Hi all I am after some advice.
About 3 years ago I went to my local running shop in Oxford to get my gait analysed and I was told that I mildly over pronate and after trying on a few pair of shoes I settled on a pair of brooks adrenaline gts 10.
These were here fine for me for a couple of years and I was comfy doing my 5 km runs.
Whilst out in Afghanistan with work in 2012 I got an in growing toe nail and had it removed whilst I was out there and instead of resting and letting it heal I carried on running but with my foot at a funny angle/gait and I ended up pulling and hurting my gastroc and the other muscle that flows into my Achilies. No amount of strecthing would help so I took six months off running to help recover.
Ive ice also been seeing the camp physio and he recommended that I go see a military podiatrist and get my gait analysed again so I could get new shoes and some orthotics made as I am flat footeD.
So I went to see the podiatrist and he watched me on a treadmill and he also said I am mild over pronater and he said to get the updated version of the brooks adrenaline.
Today day I've been to my local running shop in Dundee and the chap in there watched me on the treadmill again and he told me I don't over pronate at all and that I need a neutral shoE.
he recommended the the brooks ghost 6 which I tried on and had a quick go on the treadmill and they felt fine albeit a bit soft.
I am really confused as I'm not sure what type of shoe I need now ????
what should I do?
Ask the same question on a running forum?
Yep done that but there are also quite a few runners on here.
Cheers for you helpful reply though.
As I understand it, a neutral shoe is best if it's unclear how your gate is. You seem to be tending to neutral, so having a neutral shoe might be best?
See how the neutral shoe goes, if you were only mildly over-pronating anyway It's not uncommon for your gait to change after an injury.
Don't leave it that long to change trainers though, they're good for about 9-12 months if you're running frequently
http://www.vivobarefoot.com/eu/collections/shoes/stealth
And work on your running form...
Today day I've been to my local running shop in Dundee and the chap in there watched me on the treadmill again and he told me I don't over pronate at all and that I need a neutral shoE.
Substitute running shop for LBS + random Saturday salesperson = not very repeatable experience.
Also factor in that one's person definition of pronation is another's definition of neutral.
Pronation levels also tend to lessen with running practice and increase with fatigue.
In short you need a shoe you find comfy, whether that matches what the sales person recommends is largely irrelevant.
How long between seeing the podiatrist (the one the physio sent you to), and seeing the running specialists? If you've been injured, first by the toenail making you run funny, and then by the Achilles as a result of running funny, possibly you compensated further making the analysis shortly after relatively less important. If the two are close together - go and get another opinion somewhere else, see what they say.
Go neutral and learn to run forefoot.
Gait doesn't work for everyone.
I had the brooks adrenalin 10/11 and they caused shin splints but my fault listening to the running gait analysis at shop.
Now I run almost barefoot on minimum shoes.
I went to the podiatrist around 3 weeks ago.
The chap in the shop is an ex marine and is now a qualified sport scientist who runs ultra marathons for fun.
He got me on the treadmill on the shop and there was two of them watching me run the looking at the video of me run in slow motion.
The podiatrist I am going to see again is having special orthotics made up as me feet roll in to much when I'm running causing me to slap my feet as I run!
Out of curiosity, if you run on the spot do your feet make a slapping sound?
Have a look at the soles of the most worn shoes you've got. It should be obvious which areas are the most worn and squashed. If they are worn along a diagonal line from the big toe to the opposite corner of the heel like most people then neutral. If not, does the wear correspond to pronation?
If you've got flat/flat-ish feet, a neutral shoe with some kind of footbed seems likely to be the best solution.