Acquitting the Kayanos

Not guilty

Today's run (street): 3.4 miles

I've been worrying all week that my persistent soreness might be caused by my new Kayanos. In the past, I developed an injury that related directly to a pair of running shoes. In that case, the shoe had almost 700 miles and the outsole was worn down to the point of imbalance. Although the Kayano is a stability shoe, (which should probably help a problem like this) adapting from more minimal trainers could still cause an issue.

In terms of pain, I've been reading an article in Running Times (RT) that says soreness lasting more than 72 hours could signal a chronic injury. I'm going on two full weeks with mine. This morning I had to make a choice to try to run or find some other form of activity. All week I've been using the massage stick and doing both dynamic and core stretching. I had less pain when I got up, so I figured I'd try a run.

I wore the Opedix Knee-Tecs that promote stride alignment and also provide warmth. I needed the former to help with my injury and the latter to deal with the chilly temps. Due to my concerns about the ASICS, I probably should have worn my Virratas. I opted instead for the Kayanos to see if the problem got better or worse after the run.

I felt trepidation after my first few steps. The pain was radiating back to front but not to the degree where I had to consider stopping. The RT article said if pain decreases during a run, the injury is probably less serious. I hoped the pain would minimize once I began to warm up. At the half mile point I began to feel some pressure on one of my arches and started to question the shoes again.

I thought about how unfortunate it would be to discard these $160 running shoes (which I saw for $99 at Sports Authority last weekend and actually bought for $64). As I ran further, the pain had reduced to minor discomfort and the arch pressure had gone away. The big question was how I'd feel when I got back home.

I finished the run and concluded that the Kayanos did no further harm. I used the massage bar, iced the tender area and was pleasantly surprised to find that I felt better than before I left. So far so good. I'll try to step up the mileage tomorrow and I hope to continue seeing improvement. After some success pushing speed last weekend, I'm anxious to get back to faster paces.