A week ago, my friend Jason Robillard posted some interesting anecdotes about his training for the Western States 100. As part of his preparation for the race, he is maintaining his normal training schedule while fasting (going without food) for 12-48 hours at a stretch. His plan is to mentally and physically train his body to run even in the absence of victuals.
O yes. It sounds dumb. But he’s actually a very intelligent, thoughtful person…
“We knew we could run in the mud because of our strength training,” said the coach of the Coatesville, Pennsylvania high school boys cross-country team after they won the 2006 Nike Team Nationals on a wet and muddy Portland Meadows 5k course (Sports Illustrated 105(23): 48, 2006).
It’s a common misconception that the best way to run faster and further in a race is to run faster and further during training. While nothing can replace the base miles needed for good running performance, running is not the only thing we need to run well.
Here is a little evidence for you from … Continue Reading
A few years ago, before I started running barefoot, I remember taking a local running shoe store up on their offer for a free pair of shoes – in exchange for routing my patients to their store no doubt….
After an apparently expert evaluation of my walking gait, the sales associate announced his assessment that my feet were flat and that I pronated.
Then he recommended “motion control” shoes to help me dodge running injuries.
Apparently my feet are flawed and I shouldn’t be walking on them without $115 of technology between them and the ground. “Good thing I was born in … Continue Reading
