And my flat footedness is more apparent when I am walking than when I am running.
No, unfortunately everything I know about the subject is strictly related to running, and my own injuries over the years. I don’t have the broader subject matter background to have a sense of what safety shoes do to your feet in standing/walking, and how the minimalist shoes might counter that.
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Absolute marketing tosh. There is merit to the argument (as commented on somewhere in the past by me and Arminius) that most commercial running shoes are over engineered to correct gait issues most runners dont have and actually produce a problematic gait. However, the existence of stuff like vibrams is a massive over correction to that.
With that said, there is definitely “damage” you can do to your feet by extended use of footwear not intended for the activities being performed (walking a lot in thong style flip flops is a good example). I can imagine that shoes intended for protection and stability might produce those sorts of effects if lots of activity is done in them. My weight lifting shoes (non-compressible stiff sole with elevated heel) would be hell to do anything more than walk in, and yet I know lots of military types who only wear combats type boots even to run in. I think if issues occur they would likely be due to doing too much too quickly in something your foot isn’t accustomed to rather it being an absolute case of these being problematic if worn for too long.
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What is the solution then? I know there’s a lot of nonsense promises with products like these but they still seem to be the best solution. I don’t think I’d actually wear vibrams out of sheer social embarrassment, but swapping a minimalist shoe in for my typical ones for, say, 50% of daily steps seems to be a step in the right direction, no?
It’s not even just a running shoe issue, most trainers or boots have loads of cushioning and a heel drop.
I suppose I could wear Vans, but I’m not an unwashed 13 year old.
Tell me you’re kidding here. Special shoes to lift weights?
Mostly for squats and other power lifts.
Can’t begin to understand this. But then I don’t have a £40 strap on my very good video camera.
If you have flawed stance/mechanics, the right shoes can help considerably in cleaning that up, allowing you to focus on lifting rather than technique. Over time, something that should be addressed, but for beginners that can be frustrating. Also helps with the Achilles tendon.
Not that different from running really, but with distance running you really pound your legs when you get it wrong.
If you have a pair of really old and well used shoes , your gait can probably be observed by seeing the shoe wear.
A gait analyst looking at that and your regular gait can probably take a call for you as to which shoe is best suited for you.
Without knowing all the details , if you don’t have a predominant heel strike , you should be fine with minimalist shoes… but that’s something only an expert can tell.
Presumably you don’t use the same combo cricket/tennis bat and wouldn’t think to repurpose your footie shin pads for when you’re going out to bat.
It’s more the other way around. Many people will never have the need for special shoes, but the more weight on your back the more force you have to transfer through the floor and so the more important the sole of the shoe become in creating a uniformly flat and stable surface to push against. Squatting 135 lbs vs 500 lbs really is a different of type not just degree
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I guess that makes sense - at some point the loads become so significant that an arch becomes problematic. I was thinking more in terms of why the heel is elevated.
It’s the heel (although heel height is variable with a good amount of personal discretion on what people find beneficial), the non-compressible sole, and the midfoot (metatarsal) strap(s). The latter really locks you into the shoe that makes squatting in a proper shoe vs regular trainer comparable to the difference between wake boarding and wake surfing.
It’s a $150 piece of equipment that if taken care off can literally last you a lifetime. Compare that to the money my golf or fishing friends spend on their hobby 
Yeah as opposed to running shoes where a semi serious runner like me (running 4-5 times a week) wears out 2 pairs of shoes in 18 months (best case)…
Running can be a rather expensive hobby especially when you are talking about 2 pairs of shoes at best lasting for 18 months (at best case). That’s somewhere on $300 for those 18 months not including the other purchases that are made
Another link to Zoe
Researchers look at the mummified remains and stomach contents of a man killed in the Italian Alps 5000 years ago. Interesting comparisons between the ancient diet and the modern diet and also the variations of the microbiome.
Putting this up in a pair of knackered old trainers. Uneven ground, loads of twisting, absolute no-no from a health and safety point of view. Works though. Small ones are 40kg.
Look away, look away, I must look away.
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17.56 km in 1hr 25 min , still a ways to improve.
Does not seem like I’ll be touching below 1:35 though for the half marathon
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@Arminius , I’ve never paid too much importance to cadence.
But just checked my stats today. It was around 174 spm (steps per minute).
Is it really relevant ? I checked online and it seems to be on par with what semi serious runners do. Or is it something I should look to improve ?
My understanding is that cadence is not really something to focus on improving directly, so much as something that will improve and usually increase as other problems are addressed.
For example, overstriding produces a low cadence, and that is problematic for the loads it puts on your heel strikes, and the fact that there is a significant energy loss if not outright braking.
The only other reason I have ever looked at cadence is a telltale of when and where my pace is not sustainable. If I finish the run with a markedly different cadence than the first half, that tells me my pace was probably not one I can maintain for whatever reason.
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