Most of you have read about my love of running and my struggles to do it without pain. The last few years have been tough in that part of my life, full of pain, both literal and emotional, and much frustration. I repeatedly gave up on running, decided I couldn’t stand not running, figured out some new thing to try, tried again until it hurt too much, and gave up again. Seeing people running in the park or neighborhood always tweaked my heart and made me sad. I asked God over and over to fix it, asked Him why I couldn’t do the one type of exercise I most wanted to do, but never got an answer.

This week I decided to try something else and scheduled a visit with a podiatrist (foot and ankle doctor) who also runs marathons and is an expert in biomechanics. My appointment is scheduled for March 22. But as I did research and thought about my problem, I suddenly realized something, as if a veil had been lifted from my eyes.

A few years back, a guy at the running shoe store said I have a neutral gait, which means my foot rolls correctly as it hits the ground and absorbs the impact as designed. He based this assessment on the wear patterns on the bottom of my old running shoes and recommended a particular model for my foot type. I never questioned his assessment. Although my flat feet and the gradual increase in my knee pain with the new shoes should have raised red flags, I figured I just had a bad knee and had to live with it. My “sports medicine” doctor from about a year ago never bothered to look at my feet. He diagnosed me with ITBS based on my symptoms and assumed he knew the cause.

I think the running store guy was wrong.

If you actually look at my feet (which is hard to do to yourself), you can see that they badly overpronate, or roll inward too far, largely because my feet are so flat. Jenny confirmed this for me. I don’t know why I never asked her to check it before. With the shoes I’ve been wearing, my leg doesn’t line up properly and my feet don’t absorb shock properly, which can lead to pain and injury.

I think I’ve been wearing the completely wrong type of shoe for years now.

While I could be very bitter, instead I am filled with hope. The cure to my misery and answer to my prayers might be as simple as a different kind of shoe.

I’m trying not to get too excited in case I’m wrong. We’ll see what Dr. Crane says in a few weeks. I might also need special shoe inserts called orthotics or something else. In the meantime, I’m going to start strengthening my legs.

Hope is a good thing.