Running? (2 Viewers)

I tried to take up running again recently, I ran to the shop (hardly any distance) along the grassy bit beside the footpath (it was still fairly hard) and spent the next day limping and hobbling around with a gammy knee. Am I doing it wrong or is everything my parents fault? The same thing happens whenever I go near a treadmill but those cross trainer things are alright.
 
running seems like a bad idea

there seem to be all these super-fit people whose knees are fucked from it; i can't imagine it would end well for the likes of me
 
I read this entire thread while waiting for the rain to stop so I could go for a run...very heartening. For the last couple of weeks I've been "running" again after a break of a couple of years. Mostly barefoot...the Born To Run book was my starting point. (@Shaney It's a great encouragement for people who are worried about hip/knee/back problems. It's a really good motivator too...it'll certainly get you out again to take a crack at it if your resolution is low).

I'm hoping to get past the couple of months enthusiasm I normally have for a project like this, and build it into what passes for a routine in my life. I'm still flolloping along like a bullock trying to get out of a muddy ditch, but it's definitely easier than I remember it before.

Some of the barefoot runners in the book use these flat sandals called huaraches to protect their feet, which I have made and have been using for a few days...they help with gravel/broken glass worries.

Anyone know a good stretching regimen for the calves? That's been my main problem. They get very tight. What I do so far is a ten minute walk and a bit of random stretching of the sore parts, then off for whatever I can manage of a run, and a walk home.

Still raining.
 
Just back from a drizzly 2mile run, v happy with progress.

Right, @Lili Marlene, get ready for a tl/dr post:

It's kind of a grail quest story. McDougall was a recreational runner who kept injuring himself, and began to look at what the problems were, and how to solve them.
There are several strands to his search,
One is running shoes. He quotes a convincing amount of academic research to say that running shoe technology is damaging people because (to summarise) it over-protects the foot, making it weak, and encourages bad running technique leading to knee and hip and back injury. There's a guy who says that because of the prevalence of injuries, huge numbers of people are put off running, with a big health loss...in fact most runners will get injured every year, believe it or not. And the more you spend on your running shoes the more likely you are to be injured. The foot is designed with an arch which absorbs shock, and to support it is to remove its reason for being there. Also, cushioned heels encourage a runner to land on his/her heel which brings no benefit and directs impact shock straight into the knee and hip. He blames Bill Bowerman, the guy who started Nike for this, because Bowerman was the person who started the trend for cushioned soles. Before that runners used flat plimsolls which are perfectly good. There's some acknowledgement in the book that Nike and similar companies know this.

There's also a good bit about the evolutionary biology of humans, where he suggests that the reason we outlived Neanderthals is because we can run, and that it's the most natural exercise for us.
We can regulate our breathing while we're running, but quadruped animals can't because the sloshing back and forth of their internal organs while they're running forces them to take a breath every pace. So if an animal chases them, the only way they can cool down is to get way far ahead of the pursuing animal and stop to pant. There's some evidence to suggest that humans had a hunting technique called persistence hunting which involves pursuing an animal just fast enough that it can never stop for long enough to cool down, and eventually dies of over-heating. This may be why we outlived the bigger stronger Neanderthals - so running may be what enabled us to survive.

The main thread of the book is a journey to Mexico to meet and eventually run with the Tarahumara, a Mexican community who are legendary for their running ability. And they run longer and faster than any other human beings, while either completely barefoot or wearing thin flat sandals called huaraches. So he gets into an enjoyable glance through the reasons barefoot running is good for a runner. I won't spend time summarising this, there are loads of videos on youtube which detail why it's good.
Along the way a legendary race gets organised by the guy you mentioned - he calls himself Caballo Blanco in the book - in Mexico, pitting the best ultra-marathon runners they can find, with the Tarahumara. McDougall gets to know most of them, including some of the Mexicans. His portraits of them are what I enjoyed most, they're all very joyful figures in various ways, who really love running...you do get a nice sense of the headspace they get into. They all seem like the kind of people who either don't see the barriers in their way, or just plough through them, which is very encouraging.
 
Anyone tried the book / barefoot running? So far (1 month) I've really been enjoying it. Somehow it's made the process easier, and very enjoyable. So far (fingers crossed) no injuries or any problems that a day off or a good stretch haven't entirely cured.
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Anyone tried the book / barefoot running? So far (1 month) I've really been enjoying it. Somehow it's made the process easier, and very enjoyable. So far (fingers crossed) no injuries or any problems that a day off or a good stretch haven't entirely cured.
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This was also in the NY Times a while back

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back at it

i suck
I was deciding whether I’d go back to the gym this morning and just decided not to. Then I logged in here and saw this and thought: “Shit, if even @pete is doing some exercise, I should probably go out myself.” So thanks for the inspiration. I think.
 
I was deciding whether I’d go back to the gym this morning and just decided not to. Then I logged in here and saw this and thought: “Shit, if even @pete is doing some exercise, I should probably go out myself.” So thanks for the inspiration. I think.

Well, my inspiration came directly from

 

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