Advice needed-feet rolling in

[Crafty22]

I'm in week 1 but I've noticed when I run my feet roll inwards and my ankle are a little sore from it. As I'm a beginner I don't want to rush out for new shoes, is there anything I can do in the meantime to ease this? Or do I need to sort shoes sooner than I hoped?

[damienair Graduate]

Shoes. Shoes and shoes. Go for a gait analysis in a good independent running shop. You won’t look back. I had to do the same. Over a year ago I got new shoes following a gait analysis. I still have them. Still comfy. I was also rolling in.

[Crafty22 in reply to damienair]

Sadly I've just learned the nearest one is 30 miles away (west country isn't known for its local variety). Maybe I'll give it a few more weeks before making the trek

[rancher Graduate]

I second that, a year ago before having feet assessed and inserts added to all my shoes I was limping a lot and couldn’t have dreamed of jogging let alone running.

Now running 3x5k weekly

Please don’t ignore it like I did, I’m amazed at the difference the correct door support can make

Good luck

[rancher Graduate in reply to rancher]

Foot supports are good too!!!

Time for bed I think

[Bazza1234 Graduate]

You are going to have "sore places" from your running - this simply comes from bones, muscles, ligaments , etc being made to do things that they are not used to. Wait a little while to see how you progress. It is perfectly natural for peoples feet to roll inwards a little ( it's called "pronation") - it is the foots natural way of absorbing shock as well as the way that the arch of the foot does. In fact, interfering with these natural processes can cause more harm than any good that they are purported to do. Think of the extreme case where your foot is encased in a plaster cast - it is certainly "protected" but in time all of your feet muscles would atrophy due to lack of use. More importantly - think of how much of your life so far that you have spent wearing shoes. Many people rarely go around barefoot and subsequently have weak feet. . For me, I don't even remember owning a pair of shoes until I went to high school!! It is most important to develop your feet muscles - and not to encase them in some heavy shoe that supposedly protects them

[Crafty22 in reply to Bazza1234]

Thanks. I'll give it a little longer and see. I'm barefoot in the house but my area it's a bit risky barefoot (broken glass and needles from the local rehab aren't things I want in my feet) and in the UK it's illegal to drive barefoot

[UnfitNoMore Graduate in reply to Crafty22]

No it isn’t.

rac.co.uk/drive/advice/road...

[GoogleMe Graduate]

I have a lot of sympathies with Bazza1234 on this. In fact I am thinking if you are in week 1 and you are looking at your feet when you run, that might be a bigger issue in need of urgent attention than ankles being a little sore.

Which is not to say that I think shoes are unimportant and can't be a big help or a big hindrance. I started (and did most of) C25K wearing walking boots and I can tell you that they were not the worst thing I've had on my feet for a running session by a long way - that dubious accolade goes to the most expensive pair of running shoes, which I had fitted after gait analysis at a specialist running shop. Out on the trail in them, my knees knocked together.

There's sense in your reasoning about new shoes now but it's a tricky one. You don't say what you are wearing now - is it a pair of trainers you've had for years and which are already pretty distorted? People do all leap up and down about gait analysis and it is interesting, but bear in mind that it only informs the choice of shoe if you are going for a road shoe not a trail running shoe and there is a lot to be said, if you have the option, for keeping off the roads (a different location and route might help with your ankles... my body certainly lets me know it doesn't care for hard surfaces very often) At least with running shoes (unless you're buying spikes!) if you give up, you still have a pair of 'trainers'. Depends what impact buying new shoes would have on you financially.

On balance, my suggestion for now would be to focus on a) observing the rest days scrupulously (that alone can take care of sorenesses) and b) looking several paces ahead of you rather than at your feet.

[Crafty22 in reply to GoogleMe]

It's because I used to have similar issues running a few years I noticed. I should probably add I have hypermobility so none of my joints are overly stable although im told fitness will help. I currently have cheap running shoes from sports direct which are well cushioned. Maybe I'll give it a few more weeks.

[misswobble Graduate in reply to Crafty22]

I loved my Sportsdirect running shoes. I still have a pair. I bought trail and road karrimor Tempo. Dead comfy right out the box. I never got a blister with those babies 👍

My right foot rolls in but I don’t worry about it.

[Crafty22 in reply to misswobble]

I have tempo as my badminton shoes. I might give them a go running as they're pretty well fitting.

[misswobble Graduate in reply to Crafty22]

They are running shoes ! 👍

[clavicus]

In my personal experience, as a newbie runner a few months ago, whilst decent shoes are important, if you're a newbie runner it's way too soon to have a gait analysis done or to invest heavily in so-called 'proper' footwear. Right now you have no idea what will work for you and there's a risk you'll be advised to spend more than you really need to. This is not about being tight with money, or believing running shops will rip you off, not at all. It's about learning what you need, and when, and doing the right thing for you at the right time.

In the UK at least, the majority of people over pronate (flat arches, knees roll in) to some degree, myself included, and it's simply not a problem for everyone.

It will depend partly on how old you are as there is a strongly held belief that, if you're no spring chicken, you've been over-pronating all your life, in my case for 50+ years, so suddenly wearing 'corrective' footwear to raise your foot arches and stop your knees rolling-in could, potentially, create a problem not solve one. I'm just saying that day one is not the time to be trying to correct things you don't yet fully understand.

My advice is to initially just get out there and run. Feel what's going on and listen to your body. You'll get aches and pains, of that there is no doubt, but some of these will be due to you exercising in a way you haven't done before, and some may, possibly, be mild injury. Whatever you do, don't over react. If your legs hurt, rest for a day or two and then try again. If you've not run before and there's nothing actually physically wrong with you, it will take 2-3 weeks for your legs to get used to running and for the aches and pains to subside. If you've got a problem the pain will not go away and that's the time to seek advice, but go to an osteopath or sports therapist etc., not your GP (unless your knees have fallen off).

If you follow the Cto5K program to the letter (e.g. warm up/warm down, hydration, resting between runs etc.) and use this excellent forum to not just ask questions but to read other people's experiences, you'll learn a huge amount.

One of the best places to start is Ian's excellent article on 'how to run c25k':

healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

If your knees are a causing you a problem, there's a few things you can try that have worked very well for me:

1) Wear elasticated knee tubes whilst running (cheap as chips on Amazon)

2) Try KT tape to support your knees and tendons (with tubes too if necessary)

3) Don't be tempted to do more than the Cto5K program tells you to (not in the early days at least)

4) Try to run on softer ground (through woods, in a park)

5) Try to stay on as flat a route as possible

6) ALWAYS walk to warm-up first

7) ALWAYS walk to warm-down afterwards

8) Take a magnesium bath (Epsom salts) when you get home

9) Do not ignore rest days

10) If you get pains at the top of your shins, read about what 'shin splints' is. I initially believed I was suffering from shin splints and it wasn't that at all. Just learn a bit about what to expect from aches and pains.

I really struggled in the early days because running is pretty well the only exercise I have done for 30 years but doing all the above has really helped. I have not been without injury (although nothing serious) so I stopped running for a few weeks to fully recover and then I chose not to run during the heatwave summer we've just had.

However, I'm back running now. I started at the weekend on week 4 and I feel better than ever - still following the exact advice I've given above in steps 1-9.

Good luck with your running, and enjoy it.

[Crossbill Graduate in reply to clavicus]

Thank you for this advice

[Jell6 Graduate]

Hypermobility will make you more prone to painful issues. Runners world has a guide dedicated to just that issue, maybe take a quick look at it.

I would hold off trying stuff like K tape/rock tape. In my limited experience this should be something that a sports physio would recommend, and teach correct application if required ( and it's not easy, even with a photo of mine in place I couldn't reproduce the application myself!!)

I hope you get something sorted out. 😊

[Crafty22 in reply to Jell6]

Thank you. I've decided to give it a few weeks and see how I get on.

I know what you mean about k tape. I had to use it for a while for a shoulder injury and putting it on yourself needs a degree and extra hands! But I did learn baby oil helps get off the sticky stuff left on