I am not a runner.

My feet are flat. One leg is an inch longer than the other, and one foot is a half-size bigger. My right leg bows outward when I plant, perhaps the result of a tilted pelvis that overcompensates for the 10-degree curve in my spine from scoliosis. And until this past January, I was such a heel-striker that in race photos taken from the front you can almost see my shoe’s entire sole before my foot hit the ground.

In other words, you’d probably have winced in pain and pity just watching me try to run. 

Two trips to the massage tent to unlock my IT bands during the marathon at Ironman Arizona last November convinced me a massive change was in order. I needed to become a forefoot striker, even if it meant running for several months at a slower pace, and with less volume and intensity. My body simply wasn’t able to absorb the pounding.

The author’s Sir Issac stability shoes

Readers of my blog recommended a two-pronged approach: Active Release Technique (ART) therapy and Newton running shoes, which promote forefoot striking. However, both my coach and ART therapist advised against trying Newtons, warning me that I’d risk seriously damaging my calves and Achilles tendons. In fact, my ART therapist indicated he saw several patients a week who’d “wrecked” their lower legs by switching to Newtons.

Who would you listen to? My readers shared tales of how Newtons had transformed their running style, diminished their pain and improved performance. But my coach and therapist know my body better, along with its quirks and limitations.

Some discomfort is to be expected in the transition to forefoot striking.

I chose to try the Newtons anyway. The potential benefits outweighed the risks in my mind. I could rationalize getting injured trying something new rather than being paralyzed by fear and remaining stagnant in my training. Plus, I was already injuring myself through my existing running style. What did I have to lose?

And so my “Newton Challenge” was born: I’d try a pair of Newtons over the course of several weeks and write about the results—holding nothing back in my observations. Representatives at Newton Running supported the idea and after listening to my laundry list of form and skeletal structural issues, recommended the Sir Isaacs stability shoe.

I ran in my Newtons a few times a week, or at least every other week, for approximately six weeks. If a training run was supposed to last for an hour, I’d warm up in my Newtons and switch to my other shoes for the rest. If I scheduled a brick workout with a run of 30 minutes or less I’d use the Newtons. I carefully followed Newton’s “10 Laws of Running Better”, included in the shoe box, and watched multiple videos from the company’s website on how to properly break in my new shoes.

Proper education and a consistent break-in are critical to adapting to the transformative nature of Newtons. Perhaps the latter is where I fell short in fully integrating them as my running shoe of record. I simply didn’t give the transition process enough time, and with Ironman Coeur d’Alene looming, I panicked. I experienced enough twinges in my calves and Achilles during those first six weeks to dissuade me from making a complete switch. 

According to Ian Adamson, Newton Running’s research and education director (and seven-time adventure racing world champion), some discomfort is to be expected in the transition to forefoot striking. To start with, most men’s shoes have a half to full inch of lift in the heel, regardless of its purpose. Adamson said it takes years—or even decades—to shorten this post connective tissue, but lengthening can typically be done in 12 weeks. He noted the time it takes depends on many factors such as age, gender, muscle density, flexibility, years running, muscle bulk, training load and more. “The basic rule is lengthen and strengthen in a way that doesn’t over stress the tissue and attachments,” said Adamson, who has a master’s degree in sports medicine and a biochemical engineering degree. “Over-stressing means going beyond a point where you recover.”

I also occasionally experienced foot pain during and after my Newton training runs, which further rattled my confidence. Adamson explained that foot pain is due to adaptive changes to the fine bones and connective tissue on the plantar surface, adding that westerners’ feet are deformed and considerably smaller (typically half the size) than those of unshod populations who develop a natural foot shape and size. Simply put, running in Newtons was strengthening my feet and likely making them slightly bigger. The pain was akin to the soreness that occurs when one returns to lifting weights after a period of inactivity.

While I ultimately chose not to run in Newtons for my June Ironman, I do plan to begin the transition process anew once I’ve recovered. I won’t have any races on the calendar for the rest of the year, which will leave several months to make a more gradual, pressure-free adjustment. Knowing that some pain and discomfort are a natural part of the process will help keep me calm. 

Nonetheless, Newtons did enable me to become a more efficient runner by helping me experience what proper forefoot striking should feel like. By learning to run differently, I set a new half-marathon PR this year on a hilly course, and through the combination of coaching, consistent ART therapy, Newtons, foam rolling and proper recovery, my leg pain is at a minimum with less than two months until my second Ironman.

Maybe I am a runner after all.

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Ryan Schneider is an Ironman triathlete and blogger who works in brand development when he’s not swimming, biking or running. You can read his blog at ironmadman.com, follow him on Twitter (@theironmadman), and read his monthly column right here.