ILX running running thread

also this is how I feel about swimming

fuck it it's gonna rain i'm going tomorrow :(

4 runs in 3 days - one long one on Sunday, a short one yesterday, two hilly five milers today. So tempting to go and do another long one tomorrow cos my legs are starting to feel great, but really I should ease off a bit. Have entered a few races in the spring, really need to build up slowly and not go too nutty now.

has this ever happened to anyone: i stopped running and was walking home (about a half mile) and my ears got all clogged like i was on an airplane. i could hear myself breathing but everything else was fuzzy. maybe it wasn't related to running at all haha

So, my weight has finally come down to a threshold where I can enjoy running a couple of miles. Has anyone else read Christopher McDougall's Born to Run (on the ultramarathon running Tarahumara tribe of Mexico's Copper Canyon and the perils of athletic shoes)? The Daily Mail ran an extract in April and the story was picked up by New York Magazine, Time Magazine, and the New York Times.

I bought a pair of the Vibrams mentioned in some of the articles in July before they sold out due to the media attention, and like them a lot (though they distressed my sister to no end, she didn't want to be seen walking near me). As for running, heelless shoe do require a much different gait, but I only have sore skin on the balls of my feet (after a week), no bruises per se.

So has anyone found a good article detailing the counter argument in favor of Nike, Addidas, New Balance et al, responding to this?

nope

but i know at least five people that are running barefoot on a regular basis, and really enjoying it

oh weird, those shoes freak me out. esp since i was fitted for running shoes based on gait/pronation analysis and my shoes have added heel support! in fact, my right heel/achiles gets really sore if i am even just walking around wearing unsupportive shoes lately, so i'm terrified of the barefoot thing.

would not run barefoot in baltimore

Slept through my running window again this morning. Can't go in the afternoon, either, no free time before 8 or 9 PM today (yeah, I'm taking a 10 minute internet break right now, SO WHAT?) So depressing.

I think maybe the counterargument is just that regular running shoes do no, or at least very little, harm...?

dont think so. i think part of the argument for running barefoot is precisely the opposite: running shoes encourage an biomechanically "improper" gait that emphasizes heel-striking as opposed to landing on the balls or in a neutral position

heel-striking shocks the system, so to speak, instead of taking advantage of the natural shock-absorption built into the arch and joints of yr foot

iirc barefoot running reduces stress on the ankles and feet but shoes can help w/stress if u r overweight or have a poor gait naturally? i read a bunch about this 3/4 years ago since in ca it seemed vaguely feasible to do this and ive always had trouble with running shoes but at the time most of the studies where cautious in declaring it better

also iirc nike has (had?) a line of running shoes meant to mimic running barefoot

i believe it but at the same time i'm not in a hurry to run barefoot or buy barefoot-like shoes

i believe it too but im kind of a sucker for these stupid claims tbh i think the real counterargument is the first time u step on broken glass or w/e

Can't you try out the style in regular shoes? If I've understood my hurried reading of some random articles, part of the change is leaning forward so that you fall onto the ball of your outstretched foot, rather than holding the body upright and back?

i made a similar new scientific discovery that high heels encourage a biomechanically improper gait but no one listened and the nyt didn't write an article about it either ˘\(o_º)/˘

Laurel: I'm just returning to casual jogging after a hiatus of a decade, but from my experience this week, the real difference is taking shorter steps, and a faster gait. At no time does the knee ever reach its full extension. Its a bit of a light footed squat, by comparison to the running I tried over a decade ago (which killed my knees).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7mELaYQ-uI

^ this is quite a good little review of the FiveFingers thing

has this ever happened to anyone: i stopped running and was walking home (about a half mile) and my ears got all clogged like i was on an airplane. i could hear myself breathing but everything else was fuzzy. maybe it wasn't related to running at all haha

I used to get this after running all the damn time! Have no idea why, but it was very annoying. Always assumed it was some sort of weird snot thing. Haven't had it for ages though thank god.

hey derelict, i think i just realized i am taking pretty short steps, too! and i have no knee pain :)

sometimes i walk better in a heel bc i have really high arches and flats, if not supportive enough, tend to really screw up my feet.

I will OTM that all over the place.

maybe that's why i'm scared of the barefoot stuff. modern ladies flats are usually just slabs of nothing for the sole w/ a little fabric to cover your foot and they are really not conducive to foot health imo.

nike free are their "barefoot ones"

syringes

the barefoot gait is pretty funny

i ran barefoot on treadmill so they could videotape/look at gait and it was weird.

its not just toe striking its also ginger

do people ever sprint barefoot - doesnt look like itd be workable for intervals

stanford track team trains barefoot, so yes

feels faster sprinting barefoot

I'm skeptical of the whole barefoot running trend. It goes with the idea that anything that is considered "natural" is considered right, where as the unnatural is wrong.

Naturally, feet come in all shapes and sizes. Some are conducive to running, others not some much. You have club feet, high arches, low arches, other gait issues. It's just the genetic hand you're dealt. I like wearing well cushioned running shoes and custom orthotics. It's working out great!

given that we mostly walk around in shoes that give us biomechanically improper gaits, i just am unconvinced that running in shoes does any more harm than most of everyday life.

i know that i get monster knee pain from walking for even 15 min in thin-soled ballet flats, so i'm just going to figure that the extra cushioning of my shoes is helping.

given that we mostly walk around in shoes that give us biomechanically improper gaits, i just am unconvinced that running in shoes does any more harm than most of everyday life.

The forces involved are so much greater when you're running though. That's especially true if you're landing heavily, which excessively cushioned shoes do little to discourage. I think barefoot running is about running lightly and letting all that engineering in your feet act as a spring. I love the idea of barefoot and I did find the arguments in Born To Run fairly persuasive. Haven't done it though, mostly because of the obvious risk of stepping on something nasty. Also, although we might have evolved as a species to run long distances barefoot, we never had to contend with a surface as unforgiving as concrete paving slabs for mile after mile.

What I am doing to try and strike a balance is using a very neutral offroad shoe with a lower than average amount of cushioning and I'm doing 90% of my running on trails. I'm also thinking about posture as I move, running lightly, landing more towards the middle of my foot and not stomping about on my heels quite so much as I used to do. Haven't had the knee pains that I used to get and I'm definitely waking up less creakily than before, but maybe that's just me getting fitter.

has this ever happened to anyone: i stopped running and was walking home (about a half mile) and my ears got all clogged like i was on an airplane.

I think that is related to air flow around your ears, for example, on a very windy day, the passing air can depressurize your ears (this sometimes happens to me even if I'm just walking on the street). But if you *are* running, and breathing heavily, then your jaw position and/or style of breathing can vary the air pressure (both positively and negatively) in your sinuses. It's kind of like how a scuba diver needs to "equalize" their sinuses, but while you're running you're concentrating on other things and basically forget to do this.

Anyway, it doesn't take long for your ears to "pop" back, so there's nothing to really worry about.

yeah they were back shortly after i got home, it was just weird. i also just remembered i had covered my ears for a minute while walking home because the trail is by a train station and a freight train was braking overhead! that's probably what did it.

the surfaces we run on really do make a difference. that makes me wonder if there are any trails within several miles of my current apartment...asphalt all the time is not good for you.

doubtful as i am of the benefit of barefoot running, i do wear pretty heavily cushioned massive shoes and will probably try to switch to something lighter when they wear out, just to see how things change.

I haven't ran any in 6 days, and really am having a hard time encouraging myself to do so. It's partially because of the weather. Summer is gone. It's going to be a miserable winter. Plus too many 10 to 12 hour workdays.

do people ever sprint barefoot - doesnt look like itd be workable for intervals

― ice cr?m, Wednesday, September 23, 2009 7:20 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

stanford track team trains barefoot, so yes

― holosystolic murmur and the thrill (gbx), Wednesday, September 23, 2009 7:21 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

on grass on grass they sprint on soft soft playing fields of grass

The only time I ever take my socks off is when I shower. I certainly not going to go barefoot outside.

Ran today after not going for a week. I set my virtual partner for a 28 min 5k and beat him by a min and a half. Not a personal best, but it did feel good.

did another run yesterday before the midday swelter came on. legs kinda sore today.

6 miles today. Only 9.10 for this week, but that's ok. I just have to remember that I don't lose everything if I take a week off. In fact I'm running a little faster. I was hoping to get 75 miles in September, but it looks like I'm going to come in between 60 and 65. It will give me something to shoot for in October.

I'm honestly impressed by how little you do lose when you take time off - maybe speed's affected by longer breaks, but endurance is hard to lose. A couple days ago I ran 9 miles due to being locked out of my house and having nothing better to do...it was the first time I'd done more than 5 since June and surprisingly it felt absolutely fine!

I'll share your October goal - think I'm at about 50 this month but having no problems working up, so 75 is where I'd like to be.

i have not been able to run since thursday and i am sad and tired :(

I've picked up running in the last days of May, when on holidays in France. I've managed to do it three times a week mostly, although there have been 'episodes' of two weeks with no running altogether (due to work, or feeling meh).

When I started out, I did so a bit too enthusiastic, straining my weak right knee. That is now gone though, luckily, even though it took some time.

Right now I'm on 4 to 5 miles per 40 minutes, on average. It's not a lot, I know, but it just feels so good to do... I never could have imagined running to be such a great feeling, such a 'cleansing' experience.

one more week on the celebrex to go. Knee feels just fine, but I haven't tested it in the slightest. Muscles in my legs are real tense though.

yeah i should make a mileage goal for october so i will feel some kind of obligation. it's hard to run.

Here are my goals for October:

*Run a sub 25 minute 5K. My fastest time currently is 25:22. I should be able to do this. I'm running two officially organized 5K's in October, so it would be nice to do it in one of those, but I'm not limiting myself to official races.
*Run 75 miles. 18.75 miles a week. Doable, but probably going to be unpleasant at times. I've only gone over 18.75 miles a week once. I'll just have to bust out some long runs in there. I know I'm going to have to fight the weather too.
*Run 13.1 miles. 10 miles is my current longest, might as well see if I can do a half marathon. Would help a lot towards my 75 mile goal too.