I met a guy, Wayne Kurtz (www.racetwitch.com) who does Deca’s. Never heard of one? Neither had I. Ten Ironman’s in ten days! Crazy, right? I had to know how a person avoids injury in all the training required for this? He graciously spent an hour on the phone with me and had all kinds of great ideas. Most notably, STAY OFF THE ROADS! Even if you are the pinnacle of “chi running mid-foot strike” form, the relentless consistency of hitting the pavement the same way stride after stride for hours on end is bound to develop unwanted impairments in your ankles and other areas. He suggested running on trails, grass, ditches, gravel... anything you can find but roads. Wayne says to build strength in your ankle with mixing up the surface and including bilateral exercises throughout the week.


No better place to get off pavement than just about anywhere in the U.P.!

Mid-Foot Strike

Mid-foot strike running is all the craze. Having struggled with knee and shin issues, I was looking for a more comfortable and natural form of running and wanted to learn more. A friend introduced me to the book “Chi Running” by Danny Dryer (www.chirunning.com). Danny says “running doesn’t cause injuries, running incorrectly does.” He teaches people how to run like they did when they were kids, a slight lean forward, efficient, with a mid-foot strike. Some people run this way naturally, and post incredible results at races. When I first got into running I was a classic heel striker working hard for every second taken off my mile pace. Chi Running was the perfect introduction to running with a mid-foot strike. I learned how to fall my way faster rather than pull my way forward.

Shoe Experimentation

My road to transformation hasn’t been all positive, but admittedly it would have gone much better if I had listened to experts advice. After reading Chi Running I was excited to get started and bought a pair of Vibram 5 Finger shoes. I love them for hiking around, especially in spots like Marquette’s Presque Isle black rocks. But they didn’t work well for me on the road. Even Vibram’s website cautioned that someone new to their shoes doesn’t run further than a 1/4 mile or so. But I thought I had a good grasp of proper form, and went out for a short 3 mile jog. Big mistake! I overstretched my planter fascia on my left foot and had issues with it for the rest of the year. It would take many months and shoe experiments later before I realized that it takes much more than just good form to run without injury.


For many years I had coddled my feet in thick padded shoes with a highly elevated heel. All the muscles, tendons and tiny bones were not nearly ready to embrace what I was asking of them. If I had combined my running form with proper foot strengthening and mobility, and eased into it, then my experience would have gone much better. I went from a 12 millimeter heel with tons of extra cushion to literally nothing. I tried Nike Free’s 5.0 (should have done the 3.0) and then Neuton’s Gravity (should have bought Sir Isaac). Finally I went to Hanson’s Running Store and spoke to one of their experienced runner’s who introduced me to the Brook’s Pure Flo. It struck the correct balance between how I wanted to run and what I was ready for.

Injuries

I was anxious to try his advice, just as soon as I mended my lingering ankle injury. Looking for a more proactive solution other than just ice and rest, I eventually stumbled across this website, www.rehabanklesprain.com. Hesitant to buy a program like this on-line, but desperately looking for something new, I bit the $19 bullet.


Everybody’s injury is unique, and a trained professional/medical practitioner should give the proper diagnosis on what level of rehab is suitable for you. But for me this program was a lifesaver. Scott Malin (founder) made tons of sense as he described that an injury causes atrophy in other areas of the ankle during the ice and rest periods. And without building back the ankle you will be prone to repeated injuries. It seemed exactly what was happening with me, and I committed to his program. Within a few months I was finally back to normal activities with more strength and flexibility than I’d had in years.


On a related note, I had struggled with recurring back pain for decades that would occasionally keep me out of many active sports. After one particularly bad bout lasting for most of a year, someone introduced me to an inversion table. For me this worked miracles. In just a couple of weeks I was running around like nothing ever happened. I know other people that have used one with no results. Every back injury is unique, but I’d be sure to ask your medical professional if an inversion table might be right (and not harmful) for you.


This season I’m training smart, listening to the experts about ramping up training very slowly (it’s hard to run for a number of weeks with a long run of no more than 3 miles!), mixing up my running surfaces and across all disciplines continuously improving my form. Hopefully I’m still enjoying this sport and many other activities well into my golden years.

Which Shoe is Right For You??

At first I was very excited with these shoes. The salesman at the Neuton factory tried to talk me out of them and into their Sir Isaac’s instead (the Sir Isaac is for people who have not perfected the form/developed their foot strength yet). But I didn’t want a stepping stone shoe. That turned out to be a mistake. I did run a Half Ironman in them, but continued to have nagging foot, ankle and even knee issues. These shoes have zero lift from heel to toe. I think there is great potential with these shoes and will dust them off again someday in the future. But I should have taken Neuton’s advice, and not taken their most neutral option first.

These Brooks Pure Flo’s finally struck the proper cord between natural running and protection. It took one of Hanson’s tremendous running guys to explain it, but I needed a shoe that would help me pursue the style of running I was after, yet give enough protection for a foot that wasn’t ready to go all out. It only took a few runs for me to realize what I had been doing wrong with shoe selection. I don’t know if these are the shoes that I will ultimately graduate into, but at least for this season I have no reason to change. They have 4mm lift in the heel, as compared to a more traditional shoe which is 10 mm or more. Brooks says they are good for 250-300 miles. Almost on cue, when I hit 250 miles my ankle got a little sore. Sure enough, there was considerable breakdown of the shoe and it was time to replace them.

Nike was quick to respond to the mid-foot strike market with their Free line. Most of the Nike Free’s out there are their 3.0 version. This has only a slight elevation from toe to heel. Their 5.0 version are rated to be neutral. Since I was looking for a pure mid-foot strike natural running shoe, I chose their 5.0 version. That was a mistake. My foot just wasn’t ready for the switch. I wear these shoes around all the time, but I stopped wearing them for running after just a few runs. On my first run with them I brought back the planter fascia injury I incurred with running for too far too fast in Vibram 5 Fingers. I think they are very comfortable and fun shoes. But I should have at least started off wearing the 3.0’s first.

You may have to experiment. I tried four shoes before I got it right. Below are some dirt on the top three.

Slight Lean Forward

Mid-foot Strike