Baby steps
Amongst the first things you would hear as part of any conversation of early runners is the choice of running gear - and shoes. People freak out on the technicalities of shoes, trying to compare the advertising specifications and then in trying to make up their mind. And later, often, they are rationalizing their splurge on shoes by supplementing the specs along with their newer experiences.
Two schools exist in the footwear space or the absence of it - those who swear on bare feet running and those who prefer to run with shoes. I've tried both when I restarted running - bare foot was not for me. I was squealing in pain on my first few days of running bare feet on Bangalore roads before I gave up on it. But in due course, I will tell you all about my bare feet running, and how I managed to safely intersperse it in my training. This was much later and not on roads. I still prefer running with my shoes on.
When I restarted my running, I got myself these Nike shoes - relatively cheap with the intention of getting started with something before I invest in expensive shoes - mistake! These turned out to be expensive for my pursuit! Since I was starting again, the muscle memory, my physiology and the arch support along with the heel support provided by the shoe was counter-productive. The pain during the 1st few days was excruciating especially in the heels, calves and knee. I dismissed this as the starting trouble.
A few weeks after I joined the running tribe and as one of the 1st actions of announcing it on the social media, I joined a FB group which encourages runners. While checking out the stalwarts on this group, I chanced upon a lady runner who was consistently clocking huge miles and supporting the other runner's efforts with words of encouragement and practical tips. I reached out to her, described my goals and the ongoing 'program' but most importantly also told her of my struggle with pain in my legs every walking part of the day since taking up running again. One of the 1st things she asked for was pictures of my shoes, especially the soles. I learnt she was also an amateur running coach and she told me 2 things post analyzing pics of my shoes- I was a heel striker and the shoes were all wrong which was compounding the issue.
A heel striker is one whose heels hit the ground first instead of the middle of the foot - mid foot strike (Mid-foot strike is generally considered a better running form). Heel strike is especially prevalent in people taking up running later in life or people who have gained weight which in turn leads to wrong posture resulting in this bad running form. The shoes with thick heel support do nothing to help but actually exacerbate the problem. She asked me to gradually transition to shoes with no heel support and also recommended the book Born To Run - which glorifies bare feet running.
Running shoes without arch support and heels - there are some very expensive options here, but since I was not sure about my commitment to running I chose the cheaper options - actually dirt cheap options. The options were:
2. Power Lionel
I started with the Tennis shoe. Starting slow, I was able to check my heel strike and improve - I will describe the schedule in the next post. The soles these shoe wore off quickly, post which owing to non-availability of this model online, I selected Power Lionel.
This small step was an absolute winner for me! I clock around 50 kms in a month in these shoes without any of the earlier discomforts. Along with the shoes there were other considerations also like improving my strength and active rest and recovery which helped in improving my joy of running.
Hope to tell you more about these in the forthcoming posts.
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