VIDEO OF WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU RUN IN MINIMALIST SHOES

I was just watching this video, commenting to my wife how crazy runners are. I think it is interesting, however you probably have a nice placebo effect going on. Focus more on core strength, and less on your heel strike. George Young, one of the only Americans to compete in 4 Olympics games...was a heel striker.

Go figure.

and calm down.

jaguar1 wrote:

Oh yeah, I'd suggest taking a barefoot video as well. Then, you could compare being barefoot to wearing the Pumas.

I will do just that tomorrow. Thanks kirky, jaguar1, zubrek, and others for the input. I didn't even notice the difference in "pawing" between the two different footstrikes.

Thanks for sharing the video. This is the cool thing about Letsrun. I am not a biomechanics guy or an exercise phys guy, but I sure have learned a lot on Letsrun about these topics and have been able to apply it to myself.

Since you went to all this trouble, why didn't you film yourself running with the old shoes and then with the new ones.

Otherwise all you are doing is saying: "this is me slapping my feet down and now......this is me not slapping my feet down."

I'm a big fan of minimalist shoes, I use the Nike waffle spikes, but your presentation was confusing and unconvincing.

Dude, do you shave you legs? What are you some kind of queer? Seriously you are running awefully slow in that video. That looks like 9 minute/mile pace. I don't know if you were running so slow because you were trying to tape yourself, or if it is because you are just really slow. Oh, wait, I just checked out your PRs. You're just slow. And why are you running a marathon in may? Its obvious from your PRs that you are a speed guy. 15:50 5k-2:45 marathon. You should be running the 1500/mile.

Hey NY Runner, what is team fartlek and how do I join? I like the logo and see you have made some improvements, injuries and all. How do I get in contact with the coach? You should sell some team fartlek gear on your website. I think that logo on a singlet would look sweet. Are there requirements to join?

Jerry, get yourself healthy before training in those shoes.

Fred ran a 32:02 in the H-streets last outdoor season but only wears them in workouts a few times a month. Get a pair of the ontisuka tigers first and work your way down.

Thanks for the video, Jerry - interesting stuff and a great website as well.

kirky wrote:

You need to do some serious core strength work, and loads of stretching through your hips...you seriously lack and extension through the hips. You might also benefit from some skipping and bounding exercises to give you some knee drive, you are just shuffling along in that at video.

my thoughts exactly. you seem to have zero knee drive.

2x a week with plyometrics would do infinitely more for you than switching to minimalist shoes.

don't put the cart before the horse.

Jerry,

It's obvious from your PR's that you are a strong runner, none of us can doubt that here. I am concerned however about your history of injuries. I took a look at your training log and started selecting dates from various times last year. Each date I selected (and I'm not exaggerating here) came back with mention of either being injured or just coming back from injury. What's up with that? While I'm a minimalist shoe guy myself (have been for years), I feel on looking at your last years training that there are some fundamental mistakes keeping you at such a low yearly mileage that need to be fixed before worrying about external (shoe) factors. I want to suggest that you worry less about pace and more about aerobic conditioning. Five 7 minute miles is fine, but why not 12 8 minute ones? I think you are running too quickly and putting too much stress on your body. You might consider (and feel free to ignore me, I'm bored at work) getting a heart rate monitor (if you don't already use one). When you are fit, go to the track and run an 800 all out, rest 2 minutes and then run a 400 flat out and find our your maximum hr (most likely the final reading). Train at 70 - 75% of this for at least 2 to 3 months and then implement some faster work. You need to build strength to avoid injuries and allow you to build speed.

Jerry, your slow (compared to your 5K) marathon time supports Lastly Norman's theory. My recent PRs are 16:23/2:38. Nothing to brag about here, but some indication that your marathon time is out-of-wack.

This thread should be titled:

VIDEO OF WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HEAR YOUR FOOT SPLAPPING THE TREADMILL AND CHANGE YOUR FORM

If you want this to be more accurate you need to spend 6 months running in trainers, then videotape. Then spend six months running in minimalist shoes, then video tape. (This will still allow for bias, but it will be 100 times more accurate than this video.)

Lastly Norman does have some very good points. I'd even suggest trying a stint up at altitude. Besides using a heartrate monitor, the altitude training will teach you to train slower and develop better aerobically before progessing towards speed. This focus on endurance combined with the change in shoes should make a huge difference.

Whatever the case, this has provided some good discussion. I agree with the people above though, that you need to get strong before worrying about speed. With a 15:50 5k, how knows how fast you might be able to run a marathon.

i think that you must already have good leg-strength/balance before starting running good/100% of (your) mileage in flats otherwise you'll get injured pretty quick.

Starting with easy drills barefeet, hills, plyos and then patiently beginning running more and more miles in flats...shouldnt be a problem.

Wait, you are trying to avoid heelstriking while training? WTF.

Ever heard of plantar fasciitis? Keep training on your toes and you will soon...

Forget about the shoes, you need to seriously work on your flexibility from the hips down.

Wow, thanks for all the good advice/comments everyone. Yes, I have had many issues with training in the past year. After my most recent injury I had planned on focusing more on aerobic running and building up a decent base prior to focusing on dropping my avg. min/mile pace back down to where it was.

I will also incorporate the core strengthening and flexibility advice several of you have mentioned. I must admit that I haven't stretched in the past and I have never done plyometrics or drills of any sort. Thank you all.

How exactly does one go about improving flexibility from the hips down? Stretching solely?

Jerry, as others have mentioned your 5k is out of wack with your other PR's. Are you sure it was an accurate course? Was it USATF certified, or was it just your local fun run? Maybe your 2:45 marathon and your true 5k ability are actually in line. I'm guessing you are more of a 16:30 guy. My advice is don't try to radically change your form. If you are a heal striker, then stay with it. Just get some shoes that are good for heal strikers. I say, stay away from the H-Streets, get some Nike Shox. And why did you go to Potsdam? They really suck. And how does the coach let you train the way you do? You went from almost 0 mileage over the summer to running 110+ in the fall. No wonder you got hurt. Whoever Potsdam's coach is should be fired. And you might also want to take some video editing classes. That was terrible.