Blair Tells Rob All About The Importance of Knowing Your Numbers

The following excerpt is taken from a series of emails between Blair and Myself.  He's incredible.  My brain might explode if I had that much in it.  If you want to really get to the bottom of training intensitiy you need to read this!  Thanks Blair!

Rob: Hey Blair,

My wife did a workout Wed. on her computrainer designed to measure (w/out a sophisticated lab) her lactate threshold.  She rode for 40 minutes on a simulated course containing hills.  She rode the course at her max sustainable effort for the period.  The trainer measured her average wattage produced.  The result was a reading of 178 average watts.  This represented an improvement over her test a few months earlier.

Conversely, her VO2 max approximation on the trainer is a test lasting 4 min at 1% incline.  The goal is to achieve max wattage possible during this period.  I realize these are not the same as the clinical tests you offer.  I am more interested in your thoughts as to why one might be interested in these readings.  Also, can you respond to my notion that VO2 max is indicitave of performance however it’s nothing you can really do anything to improve.  I think of it as more of my gift from god.  Am I wrong?

How do you use lactate threshold and VO2 max measurements to improve performance?  

Blair: not sure if I can give you a Reader's Digest Condensed version of my thoughts , but I'll try

Rob: Thanks Blair.  I don’t need Readers Digest. You can give me the full National Geographic if you prefer J. 

Blair: We all possess the capability for anaerobic and aerobic energy metabolism.  By definition, anaerobic metabolism doesn’t require oxygen for energy i.e., for immediate and short-term exercise.  Aerobic metabolism uses oxygen as it’s main energy source.  The capacity for each varies considerably among individuals and this between-individual variability underlies the concept of individual differences in metabolic capacity for exercise. A person’s capacity for energy transfer is not simply a general factor, but is highly dependent on the form of exercise with which it is trained and evaluated. 

A high oxygen uptake in running, for example, doesn't necessarily assure a similar metabolic power when different muscle groups are activated, as in swimming, cycling, or rowing.  The effects of systematic training are highly specific in terms of neurologic, physiologic, and metabolic demands. 

Maximum oxygen uptake, also called V02 max or max V02 is a measure of aerobic fitness.  Maximum oxygen uptake is simply the maximum capacity for oxygen consumption by the body during maximum exertion.  V02 max is a commonly used determinant of aerobic (cardiovascular) fitness and provides important information on the power of the long-term energy system.  .  Aerobic fitness relates to how well your cardiovascular system works to transport and utilize oxygen in your body.  The better your aerobic fitness the higher your V02 max. 

This is not to say that V02 max is the only determinant of aerobic work capacity.  Other factors, especially those at the muscular level, such as the number of capillaries, enzymes, and muscle fiber type, exert a strong influence on the capacity to sustain high levels of aerobic exercise.

Distance runners, swimming, cyclists, and cross-country skiers have some of the highest V02 max levels recorded.  Measurement of V02 max has become one of the fundamental measures in exercise physiology.  The most accurate way to measure your V02 max is to perform a maximal exercise stress test in a laboratory but some field tests can estimate (with a certain degree of variability) what a person’s maximum aerobic capacity is.  Field tests for predicting V02 max should be viewed with caution but can provide valuable information in the absence of more valid laboratory methods.

V02 max is influenced by many factors.  Of these, the most important appear to be the mode of exercise used to evaluate V02 max, heredity, state of training, age, sex, and body composition.  Each factor contributes uniquely to an individual’s V02 max.

The question is frequently raised concerning the relative contribution of heredity on exercise performance.  Some research has concluded heredity alone can account for 93% of the observed differences in aerobic capacity as measured by V02 max.  In addition, the capacity of the short-term energy system (anaerobic metabolism) was shown to be genetically determined by about 81 to 86%.  This data was researched using 15 pairs of identical twins and 15 pairs of fraternal twins.  It is possible that these estimates represent the upper limit of genetic determination, but the data do suggest that the aerobic systems are significantly influenced by factors related to heredity.

Recent studies have shown that not only is our starting point genetically determined, but also our adaptability to training (how much we improve) is quite variable and genetically influenced. 

Never the less, at any level of competition, it may be the effect of training that determines superior performance in aerobic activities. 

Measuring V02 max will help an individual ensure that their training is at the correct intensity and will help achieve better results.  Furthermore, regular testing throughout the season can be beneficial to tracking and quantifying progress. 

V02 testing only works when the individual comes away with a clear understanding of how and why the training approach needs to be altered to improve performance.  This requires an individual with the expertise and time to educate the client on the meaning of their results and the implication of those results on personal training goals.

Most of the athletes who have a tendency to push into their anaerobic zone, at almost every workout, and then go home are those that don't know what their bodies really need in order to improve. And these are the kids who's performances have kind of flatlined...not improving. Kind of the train hard or go home type attitude. No pain, no gain. This is a particular problem with high school cross country runners, for example. Clint was having problems with Nicole and Nick always wanting to push and then push harder at every workout. Long Runs for them were races. We tested that whole group of Limestone runners 3 times over their last cross country season and were able to show them from the results that there was a time to run "easy" either aerobically or for recovery....and a time to push past their AT's. Ended up with 2 state champions that year and great overall results for the team. Clint knew how to take the results from our discussions and apply them to his runners. Physiologically their AT's and V02's were off the chart, but the numbers from the tests also gave them the confidence they needed to know they could win. Knowing when to train hard enough or easy enough is important....Greg schedules that into his plans. You aren't out there hammering all the time. Most people quite honestly have to slow down to get faster....maximize their base potential and then work on running harder. This requires patience from most runners/athletes. It's a hard concept to understand much less realize. I've had a lot of people come in, take the test, have me outline what I thought they needed and go right back to what they were doing before and wondering why they weren't improving. It's whether you can come in with an open mind and be willing to step back and take a chance so to speak. The results will speak for themselves. There is a balance between training hard and training easy that most athletes don't understand. We're doing some testing on some Bradley/Notre Dame runners right now to establish a baseline and plan to follow them throughout the season til the end of the school year. It will be interesting. I do think it's important to be re-tested on a regular basis like we did with the Limestone kids so you can track progress and tweak the training program. 

Rob:Thanks. I understand VO2 a little better. You’ve got me intrigued. I would like to keep this discussion specific to running for my blog since it’s a site about kicking Schroffs A## in a marathon. Here are a few more questions spurred from your reply….(If I am completely missing one of your premises, please correct me).

1) Why do I really care about VO2? From what I understand you are saying, I cant really change it.

2) Opinion: Isn’t training to run faster at long distance a matter of achieving a higher aerobic threshold (i.e. LT)?

3) How does age and current fitness fit into this discussion (physiology)? I mean if athletic prowess is predetermined at birth, why do old fat men run slower than young skinny men?

4) If I understand you, you’re saying a high percentage of a runner’s potential VO2 is genetic. Does this mean regardless of how fit she is, she’s going to perform at a level that is nearly 90% of what she’s capable of? Does the distance of the run play into this? Do we even need to train to get most of what we are ultimately capable of? (I know it’s really 3 questions J)

5) How does LT play into this discussion? Is it simply the point of exercise intensity where we go from an aerobic to an anaerobic state?

6) I have an (perhaps irrational) fear of being tested. What if I come in and you test me and tell me the fasted marathon I will ever run is 2 hours and 57 minutes. I am not sure I want to be told that. What would you tell me?

Blair:

V02 Max -- First, all of your endurance training depends on you developing your aerobic base (V02 max) to it’s fullest.  If your V02 max is relatively high, your measure of improvement may not be that great 2-5% at most.  Remember these adaptations in V02 max depend on the type of overload imposed.  The specificity principle states that if you want to improve as a runner this is most effectively achieved when the exerciser trains the specific muscles involved in the desired performance i.e., running.  Truly, specific exercise elicits specific adaptations creating specific training effects.  Of note, even when you develop your V02 to it’s maximum potential; improvements in performance are supported by other mechanisms only partly related to the oxygen transport system.  In some tests you may see only a slight increase or no change in V02 max, but an increase in maximum work time to reach that value.   So there is a partial independence of performance measures from physiologic measures which may explain why V02 max values of certain endurance athletes in the 1930’s and 40’s were similar to those of present day athletes, even though the performances of contemporary athletes substantially exceed those of athletes from that era.  This illustrates that a clear distinction be made between physiologic and performance changes with training.  So even though V02 max may peak, performance need not have to. 

 

Knowing your V02 max will give you the proper training intensity to maximize your base fitness. Staying in the appropriate training zones will allow your body to chew up your fat reserves for fuel instead of simply relying on that day’s carbohydrate intake.  Why?  Your body has up to 50 times more energy dammed up in its fat stores than the measly 2,000 carbohydrate calories that can be stored as glycogen.  Tap the fat, and you’re likely to see improvements in both body-fat composition and performance.  The more aerobically fit you are, the higher percentage of fat you’re burning at every level of intensity.  The increase efficiency will show up in faster times, achievable at the same heart rate. 

 

Training at these zones requires some getting use to.  It takes an entirely different mental approach.  Most athletes, both recreational and elite, warm up for their workout, get to feeling OK, and then push it into their anaerobic zone so they can go home and say they got a good workout.  They don’t train hard enough or easy enough, and so they’re stuck in a perpetual no-man’s land.  The bottom line is, to train aerobically requires patience:  The emphasis is long-term gain, not immediate gratification. 

 

Anaerobic Threshold (AT) -- there exists an effort level called the anaerobic threshold (AT) steady state than an athlete can continue at for an extended period of time without having to slow down, usually and hour but sometimes longer.  As long as the athlete maintains this effort level his or her lactate level with remain constant.  At small effort levels above this point the athlete’s lactate level will rise slowly and he or she will be forced to stop, sometimes within a few minutes or sometimes after and extended period of 20-30 minutes.  Above this AT steady state there are no more steady states but an inevitable and frequently rapid progression to exhaustion. 

 

The AT is the single best indicator of endurance performance known.  Generally the athlete with the maximal AT steady state at the higher effort level (speed or power) will be faster in an endurance event.  Increases in AT steady state are almost always accompanied by improvements in race performance in endurance events.  So frequent AT testing (every 4-6 weeks) is usually the best indicator or potential race performance for endurance events.  It is also generally the best measure for improvements due to training or a lack of response to training.  For short events the maximal AT steady state is also highly correlated with performance but anaerobic capacity or the ability to produce lactate and speed will become more important as the events get shorter. 

Training at AT or higher is very stressful and can be a formula for over-training and/or injury.  Very often endurance athletes do not feel much stress when training at AT or higher but this can be deceiving as the stress they are putting on the aerobic system at these high intensities can break down this system too much and result in less aerobic capacity, not more.  That is why is essential to first build a strong aerobic/endurance base before introducing this type of training into your program.  Once the foundation is built, the athlete can start to add in training above their AT. 

V02 variables---SEX --V02 max values are typically higher for men than women even among trained athletes (15 to 30%).  This is generally attributed to differences in body composition and hemoglobin levels.  The aerobic capacity of active females is typically higher than that of sedentary males.

BODY COMPOSITION -- It is estimated that 69% of the differences in V02 max scores among individuals can be explained by differences in body weight, 4% by differences in height, and 1% by variations in lean body weight.  This is why oxygen consumption is expressed in terms of body size (ml – kg – min). 

AGE – After age 25, the max V02 steadily declines although active adults retain a relatively high V02 max at all ages. 

V02 max is not the only variable that determines endurance running performance.  Multiple factors such as body weight and body fatness, running efficiency, nutrition, motivation, and the percentage of one’s aerobic capacity that can be sustained without lactic acid buildup all contribute significantly to successful running. 

As far as telling you your fastest marathon is 2:57…..I don’t think one can accurately predict what an individual’s optimum level of performance is based solely on measuring his V02 max.  I know I can’t.  There’s too much else that needs to be factored in.

Rob:

When you say they don’t work hard enough is that because they go Anaerobic and are forced to stop too soon? If they picked a slower pace, they would be able to work longer? Is that what you mean by patience?

Blair:

Most of the athletes who have a tendency to push into their anaerobic zone, at almost every workout, and then go home are those that don't know what their bodies really need in order to improve. And these are the kids who's performances have kind of flatlined...not improving. Kind of the train hard or go home type attitude. No pain, no gain. This is a particular problem with high school cross country runners, for example. Clint was having problems with Nicole and Nick always wanting to push and then push harder at every workout. Long Runs for them were races. We tested that whole group of Limestone runners 3 times over their last cross country season and were able to show them from the results that there was a time to run "easy" either aerobically or for recovery....and a time to push past their AT's. Ended up with 2 state champions that year and great overall results for the team. Clint knew how to take the results from our discussions and apply them to his runners. Physiologically their AT's and V02's were off the chart, but the numbers from the tests also gave them the confidence they needed to know they could win. Knowing when to train hard enough or easy enough is important....Greg schedules that into his plans. You aren't out there hammering all the time. Most people quite honestly have to slow down to get faster....maximize their base potential and then work on running harder. This requires patience from most runners/athletes. It's a hard concept to understand much less realize. I've had a lot of people come in, take the test, have me outline what I thought they needed and go right back to what they were doing before and wondering why they weren't improving. It's whether you can come in with an open mind and be willing to step back and take a chance so to speak. The results will speak for themselves. There is a balance between training hard and training easy that most athletes don't understand. We're doing some testing on some Bradley/Notre Dame runners right now to establish a baseline and plan to follow them throughout the season til the end of the school year. It will be interesting. I do think it's important to be re-tested on a regular basis like we did with the Limestone kids so you can track progress and tweak the training program. 

Blair T. Gorsuch, MS
Exercise Physiologist
Director, Cardiac Rehabilitation
Proctor Hospital
5405 N. Knoxville Ave. #1
Peoria, IL 61614

Use Hills To Your Advantage! (alternate title: How to be Eff'n Faster Than Schroff)

-- By Adam White




Simply stated, hill training is imperative to the success of any runner. I don’t care if you are shooting for the Olympic 5k finals or trying to break four hours in the marathon, at some point, getting faster will require more strength. One of the purest and most direct tools in developing “running strength” can only be gained by hill training. Now stating that, I don’t want to get into some hair-splitting argument about the exception to the rule, for in everything, especially running where anomalies are ever-present, there is a case to prove or disprove anyone’s point. I will agree there are some people who have achieved great successes without doing much hill training. There are also some individuals whose body simply doesn’t respond well to hill training for a variety of issues. Consequently, that person has to keep hills out of a training program. Nonetheless, my argument would still be the same, how fast could they have been if they had run hills?

I want to clarify the phrase “running strength.” I regard running strength as a fusion of the psyche and body within the act of running. If you want to get faster, you have to get stronger - both physically and mentally. Neither of these two happens by accident. Getting stronger in these two arenas requires one to push his/her body into areas that cause the senses to be bombarded by a variety of different degrees of discomfort. Invariably, pain is guaranteed to clash with your senses. As a result, you must train you body and mind to respond to this physical pain and psychological anguish. One might think that I’m being overly dramatic. Admittingly, my enjoyment of running has sadistic and masochistic roots, but I don’t think that I’m overstating anything when I say that running uphill ‘effin hurts!! Granted, it’s also rewarding as all get up to persevere through a quality hill session. However, the thoughts that go through most people’s heads ¾ of the way up a hill is usually, “Holy S*@#! I think that I need to slow the down!! I might ’effin die!” Being able to overcome these intense feelings and thoughts takes practice. Thus practicing running uphill aggressively in a variety of different applications is necessary. This builds strength, true running strength.

It’s probably a good time to re-state that which goes without saying: when running hills, good form is more important than pace. Proper form when running hills is making sure that your both is properly positioned against the incline of the hill. If you are asking yourself, “What does this mean, and how would I know how to find this position?” This position can be found by imagining a rope coming from the center of your skull pulling your body straight upward toward the sky. This position should place your shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles in a straight line with one another exactly against the percentage of incline. Consequently, when ascending extreme grades, the ground in front of you just might be within reach!! Now that we have our shoulder-hip-knee alignment established we can focus on the leg and arm mechanics.



Strong arm and knee drive are critical to strong hill running. The arm drive helps lift the knees. So, if you can’t lift your arms then your knee drive will slow. If you knee drive slows then so to will your pace – rapidly!! When you lift your knees make sure that your foot is properly dorsiflexed and coming down with as close to a mid-foot strike as possible. If you are over-striking your heel then your body’s momentum is being broken when trying to ascend. By the same token, if you are prancing too much on your toes then you are putting more stress on your calves than necessary. This can lead to prematurely “deadening” your legs in the workout or race. Remember, properly running hills is supposed to hurt! I would far rather have an athlete be walk-running up a hill but with perfect form than seeing someone flailing through a workout. Compromising form quality in a hill workout will drastically diminish the quality of results of that workout.

Since racing is an application of training, let’s start with hill training. What is the best way to do hill training? The answer to this question is not a simply one, for there are many different applications of training on hills depending on what part of the engine you are trying to work. Traditional “hill repeats” are commonly found in successful training programs. These repeats refer to finding a hill that is 200m to ½ mile in length and doing a number of repeats at a certain pace with a specified recovery. However, hill training should be more than just doing a few hill “repeats” every couple weeks. Some type of “hill” discipline must be happening far more frequently.



As an athlete who still enjoys competing and one who has a small bit of experiencing, I think there are two other hill workouts that need to be worked on regularly. The first is a workout that consists of taking a particularly hill route and establish a time for the run…say 70 minutes. Give yourself a set warm up and cool down time (10 minutes) and you’re off! Now after your warm up, every time you come to the bottom of a hill you need to pick up the pace for a period of time (usually 2-3 minutes). Now if your time is expiring just as you are coming to the bottom of another hill, then it is time to do another one. At 35 minutes turn around and continue with these “surges” until you have ten minutes remaining and then cool down.

The other workout is done on the same type of course but this time you must surge hard at the top of every hill for a period of time (1-3 minutes). The same rules apply. Naturally, there is a ton of opportunities to modify and customize these workouts. The principle of the workouts must be maintained: While engaging in continuous running, a runner must learn how to successfully respond to the entire hill.

Notice, I said respond. I am not suggesting that all runners who want to get faster need to learn how to annihilate hills, that’s silly. Responding to a hill means that one is able to evaluate the hill at the bottom of the hill the energy it is going to take to maintain a solid pace and form through the incline, and still allow the runner to crest the top by truly accelerating back to “race pace” as soon as possible as the inclines levels off. This is the point of hill running that people often forget. Getting up the hill is half the battle; the hardest part is teaching the body and mind to accelerate at the top of a hill when all of its senses are saying “we’re at the top, time to relax cause I’m hurting!”

Now might be a logical time to that some of you will be asking what percentage of total effort does all of this translate out to? “Am I supposed to start at 50% effort, and then ¾ of the way up go to 80%, and then being at 95% effort at the top? Or should I start at 70%, drop to….?” You get my point - forget percentages. You’re already over thinking the hill. The hill doesn’t think, it simply is. Your job is to conquer the hill, not let the hill conquer you! If you are training with a GPS you should be pushing to have your pace be virtually the same between ascent, level, and descents. That should be your goal. I know easier said than done. You conquer a hill when you are strong enough to endure its length while being able to come off the top and physically surge in order to make up time from the time you may have lost going up the hill. If you run hills thinking of this, I think that most people will find that hill running cannot be dissected mathematically, hills must be finessed. No one can out-muscle a hill, that attitude will lead to the hills conquering you by going out too fast and getting served half way up the hill or half way through the workout!! Either way, you didn’t pace yourself properly and didn’t leave enough fuel in the tank to either crest the top or finish the workout. The bottom line is when you get to the top of a hill and you are racing, your legs and lungs should hurt. However, you should have the strength, psychologically and physically, to overcome that discomfort and step down in order to return to race pace as quickly as possible.



By being able to surge at the top of a hill is not only important to help one return to race pace as quickly as possible, but it is also a great opportunity to gap your competition. Since the natural tendency of a person is to relax at the top of a hill, and it is clear that most people don’t incorporate adequate hill running into his/her training program, I think it goes without saying that one who has trained on hills has a great opportunity to gain an advantage mentally or physically by gaping their competition going up or coming off the crest of a hill. A person who has trained properly on hills has composure on the ascent. This is something that can often be sensed and seen in a runner while moving “up” the hill. While everyone else is straining to keep pace, the properly trained runner moves with greater ease and relaxation. While everyone else’s breathing elevates and becomes increasingly shallow, the properly trained runner only elevates. Finally, as the top approaches and everyone else is slowing to the point of sometimes that of a walk pace, the properly trained runner can literally accelerate in the final stages of the ascent and continue that surge through the next 200-400 meters.

I know that I have not differentiated between the differences between practicing on hills and racing on hills. Practice teaches us to race. Therefore, when practicing hills, it should be with the thought and effort that one will eventually need to race on hills. Consequently, practicing hills is often times more uncomfortable than actually racing on them. Practice your hills with intensity and tenacity, the same way you want to race on them. Successful hill running is not the one who attacks the bottom of the hill kamikaze style and crawling up the last half. A successful hill runner is one who can maintain pace as much as possible on the ascent and who can surge over the top. Train with control and composure, always putting forth an “A” effort when your training calls for a hill workout!



-- Adam White Owns Running Central in Peoria Illinois. He's ALWAYS helpful and one of Peoria Illinois best! I asked him to be a contributer to Faster-than-Schroff (thanks Adam!). The address for the store is 700 Main Street phone (309)676-6378. You will NOT be dissapointed!

Running on Ice

When watching elite athletes run I am keenly aware of how similar they are.  This video is about efficiency.  Run as if you are running on ice.  Near the end of the clip, the author, Dr. Nicholas Rominov actually runs on ice.  Rominov, is the founder of the pose method of running.  When we think about how we run and try to minimize the forces that slow us down we also may be avoiding unnecessary forces that cause injury.  When you run, envision you are running on ice.  It might prevent you from overstriding or leaning too far back.  Watch the video and comment as you see fit.

Here's another:  Haile Running in Slow Motion (Beautiful)

-Rob

Getting Barefoot Running Right

More art than info this is a really cool animation!

I’ve been running a few more miles barefoot this year. I am experimenting in an attempt to master the art of running “au natural”. I’ve noticed changes to my feet allowing me to go further and faster barefoot but I am not quite yet there. People often ask me why I do it. The answer is basic; derived pleasure. I don’t care whether you are talking about reading poetry, drinking coffee, eating a great meal, or having wild sex. It’s all about the quality of the stimulation. Just like the tongue, the soles of our feet function as a wonderful sensory organ. Just as food gives us pleasure through taste, texture and smell, running barefoot can give you sensory pleasure in a different but no less satisfying way. On the trail, the sensations from earth, grass, moss, pine-needles and other ground textures can both fascinate and delight. Barefoot trail runners appreciate the ground textures as much as their visual vistas of hills, mountains, forests and plains. Going barefoot adds a rewarding tactile dimension to any run. Even the "dreaded" uban environment of man made surfaces illicit pleasurable and satisfying feedback throughout the run. The trick is to learn to run on the surface and build up to the surface.

In short, going barefoot is as much about liberation as sensual enjoyment -- the very same reasons people who own houses choose to camp. Once you get over the barefoot stigma, going shoeless is not only possible but preferable.

Currently, I am only halfway there.

Your feet are pretty tough as demonstrated here

My biggest shortfall to date seems to be the durability of my soles. They just don’t seem to be durable enough to handle the street surfaces for anything longer than 2-4 miles. Slowing me in my quest is the fact I tend push the envelope. All too often I over do it. It’s a two step forward one step back transition. I sometimes end up with blisters forming on the forefoot ball of my foot or a blister that requires I wear shoes for a few days. It’s somewhat frustrating that it’s taking so long to build enough durability in the skin.

Cheers,

Rob

Running Form

Here is a demonstration of running mechanics. They slow the shot's down and use captions to explain what they are looking for. As far as the music....well lets just say it's a little too boy's town for my taste. Did you find this video helpful?



And here is one for barefoot runners. The end of the clip does a great job of showing in slow motoin what the foot does when you run. What do you think? Ready to try some more barefoot running?

Even if the shoe fit's....at least occasionally, forget it.

Many runners focus primarily on the workouts and little on their form. You probably learned to run as a young kid right after you learned to walk. You could run and for the most part that was enough. Efficiency was not important. For the most part what ever you learned then is still a part of your running technique today. In addition, our body changes as we age. Flexibility and muscle tone, even your desk job can change what happens when you run. Do you bend at the waist when you get tired? Do you strike with your heal? To you over pronate? What do you do?

People spend enormous money and time finding shoes to correct discomfort caused by specific running deficiencies but believe there is nothing they can do to correct their form. Before jumping on a pair of extreme control trainers with inserts consider the root cause and forget about the symptoms. An extreme shoe platform can reinforce and amplify your bad habits.

A good place to start is by watching the best IVS runners as well as the elites on television. Forget about the blistering pace.....what is different about the way they run? What's different about the technique? Notice how effortless they make it look.

Have an objective third party like Adam, Greg or Blair watch you run. Have a friend video tape you running. Concentrate on making adjustments to make you run more like those who seem to run so gracefully. Time spent improving form can be very rewarding. Many form improving drills can be completed in a small amount of time and they are not especially taxing. The benefits can last a lifetime.

Strength training, flexibility, and techniques such as barefoot running are great ways to get your running form where you need it. Train your brain! Barefoot running gives you mucho feedback (at first a bit too much). It also strengthens the feet. This can improve efficiency and lessen the chance for injury.

Mark Sisson, who runs the blog Marks Daily Apple writes "When was the last time you left your house without shoes? Hard to say? When was the last time you ran without shoes? Summer, circa 12 years old? If you are to listen to the growing number of barefoot runners out there you are truly missing out.

It turns out we were all born barefoot. No, really. As hard as it is to believe, no one came strolling into this world pre-packaged with a pair of loafers or Nike’s latest cross-trainers. That alone is a good enough argument for not wearing shoes, right? Yeah, yeah, so goes the same argument for public nudity. But there really is something to the notion that going barefoot (not bare-naked) is good for you. "

You can check out the entire post in Mark's blog! It's a great read for anyone considering barefoot running:

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/even-if-the-shoe-fits-forget-it/

Cheers!

Rob