I have a shoe problem....

When I bought my road bike a couple years ago I decided to continue using my mountain bike shoes to save a little money.  When I got my bike fit a few weeks ago, I decided to get road bike shoes and cleats thinking maybe the shoes and cleats somehow had something to do with my knee pain.  The jury is still out, but I don't think the shoes or cleats had anything to do with my injury.

I wore these Shimano M075 for the last two seasons with Shimano SPD cleats and pedals. They worked out well as I was use to clicking in and out of the pedals since I was use to them from my mountain bike.  They were also pretty fast to put on in transition with the Velcro straps.

My mountain bike shoes

During my bike fitting, I tried on about 10 different pair of shoes and one pair stood out. These Sidi Genius 5 Pro shoes fit like a glove.

My new road cycling shoes

My bike fitter talked me into Look Keo pedals to go with the shoes.  This setup has been harder to get used to than I thought it would be.  First, it is hard to walk in these shoes because you have to balance on the ball of your foot.  I feel very unstable in them.  The best way to describe it is reverse high heels, though I've never actually worn high heels :-).

Reverse high heels

Second, the pedal is single sided vs. double sided like the SPD pedals. Third, the pedals default to being straight up and down making clicking in tricky.

Default Look pedal position

While the Sidi shoes are super comfy, they aren't super easy to get on.  The two Velcro straps are easy but sliding the top strap in is a little tricky.  It takes me several attempts to get the strap fed into the clasp correctly even while sitting on my couch.  I started getting nervous about trying to get them on and strapped correctly during my upcoming races where I may have numb fingers and will definitely have a highly elevated heart rate. So........ I bought another pair of shoes.

Shimano TR52 tri shoes

The one giant Velcro strap should work out well while racing.  We'll find out in 10 days......

Knee update: My knees are improving.  They no longer hurt 24/7 which is a big improvement, but I'm far from pain free.  Sometimes I'm pain free, other times there are little niggles here and there like you get during a good taper.  Sometimes while cycling one or both patella will tighten up and feel like stones at which point I back off even more.  I have new pains now too, but none are permanent.  I've had my left IT band at the knee get sore while running (never had that in the past, have had problems with my right IT band at the knee so I know what to do for it).  A little stretching helped that. I've had the inside of both knees start hurting while running and biking.  I backed off and the pain subsided.

So for now, I continue to run and bike but take it easy.  When I experience pain, I back off a little and so far that seems to work.  I'm also using compression and ice, but not as often as I should.  Need to fix that.

Product Review: Tommie Copper Knee Sleeves

As most of you know, I've had some knee pain recently which has limited my training.  One of my blog readers suggested I contact Tommie Copper and offer to review some compression knee sleeves.  I contacted Tommie Copper and within a week I had a pair of sweet knee sleeves.

olive, because doomsday preppers need compression too

One of Tommie Copper's claim is that the sleeves are gentle even to wear 24 hours a day.  With such a claim I was a little skeptical that they would have much compression so I eagerly put them on to try them out.  I had measured my thigh 5 inches above the knee like it said to do on the size and ordered the appropriate size.  The fit was perfect and they were very comfortable.  I immediately felt the compression and when sitting still, could even feel my knees throbbing probably from the compression helping squeeze some of the remaining swelling away.  I wore then to bed several nights in a row and they were very comfortable.  I also wore them under my work pants a few times which worked out well too.  After about 24 hours, the elastic starts to become uncomfortable, but that is a long time to be wearing compression anyway.

Tommie Copper Sleeves in action in Nashville.  Yes, I'm that white (maybe whiter) :-) 

We had family in town when they arrived and they thought I looked a little weird then continued to give me some advice against working out as much as I do, yeah, whatever :-).  Anyway, ever wonder what a guy wearing capris under his shorts looks like?  Well wonder no more :-).

Could be a new style in the making....

Overall I'm very happy with my Tommie Copper knee sleeves and would recommend them to anyone with knee pain that responds well to compression. They are very comfortable and seem to give my knees some support along with the compression.  My regular twinge management will include Tommie Copper from now on.  Tommie Copper offers other colors beside olive and they offer other compression gear including ankle, calf, elbow, shorts, and shirts.

(Disclaimer: I was given knee sleeves for free, courtesy of Tommie Copper at my request.. I did not pay for the knee sleeves, receive payment for this review, or agree to give a positive review. Aside from information gleaned from the company website, the opinions are my own.)

(Disclaimer (b): I stole this disclaimer from SuperKate who stole it from Midwest Multisport Life because I'm lazy.)