Lyndon wrote:
> You are making a dangerous assumption: that modern running shoes are good for you. There is a
> certain amount of evidence that many (but not all) running injuries are in fact caused by said
> modern running shoes. The highly "cushioned" shoes with high heel lifts cause you to run
> unnaturally and cause part of the musculature in your feet to weaken, which makes you both slower
> and more prone to injury. Many "old school" guys like Joe Henderson know this and avoid the modern
> wonders like the plague. Some of us who regularly post here feel the same.
This is always a fun discussion. The discussion is like cars kill people, Fluoride in the water
causes dementia and possibly one's ovaries will fall out if you run. Are these true maybe yes, maybe
no. Ok, the ovary crack is a little off the mark.
What we do know is out parents stuff our feet into shoes before we even take our first step. Unlike
the Abebe Bikila's who grow up barefoot our parents never give us a chance to develop strong feet.
In effect we are victims of honest intentions.
>
> If you have frequent injuries or pain, you might consider doing some barefoot running (on soft
> surfaces like beach sand or grass) or running in minimalist trainers/flats, and learn how to run
> (i.e., NOT on your heels). This can often do more for injury-plagued runners than every running
> engineering contraption in existence...but the shoe companies obviously go to great lengths to
> keep people from figuring this out.
On the surface this sounds goods - strengthen weak muscles. I'm suggesting if you plan to do this do
it very gradually over a long period of time. If your feet are used to being coddled you may do more
harm than good. I would suggest some very specific foot strengthening exercises long before you run
barefoot through the park.
>
> Something you might want to contemplate (Abebe Bikila running the entire 1960 Olympic Marathon
> BAREFOOT):
>
>
http://www.ethiopians.com/Abikila.jpg
And the Sherpa's can climb without Oxygen and the Copper Canyon folks do ultras wearing old car tire
swaths strapped to their feet.
--
Doug Freese "Caveat Lector"
[email protected]