My peroneal tendon loves attention.
When it’s sore, I give it all sorts of love; like foam rolling, wrapping it up in KT tape, and taking pictures of it: (my apologies in advance for the 84759487 photos of my foot/shoes.
KT Taping
These things usually help, but sometimes the tight feeling down the side of my calf and outside of my ankle will come back if I forget tape it or foam roll during the time period that it’s acting up.
This time, I’ve decided to try a slightly scary, but new idea to keep my peroneal tendon happy and less attention seeking….new shoes! I’m still keeping with my Saucony Kinvaras…I could NEVER give them up! But I’ve decided to give the Saucony Fastwitch a place in my running shoe collection.
My patriotic outfit and the Saucony Fastwitch 5 shoes
Why is this scary? The Saucony Fastwitch 5 is actually a light stability racing flat weighing in around 7.1 oz. I don’t normally wear stability shoes. I’ve always gone with a neutral shoe because of the high arch in my foot. My shoe of choice is the Saucony Kinvara 3, of course.
Kinvara 3
I decided to give the Fastwitch a try for some of my faster workouts. tempo runs, and maybe even for racing at some point. I wanted to see if adding a little stability in my shoes could help prevent my peroneal tendon from getting so mad at me.
So far, I’ve run in the Fastwitch twice, and loved every minute of it. The first run in them was supposed to be short and easy however; I was running with my husband and he only knows how to run really fast-so it turned into a fast couple of miles instead. Success! The shoes, feet, ankles, and tendon were happy.
Testing out the new kicks
The second time running in them, I tried an EASY and SHORT progression run. I didn’t want to push to hard and have my peroneal tendon get angry again. Mile splits: 8:35, 8:15, 7:55. Perfect. Again, everything felt good afterwards.
Are these shoes the cure for my peroneal tendon’s attention issues? Time will tell. For now I will keep trying them out on occasion and see what happens.
Fastwitch 5 and compression socks, awesome combo!
I want to mention that adding a stability shoe into my collection after running in neutral shoes for quite some time is something that may not work for everyone. In fact, as I was writing this post, I took a break and happen to read this on Dorothy’s blog:
“Loved Katie’s disclaimer on this post http://msfitrunner.com/?p=4587 the other day – BE YOU people. It’s great to learn from other runner’s but what works for you might not work for someone else and what works for me might injure you. It’s important to listen to your body and not get caught up in comparisons”.
Read the rest of Dorothy’s post HERE
Exactly my thoughts. This post is about sharing MY experience and opinions. I’m not advising anyone try what I do.
- What type of shoe do you run in? neutral? guidance? stability?
- Have you tried the Saucony Fastwitch? If so, what did you think?
I’m a brooks girl but love light stability! I have to use flatter shoes fr crosstraining though
Yes!
Thanks for sharing Kat!
I usually do best in a light stability shoe. Lately Brooks Ravennas are my favorite. I’ve also worn a bunch of Asics 2100 series which is no longer around as of this year.
Do you have high arches as well?
Funny, I’m the opposite. I’ve always run in stability shoes, but once I started having some issues, adding a neutral shoe to the mix has helped me. I love my Saucony’s, maybe the fast twitch is next on my list to try!
Yes! Let me know if you try them
I have very high arches, but I like to run in a light stability shoe as well. Everyone is different and our bodies like different things. I can run in a neutral shoe, but usually anything shorter than a half marathon. i start to get a little sloppy after 10 miles and like the support.
I’ve been running in Asics kayanos, but also have a pair of Brooks Adrenaline I use for shorter runs.
Yes! I think I tend to get sloppy…and the extra support keeps me in line a little better. Thanks for sharing!
I have high arches too, but definitely not a neutral stride. I run in the Saucony ProGrid Guide, which I love, and add arch supports. Just thought I’d throw that out in case that helps you – although I’m no running shoe guru!
I hope the shoes work for you and keep the injury at bay! I love my Asics! I just can’t steer away from them lol!
I got fitted over the fall last year and was told I’m a neutral runner.. Right now I’m running in Brooks and I love them!! I hope your new shoes work out for the best!~
im so glad that youre finding some variety in the shoes to help you out and keep the tendon feeling good!! i hope that it continues to stay feeling great for you!! <3 oh, and great disclaimer! lol
I am now a brooks girl, but I loved my Sauconys too… I think they were wrong for me though… I really want a pretty shoe, but the ones that are right for me, are never the pretty ones!
Love the disclaimer
I run in neutral shoes, Saucony Mirages and Saucony Kinvaras, love them both! I actually got the Mirages after having issues with my peroneal tendon. I hope the Fastwitch help you!
I’ve had the same issue with my peroneal tendon in the past. And it’s actually really funny that you mention the Fastwitch because I just added it to my rotation along with the mainstay, the Kinvaras, a few weeks ago. As much as I love running 100% of my miles in the Kinvaras, I know that mixing it up will recruit different muscles that would otherwise go unused. I hope the Fastwitch is the solution for you! I’m also adding calf raises to my routine to strengthen those muscles. Good luck to ya!