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Run like you’re 5 again, and experience injury free running! (Those Funny Toe Shoes)

For this entry, I'm taking a path away from discussing Pinhoti 100 miler training to discuss the benefits of barefoot / Vibram Five Finger running drills. This is actually a piece I wrote for the Quest Outdoors blog page, but is completely relevant nonetheless...

What's the deal with all those people you see walking around in those goofy toe shoes? Are they wearing shoes, are they wearing socks? What gives?

Want to finally run injury free? Read on, this is for you...

Those shoes are called, “fivefingers", and they're manufactured by the Vibram Company. Lately they have taken the running community by storm, partly due to the runaway success of the book Born To Run, by Christopher McDougall.

Fivefingers were designed to simulate being barefoot.

I want you to try the following exercise; Pretend you are about to run. Stick out your right leg as if you're about to make your first stride. What part of your foot hits the ground first? Chances are, your leg is out-stretched straight, and your heel is touching the ground before any other region of the foot. This is typical running form in our country, and it is also what causes most injuries associated with running. This is known as a Heel Strike.

Heel Striking

Running with the longest stride possible is what makes the fastest runners the fastest runners though, Right? NOPE. It's all about economy. Before we get into running economy, let’s do another exercise.

Go ahead and stick out your right leg again, and point your toe upward with your heel touching the ground. Your leg is straight; your knee is not bent. In this Heel Strike position, the straight knee cannot perform the function in which it evolved millions of years to do, which is absorb shock. The shock that the body experiences while running is therefore transferred to the shins, and to the knee.

Let’s look at modern running shoe design.

Shoes are made to absorb shock and provide cushion. About 50 years ago, sport scientists theorized that longer running strides could possibly equal faster runners, and they thought that by providing runners with shoes which had cushioned heels, they could facilitate this longer running stride. Unfortunately they didn't have the foresight to see the resulting injuries that would occur. During this time, we were taught to run with long loping strides, and we abandoned the Mid-Foot Strike.

An easy way to examine the Mid-Foot Strike is by studying a child’s gait while running. Chances are if you are watching a kid run, they are probably running with a mid-foot strike. Coincidentally, kids learn to run barefoot, in the most comfortable, non-jarring method possible. (Keep in mind this is only an anecdotal example however!) Mid-foot striking is characterized by the ball of the foot and the heel landing at the same time. Landing with a mid-foot strike will usually feel like most of your body weight is actually landing closer to ball as opposed to the heel. In landing with a mid-foot strike, the aim is to land with knees slightly bent, with the upper body still, and leaning slightly forward. This allows the quads and the hamstrings to absorb the shock of landing with each stride, and gravity to pull you forward slightly.

A mid-foot strike, slightly leaning forward. Knee Slightly Bent

There is one other major style of running called the forefoot strike. This strike involves landing solely on the ball of the foot and the heel does not touch at all. Sounds great right, non-jarring? No. When you land solely on the ball of your foot, unless you are running for shorter distances like the 100 meter sprint, this puts too great a stress load on Gastrocnemius, (the calves), as well as the Achilles tendon.

So where does all this get us? It means that to run injury free, we need to re-adopt a mid-foot strike. The best way to do this is by doing running drills, such as running barefoot! Running, although on the surface seems to be the most simple of all sports and exercise, could actually be one of the most complicated!

Running in fivefingers allows the wearer to run “barefoot” without the concern of skin integrity compromise. You can begin to examine what proper form should feel like because without the added cushion of shoes. You will naturally run with “soft” feet, and begin to strengthen the 26 bones, 33 joints, and 20 muscles in the human foot. Shoes are NOT evil, and I am still a wearer of “standard” footwear on longer runs, but fivefingers are a necessary tool which enables runners to focus on form, and run injury free.

Quest Outdoors has an organized fivefingers run on every Thursday at 6pm at Tom Sawyer Park. The run is for ALL levels of runners, and usually we go about 30-40 minutes. This is the perfect amount of time for a fivefingers run, as they are great for these barefoot style drills. Swing by the shop, or stop by a run at Tom Sawyer to ask us more about fivefingers and running form.

Fivefingers come in a variety of styles, from the slip on simple no-frills “classic”, to the backcountry hiker, the “KSO Trek” which even has a kangaroo leather upper. There are many others suited for everything from yoga to kayaking too!

Posted by Troy Shellhamer at 9:18 AM No comments: 

Pinhoti 100 Trail Run- 10 days out. 

Sun, breeze, and a perfect threshold run.

Wow. I just finished one of the most enjoyable runs in months! (...and I have had A LOT of great runs the past few months)

I ran 25 on Monday @ Jefferson Forest, and then headlamped 13mi @Jef again yesterday AM. Today I sort of planned a PM threshold run, but I was leaving it open to fate.

I woke up feeling like crap this AM. Sinus headache... Took care of some job stuff in the AM, and was feeling sort of stressed. About noon I helped my grandmother with some stuff and then I decided since I had the afternoon clear, I would go tackle the rocks and hills on the 14 mile Millennium trail. I was feeling not so jazzed up about the whole plan though. Instead, I stuffed my belly and did just what I needed. I took a huge nap, and was passed for 2 hours!

I arose from the nap at 3:30, with all of my food digested, and headed to my normal, "close to home",  boring running spot. The sun was out, it was about 60 degrees, and there was a breeze. The leaves were dry and crunchy. I felt perfect.

My warm up was good, so I stretched it out a few extra miles. Then I felt great on my threshold run, and did 9mph for an hour.

I went back to the car to grab my 5 fingers and do a little cool down run with the IPOD. The music and the sun and the breeze were all too refreshing. I decided to hit the trails, and ran another 6 miles in my 5 fingers, and it felt like I could run forever...

When in doubt, Eat, Take a nap, and reassess!

Today was one of those days when I am almost overwhelmed how much I can love the act of trail running... Setting out and putting one foot in front of the other and living completely in the moment.
Posted by Troy Shellhamer at 6:53 PM No comments: 

Training Recap and Mt Rogers Hike

My mileage for the last few weeks were as follows;

9/6- 51mi/9h 12h

9/13- 53mi/9h15m 12h30m

9/20- 45mi/9h 12h

9/27- 77mi/14h35m 15h50m

10/4- 65mi/21h 21h

10/11- 25mi/6h 8h RECOVERY WEEK

Physiological Indicators

Trip Report 

Building Your Tool Chest- There's no magic shoe.

Magic Shoe? -No Way. Pick from an arsenal.

It's time to think of shoes like golf clubs. There is no magic shoe, but there is a right shoe for every situation. Pick from a variety in your closet to have the best possible run, and take your running to the next level.

I got pretty banged up last week when I ran the Millineum Trail. It's a 14 mile loop which is one of the most scenic runs in the area. It IS rocky though. It seems to be rocky enough that when you finish 14 miles, you feel as if you have run twice the distance if you're wearing the wrong footwear. I'm used to rocks, but this trail is FULL of those little ankle biters that you spend the day dancing over, on, and around. Spending a lot of time on this style of trail can take its toll on your joints, but there IS a way to combat these effects. Picking the best shoe for the terrain can help you have a faster run and allow you to recover faster. Some times, even the most efficient of runners need a shoe that offers some lateral and medial torsional support as well as plenty cushioning for the day spent on hard rocks. It's all about economy. By economy, I refer to the energy spent running. Expending the least amount of energy while running equates to faster times, faster recovery, and less energy. Most people only consider gait, (stride), and shoe weight when considering economy, but movement overall and joint fatigue affect economy greatly. Sometimes a shoe which provides cushioning, although heavier can aid running economy by allowing less extraneous body movements on rough and rocky trails.

Running on rocky surfaces is just one example terrain which demands a specialized shoe. The perfect shoe for rocks won't serve you well on perfectly groomed singletrack. You need a tool for every job.

Basically, there are many options out there to pick from for trails;

I'll start by describing the light and fast racing shoes, otherwise known as minimalist shoes. An example would be the New Balance 100's. A trail runner that weighs in at less the 7 ounces. Yeah, Minimal. I've used minimalist shoes in 50 mile ultras before, and on the flip side, there are 14 mile runs that I wouldn't consider using a minimalist shoes. It's all about terrain. Flawless singletrack, often mountain bike trails, and pea-gravel surfaces tend to cater to minimal shoes.

There are crossover shoes, such as the Pearl Izumi Peak XC, that are basically road shoes with nubbier tread. These shoes work well as road and trail shoes. I like to use these when doing a mixed run involving road and trails in our local parks with well groomed trails. They tend to perform poorly on gnarly trail, and especially in muddy conditions. These models often have poor support in regards to lateral and medial flex. They provide cushioning, which isn't really needed as much on nice trails but is needed on roads.

There is also "all around" shoes, which aren't too light and hopefully aren't too heavy either. Some shoes in this category can do it all adequately. These are what most people own as their one pair of trail shoes. Examples of do-it-all shoes are the best selling Brooks Cascadia, The Montrail Mountain Masochist, and the La Sportiva Fireblades, Crosslites, Etc. These shoes not only benefit runners who are tackling rough trail, but also runners who weigh more than the typical runner.

Start off by picking up an extra pair of trail runners that is the opposite of what you have now, although I still recommend going as light as possible in all situations. My all around performer is a Montrail Mountain Masochist which still weighs in less than 12 ounces.

Adapt to the trail, build an arsenal of shoes, and see where your running takes you!
Posted by Troy Shellhamer at 7:38 AM No comments: 

The Backside Trail Marathon Pearl Izumi Races: Upcoming and History Colorado 14ers Checklist