A plug for Saucony running shoes

After an hour long visit to Sports Basement in Sunnyvale, I ended up with a pair of Saucony Progrid Omni 6 running shoes. After an analysis by the very helpful and knowledgeable sales staff we determined that I have overpronation. (It it very difficult to find references to the word “pronate”, it is always defined as “pronation” or “overpronation”.) This was explained to me as a tendency for my ankle to collapse while running. As a result I ended up with the highest level of ankle support available. Proper running shoes are rated with different levels of ankle support which makes it easier to know which shoes will work best for you.

The shoe selection process was much more scientific than I have ever had before. I tried on 15 different shoes and did comparisons between them by putting one type of shoe on one foot and a different on the other. Each iteration of this process involved jogging up the path in the store being observed by the sales associate. He was also very patient when I wanted to repeat tests with the types of shoes on opposite feet than I had already tried; it seemed that whichever shoe was on my left foot always felt better since my right knee is where my injury is.

The real test is how they performed when I ran. On Thursday, my workout plan was to swim one half mile, and then to run 1.4 miles. I’m happy to report that I felt no pain in my knee that day, nor the day after. In all fairness, it could have been the difference between swimming as a warm-up versus the elliptical trainer as a warm up. Today, the workout will be 40 minutes on the elliptical followed by 1.6 miles.

Other good news: I’m ahead of the curve on running. With luck and perseverance I will pass the 1.5 mile marker running today.