Mid-foot running - yeah, right..

About 270 miles ago I purchased some Newton running shoes with the idea that they would help me become a more natural mid-foot runner, which of course is supposed to be more efficient that any other kind of stride...  But as all runners know, everyone runs a little bit different simply because no two people are built exactly the same.

The net-net here is that after 270 miles, I'm realizing that I'm not a mid-foot runner; I'm more of a "flat foot" runner, trending towards fore-foot, but definitely not a true mid-foot runner. In other words, I'm not landing on the balls of my feet, but rather further back. Ok - so does that really matter?  Not really.  At least I don't think so.

I've probably spent a large portion of those 270 miles trying to run on my forefoot, i.e. land on the nubs on the bottom of the Newton shoes.  But it just never felt right, I could not get into a good cadence, and I definitely could not keep it up for miles on end.  For short distances, I was definitely running faster, but my stride could never quite get into it.

I finally sort of just let myself "run" and tried to pay attention to how I was running. I naturally lean ever so slightly into my run, but I also consciously think about making sure that my hips are forward. This keeps me from slouching and getting sloppy in my posture. I try to imagine that I'm driving my hips forward, almost like I have a wire attached to to the mid point of my hips and it is pulling me up the road or trail.  The net result is that my feet follow and by conscienciously making sure that my feet are always landing under my hips, I don't heel-strike.  But it's also not a forefoot stride - it's really more of "forward-flat-foot" stride.

My knees, hips, and ankles seem to be ok with it - I can do this for many miles, although I do mix up my stride a bit on on long runs just to ease my leg muscles.  I'm also finding that I'm a tad faster.  It may be an illusion right now (I haven't run any events, like a 5 or 10K to confirm it), but my splits seem to be better.

So what's the point of this?  Simple: I like the Newtons and I think that they are helping me run better.  But I also believe that I'm running better because I letting myself run naturally and not how someone is suggesting that I run.

166 days to the MCM!