Everyday Excellence

Bryant August 29th, 2009

Inspired by the research and story in the book Born To Run, I’ve decided to try out barefoot running. Or at least “nearly” barefoot running. There’s just something about the minimalism of it that appeals to me. No need for fancy shoes or gear – just man vs. nature.

I also think there’s a lot of truth to the idea that running shoes can often contribute to the problem that they try to solve by overcorrecting and reducing the feedback built into the foot. If nothing else, I’m glad to try something new and see if it works for me. If not, I can always go back to my running shoes.

As I began to look seriously into barefoot running, I learned a lot about minimalist shoes and even spent one week trying them out.

The (non) Shoes

It seems silly to be talking about shoes in regard to “barefoot” running as it would kind of defeat the purpose…right? But, as it turns out, one of the best ways to get into barefoot running is to ease into it.

If you are used to doing 12 mile long runs wearing traditional running shoes, you can’t just kick off your shoes and do your next one entirely barefoot. The experts say that it’s best to ease in with minimalist shoes (ie – less padding) before going cold turkey. The added benefit of minimalist shoes is that they offer a level of protection from the realities of sharp sticks and broken glass (the bane of barefoot runners everywhere). There are really two levels of minimalist shoes:

• LEVEL 1: Nike Free: The Nike Free shoes are the first level of minimalist shoes, they have less padding than a normal running shoe, and are a lot more flexible. Their flexibility helps them to mimic the natural motion of the foot. I have the 5.0 pictured below and they really do feel like a lot “less” shoe. As compared to the more serious barefoot shoes, they lack the tactile feedback of the vibram’s because your foot still doesn’t feel the ground. Overall though, I like them and would recommend them to someone who wants to dip their toes into the idea of barefoot running, but still keep the general look and feel of a traditional shoe.

• LEVEL 2: Vibram Five Fingers: The Vibram Five Fingers are the next (much more serious) level of minimalist shoes. These shoes bring you the closest to the real barefoot experience. They are for people who are much more serious about barefoot running and willing to put up with some ridicule as they will stand out. They shoes act a bit like a second skin because they mold to your feet and have a spot for each toe. They are difficult to get on, but once you’re wearing them they have a very natural feel. I’ll go out on a limb and say they’re the most comfortable shoes I have. My choice was the KSO model (pictured-below) which are so named because they “Keep Stuff Out” by covering your entire foot. In my opinion, the best aspect of these shoes is the tactile experience they bring to running. You can really feel your run as you go through wet grass or down a dirt trail.

My First Week

I ended up going with the Vibram’s for my first week of “barefoot running” because I felt that they gave the truest barefoot experience. Here’s what I learned from that week of barefoot running:

• It Uses Different Muscles: All of the barefoot running sites, recommended easing into it and for good reason. Running barefoot uses different muscles than running with heavily padded shoes. You feel it much more in your calves because they act as more a shock absorber. The good news is that this helps teach you not to heal strike and to use the proper running form. The bad news is that you’ll have to cut back on miles as your muscles build up and your form corrects.
• It Lets you Feel Your Run: As I alluded to earlier, the best part about the barefoot running experience is the ability to feel the ground beneath you. Normally on my runs with heavily padded shoes, I would listen to loud music and try to zone out, but on the barefoot runs I really enjoy running with no music and just feeling the ground below me. Trail runs are a totally different experience.
• It’s a Process: I’m a week into it, but I feel like there’s a lot more to learn. As I’ve started barefoot running, it’s really made me begin to focus on my form because it’s much more noticeable how your feet strike the ground. I’m beginning to investigate techniques like Chi Running and the Pose Method of running which both focus on improving posture and running form.

It definitely seems like I’m at the beginning of a long journey. I’ll let you know how it goes and how many barefoot miles I work up to. I’d also be interested to hear anyone else’s experiences as well. It this the solution to the many running injuries or just a fad brought on by a popular book?

Some people create with words, or with music, or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, “I’ve never seen anyone run like that before.” It’s more then just a race, it’s a style.

–Steve Prefontaine

Tags: Barefoot Running

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Bryant August 16th, 2009

I just finished an exhilarating book entitled Born to Run. The author makes the extraordinary claim that running shoes are actually harming us, and we should all be running barefoot. And he actually convinced me.

The book tells the true story of an American who, due to a nagging running injuries, travels deep into Mexico to discover the secrets of a hidden tribe of super-runners called the Tarahumara. This tribe runs for hundreds of miles at a time without getting injured in nothing but sandals. So how is it that we, with all our modern technology, are always getting injured while running?

The book is part true-life adventure story, part anthropology, and part running biography. For those of you that have read the excellent Into Thin Air by Krakauer, it has the same gripping narrative style. As the story opens the author, Christopher McDougall, tracks  down Caballo Blanco a shadowy American who has relocated to Mexico and spends his days running through the desert hills with the Tarahumara.

Caballo Blanco introduces McDougall to the shy Tarahumara and the author begins to unravel their secrets. He arrives at the following “painful truths” of running.

Painful Truth #1: The Best Shoes And the Worst

Buying more expensive shoes will protect you from running injuries. Right? Wrong. McDougall reveals the following shocking statistic:

Runners wearing top-of-the-line trainers are 123 per cent more likely to get injured than runners in cheap ones. This was discovered as far back as 1989, according to a study led by Dr Bernard Marti, the leading preventative-medicine specialist at Switzerland’s University of Bern.

He goes on to describe how there are more running injuries now than there ever were. Back in the day, runners used cheap canvas shoes, and had many less injuries. In fact, injuries started to skyrocket when Nike introduced and promoted the first running shoes.

Some elite coaches have already figured this out and have begun rejecting the fancy shoes.

Stanford coach Vin Lananna had already spotted the same phenomenon.’I once ordered highend shoes for the team and within two weeks we had more plantar fasciitis and Achilles problems than I’d ever seen.

So I sent them back. Ever since then, I’ve always ordered low-end shoes. It’s not because I’m cheap. It’s because I’m in the business of making athletes run fast and stay healthy.’

So if that’s what works for the elites, why not for us? Don’t we need padded running shoes to protect our feet?

Painful Truth #2: Feet Like a Good Beating

The book goes on to describe how all of that extra padding has done nothing to protect our feet from the impact and instead often makes it worse by overcorrecting.

McDougall cites the following study:

Dr Steven Robbins and Dr Edward Waked of McGill University, Montreal, performed a series of lengthy tests on gymnasts. They found that the thicker the landing mat, the harder the gymnasts landed. Instinctively, the gymnasts were searching for stability. When they sensed a soft surface underfoot, they slapped down hard to ensure balance. Runners do the same thing. When you run in cushioned shoes, your feet are pushing through the soles in search of a hard, stable platform.

‘Currently available sports shoes are too soft and thick, and should be redesigned if they are to protect humans performing sports,’ the researchers concluded.

So if less padding is better, what about no padding?

Painful Truth #3: Human Beings are Designed to Run Without Shoes

Man has run for thousands of years with little or no shoes. In fact, many tribes today (including the Tarahumara) run hundreds of miles with only thin sandals. The human foot was made to run on its own:

Your foot’s centerpiece is the arch, the greatest weight-bearing design ever created. The beauty of any arch is the way it gets stronger under stress; the harder you push down, the tighter its parts mesh. Push up from underneath and you weaken the whole structure.

In other words, adding support under an arch actually weakens it. In the same way, adding undue support via thickly padded shoes weakens your feet. Nike actually admitted as much when they created their Nike Free line of shoes that had little padding and were created to “strengthen the foot muscles.”

As cited in the book:

When shoes are doing the work, tendons stiffen and muscles shrivel. Work them out and they’ll arc up. ‘I’ve worked with the best Kenyan runners,’ says Hartmann, ‘and they all have marvelous elasticity in their feet. That comes from never running in shoes until you’re 17.’

At this point, you may be convinced as I was that there is something to this barefoot running, but how in the world can we try it out with sharp rocks and broken glass all over our neighborhood sidewalk? Enter Vibram Five Fingers:

They may look a little strange, but they simulate barefoot running while still giving your foot the protection it needs to run in our modern world. They received the Time Best Invention of 2007 and are widely promoted by hardcore barefoot runners including the famed Barefoot Ted who’s worn them in ultramarathons.

Conclusion

Not only is a great read, but this book challenges everything we’ve been taught about running.

It ends with a magical race through the Copper Canyons of Mexico pitting the best of the Tarahumara against the best ultramarathon runners in the US. After you finish it, you’ll want to rip off your shoes and run for hours into the setting sun. Highly recommended!

The human foot is a work of art and a masterpiece of engineering.
—Leonardo Da Vinci

Tags: Barefoot, Born to Run

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Bryant August 3rd, 2009

This weekend we celebrated the life of Patricia Jennings Hitchcock (Molly’s grandmother). She was unique in many ways, but one phrase that stands out is that she never grew old. Even at 89 years old, she was a bundle of energy and enthusiasm for all to behold. Her eyes would always twinkle at the mention of hiking the trails, chopping wood, or sharing a cup of tea with friends.

Even her memorial service was unique and indicative of her. First, she planned it all in detail before her death. How many people take the time plan their own memorial service down to the readings and participants? Second, there were over 200 people present which is a testament to her gift of deeply connecting with those around her. Finally, it took place in her beloved Donald Park that she contributed her farmland to, and helped to build day-in and day-out to the very end.

During much reflection, I’ve tried to determine what it is that made her special and forever young. There are five traits that stand out to me as quintessentially Pat:

• Seek Out Adventure: When she was in her twenties she road her motorcycle across the US. In mid-life, she traveled to remote areas of Nepal to chronicle the people that lived there. She visited New Zealand and at 87 she rode on horseback many miles around her farm. She was always ready for the next adventure and truly focused on experiences over stuff in her life.
• Find a Cause: The last quarter century of her life was devoted to building a park and restoring the natural prairie of Wisconsin. She coordinated volunteers every Tuesday and threw herself into park chores. I feel like this was one of the secrets to her long health. She had a reason to stay around to make sure that the natural beauty of her land was preserved.
• Grow from Tragedy: Two of her children died tragically and rather than being broken for the rest of her life, she grew from those experiences and become a more open, empathetic and caring person.
• Love People: Her hospitality was unparalleled. You knew that if you stopped by her farm, she *would* be glad to see you and have a cup of tea waiting. She loved people and had a gift of making everyone feel special.
• Never Stop Learning: She was a voracious reader her entire life and loved talking about the latest book she was reading. She was a continuous seeker of the truth in religious matters and all of life. At about age 80, she saw my college biology book and asked if she could borrow it to study

If we could only emulate some of these in our lives perhaps we can carry on a bit of her legacy and stay forever young ourselves. So long Granny Pat and Godspeed! Thanks for everything you taught us…

If you seek his memorial, look around you.

-Epitaph for Christopher Wren (architect of St Paul’s Cathedral)

Tags: Pat Hitchcock

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