Greetings to all in the blog-o-sphere!
I know it's been months since my last post, I never actually followed up on the Mudd Queen playdate at CoExiste Crossfit, but I promise I will soon.
The 2015 season is just around the corner and for most of us in the East it will be the Super Spartan in Montreal. Do I feel ready for this? NO. Is it all in my head? Yes. NO!
Rewind to the end of last season where I was dealing with annoying on and off pain around the left Achilles, so I decided to stop running for the month of November. Started slowly again in December with what's called a "light trainer" (aka a transition shoe towards minimalist), Merrell Mix Master Move Glide. Just so happened in January, myself and a work colleague did a course on running technique & injury prevention.
Basically, the folks who gave the course were very much for running in minimalist footwear (example Vibram 5 Fingers), of course having a transition program & strengthening exercises so the overzealous don't go flying out the door and pound out a 15km. The guys know the research that's yielded positive results, and were ready for a healthy debate on what each attendee already knew (or thought they knew; why do we say 'Align the knee with the 2nd toe' for squats? Hmmm)
Armed with this new knowledge and a glimmer of hope that maybe this switch to a new type of footwear could mean pain-free running, I spent all of the winter months following the transition program practically to a tee. (Although the suggestion is cross-country trails with very little inclines, I wasn't about to test my luck in the colder-than-usual winter we had this year).
For the first little while - it feels very, very awkward. I had been running 10+ years in maximalist (aka cushioned) shoes with skewed technique, doing a lot of heel striking and loading that already-compromised Achilles tendon, so changing patterns was not going to happen overnight. Also the way I had to retrain my hips and legs to move, it felt like my butt was jiggling. Do a little dance...
Anyway, I did venture outside on some booger-freezing days and I did realize that outside was better to figure out the technique versus a treadmill, but with work it was hard to dedicate a couple of hours for outdoor running, cooldown, cleanup, refuel etc.
Time flies, doesn't it? Next thing I knew I was pretty much getting in 5k runs (at a slow pace) on this minimalist technique and it was mid-March, with the Super date staring me in the face. Gak! Shouldn't I be getting in 10k's and perhaps more? Especially if diabolical course plotters go into the 15-16 kilometre range? So I started hustling a bit, trying to get in 8km, or running faster 5k's, all this on road.
I so, so wanted to believe I had possibly gotten the hang of this minimalist running pattern and therefore start increasing distance and practice nailing the biomechanics. FYI, the general time range to transition to minimalism is anywhere from 6 months to two years. But the pain is still there, on and off. I had to dig out my old maximalist Asics to run in a couple of times because every foot strike hurt, even if I was trying to run better.
Don't get me wrong, I totally respect the minimalist guys and what they're trying to say. I get what they're saying and it makes sense. They made it sound rosy and the answer to most pain-related running conditions. Are minimalist running shoes for everyone? Perhaps, but right now I don't know anymore. It is such a long transition that perhaps some don't want to bother with re-learning how to run. Even now I'm still a slowpoke with this new technique and am wondering if I ever will get faster. I don't know if zero drop, minimal cushion footwear will ever find its way into my shoe closet.
No, I won't trick myself into wearing zero drop shoes with 20mm cushioning thinking it's minimalism. Sales guy who told me Saucony Kinvara's were like my Mix Masters? Uh-uh.
Currently, I'm on my 2nd pair of Mix Masters, and I have some Inov-8 X-Talon 212's that passed the comfort test on a 13km trail run today, waiting for the ultimate baptism.
Minimalist experience to be continued..
More info, and an ever-changing list on what exactly are minimalist shoes, check out http://www.lacliniqueducoureur.ca/en/home/
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