u/ZekkPacus

Hi all.

Recently ran my first half marathon, and felt a twinge in my knee two thirds in. I slowed down and finished the race but two days later I am feeling some discomfort, especially when walking downstairs or twisting.

As I'm now the wrong side of 40, and am planning to scale up to hopefully complete a marathon at some point next year, I figure it's a good time to work with a physio to try and nail down any imbalances and ensure I'm in a good position physically to scale up, and potentially improve my HM time.

I have access to a physio service through my gym (Nuffield health), and while the cost isn't onerous it's not nothing either, and I'd honestly like to avoid it if I can. That said, will the NHS even offer me anything? Anyone have any experience with Nuffield, or want to offer me any alternatives? I'm based in East London so anything around there would be great.

Background:

39M, 6'2", 182lbs. Currently running 40km+ a week, half marathon in 7 weeks and a 10k in November. Midfoot-forefoot striker, neutral gait, no stability issues.

Current rotation:

Nike Vomero 18s - 490km on, they were my first "grown up" running shoes and currently my easy/recovery run shoes.

ASICS Novablast 4s - 300km on, they're my long run shoes but I haven't really been getting on with them. They give me irritation on the balls of my feet no matter how I lace them. I suspect if I go ASICS again I need to size down.

Adidas Adizero Evo SLs - 125km on, so far exclusively used for tempo/interval runs. I love these shoes but I definitely feel the lack of stability towards the end of anything 10km+.

Initially I was looking at Adizero AP4s as my race shoe, but I don't think my target paces support these (targeting 4:50-5:10/km for the HM, 4:30-4:50/km for the 10k) and also I want to replace the Novablasts or at least relegate them to my easy run shoe when the Nikes die, I'm really not getting on with them as my long run shoe. I loved the Vomeros for the comfort and cushion but they're a bit heavy for longer runs or pace work, and while I know people have run HMs in Evos i personally think I'd struggle.

I'm a UK size 10 in street shoes, my Nikes and Adidas both fit well at that size but the Novablasts feel loose. Looking to spend £150 or less - obviously the lower the better!