I learned something this weekend... apparently the rules of sports bras do not apply to trainers! Who'd've thought, eh??
As many of my fellow (girl) runners know, when it comes to sports bras there is no such thing as too much support.... well, apparently in the world of trainers there can be!
Back when I started running in January 2010 I just went to the sports shop and picked up a pair of Nike Airs. There was no thought process about the technicalities of what a trainer does, I just knew that they were a brand I knew, apparently made for running, I could afford them because they were on offer and they looked pretty.
My second pair I picked up were a pair of Nike Free's. Again with no knowledge of what I needed but I had seen the adverts that they were for running (and I fell for the hype!) and I liked the look of them (They
do look cute!)
Back then I wasn't covering a lot of miles but over time I was increasing my distance. I hit a big hurdle early in 2011 when I started my 2011km in 2011 challenge. I ended up sitting in the doctors office wondering if my knee would stop me from being able to do my challenge before I was even a quarter of the way into it.
My running life changed once I had a gait analysis done. For the first time ever I bought a pair of trainers not because of how they looked, but because they were the right type and fit with the right support. No adverts, gimmicks, pretty colours or clever advertising required! Don't get me wrong.. this wasn't an instant fix as the first pair (or two) that they fitted didn't work for me for one reason or another. Thankfully I was able to swap them as the shop has a guarantee where if the trainers they fit aren't right, they will exchange them within 30 days.
All that being said I found a sort that suited me before too long. I had several pairs of Brooks Vapor and Adrenaline 11s and ran my 2011 challenge in them as well as my half marathons and full marathon. Both of these are support trainers and they served me well until earlier this year when I ran the
Rock n Roll Dallas and got injured. I have tried my best since to stretch and roll and fix my IT band issues but every time I go out for even a short run, those little pains start up, threatening to be big pain if I run more than 4 or 5km.
I don't know why it took me so long but finally I got the opportunity to get my gait checked again when I visited Dallas this weekend which brings me around to my first point. Apparently, unlike sports bras, you
can have too much support in a trainer. The Adrenalines are support trainers (which is what I needed when I was first analysed) though my style has changed over time. Some element of the support is now too high and is pushing me to overcompensate... leading to the pain in my knee. Hence... too much support.
So now I am the proud owner of yet another pair of trainers!
I've been out a couple of times in my Brooks Ghost 5s and so far, so good.... please cross your fingers that this is the solution!
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