Or, much like Alanis Morissette's hit from my college days Ironic, is it just bad luck and not irony at all?
The day after I decide to try wearing less in the running shoe department I put a gnarly gash in my right foot from my bike trainer, and then today I jam the big toe on the other foot playing kickball. It may be a day or two before I get to try this whole new minimalist running thing after all. Meh.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Team Doubt and Minimalist Running
While watching some crazy show on Sasquatch hunters the other night on the Discovery Channel, it dawned on me I am a natural born skeptic. Granted, Big Foot hunting isn't really the yard stick by which to measure how skeptical one is, but it was this show that made me realize what a doubter I really am.
When I was in high school a few friends and I dubbed ourselves Team Doubt. I think that was because our friend Keith was such a pessimist, think Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh, his pessimism was so tragic it bordered on the hysterical. If you ever saw Rachel Dratch's Debbie Downer skits on Saturday Night Live you have an idea of the depth his defeatism. Now the name seems quite appropriate as I look back on my innate need to question everything I read, see, or hear. Going against my nature I have started to consider something many other people doubt.
Minimalist running.
Like many other runners, and people who have a solid sense of fashion and a desire to not make a fool of themselves, I have pooh-poohed the Vibram Five Fingers shoes many minimalist runners have taken a shine to. Anything that gets me one step closer to a Sleestak Halloween costume is something I can say "no" to quite easily. I have also silently mocked these folks as we pass on the trail, and not so silently mocked them as Jim was passed by a barefoot runner on the marathon portion of Ironman Louisville. I believe the exact words I screamed were, "you can't let a dude running barefoot beat you." I have also mocked our friend Marc who I thought drank the minimalist Kool-Aid from the running world's version of Jim Jones, Christopher McDougall the author of Born to Run. The idea of tossing my $125 Mizunos out the window made me shudder. How on earth could I run without the high tech advancements to keep me from pronating, or run without all that marshmallow cushioning I believed was keeping my knee pain at bay.
Unfortunately, as I finish the book Born to Run my skepticism is fading when it comes to the idea of barefoot or minimalist running. In fact, it is starting to make a lot of sense. It hurts me greatly to write that. The funny part is what made me start to consider this wasn't such a bad idea wasn't the orthopedists or centuries old Tarahumara tribe who'd run barefoot all their lives. It was the analogy of the foot arch being a perfect shock absorber just as the Romans figured the arch was the best way to eliminate stresses in their structures. When we begin to rely on over-engineered shoes that begin to push up on the arch instead of letting it do what it was created to do, that is when injury and pain takes over. The Romans never would have thought about bracing an arch with a stick jammed right up the middle of it, so what makes us think it works for our arch? That makes sense to me. As a kid I hated to wear shoes, and I don't much like wearing them now as an adult. I am thinking I was on to something.
None of this goes without saying I have no idea if any of this will work for our bodies that are used to over-engineered shoes, and I am in no way ready or willing to go running barefoot. However, I am willing to give the minimalist idea a try. I like the idea of less-is-more in nearly everything--except food and wine.
So today I thought I'd try it out. This morning I went for a two mile run in my Nike Free shoes I had bought just to kick around in. I loved it. My heels never touched the ground, my back was straight, my feet struck the pavement right beneath my hips, and the bounce I had become accustomed to was nearly non-existent. My pace was quicker, my heart rate lower, my knees pain free.
This is just an experiment at this point; more action research than an empirical study. I am going to take it slow letting my feet get used to this and see if they like it. For now, my long runs will still have to be in my much loved Mizunos, but I will work toward consistently running in the minimalist footwear. I will keep an open mind, and commit to a more structured training schedule to alleviate the chances of a stress fracture or other injury. Additionally, I will keep this blog up to date on my progress. If you have any ideas or suggestions I am all ears.
Pass the Kool-Aid Marc.
When I was in high school a few friends and I dubbed ourselves Team Doubt. I think that was because our friend Keith was such a pessimist, think Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh, his pessimism was so tragic it bordered on the hysterical. If you ever saw Rachel Dratch's Debbie Downer skits on Saturday Night Live you have an idea of the depth his defeatism. Now the name seems quite appropriate as I look back on my innate need to question everything I read, see, or hear. Going against my nature I have started to consider something many other people doubt.
Minimalist running.
Like many other runners, and people who have a solid sense of fashion and a desire to not make a fool of themselves, I have pooh-poohed the Vibram Five Fingers shoes many minimalist runners have taken a shine to. Anything that gets me one step closer to a Sleestak Halloween costume is something I can say "no" to quite easily. I have also silently mocked these folks as we pass on the trail, and not so silently mocked them as Jim was passed by a barefoot runner on the marathon portion of Ironman Louisville. I believe the exact words I screamed were, "you can't let a dude running barefoot beat you." I have also mocked our friend Marc who I thought drank the minimalist Kool-Aid from the running world's version of Jim Jones, Christopher McDougall the author of Born to Run. The idea of tossing my $125 Mizunos out the window made me shudder. How on earth could I run without the high tech advancements to keep me from pronating, or run without all that marshmallow cushioning I believed was keeping my knee pain at bay.
Unfortunately, as I finish the book Born to Run my skepticism is fading when it comes to the idea of barefoot or minimalist running. In fact, it is starting to make a lot of sense. It hurts me greatly to write that. The funny part is what made me start to consider this wasn't such a bad idea wasn't the orthopedists or centuries old Tarahumara tribe who'd run barefoot all their lives. It was the analogy of the foot arch being a perfect shock absorber just as the Romans figured the arch was the best way to eliminate stresses in their structures. When we begin to rely on over-engineered shoes that begin to push up on the arch instead of letting it do what it was created to do, that is when injury and pain takes over. The Romans never would have thought about bracing an arch with a stick jammed right up the middle of it, so what makes us think it works for our arch? That makes sense to me. As a kid I hated to wear shoes, and I don't much like wearing them now as an adult. I am thinking I was on to something.
None of this goes without saying I have no idea if any of this will work for our bodies that are used to over-engineered shoes, and I am in no way ready or willing to go running barefoot. However, I am willing to give the minimalist idea a try. I like the idea of less-is-more in nearly everything--except food and wine.
So today I thought I'd try it out. This morning I went for a two mile run in my Nike Free shoes I had bought just to kick around in. I loved it. My heels never touched the ground, my back was straight, my feet struck the pavement right beneath my hips, and the bounce I had become accustomed to was nearly non-existent. My pace was quicker, my heart rate lower, my knees pain free.
This is just an experiment at this point; more action research than an empirical study. I am going to take it slow letting my feet get used to this and see if they like it. For now, my long runs will still have to be in my much loved Mizunos, but I will work toward consistently running in the minimalist footwear. I will keep an open mind, and commit to a more structured training schedule to alleviate the chances of a stress fracture or other injury. Additionally, I will keep this blog up to date on my progress. If you have any ideas or suggestions I am all ears.
Pass the Kool-Aid Marc.
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