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The 25 days of running challenge was a little more ambitious than I should have tried. And while I have no actual regrets, and some of this is due to the way I lift my daughter, my knee hurts (IT band – I’ll be taking a little time off from running this month).
It also became very clear that I need new shoes, and I would like some recommendations of what to look for (or just shoes in general). Both of my last pairs of shoes have been New Balance 880s with inserts that help with overpronation. They’ve been fine, but is that normal? Or should I be looking for a shoe that actually fits better and doesn’t require an additional insert? I do have a running shoe store where I can get a proper shoe fitting, but I just want to make sure that I know what to look for and ask so I’m not just blindly following the advice of someone whose knowledge may not be as thorough as they present to a customer.
Help, please! And thank you! -
Great job on the 25 days! I am sorry to hear about your ITB. If you look in the forum, there is a nice thread on some stretches that may be helpful.
When considering new shoes, I only have two criteria; heel-toe drop between 8mm and 10mm (I have been prone to calf/Achilles issues with “flatter” shoes) and comfort. I do overpronate and I have one leg longer than the other (not uncommon). I find my body stays healthy with a neutral shoe rather than a stability shoe to correct overpronation.
If you are okay with the Covid risk, I would go to the running store you trust and try on lots of shoes. Before you do, ask for a great pair of running socks that you like. This can help dial in the right fit. Find a shoe that fits great and jump on their treadmill to check the feel. If you can find one that fits well without an insert, then that may be the right shoe for you.
Dave Jewell is a shoe expert whose advice has helped me during my career. He just published a list of his favorite shoes from this year. I am giving the New Balance 1080 a try this week as it should last more miles than I am getting out of my current shoe. Hope that helps.
Anyone else on the team with advice?
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Sorry about the IT band issues. About the time I started running at Gate 9, my running frequency, intensity, and duration all ramped way up very fast. Probably because of this, a few months later I developed pretty debilitating IT band syndrome. I started running less and stretching more, and about 2 or 3 months later I felt 100% again and haven’t had any issues since. I was later told by a running friend that you should only ramp up one aspect of your running at a time: frequency, intensity, or duration.
As far as shoes go, I don’t have any expert knowledge, but here’s what I’ve found I like: When I had IT band issues, I tried inserts in my shoes and hated them and have never gone back. I like lighter-weight running shoes with not a ton of drop… I seem to prefer between 4 and 9 mm. I’ve tried out maybe 8 or 10 pairs of running shoes over the past couple years, and I’ve settled on Saucony Kinvaras and Hoka Rincons as my go-to shoes. The Rincons are very light-weight but also not very durable. The Kinvaras are slightly heavier but hold up better for more miles. The Kinvaras are very comfortable on my feet and almost feel a little bit like slippers to me. That being said, running shoe preference seems to be very individualistic and what one person hates another person maybe loves.
I hope that helps!
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Thanks, Tim and Sue! This was helpful and useful for figuring out what questions I should be asking at the shoe place. We have a Fleet Feet here that actual does virtual shoe fittings. I’m unsure how that’s going to go, but I think I’ll give it a try so I can cut down on the time I would actually spend in the store. And I will definitely check out that previous post about the IT band stretches – I actually think this IT band issue can be blamed on some stupid movement choices while parenting an 18mo old that just happened to coincide with running more.
I hadn’t given much thought to the drop and what that means in terms of ergonomics. I can’t tell if I’m overthinking this or under thinking it. ????????♀️ -
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How can you tell when your shoes start to break down?
I ended up at Fleet Feet yesterday (where they did a good job of keeping the store empty and customers isolated from each other), tried on about 8 different shoes, surprisingly hated the new 880s (they hit my ankle bone in a way that the last version didn’t and no running shoe ever should), and I ended up with the 1080s. And I am being a responsible adult and not trying them out just yet until my IT band feels better. ????
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