Hope, I don't repeat what the
Hope, I don't repeat what the others have said much, but all excellent advice that helped me on my way.
My learning curve shot up exponentially when I ditched the VFFs and went bare! Thin soles are better than thick soles, but naked feet trump all for feed back needed for proper form. Start out your first half mile barefoot and then throw on your VFFs if need be. Lack of patience, forcing the form, tensing up and not feeling were my biggest hurdles.
I read that your achilies can shrink a half inch or more from running, walking, living in elevated/traditional running/crosstraining shoes. It takes time and proper use to stretch back down when you go to zero drop heal footwear or lack there of. This can affect your calves as well as running on your toes with long strides, not letting your heal down and stretching while cold.
Here are the few things that helped me. Loose the shoes before you start and if you can find some gravel to start on, that will speed things up! ;o):
1) The 1-2-3 landing. Once you get this, your skin will thank you! Slight up curve of the toes, ball of your foot lands first, then toes come down, then heal OR heal and toes...doesn't matter. It should be subtle so it looks like your landing flat footed, but sounds like you're not landing at all! Noise is bad, quiet is good, relaxed is the key. Make sure this is a landing and not a strike. Your foot should be matching your speed and pealing or lifting off each step. Let noise be your guide. Also think of running on wet tile or ice...anything that will make you slip is wrong and will scuff off skin. That should keep you from scuffing or pushing off. Don't grip with your toes. LISTEN to your feet! Let them land where on the ball of your foot they want. I tried to force this and got huge blisters on the outside of both feet from landing on the 4th pad and rolling to the big toe on my first 2 tries(1.8miles and .8miles). Listening to my feet and relaxing I went from a .8 mile blister fest to a 5mile concrete pedicure! (I love you TJ!!)
2)"Bend your knees" confused me in the beginning. To me, it's more like sitting down in your stance...like you're on a low barstool. Finding the sweet spot takes practice, dictates how you use your achilies/calves and thighs and how oxygen efficient your running is. Start out running too far down, like you're half way to sitting down, but your torso should be up right belly out. Then as you run(still using the 1-2-3 landing) come up till your heals are ltouching and sliding and then go back down till the sliding stops, but heals still touch.(best I can describe it. Makes more sense if you youtube Ken Bob running.) When you get tired, this will be the first to go as you start running taller, oxygen efficience goes out the window and your steps get louder, so keep your focus till it becomes second nature. Stepping on a rock or something sharp when you're running high, will drop you right down to this zone. If you're already there, nothing happens.
3)180 steps per minute is the goal. Your torso should be floating along while your legs are churning. Steps 1,2&3 are the key to reducing oxygen consumption and running feels easier to me. Loading and unloading the foot arch, achilies and legs let you take advantage of the stored energy with quick steps. Absorbed energy dicipates the slower your steps. You will notice a lot less bob up and down, you'll be stead, quick feet and surprise stones and rocks won't disturb your form.
4)Relax, relax, relax. Shoulders loose, hips loose, ankles letting your feet "flop". When you step on a stone and you're tense, you push down harder. If you're loose and low, it will still wake you up, but by the time you really feel it, you're already on to the next foot!
My running check list looks like this: feed back from the feet? running on ice form? relaxed and quiet? Anything that doesn't check out gets fixed and then I go back to enjoying the run.
Hope this helps! I'm still pretty new myself, so my mistakes and what's been working for me are fresh in my mind.
Welcome to the site!
-Jonny
PS: Ken Bob's book is a great guide, if you don't have that one.
Hope, I don't repeat what the others have said much, but all excellent advice that helped me on my way.
My learning curve shot up exponentially when I ditched the VFFs and went bare! Thin soles are better than thick soles, but naked feet trump all for feed back needed for proper form. Start out your first half mile barefoot and then throw on your VFFs if need be. Lack of patience, forcing the form, tensing up and not feeling were my biggest hurdles.
I read that your achilies can shrink a half inch or more from running, walking, living in elevated/traditional running/crosstraining shoes. It takes time and proper use to stretch back down when you go to zero drop heal footwear or lack there of. This can affect your calves as well as running on your toes with long strides, not letting your heal down and stretching while cold.
Here are the few things that helped me. Loose the shoes before you start and if you can find some gravel to start on, that will speed things up! ;o):
1) The 1-2-3 landing. Once you get this, your skin will thank you! Slight up curve of the toes, ball of your foot lands first, then toes come down, then heal OR heal and toes...doesn't matter. It should be subtle so it looks like your landing flat footed, but sounds like you're not landing at all! Noise is bad, quiet is good, relaxed is the key. Make sure this is a landing and not a strike. Your foot should be matching your speed and pealing or lifting off each step. Let noise be your guide. Also think of running on wet tile or ice...anything that will make you slip is wrong and will scuff off skin. That should keep you from scuffing or pushing off. Don't grip with your toes. LISTEN to your feet! Let them land where on the ball of your foot they want. I tried to force this and got huge blisters on the outside of both feet from landing on the 4th pad and rolling to the big toe on my first 2 tries(1.8miles and .8miles). Listening to my feet and relaxing I went from a .8 mile blister fest to a 5mile concrete pedicure! (I love you TJ!!)
2)"Bend your knees" confused me in the beginning. To me, it's more like sitting down in your stance...like you're on a low barstool. Finding the sweet spot takes practice, dictates how you use your achilies/calves and thighs and how oxygen efficient your running is. Start out running too far down, like you're half way to sitting down, but your torso should be up right belly out. Then as you run(still using the 1-2-3 landing) come up till your heals are ltouching and sliding and then go back down till the sliding stops, but heals still touch.(best I can describe it. Makes more sense if you youtube Ken Bob running.) When you get tired, this will be the first to go as you start running taller, oxygen efficience goes out the window and your steps get louder, so keep your focus till it becomes second nature. Stepping on a rock or something sharp when you're running high, will drop you right down to this zone. If you're already there, nothing happens.
3)180 steps per minute is the goal. Your torso should be floating along while your legs are churning. Steps 1,2&3 are the key to reducing oxygen consumption and running feels easier to me. Loading and unloading the foot arch, achilies and legs let you take advantage of the stored energy with quick steps. Absorbed energy dicipates the slower your steps. You will notice a lot less bob up and down, you'll be stead, quick feet and surprise stones and rocks won't disturb your form.
4)Relax, relax, relax. Shoulders loose, hips loose, ankles letting your feet "flop". When you step on a stone and you're tense, you push down harder. If you're loose and low, it will still wake you up, but by the time you really feel it, you're already on to the next foot!
My running check list looks like this: feed back from the feet? running on ice form? relaxed and quiet? Anything that doesn't check out gets fixed and then I go back to enjoying the run.
Hope this helps! I'm still pretty new myself, so my mistakes and what's been working for me are fresh in my mind.
Welcome to the site!
-Jonny
PS: Ken Bob's book is a great guide, if you don't have that one.
