One foot in front of the other.
NYRR Half-Marathon Grand Prix: Brooklyn
Cleveland Marathon (Go Dave, Go!!)
Geist Half-Marathon (Go Joe, Go!!)
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Thanks so much for visiting my site! My name is Brandon Wood and I am the social media manager and a customer service rep for Newton Running. This site and podcast follow my adventures on the way to competing in and training for all kinds of endurance events, especially triathlon and running. Click the "About Me" tab for more info!
Who: This contest is open to anyone and everyone in the U.S. and Canada (also APO)! Tell your friends!
What: Stuffitts! I have spoken about these simple yet awesome shoe savers in the past. Click here to read more about them. I cannot say enough how great they are!
When: Starting NOW! This is an ongoing contest that will be every month, or until every person on the planet has nice, fresh smelling shoes!
Why: Because Stuffitts are awesome! The folks at Stuffitts are being SUPER generous and I also want to give you guys something that I think is a great addition to any athletes arsenal!
How: On the last podcast episode post of each month (example: Episode 99 on June 28 HERE) entrants should leave a comment (however long you'd like). On the following week's show (the first show of each month) I will draw, by random number generator, one winner! That's it!
Good luck!
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Hello Brandon:
Somehow, you have topped yourself! This was the finest podcast you have made. Your enthusiastic review of of the book, “Born to Run”, and your challenge to smile when running were inspiring as I did my morning pre-sunrise run. I am reminded of a quote by the great teacher of musicians and composers (Copland, Thomson etc), Nadia Boulanger, who wrote: “What is done without joy is zero!”
–Joe
Hi Brandon. I enjoyed you latest podcast. I was interested in the forefoot running topic. I get the science and it does make sense. What is your view on professionals and their use of the technique? Do any marathon pros use it? Why do you think that the best runners don’t use Newtons or other forefoot running shoe. Sponsorship could be an issue but if it could prevent injury or increase speed, wouldn’t Wanjiru, Lel or Gebrselassie use them? Not trying to be argumentative, just curious.
I did a big event on Sunday. It was a cyclosportive in the Lake District (north west England) covering 112 miles with about 14,000 feet of ascent. It was such a tough event but I did well. You can read my race report here: http://etape2009.blogspot.com/2009/05/toughest-sportive-of-them-all.html
In the UK, we’ve had Crocs for a while and personally, I think they are the ugliest things I have ever seen. All power to you if you like them but all the comfort in the world would get me into a pair.
Cheers,
Simon
Simon,
Awesome job on your event! I was reading up on it from your blog beforehand and it sounds amazing.
As for forefoot running; two names that leap to mind are Gebrselassie and Radcliffe, who are both midfoot/forefoot strikers. As a matter of fact, if you watch this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QgFsH1EhnQ&feature=related) you will see that the entire female front running group, including Goucher and Radcliffe are running without their heels touching the ground. And here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5x6V48IIQRQ) is a video of Gebrselassie running in slow motion. You will notice that he PURPOSELY pronates because that is what you foot is built to do. I would wager that most of the elite runners you see, are indeed running on their forefoot because landing on your heel and coming to a complete stop before you push through your stride is incredibly inefficient.
I have to assume that the fact that they’re not wearing Newtons or the only other forefoot running specific shoes; the New Balance 800 MF or the Ecco Biom line, is most likely a sponsorship thing.
As for Crocs, I felt the same way that you did about them in terms of a fashion thing, and truth be told, they’re still not my favorite looking thing ever. Then i tried them on!
A couple more things about forefoot/midfoot running. First, run barefoot, they way you were born. Do your heels hit the ground? No. Second, watch this video (http://brandonsmarathon.com/?p=484) from the folks at Newton, they do a much better job of explaining on video than I can in text!!
Again, congrats!!
BW
Hey Brandon. I caught Episode 41 while doing a workout on the bike machine. I was thinking that the tight legs from the listener who wrote in could be 1) running too hard up hills, 2) not enough stretching, or 3) a hydration issue. Without knowing the guy and his running strategy, it’s hard to say, but my bet is on hydration (both sufficient fluids and minerals). I would ask: is it a ache, localized pain, burn, or cramp? Regardless, it never hurts to do more stretching and drink a little sports drink.
Love, love, love that you gave props to IM families. My husband is racing IMCDA and IMAZ (#5 and #6) this year, and yeah, it's quite a time AND financial commitment. But, as family, we wouldn't have it any other way. I run marathons — so scheduling our training and family needs keeps us hopping. But again, we wouldn't have it any other way.____Actually listened to your podcast based on your reply to my book suggestion request. Going to buys Born to Run, I devour running books but hadn't heard of this one — so thanks for the suggestion and your review. I love the part about the group running ultra distances because no one told them they couldn't. Too often we run distances for the absolute opposite reason — someone told us we couldn't. Regarding joy, I've recently started running without my watch — that's helped me just simply enjoy the run without constantly staring at my time, mileage, etc. It really works — reminds me of why I started running in the first place!____Regarding Crocs — they may be comfy but that's where my vaniety raises it's ugly head. Way too ugly to wear. I just tried Fit Flops, nice support, comfy and not terribly ugly!
Very interesting. In regards to the foot, I'm wondering how many of the problems are truly due to the shoes we wear as opposed to the fact that we walk/run w/ a heel strike. I can't imagine that the overly cushioned shoes are the blame as opposed to how we use them. __In regards to the arch of the foot, it is not a true arch such that we see in architecture, and if we are meant to forefoot run (which I can see as very likely) then there isn't a top loading as suggested. The arch is designed as a shock absorber and w/ forefoot running the load will come from the ends, instead of the top, and bow the arch as opposed to pushing down on it. I do firmly believe that running shoes do interfere w/ the proper function of the arch, but not in how they do. It is possible the arch support in shoes serves no useful function, but w/ forefoot running it shouldn't really interfere w/ shock absorbing function. It would more likely be due to the lack of flexion in the midfoot of the shoe.
__I haven't read the book "born to run" yet and so don't know if a biomechanist is consulted w/ but it would interesting to get their take on the mathematical/kinesiological aspects of this.
(sorry, had to split this off from the rest, it was evidently too long)