More Born to Run

"...he's convinced that the next great advance in fitness will come not from training or technology, but technique--the athlete who avoids injury will be the one who leaves the competition behind."--Eric Orton, former fitness director for the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.

from the book by Christopher Mcdougall, Born to Run

I think this is accurate, but I'd change it from leaving the competition behind to being able to run injury free all year and for years to come without being limited by age. With proper form comes freedom from injury and it doesn't matter what surface you run on and what shoe you're wearing.

Bass Dude

The band was a rockin' and we were sitting at the first table next to the stage so it was loud, but not too loud. A tall guy, maybe 6' 4" and appearing sober walks right in front of me and asked,"Did I just hear you say you caught a big bass?" Uh,hmm. No. "I said he had a big ass!" Weird. No I didn't say that or anything like it but the big stranger did ask that question. And the guy interrupted one of the most heartfelt renditions of Amazing Grace, I think I have ever heard. I'm Googling this bass phrase to see if it's a secret code for something like, "If you and your friends don't vacate that prime table, me and my boys are going to kick your bass!" See how it could be misinterpreted? It was extremely hot outside (102 degrees) so it may have just been a case of a lack of fluids making it's way to his brain.

The Gourds concert, labeled the Summer Sunday Social at the Nutty Brown Cafe, was the piece de resistance to a wonderful Father's Day. I started the day with a plate full of delectable migas, washed down with a full glass of Bloody Mary, made with Tito's vodka. My daughter surprised me with a pair of Vibram FiveFingers KSO to continue my adventure with barefoot running. This just happened to coincide with my reading of chapter 25 of Born to Run which ripped the shoe industry. In all fairness though, if you happen to stumble upon (<-- running joke) chapter 25, take it with a grain of salt as neither side is 100 percent correct. The body, by nature is imbalanced and somewhat asymmetrical. Feet are not identical size or strength and the same goes with the rest of the parts of the legs, especially after age 40. There are times when orthotics are needed in maybe one shoe, contrary to what the book may say. A lot more massage is needed. More rest is needed. It's also true what surface material we choose to run on influences greatly whether we get hurt or not.

Popular Mechanics, The Running Shoe Debate: How Barefoot Runners are Shaping the Shoe Industry

The problem modern-day runners face, according to Hugh Herr, Popular Mechanics 2005 Breakthrough Award winner and head of the biomechatronic group at MIT, isn't presented by our bodies but by the evolution of running surfaces. Humans that ran to scavenge or hunt for their food weren't pounding concrete. ... "Bare feet just aren't meant to support running on modern day hard-top surfaces, Herr says."

From what I know now, I would've have come off the couch differently many years ago. I would have cycled, swam and aqua jogged until I reduced my weight sufficiently, relieving my knees from bearing too great a load, while also strengthening sedentary muscles and tendons. I would have run on grass and worked on drills to drive home to the muscle memory what proper running form felt like (off the heels and landing mid-sole). I would have engaged in more yoga, stretching and massage. Once the legs had sufficient strength I'd test them to find imbalances and then correct those imbalances with weight training.

How does the saying go? A bad day fishing (for bass I suppose) is better than the best day at the office or in my case, the worst day running is still better than the best day in the office.

I'm still learning.

I Found My Lost Twin

Have you ever seen someone who you thought was just like you? Maybe not 100% identical but enough that it made you think twice? I chanced upon a book called Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. Chistopher initiated an interesting journey based on the question, "Why does my foot hurt?" As I've asked the same question for over the last year, my interest grew as I read more and more and watched video after video. After reading about Christopher and his journey for an hour I happened upon one his blog posts where he was glueing leather as an insole into his Vibram Five Finger shoes. Aha! That's when I knew this guy was my twin. He had a hurt foot, I had a hurt foot, he has no hair, I'm hair challenged, he wears Vibram Five, I long for a pair of Vibram five, he blogs, I blog, he glues leather insoles into his shoes, I velcro. Oops. Well, see? Almost identical except for the glue/velcro point.

Seriously, I downloaded Chistopher's book to my iPod and reading everything realated to the argument he and others are proposing about running shoes, orthotics and whether they're doing more harm than good. I'll be posting many of the links to the related articles and videos tomorrow for Link Friday. In a nutshell the articles are asking if modern athletic shoe design is contributing to poor running form, and as a result to more injuries.

I've had similar questions over the last year.

1. Why does my foot hurt?
2. Why do people drop out of the corporate fitness programs?
3. What is too much of endurance sports? Does running a marathon, if done right, create more bad than good for the body?
   

While they may seem like different questions, I'm thinking that the second question plays a lot into the first. And the third question also plays into the other two as correct form, incorrect form and just plain over use can mean the difference if someone becomes injured or not.

Two statistics to leave you with.

1. It's said that 95% of people starting an exercise program will leave it within the first six months.
2. Dr. Noakes. "I think the Pose (method of running) is advantageous in preventing injuries, which is important since about 60 percent of runners get injured each year." Christopher says it's 80 percent.