To Run Better, Start by Ditching Your Nikes • Hacker News Board

Re: To Run Better, Start by Ditching Your Nikes

#11

Post by mannicken » Thu, Jul 16, 2009, 12:50 AM UTC

To run better, seriously, start by losing some weight. I've ran 35-50 mile a week for some time, also eating like a pig, and I just kept running worse and worse and gaining weight, in the end was unable to break 6:20 i the mile and 8:30 pace was the hard pace.. I took a two month break (5-15 mi a week just because it's hard to stop so suddenly), started counting calories and lost some serious weight. After that, I'm flying again :).

It's just not fun to jog at 9 minute/mile pace.

As for shoes, wouldn't worry about them. Best runners I've met (sub 4:30 mile) use Nike and Asics, and I haven't noticed correlation between shoe size and how good a person runs. A much bigger correlation usually appears to be between person's gut and how easy he or she runs :)

Re: To Run Better, Start by Ditching Your Nikes

#12

Post by dannyr » Thu, Jul 16, 2009, 1:22 AM UTC

mscarborough wrote: post #8

This reminds me of an article I saw in 5280 (local Denver mag), or some such, about an indigenous people in Mexico. Running is a big part of their culture and they run long distances and difficult terrain in sandals. Wikipedia Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarahumara [edit]: Here is the 5280 article, which goes into some interesting details: http://www.5280.com/issues/2009/0905/feature.php?pageID=1691

Here's a related article too:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1170253/The-...

Re: To Run Better, Start by Ditching Your Nikes

#13

Post by brown9-2 » Thu, Jul 16, 2009, 1:34 AM UTC

mannicken wrote: post #11

To run better, seriously, start by losing some weight. I've ran 35-50 mile a week for some time, also eating like a pig, and I just kept running worse and worse and gaining weight, in the end was unable to break 6:20 i the mile and 8:30 pace was the hard pace.. I took a two month break (5-15 mi a week just because it's hard to stop so suddenly), started counting calories and lost some serious weight. After that, I'm…

What pace do you find fun to run at?

Re: To Run Better, Start by Ditching Your Nikes

#14

Post by metra » Thu, Jul 16, 2009, 1:42 AM UTC

To whomever wants to run barefoot: good luck. Try it out for a few months and post about how it went.

It seems like there are a lot of articles lauding barefoot running but not a lot of barefoot runners - at least in the US. To me, switching from my Asics to bare feet is asking for trouble after years of heel first running. The switch would require months if not years of slow and steady adjustment, which I don't think most people have time for.

Re: To Run Better, Start by Ditching Your Nikes

#15

Post by Aron » Thu, Jul 16, 2009, 1:52 AM UTC

pmorici wrote: post #4

cakeface wrote: post #2

Awesome! I'm so glad someone posted this link. I read Chris McDougall's book Born to Run recently and it was really eye opening. As a long time runner I felt that the key to avoiding injuries was good running shoes. The idea that no running shoes was actually the key would never have crossed my mind. I found some of the statistics in the book to be really interesting. One guy researching bare foot running makes some…

Except for the fact that most people like to run on paved surfaces where you're going to rip up your feet and get a nail in your toe if you run bare foot. Running bare foot basically limits you to grassy areas in parks that are not also frequented by heroine users.

I've tried it on a treadmill. The need for callouses becomes exponential with respect to the speed you are running.

Re: To Run Better, Start by Ditching Your Nikes

#16

Post by gregwebs » Thu, Jul 16, 2009, 1:53 AM UTC

pmorici wrote: post #3

It isn't really about the shoe, strictly speaking. It's about running form. Good form means you land on the paw of your foot instead of the heal. If you have good form you will have less injuries. landing on the paw of your foot is something that is hard to do when wearing regular running shoes unless you are going faster. All these new sock shoes are doing is making it easier to have good running form since you natu…

Great point. There are also other negative aspects of shoes besides promoting heel striking that have little to do with form. Every shoe besides the Vibram Five Fingers I have ever seen has too small of a toe box. Arch support and cushioning don't let you use your arch and the rest of the leg properly. [1] The Vibram Five Fingers get this right also.

1. Mark Bishop,* Paul Fiolkowski,† Bryan Conrad,* Denis Brunt,‡ and MaryBeth Horodyski. Athletic Footwear, Leg Stiffness, and Running Kinematics. J Athl Train. 2006 Oct–Dec; 41(4): 387–392.

Re: To Run Better, Start by Ditching Your Nikes

#17

Post by mhb » Thu, Jul 16, 2009, 2:12 AM UTC

mscarborough wrote: post #8

This reminds me of an article I saw in 5280 (local Denver mag), or some such, about an indigenous people in Mexico. Running is a big part of their culture and they run long distances and difficult terrain in sandals. Wikipedia Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarahumara [edit]: Here is the 5280 article, which goes into some interesting details: http://www.5280.com/issues/2009/0905/feature.php?pageID=1691

There is a great This American Life episode about Running After Antelope which references the Tarahumara: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=685

Re: To Run Better, Start by Ditching Your Nikes

#18

Post by wozza » Thu, Jul 16, 2009, 2:34 AM UTC

metra wrote: post #14

To whomever wants to run barefoot: good luck. Try it out for a few months and post about how it went. It seems like there are a lot of articles lauding barefoot running but not a lot of barefoot runners - at least in the US. To me, switching from my Asics to bare feet is asking for trouble after years of heel first running. The switch would require months if not years of slow and steady adjustment, which I don't thin…

It would only require a couple of weeks, if not days. These journalists need to cover their arses.

Re: To Run Better, Start by Ditching Your Nikes

#19

Post by arohner » Thu, Jul 16, 2009, 3:51 AM UTC

metra wrote: post #14

To whomever wants to run barefoot: good luck. Try it out for a few months and post about how it went. It seems like there are a lot of articles lauding barefoot running but not a lot of barefoot runners - at least in the US. To me, switching from my Asics to bare feet is asking for trouble after years of heel first running. The switch would require months if not years of slow and steady adjustment, which I don't thin…

Well, I can't comment about running barefoot, but I can comment about running in traditional running shoes vs. running in cleats. When I first started playing ultimate frisbee, I used running shoes because that's what I had. I got shin splits constantly. Within a week of switching to soccer cleats, with almost no padding, the shin splints went away and never came back.

It's also worth remembering that not everyone has been running heel first for years. Most of them haven't been running at all.

Re: To Run Better, Start by Ditching Your Nikes

#20

Post by ZachS » Thu, Jul 16, 2009, 3:55 AM UTC

What works for me is running in shoes for my workout, and then doing barefoot strides in a grassy field to strengthen my feet and ankles and improve my form. Running barefoot everywhere would be hard, mostly because there aren't a lot of soft trails for bare feet.