(Mid)Sole Searching: Part III

Well, it's been nearly 4 months since my first marathon running on my midsole and about half a year since my last midsole post.  So let's wrap things up.

I never made it back to the podiatrist.  I wanted to.  I wanted to ask him why the orthotics he prescribed weren't actually helping. I had already asked him, via email, why I seemed to be getting knee pain while wearing them.  I also questioned why I appeared to be developing plantar fasciitis.

His response: Hi Joel. Body is adjusting to orthotics. Keep easing into them. Let me see you next week which will be one month of you wearing them. John

Dr. John Connors (not to be confused with John Connor, leader of the Human Resistance) is a very well respected expert in his field.  He has helped countless athletes, including olympians, and is an avid runner himself.  He has a relaxed and confident tone, is very patient and takes the time to answer all questions and explain everything.  He even offered to come to give a seminar to TNT, if we were interested, covering the intricacies of foot structure, proper alignment, the impact on the other joints in your body, and the benefits of orthotics.  And his favorite shoe is the Brooks Ghost 3.

The $495 custom orthotics.

 That was early September.  I had sincerely intended to go back.  But September was a rather full month, with Reach The Beach, Mark's wedding, and some work events.  Before I knew it, October was upon me and it was time to run the MHR Marathon, which I did, pain free.  And just as busy, October didn't leave any real gap either, with lots of coaching and lots of birthdays happening.

I ran that marathon in October without the insoles.  In fact, the last time I used them was my last leg of the RTB Relay, weeks before.  It seemed I just really didn't need them.  Nor did I need another $250 doctor visit.  I never went back.

Maybe my feet just got stronger and I didn't need the support of orthotics any longer.  According to Dr. Connors, that's not possible.  And he was pretty adamant about it.  We didn't get into details, but he implied that it wasn't just foot muscles that need developing.  Proper alignment was dependent on the complete structure of the foot- bones, tendons, etc...  I trust that.  But I hated the thought that there was nothing I could do to correct my alignment naturally.  My diagnosis and conversation with the doc sounded like something straight out of a book I read recently, specifically, Born To Run.

There's a theory out there, one that I believe, suggests the more support a body part is given, the weaker it becomes.  Got back pain?  It's suggested to get a chair with back support.  But a back supporting chair just means you have to use your back less.  And if you use your back less, it's likely to get weaker.  How about just doing some regular core workouts?  I bet that would strengthen your back and eventually alleviate that pain.  Maybe it's the same with orthotics?  I like this theory, but I'm no physiologist.

What I've got is my anecdotal experience. 

Consider that what began this saga- my apparent lower leg strain- was not caused by my need for proper alignment.  What I really needed to do was stop over-striding.  Consider the new more intense lower leg pain I was experiencing during my midsole transition was due to weakness.  I was using these muscles and tendons in a new way and needed to build the strength slower than I was allowing myself (I shouldn't have done so many long runs so soon). I found that my feet were twisting slightly as I pushed off the ground.  As soon as I was able to control that, the pain was no longer an issue.

So it was perhaps just a matter of proper form and conditioning.

Have a look at my shoe of choice during my transition, the Saucony Mirage, in the picture below. Equipped with plenty of cushioning, sporting flexability, and having a 4mm drop from heel to toe (compared to the normal 12mm on standard shoes), I found that after weeding out nearly a dozen shoes, this pair suited me best.  200 miles later, I started using the Saucony Kinvara, cut similarly, but weighing less.

Wear pattern confirms my midsole strike action.

 It seems my foot has gotten wider and perhaps shorter.  I poked a hole out of this shoe with my pinky toe.  I did the same with the Kinvaras.  The calluses on my feet were different two.  I was developing them on my forefoot and on the outside of my midfoot too.  And I was engaging my big toe, specifically for balance, much more.

I thought a mouse nibbled it's way through.  But it was my pinky toe.

Insole shows more wear on big toe than my older ones have.

So who is right?  Well, I guess I can't exactly say that I'm right- that you can condition your way out of needing orthotics.  But I can say the doctor was wrong, the orthotics weren't the solution for me.  Though my orthotics did nothing for me, I do understand they have a place in the process of becoming stronger and running pain free.  It should be considered that in general, we are all working desk jobs, wearing shoes that are too supportive or straining our calves and feet (ie, heels) in ways not intended by our creator.  Undoing what decades of this type of lifestyle does takes time.  Maybe years.  Orthotics can definitely be a healthy way of giving us the ability to get off our asses and run regularly and get stronger. 

Orthotics aren't a solution alone, just as shoes aren't.  They are just another tool at your disposal to allow you to get fit and strong.  Being active and exercising is the solution.


So my custom orthotics cost a lot of money.  If you need orthotics, there's a pretty good chance you don't need them to be custom.  I suggest checking out some Super Feet options.  Or perhaps what Dr. Scholl's is doing these days. I get the impression my custom job isn't much different.

And I'd like to also say that I believe Dr. Connors' success and reputation speak for itself.  If you've got a foot/alignment problem and needed a doctor, I'd recommend this man.  Just as orthotics were not the answer here, going minimal is not going to always be the answer either. Sometimes the problem is more complicated.

That about wraps it up.  Running is back to a routine thing now and my attention is focused on the Ironman.

The Complete (Mid)Sole Searching Saga

Reborn to Run

(Mid)Sole Searching

(Mid)Sole Searching: Part II

(Mid)Sole Searching: Part III

(Mid)Sole Searching: Part II

I was climbing uphill, mid way through the third mile in the golf course on the Boilermaker course in Utica, NY when the thought came to me.  "Man, I am out of shape." For the last few months, I had been blaming my transition to midsole for my discomfort and lack of speed during runs.  There were times that I felt like a gimped horse with cement blocks for hooves.  I don't know where that visual came from, but it's true. On this day, though, fifteen weeks after my midsole journey began, I felt like an out-of-shape runner. Ahhh, progress.

Boilermaker 2011: Can't really see my stride, but you can see that I was a sweaty mess.

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My transition to midsole was motivated by the nagging pain in my posterior tibial tendon.  It seemed no matter how much rest a got (I took a month off from running), it wasn't getting better.  I visited my buddies at Finish Line Physical Therapy for a few weeks and was given exercises and stretches that definitely helped, but didn't solve the problem.  I went to an Orthopedist to get a professional opinion and an MRI.  He diagnosed me with no stress fracture... and not much more information.  He gave me a green light to run and said I'd just have to work through the discomfort until it gets better.  Yeah, thanks.  I went to an acupuncturist.  That felt pretty good, but didn't really help.

At this point in April, I was wearing Superfeet insoles when walking and stability shoes when running.  I was trying to give my feet as much support as possible. This was the path given to me by the orthopedist.  Then, by chance, I read Born To Run, and this led me down the rabbit hole, toward natural running.  I got rid of the insoles and started minimizing my footwear.  I must have bought a dozen shoes in the last few months (many of which I returned).  I'll be posting a blurb on each of them shortly.

Finding my midsole was just as difficult as everyone told me it would be.  My first three guides all encouraged a gradual process of adapting to the new running gait, though each recommended a different path to get there.  Abshire suggested that I resist the temptation to do my normal miles.  Instead, he supplied a series of strengthening and form exercises to do.  Dreyer suggested that all the exercise a runner needs to develop running form and muscles is running itself.  I cannot say that my method was scientific at all.  I tried a bunch of different things from a bunch of different sources.

WOW did my calves ache.  And my tendons around my ankles were sore.  It felt like what I was doing was just making things worse.  I couldn't be sure if I was doing things right or not.  Some runs were fine, others were disasterous.  I would find myself out of commission for a week at a time because of soreness in my calves and tendons.  I kept going back to these three main sources, looking for something that maybe I was doing wrong.  I would also scour the internet looking for other examples and experiences.  Are my pains normal?  At times I would find things I could tweak. But mostly, I was just being impatient.

Midfoot vs Forefoot
So which is better? Abshire, Romanov, and Eric Orton (McDougall's coach) believe in the forefoot.  Dreyer advocates midfoot.  Romanov's book, The Pose Method, was the first that I picked up and I immediately and naturally began practicing the forefoot strike.  He instructed me to simply let my foot drop naturally and not to place it anywhere.  By lifting the other foot, the already lifted foot would drop naturally to support me.  Quite helpful advice.  In the beginning of my transition, I didn't really differentiate between midfoot and forefoot.  But, as I have discovered, there is a meaningful distinction.

To strike on your forefoot means to land on your forefoot first, then rock back onto your heel.  A midfoot strike has you landing evenly on your foot- heel and forefoot- at about the same time.

From http://icanhasscience.com/

In retrospect, I find it interesting how committed some people are to stating that one footstrike is superior to all others.  I tend to believe that all footstrike types are just tools at a runner's disposal. I am at a point with my running form where my footstrikes change depending on speed and slope.  And I like it.  It makes me feel like a nimble mountain cat and/or ninja.

Check out this writeup by Runblogger.  It's an interesting study done in the mid 1900s concerning foot strikes found in runners who specialize in specific distances.  The author concludes that short distance runners stay on their forefoot while longer distance runners go midfoot/midheel.  Interesting, especially knowing that this was from a time before our beefed-up running shoes with big cushy heels.

Also check out this discussion by other running geeks about Scott Jurek and his footstrike.  One of the most successful ultra runners out there, is all over the place with his strikes, it appears.

Gems of My Journey
So how did I get myself to be a fairly proficient midsole striker? From all the accounts that I've heard, I'll tell you confidently that there is no one way to do it.  Patience is probably the underlying commonality amongst all methods.  Here are a few of the dozens of tidbits I followed that stood out to me.

The foam roller.  That thing has been a life savor for me.  Seriously.  I am a huge foam roller advocate.  I currently use the thing once or twice a week.  This may be the biggest gem that I can offer you through my experiences.  Stretching alone isn't always enough; the foam roller is magical.

Chi-Running posture lessons. Most of what Dreyer teaches in his book I luckily already did intuitively.  But with this transition, it was great to get a constant reminder and to really have a look at the physiology of the practice.  Leaning from the ankles, not the pelvis, and keeping your core engaged I would say are the top two lessons.

Form drills.  Drills such as the knee high toe up move by Eric Orton and Abshire's one leg reaching squats have helped so much that I have integrated them into my standard strengthening circuit.  I will share this in a coming post.


Ryan Hall and his ankle dribbles.  Check out this video.

After watching Ryan Hall do this, hear him explain his theory of proper foot strike, and seeing other video analysis of his gait, I went out looking for his shoes, wanted to dye my hair blond, and start praising Jesus as much as he does.  Seriously.  Does it feel weird to idolize someone younger than me?  Yup.  Does that mean I'm getting old?  Probably.  Oh well.  This video turned the tide for me.  It was of course an accumulation of all that I learned and practiced, but Hall was the spark that got me over the top. I started to primarily strike midfoot and things started to click.

When I run, I imagine Hall running.  I emulate his smooth motion.  I've heard many coaches and experts say that not everyone can run like Hall- not everyone is that lucky.  Well, I want to be one of the fortunate few. 

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So here I am, a self-declared proficient midsole striker.  Yet I am still aggravating my posterior tibial tendon. What the hell.  My hope, in this multi-month experiment, was to prevent injury.  In that regard I am not yet successful.  I wish I could say otherwise.  Time could tell differently.  Perhaps I just need to allow my body to further adjust.  Perhaps I never allowed myself to fully heal to begin with.  Or perhaps natural running alone isn't enough....

I visited a podiatrist a few weeks back and got fitted for orthotics.  It may seem that this flies in the face of my whole natural running expedition, but Danny Abhsire would disagree.  He advocates both corrective orthotics and natural running.

I'm two weeks into running in the orthotics, still landing midsole.  So there is more to this story, enough for another blog entry, I do think.  Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion of this Midsole Search saga...

(Mid)Sole Searching

Once upon a time, I was introduced to what I thought was the perfect running shoe, the Asics DS Trainer (version 11).  Since Asics altered the fit and feel (they're on like version 16 or so), I haven't been using them and I've been quite sad about this.  But a few weeks back, I spotted Asics re-released DS Racer which look exactly like the shoe I've been pining for... And in a moment of weakness, I bought them.

Asics DS Racers 8

What makes me weak is not the fact that I'm addicted to running shoes.  Sure, I've purchased over a dozen in the last few months.  But I think there's a normal explanation for that.  What makes me weak is that even though I know these shoes will not help me with this new midsole strike I am trying to master, I was longing for the days when I didn't put so much thought or effort into it and just ran.  I miss those days.  Slipping on the DS Trainers for the first time back in 2006 made me feel like a speed demon.  Wearing them at any time made me want to just take off running.  These days my calves are sore and my ankles and tendons ache.  I don't feel fast (because I am not) and I grimace at the thought of putting on running shoes.  Not happy.  Where is the love?

The DS Racers did not disappoint.  They felt exactly like those magical shoes that I remember.  In fact, they were even better because they were lighter. But when I started running back and forth in my apartment, I discovered that they feel like every other firm shoe with a substantial heel to toe drop I've been wearing- they weren't right for me.  I knew they wouldn't be.  Even though they hugged my foot like they were made just for me, when I landed with a midsole strike, they just didn't feel right.  Too firm.  Heel was too high.  I got none of the magic.

So I started heel striking just to see- I was desperate for that feeling of ease again...

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While in San Diego with Coach Jack Daniels, a coach wearing Vibrim FiveFinger shoes suggested that there was a correct way of striking the ground- forefoot.

"I don't believe all this talk about one foot strike being better than another," Coach answered back.  "There are all these methods out there- Chi Running and The Pose Running... They get you to follow their programs and what happens is you naturally start taking quicker steps!"  Coach Daniels was referring to the emphasis he put on taking and maintaining 180 steps per minute. He believed that there was no evidence that heel striking led to more injuries.  He felt that over striding led to more injuries and taking 180 steps per minute not only made a runner more efficient, but deterred over striding.  "Don't get me wrong.  I love those things," he said as he pointed to the footwear.

Coach believes barefoot and minimalist running are important training tools, but not meant to be done for long distances. But he dismissed the fact that modern running shoes were evil and supported his argument with his experience working in the Nike Shoe labs.

For the 1500 or so miles I ran in the DS Trainer v11 shoes, I never had an injury. Going back to these shoes and heel striking may not be so bad...

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As I took a few running strides, landing on my heel, the shoes reminded me why it was so easy.  That gel cushioning in the heel is great. And the way my foot transition from heel to toe was very responsive and light.  These DS Racers are great.  But I wasn't feeling great.  I was feeling, well, bouncy.  And inefficient. How did I ever run this way?

I am in limbo.

I took one shoe off and studied it, as if my stare could draw out the magic that I've been longing for.  I love these shoes, but I can no longer run in them.  It was like spending time with an ex-girlfriend.  I remember the great times we had and the miles we covered.  But I'm in a different place in my (running) life now.  We just don't fit together like we once did.

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Alberto Salazar's responses to Amby Birdfoot's questions in an interview from last summer in Runner's World is something that I reflect on."There has to be one best way of running. It's got to be like a law of physics."  Granted, Salazar is not a physicist and his own form while competing wasn't perfect by any means, but the claim just seems to make sense.  Can everyone master the "best way of running"?  Should they?  Should I be trying?

What motivated me was my mystery calf injury.  At this point I'm pretty sure over-pronation caused it. And over striding and heel striking caused that (along with my imperfect feet).  Hence the change.  But I'm not out here trying to compete with the world's elite.  I just want to stay healthy.  And maybe Coach Daniels is right- if I just don't over stride and keep to 180 steps per minute, I'll be fine with a heel strike.
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I removed the other shoe and slipped on my Merrill Trail Gloves.These shoes feel great.  But they are too minimalist, basically Vibrims without the toes, for me to run high mileage in at this point.  I ran back and forth to compare with my running in the DS Racers.  The Trail Gloves just felt right.  Damn.  I took them off and slipped into my Altra Instincts which are also zero drop and have no support.  They basically feel like running in slippers. My form felt quite good, but I need more support.  Perhaps because my feet aren't strong enough.  These shoes weren't quite right either.  I turned to the Saucony Fastwitch shoes that I have most recently been running in.  They are too firm.  Then I moved to the Nike Frees... Yes, I've got a lot of shoes, but my huge collection is driven by my desire to run with ease once again.  I look forward to the day when I have, at most, two pairs in my rotation.

I sat on the couch and picked the DS Racers back up.  They even felt great in my hands.  There are runs where I believe I have found my midsole stride and others where I just feel awkward. With a large sigh, I repacked the shoes.  They aren't doing me any good right now; I need closure on that part of my running life.  The DS Racers are going back to the store. I don't quite have the solution yet, but I have to keep the faith.  Things will get better.*

* They have already gotten better.  Details to come!