Form

I have been paying more attention to my running form lately: I bought the "Chi Running" book by Danny Dreyer, who believes that people get injured not because of their shoes or milage or pace, but only because of bad form. Biomechanics is really important when it comes to how our muscles and bones function and it makes a whole lot of sense to me that there must be a way to run more efficiently, which puts less stress on the bones and joints; after all, we used to have to run away from wild animals and the ones who could run faster and longer survived longer and procreated more - natural selection. Danny Dreyer's theory - although I am not sure I completely grasp the whole thing just yet - is that you should be using your core more and your limbs less when running. At first, that sounds counterintuitive, after all, we run on our legs, but it does actually make sense. I always feel that when I land on my feet during running, the muscles in my legs are too tense and that leads to fatigue and cramps and pain in the end.

After last week's 16 miler, I decided to take it easy this week. I went to the gym and ran on the treadmill - it was way too hot and humid outside to even consider an outdoors run that way. While I hate the treadmill with a passion, I needed to run desperately. I was paying attention to my stride, where I was landing on my feet, how my core looked and felt. And then it just happened: after weeks of experimenting with changing my stride out on the road, all of a sudden it made sense on the treadmill. The important thing I have been trying to work on has been landing on the ball of my feet and not the heel. Also, trying to lift my knees more with every step, so that when my foot is about to hit the ground, it's landing more from towards the front than from the back. I hope it makes more sense after looking at the picture.



But somehow, when I was trying this before, on the road, I was having trouble getting it right, I got frustrated and went back to running "naturally", which is probably wrong. I suppose it had to do with the treadmill moving under my feet because after about 10 minutes, I thought I was running "correctly". It felt better, easier, more efficient. A couple of days later, I ventured out to the road again: this time, to the East River as I only had an hour to run. I ran for 25 minutes north and it didn't feel right. I was getting frustrated; my shin started hurting a little too. I stopped to stretch and try to concentrate on what it felt like to be on the treadmill. I leaned forward a bit more and then thought about something from the Chi Running book: to let the limbs be loose and relaxed. So I started heading back south and I got it right somewhere along the way. After every foot-strike, I payed special attention to relax my legs and feet, especially at the ankle and as a result, when I landed more on my forefoot, my leg muscles felt relaxed and it seemed like they weren't absorbing that much of the shock. I don't know if this is what I am supposed to be doing exactly, but all I know is that I went out again a couple of days later to Central Park and ran 10 miles without pain in my shins and even the next day there was no pain.

I bought these toe socks online to see how they felt: I figured they might help with blisters since the toes don't touch in these. I also contemplated getting a pair of five fingers (the minimalist "shoes" which imitate barefoot running) and you need these socks to wear with them. After some research and trying a pair on, I decided not to invest in them right now - they are not cheap! - but to at least try these toe socks. I loved them! Not a single blister after 10 miles, although they are a little thin for my taste, but I think I'll just get used to that. (Picture was taken after my run, hence the dirt.)