My Trek to an Iron Man

A size 13 foot and no arch.  Flat to the floor.  So flat that my feet got me out of the army.  Flat like flapjacks.  Flat like a board. Flat like..flat. My feet ain’t pretty either.

I started out biking because my flat feet caused alot of pain when I ran.  My knees would ache after a run.  I didn’t want to injure myself and prevent me from excercising.  This went on for years, but I finally figured out what I needed to do.

1. A good pair of shoes with a good arch and lots of support.  Then some additional insoles I got from walgreens.  The Asics gell cost me $90.00 at Sports Authority and are worth the price.
2. Let the foot hit the ground mid foot. Naturally.  I used to try to muscle my foot into the right position.  But this actually cause more pain.  Once I started to let my foot land naturally, the pain went away almost immediately.
3. Leg Strength.  The pain was coming from me trying to use my tendons to run rather than the muscles.  So I made my quads and calves stronger.
4. Most Important: Stretching.  Before runs, after runs and on off days. I stretch all day.  If I am at my desk or waiting in line, I’ll do stretches to keep limber.  I probably look funny sometimes, but it keeps my legs and tendons loose.  This is probably one of the biggest things saving my knees; Just keeping limber.

My Shoes that work great.  Lots of support and a great arch.  I threw away the insoles that came with them and replace with insoles that have a more pronounced arch.