Watch any child that is learning to walk/run and they run on the balls of their feet. It isn't until we put shoes on our feet that have an elevated heal that we "learn" to walk in this heal to toe pattern. It is my opinion that an elevated shoe trains you to walk/run heal to toe and that it is not natural.
I have been very active in sports and training my whole life up until the last few years when my ankles, knees and hips have responded very negatively to my exercising (primarily running and hiking). I was introduced to the idea of barefoot running (and vibram five fingers) about 3 months ago and immediately started going barefoot around my house and yard as much as I possibly could.
About 3 weeks ago I started running in my vff kso's and am completely sold on it. My leg muscles certainly responded in much pain, but my joints have had no pain. I ran for 3 miles yesterday with no joint pain and it was great!
The impact of heal striking is something no shoe can absorb and as a result your joints must take that impact at some level. One has to think that eventually they will wear out...
The US Army has brought in a trainer that is "re-training" their personnel how to run properly and has greatly reduced injuries and increased the pace at which the soldiers can run. Check this article out for more information. http://www.army.mil/-news/2009/06/26/23546-new-running-technique-strikes-a-pose/
Living in the Minnesota Tundra, I will not venture out into actual barefoot running until next spring, but I really believe that if you tune into what your feet are communicating to you, they will help you learn how to run properly. Ken Saxton has a lot of good information on his website about barefoot running as well. http://runningbarefoot.org/
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Indecisive Root
Not sure what's going on with this tree trunk/root. Very strange. Notice how it comes off of the tree in the upper right hand corner and then goes into the ground on the bottom left hand corner...Friday, July 24, 2009
SHT July 2009 Pics
We had a great campsite the second night. Here's a quick pic of our gear all sprawled out with the Tarptent Rainshadow 2 in the background. This tent worked very well for the three of us. The only challenge with it is to find level ground to set it up on. It's a pretty big footprint obviously to fit three people. You can barely make out in the picture that my trekking poles are used as the support poles on the front of the tarptent. The total weight of the tarptent without the poles is 2 1/2 lbs. Pretty remarkable since it replaced my REI Taj 3 which weighed in at just under 10 lbs with the footprint. The only thing I will be adding to this is a tyvek footprint to save abuse on the floor of the tarptent and to help keep it clean.
During a break on an overlook, we had four Cedar Waxwing birds pay us a visit. I don't remember ever seeing one of these before and had to do a search when I got home to figure out what it was. A remarkably cool looking bird!
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This is a typical trail through the area that we were hiking in. Trying to step on dirt instead of tree roots in an effort to avoid beating up the bottom of the feet is a constant effort.
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Amazing interlocking of roots.
SHT July 2009
I recently hiked a portion of the Superior Hiking Trail with two good friends of mine. We started at Oberg Mountain and hiked through to Cascade River State Park. The weather was great and the bugs were tolerable. I will be posting more pics and comments of the trip in the days to come.
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