Tell me about Superfeet "Green" (Read 2165 times)

I see people rave about these things like they were made of some sort of awesomeness...like diamonds, or platinum, or chocolate...or cheese. What makes them so good? What sorts of "issues" do they treat? Reason I ask is that I am pretty much at wit's end, right now. 2 months until my marathon and I still don't know what I'm going to do about the shoe situation. My beloved NB 903s make my feet happier than any other shoe, but my right knee needs more support. So I tried on probably a dozen different "moderate stability" shoes...ended up with the Mizuno Wave Inspire 4. One of the few that came in wide and fit my heel well. Also reported to be the lightest and most flexible of the entire array of moderate stability shoes on the market. So in theory they should be pretty comparable to my 903s, but with more support for my knee. Have now logged 22 miles in the shoe (3 runs) and my right knee is DEFINITELY happier...BUT my left foot is DEFINITELY pissed-off...and the right foot is not much happier. It's that same sort of outer foot/peroneal tendonitis pain that I had before I discovered the NB 902s. Seems that stiffer shoes do not agree with my feet and all the moderate stability shoes on the market are markedly stiffer through the entire sole/midsole than the lightweight trainers. So, what's a girl to do? Choose between happy knees or happy feet? Neither is really a choice conducive to running. It seems that maybe adding a stability insole of some sort to my 903s might be the solution. I do have the Sof Sole stability insole (RRS calls it Stable Runner, or something like that). I haven't yet run with them in my 903s (have used them in my neutral NB 826s and they feel fine), but it fits in my shoe well and is very comfortable. I think it will add just a level of stability to the rear of the shoe, without sacrificing any midfoot or forefoot flexibility. But if this doesn't work, I wonder if something like the Superfeet insoles might do the trick. Any thoughts...? How controlling are the Superfeet insoles? Do they seem to change the forefoot flexibility of shoes, or just the rearfoot?

I know a lot of people swear by SuperFeet, but I hated both the green and the raspberry. I sold them on ebay! There was a thread on RunnersWorld and it seemed a lot of others had the same experience. They are hard and uncomfortable. Maybe you should find a good running PT and get some custom orthotics. Sorry your feet and knees are at war! I know how frustrating it is.

My PT suggested to add the green Superfeet to my Adidas Adistar shoes after the back injury to deal with the right leg paralysis issues. I HATED them and had the worst and only case of shinsplints. In fact that experience even made me go away from Adidas for a bit. The outer arch/ peroneus pain you describe sounds familiar. I've had this and found by trial and error that nothing was wrong with my peroneus tendon - I just had very tight calves. I only had it in my left foot. So bad that I couldn't step on it when it was not warmed up. There was apparently also some old scar tissue from when I rolled my ankle years ago. The sports massage therapist massaged the knots out of my calves, broke up the scar tissue in the ankle and I got "the stick" to roll out my calves. Now I can avoid it (and cure it) with good stretching. I didn't stretch before. I noticed when I stretched my calf and leaned into it, I could really feel it in the outer arch/area where I had the issues. Good luck and don't give up!

I'm still kicking myself for not keeping that pair of Saucony Progrid Guides and simply taking an X-acto knife to the heel tabs where they were cutting into my achilles. They were otherwise a perfect shoe. I am so tempted to buy another pair and do surgery on them.

Do you think they would rub your feet after the surgery?

Zoom-zoom, I really feel for you because I've been going through the same thing. I've been running seriously for over two years, and yet I haven't found the silver bullet to make my running injury-free. I was about two months from my first marathon, when I started to panic (I was having knee issues at the time), and a RRS sales person sold me on green SuperFeet. I completed my training with them, and wore them in the race, but I can't say they made a very significant difference. I currently run in custom orthotics, and though I've tried them with numerous different shoes, there's always SOMETHING that still hurts when I run. I've also visited several doctors looking for the answer: two podiatrists and an orthopedist. If you see a doctor, make sure he/she has long-distance running experience. The podiatrist I currently see is a former marathon runner, and he has given me some helpful advice like: - train by running fewer miles (and ramp up ridiculously slowly) - perform nightly strengthening exercises for my knees and peroneal tendons - slow my pace way down (both training and racing) - and most of all "DUMB IT DOWN" - he says I over-analyze things. He doesn't even like that I record my times. He wants me to just run, take it easy, and not think too much. So since I haven't found the silver bullet for myself yet (and it probably does not exist), I can't really offer you any solid advice. But I can tell by looking at your training log that you will have no problem in your upcoming marathon if you avoid injury between now and then. So maybe consider cutting back your miles a bit, slowing down your pace, and taking a generous amount of recovery time after your long runs. Good luck.

So since I haven't found the silver bullet for myself yet (and it probably does not exist), I can't really offer you any solid advice. But I can tell by looking at your training log that you will have no problem in your upcoming marathon if you avoid injury between now and then. So maybe consider cutting back your miles a bit, slowing down your pace, and taking a generous amount of recovery time after your long runs. Good luck.

Thanks so much for that, Stan! I have a little update in another thread. I really hope I have found the "cure" for my issues. I will keep my fingers and toes crossed that your own solution to your issues is not far away. This stuff is SO frustrating, especially when the timing is like what we have dealt with. '08 has been a rough year for me. I've already had one DNS/DNF due to a bad lung infection right before a 10 mile race. I don't want to bail on my first marathon due to my body being uncooperative, too.