Hello! I’m not sure if this forum is the right place, but I figured I would pose my question anyway. I just signed up for my first 5K and I started with training this week. I’ve found that I am having pain in my right heel so I went to a running store and had them fit me to some new running shoes. I was told that my arches seem to roll over ( I think), and so I purchased Saucony Everun shoes. I took them on a treadmill today and I will say that it offered great support for my heel and that was not a problem but I couldn’t finish the 5K because then there was pain in my arches. I don’t have lasting arch pain after the fact, just while running. But now I don’t know what to do! And I am afraid I dumped all of this money into shoes and that they will not work for me! I could at least finish the 5K previously in my old shoes (which to be honest were just some Sketchers), but would have horrible right heel pain. I appreciate any insight or advice. I would like to complete this 5K but I figure I should listen to the pain and try to figure this out.
Need Running Shoe Help!
My two cents: If that was your first 5k, your feet probably don’t have a lot of miles on them yet, so you are likely to hurt some, even if your biomechanics are perfect. Speaking of, there must be some reason why the heel pain is only on the right. If you are like most people, including me, your right and left legs/feet are not exactly the same. One arch may be lower than the other, or there can be a slight difference in leg length, which is very common.
I’m going to guess that they sold you motion control shoes that had such stiff arch support, you were running on your arches in that race. The simpler shoes you had before did not produce that problem, but low arches have a tendency to roll inward (pronate) more than a medium arch would, and that rolling can cause the heel pain if it’s on the inside of the heel.
If you stick with the new shoes, your arches may eventually toughen to the point you don’t notice it any more, but your arches weren’t really meant to bear that much impact when running. There are ways to modify shoes so the foot won’t roll, even if the arch is not built up to prevent excess motion. One way is with a small amount of padding under the main ball of the foot, which allows the ball to plant sooner to support the weight, making the roll unnecessary. Some orthotics have been made for this purpose. You can also have a sports doc or podiatrist order a custom set to place in your shoes.
The way you move your legs and feet when you run (biomechanics) is a complicated subject that you can spend a lot of time and money dealing with. There are ways to train biomechanics through targeted exercise, but much of it is based on the way your body is put together. Sometimes, you just run with what you’ve got until you get used to it. Most runners have several sets of shoes, and find that they get different results even with the same model from year to year. You might find something between these last two pair that you can run comfortably with. Best of luck in your training!
Hey, hodgepodgerobin, may be I can help you with your problems.
Ray McClanahan, DPM, sports podiatrist, founder of Northwest Foot & Ankle in Portland, Oregon, and long-time competitive distance runner, believes that footwear choices can impact foot health dramatically. McClanahan, or “Dr. Ray,” believes that we are born with perfectly shaped feet, and if we wear shoes that conform to the natural shape and encourage the natural movement of our feet, pain can be eliminated. He says shoe features that include heel elevation, toe spring and tapered toe boxes should be replaced with footwear that is widest at the ends of the toes, flexible in the soles and flat from heel to toe—also known as “zero drop” in running shoe lingo.
I found this from this article: http://www.active.com/running/articles/is-the-key-to-curing-runners-heel-pain-in-the-toes. This article also tells what to do with heel pain. May be this could help you.
Of course, I also find other articles related to your situation, such as:
Does Running Shoe Type Really Matter? 7 Things to Know When Buying New Running Shoes
You can find more tips by yourself, too. Hope my reply make sense.