The Great Shoe Discovery of 2013

For years I have run in the Nike Pegasus. While not the lightest or fastest shoe, it always just seemed to be the most comfortable for me and it seemed to work. Every now and again, I’d go into Frontrunners and try on a whole bunch of different shoes, thinking I should switch things up, before finally settling back on the Pegs.

This past summer as I got into trail running, I switched to the Saucony Xodus. While Nike offers a Pegasus Trail, they really didn't seem that much different than the road version and I wanted/needed something with a bit more aggressive tread.

I quickly fell in love with my new Sauconys. They carried me through countless training runs and finally, 6 long days of running in Colorado.

As winter began to descend on Victoria and I once again started hitting the roads a little more than the trails, I realized I didn't actually have any road shoes anymore. I had about 3 pairs of trail shoes that were still functional (for the trails) but was finding them to be a bit stiff and slick on the wet sidewalks.

So, I headed back to Frontrunners and started the same song and dance of trying on countless different brands and types of shoes, before once again, finally settling back on the Pegasus.

In my short little run around the store they felt the best. Not 100% great, but I figured that was just because I had gotten used to a different shoe over the summer and needed to readjust. They would do (or so I thought). 

At this point, I should give a little background…

I've had an issue in the past with my ankle (I think I've mentioned it on the ol’ blog before) where my talus kinda slips out of place and locks up. It hurts. A lot. I've always just assumed it was because my ankle was loose from spraining it countless times as a teenager and I needed to work on strengthening it (and no physio or massage could ever really offer a better explanation). So I just got really good at dealing with the discomfort and popping it back into place after a run (or going to a professional to have them do the popping when I couldn't).

This summer, it seemed to get better and I rarely had any issues [Stage 5 of TRR on that damn ‘V’ shaped uneven trail on Vail mountain was the huge exception – it still hurts me to even think about that one, haha]. I couldn't explain the sudden lack of ankle lockage, and just assumed it was because of the amount of time I was spending on the trails and not on the road. In my mind I thought all the downhill pounding on the trails was giving the “popping back in” adjustment as I ran.

It never occurred to me that it could have been because I switched up my shoes.

So, with my new Pegasus in hand (or shall I say, on foot) I headed out for a couple short, easy runs. Both times I returned home in a significant amount of pain. My ankle was back to its old ways – as in, completely locked out by the end.

Finally it clicked and I started to see that maybe, just maybe, there was a connection. Maybe my shoe choice was affecting my feet?! Go figure eh.

And so, I started researching the differences between the Pegasus and the Xodus.

Aside from the obvious differences (I mean, ones a trail shoe and ones a road shoe after all), the main difference I could see was the heel to toe drop. The Pegasus has a heel height of 32mm and a forefoot at 19mm. So we’re looking at a 13mm difference. The Xodus has a heel of 26mm and forefoot at 22mm. Aka. a 4mm offset.

While I don’t know 100% if that is the reason why my ankle has decided it isn't going to play nice in the Pegasus anymore, I think it very well could be. It kind of amazes me that 9mm could cause such a huge amount of pain and discomfort. 9mm people!

So, I once again headed back to Frontrunners, armed with my new knowledge (ideas?) about heel to toe offset and a plan to try out some shoes that fell closer to that 4mm drop.

I finally settled on the Saucony Kinvara.

I've completed quite a few runs in them in the last couple weeks, and *knock on wood* ~ so far, so good!

While they aren't super cushy, and my forefoot was a bit sore/numb after my first outing in them, they have gradually gotten more and more comfortable (and they look damn good to boot). Oh, and the best part of all, my ankle has remained in the non-locked position!

Anyway, I found it interesting that something so small could have such a large impact.

Who knew that changing my shoes could be such a good reminder that as I change and grow as an athlete, sometimes my equipment and ideas of what works and what doesn't, have to change and grow as well.