Thoughts on transition shoes? - heel striker to midfoot

dutchk

I've always been a heel striker as a runner. Ran a marathon in 1988 with orthotics for overpronation. Short story, got lazy, gained a lot of weight, lost said weight and began running again. I've run a couple of 1/2M's and a sprinkling of shorter races. Don't burn up the courses but am generally happy with progress up to a short while ago. Recently I ran a sub 9 min 10k which I was real happy about until my knee began bothering me. I've been bothered by recurring knee problems since I took up running again but attributed it to added weight and years. But they got to a point where I couldn't progress in my training program for a marathon. My last long run was 18 mi but I haven't put on anything longer than 5 miles in about 3 weeks.

A little information is a dangerous thing they say, and after reading Born to Run I am now armed with a little information. After that little research I'm beginning to believe my knee problems may be a result of my running form, i.e heel striker extraordinaire. I especially have issues on the downhill portions of my daily runs. My overpronation seems to have abated as I've aged and I no longer required any corrective orthotics. However, I currently run in Brooks GTS series for support. Two days ago I set out on a slow (11 min mi) 5 mile run with the goal to attempt to let gravity help me to a more midfoot strike style. It certainly wasn't "chi" and I felt like I was slapping rather than gliding along but I kept the strides short and tried to keep them quick. I had a little shin splint type pain initially but it went away. I had the calf soreness after (still do) but that was expected. No knee pain whatsoever!

So now I'm at a sort of a crossroads. I would like to still train toward the marathon and common sense tells me not to mess with changing running styles in mid stream. However, it sure was nice to get a good night's sleep without knee pain. So I actually have a couple of questions for the runners out there. First, with about 6 weeks to race date do you think it is possible to incorporate a more midfoot oriented strike pattern into my running to take some of the stress off of my knees or is it insane to even consider it. Secondly, putting the marathon aside for the moment, what sort of a shoe might I consider if I wish to transition to a midfoot or forefoot running style? I've tried a few on and jogged around the block on them. I like the Brooks Pureflow as long as I stay off my heels.

Stage14

Have you been fitted for running shoes this time around?

dutchk

Fitted at the New Balance store (I used to run in them exclusively) but this time around they seemed to sit up too high/rub on my lower achilles and I stopped running in them after about a month due to soreness there. I also was fitted at a running shop that sold about 5-6 brands, including Brooks. I have wide feet which limits my choices and the Brooks gave me close to the toe box room the NBs did with a much more comfortable fit for me in the back. Both stores steered me to stability shoes, mostly based on what I told them of my prior running experience. Also, keep in mind when I started running again I was almost 100 lbs heavier. I'm still a "clydesdale" at 185.

RunBrew

It's tough to suggest anything without seeing your form, but in generalities, I'd suggest finding a shoe with a moderately low profile overall, and a minimal heel-to-toe drop.
I've almost killed my 2nd pair of Skechers 'GoBionic Ride' shoes getting about 400 miles out of each pair (yes I track shoe mileage), and am quite pleased with them. If they're good enough for Meb Keflezighi they're good enough for me. Sadly, you'll almost certainly have to gamble a little and get 'em online somewhere. I've never seen them in stores.

I would *NOT* jump into anything like a New Balance Minimus shoe, or even anything labeled 'minimalist'. Stick to a low-drop 'Transition' shoe.
As for the foot slap, again, can't say for sure, but it might take care of itself once you really get used to running with a lighter foot strike. Gotta train the stabilizer muscles.

mreichard

If the approach above works for you, that's terrific. It's probably the prudent way to go. I'll offer a slightly different perspective. This time last year, I was running 50 MPW and mile pace ranged from high fives (tempo) to low eights (long runs). I got injured, and every time I tried to come back over a six month period, I kept getting weird new injuries. I decided to try to move from a heel striker to a forefoot striker just to see if it helped. For me, the mechanics were so totally different, that I could not imaging transitioning progressively through different shoes without re-injuring myself. I decided to transition by running very little and very slowly.

I bought some Feelmax shoes (zero cushion, totally flat, zero drop) and followed a 6 week plan I found online. First week - 30 minutes walking every day, second week: 25 minutes walking, 5 minutes running very slowly, third week: 20 minutes walking, 10 minutes running, etc. I also read about POSE method and everything I could about minimalist/barefoot. I worked really, really hard on my form during every run and also while walking (trying to incorporate the same form as much as possible).

I'm now running seven days per week in NB Hi-Rez Minimus (think socks with rubber sole material). Much slower than before, but I'll speed up eventually. So far, no injuries and I feel much better after my runs than I used to (of course, that's probably just from running so damn slow).

The hard parts of this for me were 1) all the walking and 2)running slow, but I'm really glad I stuck with it.