Marathon By 40

A few weeks ago I started feeling sore a little longer after runs than I should have been. I noticed that my shoes had about 300 miles on them, so I decided to replace my kicks.

I stopped in Run On!, my favorite running store, to replace my Brooks Adrenaline 8s. Unfortunately, they were out of stock in my size, but they suggested the Mizuno Wave 5 would provide similar support but with extra cushioning. Considering my runs are getting longer, I thought extra cushioning might be nice and I decided to give them a try.

Standing still, they felt great. And running back and forth in the store, they felt fine as well. I was looking forward to breaking in these new shoes.

So, I took them out one night for a 3/1×11 run (3 minutes run / 1 minute walk for 11 intervals, which ends up being just over 4 miles with a 5 minute warmup and cool down). When I actually started running, the cushion was too much, and my stride felt very wobbly as I tried to find solid footing. I finished the set with a lot of pain in my shins and ankles.

I was still sore for the next two days.

On my flight the next week, I was reading Bingham & Hadfield’s “Marathoning for Mortals” and wished that I had read this section before I went shopping:

The least stable shoes are called cushioned shoes. These shoes feel great in the store and when you take a few steps down the sidewalk. You’ll feel like you’ve put pillows on your feet. It’s tempting to believe that the cushioning is what you want and need. For nearly all of us, the highly cushioned shoe is an invitation to injury.

We’ll explain. Whether your foot is normal, rigid, or flat, you still need some kind of relatively stable surface on which to run or walk. If you put a highly cushioned shoe below your foot, especially one that raises your foot inches off the ground, you have no stability at all.

Imagine strapping water balloons to the bottom of your shoes. With each step the muscles around your joins react to the instability and try to keep your joints from going in every direction. The bottoms of your feet might feel good, but unless your biomechanics are prefect, take a pass on the cushioned shoes.

Well, my biomechanics are obviously not perfect.

Just to make sure, I tried them one more time when I was on a treadmill at a hotel during that trip. Unfortunately I felt the same results. Rather than finishing the set, I stopped just after a mile.

When I returned to Dallas, I took them back to Run On, who graciously exchanged them for the latest version of the Brooks Adrenalines (which were now in stock).

I’ve been out twice now in the Adrenalines, and feel like I haven’t missed a step. I missed several workouts while my shins and ankles were recovering, but my last two runs have felt just fine. Tonight I head out for the regularly scheduled 8 mile run, which will be my longest to date. Assuming I complete that tonight, I’ll be right on track with the training plan.

So, my lesson learned: if I absolutely need to get new kicks while I’m in the middle of training for an event, go with the the old stand-by shoe - don’t get cute and try something new.

Let’s keep running!