Thursday 1 December 2011
Interview with Patrick Sweeney
Here's an interesting interview with Patrick Sweeney who does similar training to me, only here does more and naturally performs better than me.
http://birthdayshoes.com/interview-with-patrick-sweeney-winner-of-the-palos-verdes-marathon
Saturday 1 October 2011
My take on soft sand running
On nearly any day of the year, if you head down to Bondi beach, your are likely to see at least one person running along the sand next to the the promenade. To those who have never run on the sand, it looks like a slow and easy shuffling jog, but in reality there are some major challenges going on in that persons body and mind. I seen many people give it a go and given up after 500m. However, if you are someone who "enjoys" the experience of pushing your limits, its a fantastic way to get your fix.
What is soft sand running?
Well it kind of speaks for it self, but it's any form of running on dry sand that allows your feet to sink in at least at least 2 cm or more. It may be on flat terrain or over dunes.
Why do it?
I started soft sand running as cross training for Mountain Biking. It a really good way to compress training into a short window. 30 minutes is about equivalent in effort to running for 50 minutes on a hard surface. It also reduces the impact due to the damping effect of the sand. For someone like me who struggles with running related injuries, its a great alternative. In fact right now I am unable to run on hard surfaces due to a ligament injury in my foot, but I don't have any issues on the sand. Runners might also find it beneficial as strength and endurance training.
Another great thing about soft sand running is that you get to cool off in the ocean afterwards, unless your crazy enough to run in the dessert.
How to get started
Soft sand running is extremely tough on the skin, the muscles of the feet and the calves. Any one new to soft sand running must build up to it over time. The correct form is to "grip" the sand with your toes, which works your feet really hard. You also should land on you forefoot so as to dig your feet in. This work the calves. If you are already a forefoot striker, you have the advantage of strong calves and you will be able to progress quicker.
If you are a fit runner, you will have to hold back, starting with about 25% of your normal running distance. Those who have moderate fitness might only manage 1 km to start with. Either way you are most likely to experience sore muscles and feet. You might want to stay with your starting distance for more than a week while you get over the initial stiffness. There after progress by adding 10% to your distance each week.
Another way so progress is over a 2 week cycle. For me this works better as I am getting up to 2:30 hours on my long runs. It becomes hard to do this once a week, especially since I also cycle, swim and do core strength training. So I do my long run every second week and to stick to short and medium distance runs in between. Obviously your actual distance will differ depending how far you have progressed and what your goals are. At this point for me a short run is 5km, medium 10km and long is 21km. I generally do endurance training on the sand, but it also excellent for intervals.
Technique
Most people will naturally run correctly on the sand, however there are some tips that I can give you that will help. I try to keep my technique as close to good mid-foot strike running form as possible. Naturally the soft sand changes some aspects, but the basics are the same.
Keep your body in a straight line. Don't hunch forward. Then lean the whole body forward slightly. Run with short steps keeping your cadence to around 180 steps/min. I often see people who stretch their stride on the sand. Many of them are good runners and it seems to work for them. However if you are like me, and tend to have knee problems, short strides will protect you knees. Make sure that your foot drops directly down with your lower leg "hanging" from your knee, as opposed to reaching forward. This is the single most important thing you can do to protect your knees.
Finally, land on your mid-foot with your toes pointing down. This will absorb impact and let you feet dig in for grip. Grab the sand with your toes to get extra grip. It will be really hard of the small muscles in you feet and it will take time to build foot strength and to harden the skin to the abrasion.
What is soft sand running?
Well it kind of speaks for it self, but it's any form of running on dry sand that allows your feet to sink in at least at least 2 cm or more. It may be on flat terrain or over dunes.
Why do it?
I started soft sand running as cross training for Mountain Biking. It a really good way to compress training into a short window. 30 minutes is about equivalent in effort to running for 50 minutes on a hard surface. It also reduces the impact due to the damping effect of the sand. For someone like me who struggles with running related injuries, its a great alternative. In fact right now I am unable to run on hard surfaces due to a ligament injury in my foot, but I don't have any issues on the sand. Runners might also find it beneficial as strength and endurance training.
Another great thing about soft sand running is that you get to cool off in the ocean afterwards, unless your crazy enough to run in the dessert.
How to get started
Soft sand running is extremely tough on the skin, the muscles of the feet and the calves. Any one new to soft sand running must build up to it over time. The correct form is to "grip" the sand with your toes, which works your feet really hard. You also should land on you forefoot so as to dig your feet in. This work the calves. If you are already a forefoot striker, you have the advantage of strong calves and you will be able to progress quicker.
If you are a fit runner, you will have to hold back, starting with about 25% of your normal running distance. Those who have moderate fitness might only manage 1 km to start with. Either way you are most likely to experience sore muscles and feet. You might want to stay with your starting distance for more than a week while you get over the initial stiffness. There after progress by adding 10% to your distance each week.
Another way so progress is over a 2 week cycle. For me this works better as I am getting up to 2:30 hours on my long runs. It becomes hard to do this once a week, especially since I also cycle, swim and do core strength training. So I do my long run every second week and to stick to short and medium distance runs in between. Obviously your actual distance will differ depending how far you have progressed and what your goals are. At this point for me a short run is 5km, medium 10km and long is 21km. I generally do endurance training on the sand, but it also excellent for intervals.
Technique
Most people will naturally run correctly on the sand, however there are some tips that I can give you that will help. I try to keep my technique as close to good mid-foot strike running form as possible. Naturally the soft sand changes some aspects, but the basics are the same.
Keep your body in a straight line. Don't hunch forward. Then lean the whole body forward slightly. Run with short steps keeping your cadence to around 180 steps/min. I often see people who stretch their stride on the sand. Many of them are good runners and it seems to work for them. However if you are like me, and tend to have knee problems, short strides will protect you knees. Make sure that your foot drops directly down with your lower leg "hanging" from your knee, as opposed to reaching forward. This is the single most important thing you can do to protect your knees.
Finally, land on your mid-foot with your toes pointing down. This will absorb impact and let you feet dig in for grip. Grab the sand with your toes to get extra grip. It will be really hard of the small muscles in you feet and it will take time to build foot strength and to harden the skin to the abrasion.
Thursday 25 August 2011
The barefoot professor
Heres a good interview with the barefoot professor Daniel Lieberman.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beJA2So4Zio
Saturday 20 August 2011
Mid-foot strike questions
I had to take the week off after running city to surf. It’s 6 days now and my calves are still hurting. After nearly 4 months, I still haven’t adjusted fully to mid-foot/barefoot running. I’m starting to understand why Nike invented the modern running shoe. I mean, the average person would find the whole adjustment process way too tedious and probably give up running. Nike gave these people an alternative option that doesn’t require months of adjustment. They got the average person running, be it with the risk of knee and hip injuries.
I’m also seriously questioning whether it will be possible for me to run a marathon distance with a mid-foot strike? A 15km run blasted my calves away. What’s going to happen after 42? Will I even make it, or will everything fall apart? Is it idiotic to attempt it in 5 fingers? Should I run in Nike frees so that I have more mid-foot cushioning and (dare I say it) a heal strike fallback option? These are the question I’m hoping to answer over the next few months as I attempt to increase my running mileage and frequency.
Sunday 14 August 2011
Update on my barefoot and minimal shoe running experience
It’s been just over 3 months since I embarked on this journey. I must say, it has been an interesting balancing act. On the one side I have a bunch of enthusiasm to get back to running and good cardio from my cycling. On the other hand, I have a history of running and cycling injuries which I have to stay really conscious of. At age 44 I have to be even more careful, because it takes me so much longer to get over injuries.
My approach was to run only on soft sand for a month to build calf and foot strength. I love the sand because even though it’s tough on the legs, it’s really forgiving on the knees due to the softness. It also teaches you land on the forefoot because you have to dig in and grip with your toes.
I had done some soft sand running prior to May, mainly as cross training for my cycling. The longest run I had done was 10km. Since May, I have managed to build up my distances to 18km (20 lengths of Bondi beach) over a period of 2 months.
In June a bought a pair of 5 fingers and set off on the road. Prior to this, I did a thorough study of barefoot running technique but ignored one important rule: doing too much too soon! I think my eagerness to reach my goal of running to work pushed me to do 10km runs right from the start. I started to get pain between my ankle and my arch. It got progressively worse. I also had the City2Surf coming up in 2 months so I was eager keep running, but I realised I had to cut back to 1 short run a week on grass. At least I was still getting cardio training from my cycling.
My foot healed up well and, even though I did the city2surf with little running preparation, I came away with a good time and no injuries! It’s really starting to look like barefoot is the way to go, for me anyway.
City 2 Surf
I ran the city 2 surf today
It was great to meet some DailyMilers today and a fun day it was. We’ll done for doing the C2S. I didn’t really know what to expect because it’s been 7 years since I did the last one. I've run very little since then, just cycled really. I was hoping for a sub 70, banking on my cycling cardio. I totally got caught up in the adrenalin rush at the start. Somewhere in Double Bay I looked at my garmin and I was averaging 4:15. That’s my 4 km pace! I know my cardio is good, so I was hoping the legs would hold out. The last 4 km were really though and now I know why. I was running at a HR avg over 180! Anyway, I’m over the moon with my 61.
Split Time Avg Pace Avg HR
1 0:03:58 3:58 168
2 0:04:19 4:19 168
3 0:04:21 4:21 171
4 0:04:16 4:16 177
5 0:04:06 4:06 173
6 0:04:13 4:13 176
7 0:04:50 4:50 180
8 0:04:34 4:34 182
9 0:04:10 4:10 181
10 0:04:22 4:22 183
11 0:04:33 4:33 182
12 0:04:12 4:12 182
13 0:03:59 3:59 181
14 0:04:13 4:13 184
15 0:00:49 4:21 187
Tot 1:01:02 4:18 178
Daily mile
I've been logging my training on dailymile . I guess you can you can call it facebook for athletes. There's a great community of like minded people with their individual training goals. From weight loss, general fitness, BP and distance goals and serious competitors. The support you get is excellent encouragement and the transparency of your training is a good motivator to keep it up.
Sunday 5 June 2011
First run with Vebram 5 fingers
Today’s run went well, so I’m hoping it’s something I can keep up. I didn’t feel any pain while running which is fantastic. My crash injury on my right knee still sensitive to pressure but I’m hoping that with daily massages it will heal over time.
The Vebrams were really comfortable. The only complaint is the the seam under the arch of my right foot is rubbing and was quite painful towards the end of the run. Hopefully it will soften over time.
History:
I have done very little running on hard surfaces since having knee issues. 6 years ago I tore the connecting tissue between the medial meniscus and the Medial Collateral Ligament. The injury was caused by running downhill with a heal-strike technique. It took 3 years of repeatedly re-injuring myself to realise that I had to stop all forms of running, including tennis and running for the bus! In addition, had 2 bike crashes on the road where I smashed both knees on the patella. I also have a family history of knee issues. 4 years ago I finally decided to forget about running regularly because I should not expect a body like mine to run. I took up cycling as my main sport instead. A couple of times I ventured back to running, but each time the problems would return and I have to stop again.
So I guess this is another attempt to get back into it. What I’m excited about is that barefoot running is a different approach. In the past I’ve tried to change my running technique to a mid-foot strike, but kept falling back to a heal-strike when not focusing on it.
I have had allot of success with soft-sand running in the last year. The technique is very similar to barefoot running on a hard surface. Although the soft sand offers a cushioning effect, you still naturally land toes first because you need to dig in to get a grip on the sand. So on soft sand you’re getting double impact absorption from the damping effect of the sand and the suspension effect of the forefoot.
Today’s run went well, so I’m hoping it’s something I can keep up.
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