I have been having issues lately with some nagging injuries in my hip and knee. I finally decided to abandon a newer pair of shoes that I just started using on April 1 and went into a pair that is two models older.
I run in Nike LunarGlides. The pair that I noticed problems with was their model 5 (pink shoes on the left). I brought them to my chiropractor along with my new pair (the model 3) and he agreed with me that the model 5 could very well be a culprit for my recent issues.
At first glace of them, he saw he toe box bending upwards and commented on how wide the toe box was. That was also the first thing I noticed when i compared the model 3 to the model 5. I often switch between the model 3 and the model 5, favoring the model 3 because of the construction of the shoe. As I think back now, I ran the Marine Corp Marathon wearing the model 5 shoe and I had a very hard time with that race because of issues with my IT band acting up. During the Dopey challenge in January, I alternated shoes. I’ll have to see if I can determine which model I wore for the marathon for that race.
But it goes to show that just because you buy the same brand and model of shoe, each make is different. I like the support that the model 3 offers. They have a harder side support and an extra hole to allow you to use marathon lacing to keep your heel from sliding up the back of the shoe. The model 5 does not offer that. The model 5 also seemed to allow my foot to move around more in the shoe. As soon as I went out for my first run in the new model 3 shoes, I felt a big difference. First I felt it in my right calf muscle. But that was gone after the first mile. I feel much better support now in the shoes.
But after talking with my chiropractor he mentioned getting re-fitted for running shoes. When I started running in Nike LunarGlides it was because I was fitted at a running store back in 2012. Since then I haven’t run in any other brand of shoe. Dr. Pat mentioned that we change over time and it’s good to go to a different store and make the investment to purchase a pair from them after being fitted again to see what they recommend and to try out a different shoe to see how it feels.
It’s interesting to see how beat up the pink shoes look and I have only worn them for just about a month. I know that in the past when I wore a model 3 versus other models, I had better support with those shoes. I’ll have to look back in my notes now to see if when I was having injury issues, if I can relate it to the model I was running in. With my Garmin 220 you can keep track of your gear that you wear during your run. I started doing that now so I can keep track of the mileage as well as any issues I might encounter.