UKC

I hike a great deal, never had any issue with leg strength, powering up a fell or clocking up twenty or so miles on multiple day hikes. Usually wearing Merrell Moab Speed trail shoes or La Sportiva boots.

But I bought a pair of Merrell Agility Peak 5 (apparently aimed at trail running) and they have a big heel to toe drop and do not feel the most stable and flat.

I do not have a pair of road running shoes so I started to use my Merrell Agility Peak 5's for running on road, pavement and a bit of gravel (haven't ran for years).

Two weeks in of setting some good times I now have the most awful pain running down the inside of my shin (mainly right) and kind of into both knees (never had knee pain, or much pain in my life). It also feels unstable when my feet are pounding the ground, as though they don't have the spring and the stability and they're gunna give away any sec.

I am hoping it is down to footwear choice and not form or something that cannot be fixed long term. But has anyone got any recommendations for what this may be (shin splints I'm thinking?) and how many people have had this down to their footwear choice?

Cheers

Sprinting used to trigger my shinsplint.

I paid for a running analysis to check if I was doing anything daft.

I took two pairs of shoes with me for the analysis. My Altra Timp (zero drop but big stack) and my barefoot shoes.

What the slow-mo recording highlighted was that in the Timps I was pronating and the pronating would likely be the trigger for shinsplint. I still pronated in the barefoots, but less so.

Since then I have only used barefoot, but I also haven't been sprinting, and due to one or both of those I haven't had a problem since.

Shoes is a minefield. The reason I avoid big drop is I suspect it was triggering my Morton's Neuroma.

In your shoes (sorry) I would get an analysis done to speed up the experimenting process.

not really what you are asking but I inadvertently started wearing various la sportiva running shoes as my work/ street / pub shoes. and found they were wearing out/ falling apart  really quickly. i ve gone back to boulder x approach shoes for this and the same pair have so far done several months of eveeryday  use  and show no real signs of wear. 

I think the key bit is probably " haven't run for ages" rather than it being an issue with your shoes.  Build up slowly, do some strength training, and build up slowly.

The peak 5's have quite a good amount of midsole for a trail running shoe but compared to a soft and cushioned road shoe they will still feel quite firm on tarmac. If you're coming back to running from a long break and experiencing pain in your legs its probably a sign of too much volume and intensity, drop the milage and get some road shoes that offer you the right amount of support both for the impacts and stability, if you have the budget for it. 

Think I may get a gait analysis done. And I was eyeing up some Asics Novablast 5s. 

It's very disheartening because I started doing 4/6 milers in some good time but now I gotta sit back and do little tib stretches etc. 

Cheers for the replies thus far

If you haven't run for years and you're doing a bit too much too soon it's probably more or less inevitable that something is going to hurt, and possibly not just hurt but be at risk of an injury that's really going to set you back.

Nobody on here can definitively tell you what the problem is, if there even is just the one problem.  The shoes don't sound great from what you say.  But you might just be doing too much too soon.  Or it's possible that you're 'over-striding' and heel striking heavily. 

Or all of the above, or something else, dunno.  But fwiw form is something that can be fixed in not very much time at all with the help of a good coach who can look at what you're doing and give you cues, drills and exercises to change it.  (That needn't be expensive, and doesn't necessarily have to be a 'personal trainer' type deal.  Could be through a club, or perhaps a regular coached session run by a running shop or something.)

Edit to add:

If you're looking to buy new shoes and hope that'll fix it (and it's possible that it might) - same advice as for climbing shoes: go to a specialist shop with a good range of stock and someone really knows what they're on about who can spend a bit of time with you getting the right shoes for you.

I was listening to a very well informed science-based podcast recently which didn't have a lot of good things to say about gait analysis for running. I wouldn't put a lot of faith in whatever solution will be sold to you. As has been said already, the real issue is sudden change of running mileage, not shoes.

Also, remember to stretch hamstrings out well before and after. Running will tighten them very quickly to the point of picking up calf muscle or tendon injuries.

Indeed.

10% increase per week, with every 4th week as an easy week, was the old adage often cited. 

As will a job where you are sitting down all day.

Fwiw I move around all day at work (12-15k steps per day) and hike plenty (16,18 or 20 miles every weekend) so I kinda just guessed the graduation from hiking (fast paced hike w/heavy load) to running would be almost seamless.. but, nope. Running is hard on your joints, so it's kind of surprised me a bit

Plus I'm like a cat on hot coals, I need to be moving around so sitting about resting is torture, but I sure don't wanna end up with a stress frac

It could be a number of things.

its not uncommon to get shin splints if you have just upped your road running significantly.

Footwear may or may not be contributing.

I’m not a fan of road running in trail shoes, they are generally, heavier, have less cushioning and are less responsive.

I haven’t run for 12 months, but if I wanted to I could probably grind out 10 miles.  However, when I next go for a run it will be 1/2 a mile, in the middle of a 5 mile walk. Then gradually build it up 1/2 a mile at a time to about 5 miles, then add 1 mile on each time.  Maybe 2 or 3 days between each run.

General rule is don’t add more than 10% to your week on week mileage, and don’t add more than 10% to your weekly long run.  But this is a challenge when starting from 0, hence the very gradual increase.

Some of this is from experience of what works for me, some is from a running strength and conditioning coach I was using a couple of years ago.

Okay so that gives me a reference point, the 10% thing, cheers. 

I went from not running to Monday (2 miles), tuesday (3 miles) and then the following days I did (4-5miles) with a rest day in there somewhere. I only started a fortnight back. 

I'll still grab some road running shoes because I have a feeling these Merrells are too firm and knobbly for the road but maybe that isn't the centre of my problem like I hoped it was.

Too much too soon, the bit about setting some good times is a clue. Build up gradually, add in some lower effort stuff. Enjoy it, be kind to yourself.