It Starts at the Bottom - Reprise

I was going to write an article about some of the things I do to avoid injuries until I talked to a runner last night who was struggling with exactly the same problem I faced when I began running after a long hiatus...cramping feet. She was frustrated and didn't know what to do about it. I'm sure she was wondering how she would ever train for the 1/2 marathon she had planned to run this summer.

I had previously written an article about the problem, so I thought I would share it with the Take and Run Crowd. Here it is:

Saturday, February 2, 2008

It Starts at the Bottom
I've started running again after a break of several years. Okay, this dad quit running when his kids needed to be chased and then didn't start again until he had gained a few too many pounds. So my break from serious running was over ten years. Closer to fifteen. Long enough to have become middle-aged.

I've learned some things about running as a forty-something. When I started running again, of course I noticed how out of shape I had become. In my striving to get back into shape I ran into a problem I never had experienced before. I'd run about two miles and the top of my right foot would start to cramp. It was a weird feeling. In a way, it almost felt like my socks had bunched up under my toes. The top of my foot hurt and it would radiate up my shin. Sometimes I would be able to run through it, but it often brought me down to a walk.

I've been wearing orthotics since I marathoned in my twenties. I had never changed orthotics because my feet were always comfortable. Since it had been so many years, I figured maybe they were worn out and that a trip to the podiatrist was in order. He immediately fit me for a new pair of orthotics. When they finally arrived I slipped them in my shoes and took off running.

They felt great!

Until about two miles out when my foot cramped.

I searched the internet looking for a solution, but nothing made sense. I didn't have plantar fascitis, shin splints, or ITB syndrome. Whatever it was, it was painful while I was running, but then I would feel fine within minutes of stopping.

Finally, I did what I should have done in the first place: I went to a running store. For me, that's a 90 mile trip to Duluth. I explained that I wore orthotics for over-pronation and wore a 10 or 10 1/2 shoe depending on the brand. I then told them about my problem with foot cramps.

The owner sat me down, took off my shoes, measured my feet and asked me, "Who told you that you wore a 10 or 10 1/2? You're at least an 11! If your shoes are too small, your feet will cramp!"

Who told me I wore I size 10 or 10 1/2? A running store clerk 20 years ago. I never new that as you get older your feet get wider and perhaps longer! I walked out of the store with a new pair of shoes, laced them up and have run for miles since.

It was one of the first lessons I learned being a middle-aged runner. There were many more to come.



I related the story to the gal and she got a funny look on her face. She told me that she had purchased her last pair of running shoes from a "regular" shoe store (remember a running store is 90 miles away). "I've always worn a 9 or 9 1/2, but they measured my feet and told me that I should wear an 8 1/2!"

I told her to take the drive to the running store (Austin Jarrow) in Duluth and they would set her up right.

It's a simple thing, really: "If our feet aren't happy, ain't nobody happy."