A few weeks ago, I went to get my gait measured at a running store in Columbia, MD. This was my first experience doing something like this. For the past couple of years, I've been going to my local Modells to purchase my running shoes. I figured that I needed running shoes and well, the local box store sells... running shoes.
But, the more knowledge I seemed to get on a daily basis about running, the more I realized how counterproductive I was being by keeping the right shoes in the running store and not on my feet. I learned some valuable information on the day I walked into this running store. I began to understand that many injuries can be caused or prevented by the shoes we wear. It's even more imperative that heavier runners, like myself, respect and care for our bodies by wearing the proper shoes.
I stepped into the store and surprisingly not many people were in the store at the time. I must admit that I was initially hesitant and apprehensive to go in, because, I had a particular image in my mind of what a runner looks like, and well, that image was not me... for sure. But, I went in and caught the eye of one of the associates there. I explained that I had been running for about 2 years, had lost some weight and needed him to measure my gait (the rhyming was not intended here). He was nice enough to make me feel welcome. He asked me to step onto this machine that showed a colorful image of the imprint of my feet on a screen in front of me.
There was quite an assortment of colors, mainly red, green and yellow. He explained that the machine shows the distribution of my weight on my feet. I remember seeing a lot of red where my arches were supposed to be. He told me, that I'm an over-pronator, which generally means... I'm flat footed.
He went on to tell me that as an over-pronator, when I run, my arches fall, and illustrated this point by placing both of his hands flatly in the air, palms facing down and began tilting the inner side of his hands downward. He assured me, that I need a shoe that provides the much needed arch support every time my foot lands on the pavement. He also stated that in some cases of over-pronation, running without proper support of the arches can cause knee pain and pressure in and around the knee joints.
The associate then asked me what size shoe I wore, went into the stock room an brought out three pairs of shoes... All size 13s! I told him I wore a size 12!! These were a full size bigger!! This may have been a little exaggerated, but my mind immediately went to an image of my 2 y/o daughter, sticking her feet in my shoes and trying to walk in them. Little did I know, I would learn something else in a few moments.
The associate proceeded to explain that the reason he got me a size 13 is due to the fact that as we run, especially longer distances like 10 miles or more our feet spread. They spread while we run anyway, but a continuous pounding on pavement for a long period of time can cause our feet to swell. Thus, the reason for getting a larger size. He also mentioned that a reason some runners get black toenails, blisters, etc. can be due to not having the proper sized shoe, as well.
This was all news to me and after having him explain a little more about over-pronation and the mechanical process of running, I couldn't have been more grateful. I had learned so much... I almost felt like I had taken a class on running. My professor was so knowledgeable, smooth and procedural in his lesson... I couldn't have asked for anything more.
That day, I walked out of the store with a new mindset. I walked out of the store with a new confidence and a determination, not to cheat on my feet.
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