Roadrunner Sports - Custom Orthotics?

[RnbwSktles]

I am sure at least one person here has been to this store and will know what I am talking about. The whole story is below, but what I want to know is was I ripped off?

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Last night DH and I went to a Roadrunner store to get fitted for shoes. I am happy with my current shoes, but my legs do tend to hurt a lot, especially my shins. Nothing real serious that I would consider an injury, but I wanted to make sure I was actually using the right shoes. My current ones are getting a little old anyway.

DH wanted to see what they had to say as well. He doesn't run, but he's always complaining about knee and/or back pain. (I can't seem to talk him into going to a real doctor). He is constantly on the hunt for perfect shoes that don't hurt his feet.

Anyway, we both did the "shoe dog" and I was told I have very high arches. This was not news to me, but it was funny to see the pressure analysis since my arches didn't show up at all! The video of me running showed that I have very rigid ankles and my feet are landing straight without turning to one side. The "neutral" shoe was perfect for me. DH had almost the exact same results, although his feet point outward when he runs.

We both tried on 3 pairs of shoe the girl recommended and picked out one pair we both really liked over the others. The shoes I chose felt very similar to what I already had, but I was surprised they were an entire size smaller (7.5 v 8.5). I don't know if that's just a brand discrepancy? My current shoes don't feel big at all. I tried the shoes with the insert both in and out and the only real difference I felt was pressure on my arch with the insert. The girl scared me with talks of collapsing arches. I am training for a marathon and have never done more than 5 or 6 miles at a time. I never experienced real pain, but how was I to know if I would suddenly suffer an injury after weeks of running 20+ miles?
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This morning I took the shoes for a test drive just up and down my road. This is where I've been doing all my running lately so nothing new there. Yesterday I ran/walked for about 30 mins, with 20 min straight running. I was really tired after that, but fully recovered within the hour. Today I wanted to try running a little faster and I noticed right away my legs were more tired. My feet hurt a little and my shins bothered me. I figured this was just from trying to run faster than I was used to.

For the rest of the day, my feet felt sore like I had been walking ALL day in flip flops or something. As I lay here now on the couch almost 12 hours later, my arches ache.

So, are the orthotics hurting me, or is this something I need to get used to? I am afraid to give them another try on Tuesday which is my next scheduled running day. Do high arches really need an orthotic??

Anyone know if they are returnable like the shoes? The girl didn't say and I didn't think to ask.

DH hasn't worn his new shoes and inserts yet.

I really appreciate any advice!

 

[bumbershoot]

Dh bought some last week. They are returnable. They hurt the first few hours you wear them. Which they should have told you, so you could take it easy for a bit.

I had flat arches (and I do funky things with my ankles), so they wanted me in the highest level of support, with arch support. Just the arches in the shoes they recommended helped my arches, and now, 2 years later and 70 lbs of weight lost, I have arches. Woo!

I think that when you have HIGH arches you want orthotics that match your arches, rather than letting them squash down with no support. I think that's the theory at least.

But if you don't get used to them and they don't start feeling good, they are returnable.