Rochester Endurance

Why you should run barefoot... or at least wear racing flats

If you are an avid runner, or even a casual runner - or even someone who occasionally reads the paper, watches TV, or listens to the radio - you've probably seen/heard something about barefoot running.

Last night on my way home from work I heard a great story on NPR that was addressing this same topic.  (You can check out the story here.)  The story is an extended interview with Dan Lieberman - a Harvard biologist and professor of anthropology.   Dr. Lieberman has been at the center of much of the science of barefoot running and has proposed many theories behind how human running evolved.   Much of his research was nicely summarized in the book "Born to Run" my Chris McDougal (also highly recommended).  I'd encourage you to google some of his research and interviews.  It is really fascinating stuff.

But what I really want to talk about is the rational behind ditching those spring-loaded, mega-heeled, uber-cushioned running shoes you are wearing.   The problem is that when we humans wear those oh-so-comfy running shoes, we tend to extend our running stride and land on our heels.  Back when Nike introduced the modern-day running shoes, the thought was that if we can extend our stride when running, and land with our leading leg way out in front of us, we can run at a lower cadence for a given speed.   Each stride will cover more ground and we will cover more distance using the same amount of energy.  Seems to make sense...   But in order to get us to extend our stride we have to somehow get past one pesky problem... when we extend our stride, we land on our heels.  And when we land on our heels, it hurts!  A lot.  So Nike loaded up the heels of their running shoes with lots of cushioning and heel strikers around the world let out a collective sigh of relief.

However, putting cushioning in the heel may reduce the pain of the impact on the heel, but it does not reduce the force being absorbed directly by the ankle, knees and hips.  A force that is absorbed by the calf and Achilles tendon when runners land on the front of their foot.   The video shown on the NPR site graphically demonstrates this shock-wave.   Over time what has happened is that many heel strikers have developed knee, hip and ankle problems stemming from the repeated shock-wave they subject their bodies to in exchange for a nice long running stride.

Check out this video to see what the force generated by a heel strike looks like.   The little "bump" in the front of each curve is the shock-wave force that each leg receives.

Now look at a video of a barefoot runner.  Notice how the shock-wave blip is gone?

So why does ditching the comfy padded running shoes help this problem?  The main reason, in my experience, is that running in a minimalistic shoe allows you to feel when you heel strike.  Each heel strike when running barefoot, or in FiveFinger shoes, or in a racing flat, delivers a not-so-subtle pain reminder that you are doing something that your body was not designed to do:  land on your heel when running.   The pain your are feeling is not the shock-wave... you get the shock-wave even when you are wearing padded shoes.  The pain is the direct impact force of your heel - which naturally has almost no padding - and the ground meeting.

The more minimal your shoe, the more you become aware of immediate impact of heel strikes, and the more you will naturally try to compensate for that.   And the way you compensate for it is by adjusting  your stride to land on the front of your foot.  (I'll post some suggestions on good, minimalistic running shoes in the future).

Vibram FiveFinger shoes (Image from NPR.org)

When we do CrossFit Endurance classes, we spend about half the class working on drills to help reinforce correct running technique.   Changing your running stride won't happen immediately.  My experience has been that it takes about 6 weeks of practicing 3 times a week for it to really sink in.  But like any other physical skill, it will never fix itself without working on it.  You need to practice.  And most importantly, you need to start!

We are doing CrossFit Endurance classes Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at 6:00pm at CrossFit Rochester.  I'd encourage you to come out and join us for some workouts and start the process of fixing your running stride.   Your knees, hips, and ankles will thank you!!!

What have you got to lose, but all those pesky extra minutes and seconds?

It has been a while in the making, and the launch has been delayed mostly because I just haven't made the time to sit down and compose the inaugural post, but at long last Welcome to Rochester Endurance - the home for Endurance Training in Rochester... the CrossFit way!

If you are curious about CrossFit Endurance (CFE) training you can find out a whole lot more about the program by checking out the main site www.crossfitendurance.com.  CFE combines regular CrossFit training with targeted endurance training.   This is a supplement to CrossFit, not a replacement for it, or something that should be done instead of CrossFit training.

The way most casual endurance athletes train for events --  whether that be 10K races, marathons, triathlons, centuries, whatever! -- is to log lots and lots of miles and hours running/biking/swimming/rowing many times a week.  Frequently, this is done to the exclusion of any other type of meaningful cross training.  And just as frequently, this is done without any meaningful coaching or guidance.  Afterall, everyone knows how to run (or bike, or swim), right?   Training for a long event just means building capacity by going longer, and longer, and longer... right?

What I have witnessed and experienced personally, is that traditional endurance training basically conditioning your body to go very long distances... slowly. 

As folks who know CrossFit will likely tell you, we like to do things fast!  And CFE training is about conditioning your body to go long distance quickly.   We focus on sprints, intervals, pace work and time trials.  Our workouts are typically less than an hour long (including skills and drills and warm-ups).   We firmly believe that that this type of training, when combined with standard CrossFit training, will better prepare you for endurance events than spending hours and hours slogging away at a slow pace.

Another thing I have seen, particularly with runners, is that novice distance runners are among the most injury-prone group of athletes on the planet!   Seriously.  How many runners do you know?  And of that group, how many do you know that consistently complain about knees, hips, ankles, etc. etc.?   For me, the answers are: "lots", and "most". 

Hopefully, the people who will tell you that we CrossFitters have a penchant for speed in our workouts will also tell you that fundamental to CrossFit is the progression: mechanics, consistency, intensity.   This progression is just as important to CFE.   As much as we like to go fast, it is paramount to have proper mechanics, and to be able to have consistently proper mechanics, before worrying too much about intensity.   So we spend a lot of time during our CFE sessions helping people develop proper running mechanics.   The truth is that  many - probably most -  runners are not running correctly.   And just as bad form on a deadlift (or picking up a back of mulch) will put you at risk of significant back injury, bad running form will put your knees, ankles, and hips at risk.  Technique is critical and we focus on technique.

I'll be posting more here in the coming days/weeks about the program we are running.   I'll share links, tips, personal experiences, and accomplishments of our athletes.   I encourage you to check back here frequently.   But more importantly, I'd like to encourage you to come out to CrossFit Rochester and talk to Joe or me about CFE.   Tell us what you are trying to accomplish, whether it is improving your 5K time, doing your first marathon or triathlon, or perhaps just getting to the point where running can actually be fun!  We'll help get you there!

Currently our CFE workouts are held on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 6:00pm.

Me, Julie and Joe at the Sodus Point 5K... two PR's (this CFE stuff works!)