My Custom Shoe

If you have followed my blog from the beginning, then you know that I have some leg issues. About a year and a half ago, I started experiencing pain in my right thigh while running that is most likely attributed to my sartorius muscle. To get help for it, I saw a very nice physical therapist in Adelaide. The first thing that he told me to do was to get a brand new pair of running shoes. I went to a store in town that specialized in just that. A nice girl analyzed my feet while I was walking on the treadmill over there, and she concluded that I had flat feet. She sold me a new pair of shoes, and I ran in them for a while. Somehow, my leg issue seemed to stick around like some unwelcome fly buzzing in my ear. No matter what I did to make it better, and no matter how much I swatted at the pain, it still hung around. 

My "flat foot" shoes

My leg problem was something that I learned to deal with over the past year or so. I ran up to seven miles at a time last summer, although it was never painless. I now often forget that I have a problem, because I can carry on with my normal workouts without any issues. Regardless, I always fear in the back of my mind that I will never be able to run a long race. I tried training for a half marathon last year, but I never ended up doing it.  I was too afraid of what it would do to me. 

Then, Road Runner Sports opened a free-standing store in Wilmette, Illinois. My family and I get all of our running stuff from there, but we've never been to an actual store. We've always just ordered from them online. They have incredible merchandise, so we were thrilled that we could go and see their stuff without having to flip through a catalog. We learned that in addition to opening an awesome running store with experts in finding the right running shoe, they also make custom orthotics. 

I wondered if these people could do a better job of analyzing my foot than my last experience, so I went over there. Although I walked away with a new pair of shoes and custom-made soles that molded perfectly to my feet, the most valuable (and pathetic) part  was learning that I don't have flat feet. As a matter of fact, my mother and I have some of the highest arches they have ever seen. I stepped onto a pad with a computer chip in it that could analyze the shape of my foot and put in onto a monitor, and the extent to which my arches are high are almost laughable. I'm just thinking that that poor girl back in Adelaide was having an off day or maybe had just started working at the store. The shoes that she sold me were wrong in every way. 

Below: does that give you a good idea of my high arches? 

My custom sole!

My shoes look pretty snazzy too, don't they? They are the Brooks Ravenna. We got a pretty sweet deal on them. We've been VIP members for as long as I could remember, and it always saves us a lot of money. 

I've run a few times in my orthotics, and I love them. I tend to supinate when I run, which means that I walk like a duck and put a lot of stress of the outside of my foot. Apparently, people with high arches have this problem. The orthotics correct my stance by moving my toes inward and balancing out the weight. In other words, I don't run like a duck. 

I'm not sure if I'm keeping the shoes, though. I've worn them a few times and they rub against my heels, which means that I could get some crazy blisters. I may try to go up a half size and see if that makes a difference. The good thing about Road Runner Sports is that you have up to 90 days to return the shoe, regardless of how many times you have worn them. I'm telling you, I never want to shop anywhere else!