Run for your life

New year, new you! Whether you’re a hard core marathoner, a struggling jogger or an avid walker, you should check out Map My Run. When I was training for a half marathon a couple of years ago (yes – little old me! And if I did it, so can you!) I was trying to use the directions function in Google maps to plot my running distances. It was tedious and not a very effective way to do it! Then someone put me onto Map My Run. You can create an account for free and map all your runs and see how long they were and save all your routes. It even gives you elevation statistics and you can enter in your times to keep full track of your progress. You can log and keep track of other work outs on there too, not just running. Fabulous!

While we’re on the topic, you should look into the phenomenon of bare foot running which is sweeping the world. Theory has is that runners are getting so many injuries, especially knee injuries, from their running shoes. These shoes apparently offer too much support for the foot, which really needs to be unfettered and free, as nature intended! The heels of these shoes are built up so thick to absorb all the shock from your heel pounding on the ground. The funny thing is though, these heels are built up so much it makes it difficult to run in any way other than striking the ground with your heel. And you know what? You’re not meant to be running on your heels. Apparently, you’re meant to be running with your mid or forefoot striking the ground and this way of running puts less pressure on your knees. I read a quote somewhere on this topic which really resonated with me – “your knees are hinges, not shock absorbers”.

The shift to striking the ground with your mid or forefoot rather than your heel isn’t a dramatic one – the change is subtle. And you don’t reach forward with your legs to do it – it requires a forward lean in your whole body from the ground up (not just from the torso). Danny Dreyer’s clip on avoiding heel strike through the correct running technique is really instructive on this point.

And if you ran barefoot, you wouldn’t be striking the ground with your heels – just try it - it’s too painful. Check out this clip by The Barefoot Professor - interesting stuff. There’s a heap of valuable information on You Tube on this topic.

A whole new footwear market has sprung up around bare foot running, which is pretty funny when you think about it. But Vibram have really filled the need with a variety of products like these foot gloves, which allow you to run “bare foot” without cutting your feet to pieces. I bought myself a pair but it was too big a leap for me at the time (although they’re great for walking and you can wear them for snorkelling and all sorts of stuff). For running, I’ve found a happy medium for now with the Nike Free – I love them! They’re very light, the sole is thin and fully flexible, and there’s hardly any support, so you can feel the ground the way you were meant to when you run. And your feet build up their own strength to support themselves. When I tried my regular running shoes again, they felt so clunky, heavy and restrictive – like foot coffins as someone else once said!

In his book Born To Run, Christopher McDougall notes that ” … when things look worst, we run the most. Three times, America has seen distance-running skyrocket, and it’s always in the midst of a national crisis … Maybe it was a coincidence. Or maybe there’s a trigger in the human psyche, a coded response that activates our first and greatest survival skill when we sense the raptors approaching.”

Don’t you love the sound of that? Aren’t you totally inspired by the romance of running? I am, although the reality of running is pretty different! It’s so bloody hard and it never seems to get easier as you’re huffing and puffing along. And yet … sometimes you do get into that zone where suddenly you feel comfortable - you’ve hit your stride and you feel like you could just keep running forever. Those magical moments are pretty rare though … wouldn’t it be great if running felt like that the whole time? That’s what I want to work towards. At its core, I think that running is about mental toughness. I think it’s about mastery of your inner self - beating that whining voice inside telling you to stop every time it gets too hard. It must be such a glorious feeling to beat your own internal limitations in this way. Athletes must be doing this all the time … and if they can do it, why can’t I? Or you?

But hard slog can’t be what it’s all about … maybe running for the sheer joy of it comes after conquering your negative inner self. Or – here’s a thought – does the joy need to be there first? Mmm.

In any case, I’m totally inspired to get back into the running this year, maybe even back in the Vibrams … I think I’m going to sign up for the half marathon again in May and make the goal real.