but I was to eager and didn't want to wait longer (my other shoes were worn down quite a bit). It's tough to get the right fit because my feet are two different sizes. They fit my right foot okay, but were probably too big on the left, which is also the foot that has the fracture. So perhaps I was landing in the wrong part of the shoe.

i agree jxrunner's post was very well thought out.If you have feet different sizes (by how much .5 size, 1, 2?) this could be an important factor no matter what model of shoes you buy.My right foot is slightly longer, but only slightly. When I wear shoes they are anywhere from 1 size to 1.5 size bigger than my "official" size.Taking the insoles out can make the fit more comfortable.

txRUNNERgirl wrote:

I think jrunnerxc82 is right about the Pirahna. .... It's tough to get the right fit because my feet are two different sizes. They fit my right foot okay, but were probably too big on the left, which is also the foot that has the fracture.

txRUNNERgirl wrote:

I'm really looking for shoe advice, not medical advice. No offense to anyone, but I'd rather listen to my doctor for that and not argue on letsrun about it. As far as caffeine intake affecting bone loss, I don't believe that has been proven.

My shoe advice is that worrrying about the weight of shoes is silly until you get rid of the excess weight on you. Your doctor will tell you the same thing. Being overweight is one of the worst things possible for your running (and your health).

Don't believe the part about caffeine if you don't want to. Doesn't keep it from being true.

Caffeine intake increasing the rate of bone loss:

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/74/5/694

http://www.docguide.com/news/content.nsf/news/8525697700573E1885256AF5006AC98A

http://www.medicinenet.com/caffeine/page4.htm

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1663928

Sorry tex, you would be wrong. ALL females should increase calcium intake because ALL females are subject to a high rate of bone loss. ESPECIALLY females who exercise. This is just plain fact.

Eating disorders lead to weakened bones. Corrected eating disorder does not strengthen bones overnight. That takes time. Increased body weight on weak bones plus trying to run again on weak bones = stress fracture. Tex, you should know this. Come on girl! Adding caffeine to the mix only makes things worse.

Switch to a more cushioned trainer until you get your weight down to a comfortable running weight again. Then you can switch to a "flat", but use common sense....use a "marathon" racing flat not a 5oz piece of air.

ONE training session will not cause a stress fracture. Repeated running on weak bones due to past eating issues, lack of calcium, plus increased caffeine, WILL.

Increase your bone strength through weight training before you try to run your way back to health. You can't run to get fit, but you have to be fit to run. Weight loss will probably happen quicker if you stop or reduce the running for a while and hit the weights. Interval train (20-30 second sprints, full rest or 1:00 hard/2:00 easy) will also help you lose weight faster. A study compared a group of ran 5 hours a week to a group who did 90 minutes of interval training a week. The interval training group burned fewer calories but lost MORE weight.

Alan

So let's see if I've got this right...

txRUNNERgirl is:

- A bit overweight

- Running in ill-fitting shoes

- Wearing one of the lightest flats on the market

- Running with poor biomechanics (from an earlier thread regarding poor Q-angle)

- Stressing an already weak skeletal system (from previously mentioned eating disorder)

- Drinking $10 worth of caffeine per day (from the free Starbucks thread)

- Doing hard hill workouts without developing a proper base

Golly, why did she get a stress fracture?

the above poster is probably right about why you actually have a stress fracture, but your looking for shoe advice here it is.

Your foot disperses stress much like an arching bridge does, the stress is spread throughout the foot via your arch. Many times a stress fracture of that kind can be related to poor stress dispersion. Now you may consider yourself a neutral runner, but what a slight amount of pronation control can do is help cradle your arch and spread weight along it more evenly, helping prevent an injury much like yours. As far as shoe suggestions go to accomplish this, the DS trainer or the Mizuno wave elixir. Good luck, hope this helps and hope you get back to running soon.

This thread is a testimony to Letsrun's ability to provide sound, well-argued ideas without slamming the original poster who asked for thoughts.

Encouraging.