Shoe suggestions

I still don't get this notion that you can only midfoot/forefoot strike in certain types of shoes. If you already have good running form, you will/can MF strike in any shoe. My suggestion would be to go with a mid-level cushioned shoe (nike pegasus/adidas glide/saucony ride/brooks ghost/asics cumulus) and stop worrying so much about how you are landing. Do form drills, strides barefoot, other leg/foot strengthening exercises, and your form will work itself out - and on top of that, your ankle pain will probably go away.

Thanks

I disagree with you. Here's why:

Shoes with high heel to toe drop induces the athlete to heel strike because the heel, given it's thicker sole will make contact with the ground first. Whereas if you were shoes with a low heel to toe drop, it's much easier to forefoot strike naturally.

When looking for shoes, go to RunningWarehouse and filter by shoes with 3-4mm heel to toe drop or 0 heel to toe drop. 0 may be a pretty big change.

I train in flats, Saucony Type A5 (gets expensive as I go through a lot of pairs but it's worth it), and I've been doing 50-70 mpw injury free for over a year now. If you want more cushion, try Kinvara 3's.

the first of my kind wrote:

I disagree with you. Here's why:

Shoes with high heel to toe drop induces the athlete to heel strike because the heel, given it's thicker sole will make contact with the ground first. Whereas if you were shoes with a low heel to toe drop, it's much easier to forefoot strike naturally.

I call BS. I've run in some of the biggest cushiest shoes out there over the years. At one point I went Vomero, Glycerine, Vomero. None of the shoes, ... let me repeat, NONE of the shoes, ever showed noticeable wear on the heel. Right now I run in everything from Light stability NB's to Brooks Connects to racing flats. The Connects actually have the most heal wear (most miles too though). I have a pair of NB 890's, kind of middle of the road drop, with about 500 miles on them. The forefoot cushioning is pretty shot, but there is minimal heel wear.

Shoes do NOT make everyone heel strike. Everyone is different. Everyone needs to find what works for them.

Oh, and I forgot ... Kinvara's (1 and 3, had 'em both). Pretty noticeable heel wear. I find them kind of slappy, so I think I've always tried to find ways to get more roll under my foot so I specifically try NOT to mid foot in them.

Unless if you're a hobby jogger, you can forget the whole minimalist thing. A lot of minimalist talk s*** about tradition shoes and about how tradition shoes are not natural. Natural =/= speed. The 12 mm offset in tradition shoes will actually make you run faster. Just don't heel strike in them. If heel striking in traditional shoes is natural for you, un-naturalize yourself. It make time some time to convert to a midfoot/forefoot strike, but it will do you a lot of good. More good than a minimalist shoe would. Some of my favorite running shoes include: Mizuno Wave Rider, Mizuno Wave Inspire, Nike Zoom Structure, Nike Zoom Pegasus, Asics Gel Kayano, Asics Gel 2000 GT or 21xx GT, Asics Gel Cumulus, and Adidas Adizero Rocket.