Running, Part 1

Alrighty. I decided to finally write about running. Now take what I say with a grain of salt. I'm not the best runner in the world, nor do I have the best form, but I might have some tips that could help you.

First off: the balls of your feet. Did you know you aren't supposed to run your heels or on your toes? You're supposed to run on the balls of your feet. If you don't know where that is, it's right behind your toes and in front of your arch.

When I say run on the balls of your feet, I don't mean never let your toes touch the ground. You want to land on the balls of your feet, and then you can push off the the balls of your feet and then the your toes. Also, running on the balls of your feet doesn't mean keeping your calf flexed the whole time so that your heel never gets close to the ground. You should land on the balls of your feet and then let your heel go down to about one centimeter off the ground, then you should flex your calf and launch forward.

The heel you always want to avoid because when you land on your heel you're pounding your shin and sometimes even your lower back. Both or those are bad things to pound. Shin splints and lower back problems are not things you want to have. Another reason not to run on your heels is that it's like tapping the brakes.

Now, if you were a heel runner in your distance running (I was), you'll find this habit extremely hard to break. You'll also notice it's hard to land your foot in front of you without landing on your heel or having your calf fully flexed to land on the balls of your feet. This is because landing your foot in front of you is wrong. I didn't know this until last year during track, and I'm still trying to break the habit. Apparently landing in front of your body is once again, like tapping the breaks. You might think it's better because you have longer strides, but long slow strides aren't much of a match against medium-long fast strides. Now, where on earth should my foot go if my foot can't land in front of me? Well, you still want to take long strides and keep your knees up, but when you bring your foot down, don't just put it down in front of you but bring it right behind you. Only an inch or two behind your center of gravity. Your foot should hit just behind your body, your momentum will carry you through. This way you're pushing your body forward instead of pulling it over your leg and then pushing it. Now to make this works you have to pound a little into the ground (not a ton for distance, but very hard for sprinting), then launch yourself forward with your calf. Now you'll have to do your own timing with your strides, I'm not quite sure what the 'perfect timing' is, or if there is one. I just run.

There is a ton more about running, but I could write for hours about the stuff I learned about running through coaches, personal experience, and reading stuff online. I'll write more about this later!