Today's topic: stride length and how to check it (see below)

Today was only my third day back on regular run-to-work routine, after several weeks of very scattered work done mostly on the treadmill, but I was amazed (again) at how quickly things start to settle into place. One of the first things I have come to notice when starting back is a general lack of balance. This isn't something I ever picked up on until after I overhauled my technique several years ago. Fascinating how now its the first thing I notice. That will more or less be my topic today after my basic run report (see below).

So what I really noticed today was that just walking up the stairwell out of the train station I felt more springy and motivated. Physical and mental. This is only my third day back (ran Monday and Wednesday this week as well), but that quickly I feel a little bump. I have been through this more times than I care to admit, but as a result I also know at this point in the process I have to be careful not to get overzealous. Flow is good, but sticking to a plan, especially one that was based in solid prior experience, is important if I don't want to pay a price tomorrow.

I usually walk a bit before I start to run, but I just felt like going, so in this detail I went with it. Yup, absolutely -- in those first few meters I knew I got over a little hump. Even though I know this so well, I still doubted myself on Monday, when it just felt too hard. Then again, that is part of the aging process, I believe -- every time I take off, I am indeed a little older than the last time I came back.

So I stuck to the plan and repeated my route form the other days, but this time felt the call, so I detoured into the public restrooms in City Hall. Perhaps I will post about that in the future -- the importance of knowing the location of public restroom on the various run-to-work routes (my favorite is in the basement of the Comcast Building, since I cut the cable cord a few years ago and always feel like a freeloader :).

Not much to report, except that it went well, and I am already looking forward to the run home after work. Some of you may have seen my previous title Run to Work (or Work to Run) The significance of that title is that sometimes I really do feel like I go to work just for the excuse to go running!

The Things That Bounce Around My Head While Doing It

So I mentioned balance, and I how I notice that I am out of balance when I start back after a break. What does that really mean? Well, I practice a very low-impact, mid-foot technique that I first learned from Danny Dreyer through his ChiRunning program. I am no affiliated with ChiRuning anymore, although I was a certified instructor for several years, but I do owe Danny a big shoutout because he literally changed my life. That will be a future post as well, but for now I will just say that I went from a string of injuries back when I first got back into serious competition as an adult to zero injuries for several years. Age and my choice of events changed that over time (I really prefer competing in sprints over distance, and that presents a whole different set of issues) but I don't get hurt anymore when I run at a comfortable pace.

So back to balance. With a midfoot strike, you use your whole foot to absorb the downward force on each step, with the arch acting as a shock absorber. In contrast, when you run more aggressively on your forefoot you need to hold tension in your arch to absorb the downward pressure in the ball of the foot. This is not a bad way to run, although a lot of people begin to be less tolerant of the strain it puts on the lower legs as they age. That was my case, and I had terrible compartment syndrome, which led to micro tears in my calves every time I felt like I was getting somewhere in my training. When you run midfoot, or rather in order to run midfoot, you need to be aware of total body posture and core engagement, as it requires your center of mass to be positioned properly over your center of gravity. Center of mass is a point in your middle, slightly above your waist, and center of gravity is the point where your body balances on the ground. How you hold your posture shifts the location of your center of balance either forward or backward (and hopefully not side to side). By taking the time to develop a true midfoot strike, I have become very aware of balance, and this in turn makes me realize, as a runner and coach, that balance is really what its all about.

I also noticed on my run today that I had some mild knee pain. I did some plyometrics and a-skip stairs at my local track yesterday, which is likely the cause of the pain, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't troubleshoot today. A common cause of knee pain (and apparently a lot of other running injuries) is over striding. In a nutshell, everyone has an ideal stride length based on their own body, but that stride length also increases relative to the speed, or velocity, at which one is running. Running very slowly, we have a very short stride, and as we increase the stride opens up. The key is to keep the stride short enough that we do not begin to make impact with our foot in front of our center of gravity. Doing so is what causes a heel strike, which essentially puts the breaks on with each step, but more important, can cause too much impact and stress to the legs, traveling up through every joint. If the stride stays appropriately compact, one need only lift their heels to keep forward momentum going, allowing for a much more gentle way of moving.

If you think you need to shorten your stride, my advice is to not think about shortening your stride. I am kind of kidding, but what I really mean is to realize that stride length is the result of other things happening in the stride cycle, and I find that simply telling someone to shorten their stride usually doesn't work very well, or at least very quickly. Instead, try standing in place, in good poster, and well balanced on both feet. Imagining a string connected to the back of the heel, imagine simply pulling the string straight up through your corresponding butt cheek, pulling the heel straight up off the ground to the butt cheek. If you do this correctly it is a very simple motion. It is the simplest motion to raise the heel up. As you do so your knee will bend and rise up, and when your heel is elevated up to your butt, your thigh will end up at about a 45 degree angle. Try it with one leg a few times, then the other, and then try walking in place like that. Once you get the feel for it, try walking that way as a moving drill, similar to high knees. But keep in mind, this is slightly different than high knees and mimics a natural running stride. I have come to call them "heel-butts." Once you get the hang of walking that way, try running heel-butts. Slowly move forward about 20 meters while doing the drill, similar to doing butt kicks, but instead of lifting the knees, just pull the heels up to the butt.

After a few of those, try doing a few short striders, as as you are running, just focus on pulling the heel up in the same way. There is a slight transition from the drill to actual running, but you will make sense of it quickly. Now, at this point you are likely still exaggerating the motion a little, and what you now want to do is slow down, and just let your heels lift only as high off the ground as necessary to get a relatively small stride cycle going. Tell yourself to move forward using as little energy as possible. If you had to keep running indefinitely, but it didn't matter how slow, run like that. This drill will help you get a sense for the relative stride length that is appropriate for the given speed at which you are moving.

If things are going well at this point, the next step is to just start increasing your speed, and as you do so, feel how your heel lift (the heel-butt motion) naturally increases. If you have followed my directions to a "t" then at this point you might notice that you haven't been thinking about stride length at all. There is no need to. But, now that I mentioned it, this would be the point where you note your stride length, and that it is probably a little shorter than before. It is more appropriate. If you are still heel striking, then something when a little haywire, and you should go back to the beginning, standing in place and just lifting the heels up, etc.

This is obviously a little difficult to teach in writing, as you are likely sitting at a computer, or looking at your phone while riding the bus or something. If you ar goign to try it for real, here is a quick bulleted review and step-by-step guide:

The Heel-Butt Drill for Checking Stride Length

• Stand in place and lift heel to butt as if pulling a string
• Other leg
• Alternate legs, walking in place
• Walk forward
• Jog in place
• Jog forward
• Run slowly allowing the adjustment from the heel-butt drill to a more natural heel-butt run, lifting heels only as high as necessary to move forward.
• Gradually increase speed, allowing heels to float up naturally
• Check stride length

So, to conclude, as I mentioned, during my run today I felt some mild knee pain. I used that as a reminder to check my stride, and as soon as I focused on heel-butts, and then my gentle heel lift, I felt the pain ease away. So, the reminder here is that even though I am still fairly certain the pain was "caused" by my workout yesterday, it doesn't mean I also do not need to evaluate and correct my technique. Good technique requires focus and work, but once it is achieved it isn't permanent. Using pain as an indicator to focus on what you are doing is a very good practice for any runner to adopt.

As I have mentioned elsewhere, I will soon be heading up a 5K training program for beginners and experienced runner alike with #runningproject. Follow me and/or @runningproject and look for an introductory post about the program next week.

Also, check out #runforsteem, and this week's challenge post by @jumowa: Weekly Run for Steem Challenge Feb 12th - Feb 19th & Payout For Last Week and consider getting on board.

That's it for now.