Sunday, February 11, 2007

A concatenation of good information on overpronation

ORN: Saturday: 4 miles, 44:25, 11:06 pace, R3/W2

Having come to the conclusion I could in fact run again, I turned my attention this past week to the riddle: “Just why did this ITB thing come up in the first place? And how do I prevent it in the future?”

David played a key role several weeks ago when he urged me to pay attention to how my feet hit the ground. It made sense. While I’ve known about overpronation for years, I never knew how to detect it. I finally read this which stated, succinctly, “Overpronated floppy feet show some shoe wear on the inside of the forefoot and benefit from motion control shoes.”

This was an “ah-ha” moment for me. I have worn six consecutive pairs of Brooks Adrenelines with virtually no wear on the outside of the soles and severe wear on the inside. I’ve always wondered about that, but had no knowledge to apply that observation.

I then ran this observation past my work colleague Jay (who finished the
Badwater Ultramarathon last July in his third try and thus knows something about injury), who immediately asked to look at an old shoe. He then smiled and nodded with empathy. “Yep, that’s severe overpronation. Get yourself a motion control shoe.”

So, I’m mulling which new shoe to get. I have a pair of Adidas Supernovas, which I have maligned in this space before, which are classified as motion control. Jay’s comment was that since I have worn Brooks’ before, I’d probably like the Beast. I may also try on the Asics Gel Foundation VI, just because Asics are so well thought of.

Next Saturday, I have to kill most of the day in suburban Chicago while youngest son Matt does a tour at
Wheaton College. So, I’m hoping regular commenter WADDLING will give me some advice on good running stores in the Chicago ‘burbs. There have to be some good ones.

I’d also welcome any advice on shoe selection and experience!!

Today’s run: another step forward, the first time I’ve done four miles. It was great to be outside in our “balmy” 17F weather with a sharp west wind. I probably could have done five but I didn’t. I still feel the ITB; the severity of pain is easing. Gradually, we build.

Persevere.

7 comments:

teacherwoman said...

I know that my Mom suffers from overpronation and wears Brookes. She appears to swear by them and doesn't really have any problems when running! Good luck with your decision on shoes...and wonderful job on your run!

It's nice to be able to look back and see where possible injuries/pain could be stemming from... I am still working on that one..

Wes said...

Yea! Go to a running store where they have a video machine so you can actually see yourself run. Then pick you out a good pair of shoes. I have a feeling I bought motion control shoes and didn't need them. I am definitely going to a running store when I need new ones in a couple of months. I've already found just the place.

IronWaddler said...

Hey--Great running store in Naperville (south of WHeaton)-Naperville Running Company, 20 West Jefferson,630-357-1900, Scott is excellent. their website is http://www.runningcompany.com/home
They have alot of expert runners and have helped my friend DD through alot of ITB problems. Good luck!

Sarah said...

Yeah...it sounds like some new shoes may be in order. I think Adidas has a few different versions of the Supernova, but the one's I have are stability...very similar to the Adrenalines. Glad your runs are getting better!

David said...

Just ask to try on every motion control shoe they have and pick one based on how it feels to run in. Brand does not matter.

Darrell said...

"I probably could have done five but.." Avoid that temptation, Joe. You've come this far, stay on course (OK that's it for my admonishments)

You've run so long in stability shoes that it will probably take a while for any motion control shoe to feel right. David speaks wisely.

Say "Hi" to my friend Jane in Naperville. My mentor at work (now retired) graduated from Wheaton and always had good things to say about his school.

And lastly, nice use of consonance.

(I commented last night but blogger seemed to have sent it into neverland.)

Unknown said...

I am not an overpronator, but when I first started running I loved the Brooks Beast. Since you are already a Brooks guy I say give them a shot. It's a great shoe.