I have been running for 18 years and I must have bought like over 6 to 8 different pairs of running shoes over this course of time. Like many concerned runners out there, I have always chosen a pair of running shoes with a thick and dense rubber heel (such as the running shoes as shown below), so that this cushioning effect would reduce the impact on my knees.
While this made sense to me from a logical point of view, it did not stop me from sustaining knee injury during my national service years when I was training very regularly and intensely for competitions at unit level and eventually at formation level where I competed with the best of the best in the Singapore Armed Forces. (My team did not win, but it was still an experience!)
In addition to that, the medical doctor at the SAF medical clinic suspected that my knees may have also sustained a possible ligament tear from over-training. This fact became reality to me when I started to feel pain at the corner of my knees at the 13km and 17km distance when I was running in the Army Half Marathon in 2000 and 2001. To make matters worse, I have been experiencing middle and lower back pain throughout my younger years, despite being fit (my IPPT score averages 23 out of 25 points) and playing a variety of different types of sports.
It was only in these recent months that I discovered that the
weight of my running shoes actually played a BIG part in creating a higher possibility of back, knee and ankle injury, especially when it comes to running, where the lifting and landing of the foot is very repetitive and at a much faster pace, as compared to other sports.
This was when I was introduced to
racing shoes which are distinctly
lighter in weight and distinguishes itself with its
thinner heel support. In other words, the amount of rubber cushioning is lesser than a regular pair of stability running shoes. In the past, when I wore running shoes which provided a thick heel cushioning and firm foot arch, these running shoes actually felt heavier and attributed to the greater impact that I sustained in my quadriceps and knees. After I made the switch to a lighter pair of racing shoes, my knees do not experience the kind of pounding that I felt in the past! Surprisingly, with this new type of running shoes, and different training and terrain introduced by our coach,
my back ache did not return!
Based on my personal experience and discovery, while thick heel support does provide a greater amount of cushioning,
it actually causes our foot to relax and start to ACCEPT the pounding at our heels! If you do not believe me, try jumping up and down while landing on your heels. This would feel terribly uncomfortable, hurting and our body does not adjust to that! Now imagine doing that over a longer distance when running. Its crazy! Don't do that!
With the switch to racing shoes, our foot gradually begins to adjust itself to
proper foot landing. For some, the landing begins at the outer corner of our feet which has muscles that form an arch, and this motion cushions our foot landing in our body's
natural form. If you do not believe me, try walking bare-footed and you will notice that this is naturally how our feet lands by itself. Not directly at the heel bone!
For me, perhaps I am fortunate because running with racing shoes has helped me to naturally switch to becoming a
mid-foot strike runner. In other words, my feet starts to land at the outer corner of my foot (as described above) which reduces the impact of landing on my heels. This change in running form has helped me in the techniques which my coach has taught us for the clearing of upslopes and downslopes which any runner would encounter during any running terrain.
Do not be deceived -
even in a seemingly flat terrain in the city of Singapore, the terrain gradient is seldom consistent. Trust me, my GPS have proven it!
Every day we are walking or running on SLOPES. With light-weight racing shoes and running techniques when encountering upslope and downslope terrain, injuries would be further minimised. Trust me, running downslope with heavier running shoes, poor running form and direct landing at your heels will be a disaster!
One last word -
thick running soles equals a higher probability of tripping and spraining our ankles. I am pretty certain that all the ladies who wear high heels would know what I am talking about. The higher the heel, the higher the chance of twisting your ankle. Its a simple and straight-forward fact! Ladies wear them for fashion and beauty, but when it comes to running, especially on trail terrain -
we will be asking for trouble.
Of course, the importance of training on different types of surfaces and terrains play an important part in preventing running injuries and improving our running form... but that I would leave it for another time to share in another blog post. Till then, to all the runners (and even recreational runners) out there, take care and
enjoy your running experience! I am absolutely loving it now!
