I posted this earlier and it got deleted... wtf?
I did an out-and-back in light snow today and was horrified by the footprints I saw in the snow... my footprints! It looks like the angle of both foot at landing is about 10-15 degrees off, with my toes pointing out from my heels. How bad is this? Should I correct this? What kinds of forms or training can I do to correct this?
how old are you? if you're older, i think it may be too late. you're gonna feel awkward to a new stance/form.
yeah, mid 30s. I don't know if I ran like this in HS. What is "normal" and how much would this impact my speed?
Correct your form ASAP!
You have plenty of time to improve your PRs!
hips. hips. hips.
any answer you hear will likely be about strengthening your hips - glute median stuff, etc.
there may be no change in that angle, but that wide angle could be a result of weak hips.
there may be a difference in that angle depending on heel strike vs forefoot striking.
google "splayed feet" / search on running times - they might have some coach jay johnson fixes. i think scott douglas had a piece on it in pfitz's advanced marathoning.
That's an illusion caused by the wearing of shoes, which unnaturally push the big toe sideways to align with the other metatarsals.
People who don't wear shoes have big toes that point well inward, so that they point directly forward when the feet themselves are at an off angle.
It is normal for the heel to be closer to the midline than the forefoot. There's no need to correct it.
Look at 3:12 of this video.
Bad Wigins wrote:
That's an illusion caused by the wearing of shoes, which unnaturally push the big toe sideways to align with the other metatarsals.
People who don't wear shoes have big toes that point well inward, so that they point directly forward when the feet themselves are at an off angle.
It is normal for the heel to be closer to the midline than the forefoot. There's no need to correct it.
Look at 3:12 of this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5odgPYB3yU
Thanks. I was hoping the answer was something along the lines of "it's gotta be the shoes!"
BW with the loads of BS again. You will leave the same footfprints, shoes or not.
I run with shoes and without and my feet land in a straight line purely because that's how my feet and legs align.
Steve Cram had legs twice as strong and they were all over the place and they would be no matter what he did to change it.
So you're saying if you want to be an anonymous nobody, land with a front-back alignment, and if you want to be fast, land naturally like Cram. Good point.
Here's a good view of Cram's excellent form powering around a turn from 1:37 to 1:40.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lMsXGYbiio
You probably haven't run barefoot long enough to cure your hallux valgus. It takes years.
OP, it's not your shoes, it's normal in spite of your shoes.