Nick said:
Hello BoabyBoy.
You ask a very interesting question. I am intrigued by the analysis. To help me be a little more accurate it would be useful to know what shoes you currently run in, how often and how far you run, how long you have been running, and what injuries you have had over that time.
It is often the speed of pronation rather than the extent to which you pronate that can be a potential cause of injury. It is important in all running shoes to get the fit correct around the heel, but even more so in these cases, as the shoe has no hope of slowing down over pronation if you are rotating around within the shoe.
reply to my questions and then I will do my best to offer some advice.
Hi Nick, thanks for getting back to me.
I currently wear Mizuno Wave Nirvana 2's for training in (motion control), I also wear Saucony Fastwitch Endurance for racing/speed work and I wear Inov8 mudclaws for hill running. I run most days, taking rest the day before a race. I have been runnning competitively for a year now. My weekly mileage is between 50 and 60. The injuries are always around the knee area. My right knee suffers from ITBS, which I am managing with compression bandages and stretching. These methods are proving successful. More recently I have been getting pain in my left knee down the inside and behind. I have to say that I never get pain during or after racing, speed work or hill training (apart from the normal thigh burn!!). only after steady, recovery or long runs. These runs are usually on a variety of surfaces from tarmac to grass. Height: 5' 9", Weight: 10st 4pnds.
The reason I wanted your advice is because I keep getting differing views from different places. I have had video gait analysis in two separate 'specialist' running shops in Edinburgh (none of them sweatshop - although I do shop there for clothes). My first post on this thread was my most recent analysis and to be fair the guy showed me running with 4 different shoes on and synchronised the videos so that each step was in time. He showed me the quick rate of pronation, and that I don't over pronate, and suggested a pair of Nike shoes (i have forgotten the name, sorry), but I wanted to have more choice when i am due to change shoe (in a few weeks). I was also told that the Nirvanas won't cause me any (more) problems but they are not the correct shoe for me, and that the ideal shoe for me was one that was more cusioned on the outside (heel strike) and more rigid on the inside, to help the rate of pronation and to stop the heel snap effect that I currently experience. The first analysis I got (when I bought the Nirvanas) the assistant told me that I was a bad over pronator. He seemed to make the judgment without looking back at the video, as he says he has seen thousands of feet and just knows by looking at them!!! I don't think I will be back there!
Anyway, what confuses me (and maybe you could answer this for me) is that I experience no pain when racing or doing speed sessions. I have never tried a long run in my racing flats, but if using them is going to mean pain free, I might just do that!!!
(my 10k times are around the 34, 35 minutes mark and I race up to half marathon, if this info is useful).
Thanks again in advance.
BoabyBoy
