To start running, you need to have a pair shoes. Running is the cheapest exercise as they say as you only need a pair of running shoes. So some people start running with a pair of school shoes, borrowed shoes or even slippers. Then as they start running frequently and for longer distances, they start to feel strain of running on their feet, legs and body. While there is nothing wrong with this statement for a beginner runner, it is totally an understatement for a seasoned runner. Truth is, with no proper shoes, they are bound to get injuries.
My journey with my "sayang" running shoes was a long winded one. In the early days, people have advised me to look at my feet to see whether they are of certain characteristics i.e. whether they were normal/neutral, overpronate or flat. To get an idea what they are talking about, you may watch this video below:
So there I went doing a wet feet test in the toilet and they turnout to be neutral. Not happy with that I went to Brooks shoes Store in Sunway and have my feet checked out. My feet also diagnosed as neutral with high arches. They suggested Brooks Pureflow or Ravenna as the best shoes for me. Ravenna was too heavy so I picked Pureflow. The reason they suggested Ravenna was because they said one of my feet was slightly shorter than the other. At this time I have been wearing Nike Free 5.0 and they have been giving me the painful shin splints.
I ran with Brooks Pureflow for a while. However the problem with the shin splints did not get solved. So now I started to think that my feet might be slightly pronated. This was confirmed when I went to a specialist running store in UK called Runners Needs. I was asked to get on the treadmill so that they could capture my running style. They could see from the video that as I landed, my knee went in slightly. The situation also confirmed when I went to Nike WeRun KL 2015 expo after getting on the treadmill. So I bought Nike Lunarglide 6 that was on sale with 30% discount there. You could actually do this yourself using an apps in Apple's store called Coach's Eyes. You can control the playback of the video with the slow motion function.
The shin splints remain. Then I started watching videos on youtube to correct overpronation problems. I started exercising my calves at the gym, did sumo walk repeats and many other stuff. At one point it seems to work. The problem was gone.
Now as my core gets stronger, my glutes get more solid in holding my running form, the pain is just too shy to come back and haunt me. I believe they key to all these are:
Now with the correct running form, I can even run in a lighter neutral shoes. My favourite now is Asics Tartherzeal. This is the same shoes worn by my coach, Edan Syah. Lighter shoes are the best shoes to train you to run correctly and efficiently. They allow you to feel the ground as you land with the ball of your foot and flexible enough to help with the push off. They also light not to weigh your knee down as you cycle and lift your knee up through the running form routine motion.
The shin splints remain. Then I started watching videos on youtube to correct overpronation problems. I started exercising my calves at the gym, did sumo walk repeats and many other stuff. At one point it seems to work. The problem was gone.
Now as my core gets stronger, my glutes get more solid in holding my running form, the pain is just too shy to come back and haunt me. I believe they key to all these are:
- Having a strong core to hold your running form from the beginning till the end. When you get tired, you start to run carelessly. Sometimes you just don't care on how your feet land on the ground. You just want to continue without stopping and finish the race. This is when injury happens. It gets worse if you are tired and you are running downhill. This is a recipe for disaster. Make sure you hold your running form even when you are tired. Be conscious on how you hit the ground, the lifting of your knee. Pose Method running and running drills during the warm ups help me a lot in this respect. Maintain parallel level with the ground (glutes etc.). I realised now that I used to have my left feet went inwards whenever I was tired. Wearing Brooks Pureflow just made it worse due to its lack of support. Because of this my IT Band just got pulled inside repeatedly causing inflammations.I was down for almost 6 weeks due to this.
- Running efficiently is much better than running fast. The speed will come if you continue running efficiently. Sometimes in an effort to run fast, you just forget about your running form.
- Exercise your calves, dorsiflexion, hips and core at least twice a week. Do squats, planks. Do them with music to get you pumped up.
Now with the correct running form, I can even run in a lighter neutral shoes. My favourite now is Asics Tartherzeal. This is the same shoes worn by my coach, Edan Syah. Lighter shoes are the best shoes to train you to run correctly and efficiently. They allow you to feel the ground as you land with the ball of your foot and flexible enough to help with the push off. They also light not to weigh your knee down as you cycle and lift your knee up through the running form routine motion.
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