Newfound Endurance

Staying Strong

Now injury free and with newfound endurance I kept on with the long miles and back to back weekend long runs.  Where in previous years I might have peaked around 65 miles per week and averaged 50 MPW, I was now running consistent 60+ mile weeks and peaking at over 90 on multiple occasions.  I kept up with all the trail running, typically tacking on some trail after a Saturday morning long run, doing all my Sunday running on trails, and even a mid-week mid-length run on the trails if my knees or shins were feeling at all sore.

My endurance has been feeling off the charts as of late.  The funny thing is, after reaching a new mileage peak (current peak weak was 94 miles) I don't feel tired or worn down - as long as I am eating enough and taking in enough fluids I have felt great!  However, this time around I know better than to push on - instead, the weak after a peak week is always a step back to allow time for my body to recover, even if my mind doesn't think I need it.

Even with all the miles I have tried to use a "conservative" approach.  Some days I will cut my mileage short, or opt for a 2-a-day.  If I am feeling close to injured, I will take an unplanned rest day and maybe replace a workout with a spinning class.  I try to do some weights/strengthening every other week too.  I am a bit concerned about losing speed, so I have been keeping up track workouts and tempo-interval runs but only on a bi-weekly basis, and never during a peak mileage week.

Another thing that I believe leads to injury is keeping up the hard track work and tempos even during peak weeks.  I've heard the strategy of choosing between high-mileage OR speed work.  While you don't have to completely choose between 1 or the other, you shouldn't really stack them together and not expect to be at best fatigued, and at worst injured.

Circle of shoes! Just a few pairs of shoes I run in.
Starting at "midnight" and going clockwise: Newton Sir Isac (natural
 strikers), Saucony FastTwitch (racing shoes), Solomon XA Pro 3D
Ultra (Trail shoes),  Saucony Mirage (lightweight trainers),
Saucony Stabils (clunky, motion controllers)

Changing the Way I Run

For years now I have been frustrated as an over-pronating runner.  From the start I was fitted in stability or motion-control shoes to correct this.  These are often made for people with a low-arch or flat feet, however even with a medium foot arch it was still obvious that I needed lots of stability.  These got me through my miles but weren't helping the problem, just finding a way to mitigate it in the meantime.  Wearing clunky, stability shoes with a huge heal-to-toe drop isn't a big deal to newer runners, but once you start getting fast it becomes really annoying, holding you back from your potential.  I've had racing shoes for short races (5ks mostly), but running much more than that in them more than likely leads to injury.

For years I had tried strengthening my calves, arches, and ankles, weening myself off the motion control shoes into moderate stability models, and sometimes just ignoring that infamous inward roll.  I sought out advice from running stores, semi-elites, and internet sources.  All I ever seemed to hear was just stuff like "you run the way you run", "you can't change your gait", or (worst of all even though its supposed to be motivating), "don't worry about that! just run to have fun!".  Getting smoked by dudes less fit than me who get to run in 6 oz. racing flats is not fun.

Then the barefoot running and minimalist craze kind of hit a couple years ago.  First I was highly skeptical (and still am of complete barefoot running) but a lot of research started to come out that was rooted in the scientific process and made logical sense.  Everyone wants a quick and easy fix, and let me be the first to tell you that you can't just "add barefoot and let nature do the rest".  What all the advertisements and findings don't tell you is that you have to change the way you run, and that it won't happen overnight.  Although I thought I was mid-foot striking when I run, I am definitely a heal-striker.

WRONG way to land - strike on heal first, quickly rolling onto
mid-foot/ arch area, push off with forefoot.

Right way to land - touch down on forefoot, next mid foot
touches, and "kisses" the heal before liftoff.

The way to change this is to slowly start striking at the ball of your foot, toward the front.  You don't need minimalist shoes to do this, though they make it more intuitive.  If you get minimalist footwear with a low heal-to-toe drop and continue running how you did before (most likely striking at the heal first) you will get injured - sore calves at best and easily Achilles tendinitis.  This is because the seemingly small difference of heal height/cushioning causes your ankle and calf to do extra work, and your Achilles to lengthen and shorten differently each time you strike.  The way I was able to ease into a mid-foot strike was, still in my old shoes, aim for the ball when running uphill (its more intuitive when running uphill), land on the ball and lower my heal just enough to barely "kiss" the pavement, taking quick, small steps.  My calves would get sore from the added workload, but are starting to get used to it.

I later got a pair of Newtons, a shoe unlike most other shoes on the market.  Newtons are designed to be mid to fore-foot striking shoes, but unlike most minimal footwear have "lugs" up front to give you some cushioning too.  They also make you more efficient as a runner: less of the braking associated with heal striking, less up and down bobbing motion, encourages quicker steps, and the less impact per step should dictate a faster recovery.  This new approach still might not be the best for beginners or anyone who only runs to try and lose weight, but for faster, more experienced runners its worth a try.  They are turning me into a believer.  I am still running about 1/3 of my mileage in standard running shoes and 1/3 now in my Newtons (and 1/3 on trails in my trail shoes). This still isn't a cure-all but I am hopeful.