New Shoes!

After running many, many more miles than I have ever run before in the last 12 months (three half marathons, that Clevedon to Filton run and the Brighton Marathon), I decided that i was way past time for me to buy a new pair of trainers.

Old faithful trainers

You can see in the photo above just how sorry my old pair had become: the tread is completely worn away, the structure is splitting apart in places, the cushioning has collapsed and you can see to the left of the upside shoe that the sole has completely worn away!  That's because I changed from heel striking to mid-foot striking about 18 months ago.

Heel Strike versus Mid Foot Strike

Above I've doodled a picture of the mechanical differences between heel-strike (how I used to run) and mid-foot strike.  The key thing with a heel-strike is the straightness of the leg - all the forces are transferred directly from the heel up the leg and through the knee joint ... I used to get a lot of knee pains when I first started running.

Over the years I strengthened pretty much every muscle in my body, but particularly in my legs and core; this enabled my muscles to take more of the impact and about 18 months ago I shifted from heel-striking.

Initially, I went full on toe-strike - this works for some people, but not for me - it was just too unnatural.

The I compromised and started landing more middle of the foot.  The effects were quite surprising.  My speed increased slightly (don't get me wrong: I am still just a plodder, I just plod slightly faster), and my injuries went down (until very recently - and that was nothing to do with how I was running, just a big increase in distance in a short time).

Mid-foot (and forefoot) running requires much stronger legs - you can see from my amazing artwork above that more joints are flexed so that muscle, rather than bone and cartilage, is taking the strain: and muscle repairs much faster than bone. 

So off I go to Easy Runner.  A small shop just off St Michael's Hill in Bristol - it's the place I've bought three of my last four running shoes.  The one pair I didn't have specially fitted were a real mistake: injuries in next to no time and I had to go back to Easy Runner to be fitted properly.

There was as bit of a wait, but I knew it was going to be worth it: they spend a lot of time assessing how you run and trying different shoes on you.  I lost count of how many pairs I tried on, but the chap knew his stuff: he could see that I no longer needed shoes that compensated for a large amount of pronation (an foreseen benefit of mid-foot strikes are that my feet no longer collapse inwards as I move from heel to toe - and that lack of collapse had transferred itself all up the kinetic chain so that my knees stopped hurting from impact and twisting inwards).

The assistant-chap was really knowledgeable and with some careful observation and gait analysis using a treadmill and a slow-motion camera was able to reveal a few things about my running that I could never know on my own.  I need to do some more glut, hamstring and abductor strengthening work.

Gradually, this chap edged me towards what he described as "transitional" shoes - something half way between the heavily padded types that I'd worn previously and the "bare foot" types that were the vogue a few years ago.

These new pair are even lighter than my last pair and are way more flexible so that they don't fight against the mid-foot striking that I've been doing, but still offer some stability.

So I'll be off for a run soon (when the rain stops) to trial out my new shoes.  Easy Runner are so confident that they'll get the fitting right for me that they'll replace them if they don't work out (as long as I've not been wading through mud).

Shiny New Shoes!

If you're interested, this is Easy Runner's website: http://www.easyrunner.co.uk/

Stair Running

What is it?

Stair running is what it says - running up and down stairs.  Think about how hard you work walking up a few flights of stairs (please tell me you use the stairs and not the lift or escalator!) - it doesn't take much to get you out of breath.

Stair running challenges the body aerobically, as the effort to lift the body vertical is much greater than that of simply moving forwards.  Extra oxygen is required by the working muscles to keep them burning fuel, that requires deeper inhalation of the lungs and stronger and more frequent pumping of the heart, increasing the body's ability to burn fat.  Incidentally, a stair run episode of 20-30 minutes can be twice as effective as a run of the same duration in improving aerobic performance and will burn approximately twice as many calories as a run of the same duration.

Stair running also gets deep into the buttock and leg muscles as the upward motion requires a much stronger response from those big muscles.  In fact, it's more likely to invoke the glutes than standard running, as those muscles only really get involved in the more forceful movements.

Additionally, stair running improves balance and coordination and that makes for safer running.  It can also provide a less impact intensive alternative to conventional running (provided you take it very easy on the descent).

As a result, stair running is an excellent component of any running, half marathon or marathon training program.

What to do

Get warmed up!  This is strenuous exercise and you should be well warmed up before starting.

Find a set of stairs which aren't used that much (so you won't be fighting past people).  Typically, these might be fire escapes (indoors or outdoors), footbridges or you might have access to the steps in a stadium.  I use the steps between IKEA and the other shops at the Eastgate Shopping Centre; there are a set that don't get much use.  I think these are about the equivalent of two flights in a house.

The rest is easy!  Run up the stairs as fast as you can and take about twice as long coming back down to recover.  Repeat any number of times; I do a anywhere between 12-16 runs of one type before changing over and doing a different kind of run.

Types of Stair Run

Basic

Run up the stairs just as you would walk them by placing one foot on the next step up from the other foot as quickly as you can.

Quick Feet

Take one step at a time, placing both feet on the step.  Alternating starting foot so that your left leg leads for the first ascent, then your right foot leads for the second ascent.  This exercise is good for working on agility.

Sideways

Turing sideways to the stairs so that your feet are longwise on each step and your hips and body face the handrail (assuming there is a handrail), move as quickly up the stairs without allowing your hips or feet to twist towards the steps.  This exercise works agility and coordination as well as getting deep into the calf muscles.

Bounding

Take two steps at a time and bound all the way up.  The greater force required will get deep into those big leg muscles.

Leaping

Starting with only single steps, jump forward so that both feet end up on the next step at the same time.  You can increase the number of step to two or three, but do take extra care with this version of the exercise as the risks of falling are greatly increased.

Finally…

For obvious reasons, do take extra care if doing this in the dark or wet!

Uh ... Upping the ante

In August I ran 18.5 miles to raise money for the Alzheimer's Society.  That was a huge achievement for me being the furthest I'd ever run.  It also led to my fastest half marathon time - I knocked 11 minutes of my my personal best time!

Then an email came round at the day job offering places for the Brighton Marathon.

So, her was another opportunity to make a big difference for a cause that is very dear to my heart … I appear to have signed up for it!  I am every but as nervous as I was for my first half marathon way back in 2005.

I shall at last be able to answer the question "How would it feel to run a marathon?"

How would it feel to run a marathon?

For many of us the feeling of running any kind of distance simply fills us with horror. When you first start running (or any kind of exercise) never having done it before, you may well find it really uncomfortable!

But try and think how it feels for those people that do manage it - they have looks of triumph and elation when they pass the line - even if earlier in the race they looked like it was killing them. Look at others in the race, they actually look as though they are enjoying the process - they may not be the fastest, but they are loving every minute of it.

Many run for a charity and that motivates them to finish the race when they are struggling - and then they have the double whammy of finishing and doing good for other people.

The amount and type of training that people do to run varies wildly - there are a few lucky ones that can "just do it", and there are others (like me) who have to really work at it. Actually, I think that I am one of the lucky ones: it it didn't require effort, I don't think I'd get nearly as much from running as I do.

When I started in 2005, I couldn't run a mile. It took me a month to be able to complete my first lap of the park. Then I did two laps, then three and then started heading off and exploring. Many people managed better then me when they first started training, others struggled for longer. I admire those that found it tougher than me and kept at it: in my opinion, theirs is the greater achievement!

So keep at it, foot in front of foot, any one can do it if they want it!