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The Finger

25 Sunday Aug 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Merrell, Micah True, minimalist

vibram five fingersI get way more comments from some of my distribution channels, facebook or twitter, than directly to my blog itself.  Some are strange enough that I don’t even understand them, but unless they are clearly from an ad-generating machine, I don’t moderate or censor.  The comments I received today, which I’ve included below, came to me via email.  They are clearly designed to goad me to respond.  Like it takes some really clever rhetoric to tempt a blogger to write online.  Thanks for the content Blaine.

Irony is so ironic at times.  I just came in from a 4 mile run in my minimalist Merrell Trail Gloves to read Blaine’s observation.  He hasn’t read all my blog entries.  I’ve written well over 300 in the past 3 years.  I should point out to my readers that the search bar in the upper left works quite well.  It doesn’t just find tags, the entire blog is indexed.  You want to know if I have ever mentioned your name?  Use that search tool.  I’ve written extensively on minimalist shoes and barefoot running.  And I’m a fan.  I’m not able to fully transition to the method myself.  Too old and delicate.  But I support the concepts behind the trend.

I will never consider the “five fingers” types of tread.  They freak me out.  Not looking at them on the store shelf but when running behind another athlete, in a race, who is sporting a pair of five fingers.  I get the sense I’m in a Terminator movie or something.  I say this without irony, they don’t look natural.  So I go with a standard tread, yet with a zero heel-to-toe drop that meets minimalist specs.  For the uninitiated, heel-to-toe drop is what largely defines minimalist running shoes.  The heel of a shoe might have 20mm of thickness and the front might have only 5mm.  The 15mm difference is referred to as the drop – 15mm is fairly traditional.  I don’t really know the exact specs but I believe a drop between 4mm and 10mm is considered minimalist.  Under 4mm is referred to as zero drop.  I’m not certain what defines a shoe as barefoot.  Apparently more than just the near-level slope.  It likely refers to very little thickness anywhere in the sole.

I ignored the minimalist trend for several years.  I changed my mind after reading, Born to Run by Christopher McDougall.  Unfortunately for me, I ignored all advice.  Rather than transitioning into them slowly, I ran in mine non-stop for two weeks, culminating in a foot injury during a 14 mile trail run.  Something popped.  I never fully understood what the injury was but had to take off 6 weeks to recover.  I now only wear them on very short runs, generally 3 or 4 miles in length.  But I think they’re great.  They assisted me to modify my running form from less heel strike to more mid-foot strike.  This is how I ran when I was younger.  The change in stride helped me to heal my plantar fasciitis.  Blaine, I hope you’re satisfied with my transparent response.

————————–unsolicited comments—————————-

I sometimes browse your blog, cleverly disguised to be about running, to see what you’re not writing about. So far, you seem to be checking all the right boxes:

…women popping a squat on the running trail. check.

…purposely running behind the “talent.” check.

…feigning modesty by wearing your running shorts to a massage knowing full well that you are under strict orders to do so. check.

Now, imagine my surprise when I went looking to see what Ed’s take was on these Vibram Five Fingers running shoes…and there was nothing!

“Set the fleet to condition one,” I thought. Something is wrong.

The truth is, I’ve often wondered if you’re actually some Cylonic skin job masquerading as Ed Mahoney for another attack on us poor humans.

If I’m suspicious, then think of your actual readers.

Do not answer me directly. Publicly explain on your blog why you haven’t written about these shoes. I don’t care anymore if they work or don’t work. Frack, I’m not even a runner!

I just want to know why you haven’t mentioned them. Prove you’re not a Cylon skin job!

Accidental? Purposeful? Distracted?

Don’t dawdle too long. People have been thrown out of airlocks for hesitation.

So say we all,
—
Blaine

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The Foot Strike

15 Sunday Jan 2012

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Boulder Res, low profile, minimalist, plantar fasciitis, REI, running shoes

I was talking to Chris, someone I’ve recently met, while watching the Broncos get blown out of the playoffs last night.  Chris is 41 but looks like a competitively fit 21 year old.  So we were talking about running.  Chris and Dave share a similar injury with strained calf muscles.  I tried to trump them with my plantar fasciitis.  No one ever wins these “I got more scars than you” contests but they are fun nonetheless when you’re drinking with the guys and watching football.

I got some value out of it when we began discussing the effect from running with either minimalist shoes or low profile shoes.  I’ve personally received a healthy dose of advice recommending them as a cure to my pronation.  I understand the argument, although I’m not deep enough on the topic to confidently explain the difference between low profile and minimalist.  The link I share in that last sentence though is full of good information on the topic.

I’m curious enough now that I suspect I will eventually buy a pair.  Likely low profile.  The REI article I linked above suggests that barefoot running or minimalist shoes are not good for runners who over pronate – which I do in my left foot.  But I’m not committed and question whether these new style shoes are as important as simply changing one’s running form.  Chris, Dave and I all agreed that if it’s a matter of your heel strike vs a mid-foot or ball-of-foot strike, you don’t necessarily need these shoes for that.

I tested this theory on a 7 mile run today.  I focused on maintaining a mid-foot strike on the ground.  This route has about 2 miles of pavement and the rest is trail.  It’s necessary to shorten your stride a bit when doing this.  And there’s a tendency to run faster with a shorter stride and mid to fore foot fall, but with proper attention you can slow down your cadence as well.  I feel like I did a great job maintaining this form throughout the run.  I did run faster but have been improving my conditioning lately and was able to handle the faster pace.  Four hours later my left foot feels better than normal after such a distance.  I can’t say anything definitive yet but I intend to work at this new foot strike and will report on my progress.

Most of my focus is on fixing this nagging injury because I have a full running schedule planned for 2012.  I’m already registered for the Moab and Boulder Half Marathons – March 17th and April 1st respectively.  Those are target runs to motivate me to train through the winter.  The picture above is of the Boulder Reservoir where that event takes place.  After those warmups, I aim to run mountain trail half marathons.  Haven’t booked any yet but have a list of them to consider.  Let me know if you have run some cool trail races up in the Colorado Rockies.

40.137598 -105.107652

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