Foot Strike

likitisplit

Right at 0:36, there is a image that shows a strike that starts on the ball of the foot and then moves to the heel. Mostly, they try to show a mid-foot strike, which looks a little strange to me. Zero drop doesn't happen on the ground but in the shoe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpC-nwDoTwE

timeasterday

I want a helicopter to drop me off on a mountaintop! And I wonder how I look in slow motion. Probably not that graceful.

Interesting though. I sometimes wonder if I should eventually move to a zero drop shoe. My next pair of shoes will most likely be a bit lower drop. I can definitely tell the difference between my speedwork shoes (low drop) and long-run shoes (high drop). Both feel good, just different.

likitisplit

I know Tim. Those all actually looked like really uncomfortable places to run, where you might need a slightly heavier trail shoes.

likitisplit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAc5z8aGEws

I want this game!!!

PaytraB

I was just reading about the front foot strike last night in a running book. It showed one picture of a foot striking the ground on the ball of the foot and describe the backward movement to the heel. This was a new concept to me. It also said that people who carry their upper torso forward while they run, tend to front foot strike. People who run more upright tend to heel strike.
One thing I found interesting in the book was that it stressed that everyone has their own style of running and that we should pay attention to our individual styles and not try to change that (ie: try to front strike when we naturally heel strike, try to breath in different patterns, etc). Somewhere along the line, I've picked up the notion that there are "better" ways of running and breathing. "Better" meaning ways that will make you faster and stronger. This book seems to dispute that.
That said, it's the first running book I've looked into and I don't know yet what to take as gospel and what to discard. So I'm just collecting interesting "facts" for now and will sort through them at some future time.

I've taken a week off of running to catch up on some difficult tai-chi moves but I'm back to it this coming week. I've missed it but I haven't been a couch potato. :happy:

likitisplit

There is a lot of dispute each way. There are some universals: foot lands under you, body is aligned, arms swing doesn't cross the body, cadence is 90 SPM. beyond that, just trying new things allows your body to discover efficiencies, which it's programmed to do.