If it's not broken don't fix it - Do you need orthotics?

The problem being a runner, or for that matter anyone who participates in any sport at all, we are always looking to get that little bit extra and we are willing to accept advice from anyone who says what we want to hear. One such example of this is around shoes and orthotics. I recently fell into the trap of visiting a pod to see if I needed orthotics and was told I had a neutral foot but did tend to over pronate a little on one side. I got a bit freaked out and thought that orthotics was the answer (turns out it was an issue with my quads). 3 months later and I am dealing with a bout of runners knee. In fact since the time I started to visit a podiatrist I contracted my only running related injuries (I also was getting shin splints when I was advised to change shoes). So I spent a fair amount of money for what worked out to be negative effects on my performance. Needless to say I went back to my original setup and I am working my way back to where I was before.


Of course there are always times that orthotics or a change of shoes are necessary. A couple of my friends were getting large amounts of pain during and after running and this was due to the fact that they were over pronating. Switching to the right shoes made all the difference for them.

So I guess what I am saying here is for those people wishing to start running, before you start pounding the pavement, get your feet and gait checked at least by a reputable running shoe store (in Sydney you can try Running Science) or a podiatrist. Most issues can be sorted out with corrective shoes. Orthotics are really only needed if you have a serious foot issue.

For those who are already running and experiencing some issues, don't start with the podiatrist. See a physio first. The reason I say this is that a podiatrist will try to fix everything with orthotics and will have difficulty looking higher up the body. A physio can identify other issues such as muscular imbalances and posture issues that may be the actual root cause of the problem. If you are looking for a good physio, I highly recommend Justin Wray and the crew at Northern Districts Physiotherapy located next to the Ryde Aquatic Centre.

Summer Running

Ok so even though it is Winter down here in The Land of Aus, which kind of indicates how long it took me to get around to writing this, I hope it is still useful.

Trying to balance work, family and training is never easy so I found I had to make better use of my free time, this often meant running during my lunch time, which is fine most of the year until we get to the middle of summer. This usually resulted in my trying to knock out my 10kms in 35-40 degree heat. During this time I would notice that my performance dropped dramatically and would have to take a few rests along the way. This was hurting not only my ego, but I was worried that I wasn't getting the most out of these runs. After doing some research I found what I thought to be the answer. I read some articles about sweat rate and hydration (there are some great articles here on the AIS site http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/nutrition/factsheets/hydration2) and was ready to beat the heat.

What I found was that I was losing around 3kg of fluid during a run and according to this research should try to ensure I wasn't losing more than 2% of my total body weight through sweat. Well I was going over 2% and concluded this was a major contributing factor to my drop in performance. After a little bit of maths and a lot of experimentation I was able to overcome this drop and was back to enjoying those mid-summer lunch runs again.

I know make sure that I grab a couple of big sips of water every couple of KMs. On longer runs or if the weather is especially warm I will also grab some sports drink straight afterwards to help recovery.

Just another reminder that running is a mix of art, science and hopefully some fun.