Foot Pain Question
 

I am new to cycling and have recently been putting in some mileage (rides are at least 20 miles, 3-4 times a week). With that has come weird foot sensations. Toward the end of a ride and at least a day after the arch of one of my feet feels tight, twitchy, and sometimes painful.

I don't use clipless pedals (I feel too unsure of myself right now and it would probably end in disaster) or special shoes. I have been using plain old school bike pedals and it doesn't seem to matter if I wear my Nikes made for "stability" or my thin minimal shoes. I've messed with the height of my seat and it hasn't made a difference. I'm trying to use the ball of my foot on the pedal but it doesn't always happen.

Does anyone have any ideas or has had this happen to them? Any suggestions on form or equipment to me as a newbie are greatly appreciated!

You're not describing the type of pain, or where it's located, which might help.

If you're not sure you're keeping the balls of your feet over the pedals, old-school toe clips will help with that. You don't even need to put the straps on if you don't want to, it'll still keep your foot around about where it needs to be.

If you're doing 60-80 miles a week, cycling shoes would be a worthwhile investment. The stiffer soles make for a bigger platform allowing less pressure on your feet. A pair of nike runners, even stability shoes, are still going to have a lot of flex in the soles that will bend in ways your foot isn't supposed to; your nikes are designed to land on the ground, not be supported by a pedal axle in one spot.

The sensation is solely in the arch of my left foot. I must also be putting more pressure or something on that foot when pedaling.

I'll have to look into cycling shoes. I guess I thought it'd be weird to use them without clipless pedals, but it sounds like it may be worth it. Thanks for your help!

A stiffer shoe will almost definitely help. You can get some MTB or touring shoes and use them with platform pedals until you are comfortable with trying clipless. I have foot problems/foot pain in everyday life; going clipless has really helped while I am on the bike, and there is probably a lot of carryover benefit from that.