Just Run

Tonight's run was a bit of a puzzler. I forgot to take my heart rate monitor or my metronome when I left the house and couldn't be bothered to go back for them, so I just did my best to stick to 180 steps per minute based on my best guess, and regulated my heart rate by just shortening my stride whenever my breathing got too laboured. I was rewarded with my best time so far for this distance. I wondered if this is because I have been trying too hard to use all the available technology and training advice, when what I should have been doing is to 'just run'.

That got me thinking in a more philosophical way about what I am trying to achieve here. Sure, I want to get fit and lose weight, and also to measure my progress by running the odd race, but is that really what I am doing this for? I think I also want to get in touch with some more primitive way of moving about, which is why I found Born to Run so enthralling, and why I have enjoyed finding out about natural running form, and why I plan to give barefoot running a go at some point. If this is the case, then using heart rate monitors etc. is not really in keeping with this ethos, and if I get better times anyway without using technology, then maybe I shouldn't bother ...

I think an experiment is in order. I will do some runs with both the metronome and HRM, some with just the metronome and some with neither, and see how the results compare.

Heel pain

I woke up yesterday with quite a bit of pain in the back of my left heel. I checked out the symptoms on the web and as I suspected, it seemed as though one of the scourges of long-distance runners, achilles tendonitis might have struck.

I got up and gingerly did a few calf lifts, then stretched my calves. A few minutes later the pain had subsided, and by the end of the day it had vanished altogether. Today when I woke up there was just a hint of discomfort, but nothing too painful, and again it vanished entirely after a few calf lifts and stretches. However, I am worried this might be the start of something chronic and I am not sure what to do about it.

For one thing, I don't know quite what has brought it on. I haven't increased the length of my daily run very much, but the total for the week has increased quite a lot recently, so maybe it is overtraining. Perahaps my attempts to avoid running on my heel have pushed me too far the other way. Running too much on your forefoot is said to put strain on your calves and achilles tendons. Maybe it is just that my tendon has been weakened by years of shoe-wearing, as the barefoot runners would have us believe. Possibly it had nothing to do with running at all. I did play tennis for about two hours on Sunday before my run, so maybe the overall strain was just too much. Or maybe it is a combination of all of these factors.

Looking back though, I have a slight suspicion that I did not warm up quite as conscientiously before my Sunday run as I normally do, although I did do all my usual stretches afterwards. I didn't warm up much before the tennis match either, for that matter.

So for the moment, I will work on the assumption that this is the cause. Tonight when I run, I will make sure I do the full warm-up, including a couple of sets of calf lifts, and see if I have any pain tomorrow morning. If so, I will take two rest days instead of my usual one, and see if that helps.

Running form

Looking back over previous times I have tried unsuccesfully to run on a regular basis, I have become convinced that part of my problem lies in my running form. It would be great if what had been holding me back all these years was simply a lack of knowledge of running technique. If so, and if I sorted this out right at the start, it would help me to make better progress and have fewer aches and pains (and fewer injuries). Then I could get down to the real work of increasing distance and pace.

There is quite a lot of information out there on the web about how to run properly. In particular there are quite a few 'branded' systems around, Chi Running, Pose Method, Good Form Running, Evolution Running, and so on. So I looked into these various systems on the web, and came to a couple of conclusions:

1. These competing systems are more similar than they are different (good news, as this implies there is broad agreement on what constitutes a good way to run, and that the differences are more on how to achieve this than anything else).

2. These systems are all rather expensive for what you get (bad news, as I hate paying for anything, especially when I don't feel I am getting value for money).

Similarities of all these systems:

1. Keep your posture tall and your head up when you run
2. Land on your mid/forefoot, not on your heel
3. Bend your knees slightly so your foot lands under your centre of mass
4. Lean forward slightly from the ankles so you are not fighting gravity
5. Use a higher cadence (steps per minute) and a shorter stride to make the most of stored energy.

 So I put these principles into practice when I started running again, and I must admit they did seem to make a difference. I can state categorically that I have never run with less muscle and joint pain before. Whether my recent improvements in pace will continue remains to be seen, but so far it looks good.

In the end I went and bought the Chi Running book by Danny Dreyer. It was on special offer at Amazon ... what can I say?

Some of my fears were realised. At least two-thirds of the book is just not worth having. New age mumbo-jumbo and self-publicity. Nonetheless, the parts of the book that deal with technique are interesting, it is just that you can get much of this information from the web for nothing.

The other day I got hold of Ken Mierke's Evolution Running DVD (for free - I wasn't going to pay the £50 it costs on Amazon UK). Chris McDougall recommends this system and used it himself to great effect. This is much more useful ... no fluff, just solid step-by-step explanations, firstly on what most runners do that is wrong, and then on how to correct it. It is now safely on my iPod where I can watch it any time I need reminding, and as I didn't pay for it, I can hardly complain about value for money ...