I need help (actually sympathy) with the same old thing (runner knee) (Read 977 times)

Your son speaks from experience. And when words fail...view the log. I'll take anyone on.

Dood...you ever take a day off?! Your dad's lucky to have your experience to draw from...kind of cool when the student is the teacher.

My father taught me a lot. But he never taught me what scovill means.

Dood...you ever take a day off?! Your dad's lucky to have your experience to draw from...kind of cool when the student is the teacher.

You would not believe that my son was 5' 7" and 206 lbs in high school. It was hard to get him to run anywhere. When the weight guys in track were told to run a mile, he cut all the corners. Then he finishes 8th overall in the 2nd Akron Roadrunners Marathon. It is great to have him to give me advice. At least he got started before he was 50 like his Dad did.

You would not believe that my son was 5' 7" and 206 lbs in high school. It was hard to get him to run anywhere. When the weight guys in track were told to run a mile, he cut all the corners. Then he finishes 8th overall in the 2nd Akron Roadrunners Marathon. It is great to have him to give me advice. At least he got started before he was 50 like his Dad did.

No kidding...wow, that is really inspiring. I lost a bunch of weight (well, I was a slim kid in HS, then college/marriage/motherhood changed that...still not quite back down to where I "started"), but I'm still not speedy. But, hey...I still have 15#s I'd like to lose. That could easily take 30-60 seconds off of my current pace, which would put me a lot closer to the front of the pack and further ahead from the middle.

All right - here I am really late to join the discussion - I will probably kill this thread like I have several others. Never-the-less, I have some possibly useful comments: 1) flat feet are no joke - I have flat feet and wife #2 pointed out that I was stupid to run with flat feet and NO orthotics. I went to a chiropractor, got orthotics and running got a LOT easier. There are probably some places that are better at making orthotics than others but I have tried 3 and the results have been consistently the same - WITH orthotics, no knee pain - WTHOUT orthotics, lots of knee pain. 2) If you weigh 200 lbs, you are still too heavy (but congrats on getting down from 295!). Losing weight is entirely separate from running. My wife has had great success with Weight Watchers. They have a great reputation here in the Boston area. Whatever you do, get with a program and shed pounds. You will be glad you did. 3) Careful with mileage until you shed more weight. You do NOT want to get injured. Us 50+ yr olds just don't recover very fast. Congrats for getting the running bug. I want to be running when I am 60 and 70.

Thanks for the advice Sluggo. I've decided to look into the orthotics. Have you tried the superfeet ones? I don't understand why I didn't have the pain for the first 4 plus years of running. Last year at this time I was running great and more miles. I need to find an answer soon. It's frustrating.

As I recall, I could run for about a year before pain on the inside of my knees really set in. I would eventually find it to be painful to walk up stairs one step at a time (two steps at a time were fine). The cure would be extended rest. Then my extended rest lasted 20 years and my new wife told me I was stupid to run on flat feet without orthotics. Now this new wife is much smarter than I am - and I was now old enough to realize that all good ideas do not come from me. So I went to her chiropractor, he stuffed each foot into a shoe box of foam to get an impression, and within a few weeks I had my first orthotics. I have not had knee pain since then (about 4 yrs). I am sure that some places make better orthotics than others and I suspect that my first pair were not that great. I got my newest pair at the Boston Marathon expo this most recent April from Dr's Orthotic's (800-852-4056). They had a pretty cool display at the expo and had you walk across a foam pad (embedded with stress sensors, I assume) to see where you need support. I am a sucker for a fast talking sales guy with cool technology and bought them. They came in the mail in about 2 weeks and I have been using them for about 4 months. They have NOT made me faster and I can't say that these are any better than the orthotics I got from a different chiropractor two years ago but I feel great and I am running about 30 mi/wk - so I am happy. I have never heard of superfeet - but - if you are referring to: http://www.superfeet.com/ I would say DON'T GO THERE! Go to someone that will do a custom fit to your foot. Spend a few hundred $ - it is worth every penny. One more thing - if you do get orthotics - wear them when you are running and wear them when you are not running. After you finish your break-in period (they always want you to adapt to new orthotics gradually), wear them whenever you are standing or walking. Wear them to work, wear them when you are watching TV. At least this practice has served me well... Good luck with your running - keep those knees happy!

I'm gonna try the superfeet. I may end up in custom fits, but it seems worth the effort to try them. Thanks again for taking time to give advice.