The disastrous hyper-evolution of running shoes

When I bought my first pair of running shoes, it was a complete revelation. Never had a pair of shoes fitted better. Ever. Never had I spent so much time carefully choosing what I would put on my feet. They were miraculous. My knees felt bouncier, my ankles felt stronger, there was no pain anywhere. It was magnificent.

But it didn’t last. I got them in December 2008, with a view to using them for the 2009 Paris Marathon. They performed wonderfully on the day, but afterwards I could feel them becoming less effective. Running shoes have a useful life of anything from 4-700 road miles, depending on who you believe. Less still if you use them on tracks or trails or for general day-to-day wear. After that they lose their bounce, the soles becoming hard and unyielding, jarring rather than dampening impact. When I wore my original shoes to climb Ben Nevis in June 2009, I knew they were knackered, and binned them shortly afterwards.

It was when I made to replace them that I learnt a ridiculous truth – it is nigh on impossible to buy the same shoes twice. Just 6 months after buying the first pair, I walked back into the same running shop, with same feet, and said that my Asics had been great and I’d like exactly the same again, please. No chance, they replied, because good news! Asics have improved them!

Well I was excited. The old ones were fantastic, so the new version would probably be extraordinary. I tried them on, went for a cursory run on the shop’s treadmill, and, fairly satisfied, paid for them. Some weeks later, when they were broken in and should be performing at their best, I decided that they were quite good but not actually as good as the old version, which was a shame. I wish they’d just left them alone.

This routine has since been played out another half dozen times. Every time I need a new pair, I am forced to experiment with something different. If I dislike them, I have to start again from scratch. If I like them, I always attempt to replace them like-for-like when they’ve reached the end of their efficacy, and every single time I am disappointed.

Out with the old...

I know what you’re thinking- when I find the right shoe I should just buy a lifetime supply, right? Well at £75-90 a pair, and me needing at least two pairs a year, you’re talking about nearly thirteen grand’s worth of shoes (assuming I’m still running marathons age 84). That’s just silly.

No, the real fault lies at the over-analysed feet of the shoemakers, ‘reinventing’ the market at regular intervals to create demand for their latest innovation in spongy plastic and something new for their franchises and high-street stockists to display.

This week, I bought new shoes. My Asics 3030s have done two marathons and a good few hundred other miles besides, and they are showing their wear and tear. But as usual neither of my three local running shops stocked them, instead offering ‘similar’ shoes which were variously uncomfortable and significantly more expensive. So screw you, running franchises. I bought a pair of 3030s online, discounted because they’re end-of-line. Victory!

Next up: becoming a full-time barefoot runner. That’ll show ‘em.

Happy running

Dave

2011 to date: miles: 1053.91, parkruns: 6, races: 6, miles biked: 155, metres swum: 1225

Cleared for take-off

Wonderfully, terribly, thankfully and astoundingly, the San Francisco Marathon is very nearly upon us (me). This will probably be my last post before the race as we’re flying out tomorrow and will be cramming in as much of the city as we possibly can before the main event on Sunday (whilst, obviously, avoiding spending too much time on my feet...). So a very quick round-up of the last few bits and pieces I’ve been doing pre-marathon.

Re-reading all of my running books
If you haven’t already had your life changed by Christopher McDougall’s Born To Run, or had to pick your jaw off the floor at the exploits of Dean Karnazes, then I strongly recommend you give them a read when you next need some running inspiration. However, having ploughed through my (extensive) collection of these and other works,  I’ve promised myself that I’ll read something else in the next few days to let my mind relax a little.

Re-reading my marathon write-ups

I find strange comfort in re-reading the slightly mournful tomes I wrote after Paris 2009 and Brighton 2010. Perhaps it’s reassurance that if I could do it then, I can do it now. What I’m really looking for is an honest appraisal of the pain involved in the latter miles, which I’ve never really produced, too cowardly to write it down in case it puts me off forever. We shall see if this changes this time...

Watching all my favourite running clips on YouTube

There are far too many for me to include here, so I thought I’d just give you one link – this is a trailer for an upcoming feature-length film about the Western States Endurance Run (or Western States 100). I posted a video of this race a while ago but have been frustrated ever since that it didn’t really do the event justice (as I imagine it, anyway!). This one does, watch it right now:

Getting my gear in order

There’s a lot of it. My Union flag running vest (will this be a British record for the slowest marathon ever run in a GB vest?), shorts, cycling shorts, twin skin socks, running shoes with new, more-fun laces, energy belt loaded with gels, long-sleeved t-shirt to wear whilst warming up, gloves for same, sunglasses and back-up versions of everything just in case... Also, inevitably, packing for the rest of the holiday. I hate packing.

Yes, I know I won't be able to read it. 

I'll know it's there, though...

Sorting out insurance

I have worldwide annual travel insurance. It came with my bank account. After much hoo-ha I finally managed to establish that it doesn’t cover marathon running because it’s classed as an ‘event’ and I will be ‘competing’. The mindless drone on the phone was utterly certain that since it isn’t a charity event, it must be a competitive race. My endless protestations that it’s a recreational run and that this is, for want of a better word, my hobby, fell on deaf ears and I was cast aside. I called our travel agent, who was quite happy to provide cover, conversely, as long as it wasn’t a competitive race and I didn’t expect to win. Madness.

Back to the physio

I’ve been having some back and shoulder pain whilst running recently. Nothing debilitating and quite tolerable, but not ideal for a marathon run, so it was back to the physio for a full hour’s sports massage of ultimate megadeath. This is always a good idea and worth it for a pre-race tune-up, as the therapist also worked out the niggling pains in my ankles and freshened up my legs in the process. And of course, it hurt like hell. It feels like she has replaced my neck with someone else's.

A very small amount of running

I am doing my utmost to avoid ‘taper madness’, a condition used to describe runners who panic that their taper weeks are too light and feel like they have to go for long runs, partly as prep for the race itself but perhaps also to define themselves as runners/marathoners. Those who succumb sometimes take themselves out for long runs, tiring their legs before race day and negating all the benefits of the taper. I can’t say I’m desperate to go out for long runs, but I do feel quite compelled to go out and run hard for 10 miles or so of an evening. Must resist.

Stretching

And I mean actually stretching, not just telling people that I do. OK I’ve only been stretching a bit. Alright I’ve stretched properly twice. And by ‘properly’ I mean a bit. A little bit.

...and relaxing
Other than eating, there's not much I can do to influence how my race goes on Sunday. My training is done, I'm reasonably fit and mostly not ill, everything else is up to race-day karma. PB or PW, I'm going to have a great race.

See you on the other side

Dave

2011 to date - miles: 789.29, parkruns: 6, races: 3, miles biked: 68.94, metres swum: 1225

P.S. For post-race updates, I'll post on twitter first, probably around 6pm GMT. Follow me @davidjhaines.

Back on track

Exciting things have happened for my running this week. First, following the saga of ruining all of my toes, I decided it was high time I bought some new running shoes. As always, I insist on having new shoes properly fitted by someone who knows at least a thing or two about running. The bloke who sold me my shoes was actually studying podiatry at University, and as you'd expect, he was pretty clued-up on his feet facts. After trying half a dozen pairs on the treadmill I went for the new version of my outgoing shoes, replacing my Saucony Omni 8s with the creatively-named Omni 9s. 

The only difference I can see is that whilst the 8s inexplicably had glitter in the side panels, the 9s are slightly less, er, sparkly. I also learnt that my running shop of choice (Snowlines/Footworks Edinburgh) will take your old running shoes and send them off to sports projects in developing countries, as long as they're still good for a minimum of 100 miles. Since my 8s have done 550, I reckon they're still usable for another 100-150 miles, and I'll be happy to see them sent somewhere useful - much better than gathering dust at the back of a cupboard.

Omni 8s, below, and the shiny (but not sparkly) new Omni 9s, above

Second, I've had a great mileage week. I'm completely back on track in terms of my planned mileage, logging 33.4 in the past seven days, christening my new shoes pretty thoroughly. I recorded these in 6 outings (2, 3.1, 3.5, 5, 7.2 and 12.6 miles), rather than my targeted 5, which isn't ideal, but the total is all good.

Third, my weekend runs have been superb. Yesterday's parkrun was my fastest ever and first sub-20 minute 5k, recording 19:51.6 on my watch for an official time of 19:53. I crossed the line with a little bit too much self-congratulation, cheering myself in a rather over-the-top fist-pumping display. Particularly awkward as I went to parkrun on my own and didn't actually know anybody else there... But regardless of my various embarrassing behaviours the conclusion is the same; I've reached my goal and run 5k in under 20 minutes. Like all sufferers of wandering-goal syndrome, this means I now have a new goal of sub-19:30. Where will this end!? Olympic gold, probably.

My long run this morning was great too - 12.6 miles around Edinburgh taking in Arthur's Seat, which accounted for most of the 968 feet of climbing (and descent). I went out intending to take it very easy, probably around 9 minutes/mile, but ended up feeling fantastic and on a mission. By the time I got home I had averaged 8:02, including one mile at a rather brisk 7:31. This is great news for the Alloa Half Marathon, one month today, which I had previously thought would be quite a slow one. With this massive hill training at a good clip in the bag, I might get closer to my 1:37:03 PB than I thought...

Last, some other exciting things are happening (more detail to follow), which if they come through will make my race calendar much more exciting. Stay tuned.

Happy running.

Dave

2011 to date - miles: 169.86, parkruns: 3, races: 0 

How I ruined more or less all of my toes

Good news! On Thursday, on a whim, I called my GP's surgery to ask whether my X-ray results were available. I only had the scan on Monday, and everyone had insisted it would take 7-10 days before they would have any news for me, but I thought I'd give them a call on the off-chance and it paid off. The result - 'normal'. One word.

'Does this mean I don't have pleuirsy?' ... 'You have pleuritic symptoms.' Right.

Annoyed at the inefficacy of the health service, whose crowning achievement in treating me was an instruction to take a lot of painkillers and wait until I was better, I did what I always do when I need to let off some steam and do some thinking. I went for a run.

Yeah, yeah, I should have been resting and relaxing and waiting until I got better, but that just doesn't seem to work for me. I took four days off running and whilst the pain in my chest was fairly constant, I was getting grumpy, lethargic and cramp because I wasn't running. So I went for a run. There's still a little pain in my chest, but to be honest, otherwise I feel fantastic.

A short outing on Friday night after work, then a well overdue return to parkrun on Saturday morning. Then another run on Saturday afternoon. And a long run this morning (Sunday). OK, might have overdone it slightly.

There are two main indicators that I ran too much in too short a time this weekend - first, my calves are tight and tough, and second, I've ruined most of my toes. This is because, on a whim, I decided that yesterday's parkrun was going to be my first 'barefoot' race. Barefoot in inverted commas, because I ran in my Vibram FiveFinger shoes, which look like this:

My Vibram FiveFingers, which evoke an interesting range of responses, from fear and distrust to a weird state of near-arousal...

I went for the Vibrams over my normal road shoes because the Sauconys I usually run in are on their last legs - after 551 miles they're ready to be replaced, and there's so little cushioning left in them that I may as well be running barefoot anyway. So I thought I'd use the Vibrams, guarantee myself a new, barefoot PB, and I ended up having a fantastic race.

I ran much of the course on the soft grass verges rather than the tarmac, and apart from the pain of stepping on a few broken sea shells which had washed up on Cramond promenade, I had a great race. Conscious of the dodgy state of my respiratory system, I wasn't gunning for a particular or fast time, but when I glanced at my watch at the 2km mark I was amazed to see it showing just over 8 minutes. Feeling on top of the world, I pushed on and overtook a ton of people, much more aware of the optimum racing line as I was looking for the soft verges to run on. I finished in 20:34, just 5 seconds off my shoe-wearing PB, looking rather like this:

Photo credit (and with apologies to!) Ron Russell. I'm not on the grass because I'm just about to enter the finish 'chute'.

As you can see from the photo, the barefoot experience doesn't seem to be improving my running style - I'm still a heavy heel striker. When I got home and peeled off the Vibrams, I discovered the full horror caused by my indiscipline: two major blisters on the underside of both big toes. I lanced them, then patched my feet up as best I could, but really I was just wildly delighted with the endorphin hit that I've been missing this week.

Since my barefoot parkrun I've run 12 miles in my knackered Sauconys, and the blisters have got much worse, as well as having been joined by new ones on both little toes as well. The worst one, under the big toe of my left foot, has been drained four times already. Meanwhile, the pain in my calves is a bit of a disaster, and there's an interesting complaint coming from my hip. I can barely walk.

I am a runner again.

Dave

2011 to date - miles: 136.46, parkruns: 2, races: 0 

All the gear and no idea

Influenced by friends of a similar nature, I am always keen to help beginners to get into running. From my own experience, I think one of the biggest obstacles to people getting involved in the sport is just having the confidence to leave the house and go for that first run, and this ties closely into something else that beginners often need help with: kit.

My first proper training run, one of not-many I undertook in the run up to my first Edinburgh marathon relay, was one of the hardest runs I've ever done.  It wasn’t hard because of the physical challenge of going for a run, it was hard because I was hugely embarrassed to be seen out exercising.  I felt completely ridiculous stepping outside in an old cotton T-shirt, swimming shorts and cheap plastic trainers to do an arduous lap of St Andrews in an encroaching Scottish winter. But I laboured around and eventually made it back to the flat, exhausted and wheezing, soaked in sweat and with screaming muscles, but beaming at the accomplishment and riding the endorphin swell.

I remembered that first run recently, as I stepped out of the flat in my gleaming Saucony running shoes, wrapped against the cold in a Helly Hansen baselayer, a t-shirt from the Paris Marathon, Hilly gloves and Asics shorts, listening to my iPod shuffle with earphones from Nike. I started the timer on my Garmin watch and tightened the straps on my Mountain Warehouse backpack as I ran up the hill towards work, realising that much of my confidence to go out and run in public comes from me looking like a runner when I go out in public.

So maybe the first step towards becoming a runner is to go shopping, because being properly equipped can make a huge difference to your comfort and confidence, but there's no need to go overboard. If you’re going to run quite a lot, you need a certain amount of gear, but even if you run a great deal you can get by with not much. What you need is a decent pair of properly-fitted running shoes, which can cost anywhere from £50-100, and a few pairs of running socks, which should cost £8-10 a pair. 

My right foot after the England Kilomathon, March 2010. Good shoes, badly fitted.

A t-shirt and a pair of shorts should complete your basic kit list. However, if you’re anything like me what you’re going to want is a wardrobe full of gear catering for all conditions and all seasons, with labels covered in words like ‘dry-fit’ and ‘moisture-wicking’. This is an easy way to spend an awful lot money on stuff you don’t really need, though my collection has gradually built up over a number of years, and was usually bought in sales or received as gifts. I know runners who use new gear as rewards for reaching certain training milestones (you know who you are!), and this can be a great motivator.

Your gear is important– you need to be comfortable, you need to feel confident and – if you’re just starting out – you need all the help you can get.  My advice is don’t go overboard: just get your shoes sorted, and the rest will follow.

Happy running!

P.S. - I've just ordered a Brooks Showerproof Nightlife Hi-Viz Jacket. Will I never learn?