Running Better: Going Barefoot

"Running Better" is the first project that I've completed for the 2012-13 school year. Over the course of my project, I've researched many aspects of running and even tested a few out on myself.



Just kidding!

For decades, many professional coaches have had their athletes run barefoot as part of their conditioning programs. However it hasn’t been until relatively recently that the barefoot running trend has skyrocketed due to a select number of well-published books and studies suggesting that running barefoot is the way that we were really “born to run”. A few decades ago, the few people choosing to run barefoot in the midst of the running shoe revolution usually did so either because they couldn’t find the right fit in running shoes, they were trying to be outrageously hipster , or they were just curious to see what would happen if they tried to run like their ancestors had done thousands of years ago. Either way, the trend of barefoot running started and it wasn’t very long before the major running shoe companies got wind of it. Surprisingly, many of them responded by introducing a line of of slipper-like shoes that were catered to the barefoot community very well by letting people run barefoot-style on virtually any surface with the protection of a minimalist sole. These shoes, along with the new Free shoe (introduced by Nike shortly after its biomechanical study back in 2004) have helped to revolutionize the way many people run think about the sport.Here’s how running in state-of-the-art shoes versus going barefoot looks like: when you land in regular shoes, you end up heel-striking, which is basically breaking your stride on every single step. This is the product of your brain feeling that it is safe enough to strike the ground with the boniest and unprotected part of your foot in order to cover more ground. While you’re forefoot is heel-striking, your back foot is still pushing off on the ground and has to compensate for the breaking by continuing to lever your body off the ground for an extended period of time. Also, because of the wedge of EVA, your forefoot is unable to properly sense the exact position of the ground and cannot relay it properly to your brain; causing your foot to finish the landing in an unstable position. However, because the human race has spent over 30 years running in such shoes, many of us have learned to adapt. The option of shoes that generally “feel safer” has also lured a great many people into exercise that may not have made the decision otherwise. In many cases, people who have been running in such shoes since childhood have always run this way and have gone on to excel as professional athletes. 



Barefoot running follows a much simpler style: in a barefoot stride, you don’t land on your heel at all. You land on the outside of your foot, rolling forward quickly to push off the ball. There is no heel-striking involved. Your ankle also helps by absorbing some of the impact taken by your forefoot and aiding you when you push off. However, if you’re even thinking about transitioning into barefoot running after a lifetime of running in cushioned shoes, you need to be extremely careful. You can’t just whip off your shoes and take off down the street. Many advocates of barefoot running say that you need to take at least a year to fully transition, even if you use specially designated shoes. If you don’t let your foot ease into the face that four-times your body-weight is smashing down on a completely new part of it, it could have a problem with that. Still, if you do end up becoming a barefoot runner, you might really enjoy it and will almost certainly benefit from the process with fewer injuries and a new outlook on running. Last spring, I transitioned into my own pair of barefoot running shoes and have been improving in my physical training ever since, allowing me to build up better calf muscles in my legs, have a more efficient stride, and have helped to improve endurance.

Running Better: The Scoop on Shoes

"Running Better" is the first project that I've completed for the 2012-13 school year. Over the course of my project, I've researched many aspects of running and even tested a few out on myself.

  

Because of the advanced and constantly evolving technology of the running shoe, it seems that as humans, we have an endless void of possibilities for running in comfort at our fingertips. However, this has not always been the case. Long ago, ancient peoples ran as a means of livelihood, wearing light leather moccasins. Because they had sufficient foot protection, our ancestors could sufficiently hunt and flee anything threatening; those runners that couldn’t keep-up with the pack were unable to survive. Although the running shoe has evolved considerably since that long-ago time period, it still provides a traditional way for the human race to get from point A to point B,

Up until the early 20^th century, runners generally made their own shoes. They were usually crafted from whatever materials were on hand such as wood, cloth, yarn, rubber, nails, and leather (according to Danny Abshire’s book Natural Running). In time for the 1908 Olympic Games, the Spaulding Co. introduced the first-ever designated commercial running shoes, which were basically leather slippers with rubber soles. The running shoe industry only really began to take shape in the late 1960’s in response to the emerging running boom. The Onitsuka Tiger Co. From Japan (later ASICS) was the first industry to formally manufacture running shoes for public consumers. It was quickly followed by opponent company Adidas of Germany. Early running boom shoes mainly consisted of a hard rubber outsole, a thin rubber insole, and a nylon upper cover with laces. Along with the popularity of running there grew the popularity of jogging.  Joggers tend to need more padding in the sole of the shoe and EVA foam, which still helps to absorb impact in the sole of the shoe today, was introduced. Soon after, Jogging author Bill Bowerman did some experimentation with rubber on his wife’s waffle iron and co-founded the Nike Co., which featured a wedge of support under the heels of its shoes for maximum comfort and allowing for a longer stride, making it the first-ever shoe that allowed runners to land exclusively on their heels . The idea of a supported heel was mimicked by other companies and consequently started a 30-year “shoe war” during which running shoes got increasingly cushier, softer, and more comfortable.

The modern running shoe is quite a long shot from the basic models of the early industry. Today, nearly all marketed running shoes are supported by a 2-inch heel wedge of EVA foam and are sometimes equipped with built-in gel packs and air pockets. They’re also more fashionable; coming in almost every color combination imaginable. Today’s running shoes help us to run on almost every type of terrain and give us initiative and incentive for longer stride length. However, this type of running was not all roses for everyone. Since the 80’s, modern running shoes are starting to become increasingly supportive which, ironically, was actually starting to make them slightly dangerous. The extravagantly overly-cushioned heels can cause over-supination (outward rolling of the feet), which may lead to alignment issues in the hips and back. Also, overly- cushioned heels give runners an excuse heel-strike on impact which negatively affects your feet, ankles, and knees. The EVA foam is posing a problem a problem for a lot of people. By absorbing the impact of the foot, it also absorbs energy needed in the push-off phase of running. The cushion of EVA also prevents the nervous system in the foot from relaying information about the running surface to the brain. This is causing many people to land off-balance. In 2004, Nike conducted a study of barefoot biomechanics during which they had people run without shoes while monitoring the places of impact on their feet. Naturally, all participants ran on the balls of their feet with their heels barely touching the ground. It was starting to seem as though the standard running shoe might not be the best for mankind after all.   

Running Better: Technique

"Running Better" is the first project that I've completed for the 2012-13 school year. Over the course of my project, I've researched many aspects of running and even tested a few out on myself.  

No matter how fast or how far you run, having good technique is important. Although I already know a variety of good techniques from my dad (a runner in high school), my ski coaches, and my track coach, I was curious about improving my own running and was interested in further researching the different techniques of running. There is a book that I read during my research called Timeless Running Wisdom, which is contributed to by a variety of elite runners and coaches. Here’s one cool fact I learned about how important it is to run with as little bounce as possible: apparently, if your head raises one inch-per stride on a 2500-stride mile, it adds up to the equivalent of climbing 5458 feet into the air! This helps to explain why Olympic runners tend to have such smooth gaits! There are always the standard technical rules like running with your head slightly up, a slight forward tilt in your torso, as little upper-body rotation as possible, and with your feet landing below your body mass. Good technique can make anyone into a faster and more efficient runner. 

There are different techniques for every kind of running. For example, marathon and ultra-marathon runners (people who run 26-100 mile races) want to run with a slower turnover and a slightly longer stride length in order to still be efficient in the last miles of the race. Marathoners are generally tall and lean which gives them the advantage of having less impact on their feet and less body mass to push up the hills. In contrast, sprinters, who have to achieve their maximum velocity in a matter of seconds, run with as fast of a turnover as possible and a slightly shorter stride length in order to be able to run on the balls of their feet. Sprinters usually tend towards a medium build and are often far more muscular than marathoners, especially in the upper arms and torso because they pump their arms in order to generate as much momentum as possible. Both types of runners also train differently. Marathoners usually train by building up their daily /weekly mileage toward a race and generally cross-train on bikes or by skiing in order to stay fit during the off-season. Sprinters usually train by running fully out in shorter intervals and working out in the weight room when they’re not running. No matter how or what they run, athletes need to have good technique in order to individually excel.

When I started my project, I knew that my own running could use a little work. It still does, but it has improved a little over the course of the two weeks that I focused on running my very best. Because I was running a full mile, I focused on efficiency issues such as the fact that my upper torso and hips were twisting too much and how I wasn’t bringing my head up high enough. After a week of trying my best to run technically better, I got some videos and pictures taken of my running form. Compared with previous pictures that had been taken of me running (during the previous track season), I could see that my form had improved by quite a bit over the summer and because of my recent focus on technicality for my project. The effect that better technique had on my mile times was also encouraging. During the first week of my running plan where I ran normally without any change in my researched variables, I averaged 9 minutes, 10.6 seconds. During the second two weeks where I ran using variables that I had researched, I averaged 8 minutes, 52.3 seconds. I hope that as my running form gets better I’ll be able to reach more milestones in my ski training program.

Here is a picture of how I was running after I had researched technique. Notice that I have a slight forward bend in the torso, a higher focus point, relatively little upper body rotation, and that I'm not heel striking. 

Here is a picture of me from the 2011 track season. Notice that my arms are too high, indicating shoulder tension, my torso is twisted almost completely sideways, I'm staring at the ground right in front of me, I have very little knee drive, and that I've been caught in mid-heel strike.

Running Better: Nutrition

"Running Better" is the first project that I've completed for the 2012-13 school year. Over the course of my project, I've researched many aspects of running and even tested a few out on myself.  

One very important aspect of running is knowing what is good to eat. Before I ever researched running nutrition, the extent of my knowledge was about as basic as knowing that it wasn’t a good idea to eat a Big Mac before a 5 mile run. Fortunately we tend to eat pretty healthy in our household and I already had a pretty good sense of which foods were good for me and which weren’t. I also had access to a number of sources including my ex-Olympian ski coach. During our regular practice she’d always ask us what we had for breakfast, and she actually spent almost an hour rattling off nutrition information to me as we roller-skied together down a bike trail. Prior to my project, I had done some self-experimentation regarding sugar and its effects on my training performance. For the month of February (also the height of the XC ski season) I had stopped eating sugar, having heard about athletes who did so during their sports seasons to improve their performance. As a result, it helped me improve at a faster rate in my training. However, my race results were sabotaged when I came down with strep throat the day before sectionals. Naturally, it was extremely interesting to see first-hand how my body performed with significantly less sugar, but I decided that a deeper knowledge of athletic nutrition would benefit me on the road to success the next year.

Although the subject of nutrition is different for different people depending on your weight, height, gender, and lifestyle, I want to share some of the most important things that I learned from my extensive research. First of all, always eat breakfast because it really is the most important meal of the day. Having fuel in the tank first thing in the morning is essential, especially when you’re training or working out, because it gives your body ready access to energy when it needs it the most. You should also be getting substantial amounts of protein, carbohydrates, fiber, and healthy fats every time you eat. When you balance your diet, it also helps your brain stay sharper by allowing it to do a better job keeping up with your energy out-put.  Also, try to eat more simple or raw foods. Refined and processed products can sit in your stomach for too long and all that your body eventually obtains from them is fat. It also helps to keep track of what you’re eating. That’s what I did in the last two weeks of my running project when I was trying to incorporate a healthier diet into my training program.

My own personal eating plan was pretty simple. In short, I was trying to eat less red meat, more healthy proteins and carbohydrates, and more fruits and vegetables in order to give my system healthier energy sources. This sounds a little like a regular weight-loss diet. However, mixed into the plan were different so-called athletic “super foods” with anti-toxic and anti-inflammatory properties. These included raw cocoa, ginger, pineapples, turmeric, flaxseed, and quinoa, among other foods. Of course, blending them all into some freakish smoothie won’t exactly give you super powers, but I found that eating some of them as a post-workout snack helped to boost my recovery rate. Actually, I discovered that during the part of my project when I followed my eating plan, I was less moody and generally happier. That’s pretty cool for me, considering that I have mood swings just like any other teenager. As Americans, it has been proven that one of our primary health issues is the lack of nutrition and the overload of extra sugars, fats, and hydrogenated oils in our diets. By applying what I learned about nutrition, I hope to be able to lead a healthier lifestyle.

Running Better Eating Plan:

Week One:

Breakfast:	Oatmeal w/ strawberries, almonds, and flaxseed. Water.	Whole wheat toast w/ PB, fruit, milk.	Toast w/ PB, Keifer w/ fruit, water.	Toast with PB, strawberries, milk/water.	Toast w/ PB, oatmeal w/ strawberries and applesauce, water.
Lunch:	Wrap w/ lettuce, beets, pepper, and dressing. Water.	Wrap w/ lettuce, pepper, chicken, tiger sauce, water.	Whole wheat sandwich w/ hummus, lettuce, peppers, beets, dressing, water.	3 small pieces of light pizza, one orange, water.	Whole wheat pasta w/ red sauce and cheese, salad w/ croutons, peppers, dressing, water.
Supper:	Baguettes, crackers, fruit, salmon dip, water.	Small beef steak, salad, tater tots, small pie piece, milk, water	3 small pieces of light pizza, dried tomatoes, milk.	Whole wheat pasta w/ red sauce and cheese, oranges, water.	1 hot dog, whole wheat pasta w/ red sauce, tomatoes, salad, milk.
Snack:	Cabbage and apricots.	Keifer w/ strawberries.	Cashews, water.	Cashews, water.	Bell peppers.
Snack:	Strawberry/applesauce milkshake.	Cashews.	Energy bar, water.	1 small piece of pizza, orange, water.	Keifer w/ peaches and oranges, cashews.

Week Two:

Breakfast:	2 pieces of whole wheat toast w/ PB, orange, water.	2 pieces of whole wheat toast w/ PB and plum jelly, water.	1 piece of egg-bake w/ mystery veggies, water.	½ of a pasty, oranges, water.	Whole wheat toast w/ PB, pineapple, milk.
Lunch:	2 scrambled eggs w/ peppers and cheese, water.	2 scrambled eggs w/ peppers, mushrooms and cheese, water	Whole wheat Mac and cheese, banana, milk	Whole wheat sandwich w/ veggies and cheese.	Pasty, nectarine, cheese, water.
Supper:	6” sub w/ chicken, veggies, and water.	Baked chicken, white rice, salad, milk.	Piece of fennel & feta quiche, carrots, water.	Whole wheat pasta with red sauce and, salad, water	Chili w/ veggies and beef, salad, water.
Snack:	Keifer w/ strawberries and lingonberries.	Keifer w/ Pineapple.	Blueberry keifer	Cashews, grapes, water.	Peach/pineapple milkshake.
Snack:		Cashews	Cashews

Running Better

I never thought that I would ever like running.  I rarely chose to walk as a little kid, but when I started running in my XC-ski team’s dry-land training program in my 6^th grade year, it definitely wasn’t my idea of a good time. In my very first practice, I remember how we ran around a mile loop and then sprinted a few times up a 100 meter hill on the trails behind the local high school. By the end of the workout, I felt totally beat-up. I ended up being sore for days because I didn’t even know enough to stretch afterwards and my body was unused to this new way of exercise. That was four years ago. Today, I consider myself a strong, fast and agile person due to the nearly year-round ski training program that I ended up deciding to stick-with--a program that mostly involves running. The sport has also played into my education. Due to the fact that I’m homeschooled, I’m lucky enough to be able to choose my own projects to work on. This fall, I decided that it would be really cool to expand my knowledge of the various aspects of running.

My plan was to delve into research on running for a couple of weeks. This included studying the muscular systems used in running and the effects of running on the entire body as well as books written by famous elite runners, coaches, nutritionalists and biomechanists. After a week of research, I planned to run a full mile at 80% speed every school day for one week. During this second week I would run as I normally do, sleep as I normally do and eat as I normally do in order to give myself a base for comparing my later results. For the second two weeks of my project, I planned to run with changes to my program based on the research that I’d done. This included increasing the number of hours of sleep that I got, making changes to the food that I ate, and improving my running technique. It was definitely the most interesting and intensive school project that I’d ever attempted and I figured that I was up for the challenge.  

 Focusing on learning to run better for 4 weeks meant that I had to learn to adapt to the various researched guidelines that I had created for myself. The main issue turned out to be my new eating plan. Because of the various sources on running information that I pursued, I ended up eating a lot of “rabbit food” (a change from my usual diet that tended to be slightly more carnivorous) and trying various other foods and techniques that I might not have tried otherwise. This included eating keifer (similar to yogurt) every day, using strawberries to make things sweeter instead of sugar, and filming my running stride so that I could watch my footsteps frame-by-frame. Over the course of the project, I learned many things that benefit me as a runner today and that I will probably carry with me for the rest of my life.

-Maggie

Running during the project