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Run to Stay Young

well.blogs.nytimes.com

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Re: Run to Stay Young

#21

Post by beaumartinez »

increment_i wrote: post #6

After 30 years of running, I can attest to the irreversible damage caused to knees, shins, and other joints and ligaments due to running on paved and other man made surfaces. A good alternative as you get up in years is swimming and/or cycling or recumbent biking.

I've always heard a lot of this is due to improper running technique, since shoe technology shifted to a heavily-padded heel. This in turn made people more likely to land on the heel, which sends the shock right up the leg, into the knee.

Barefoot running, and less padded shoes, promote landing on the balls of your feet (as otherwise it's incredibly painful!). Landing on the balls of your feet allows your foot to reduce the force that gets shot up the leg.

Re: Run to Stay Young

#22

Post by uberalex »

increment_i wrote: post #6

After 30 years of running, I can attest to the irreversible damage caused to knees, shins, and other joints and ligaments due to running on paved and other man made surfaces. A good alternative as you get up in years is swimming and/or cycling or recumbent biking.

All sports have complications. Swimmers can get shoulder issues and tendinitis (http://physioworks.com.au/Injuries-Conditions/Activities/swi...). Cyclists can suffer overuse injury, but also seem at risk of getting mown down by traffic (admittedly a general risk, but it seems a higher one for regular bike users) http://physioworks.com.au/Injuries-Conditions/Activities/cyc...

I suspect it's a matter of cross-training, of trying to do some compensating weight training, and luck.

Re: Run to Stay Young

#23

Post by shepardrtc »

melling wrote: post #17
matwood wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What kind of shoes did you have? What kind of surface did you run on? Did you get your stride checked? Did work up to any distance or go all out day 1? Because running looks easy as opposed to say weight lifting, people often do it without thinking. Running is just like any other exercise in that you have to start slow and work up to more. You also have to do some research for proper technique and equipment.

New Balance 990. I started with C25k but had to repeat many days. I'm quite out of jogging shape. I run on the sidewalk or road.

You probably need a different brand of shoes. For instance, New Balance works great for me, but I can't ever wear Nike or Avia. Both of those brands really hurt my feet, even though I run all the time. Keep trying different brands, or go to one of those fancy shoe places that can fit your feet properly.

Re: Run to Stay Young

#24

Post by 001sky »

Hasu wrote: post #18
melling wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tried jogging over the summer for the first time in years, but my feet started hurting. It would take days to recover. I gave up after 2 months. It feels good but I seem prone to injury.

Can I ask what kind of shoes you were wearing, and if you tried other shoes? Have you ever tried running barefoot? When I started running, I wore shoes, and my feet hurt all the time. I stopped wearing shoes, and the foot pain stopped, too. I've since found shoes I can wear when it's cold/wet that don't hurt, but running barefoot is still my go-to style. I think normal running shoes are probably fine for most people,…

Not to nitpick, but a couple of comments:

The ounce of truth is that feet (in general) need to be strengthened. YOu can do fun stuf like walking on the beach, on gravel roads, or proper rock climbing, or balance beam work. All of which iwll work to strenghten your feet. What's funny is once your feet are strong, shoes have little to do with it.[1] The inverse is not true - weak feet in barefoot shoes - is likely to create a problem.

Barefoot style shoes may be useful for some people with strong feet, but they are a poor substitute for developing strong feet in the first-place. And they can be outright dangerous for people with weak feet and poor balance, or people subjecting themselves to long-distance or endurance situations. Whereas a trail-running shoe used in a hiking application is a better, safer, and more useful piece of gear.

Lastly, one nice feature that has come out in the recent years is the ability to get the right (so called) drop, in a variety of styles of shoe. And shoes that are either too angled or too 'flat' will present additional challenges, but expecially people with weak feet. The footbed angle needs to be selected based on application.

[1] They can still hurt you, but strong feet in good shoes tend to be fine.

Re: Run to Stay Young

#25

Post by tormeh »

melling wrote: post #17
matwood wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What kind of shoes did you have? What kind of surface did you run on? Did you get your stride checked? Did work up to any distance or go all out day 1? Because running looks easy as opposed to say weight lifting, people often do it without thinking. Running is just like any other exercise in that you have to start slow and work up to more. You also have to do some research for proper technique and equipment.

New Balance 990. I started with C25k but had to repeat many days. I'm quite out of jogging shape. I run on the sidewalk or road.

You probably know this, but soft surfaces are a lot better than hard ones, and be careful when running downhill.

Re: Run to Stay Young

#26

Post by chatmasta »

acadien wrote: post #20
chatmasta wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I ran 4 years of D1 cross country. Can confirm. The oft-repeated trope is "concrete is 12x harder than soft surface grass." Not sure how true that is or how the physics work, but stay away from roads. Run on the dirt on the side of them.

Do you (or anybody) have evidence to support this? Genuinely curious since everything I've read shows that surface doesn't matter. I understand this result is counter-intuitive but I was under the impression its a well documented result.

Nothing beyond personal experience and knowing my own body. After you run every day for 8 years of your life you tend to notice little differences in how you feel day-to-day. For example, it's not a coincidence that after three months in Houston running on only pavement, I had far more ankle/knee/plantar pains than after a season of running on trails. Also, trails have the added benefit of activating a greater diversity of muscles in your feet, because you need to "dance around the roots."

Re: Run to Stay Young

#27

Post by elwell »

beaumartinez wrote: post #21
increment_i wrote: post #6

After 30 years of running, I can attest to the irreversible damage caused to knees, shins, and other joints and ligaments due to running on paved and other man made surfaces. A good alternative as you get up in years is swimming and/or cycling or recumbent biking.

I've always heard a lot of this is due to improper running technique, since shoe technology shifted to a heavily-padded heel. This in turn made people more likely to land on the heel, which sends the shock right up the leg, into the knee. Barefoot running, and less padded shoes, promote landing on the balls of your feet (as otherwise it's incredibly painful!). Landing on the balls of your feet allows your foot to red…

Running barefoot on pavement in the city doesn't work very well. Every time I try it for a significant journey, I can barely walk for a week due to blisters and small glass fragments. Also, people, rightly, stare at me like I'm insane.

Re: Run to Stay Young

#28

Post by elwell »

chatmasta wrote: post #12
increment_i wrote: post #6

After 30 years of running, I can attest to the irreversible damage caused to knees, shins, and other joints and ligaments due to running on paved and other man made surfaces. A good alternative as you get up in years is swimming and/or cycling or recumbent biking.

I ran 4 years of D1 cross country. Can confirm. The oft-repeated trope is "concrete is 12x harder than soft surface grass." Not sure how true that is or how the physics work, but stay away from roads. Run on the dirt on the side of them.

I would rather run on a level surface even if it is harder. You can hurt your knee or ankle rather quickly running through some fields; but that's part of the experience I guess.

Re: Run to Stay Young

#29

Post by elwell »

dazc wrote: post #14
chatmasta wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I ran 4 years of D1 cross country. Can confirm. The oft-repeated trope is "concrete is 12x harder than soft surface grass." Not sure how true that is or how the physics work, but stay away from roads. Run on the dirt on the side of them.

And also avoid running downhill.

Yes, running uphill is a better workout and it feels better on the knees.

Re: Run to Stay Young

#30

Post by djtriptych »

increment_i wrote: post #6

After 30 years of running, I can attest to the irreversible damage caused to knees, shins, and other joints and ligaments due to running on paved and other man made surfaces. A good alternative as you get up in years is swimming and/or cycling or recumbent biking.

I ran pain-free for years on concrete in vibram toe shoes. I ended up convincing myself that one needs to re-learn how to run, but that it is indeed possible to run even on hard surfaces if your technique is efficient enough.

edit: An excellent video showing the subtleties of perfect form: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTMgIViinuQ

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