March 2017 Running Challenge

Interesting talk on barefoot. From what I understand the issue with minimalist shoes is that they don't promote a barefoot run style because, well, you're not barefoot. So there's a lack of prio-perception which is pretty much the point of barefoot.

When I first started running I told myself to figure out the best form to prevent injury and make things easy on myself. I truly believe in the whole listen to your body thing, and helping it do naturally what it should. Hence my argument against supportive shoes - if your ankles are weak, fix the ankles not the shoes.

So I read up on how to run. I read about keeping your cadence fast, and your steps small, making sure you land beneath yourself. I've had a couple of sessions with an Alexander Technique teacher to look at form, and I find myself looking at videos of elite runners. The one thing I really notice is that when the front foot lands, it is in a vertical plane. The knee is directly over the foot, and the rest of the body is pretty straight. You can't do that and heel strike.

Every time I run, I pay attention to what my body is doing - I think about where my feet are landing, whether my bum is tucked in, is my pelvis open and free, is my head relaxed and not jutting forward, and what are my arms doing?

I think form is SO important, which is why I want to get it right, right from the start. Inspired by you guys I'm going to try the run barefoot for 100 yards thing too (nothing like mud between the toes!!!)

@Orphia This is great, CONGRATS!

@JessicaMcB - that is awful! And she was with her baby! Oh my gosh.
@RespectTheKitty -- so, so sorry you are feeling so bad. Several in my family have gone through anxiety and it is just awful. At the moment all are on the right meds, but I'm always in fear it will come back.
@WhatMeRunning - I read it! I'm so glad you are getting your miles back up! I'm going to KC again in June to do the grading for the AP Comp Sci exam so I will be pounding the roads by you again. There were lots of runners that were graders last year and we always went down to the river which was awesome.

3/1 - 3.3 miles
3/2 - 4.1 miles
3/3 - rest day
3/4 - 34 miles biking
3/5 - 28 miles biking
3/6 - 4 miles + strength training
3/7 - 4.5 miles
3/8 - strength training
3/9 - 4.6 miles
3/10 - 4.1 miles
3/11 - 34 miles biking
3/12 - 40 miles biking
3/13 - rest day
3/14 - 5 miles
3/15 - 6.1 miles
3/16 - 3.6 miles
3/17 - strength training
3/18 - 44 miles biking - very fast!
3/19 - 40 miles in the wind - ugh - awful ride
3/20 - rest day
3/21 - 4.5 miles
3/22 - strength training
3/23 - 4.2 miles
3/24 - 4.2 miles + strength training

@JessicaMcB So sorry to hear about the woman in your community who was beaten. My heart goes out to her and her family. It's so ridiculous that women get blamed for being attacked. I almost always run with pepper spray, but I have to remember to always take it with me.

@RespectTheKitty So sorry about everything you're going through. I hope they get your medication figured out. We'll be thinking of you.

@midwesterner85 I often have to run with knee braces. I have arthritis in my left knee, and it's actually been fine for a while, but the combination of my last fall and 3 days of downhill skiing have caused a flare up. Right now, I'm just using a knee sleeve and that helps. When I had runner's knee in my right knee, I found one of those large velcro knee braces and compression leggings worked best to give it the support needed. I also used KT tape underneath the brace. My right knee is perfectly fine now...no brace or compression leggings needed. Hope yours heals up soon.

3/1 - Hate starting a month on a rest day.
3/2 - 5.0 miles.
3/3 - Grrr...overslept this morning and have commitments after work. No run. Unwanted rest day!
3/4 - 6.0 miles.
3/5 - 3.1 'mill miles, then upper body weights.
3/6 - Life got in the way. Had to get kids up and going early.
3/7 - WINDY 4.38 miles.
3/8 - 3.45 'mill miles, then upper body weights.
3/9 - 4.8 treadmill miles at Trek class.
3/10 - Unplanned rest day.
3/11 - 4 'mill miles.
3/12 - 7 windy miles. Longest run in 5 months. Plus, negative splits...woot!
3/13 - Another rest day. I am totally slacking.
3/14 - 5.1 treadmill miles at Trek class. Lots of speed/"hill" combo today.
3/15- 3.42 treadmill miles, then upper body weights.
3/16 - 5.05 treadmill miles at Trek class.
3/17 - Bodypump, then 2.25 treadmill miles.
3/18 - 7.3 mile group run.
3/19 - 4.05 hot miles.
3/20 - Rest day.
3/21 - 5.0 miles.
3/22 - 3.4 'mill miles, then upper body weights.
3/23 - 5 treadmill miles at Trek class.
3/24 - 4.7 balmy miles.

@Orphia that is impressive, way to go. My longest distance 18km!!

@JessicaMcB that is absolutely terrible. We should not be afraid to be out by ourselves. It goes to show the ignorance of some people with those comments!!

@epr3996 way to go Buddy!!!!!!

@JessicaMcB - Words fail me on the woman who got beaten. I hope whoever did it runs into a pack of p*ssed off runners who recognize him. I know, not likely; but I can fantasize.

@girlinahat @7lenny7 - Enough sleep is one of the keys for me. I haven't figured out all the details, but it's pretty clear that banking extra sleep Tuesday and Wednesday nights before short Thursday and Friday nights for travel to Virginia Beach helped me have a good race in spite of two nights in a row of less sleep than I'd like. I think I'm in better shape now than I was 4 weeks out from Boston last year, and not having to get up to go to work when I need more sleep is almost certainly a factor.

I've been following the discussion of barefoot and minimalist running with some interest. I wear light weight but not minimalist road shoes (Saucony Kinvaras) and found that cross country spikes (Saucony Kilkennys) are even lighter. Where I came from: As a new runner, the local Fleet Feet put me into Brooks Adrenalines. These are heavy by my current standards, and they have a 12 or 13 mm heel drop. I had some foot injury issues, and one thing the PT mentioned was that my weak hip abductors made it hard for me to control my foot strike, so I was messing up my foot. Fixed the weak hip abductors, and started focusing on form.

My nephew had packed ultra-light running shoes to go to Iraq, more for the packing that from any theory of them being the best running shoes. He came back with his over-pronation gone and form massively improved. He explained that when you don't have the extra padding, running with poor form hurts. So you clean it up unconsciously, running so it doesn't hurt, before it causes worse problems. That got me to try light weight shoes with less drop (4mm), and I've been running in them ever since. I'm happy with my results.

I've seen the theory of running barefoot, and it sounds good, but in my mind the issues of broken glass and similar road hazards outweigh the benefit of being barefoot for form. That, and I suspect the best barefoot runners started running barefoot before puberty, not in their late 50s. I don't know whether it's possible for someone as old as I am to develop the feet to support good barefoot running on roads.

That having been said, I do a couple minutes of barefoot running up and down my hallway every morning while my eggs cook. When I started that, I concentrated on form. As a newbie, I made myself a forefoot strike runner; after the foot issues, I worked on turning that into a ball-heel strike. Part of that work was consciously making sure my heels touched down on the carpet while running barefoot. Now, I'm a ball-heel strike indoors barefoot, and pretty much a midfoot strike on the roads. The discussion here makes me wonder if I'm getting some form benefit from that little bit of barefoot hallway running, even though it's not serious exercise. *shrug* Don't know, but it works for keeping me from staring at the frying eggs.