8: Finding Form: How I Learned a Stride That Keeps Running FUN

In one word, I believe I can strike at the essence of what it has taken for me to run in a sustainable way: LISTEN.

• LISTEN to your feet and what they tell you about how to handle the terrain and how to land on them to reduce the tendency toward injury.
• LISTEN to your thirst to guard against problems associated with overhydration or underhydration.
• LISTEN to your heart to understand the appropriate levels of exertion to support prolonged performance.
• LISTEN to your body's nutritional needs for fueling and nutrients.
• LISTEN to your wife, because you couldn't do this without her support.

If you happened to read the earlier post about my evolution into a runner, you know that I have made a number of changes in how I run.  I have arrived at these through study, conversation, and trial and error. In this post, I figured that I would share what I think that I have learned through this on-going process. In no way am I holding myself out as an expert on anything other than what has worked for me . . . so far. But I really think that is the point. We each need to learn how to listen to our body, read the clues and signals it sends to us, and decide what to do with that information -- or not. Obviously, I'm still trying to figure it all out. Truth is, we change over time, and these changes will effect our running. So we should always be listening to what our body has to tell us.

Shock Waves

The "modern" running style of over-extension and catapulting one's body over the leading leg strikes me as a series of rapid-fire pole vaults. Plant your leg-pole in the box and catapult yourself over the top. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat... Even describing running in this manner, I am certain that there is so much wrong about it that it can't be right. But that is how I felt when I ran. It was very jarring and unpleasant.  I was over-extending my stride and landing on the heel of a shoe that, more often than not, was worn unevenly because I was too cheap to buy new ones often enough or good enough shoes to last. (I once wore a $8 pair a shoes through an entire half-marathon training season, as well as the race itself.) The problem is, I know that I am not alone. I see people running all the time who do exactly this. In fact, it gets worse. I was recently running behind another runner. I am assuming that she is an over-pronating heel-striker. It was apparent in the beveled heel of her running shoes. With each footfall, not only could I sense the vertical jarring of the impact, but I could also see a lateral whiplash that traveled from her foot to her hip. I can only imagine what her IT band will look like if she keeps this up. Recalling the wear pattern of my shoes of the past, I am certain that my own form looked at least as bad.

Here are the key points that I have learned to ease the shock waves:

• Quicken your step.
• Stand up straight
• Lean from your ankles
• Land with your feet under you

Check out Usain Bolt on YouTube. This is a fascinating video. I had always assumed that heel-striking and a reaching stride was useful to sprinters. But I think it is fair to say that Mr. Bolt is worthy of being held out as an example of an effective running form, and that is not what he does. What is interesting about this video is that you can see that his feet hit the ground beneath his hips, not out in front. Also, he is not striking the track with his heel, but with his forefoot, as it has already begun the backswing of the stride. This latter point is particularly important because it means that at any time his foot is in contact with the ground, it is engaged in propelling him forward. He is never catapulting over the top of a planted foot that would otherwise go against his forward momentum. This is further evidenced by the fact that his head travels along a level plane, meaning his effort is spent propelling him forward ALONG the track rather than UP from the track.

Stand Tall

From my reading, there are at least three flavors of "natural" running: Evolution, Pose, and Chi Running. I won't pretend to be an expert on any of these. In the course of continuing to listen to my body, I am slowly trying to learn and incorporate what I can into my own running form in order to keep running fun, efficient, and injury-free.

As for a comparison of these three methods, Jim Haselmaier has prepared a really nice blog post on "Pose Method vs Chi Running vs Evolution Running." In this piece, Jim shows that these methods share the following common core principles:

• Erect body posture
• Forward lean and the concept of falling forward (The phrase “gravity pulling you forward” is sometimes used, which is confusing.  Gravity pulls you down, not forward.  However if a rigid body is not perfectly vertical it falls down.  If you fall down and then put your foot down to prevent you from falling to the ground, from a practical standpoint, you’ve taken a step.  Repeat that over and over and you’re running.)
• Short stride length
• Relatively high foot cadence - ~180 bpm minimum
• Some sort of non-heel-first footstrike

Interestingly, I had come to these various principles through my own reading, but was never able to articulate them with a coherent understanding until I came across Jim's write-up. Following are some additional take-aways from my own experience.

Have you ever tried standing for a long period of time and felt a pain in your lower back? As it happens, I am an Orthodox Christian, and we stand in Church -- a lot. And learning to run better has helped me to pray better. I am less distracted because I am less uncomfortable. Typically, when you stand for a lengthy period of time, you are told not to lock your knees, but not much is said about the rest of your posture. In the natural running forms, you use the structure of your body for passive support, rather than actively holding yourself upright with your muscles. (They have other tasks to do.) You do this by aligning your core from your head to your heels. By straightening my spine and leveling my hips, I have found that not only can I run farther, but I can also stand longer

As to the lean, the important thing to remember is that when you run, you lean from your ankles, not your waist. To lean from the waist would be to disrupt the core alignment and invite fatigue. And don't lean too far. It should not be an exaggerated lean, but just enough contribute to a relaxed stride.

Cadence

In some ways, I had already figured out at least a portion of the importance of cadence. Because I had learned to use steady, metered, breathing, much like that of a swimmer, an even cadence was already key to my ability to maintain a steady breathing rate. This "rhythmic" breathing has in turn helped me to guard against the effects of my asthma on sustained physical activity, while also cluing me in to times when I could be inviting trouble. Seeing the consistent recommendation of the 180-step-per-minute running cadence, my next goal was to train myself to the point where I knew what that felt like, and to integrate that with my breathing.

To work toward being able to run at 180 steps-per-minute, I turned to a great podcast called PodRunner. You can find them on iTunes or at www.podrunner.com (which will actually take you to the creator's website (http://www.djsteveboy.com/mixes.html). He has created a nice selection of mixes that you can use to work up to your optimal running cadence. These are available as free downloads and I would encourage you to support his efforts.

With Every Beat of My Heart

With each aspect of my running adventure, I have treated it a little bit like a game. Finding a technique, a piece of clothing, an item of equipment, or a particular measurement that is meaningful and works for me is a "victory" in my game. So, when I started wearing a heart rate monitor, the first thing I did was just LISTEN. In retrospect, what I learned early on was really quite interesting. When I ran at about 180 steps-per-minute, breathing at 4-steps on the inhale and 4-steps on the exhale, and with a level of exertion that allowed me to sustain both, my heart rate settled in at about 125-130 beats per minute. The reason I say that this was particularly interesting is because it nests so perfectly with what may be suggested as my ideal aerobic heart rate. The Maffetone Method for calculating an ideal heart rate begins with the basic formula of 180 minus your age. Since I am 50 years old, my ideal heart rate would be 130 beats per minute. Dr. Maffetone does include some adjustment factors, and I'll be honest with you, I'm a bit conflicted as to how I should best apply these factors. Should I subtract an additional 10 beats per minute because I am on regular medications for asthma and allergies? Or, do I add 5 beats because I have been training consistently for more than two years? This would be a good question to ask my doctor at my next checkup.

So What Does It All Mean?

In the end, a stride that works for me is a matter of basic mathematics: 4x2+180+130=1

• 4x2. 4 steps on the inhale + 4 steps on the exhale (Although I am currently working with a 4/3 breathing pattern which allows the "emphasis" stride at the start of the exhale to alternate feet. See earlier post on breathing.)
• 180 steps per minute
• 130 beats per minute heart rate
• 1 sustainable runner 

Up next: Gear Geek: What Works for Me