Shoes!

Looks like my quest for the right shoe has finally come to an end. From my completely worn out Reeboks to Asics that gave me a pain in the right hip joint to Reeboks again (that gave me blisters on my left arch) I am back to another model of Asics that hopefully will not let me down. The earlier Asics had an arch support for my almost flat feet but after running for so many years on neutral shoes, I was just not able to adjust to the arch support. (See my earlier blog titled ‘Give Up’ for more details).

I attended a shoe clinic that was organized by the Hyderabad Runners and experts helped me identify my problems. I discovered that my left foot under-pronates while my right foot over-pronates while I run. I was amazed when I looked at the wear of my old shoes – I really need to work on my running style and correct the way my feet strike the ground.

At the shoe clinic, people from Asics (Reliance Footwear) were also there and agreed to take back my sparingly used Asics for the right shoe – one with a neutral arch. I was amazed by this; I never had imagined that I would be able to return something that I had purchased more than 3 months earlier. All the credit goes to the Hyderabad Runners Group; without them, the shop would not have entertained me at all. Thanks a lot HR.

Tried my new Asics today; ran around the lake in just a shade over an hour. The shoes were comfortable though at the end I could feel a slight hint of fatigue in my right hip. Maybe it is still sore from the past and needs more time to completely heal. However, I really don’t have too much time at hand – weekends are whizzing by and I am nowhere close to my long runs….. the max that I have done so far is about 20 kms. Need to quickly increase my distances and I request my hips, calf muscles, heels, etc, etc to please cooperate.