Where is the arch? Get this foot an orthotic, stat!! How can this person even walk without knee, hip and back pain, let alone run?? That foot is disgusting!
That foot is mine, and it just took me for an 11 mile run. My wife calls my feet "Barney Rubble" feet. She is both amused and grossed out by what she affectionately calls my "slab" feet. But they work for me, and I wouldn't change them for the world. My run this morning prompted me to write this post.
Last night I swung by Dick's Sports Store and picked up some new running shoes. Here they are below, flashy neon lime green:
It took me about 10 minutes to pick out my shoes. I started with some of the less expensive (notice I didn't say cheaper) models, tried three pairs on, and went with the ones that felt the best. I didn't spend time on the models that cost $125. I've never spent close to that amount. My new sneaks cost me $79. Not bad. I also didn't spend time looking at motion control vs. stability vs. neutral models. I just went with the ones that felt the best. That simple.
My point is, don't complicate something that should be relatively simple. Walking and running should be natural pursuits. I believe that when we try to tinker too much with the biomechanics, we run the risk of doing more harm than good. It is one of the reasons why barefoot or minimalist running has become so in vogue recently. All the great "technological" advances in footwear since running first gained popularity in the 70's are being re-examined.
A few years ago I was at a seminar on running and injury prevention. The course covered complex mechanical breakdown of foot, knee, and hip angle measurements, force attenuation, and multiplanar analysis using a treadmill, video recorder, and a fancy computer program. Interventions included recommendations for shoe changes, orthotics, and heel wedges, all with the intent to "fix" biomechanical faults. This was pretty impressive stuff. But at one point, I raised my hand and asked the following:
"If someone comes to you with a running injury, and they have been running for 10, 15 or 20 years, without prior injury, why are you now going to try to alter their mechanics? If poor mechanics were truly driving the injury, then why didn't that person get injured when they initially laced up their shoes for the first time years ago?"
I don't recall receiving a satisfactory answer.
Now, I'm not saying that biomechanics should be completely discarded. I just saying that I don't think that they're the be-all, end-all. During the first two miles of my run this morning in my new flashy shoes, I noted some mild discomfort in parts of both feet. But as I ran on, the pain dissipated and then completely disappeared. I wasn't concerned. I chalked it up to my feet getting accustomed to a slightly different (and newer) shoe. I also credit the disappearance of pain to the body's INCREDIBLE abilities to adapt to change. Within a few miles, my body "figured it out", and I was able to run on unencumbered by pain. Truly amazing.
Getting back to my ugly feet. I began running in college over 20 years ago (wow, that is tough to type!). I haven't gone more than 5 days in a row without running since, I would guess. If I were to be conservative, I would say that I've averaged 10 miles a week. That's over 11,000 miles of running, or approximately 3.5 times back and forth across the country. In that time I only recall sustaining one injury, which was a relatively easily managed calf strain while training for the 2006 ING Marathon. And this was all done with my "Barney Rubble" slab feet. If a podiatrist, physical therapist, running expert, or Foot Locker employee took a look at my wheels, they most likely would insist that I insert some sort of orthotic into my shoe based on my static foot mechanics. But my personal experience tells me "Don't fix what ain't broken!"
My take home message here is the following. Try not to get too hung up on the latest, greatest, most advanced, most technical, and usually most expensive products and advice. Try to simplify. Stick to what feels most natural for YOU! The human body is the most amazing machine in the world. But it doesn't come off an assembly line. Every single body is unique. Whatever your pursuit or endeavor, try starting with what feels most natural for you, and then go from there. Expert opinion is great, but just remember that the most expert opinion you have is your own when it comes to how you feel.
