POSE Running Method

[pinoyhero]

A bunch of discussion on this in the prior running shoe thread so i thought id start one fresh. A few questions for you guys that have this mastered:

1. A few weeks ago i misplaced my shoes and ran in my weight training shoes, chucks. Oops, my feet blistered bad but that was the easy part, my feet are now sore as hell, bridge and heel. Did i mess something up. Seems to be getting better but man its been weeks and they are still sore.

2. I kind of feel like im jamming the balls of my feet rather than running in a more fluid motion and working with gravity, any tips for that?

3. Any mental focus points for the toes, should that be pressing off and propelling, should they be split, tucked together, etc.?

Thanks all,

Jason

[dansmith11]

my guess is your leaning too far foward and/or using your toes too much. so thats why it feels your jaming the balls of your feet into the ground.

there is NO pushing off with anything. gravity and momentum do the work. not your legs. or your toes. you want your toes spread wide and your feet as relaxed into the ground as possible.

all your trying to do is stand as tall as possible. you want as straight a line as you can between your ankles and the top of your head. then you want to lean forward every so slightly (from your ankles) so that the weight centers over the middle of your feet. if your toes are gripping the ground. then your wieght is too far forward (and most likely the forward bend is coming from your hips/back instead of your ankles)

stand straight up, as straight as you can. 1 inch from a wall. then try and lean forward so your nose touches the wall. but remember your ankle is the pivot point. think of your body as a metal bar that cant be bent standing straight up and attached to a pivot on top of your foot. thats where the forward bend comes from.

next, face away from the wall, do the same forward lean, but keep leaning slowly foward focusing onthe ankle pivot point. eventually youll get to a place where you start to fall foward and you will instinctively pick up a foot and put it down in front of you to stop from falling.

thats what your trying to do, is find that subtle balance point right where your about to fall on your face. your not pushing yourself forward, your letting gravity do the work, all your doing is putting one foot in front of the other so you dont fall on your face.

try and keep your legs as relaxed as possible. if you can stand up for an hour, you should be able to run for an hour. because your legs arent doing any more work then standing up. they are just supporting your weight under the forces of gravity. they arent doing anything else. as soon as you try and create forward momentum with your legs, your not POSE running anymore. relax your leg into the ground and let the momentum pull your leg backwards behind you. and the muscles/tendons will natrually pull it back foward like an elastic. you wanna feel as if your legs are doing as little work as possible.

focus on keeping your spine straight, keeping your head up and back so the back of your neck is straight. your trying to drive your chest and the top of your head up to the sky, like your going to lift yourself off the ground.

i tend to ramble about this shit.. lol so to summarize..

1. keep your back straight, your chest lifted and driving up towards the sky. remember to keep your head up and back.

2. tilt from your ankles, find the edge of balance right where your about to fall. just like a car is fastest RIGHT at the edge of traction. your running is best RIGHT at the edge of that balance point.

3. relax relax relax. your core and spine should be doing 90% of the work running. your legs are just along for the ride. relaxing your legs starts with your toes. keep your toes and feet spread wide and relaxed, and your legs will start to relax with them.

[pinoyhero]

Thanks a ton Dan, appriciate the insight.

Next question ... shoes, dont think I'm ready for the vibram's yet but I have some really big mushy mizunos (its either that or my chucks), I've seen the recommended lists on the PSOE site, anywhere in particular you'd suggest I go?

[dansmith11]

no idea about shoes.

ever since i discovered five fingers / barefoot running, im the biggest shoe hater you'll find haha. persoanlly i think youd be better off just going right to vibrams and just walking a whole bunch until your feet feel srong enough to run.

one other thing i thought of that really helped me to relax my toes and not push off so much.. when your foot comes off the ground.. you want to sort of peel it off the ground, starting with your heel. keep the front of your foot relaxed and "peel" your heel up off the ground and your toes leave last.

[ExtraSlow]

Kinda off topic, but related. Are those vibrams going to be a good walking shoe?
I'm not a runner, but I have very weak feet, and was considering using the vibrams as a "training" shoe when walking, perhaps graduating up to using them as trail hiking shoes. Figured that they'd strengthen my feet while walking, just like they do for runners.
Thoughts on that strategy?

[dansmith11]

Originally posted by ExtraSlow
Kinda off topic, but related. Are those vibrams going to be a good walking shoe?
I'm not a runner, but I have very weak feet, and was considering using the vibrams as a "training" shoe when walking, perhaps graduating up to using them as trail hiking shoes. Figured that they'd strengthen my feet while walking, just like they do for runners.
Thoughts on that strategy?

thats perfect.

exactly how i started with them. used them as a general walking around shoe for a few months before i started running in them.

i dont even think of it as running vs walking anymore really, its just distance travelled by foot. the more miles you can put on your feet, the stronger they will get.

[pinoyhero]

Originally posted by dansmith11
no idea about shoes.

ever since i discovered five fingers / barefoot running, im the biggest shoe hater you'll find haha. persoanlly i think youd be better off just going right to vibrams and just walking a whole bunch until your feet feel srong enough to run.

one other thing i thought of that really helped me to relax my toes and not push off so much.. when your foot comes off the ground.. you want to sort of peel it off the ground, starting with your heel. keep the front of your foot relaxed and "peel" your heel up off the ground and your toes leave last.

Very interesting thanks, i have been watching some vids online and you've confirmed one of my errors ... my heel never touched the ground at all, sounds like it should and this will probably help with my soreness as im putting undue stress on my arches by the sounds of it.

[pinoyhero]

On another topic, are you a certified trainer that offers consults?