Last time I trust Sweatshop!

Me being naive and new to all this, I thought they were trained to know what they're doing. I told the bloke who fitted me that I have flat feet, yet he still 'prescribed' me the Gel Nimbus 11s, which I have just learnt, from Wiggle, are completely unsuitable and, I'm now worried that, if I continue to wear them, they'd do damage to my knee - I reckon if he was gonna recommend Asics, he should have gone for something like the Gel Evo 5, would I be correct in that assumption?

 I'm angry because I now know I was mis-sold my trainers. They're too worn now for me to have any redress, but can anyone advise?

 I'm around 9st (which I hate) have a dodgy left knee, flat feet and weak ankles (I tend to 'roll' my feet and 'go over' on my ankles (particularly the right as it has to support more of my bodyweight than the left)?

 Because of my AS (see profile) I'm on benefits, but I'm serious about getting into running, so can anyone recommend me something...?

Cheers dudes!

Sarah

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Comments

  • As reputable a company as Wiggle are I would trust someone in a shop who has seen you run over a company on the internet who hasnt.
  • WilkieWilkie ✭✭✭

    What makes you trust Wiggle (who are an on-line retailer, so I guess maybe you phoned them?) over Sweatshop (where I presume you actually visited a shop)?

    Clearly someone is in error, but I think you need an opinion from an expert, who actually looks at how you run, etc., rather than just taking Wiggle's word that Sweatshop have got it wrong.

  • Flat feet doesn't always mean overpronation.

    If your not happy with the shoes take them back to sweatshop - they offer a 30 day money back scheme.

  • Hi Sarah,

    I wonder if you actually having problems as a result of the shoes or is your question just based on what you've read elsewhere? Sweatshop are usually very good and offer a number of shoes for you to try out in the store.

  • have you done the wet foot test ? - what type of shoe does this say you need?

    http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/shoes/choosing-a-shoe-the-very-basics/481.html

    ive had my gait measured twice with different results as most of the people doing the analysis imho are simply shop assistants rather than having any real experience or training to qualify them to do such

  • I would trust the guy in the shop more than a description of a shoe on Wiggle to be honest.

     Way I see it - there are 3 options for you :

    If you've worn them lots and you arent feeling any niggles - then the shoe cant be that bad for you ?

    If you've worn them lots and ARE feeling niggles - then go back for another fitting/refund ?

    If you havent worn them lots - then take the shoe back for a refund ?

  • Sorry, I'm autistic and I don't have the best way of wording things, I apologise. Wiggle seem to go by something called the 'wet foot' test, which shows the imprint of your foot on something like a towel. If I do that, the whole of my footprint is visible which, as I have flat feet seems logical. According to Wiggle (a company I've dealt with before) this indicates I require a MC shoe, rather than a cushion shoe.

     I wasn't able to try more than 1 pair on. It was in Manchester, in the Trafford Centre, and I was panicking and just accepted the first thing they offered me (it could have cost £500 and I'd still have taken it, I was in that bad a state.)

    I actually went into the loos and threw up after that, I was that bad. 

     I'm also in a very bad way now, so I apologise if I'm snapping at people. Spent the whole morning in tears and I'm crying now. Yes, I know why, but I'm not going to bother you good people with it - it's not the right place.image

    I was going to post asking if there was anyone local who'd be kind enough to help me (preferably female and around my age (I'm 36) but who'd want to...? I'm just too much hard work and trouble. Why do you think I have no friends?

     Sorry for this, please forgive me...image

     Thank you for your help,

     Sarah

  • My flat feet say I should over pronate, but the video said different - possibly because I don't run very fast! So for now I'm back on neutral which seem fine, so oyu never can tell.

    Did you see the video, as it's not entirely rocket science to tell if you're stable when you land!

    SJ

  • Its not the sweatshops fault you weren't prepared to try out more than a single pair of shoes, how can you expect them to give you the correct advice if can't spend enough time in the shop to recieve it?.

    Just because Wiggle say they are the wrong shoe, its not neccesarily true.

  • The wet foot test isn't that accurate IMO. When I've done it it suggests wearing a stability shoe but the results of all three gait analyses I've had done, the first being over 4 years ago and the latest 2 week, show that I'm a very neutral runner so just need a cushioned shoe.

    However, the OP doesn't say whether or not she actually had a gait analysis done or not. If not I don't think Sweatshop can be blamed for "mis-selling" the shoes.

  • SlugstaSlugsta ✭✭✭
    Sarah, the 'wet foot test' really isn't very accurate. It sounds as if you panicked in the shop, and I can understand that, and weren't able to  spend much time finding the right shoe. Are you actually having any problems, or is it more that you fear problems developing? Are you able to go back to the shop during the week, when it's quieter, and discuss the situation? Is there no-one who could go with you to offer support?
  • M.ister WM.ister W ✭✭✭

    Sarah, have the shoes actually given you any problems or are you just assuming from the wet foot test that you over pronate so the chap in the shop must be wrong?  The wet foot test is a vague indication at best and shouldn't be relied on to give anything other than a suggestion of what sort of shoes might possibly be right for you.

        

    I suggest you head back to Sweatshop and have a chat with the chap who sold you the shoes.  Tell him your concerns, that you think you might over pronate, and ask him to explain why he suggested the Nimbus.  If you keep calm and explain that you're serious about getting into running and want to understand about the right shoes then he should be happy to explain things to you.

  • Sarah, your posts are indicating that these problems are not isolated

    I think you need support that is wider than this forum at the moment.   I see that the GP is unable to help you,  is there a support group near you that is able to help?  I think that once you have settled what is on your mind to make you cross and upset then the other problems will become much smaller and manageable.

    If your shoes are ok for you at the moment and they are not giving you any problems then accept them as right for you.   

  • Ok, so I wasn't familiar with the poster, and the problems there-in, so maybe on the strength on this, my post above may have come across a bit harsh....however.....

    My point still stands, you need to spend a bit of time with any running shop, they will need to do various checks, may involve wet tests, gait checks, both, plus also trying and, and running in, a number of different shoes so they can suggest the proper shoe for you.

    Obviously thats easier said than done, but its pretty much essential in getting the correct shoe fitted.

  • SlugstaSlugsta ✭✭✭
    Meldy's right, Sarah, (for once image). It may be that this is a bad time for you to be bothering about shoes. If they're not causing problems can you manage to forget about them and enjoy your running?
  • Sarah, I have flat feet and run in neutral shoes. I'm sure lots of other people do to. As others have said, if the shoes are not causing any problems, stick with them no matter what anybody else says. If they are causing problems, take them back, Sweatshop are a reputable retailer and would listen to any queries you have.

    Good luck image

  • Yup - as the others say - if the shoes arent giving you any problems - then they are fine for you.

     Try not to worry about that wiggle test  - its only approximate -  and go for a run  - that always makes me feel better.

  • Sarah,

    I've sent you a PM, I've a son who has Asperger's and I don't think I can be too far away as I work in Manchester.

    SJ

  • Cougs - I CAN'T that's why I'm upset! I've knackered my knee (see thread in the H&I forum). I'm in 'I just wanna crawl into a black hole and die' mode at the moment. Not even my 'happy caps' are working at the moment!)imageimage
  • I'm also not a great fan of Sweatshop's ability to recommend running shoes.

    My first pair of running shoes from them were Asics GT-2140's which were fine until they started to cause blisters in the in-step after about 9 months of use. No problem, I assumed, just wear and tear.

    I took them back to Sweatshop to get some new shoes and show them the old ones to help their recommendations. After the normal 'run up and down the shop' trick they like to pull I was then told that I shouldnt have been recommended the Asics due to my running style. I was then recommended Nike Lunarglide's as a suitable new shoe to buy.

    I'm a size 10 in normal everyday shoe's but they gave me a 9.5 shoe to try. I said that it should be a half or full size bigger surely, not a half size smaller but they actually felt ok, not too tight or anything and the assistant told me that they fitted correctly and were looking fine after another run up and down the shop.

    Anyway, after having to take a couple of weeks off with an injury I then started running in the Lunarglide's, just 10k's mainly and they felt ok. Tis went on for another 2 weeks or so but as I started ramping up my mileage I started getting blisters and the Lunarglide's felt really, really tight once I got past 6 miles. Sure enough this only started when I ramped up the mileage - and more importantly - when I was outside of the 30 day exchange period.

    Now I'm stuck training for the London Marathon with an £80 pair of Nike's that I cant run anything more than 6 miles in without getting the worst blisters ever, all becuase of Sweatshop in Milton Keynes' inability to fit a shoe! Grrrrr..... image

    The sad thing is they are the onyl running shop in MK so when it comes to the next pair of shoes, Im going to have to go back there and spunk more cash on shoes that'll probably be wack!!

  • sweatshop let you return running shoes for up to a month after purchase

    simply take them back and get a refund

    then get yourself to Up & Running in Manchester city centre (in the Triangle) and get a gait test done there

    failing that, go somewhere else?

    i'm not surprised you panicked if you bought them in the Trafford Centre - the place is like a living hell on earth - an absolutely frickin' awful place that i only ever go to if i HAVE to

    there's also Running Bear in Alderly Edge who are a smaller shop with good (and more "personal" service IMO)

    http://www.runningbear.co.uk/
  • WilkieWilkie ✭✭✭

    You could always jump on a train and take a day trip to London. 

    There are plenty of other running shops to choose from there.

  • SlugstaSlugsta ✭✭✭

    Wilkie, if the OP (who has Aspergers) panicked in the Trafford Centre I'm not sure that she would cope with a day trip to London.

  • WilkieWilkie ✭✭✭
    Slugsta, my suggestion was meant for Dirty Turkey rather than the OP.
  • I'm in London a lot with work Wilkie, but I never really get the chance to get out and go shopping.

    I went to a place in Croydon when I was there a few months ago but their treadmill was older than God and decided it wouldn't work so they couldn't do a gait analysis on me.

    Do you have any recommendations on a good London shop though? There's a small shop I've seen opposite Clapham Common whcih Im half tempted to have a gander at. Also the Sweatshop (grrrr!) in Chelsea, although Im not keen on giving Sweatshop another go maybe a different shop will be better?

  • SlugstaSlugsta ✭✭✭
    ah, sorry, Wilkie! image
  • @Dirty Turkey. Don't take this the wrong way but I fail to see what Sweatshop have done wrong. You tried the shoe and told them it felt OK and fitted correctly.

    A good bit of advice is when you buy your next pair of shoes try to get your feet as hot as possible before shopping, run to the shop if possible. This will swell your feet and give a more accurate representation of the size they'll be when running.

  • @ Chewie.

    No probs, Im not offended, but just to explain my issue with them:

    1. They recommended the Asics, and then then tell me that I should have never been recommended that shoe.
    2. They then fitted me with 1/2 a size smaller shoe than I take, with the Nikes, which I queried but they told me were the correct fit.
  • Damned straight, Slugsta (I assume you're a bloke - if so you're one of the few decent ones I've 'met'!)

    Tell you all something sweet, though; when I was panicking in the middle of the TC, this little lass (she couldn't have been more than 3 or 4) ran up, sat on the bench beside me, gave me a hug and said "that's what my mummy always does when I'm scared..." I could have cried. Didn't really know what to do (y'know 35 year old woman sans kids =  paedo, right...? There's something not right about a woman in her mid-30s who doesn't) so I just hugged her back. 

    I met some lovely kids in Manchester and Liverpool (of course there were the chavvy ones but, then, they had chavvy parents). 

    Just to go off at a slight tangent - did anyone see that photo of Suri Cruise plastered in slap...? When I was in temp accommodation in Mankytown, the nearest supermarket was Asda; walk round there of a Saturday afternoon, and you see any number of kids, younger than Suri, with full make-up, hoops in their ears (some more than one per ear!), leopard-print catsuits and one lass had an obviously fake tan (she was about 2 or 3!) I only hoped it was Fake Bake and there wasn't some irresponsible salon allowing a toddler on a sunbed! (her teenage mum was in what looked like a beautician's uniform, so I'd guess she probably worked in one!) Liverpool mums seemed a LOT more responsible...

  • SlugstaSlugsta ✭✭✭
    Belladonna - I am a laydee slug image
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