You just finished a jog with some friends, and you notice your knees are a little sore. As you massage them while stretching, your mind automatically begins calculating the ratio of grass to asphalt to concrete surface on the route you just ran. Then you find yourself trying to remember exactly when you bought your running shoes. The best you can come up with is sometime between New Year’s and April. Perhaps it’s time for some new shoes, but how can you be sure?
It’s recommended that you replace running shoes anywhere between 350 - 500 miles. Ways to track the mileage on your running shoes include marking the date of purchase directly in your training log, on a calendar, or using one of those cool online training logs through http://www.runtex.com/ , http://www.athlinks.com/ , or http://www.coolrunning.com/ . If your shoe is separating at the sole, extra worn beneath where your toes sit, or you are starting to experience out of the norm knee and lower back pain on runs, there’s a good chance that your running shoes have reached the end of their lifespan.
Here are some tips from the American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine, http://www.aapsm.org/ on selecting a running shoe:
Go to a specialty running shoe store (http://www.runtex.com/).
Bring your old running shoes, orthotics, or other inserts to the store with you.
Have your feet measured each time you purchase shoes.
Ensure an index finger’s width is between your longest toe and the end of the shoe.
Select appropriate socks (composed of synthetic fibers that wick away moisture) for running.
When breaking in new shoes, it’s not recommended to run any longer than 3 miles at a time in them for the first 100 miles in the shoe. If the shoes you currently use leave your feet feeling good and blister-free following a run, stock up on that particular model. Sometimes companies will change certain aspects of a model the next season, but still call it the same thing. If it works, don’t fix it! Though, if you are consistently having problems finding a good shoe fit, coming in for a biomechanical gait analysis can help.
Showing posts with label running footwear. Show all posts
Showing posts with label running footwear. Show all posts
Monday, October 5, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Fall Race Season is Officially Here – “Tuning” in to Avoid Injury
Saturday’s 5th Annual Silicon Labs Austin Marathon Relay kicked off the start of Austin’s fall recreational running race season. Congratulations to Team Jack and Adams/ Zapata Roadrunners in setting a new Guinness World Record time of 2:10.49. On October 4th, we are helping sponsor the Pick Up Your Feet for Parkinson’s 5K Run. It’s a great cause, so sign up for the race today! Registration closes October 1st.
No matter what distance you are training to run, the importance of tuning into your toes cannot be emphasized enough! Tuning into your toes means paying conscious attention to aches and pains you may be experiencing throughout your legs all the way to your toes during a run. This can be hard to do when running longer distances than our bodies our conditioned to withstand. Whether it’s because we are jamming to our favorite music on our MP3 players or we’re immersed in conversation with a running buddy, often times the onset of aches and pains are not at the forefront of our minds. Making a mental note of how far into a run the onset of pain begins and where exactly the pain starts, is valuable information in determining whether it is something that warrants seeking medical attention.
Running, as with any sport or exercise regimen, will cause some aches and pains when you are pushing yourself to progress to the next level by increasing the intensity or duration of the training session. It is important though, to learn to distinguish between soreness from the previous day’s workout, and actual foot and ankle pain. Soreness is something that is typically felt as a dull ache immediately following a sprint workout, following a training plan’s long run, or stiffness the next day that improves with activity. Pain signaling injury is typically felt as a twinge, stabbing, or sharp pain that radiates with activity or pressure. Walking fast or running can aggravate it.
A few of the common ailments that typically affect runners include shin splints, black toenails, blisters, tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, and stress fractures of the metatarsals and tibia. With the exception of stress fractures, most common ailments affecting runners can be resolved with rest, ice compression, and elevation. Once pain free, making sure you are wearing the appropriate shoe wear and slowly increasing your mileage, may eliminate the return of many of these ailments. If you have tried this and the pain returns, you need to be evaluated by a podiatrist to rule out a more serious problem and review your training logs and shoe wear. Pain and swelling that is worse with walking or running, could be a stress fracture. Any pain that is not relieved with rest, needs to be evaluated to rule out a stress fracture.
When in doubt, get the pain checked out! You don’t want to end up on the sidelines on race day due to inaction. Make it your goal this week to tune into how your legs feel all the way down to your toes every day. If necessary, keep a diary if you have a pain that’s really been nagging you, and you just can’t quite pinpoint exactly when you’re experiencing it. We’ll get to the bottom of it and help you put the bounce back into your step!
No matter what distance you are training to run, the importance of tuning into your toes cannot be emphasized enough! Tuning into your toes means paying conscious attention to aches and pains you may be experiencing throughout your legs all the way to your toes during a run. This can be hard to do when running longer distances than our bodies our conditioned to withstand. Whether it’s because we are jamming to our favorite music on our MP3 players or we’re immersed in conversation with a running buddy, often times the onset of aches and pains are not at the forefront of our minds. Making a mental note of how far into a run the onset of pain begins and where exactly the pain starts, is valuable information in determining whether it is something that warrants seeking medical attention.
Running, as with any sport or exercise regimen, will cause some aches and pains when you are pushing yourself to progress to the next level by increasing the intensity or duration of the training session. It is important though, to learn to distinguish between soreness from the previous day’s workout, and actual foot and ankle pain. Soreness is something that is typically felt as a dull ache immediately following a sprint workout, following a training plan’s long run, or stiffness the next day that improves with activity. Pain signaling injury is typically felt as a twinge, stabbing, or sharp pain that radiates with activity or pressure. Walking fast or running can aggravate it.
A few of the common ailments that typically affect runners include shin splints, black toenails, blisters, tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, and stress fractures of the metatarsals and tibia. With the exception of stress fractures, most common ailments affecting runners can be resolved with rest, ice compression, and elevation. Once pain free, making sure you are wearing the appropriate shoe wear and slowly increasing your mileage, may eliminate the return of many of these ailments. If you have tried this and the pain returns, you need to be evaluated by a podiatrist to rule out a more serious problem and review your training logs and shoe wear. Pain and swelling that is worse with walking or running, could be a stress fracture. Any pain that is not relieved with rest, needs to be evaluated to rule out a stress fracture.
When in doubt, get the pain checked out! You don’t want to end up on the sidelines on race day due to inaction. Make it your goal this week to tune into how your legs feel all the way down to your toes every day. If necessary, keep a diary if you have a pain that’s really been nagging you, and you just can’t quite pinpoint exactly when you’re experiencing it. We’ll get to the bottom of it and help you put the bounce back into your step!
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