Footstrike debate

[Phaedrus49er]

Heelstrike, forefoot, midfoot, which do you prefer/advocate?

Getting into the running game with relatively very little knowledge about stride mechanics beyond a half-day crash course from Mike Mejia and Anthony Galvin way back when, I naturally started out with a heelstrike and stuck with it until about two weeks ago. Up to that point, I had knee and ankle soreness, that whole tibialis anterior numbness, and faster pace times. A couple weeks ago, I moved to a mid/forefoot strike (balls of the feet), getting the expected hammering in the calves, but my joint issues have disappeared (I noticed they never showed up after sprint work--mid/forefoot striking), my upper legs are less fatigued during and after a run, and my times have slowed.

I know there are different methods out there like barefoot and POSE, but for the love of Pete (or Mahler or whoever), which is anatomically and evolutionarily more natural and less harmful?

(I bring this up after getting some new shoes today, which took almost two hours--I'm picky--so I had a lot of time to chat up the workers in the store, and all said a heelstrike is safer and more natural.)

[twinsavsvikingsfan]

I don't know what any of it really even means. I just run.

[UpNorth]

Forefoot all the way.

I moved to a shoe that has no support last winter which forces me to run forefoot. I look at built up running shoes with the cushy heel, stiff lateral support and high arch like I look at a weight belt: If you're marathon training use the support to help you train the long miles, just like a powerlifter would use a weight belt for the big lifts, but for everything else you're better off building up your own natural support system.

My performance did drop with the switch from heel strike to forefoot but proper mechanics and long-term health are more important to me.

BTW -- heel strike is not natural. Try running that way barefoot. It hurts.

[BamaDave]

I never used to worry/think about any of this either and just ran -- and only started working on it after my iliotibial band syndrome problem developed.

I don't see how a heelstrike is more "natural." If you try running barefoot sometime for a short distance, you won't strike on your heel - you'll hit up in the ball of the foot. But obviously many people run fine with a heelstrike and don't have serious injury problems.

I've been working on landing more forward for a couple of months. I've had the same experience - much less fatigue in the upper legs. Especially in the hamstrings - much less tight than in the past. I used to always be tight/stiff in the hammies. On the other hand, my calves are pretty fatigued, and I sometimes have some shin pain. This is not as bad as when I first started.

I'm not sure what to say about POSE, ChiRunning, etc. I bought both of those books but haven't read much of either. I don't think I can handle that much thought input into how to run. LOL!! My understanding is that the crucial things to work on are landing more forward on the foot, speeding up cadence/ shortening strides (don't reach way forward with the lead leg), land on the foot in line with the hip (same deal - don't reach out with the foot), run with a slight forward lean from the ankles (not the waist), and focus on not bouncing up and down when running --- shouldn't have a big impact when you land or a big loud thump with the feet. Way before I had an interest in this, I read that runners should imagine themselves being pulled forward by a string attached to their navels. Ordinarily I don't do well with "visualization" stuff, but for some reason that actually helped me minimize up and down motion. Also, arm swinging is supposed to be minimal - not a lot of wild flailing, etc.

I think the POSE technique is likely excellent. Lots of positive feedback from people who use it. There are forums on the POSEtech website. The major pitfall is that its proponents make it sound very difficult, almost impossible to master, etc. I think that's one of the major reasons it hasn't caught on in a more mainstream way. Not many runners want to take a prolonged "time out" to work on a technique that's hard to master.

My running paces have slowed since I started working on biomechanics, which doesn't thrill me. So I'm having to balance that with my desire not to suffer another major running-related injury. From what I understand, with time and adaptation, paces come back with the forefooting technique - so I'll keep trying to be patient!

[GG300]

Whatever part of my foot happenss to be closest to the side walk when my leg gets tired is what hits first. Heel strike is what I use but I agree with Jeff that I don't think it is natural or safer. #0 years ago when I played High Scholl Tennis all (at least until you got lazy) of your running was done on the balls or forefooot as it is much quicker of the start. Stops and slides were for the heels.

[Phaedrus49er]

Reaching back into the archives, I remember a long day at the beach spent playing football, ultimate frisbee, and smear-the-queer At that time, I wasn't running at all, but at the end of the day, my upper legs weren't overly fatigued compared to my calves, and both ankles felt slightly sprained (amazing how long you can stay out there with a revolving door of bikini-clad co-eds looking for people to play with). The main difference was that this was all barefoot running on compacted sand, so it was a perfect experiment (had I been thinking that way at the time).

I agree with a barefoot heelstrike being damn near impossible--your bodyweight compounded putting all its landing force on a bony protrusion with a fairly thin layer of skin and tissue and nothing else? That just doesn't jibe in my mind--the force is absorbed in the knees and hips at that point. A forestrike uses the natural suspension system of both the foot and lower leg muscles and ligaments to both absorb impact forces and release stored kinetic energy--energy that in a heelstrike must come from the upper legs, hence more fatigue.

***don't mind me--I'm rambling while thinking out loud***

I ventured over to that bastion of visual information known as YouTube and found some interesting stuff (look for keywords such as: running, form, POSE, sprint, etc). These four videos caught my attention (the second is a bit long):

EDIT: apparently I/we can't embed Flash video at this time, so here are the links:

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11KWMKfalJo
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WibWjSEw-F4 (this one sometimes doesn't like to load)
3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l7shlh_XTA
4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JvBHvBXyXE (disregard the commercial )

Other than on some sites that sell shoes, I haven't found anything that promotes a heelstrike (same as with the running store yesterday). Scary thing is that one of the ladies I was having this discussion with is almost done with her NASM-PT certification. I guess there's no accounting for some things, but she did upsell me on some synthetic fiber socks

[BamaDave]

Smear-the-queer! LMAO!! I haven't heard that in, uh, um, 28 or 29 years.

[UpNorth]

Not much "debate" here

Those videos all look good, but in practice it is very difficult to get all the pieces right at the same time. I spent some months sort of spinning my wheels trying to do everything at once. I found the most helpful thing for me was to work on one aspect of my mechanics at a time. I took it pretty much in this order:

1. Land with foot under my center of gravity and with knee bent.
2. Minimize any bounce in my stride and land quietly.
3. Push hips a forward a bit (getting rid of my anterior pelvic tilt)
4. Lean forward at the ankles (not the hip) to get that "falling forward" feeling.
5. Minimize foot time on the ground.
6. Pull foot from the ground with my hamstring, not hip/quad and let it drop, don't push it forward.

I'm on #6 now and after many months of this it feels totally natural. The one thing I did wrong was to increase my miles too fast. I didn't give my foot and ankle enough time to adapt to increased strain and ended up hurt. So take it slow. You may take the stress off your knees and hips by landing forefoot but you just shift it to your foot, ankle and calves.

[GG300]

Holy Crap Jeff, just regular running is hard enough but if I had to concentrate that much when I was out there my brain would be fried when I was done. I like Jim's idea "I just run" or in my case shuffle.

[Phaedrus49er]

Originally Posted by UpNorth

1. Land with foot under my center of gravity and with knee bent.
2. Minimize any bounce in my stride and land quietly.
3. Push hips a forward a bit (getting rid of my anterior pelvic tilt)
4. Lean forward at the ankles (not the hip) to get that "falling forward" feeling.
5. Minimize foot time on the ground.
6. Pull foot from the ground with my hamstring, not hip/quad and let it drop, don't push it forward.

That's a great checklist, albeit specific to you. My order would be different, but since I just started, I still run with #1 front-and-center of mind (almost instinctual at this point) with #3 and #4 kind of squashed together as the next step for me. 2, 5, and 6 will kind of mesh as well, but that'll depend largely on how my hamstring rehab continues (still a measure of weakness there, plus it's still very tweakable if I don't carefully monitor everything I do).

[UpNorth]

Originally Posted by GG300

Holy Crap Jeff, just regular running is hard enough but if I had to concentrate that much when I was out there my brain would be fried when I was done. I like Jim's idea "I just run" or in my case shuffle.

I'm jealous! I wish I could "just run." It can be frustrating focusing so much on bio-mechanics but its the price I pay to keep running. Prior to this effort I couldn't run for more than 6 weeks (and modestly at that) before it felt like I had razor blades in my knee.

Phaed -- I was just throwing it out there to recommend taking it in bits and peices rather than going for it all at once. I'm certainly no expert at this!

[Phaedrus49er]

Originally Posted by UpNorth

I'm jealous! I wish I could "just run." It can be frustrating focusing so much on bio-mechanics but its the price I pay to keep running. Prior to this effort I couldn't run for more than 6 weeks (and modestly at that) before it felt like I had razor blades in my knee.

Yeah, I used to "just run," too, that is, until I had chronically sore knees and ankles, which I let slide, and some odd nerve impingement issues, which I couldn't let slide. More power to ya if you can keep it up!

Originally Posted by UpNorth

Phaed -- I was just throwing it out there to recommend taking it in bits and peices rather than going for it all at once. I'm certainly no expert at this!

Nor am I, but it's a good, SHORT list of things to monitor. As GG mentioned, it looks like a lot, but as with most seemingly complex things, hitting them progressively point-by-point builds both confidence and skill level. My first step was just concentrating on which part of my foot touched the ground first. Then it became where my foot landed in relation to my body. Next, it'll be focusing on more of a kick and pull with the hamstrings rather than just springing off my calves. Patience, grasshopper

[BamaDave]

#6 is the part I don't feel like worrying about. LOL!

[UpNorth]

Originally Posted by BamaDave

#6 is the part I don't feel like worrying about. LOL!

#6 is where all this mythological "efficiency" is supposed to be! I let you know if I reach nirvana with the hamstring pull

[Phaedrus49er]

Yesterday was my first race with this new footstrike, and I also had trouble with #6, but I did keep my brain chattering with monitoring my movements and focusing on parts that were lagging, which is a nice change since I usually just zone out with an MP3 player (didn't wear one yesterday). I still experience some abnormal soreness/discomfort in my recovering hamstring, so I'm not too concerned about #6 yet. Still some significant muscle reconnection to go before then.

[BamaDave]

Originally Posted by UpNorth

#6 is where all this mythological "efficiency" is supposed to be! I let you know if I reach nirvana with the hamstring pull

Will you still be able to communicate from Nirvana?

[Phaedrus49er]

Originally Posted by BamaDave

Will you still be able to communicate from Nirvana?

I hear roaming rates there are a b!tch...