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Friday, September 17, 2010

Took my Wet Test

Ever taken a wet test? No this doesn't involve a pregnancy test. It involves your feet and some water. I'm going on a running gear shopping extravaganza this weekend in Park City and I don't really NEED knew shoes but just in case I decide to splurge I took my wet test. I do this before I get a new pair of running shoes just to keep tabs on my arch and make sure I get the best shoe for me.

There's a technical way of doing this test where you pour some water into a shallow pan, get your feet wet, then step on some brown paper or cardboard so you can check out your arch and possibly trace an outline to take to a running store specialist.

What I did...
I dumped a cup of water on my sidewalk, stepped in the puddle, then stepped back onto dry sidewalk. Then I snapped a picture so I could analyze the real thing all I want.

My arch is one of three possibilities...




FLAT ARCH
If you can see close to your whole foot than you have a flat arch and overpronate when you step. You need shoes that offer stability (for mild to moderate pronators) or motion control shoes (for sever pronators).



NORMAL ARCH
If you only see half your arch than you can opt for a stability shoe that provides a little arch support or if your a feather weight than a neutral shoe may be best for you. Normal arch runners usually can wear either one and be fine.



HIGH ARCH
If you can't see any of your arch than you want to go for a neutral shoe that won't provide much arch support since your arch isn't collapsing very much.





So what do you think?

Looks pretty normal to me. Even though I'm not a very big runner (5'3'', 115 lbs) I opt for stability in my shoes so I can have a little arch support. Otherwise the inside of my left knee starts to ache a little.



Friday Fav's are gonna have to move to Monday this week cause I've gotta get packing. Have a GREAT weekend and good luck in your races!

7 comments:

Andrew Opala said...

interesting ... hmmm

looks like two people arguing in a market at the price of the cabbage

...

wait a second

...

it's my mom telling me to clean my room!

...

no, still fuzzy ... let me correct the V-Hold

...

It looks like it's smack dab #2 arch in the cute category!

Tricia said...

yep,looks normal to me

chris mcpeake said...

normal
or at least as normal as a runner can be. The term is relevent. ;-)

Johann said...

Normal, which is good. I'm the same.

Glenn Jones said...

If you buy your shoes at Road Runner Sports, they actually do this test before putting you in shoes. I never thought about usng water to do this - but it's just as effective!

Mike Russell said...

Youu tried Mizunos yet? I have a real similar arch profile and i run in the Wave Runner...And did I read Park City? Love finding other Utah bloggers!

shannon said...

Looks like normal arches when you are standing still. However, your gait also plays a role in which shoes to buy. Sounds like you may pronate a bit. Good idea to run in stability shoes! :)