Last night I was almost in tears from the pain of my poor feet. I'd put blister plasters on to help protect them from my trainers but alas the blister plasters on this occasion made it all worse. By the evening my feet hurt and the foot that's had the blister plasters on the most was starting to itch. So the blister plaster had to come off as I was either about to erupt with contact dermatitis or my foot was possibly getting infected.
Have you ever tried taking off blister plasters before you are meant to, especially when they have actually caused a blister? No! Well it's blooming painful. I had to cut it off and then use an alcolohol wipe to try and break down the glue. Suffice to say last night my feet hurt and were dutifully dressed to keep them clean and then an additional cushioning dressing was added to help reduce the pain so I could get to sleep.
This morning pain was much less yay, so I was able to reduce dressings down to just minimal keeping it clean (allowing for air flow though) as I had decided enough was enough and I would just have to get new trainers despite not actually being able to afford any.
Although anatomically the trainers I had were fine, it was just a fit issue and I was pretty sure neutral was what I needed as I have been running in trial shoes I decided to be brave and go to a sports shop and get gait analysis.
I've seen sweatshop recommended a few times on here and my friend also recommended them and said they were incredible friendly.
So this morning off I went travelling from the wilds of Nottinghamshire into the city centre.
Now I find sports shops intimating places. All clothes that are too small and bored teenage sales assistants that look down at you because omg warning warning a fat person has walked in.
The sweatshop was nothing like that. It looked welcoming and well laid out and the sales assistant was lovely (I even think there might have been some clothes that might have actually been my size).
So 'hello I'd like some help to buy some trainers please' in my head I am thinking that's the dumbest thing ever, you walk in pick the pretty ones and pay for them. Er no head we are doing this right.
Immediatly I was put at ease and asked if I'd had gait analysis before and next thing I knew I was standing on a glass plate and wiggling my toes, ok so not quite toe wiggling but she had me stand in a couple of different ways so they could capture how my feet sit and how they react to a couple of key movements. I was shown my images and had them explained to me. My left foot/leg is all very straight and neutral my right foot/leg there was a slight devaition but again everything indicated neutral and the deviation of my right side fits with my right ankle being the weakest one in terms of joint hyper mobility.
She also talked me though the custom insoles they do and moulded some to my feet. Now I do have proper orthics (good old NHS surgical supports) and the process is different. The custom insoles are not a true orthic but I found them very comfortable, and I got to try some trainers with and without the custom insoles. Oh the custom ones are lovely.
I also took along my current trainers so she had a look and was immediately able to identify that they are trail shoes, again it's reassuring to know that they really do know their shoes. And again looking down at how they are wearing this further supported nuetral. Hurrah.
She then asked what sort of shoe I wanted trail or road and went through the benefits and I decided on road, and off she went to get a test pair. Next step was the treadmill. I explained that I'd not been on one in about 15 years, she set it off running slow and my god it felt weird, all that moving to stay in one spot. Anyway she said if it felt too weird it wasn't a problem I could run up and down the shop, very geared to me as the customer and making sure everything was right for me. I was ok on the machine though despite feeling weird I was still running in my natural style. Again this all supported that neutral cushioning trainers are for me.
Next up she brought out some options, we'd already discussed my fit problem was width so I knew my choices were limited. She was happy with my questions, really interested in listening to how I'd only recently finished c25k and just generally lovely, nothing was too much effort.
And she confirmed that left to my own devises in the future what brands were wide fit (nike, new balance do wide fit and depending on the style brooks can also be generous) so again very good to ensure I have the right information going forwards.
There was no pressure to buy. I would have loved the insoles but I left those for another day.
She also let me know about the sweatshop running community and located the run local to me and made it sound really friendly and definitely suitable for a baby runner.
She checked that I was ok for running socks, again no hard sell and also she wanted to make sure I was using a sports bra. Again no hard sell it really did feel like she wanted to make sure I had all the basics covered.
It really was a very pleasant experience. So if you have been wondering about gait analysis but a little too worried, don't be go for it.
Oh happy feet with their little clouds. Can't wait to try them out and who needs to eat anyway (my poor credit card is having to recover from the shock, what with me having to buy a new car battery, the next week a new phone and then the following week a pair of trainers. I hope the final medical I have to do for my job offer goes well and I get my start date sooner than later).
) scared to go for gait analysis, I almost want me ok trainers to wear out now ! Like you the credit card would complain right now
scary shoe shop report
Why am i getting a blister??
Braved the running shop, happy new shoes!
Gait analysis
Any advice on blisters please
