Wow- Thank you so much for the quick and completely thorough answer to my questions/email! What you say makes perfect sense.

I had gotten away from wearing my orthotics a few years ago, out of a somewhat misguided belief that the orthotics were essentially weakening my feet. Initially, I found no difference between running with orthotics and running without them. Plus, I believed I was doing something better for myself by trending towards a more minimalist shoe and incorporating some barefoot running (just strides on a golf course once a week) into my training plan. In hindsight, I’m sure these things did strengthen my feet. I would love to stay in the Nike Frees, and I would still continue with small doses of barefoot running. (As you can see by my shoe review and post about barefoot running, I’m quite enamored with the whole minimalist trend! Nike Free 5.0 v2 Shoe Review Going Bare, I Mean Minimalist)!

However, at the peak mileage phase of a marathon buildup, I reach a mileage ceiling of about 80 miles per week. I’m sure lots of people think you’d never need to run any more than that, but I am really interested in seeing what I can do in the marathon over the next few years. This means finding out what my ideal mileage actually is for that distance. Maybe it’s 70. But something tells me it’s more like 90- 120. We’ll see. But no doubt about it, I have to get back to the orthotics if I’m going to find out.

Thank you again for helping me. I’m sure that you’ve sped up the time it’ll take me to resolve my issues (at least my biomechanical ones- ha!), but you’ve probably saved me from injuring myself in the process as well.

By the way, I really enjoy your blog. I’ve referred several people to it recently for help with their crazy back problems.

Thanks again!