Your Bones Aren't Smart

Your bones aren't smart, so you have to be smart for them.

Your joints don't naturally articulate in the correct way.  They just move and twist and crunch together however it happens when you throw your leg out there.

Be cognizant of how your posture and gait affects your joints.  Modify as you move to get everything working in the easiest way.  I'ts a mechanical puzzle, and the clues to getting it right are how your joints and muscles feel.

For example, I often get a dull pain in my right knee after about 45 minutes of running.  One of my solutions is to change the way I point my foot as I strike with that foot.  My right foot stike looks like this as I run:

Strike pointing towards 12 o'clock.
Strike pointing towards 11 o'clock
12 o'clock
1 o'clock
12 o'clock
11 o'clock
12 o'clock
1 o'clcok
12 o'clock
Repeat

Eventually I find a strike that reduces the dull knee pain.  Sometimes this can take a mile or more.  Usually it's pointing my foot at 11:58 as I strike, but not always.

You need to be the brains for your bones.

Modify Your Shoes

As your shoes wear, it can be helpful to modify them.  Your natural thought might be to add shoe goo and cushioned insoles to the worn spots, but consider going the other way, especially if the wear is more pronounced on either the inside or outside of your foot.

In my case, I get some wear on the outside of my heels, even though I try to use a forefoot strike.  When my heel becomes worn on the outside, I then trim the inside with a knife.  This allows me to continue wearing the old shoes, and I feel it actually improves the mechanics of my gait and foot strike.

Wear the Wrong Shoes

Ten or twelve years ago I developed severe running pain in my lower calfs.  During my runs, a slow burn would develop, and I would sometimes need to walk because the pain was too much.  It felt like some deep down layers of ligaments were torn or damaged.  Those rubbery sinewy parts that don't heal.

I unhappily concluded that all those fatties at coffee hour who say "the body just cant take all that pounding," were right.  My 30 years of running was coming to an end.  I resolved not to waste money on a new pair of running shoes unless this pain would go away.

I tried to change my gait.  I rested.  I massaged, I tried to strengthen my calfs.  I stretched.  Nothing worked.  I was done.  My body was finally worn out.

Then, for some reason, I set out one morning with a different pair of shoes.  Not a new pair, just a different pair.  And joy of joys, the pain went away!  I discovered if I wore my other pair of shoes, the pain returned.

Well, that's a simple fix.  But there is a little more to it.

As the miles add up for you over the years,  swap out your shoes frequently.  And I mean frequently.  Right now, I own two pairs of Nikes (different models), a pair of Brooks, Fila and Saucony.  Each pair gives a totally different ride.  I seldom wear the same pair for consecutive runs.  My hypothesis is that this changes the stress points on your legs and back.  If you wear the same shoes always, then the same parts of your body are stressed, and will lead to repetitive motion injuries.

Your shoes aren't only for your feet - they affect your mechanics all the way up your ankles, lower legs, knees, thighs, hips and back.  And it is true what the fatties at coffee hour say about all that pounding.  So you need to change out your shoes to vary the pounding.

You are much better off buying two different pairs of off brand shoes from the department store for $60 each, rather than one highly engineered pair from the running store for $120.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.