I need brain training for my endurance training

[takhisis]

Oh yeah, just after starting the walk/jog thing, I developed a weird lump on the back of my achilles tendon. At first I thought it was maybe just irritation from crappy shoes, but then I got some better ones and it still kept coming and going, along with residual tendon pain. We eventually figured out that it was an odd-looking form of tendonitis,

Comments

[bardon]

Please forgive my ignorance, but is Fox a new nickname for Jay, your personal trainer or someone else I should've picked up on? :)

[takhisis]

Housemate. EMT, combat medic, and zombie writer/junkie. :)

[bardon]

Ah, gotcha!

[manaolana]

Yes it does sound like a form issue but I would do some research since, from everything I have heard, heel striking is bad for the bod.

[takhisis]

Well, mid-foot strike at least, rather than staying up on the balls of my feet the whole time. ;)

[trickykitty]

Ooh. That's really good you figured that one out. Hopefully you'll be able to make the adjustments necessary to "find your own stride" now. (Yeah, I know - I'm full of corny puns.)

Back in junior high I was one of only 2-3 students on the track team that ran both distance and sprinting, and I always thought it was a breathing thing that made people default to one or the other. (I even had a major hyperventilation fit at one point during training, so after that I concentrated quite a lot more on my breathing.) I never thought about the actual mechanics of the stride. That's actually pretty interesting to hear.

[laoke]

Have you considered changing running shoes to something like a Vibram 5-Finger shoe with minimal (read no) heel cushioning? They're definitely not for everyone but they're designed to use a toe-heel strike. I love them, although they are almost crippling for the first couple of weeks as your legs adjust to the difference...

[hillbillie]

Huh.

Back when I used to run miles (those days are gone, along with my knees), I broke all the rules.
Ran barefoot.
And on my toes. Okay, balls of my feet. Felt great. Go figure.

And (trying to stop this intoxicating new personal trend of using two-word sentences), I ran at night. Much cooler, and nobody to see me. Or so I told myself.

Nowadays, I swear by walking uphill, in long, easy, leaned-in strides. Great for ze butt-muscles.