Moving Towards Flatter Shoes

The 4 mm difference in heel-toe drop between my new shoes (Saucony Guide 5) and my standard (Brooks Adrenaline) took me off guard. My first run was actually quite difficult, as I felt significant stress in my shins and calves as well as - surprisingly - my hips after this run. The main difference, detailed here, is that the incredible cushioning of the shoes pretty much force you to land on your mid to fore-foot so I did some research to determine what exercises and/or stretches would help me transition to a different foot landing.

The best guide I found for determining if you are ready for “minimal” running was this excellent article by Jay Dicharry, a physical therapist and director of the Speed Lab at the University of Virginia. (Here’s a bonus summary of the article.) So I did his test and passed all three (thank you Yoga!):

1. You have to be able to isolate and control the flexor hallucis brevis. This is not an intuitive move for me, but I was was able to do it. 
2. Demonstrate ankle and plantar fascia mobility.
3. Single leg balance. 

(BTW, Jay's book Anatomy for Runners, sounds like a must-read.)

So according to this, I have the ability to run with a reduced heel-toe drop. But it still felt really awkward. What to do? Here’s my plan of attack:

• Foot massage. If you visit me at work, make noise as you arrive because odds are I have my shoes off and am massaging the bottom of my feet with a tennis ball. Doing this has helped my foot strength immeasurably.
• Toe lifts. An exercise typically used to prevent shin splints (I can attest to this!), you can simply stand with your back against a wall, heels a few inches away from the wall. Then slowly lift your toes up as far as you can, 10-15 times. (Just like this, although I typically do it on a flat surface not a platform.) Repeat 2-3 times if you can, but due to time constraints, I usually only get 1-2 cycles in. 
• Calf Stretching. I try to stretch out each calf for at least 20-30 seconds. (I’m sorry, but I’ve tried and failed at holding stretches for three minutes ) 
• The Stick/foam roller. I swear by this. I roll my calves with either the stick or the foam roller after every run – and sometimes both. (The foam roller is also great kid entertainment: I roll my muscles, and then the older ones put it over their arm and play superhero while the infant tries to chew it.) 

So far it’s been working. I ran a decent-paced 5 miler today with no discomfort at all! I'm hoping to wear the Guides for a long run (10 miles) by March, if not sooner. If anyone has some other exercises they recommend, i'm all ears!

Related Posts:
Improve your running form
Foot Strike Fads:
My never final say on barefoot running

How to Improve the Length of your Muscles

The April 2012 issue of Running Times buried the lede, but in the "How to Improve" section of the "Dorsiflexion of Ankle" portion of the "Are you Ready to Go Minimal?" article, they say:

"Hold [the stretch] for three minutes on each side. (Yes, three minutes is how long research shows we need to hold stretches for tissues that are too short.)"

Now, I'm big into stretching, but that seems like a long time to have to hold a stretch, esp. for folks like myself who are pressed for time before and after running. However, if that's indeed what it takes to remold your muscles, i'll have to start devoting the extra time to stretching the muscles I want to lengthen/loosen post-run - mainly my calves.

Running and Flexibility

For as long as I can remember, I have been insecure about my lack of flexibility.  Bend over and touch my toes?  I can't even bend over and grab my ankles.  And no amount of stretching seems to help.

Part of the reason for my insecurity is that everyone tells me that I need to be flexible to run well.  But, when it comes to running, science has a way of arriving at counter-intuitive findings.  Here are links to two academic studies showing that less flexible runners tend to use energy more efficiently.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11774065
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19050648

Why should this be so?  The scientists aren't sure, but they theorize that less flexible muscles and tendons tend to facilitate a greater elastic energy return during the shortening phase of the activity cycle.  (Think of how much faster a tight rubber band snaps back, in comparison to a loose, stretchy one.)

Of course, there are other reasons that flexibility may be valuable, including the prevention of injury.  Energy efficiency isn't everything.  Still these studies give me a little more freedom to ignore the common wisdom and feel good about my body.

Related posts:
Icing Can Be Make Sore Muscles Worse

Give Me 15 Minutes!

Jay Johnson's “Give me 15” article in the October 2011 issue of Running Times has, for a good two months now, been staring at me from my nightstand. It's an alluring article. I mean, he claims that I can “Lower injury risk with these short pre-and post-run routines!” I want to lower my injury risk! It makes perfect sense to do a few quick loosening and strength exercises before and after your run. I get it. But it’s just not happening for me. Why is this?

There's nothing wrong with the routine that Johnson presents. In short, he instructs you to do some lunges before the run and some pushups and leg stretches after the run. Nothing special. The articles emphasizes it's only 15 minutes. And I even already do forward lunges are part of my Dynamic Stretching routine before every run. It’s the post-run strength exercises that I have problems with.

First of all, the article lists 12 different things to do after every run. I’m not sure exactly who is audience is, but it’s hard enough for me to find the time to get out the door for decent miles, much less spend 15 minutes after the run to do an entire strength routine. Plus, I’m usually damned tired when I get home. All I have the time to do after a run is stretch out a bit and get some protein in me before the “real world” stuff (kids, work, etc.) demands my attention. In addition, I’m currently running farther and faster than I ever have in my life to prep for a marathon; there’s not much more motivation to add additional exercises on top of the already daunting run I just completed. Put all of this together and i'm not even doing a few post-run push-ups, much less the detailed exercises that Johnson lays out for us.

What do you think? Are these legitimate excuses or just my lack of willpower? Do you do any strength exercises before or after your runs?

Stretch

I have a confession. I don't stretch before I run. I just put on my gear, step out the door, hit start on my stopwatch, and go.

For a long time, I felt guilty about this, as if it somehow it indicated I was less serious than other runners. But more and more, I have been seeing articles like this one in the New York Times. The bottom line? There really isn't much evidence that static stretches--the kind we learned in high school--are useful in any way.

Of course, these things are notoriously difficult to study scientifically. How in the world can you set up a study where two groups of runners are exactly equal in all respects, except that one has stretched and the other has not? At the end of the day, we all individually have to keep experimenting to figure out what works for us (and what we enjoy).

Do you stretch before running? If so, how do you think it benefits you?