au naturale
it’s not what you think. really.
for the past month or so i’ve been experimenting with what is widely labeled as “natural running” – – which is essentially moving towards having my mid-foot strike the ground first versus my heel. this retooling effort is mainly due to scoring a gift certificate to the Revolution Natural Running & Walking Center who outfitted me in a pair of Newton Sir Issac running shoes.
while i likely ran more often with a mid-foot stride in high school and college, i’ve been a heel striker for many miles since. before lacing up the new shoes, i took some time to review Newton’s advice on Adjusting to Your New Running Shoes and watched a few of their videos on their youtube channel.
essentially, i began using the shoes for 20-30 minutes of my workout for a week or so and feeling no discomfort i slowly added more time with them. after using the shoes for a few weeks, i took a look at the soles and noticed they were showing signs of wear on the heels more than the mid-foot. it was back to the drawing board for me as i reduced the time i’d run in them and really focused on landing mid-foot then letting my heel hit. honestly, after more than twenty years of running it has felt rather odd to actually think about how i run.
overall i’ve been pleased with the Newton’s and my progress towards retooling my stride a bit. while visiting my family in Michigan over the Fourth of July, i even shared the news with my dad; an avowed and proselytizing heel-striker. he took the news in stride although i wish i had my camera at the ready when i initially dropped it on him. classic.
as of late i’ve backed off on both the duration and intensity of my training to allow for a bit of recovery. (hey dad, i didn’t say “rest”.) after racing four times in a five week span, i’m content with not having any firm racing plans for the month and my focus remains on trying to keep my right achilles in check.
7/7 – 7 miles (first day being eligible for M40-44)
7/8 – 6 miles
7/9 – 5 miles
7/10 – off
7/11 – 6 miles
7/12 – 5 miles
7/13 – 6 miles
7/14 – off
7/15 – 6 miles
MTD – 69.25 miles (12/15 days)
YTD – 1,186 miles (171/197 days)
Odometer – 33,911 miles