The real silver bullet

Silver Bullet
Originally uploaded by JimmyMac210 - back but busy

I'm not convinced that barefoot running will make you a good runner or even keep you from being injured. I do think that ditching the shoes makes it more likely that your form will improve, which will lead to fewer injuries.

However, I think there is a silver bullet that will almost certainly lead to better running form and fewer injuries, whether you are running in shoes or just running in your feet.

Cadence.

More specifically, a quick cadence. It seems that 180 is the number that most people suggest, but I've read about some people who think the ideal could even be a little higher than this.

But why? I think there a couple things going on here. In terms of physics, with a higher cadence, a person has to stay lower to the ground. You can't run with a high cadence, and also bounce high into the air. It's physically impossible. By staying low to the ground, there is less impact upon landing, and chances are good that you can't run with a quick cadence without also keeping your feet underneath you, rather than over-striding.

I think there is also something about the springiness of our feet and legs that comes into play. Like a slinky, your feet and legs have a natural frequency, where they just seem to bounce right. I think this frequency is somewhere around 180.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I would be willing to bet that it would be tough to run with bad form while keeping a cadence of 180.

Run Talk Radio, Episode 2

I decided to finally check out Run Talk Radio, and clicked on episode 2. The three runners have an interesting discussion on barefoot running that begins about half way through the episode.

It's definitely worth checking out.

Enjoy.



As an FYI, it might be better to go directly to the Episode 2, given that the embedded version doesn't seem to have the navigation controls included.

Bridging

I've done this a little bit, and realize that I have a long way to go with this exercise. I saw the video below at http://fitnessblackbook.com/ and wanted to link just so I don't forget about this.

This video gives variations of this exercise to increase the difficulty level.

A few of today's exercises

Here is what I've been doing:

• juggling on my Swiss ball
• juggling on one foot (actually both feet, but just one at a time)
• juggling in place
• running in place
• a kind of hopping exercise, where I kind of hop into a sort of lunging position, alternating legs
• balancing on one foot

I'm aiming for better balance, stronger core muscles, and springier feet and legs.

something for Winter

I've been working on balancing better on one leg and also my one legged hops, which I couldn't do a few years ago.

The following combines these in a challenging way.

It's all connected

Understanding Your Muscles - Men's Health

This is a must read. Once again, it's all connected.

Post marathon joggle

The key thing to keep in mind here is that Joe did this after Joggling the Philly Marathon.

Winter running

I used to be afraid of running in the Winter. I thought there was no way to do it, unless I was running inside on a track or treadmill. However, a few years ago, I found out that it was no big deal. I just put on enough layers and go out there and run, and other than the wind, it's no big deal.

I have a pretty good sense of what I'm going to work on this Winter.

• Core strength. Through bodyweight exercises, I'm going to try to get my core into decent shape this winter. I've got some decent exercises I've found over the years, and most of them are pretty fun.
• Cadence. I found out a month or two ago that my running cadence is too slow. I'm going to practice running with shorter strides and a quicker cadence. Snow and ice are great for this. They practically force me to shorten my stride.
• Foot strength and springiness. A few years ago, my feet were really weak, and I couldn't even hop on one foot. They are a lot stronger than they were, but I still have some area for improvement here. I've found that running in place helps a lot in this area, and it also happens to be something that is easy enough to do this time of year. I'm starting really small with this, but will gradually build up over the next few months.
• Juggling proficiency. I still have some improvement to do here. My hand quickness is one of my big weaknesses here. I've made a huge improvement in terms of being able to juggle using just my periferal vision. I hope to improve more here.

I've been thinking about ashoeism, and how it is akin to atheism in many ways. I think shoeism is a belief system. People believe in the power of the shoe. I used to be as much of a shoeist as the next guy, but I'm definitely an ashoeist now. However, I don't see myself as an antishoeist. I have no problem with people wearing shoes to run. And I still wear them myself as needed. However, I don't really believe in the power of the shoe anymore.

Singularity talk at Google

Here's another interesting Google video I found. One thing early in the video that caught my interest was about how solar energy is developing at an exponential rate.

Raymond Kurzweil definitely is worth listening to.

The thing that I don't get about the singularity is the idea of immortality. I see the logic and science of it. But I don't get how it could actually work in the real world. How do we live in a world where people no longer die? It seems to me that in practical terms only a small number of elite could choose the option of immortality. Death has always been an important part of the life cycle.

However, I think the Kurzweil sees us as transcending our human bodies in a sense. Maybe we would only be living as immortal beings in some kind of artificial world where our intelligence and memories have been uploaded on to some sort of computer platform. In that sense, our beings wouldn't necessarily take up that much material.

Hooligan on the run

Last night I received the following comment, "Put on some shoes, ya hooligan!"

Christopher McDougall speaks to Google

I don't know why I didn't see this before.

In any case, here you go.

post fever run

ECO FEVER_002
Originally uploaded by VonMurr

It's been 8 days since my last run, but I've been battling a nagging virus the last week, which has included a low grade fever. I think the fever is gone, and the coughing is only a slight annoyance now.

I'm going to keep recording my runs in my running log, but instead of using distance as the measurement, I'm going with time instead. It feels like a better measurement at the moment, and I can't see myself doing any races in the next 4 or 5 months, so distance feels a little less important to keep track of right now.

Later

5K notes

Just a few notes from my recent 5K, before I forget that I ran it.

• Even though I was a minute slower than my PR, I was still a little faster than I expected.
• In the future, if I know that I'm fighting a virus when a race comes up, I will just run the race at a slower, more relaxed pace. A hard race definitely suppresses the immune system.
• Unexpectedly, I saw another barefoot runner at the race. He came up to me and asked if I was running the race barefoot. I told him I was, then he pointed to his feet so I could see that he also wasn't wearing shoes. I talked to him after the race and found out he had only been running barefoot for a couple of weeks, but he seemed to be enjoying it.
• More and more people will remark upon my feet, and then say something to the effect that they had heard (via article or TV) that barefoot running was supposed to be a good thing. Before this year, people's reaction tended to be more shocked.

I'm looking forward to the Winter running season.