Footfall Mechanics
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220 days
chekmarks posted 7 weeks ago.
i'm pigeon-toed and kinda bow-legged. i tried to make the way i run more 'textbook' but now i just try not to look down while i'm running, it feels fine though
301
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368 days
cjhoffmn posted 7 weeks ago.
For me, this was something new - I've never been pigeon toed before. I suspect however, that it had to do with my bike shoe setup. I noticed today in a heavy uphill climb that I was pressing mostly with the outer edge of my feet. I've also been troubled lately that if I tried to keep my legs in toward the top tube while biking - it put pressure my on ankles and lower calves because it seemed that my feet needed to be turned out.
So I adjusted my shoes before my ride today - and I was able to put more pressure with the ball of my foot rather than the outside - and it was much easier to keep my knees in toward the top tube. I suspect that this setup issue was contributing to my run footfall. It did feel much better on my ride, and I suspect that after some time in the saddle, it will change the issue.
To tri or not to tri - that's not a question at all!
230
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913 days
fpugsley posted 7 weeks ago.
Everyone has a different gait that is what their body does naturally. That's why you have shoes designed for your particular foot strike. I dont think it is a problem, and I wouldn't try to 'correct' it
47
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142 days
tritoride28 posted 7 weeks ago.
I also run on the outside of my foot and it bugs me that it seems inefficient, but when i went to get new shoes from a specialized running store, they told me it was completely natural. Some people run on the outside of thier feet, some on the inside and some run straight. They make shoes that accomidate different types of running depending on your natural foot fall. I bought a pair of Saucony's and I really liked how comfortable they are, but they are a bit tight on the top of my foot. My advice is go to a running specific store and find the oldest guy working there and ask questions.
As a side note, cjhoffmn stated that after chaning the pedal/shoe set up on the bike, it helped put pressure in a different spot. I was wondering if anyone felt like they developed a stress fracture from a misalignment of the pedal and foot combo? I thought my pain was from running, but now i think its my commuting bike that makes my foot hurt.
301
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368 days
cjhoffmn posted 7 weeks ago.
Fair enough on the natural gait issue. I think for me however, this was a bit of a change - in particular, it was making my foot sore, in a way I had never notice before. In fact, it felt a little unnatural - which may be why I had notice it at all.
In my case, I seriously think it is related to the shoe adjustment on the bike. After a relatively small adjustment on the bike shoe - I'm not controlling the pedal with the ball of my foot, which feels more distributed in terms of the pressure on the foot. I made that adjustment on the bike and although its not a huge adjustment, we'll see if it changes anything on the run.
To tri or not to tri - that's not a question at all!
I've notice recently that as my foot makes contact with the ground, its often the outside edge of my feet hitting the ground first. It also seems that my foot is turning in a little bit - a bit "pigeon toed" as I think I called it as a kid.
It doesn't seem very efficient - in fact it seems like I'm running more slowly as a result. I've been slowly trying to turn my foot and straighten it out, and its put some pressure on my knees.
Does this fall into the camp of "do what's natural?" It seems I can get a straighter footstrike, but it will likely come with a fair amount of training work to get it there.
Anyone ever notice something like this and worked on straightening out their footfall?
To tri or not to tri - that's not a question at all!