Balancing landing impact left/right

[Footsie]

Wondering if anyone can help here...

I'm very much left-sided (no jokes now - you know what I mean!) and notice that I tend to land just a bit more heavily with my left foot than my right.

It's not much, and I don't land hard in general, but it's enough to mean my left foot gets a bit more redness/soreness post run than my right (again, not tons, but noticeable).

Apart from general muscle balancing exercise, anyone have any tips for evening out the gait cycle on both sides if the body?

Thanks for any tips!

 

[jldeleon]

I used to be obsessed with balancing out my imbalances, but, lately I have just taken to running in whatever way comes naturally to my body and everything seems better that way. Are you right handed?

 

[Footsie]

I used to be obsessed with balancing out my imbalances, but, lately I have just taken to running in whatever way comes naturally to my body and everything seems better that way. Are you right handed?

Thanks for replying, Jen. I'm very much left handed, and thanks to my main sport (fencing) pretty much left dominant everywhere and muscularly therefore pretty imbalanced (makes me sound like a hermit crab or something...)

I like the idea of just letting the body do its thing, but (surprise) I'm nervous about getting in its way. Funny... Typing this, I notice the solution is not more conscious form control, but rather more letting go and getting out of the way.

Thanks.

 

[jldeleon]

In time you will learn to relax while you are running. Turn off your mind and tune in to what feels good when you are running.

 

[Sid]

My feet started out different, too. I can't really say which side was stronger, but I know that my running was uneven, comparing the two sides. However, it seems that as they've adapted, they've gotten closer to one another. Now, both sides feel fairly similar and pretty good.

 

[jldeleon]

Same with me. I have been running bf for a little over a year - only about 10 - 15 miles a week, and in the last month, or so, I have noticed that my balances are finally noticeably balancing out. Given that I have had 39 years of musculoskeletal imbalance going on, the fact that it's even beginning to work itself out isn't bad at all!!!

 

[Sid]

Now that I think about it, my left foot used to make an annoying slapping sound. My right was more sore and needed more stretching. After about a year of adaptation, it all leveled out. No more slapping, and not so much soreness on either side.

 

[Bare Lee]

Funny... Typing this, I notice the solution is not more conscious form control, but rather more letting go and getting out of the way.

For me it's a kind of dialectic of knowing your body, listening to it, then reading up a bit, then letting what you've read sink in and interact on a subconscious level with your body's feedback. I don't consciously manipulate my form, except when I get fatigued and start slouching, but I do think both experience and knowledge are improving it.

 

[jldeleon]

For me it's a kind of dialectic of knowing your body, listening to it, then reading up a bit, then letting what you've read sink in and interact on a subconscious level with your body's feedback. .

Deep, man...

 

[jldeleon]

For me it's a kind of dialectic of knowing your body, listening to it, then reading up a bit, then letting what you've read sink in and interact on a subconscious level with your body's feedback. I don't consciously manipulate my form, except when I get fatigued and start slouching, but I do think both experience and knowledge are improving it.

Yeah, I REALLY have to watch my form when I get fatigued. In fact, I adjust my arm swing to help me keep my form good when I feel myself getting fatigued.