Last Friday, I proudly recounted my ill-advised but ultimately successful plan to go from the couch to a 5K race in just a week.
Today, I'm walking with a noticeable limp.
I knew at the time that diving into a running training program so aggressive was both ridiculous and dangerous. I'm just glad the knee and toe pain waited until after the Storm the Bastille to manifest itself.
During the race, the muscles on the outer sides of calves stung and burned badly enough that I had to walk a short amount. They hurt so badly, in fact, that I didn't notice the huge blisters forming on my little toes. The knee pain didn't even kick in till Friday.
I took Friday off, but decided to run again on Saturday. I ran about 1.9 miles and had incredible stamina. But the inside of my left knee began hurting immediately. By Sunday morning, I was limping badly.
Of course, I didn't run on Sunday, but I did do a fair amount of research into my problem. It became increasingly obvious that I'm in the very small minority of runners who underpronate, or suppinate; that is, people who land on the outside of their feet but don't properly roll inward to push off. These people usually have high arches and display the exact same kind of symptoms I'm feeling. Wearing the correct shoes should fix the problem, I'm told.
It seems obvious that wearing the right shoes can make a break a runner. I just wish I would've thought of that when I shelled out $70 for some snazzy-looking Nikes at Kohl's last week.
Over lunch today, I drove out to Rodiez's Running Store in West Allis. A salesperson quickly analyzed my stride and confirmed that I have high arches and do underpronate, and she brought out several shoes for me to try. I tried out models from Nike, Adidas, Mizuno, Asics and Brooks. As much as I wanted to like the Nike or Adidas shoes (they looked so much cooler), I kept coming back to the Asics GEL-Cumulus 11. I could feel the cushion on my aching feet, much different than what I was using until today.
I walked out of Rodiez's $105 lighter in the wallet but reasonably confident that I can continue running without crippling pain. We'll find out tonight.
For a sport that should be basically free, I'm now a few hundred bucks in the hole. Two pairs of shoes, an iPhone arm band, two running shorts and two running T-shirts later, I'm hoping that my financial commitment will keep me from throwing in the towel too soon. And I still have plenty of time to train properly for Al's Run in October, right?
In the meantime, can I interest anyone in a very gently used pair of size 9.5 Nike running shoes?
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
