Tight and Sore (Read 1315 times)

Sorry to 'hijack' the thread, but this seemed like the most appropriate one considering the topic! Been running for a few years now, bit have recently been looking into improving my 'technique'. traditional teachings as I remember were that sprinters ran on their toes, and distance runners ran on there flats/heels. Having had a scoot round Google, it would appear that I am supposed to be running on the balls of my feet, in a cycling type motion, with the footfall directly under my centre of gravity. Considering the posts in this thread, I'm now confused as to if this is 'correct' or if it's a case of doing whatever you find comfortable?????? Nobby, you seem like the person who can end my confusion Help!!!!!

Sorry, I didn't see this post--didn't know I was called upon! ;o) You didn't google my name and came up with "running on the balls of my feet, in a cycling type motion, with the footfall directly under my centre of gravity", did you? I don't think I've written that anywhere on the web but that's actually exactly how I'd put it. Cycling type motion is something a friend of mine told me recently; I used to say "Try to draw a circle with your leg..." I think that confused more people! ;o) I was actually thinking just that the other day, while running on treadmill. I was definitely landing on the ball of my foot. I used to have a lot of problem with my calves/Achilles; in fact, I developed chronic Achilles problem. It still hurts somewhat. Now, with that, is it really healthy way to run like this? Well, I'd actually have to say yes. It comes back once in a while but the way I "healed" it is basically running in minimalist type of shoe (thanks, dgd2n, for posting that image...SHOW OFF! ;o)) that almost tend to "force" me to land more mid-foot. In fact, I just cannot go back to conventional thick-heeled shoes any more. They feel so bulky and rigid, so far off the ground (yes, I can actually feel it), and so hard to land what I now feel more naturally way. Someday, I still would like to do this but a couple of years ago when my daughter was more like 12, she played basketball. She was wearing one of those popular Air whatever kind of shoes. Very rigid; the sole feels like a piece of board, the side of the shoe coming all the way above the ankle (okay, I guess they've got to be somewhat stable for all the lateral movement...) so the whole tihng is like a cast! You can easily see she was running heel-to-toe...landing hard on her heel. She sort of developed more or less "sitting in a buckett" running style then. A year before that, her school had a sports day. She was pretty fast; in fact, she came in second in the 50m dash...in her whole grade including boys. They had this "event" where you run down the field with a sponge in hand, dip it in a drum of water, run back and fill up a buckett. Naturally, most kids took off their shoes and ran barefoot. I saw so many kids running, landing on the ball of their feet. Their lower leg hardly come ahead of the knee; they were pumping their knees up and down, legs "drawing a circle"... If you film a kid running in one of those bulky cast-like shoes on the hard wooden floore, vs. barefoot in the grassy field, I will bet the running form be quite different. Guess which one is more natural? Everybody's running style is different. However, there is a proper way of running and I believe this is it. There's an interesting sitte here: http://newtonrunning.com/run-better. We, Lydiard Foundation, had worked with them for several years previously because our interest fits here. We worked together to get this page to show what we believe as "proper" running technique. If anybody had tried these shoes, they do seem to "teach" you to land mid-footed. It's definitely worth looking into it! It is true that, as you start to run more, you naturally develop most efficient running form. This young lady I'm coaching; she was a sprinter in high school. When I first met her, she was running tip-toe (this is different from landing mid-foot or on the ball of the foot). As we started running distances, her form really did change. This does not, however, to say just go out and run and ignore running form--it'll come naturally. There are certain basics I believe you should work on. For one, to teach getting knees up, I'd recommend doing some hill running; almost forcing to lift your knees. Doing some barefoot running on grass definitely help too. Doing some of the basic drills would definitely help as well. This, of course, does not say that you should ALL run mid-foot. Deena Caster is definitely heel striker. I have a perfect picture of her an inch before her landing from the side. It worked perfectly fine for her at Athens. Would she have won silver or gold had she landed mid-foot? I would not go that far. So just be reasonable. I believe one of the best ways to "seek" most natural form for you is to go over some rugged muddy hilly cross country courses. Go over the course like that as often as possible. i will bet you'll see the difference in as quickly as a few months.

Thanks guys, that's some food for thought. Interesting Nobby you commented on an Achillies problem, I ran twice with my new 'technique' last week, and now am in an enforced lay off period due to...............you guessed it, an Achillies problem!!!!! Interesting the point about barefoot grass/gym floors, I can visualise myself running on grass right now, and as you say, I would definately be running on the balls of my feet rather than heels or flats. Thanks again

My best pace is 3 miles in 33 minutes. My usual route is a little hilly. After running 'my best pace,' I feel real tightness and soreness in my calf muscle on my left leg

What do you mean by your "best pace"? Is it the the pace at which you find it comfortable to run or is it the fastest you can run without having a coronary? If it's the later of the two, which is quite common with new runners, then you are running too fast. All of your runs should be done at an easy "conversational" pace. This is a pace where it is difficult but not impossible to carry on a reasonably intelligible conversation (Please don't talk to yourself though, most people think runners are crazy as it is). You should never be totally winded on any of your runs, including during speed work which you may want to add to your routine as you gain experience and conditioning (but not now). In addition to slowing down, you should always take time to warm up. I like to walk for a few minutes and then run at a very easy pace for the for the first mile or so. It takes that long for muscles to get to operating temperature. Running up to pace before you are warmed up will increase muscle soreness and chance of injury. Tom