What is underpronation?

I grew up with a mother who worked on her feet a lot. And as many of us who work on our feet know, it can make them complain. Over her career my mother tried to keep her feet happy and went the rout of arch supports, insoles, etc. Growing up I thought of my mom as all knowing- kind of like this song from Disney's Tangled: Mother Knows Best. I love you Mom, you did teach me what you knew and thought was right.

But, because she believed arch supports and insoles where so important so did I. And because having good shoes is one of the key parts of running, I took arch supporting to the extreme with stabilizing pronation control shoes with added stiff cork high arch supports inside. This is what I ran on for years- from my freshman year track season in high school to my sophomore year of college at least. I'm discovering now that in my attempt to preemptively prevent injuries I may have caused some- possibly some of my achillies tendinopathy, and certainly my sprained ankles, because I land so far on the outside of my foot. I have forced my feet to change from neutral or possibly very slight over pronation (which probably would have improved on its own as I got stronger in running) to, at times, extreme supination or under pronation.


So, is there a right amount of pronation? There certainly is something to strive for. Your feet affect the use of joints and muscles as well as the impact on the rest of your body. Therefore normal pronation, which perhaps should be called ideal pronation, is an important part of an efficient runner's form.

Pronation is the inward rolling movement of the foot as it supports your body weight and absorbs shock. Ideally for normal pronation the arch should only roll, or compress, about fifteen percent in order to help you push off evenly from the front of the foot. The size of a runner's arch can affect its ability to roll. If you have a "normal arch" (indicated in the picture above), you're likely a normal pronator.

I definitely do believe that arch supports have a valuable place in low activity footwear for walking. And I wont deny that my feet feel so much happier when I put on my high arch supporting Birkenstocks. But, I think for now I'm gunna let my feet do what they want to while running, without the extra support. There's got to be a way to work with your feet instead of against them. Our body and feet have evolved over thousands of years, and humans where running long before high-tech shoes where invented. I'm not completely a minimal forefoot running convert. I don't know if my lower legs could handle it after all I have forced them to do over the course of approximately six years. But the research I've done on this topic suggests that as long as I make some transitions slowly I can become a healthier, less ridged and more efficient runner.

For an awesome article on foot mechanics, see this article by the British Journal of Sports Medicine brought to my attention by a Facebook post from my mother today. Thanks Ma! It uses a lot of scientific jargon but it's an informative read about the differences between running and walking and the roll the arch of our foot plays in our evolution. The article suggests foot exercises and addresses the barefoot minimalist shoes idea.

So, what is under pronation?

I found this really awesome RW video HERE.  It seems kind of crazy to me, to watch this video and notice that the runners muscle development is shaped so much like mine. Imagine that, foot strike shapes muscle formation! Click the link to read the full length article. It describes all styles of pronation and, by reading you can determine your own pronation type too!


I bought my last pair of shoes right after moving to Charlotte. That was a year an a half ago! While I haven't done any long term training plan in them, I have been a recreational runner averaging probably 1-2 runs a week over that time in them. Getting new shoes was long overdue. I've heard shoes should last up to 6 months or 500 miles. I'm certain I've exceeded both of those marks.

Inside of the fore foot doesn't touch the ground anymore

Wear is more noticeable along the outside edges

Each foot/shoe supinates differently

Choosing a pair of new shoes recently was very stressful for me. I discovered there are actually shoes made for people who supinate. Duh, there's a product for everything. But I had to decide how to choose shoes to aid in my transition to a more natural running gait.

Attributes of stability control shoes I'm trying to steer away from:

• Stability shoes have a thick ridged foam or plastic piece as part of the shoes sole under the arch of your foot. It prevents the inside part of the shoe from compressing over the use of the shoe and it holds up the arch to prevent over pronation. 
• Varying degrees of stability shoes are meant to have the runner heel strike. They have an angle cut into the outside edge of the heel intended to help your foot track through each foot strike, from the outside of your heel through to the middle toe at push off.
• Due to stability and motion control properties of these shoes your foot may not be able to bend and flex as it naturally should because the shoe is inflexible.
• Because stability shoes are intended for the runners wearing them to be heel strikers there is often a LOT of padding under the heel which causes the shoes to almost be like high heels. The idea is that having a higher heel will take strain off the achillies and calves. But this is not the natural evolutionary intent for our running form.

How do I transition slowly enough to prevent fatigue or injury from my body getting used to less structure in my shoes? How do I choose a shoe that will hold up to the mileage I plan to put in them between now and September when I run the half marathon? When buying my newest pair of running shoes last week, I struggled with deciding how light and flexible, how soft and squishy, how low the heel drop (diff in height between ball of foot and heel in sole thickness), and how neutral to go.

I ended up choosing an Asics gell-evate 2. The brand Asics is now slightly scary to me because that's what I have been wearing for most of my running career. I have a negative association with the brand and the over compensating I've been doing. But these shoes are neutral, even slightly supination minded shoes. I will not put my stiff cork insoles in them and we'll see what my foot does naturally. These Asics shoes are not as flexible or squishy as I'd hoped, nor do they have a lower heel drop but, I felt that they would be more durable than some of the other soft foam easy flexing shoes that I tried on. These shoes are a small step in the right direction and I'll meet more of the natural foot movement enabling criteria with my next pair. Hopefully a fresh start will reduce imbalances.

5k: Week Seven

Just two more weeks till the Color Me Green 5k race and I'm starting to get excited! Having run mostly distances 5k or less in high school and college, I'm having to over come mental barriers when thinking about racing and training for longer distances. The focus is no longer speed so much as quality mileage and recovery. But I'm not even past the 5k yet, right? So no need to worry. Remember, just take it one day at a time.

Mon 3mi- The number 3 was more of a mental milestone than I thought it would be. It made me kind of nervous before I set out on the run. This is the first day I ran race distance. I just reminded myself that I ran 2.75mi twice last week and that's only a quarter mile less than three. Besides what am I thinking getting nervous? I ran like six miles on Saturday last week. I am not quite recovered from my extended long run last week. I ran an extra 5min more than I was scheduled to and, though 5min doesn't seem like much, I am feeling it. My calves are rather tight and my achillies started to ache just a tiny bit. I'll try to allow for recovery on the bike and strength training tomorrow.

Tue 22min bike+strength- What a day! woke up to a half inch of SNOW on the ground! We did our annual Simulation-X ( X for extreme!) at work. It was quite fun running around the Whitewater Center with snow on the ground and not a guest in sight (closed to guests on winter Tuesdays). Part of our challenge was to have the group collectively run or walk 26.2miles. Everyone on the team had to do at least one mile....I'm pretty sure I did about 10 (ran 5-6 walked 4-5).  I realized during SimX that I wasn't going to get my planned workout done because I had a CPR/First Aid class to attend after work so I got to exercising while I could. Think I won't run tomorrow but will go to the weight room.

Wed 2mi- Well as a recovery decision I'm not running today but went to the gym to lift weights. My gluts are super-duper tight and my achilles tendons are complaining a bit because of the running I did in my high top hiking boots yesterday.Considering a light jog tomorrow to work ot the kinks.

Fri 3mi- Oy, what a stressful emotional rollercoaster of a day! I dream of a rustic little two story cob house in the woods. We tried to put a bid in on a house up for auction but the price shot about $25000 over our maximum price. Sigh...I guess we'll eventually find the perfect place... eventually. This house is all we've been thinking about for the past few days and I'm finding it hard to motivate myself to run today. I wanna eat my feelings, or go do some retail therapy, or just curl up and sulk. But, I'll be happier if I just run. It's beautiful and sunny outside. Three miles again presented a small mental hurdle to get out the door and have faith I can do it well enough.

Sat 61min- Because I took two recovery days in a row off of running this week my brain struggled a bit to maintain it's mental confidence for my long run. I got ahead in my training schedule last week and did 60min long run so I had to remind myself I could do it again this week too. I ran the same rout I ran last week as further proof by comparison. I was excited to find that I closed about a 30 second gap with another lady running on the Whitewater Parkway within somewhere between a half to full mile's distance. Point being, it felt nice to have a chance to race someone a little- in my head for my mental confidence. My form continues to improve. Imbalances in my legs are lessening and my foot strike is becoming less supinated. felt my hip flexors and stabilizer muscles in my feet knees and hips working today. It's really nice to feel improvement. The gradual differences build confidence too. I feel less tired after doing more running when my form is more efficient and improved. Left achillies tendon tight after.



Not excited about Pink-ness

Finally picked up a pair of new shoes! Buying buying them was a little frustrating. I'm wanting to switch to a more natural or neutral shoe from the over correcting I've done for years. I ended up buying a pair of Asics, similar to what I've been running in since high school. I'm afraid of them, that they'll continue my bad habits and foster bad form even though they are a cushioned neutral shoe instead of a stability shoe. I ended up choosing what I did because I feel it will last longer than a softer foam shoe would but I'm afraid the rubber is still too ridged and will be controlling. I'd also hoped to get a shoe with less heel drop. But I'll make more changes and progress slowly with my next pair of shoes I guess.

What is Running Form?

I talk about 'Form' in a lot of my training logs as kind of a nebulous thing that seems to always need to be improved but, what does this crazy runner jargon mean?



Click to view larger

The term 'Running Form' refers to your body's motion while running. Having 'Good Running Form' means that you are running in the most efficient manner you can so that you're not wasting or using unnecessary amounts of energy and, you're also not exerting unnecessary forces to your legs and body that could cause injury over time.

I found this video over on HowCast.com that explains good form pretty well.


There is a debate in the running community on whether it is worth it to try altering your running form. I found a nice article on RunnersWorld.com that describes this debate in pretty good depth, from medical professional and elite coach and athlete perspectives and experiences. It is a little long though, so I'll try to summarize the topic. There seem to be two sides to the discussion. Proponents of running the way your own body mechanics feel right with traditional running shoes vs. mid to forefoot running in more minimal shoes with a more controlled forward momentum.

I seem to fall somewhere in the middle of these extremes. I believe, doing what you can to strengthen your body (core, hips, legs, and even arms) is valuable and is the main factor to achieving good form for your body.
Stride: Strengthening your core, hips, and other stabilizer muscles should allow you to achieve a stride that is close to the body and that lands on the mid foot reducing harsh forces in your legs and joints.
Posture: Keeping a strong back and core should allow you to have a tall and straight torso while running. This will in turn allow you to breath well and take in as much air as possible.
Arm swing: Strengthening your core and arms will prevent your arms from swinging across your body causing unnecessary twisting and wasted energy. Relaxed arms swinging at the top of your hip bones will also allow you to breath easier with an open and forward chest.

Being conscious of how you feel is valuable. I struggle with figuring out the right balance in my own runs. You don't want to try to alter your running form too fast because this can backfire and cause injury instead of prevent it. But be conscious of any extra muscle tension you have in your body while running. Altering your form is going to take effort and feel slightly strange but you don't want to over do it. For a short and sweet article summary check out this article that I also thought was valuable description of what Good Running Form is.

Some thing else that has been added to my training now that I've moved to Charlotte from the flat lands of the coast is hills. I love the beautiful varied terrain but I have noticed soreness and worry about some muscle imbalances when going up and down hill. These hills are what initiated my recent research on form. RunnersWorld.com has a pretty basic but helpful video that describes what changes you should make when running up or down hill.