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Editor Mike DeDoncker has been a personal trainer since 2000 and a writer in Rockford since 1969. He shares his knowledge on health and fitness here and keeps you up to date on what’s going on with HealthyRockford.com.

Re-learning running

August 12th, 2008 at 05:38pm Mike DeDoncker

I’ve been trying to teach myself Chi Running, the method popularized by ultramarathon runner Danny Dreyer and his wife Katherine in their 2004 book, without getting into the Eastern philosophy parts.

The reason is simple. I haven’t been all that thrilled with my results after returning to running almost a year ago following damaging my Achilles tendons while playing softball.

The central point of Chi Running is to land each step more on your midfoot and push off with your toes, avoiding letting the heel land. The idea is that the traditional heel-strike-to-toe roll actually works like a brake to slow you down, and that the more is better mentality that goes with it leads to almost certain running injuries.

So far, I’ve been able to get into the Chi Running technique just by lifting my knees a little higher, shortening my stride and concentrating more on leg turnover.

The result has been faster half-mile times — 4:40s compared to low 5:00s — for three-mile runs and putting more distance on my hill runs around Sinnissippi Park. Chi Running also supposedly lowers your rate of perceived exertion.

In any event, re-learning running is working so far. I hope the times come down even more as I get better at the technique.

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7 Comments Add your own

  • 1. Robert Carter  |  August 15th, 2008 at 7:17 pm

    My heeel really hurts, even when I am sitting still. What can I do?

  • 2. Mike DeDoncker  |  August 18th, 2008 at 10:43 am

    Robert: Without knowing how your heel pain may have come about, there is no way I could tell much about it and then, of course, I’m not a doctor.
    Assuming we’re not talking about some kind of infection from a wound, I will limit myself to this.
    If you are regular runner and, maybe, you have recently increased the amount or the intensity of your running you might try paying attention to the ligaments, tendons and other fascia in the bottom of your foot.
    As you run — or even if you do a lot of standing on hard surfaces — these fascia can shorten and tighten up. When they do, they pull on the tendons, etc. of the Achilles tendon — all this pulling leads to some pretty serious irritation as they pull across the bones of the heel. In some cases, it’s called plantar fascitis but there are other ailments that doctors are more familiar with.
    In any case, try these:
    1. Roll a cold can of soda with the arch of your foot (shoes and socks off, of course) — keep your toes pointed up as you do. This provides both cold therapy and massage to the shortened tendons. (try to do this at least three times a day)
    2. Lay a small towel at the front of your bare foot and try to scrunch it up using just your toes. (same thing, three times a day).
    3. With your heel planted, try to stretch your toes up as far as possible (you can do this wearing shoes or not as many times a day as you want).
    If, after a week or so, there is no relief. Get it looked at by a doctor.

  • 3. Lawrence Gregory Clarkson  |  August 19th, 2008 at 2:51 pm

    Mike - Would you recommend acupuncture for Robert? I wonder how it feels to get them sharp needles stabbed into your foot.

  • 4. Mike DeDoncker  |  August 19th, 2008 at 3:19 pm

    Lawrence: Making a recommendation like that would be outside my realm of competence.

  • 5. Lawrence Gregory Clarkson  |  August 20th, 2008 at 8:41 am

    Well, do you have any thoughts about homeopathic acupuncture in general? do you think it’s safe to try yourself?

  • 6. Mike DeDoncker  |  August 20th, 2008 at 12:45 pm

    Lawrence: If I were experiencing pain that I thought might be nerve-related and a trip to my doctor hadn’t produced satisfactory results then I might consider acupuncture. In general, I’m not likely to try an alternative treatments unless conventional treatment isn’t working for me, but I have nothing against them.

  • 7. Lawrence Gregory Clarkson  |  August 21st, 2008 at 8:58 am

    I’m sort of asking if you think it’s kinda crazy to try acupuncture at home. On one’s self.

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