Out today with a good crowd of Serg, Kanser, Shandyboy, Durante, Benny Saint, Clyde, Tucks and bumping into Tim C along the way. The usual Monday route in about 63 minutes. Felt pretty tired towards the end so I think I've still got a bit of Six Foot in me (that sounds rude).
Went to Northside Runners this morning to get a pair of shoes with a shallower heel following the Doc's advice and settled on a pair of Nike Structure Triax after testing out a load of different types. Haven't worn Nikes since I was 14 years old so will be interesting to see how they go. Also tried a pair of "Newton's" which are specifically designed for people like me with a prominent heel strike (look at my photo approaching the finish line of Six Foot below). They felt weird but will have a word with the Doc to see if he thinks they are worth a try.
Edit: Just updated the race calendar. May and early June looks busy. Great prep for the marathon though.
3 comments:
Hi Tom
I have been training (tempo and track runs) and racing in Newtons for the past 12 months and have found them really good in ironing out technique and promoting a fluid forefoot strike. Thumbs up for 'em (provided you are not injured).
HERT are having a trial day for the Newtons next Wednesday. Check out www.hert.com.au. Might be worth a test run.
Hey James,
Can't make Wednesday but interesting article on them, particularly the bit about "not much use if you are already sub-9:30 for 3000m" - have you found that? I'm keen to give them a go if the doctor I'm seeing says they'll be OK.
How is your injury - when will you be back running?
I think if we had a look at you race a 3k you would have great forefoot strike. Alot of the IM triathletes use them to prevent form deteriorating as fatigue accumulates. That photo from Six Foot came at the wrong time, capturing your foot strike after 45k of hilly running, and as you were easing up on the line.
Looking at footage of the fast marathon runners, you can see that they are able to maintain a good forefoot-midfoot strike for the entire distance. Other runners may only be able to hold it for half the time before slipping back to a slower heel strike. The Newtons help to prevent this both through technical adaptations from training, and immediately when wearing them.
Achilles on the mend, first run back tomorrow!
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