Tread Lightly: Form, Footwear, and the Quest for Injury-Free Running by Bill Katovsky
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I haven’t read very many running books. In fact, I’ve only read three that I can remember, one being Christopher MacDougal’s legendary “Born to Run”, and Jason Robillard’s excellent “The Barefoot Running Book”. Continue reading
Another week another chapter in the hurting calf. The Tuesday I went to a new doctor, namely Idrottsdoktorn.se (literally “the sports doctor”). After listen to my whining, having me hop around on one leg, doing fall outs, squats and various other tricks like such an old dog he passed verdict: I’ve had an inflammation where the Achilles fastens in the calf, and as I continued on training, even though the inflammation actually went away, the pain didn’t. The condition have a Latin name that sounded authentic, and which I promptly forgot. But the bottom line is that there’s actually nothing wrong with my calf, apart from the fact that it is hurting that is.
That’s a relief.
He also noted that my core stability needs to be worked on, which I’ve already guessed, and likewise with my ankle stability, which I haven’t. Also I could do with limbering up a bit, but he wasn’t overly concerned with that. Now he’s passing me along to a naprapath who’s expert on running to give me some concrete training tips for my calf (eccentric training), and core and ankle stability.
Then the week went on, but after two beers after work on Friday I couldn’t help noticing that my calf was… not hurting at all. And when I bounced around my living room I couldn’t trigger the “normal” pain any more. Naturally, with two beers in my body, and a vicious lust to run I couldn’t help myself, which leads us to:
Friday, 5km: And by damn! First run since late February completely without pain! Whooho! I went round in the woods around the corner. Got punished badly by the verticals, but took it easy and walked bits. I can really feel now that I haven’t been able to train properly for a while. But it is a lovely spring, and when I came back it felt like a huge weight had fallen off my shoulders. I’m running again!
A big fat hint: Despite my attempt to play with my footing the last weeks to find out what the problem is, I was far from the truth. I started the Friday run with 1km barefoot, and… That was a completely different step. On both feet. When I took the shoes off, both feet stopped pronating, I landed squarely on the middle on my soles, and my big toe got involved much earlier. Damn difference it made too!
Sunday, 5km: I was hesitant about going out. I wanted to run, but I wasn’t sure if it was too aggressive. I warmed up, took a couple of meters barefoot and then was pushed over by the glorious spring weather. And it seems it worked. No pain, and I had to hold myself back like an old racehorse not to speed up. Again I started with 1km barefoot, and after that the rest of the run was exactly as I want it: smooth and light.
So here’s to hope! Taking the shoes off made a huge difference in my gait. Now. I. Must. Not. Over. Do. It. Easy does it. Calma, calma…
A somewhat extensive collections of twats. For your amusement:
Pew! But a lot of good stuff in there. You should follow my bird streak to get it fresh!
Random birdsong, dissonant mind:
Enjoy!
Some years back, the gang and I started to get interested in light-weight hiking. A small but persistent group of Swedish hikers started moaning about the weight that you traditionally carry around: heavy back pack, heavy tents, and relevant for this post, heavy boots. That’s when I first came into contact with minimalist running, and the ideas that our feet might be best left alone, and unencumbered.
You see, hiking in the Swedish mountains is traditionally done in boots. Rather heavy ones. Preferably with extremely hard and inflexible soles. And Gore Text lining. But more and more people started to point out that 1) it’s dubious that big boots actually prevents injuries; 2) boots can protect you from becoming wet for a while, but once drenched, they stay wet for a very long time; and 3) carrying 800 grams or more per foot isn’t very cost effective, it’s going to drain a lot of energy from you.
And so it goes. We scaled back on our equipment. I went from a pack weighting in on something like 13-14 kilos (excluding food) to 11 kilos last year, and this year I scaled back further, landing on a comfortable 8.5 kilos. But my boots stayed on.
At least until now.
I read “Born to Run”. I discovered Barefoot University. I started following various blogs. In short, I discovered the barefoot/minimalist trend. And there was something that allured to me. These guys and girls seemed to have genuinely fun when running, something that I had lost a few years back. I’ve always had bad knees and stiff ligaments and tendons, but have been running nevertheless the last 12 years or so. But it wasn’t fun anymore. My last longer run, on one of the beaches of Malaga should have been great: sea, sand and sun, what’s not to like? But it wasn’t.
And so I went immediately and bought a pair of Merrel Trail Gloves. I had read up enough to realize that learning barefoot would probably be done best with actual bare feet, but being a barefoot sissy, and running on trails 75% of the time I went minimalist instead. There was also this: I realized there would be an adjustment period, and I figured a pair of shoes that actually looks like ordinary trainers (in contrast to Vibram FiveFingers) could comfortably be used daily, hence giving my feet some needed extra practise.
Obviously I went straight for the beginners most common mistake instead: too far too fast. It felt great! It was fun! I wanted more! And almost immediately I had a sprained Achilles tendon to deal with. Ah well, I’ve always said stupidity is supposed to pay off, so this one’s on me.
And now? Well, today I ran 6 kilometers, which is a the longest so far. Perhaps a bit too long, and I figure my ankles and Achilles will tell me so tomorrow. But damn, it felt great! Two laps around the “block”, where the block being a patch of wood at my mothers cottage in the Swedish woods, and then straight down to the small forest lake for a dip, and it felt like I want running to feel: light, smooth, easy and fun. Lovely stuff!
And next week I’ll head up to the mountains for a 4 day solo hike.
See where this is going? Well, much as I love my boots, and I do, I think they’ll be left home this time. On the other hand, much as I love my Merrels, I don’t think they’ll make it either. Although I’m sorely tempted. The reason being I’m a bit of a chicken again: The mountains I’m going to (for reference, Grövelsjön) are… stony. All Swedish mountains are (as the last ice age reduced our mountains to rubble), and my feet recoil a bit at the thought of walking 5+ hours a day in thin soles with a fair few kilos on my back. But I will go with a pair of Salamon Techamphibian (or similar). They’re fairly light, have a good grip on slippery surfaces, and dry out quickly. That will bring the full weight of my equipment down under 10 kilos. Not bad, not bad.
Also, I think my feet will love me for it!
Random birdsong, disturbing your morning sleep:
Enjoy!
Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Here’s a hyped book indeed, but having sat through it in one go (6 hours) it is a well deserved 5 star.
Others will expand on the content, so I’ll concentrate on a few highlights. And there are many in this book. Part adventure story, scientific discovery and party book, it’s a rip roaring extacy ride with a lot of impossible-to-let-go pages.
Characters: what an intriguing lot of personality! From the cadaverous mystery of Caballo Blanco (“the white horse”) to narcoleptic hipster kids and obsessed ultra-marathon runners, this book has them in abundance. And the author treats them all fair and square. Very nicely done.
Language: erratic, somewhat slang-ridden, but in my mind, nicely flowing and entirely appropriate. If it leaves you put off, I can sympathise, but when I got past the first 5% (yes, I’m on a Kindle) it just felt… Right.
Interesting stuff: shitloads. I’m a nerd with a passion for hiking, I’ve been running since early adulthood, and yes, last couple of months I’ve started looking into the whole “barefoot movement” thing. Still, this book had me hooked to figure out what the scientist would say, something you don’t always associate with “page turning”.
On the whole, it is a charismatic book about charismatic people and the lost love for running. It resonated in me as it seemed to have done in many others.
And yes, I’m now officially playing with a very different way of running than I’m used to. If it works out, I’ll let you know.