Help with shoe wear gait needed

Hello All,

First time poster here and I was wondering if anyone could help me out, if thats at all possible.

I currently use a pair of Asics Nimbus 11's which to be fair ive been happy with.

I have in the past suffered with my left foot going numb starting with pins and needles, every time I feel really tight in the calf I sort of know the foot will go numb after about 5 miles.  The nimbus has helped and that has sort of been kept at bay presumibly due to the cushioning but I am worried its compartment syndrome or something nasty so want to make sure my next shoe choice is the right one as ive got a VLM place next year.

Ive also suffered with small blisters on the front of my arch which would indicate perhaps I over pronate, to add to my confusion my arch is normal when doing the wet test etc and looking at my shoe wear I think im more neutral than an over pronator as the wear in the forefoot area is more oval and then to the inside under the big toe etc.

what im scared about is changing a shoe to help with stability/blisters and then the numbness gets bad again.  Should I just stick with what I know had sort of been ok and work with that as in engo patches on long runs if blisters get bad or trim inner sole etc etc ?

All over your left foot or just one side/edge? Does the numbness persist after running for a long time? You had problems in your back recently, or do you sit with crossed legs a lot?

I'm not an expert on running, but it sounds like you may have just been wearing shoes that were a touch too small in the past. I'd have been more worried if the numbness lasted longer. 

Go to a running shop with knowledgeable staff who can suggest a good shoe for you (or visit 2 or 3 if possible for extra opionions). Sweatshop let you test a shoe for 7 days too if you're concerned.

Thanks for the help, thats a good idea regarding the 7 day trial and extra opinions.

I was trying earlier to post a pic of my shoe wear but its working now :

  not sure if the quality is good enough to see but would I be right in saying neutral ??

I would trust the wet test and in-store analysis over shoe wear.

Sounds like you've got the same issues as me. I'm a neutral runner, and if anything I actually under-pronate slightly, but one of my feet splays outwards ever so slightly meaning that when I push off I roll inwards a tiny bit on that foot. I often get a blister towards the front of my arch, which is partly due to rolling inwards on the foot. I wore Asics Cumulus for years and with every new pair of shoes, I'd trim a tiny bit off the underside of the insole with a Stanley knife, which helped a lot. That was before I realised what was causing it. My friendly shoe fitter (whose advice I trust totally) recommended that I go up a half size (7 to 7.5, but more about shoe sizing later) as arch blistering is also a sign of feet without enough room. It seemed to work...

I only found out about my foot splay very recently after years of running, when I developed shinsplints after running in worn out trainers. My physio said I could stick with neutral shoes but if the shinsplints continued to be a problem I should consider orthotics, but definitely to stay away from pronation or stability shoes, as my problem wasn't pronation or instability.

My shoe fitter pointed out how my old shoes were knackered even though the soles weren't too badly worn, as the inwards rolling had stretched the inside of the heel cup on one shoe, and he said I should pay more attention to replacing shoes when they got worn, keeping the old ones for shorter runs and wearing newer ones on long runs. I stuck with the Cumulus but also got a pair of Brooks Ghost to try, as the soles/heel cups are slightly more solid on them.

Your foot numbness definitely sounds like it could be due to small shoes. Have you got a decent amount of wiggle room for your toes? I found after a few years of running that even with the same make and model of shoes, I had to go up in size. I think running maybe makes your feet stretch out a bit over time. Either that or it's just that as you run longer distances and your feet swell a bit, you realise you need more space round your toes to be comfy. Whichever it is, I started running in a 6 as that was the size I wore at the gym, quickly went up to a 6.5, moved on to a 7 at the start of the year and for my newest pair of shoes bought a 7.5. All Asics Cumulus, so no variance in size due to different manufacturers...

Hiya Runs-with-dogs,

Thanks for replying.

Yes thats my understanding also which added to my confusion.  I always thought arch blisters were a sign of over pronation which according to my GAIT analysis is minimal just on the left foot.  

Ive had a couple of runs in the new shoes but as I had blisters to begin with cant be sure if its the new shoes or what but on both my feet at the front of the arch I have a smallish blister which is really sore.

Im actually going to consider trimming in the inner sole tonight and was wondering how to go about this, do you have any tips on how this is to be done ?.  I wasnt sure if I just cut a piece of the inner sole away or trim the bottom blue bit which lowers it abit presumibly ?.

You are right about shoe size I actually thought id gone too big and that the foot movement inside was causing the blisters.  I wear a 10 normally but run in a size 11 with plenty of space just a bit more than a thumbs width.

A lot of shoes take a little wearing-in, please bear that in mind before you take a hacksaw to the shoe. I bought a pair of adidas glide a few weeks back and they were really stiff for the first few miles.

Echoing what Tota says, PLEASE don't go chopping up your brand new shoes till you've given them a chance to mould to your feet a bit first. But after a few weeks, if you still feel like you want to trim down the insole a bit, I'd recommend just shaving a tiny amount off the underside of the insole, in a kind of 'diagonal wedge' shape. That's the way I do it anyway. I'm just aiming to round off the underside a bit, not cut chunks out of it or anything. And only a tiny little bit - like maybe a centimetre long and a couple of millimetres across at the widest point. I could post a pic if the description doesn't make sense...

Also if your shoes are big enough for wiggle room, make sure you're lacing them tight enough to hold your feet in place. You don't want them slipping around inside the shoe. As for the numbness, this might sound silly but it would be worth trying: Make sure your laces are flat against the tongue of the shoe and not twisted around so the edges are digging in. I can feel the difference if my laces aren't sitting flat and it bugs me...

sweatshop have a 30 day exchnage policy including getting them wet

Thanks everyone for the help.

I decided to go back to runners needs yesterday evening as my feet were literally keeping me awake they were so sore.

The Nimbus 14 they had sized me originaly for was 46.5 my old pair were a 46 and they agreed they were just a little to big.  I tried the 46 and they felt allot better but did feel tight across the forefoot although the toe box had plenty of room.  I love the cushioning of the nimbus but these blisters have scared me.  I did use to get them with previous versions everynow and then which concerns me as now my training is more structered I need to be able to rely on my shoes not constantly worried of getting a blister.

 I really liked the Brooks Ghost 5 never had Brooks before but they felt good on and also tried them on the machine for a short while.  I took a punt and swapped them for the Brooks in a 46.

I removed the inner sole from the Brooks in the shop and its definately got much more of an arch support than the Asics did, it almost extends up the side of the shoe a bit and even with my blister covered they felt really comfy like the edge is not rubbing in the areas that caused the blisters in the first place.

I went for a 5 mile run today with my blisters covered and they felt good, a little jaring over the mid foot area but if you heel strike they have good cushioning and seem fine.

I dont reckon ill run 26.2 in them but I think im really going to like them.  Just hope the lack of cushioning doesnt exasperate my left foot pins and needles issue I used to get sometimes.