Bounce is very important for running. I've seen folks humping up and down roads and paths as if there is no tomorrow. It is like humping like a rabbit!. Just you wait!
With wayward bounce, tomorrow is the concern path. Today is is all good, jumping, feels goods, feels fast and seems like it is all happening. I have experienced this as that is why i can write. I guess it is where I am going that matters rather than where I have been.
Say for example get a rubber ball and bounce it on the concrete, tarmac, gravel and grass. The bounce will be higher on concrete and then tarmac - then gravel and then grass. If you put rose peddles in to the equation if would be the lucky last and we can use that to out imagination as we are not going in to details about running on rose pedals. So as we run, with each step we put 2 to four times out body weight on our landing feet. That is lot of weight. The heavier you are more the the weight you put on your feet(no bull!). If you tend to bounce, the higher you go up with every stride and then one that goes up has to come down in the real world and the landing force is higher with higher you go. Why; that is thanks to a thing gravity. If you think I am lying ask Sir Newton if you can find him. If it wasnt for gravity i would be writing about flying than running. We all get high as kites. Happy days.......
So what are the consequences of bouncing. Weeeeelll it can be advantaged in one way and it can be disadvantaged in another way. Bounce is not bad. You need that reverse force from your stride to kick further. But has to be on a moderation. This would help you to increase the stride angle. If you increase your stride angel less number of strides for the same distance.
If you bounce way to much than you need. You just bounce up and down like a rabbit and going no where. I have seen folks just go up and down and their feet hit their back side but their stride angle is so small. That is waste of energy. It is like the bob effect in mountain biking. To much energy wasted on the shocks of the shoes and just going up and down. Also this is ingredients for leg knee and ankle injuries. It is the strain from landing from higher vertical elevation. If you tend to land on the back of your foot this makes this even worse as you are not letting your body properly balance your weight when you land and all the force goes directly on to lower part of the feet. The heavier you are the more strainer it gets.
So what is the best. If you closely study the professional long distance running athletes, there vertical movement is near zero. There head is always level parallel to the ground. So there is a bounce and bounce is offset by the stride angle. So when you run make sure you get a good vision rather than things around you go up and down. Just make sure it is like walking. Keep the head straight, body slightly forward and well relaxed. Also try to land on the ball of your feet (mid section) and then back of the feet and then kick forward. So it is not an overnight cure. Practice takes time. Best is to go slow for couple of days. Just concentrate on your feet and vision. Keep close attention to details on the stride angle.
These days i try to do two days of slow running between the long run and mid week fast run. This is purely to concentrate on the way i run. I may not be perfect but i always look out for things to improve myself. Doing it for me as no one else would do it for me i guess.
I personally think a video review would do a world of good to your running technique. I haven't done this personally but i guess it is good. Also on those slow recovery running days make sure you keep an eye on your own body parts rather than other passing bye opposite sexes body parts. Can be entertaining but may not be good for you in the long run!
Friday, 14 January 2011
Sunday, 9 January 2011
The bike shed - awwwwwwwsome
So what does a bike shed got to do with running. It is like a fish needs a bicycle. I personally think cycling is the best form of cross traiing for runners. Why, is is less stress on the knees. Get a good worksout without giving much stress on the heart. Can do it stationary bike or anywhere. It is frees as beer other than spending few moolas to get the freedom machine.
Now the Bike Hut at the CERES(Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies) and it is a community environment park. Where it is. It is based in sunny Melbourne- Australia and exact location is East Brunswick by the awesomely beautiful and ever flowing Merry Creek. It is heaven on earth. If you have agypsie heart, this is one of those places to be. If i can close your eyes and imagine what the Hobit Village in this day in age looks like. Weeeell this is it. It has lots of organicaly grown vegitable farms. People selling them all over the place. Organic retaurants, organinc clothig, organic frigin everything under the sun. So if you are an organinc sort of person no doubt you would like this. Only thing is you would get ant Wide Screen, HDTV LCD LED DVD ADHD WTF TVs in this place. It is a down to earth experience for all you wonderful peoples.
So the bike hut is part of this. They recycle the bikes and let the masses ride a pushie for the minimum cost. This joint bike heaven. Bikes galore. Bike everywhere. They have a arch made out from bike wheels. You would get Lance Armstrong sort of bikes here. But you can get a aetrage decenet bike for no cost. There are voultiers giving you advice how to fix the bikes. Tools are free to use. A membership is $10 for year if you are interested. Only cost is the parts and even they are cheap as chips. You can help your self for thousands of bkes and feel free to rip them apart to your wish as long as you pay for the parts.
Soon as i saw this place i knew this is a my kind of place. It just feels right to recycle bikes, rather than usning to fill junk dumps. Atleast some peron get to use an anwnted bike. All people work here are here to share a pashion like pashion fruit. I guess they use the proceeed to improve the awareness of bike riding and maintain the place.
What else can i tell you about the place. So my experence. I went there to buy couple of bike wheels as both bikes i have, had twisted back wheels. It is that my 3 hour bike ride to work and my stupid moves on bike paths may have caused them to twist and shout. Im like Come on, come on, come on, baby now...... have to get this bikes fixed. So they have separate section for bike wheels. A sea of wheels and jump right in to get what i want. So the the gentlmen who was in chargeIf you prefer a mechanic do all the work for you then it is best to go to any other bike shops. said i should chose an aluminum wheel and he is truly right. Cost for two near brand new wheel $15. It woudnt get reasonable than that. So lovely people if you want to get your bike fixed, place to be is where else but Bike Hut.
Now the Bike Hut at the CERES(Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies) and it is a community environment park. Where it is. It is based in sunny Melbourne- Australia and exact location is East Brunswick by the awesomely beautiful and ever flowing Merry Creek. It is heaven on earth. If you have agypsie heart, this is one of those places to be. If i can close your eyes and imagine what the Hobit Village in this day in age looks like. Weeeell this is it. It has lots of organicaly grown vegitable farms. People selling them all over the place. Organic retaurants, organinc clothig, organic frigin everything under the sun. So if you are an organinc sort of person no doubt you would like this. Only thing is you would get ant Wide Screen, HDTV LCD LED DVD ADHD WTF TVs in this place. It is a down to earth experience for all you wonderful peoples.
So the bike hut is part of this. They recycle the bikes and let the masses ride a pushie for the minimum cost. This joint bike heaven. Bikes galore. Bike everywhere. They have a arch made out from bike wheels. You would get Lance Armstrong sort of bikes here. But you can get a aetrage decenet bike for no cost. There are voultiers giving you advice how to fix the bikes. Tools are free to use. A membership is $10 for year if you are interested. Only cost is the parts and even they are cheap as chips. You can help your self for thousands of bkes and feel free to rip them apart to your wish as long as you pay for the parts.
Soon as i saw this place i knew this is a my kind of place. It just feels right to recycle bikes, rather than usning to fill junk dumps. Atleast some peron get to use an anwnted bike. All people work here are here to share a pashion like pashion fruit. I guess they use the proceeed to improve the awareness of bike riding and maintain the place.
What else can i tell you about the place. So my experence. I went there to buy couple of bike wheels as both bikes i have, had twisted back wheels. It is that my 3 hour bike ride to work and my stupid moves on bike paths may have caused them to twist and shout. Im like Come on, come on, come on, baby now...... have to get this bikes fixed. So they have separate section for bike wheels. A sea of wheels and jump right in to get what i want. So the the gentlmen who was in chargeIf you prefer a mechanic do all the work for you then it is best to go to any other bike shops. said i should chose an aluminum wheel and he is truly right. Cost for two near brand new wheel $15. It woudnt get reasonable than that. So lovely people if you want to get your bike fixed, place to be is where else but Bike Hut.
Thursday, 6 January 2011
training update
This week it is all about increasing foot strength and stamina. To increase the foot strength cannot think about a better surface than a gravel hilly course. Thanks to being in Melbourne there is a great course; "The Mighty Tan Trak" The heart of Melbourne running scene. It has a very steep hilly section, a medium steep hill, the a flat section, mostly gravel but there is a paved section too. I avoid the really steep section; why i personally 'tis a health hazard. Too steep to give your best. So rather than do the whole circle i go up and down and avoid the steep part for my own peace of mind.
This week in a way introduce more mileage. Why; donated blood on the Christmas eve. So that is 4 donations an year. The giving part. With blood donation have to understand a pint of blood is a ninth of total blood circulation. So body is working hard to get back the lost blood as well you loose some of your energy. Not much, it all goes back to normal in no time. It is one of those things, you give and then wait few days to be fully fit.
So 18km's, 12km's, 18km's ,12 km's and 12km's for the week. Plus 40 minutes to 1 hour stationary bike ride in the morning. Also weight training in the morning. So running in the evening; start at about 7:30 thanks to the summer, sun is still out there but it is cooler. Comparing to last summer this summer is very mild in Melbourne. Last summer Melbourne had 3 months of consecutive over 20 degrees Celsius days. But this summer it is yo yo weather. Cold/warm/rain/sun/windy/cloudy and all sorts of funny weather. But have to take it as it comes and sometimes shout out "is that all you can give". Guess don't have to whinge; it has been snowing and ice built up in my beautiful roads of London. I miss my Hyde park, Kensington gardens and the other awesome parks of London. I call the my as i like them sooooooooo very much. Best things ever.
Anyways one of my training plans for this year is every Saturday do a two hour long run. Just two hours, no more no less. Dont care about the mileage. Keep it to two hours. What ever mileage i can fit in to those two hours is good enough. And go hard. Come what may, be 25kms(15.5 miles)/ 30km(18.5 miles) what ever. Hopefully by the end of the year can bring it to 35kms(22 miles) in two hour training run.
Guess a New year comes and the other goes from the other year. So have to work hard on to keep up with this promise.
It was a special night. The lights are glittering. More than anything her face was glittering million times than those colorful lights. I thought wow it the most beautiful face I have ever seen in my life. I am glad that I am here not somewhere else. It was the perfect night with classical tunes in the background. It is music to my ears. Everything seem right. She was smiling with me from the distance, doing that thing with her hair. I was happy as can be. With all the confidence in the world and with a million dollar smile I slowly approached her and politely asked "Would you like to dance with me" and she replied "Piss of man"
This week in a way introduce more mileage. Why; donated blood on the Christmas eve. So that is 4 donations an year. The giving part. With blood donation have to understand a pint of blood is a ninth of total blood circulation. So body is working hard to get back the lost blood as well you loose some of your energy. Not much, it all goes back to normal in no time. It is one of those things, you give and then wait few days to be fully fit.
So 18km's, 12km's, 18km's ,12 km's and 12km's for the week. Plus 40 minutes to 1 hour stationary bike ride in the morning. Also weight training in the morning. So running in the evening; start at about 7:30 thanks to the summer, sun is still out there but it is cooler. Comparing to last summer this summer is very mild in Melbourne. Last summer Melbourne had 3 months of consecutive over 20 degrees Celsius days. But this summer it is yo yo weather. Cold/warm/rain/sun/windy/cloudy and all sorts of funny weather. But have to take it as it comes and sometimes shout out "is that all you can give". Guess don't have to whinge; it has been snowing and ice built up in my beautiful roads of London. I miss my Hyde park, Kensington gardens and the other awesome parks of London. I call the my as i like them sooooooooo very much. Best things ever.
Anyways one of my training plans for this year is every Saturday do a two hour long run. Just two hours, no more no less. Dont care about the mileage. Keep it to two hours. What ever mileage i can fit in to those two hours is good enough. And go hard. Come what may, be 25kms(15.5 miles)/ 30km(18.5 miles) what ever. Hopefully by the end of the year can bring it to 35kms(22 miles) in two hour training run.
Guess a New year comes and the other goes from the other year. So have to work hard on to keep up with this promise.
It was a special night. The lights are glittering. More than anything her face was glittering million times than those colorful lights. I thought wow it the most beautiful face I have ever seen in my life. I am glad that I am here not somewhere else. It was the perfect night with classical tunes in the background. It is music to my ears. Everything seem right. She was smiling with me from the distance, doing that thing with her hair. I was happy as can be. With all the confidence in the world and with a million dollar smile I slowly approached her and politely asked "Would you like to dance with me" and she replied "Piss of man"
Wednesday, 5 January 2011
Racing Flats
Don't know about you but where have i been all these time. I just came across the kind of running shoes that I never knew existed. "The flats". Apparently these are for professionals and the elite as such. Not for the average Joe. Also not many people don't worry about these because Joneses don't wear them, why only professional use them. So don't have to keep up with the Joneses- ha ha..... lame i know.
So what are flats. Nothing to do with housing flats. They are called flats because they dont have tall heel nor tall sole/base/deck/platform. Ok this picture says a thousand words. This is the "Adidas adiZero Rocket"
As you can see the heel is minimal. Also the mid sole section is minimal too. No air, gel, lunar foam, shocks, springs or other gymnastics. Just minimal, lightweight and looks like it does the job. It is designed to be minimal, lightweight and let the feet do its talking. It feels right but i have not worn a single pair for running. It does not have any springy sole which leads to absorbing the energy with every foot strike. Also I like the minimal part. Minimal support, minimal cushioning just a well designed, do the job running shoe. Can wait to try one of these puppies.
Also one of the never answered question that have with running shoes is the height of the heel. I have rolled my leg few times and I think partly blame my self for that and side of me who is looking for someone else to blame says it is the high arch. If the shoe is low to the ground non of this rolling over landing on uneven surfaces, rocks would have happen. Rock and roll baby.......
Now the question. Do you think i should stop wearing traditional running shoes you asked. So i replied " No way ". All the cushioning, high heel, support, air, gel and all sorts of technology is there for a reason. No doubt there are hours of research gone in to designing these as well as the people who design them are not stupid and not coming up with these technologies and terms only for money. With the competition on hand, people have too many choices. People are free to make up their mind. The high arch/ hell is there for a reason, it to control the motion of the feet as well as give the feet enough support. I never understood the reason behind the huge plastic thing on the ankle section called the heel counters. Guess it is protect the Achilles tendon and that big joint.
So as for my research; racing flats are for racing purposes. But guess have to wear these on training runs as well. Reason being don't need any surprises on a racing day with, running 26 miles on a unfamiliar pair of shoes. Also i found out that elite runners use racing flats all the time due to not having to deal with all the additional support and protective thingo's that has been introduced in running shoes over the years.
So for the writing purposes and my own curiosity, went out there on my freedom machine to the Nike as well as new balance store in Melbourne to see and get a proper feel to these shoes. Nike had the Nike Zoom Speed Racer 2. It is extremely light weight. Couldn't even feel the shoe. They sure don't have that stiff part at the front of the hell. Extremely flexible like elastic. The heel counters are near extinct from the shoe. Very low to the ground. Looks to me this a good choice. But have to introduce these shoes for taring gradually. Until the foot get used to it.
So what are flats. Nothing to do with housing flats. They are called flats because they dont have tall heel nor tall sole/base/deck/platform. Ok this picture says a thousand words. This is the "Adidas adiZero Rocket"
As you can see the heel is minimal. Also the mid sole section is minimal too. No air, gel, lunar foam, shocks, springs or other gymnastics. Just minimal, lightweight and looks like it does the job. It is designed to be minimal, lightweight and let the feet do its talking. It feels right but i have not worn a single pair for running. It does not have any springy sole which leads to absorbing the energy with every foot strike. Also I like the minimal part. Minimal support, minimal cushioning just a well designed, do the job running shoe. Can wait to try one of these puppies.
Also one of the never answered question that have with running shoes is the height of the heel. I have rolled my leg few times and I think partly blame my self for that and side of me who is looking for someone else to blame says it is the high arch. If the shoe is low to the ground non of this rolling over landing on uneven surfaces, rocks would have happen. Rock and roll baby.......
Now the question. Do you think i should stop wearing traditional running shoes you asked. So i replied " No way ". All the cushioning, high heel, support, air, gel and all sorts of technology is there for a reason. No doubt there are hours of research gone in to designing these as well as the people who design them are not stupid and not coming up with these technologies and terms only for money. With the competition on hand, people have too many choices. People are free to make up their mind. The high arch/ hell is there for a reason, it to control the motion of the feet as well as give the feet enough support. I never understood the reason behind the huge plastic thing on the ankle section called the heel counters. Guess it is protect the Achilles tendon and that big joint.
So as for my research; racing flats are for racing purposes. But guess have to wear these on training runs as well. Reason being don't need any surprises on a racing day with, running 26 miles on a unfamiliar pair of shoes. Also i found out that elite runners use racing flats all the time due to not having to deal with all the additional support and protective thingo's that has been introduced in running shoes over the years.
So for the writing purposes and my own curiosity, went out there on my freedom machine to the Nike as well as new balance store in Melbourne to see and get a proper feel to these shoes. Nike had the Nike Zoom Speed Racer 2. It is extremely light weight. Couldn't even feel the shoe. They sure don't have that stiff part at the front of the hell. Extremely flexible like elastic. The heel counters are near extinct from the shoe. Very low to the ground. Looks to me this a good choice. But have to introduce these shoes for taring gradually. Until the foot get used to it.
Sunday, 2 January 2011
Running and get started
Sometimes i wonder how the hell am i going to run today. Cant even walk properly. Reason, an injury in the heal. We are not here to talk about me, but to keep up with promises and continue what is said.
When i start to write this blog i promised my self i am going to write everyday no matter what. Even if there is no one reads, just keep writing. But it is not easy; mainly thanks to excuses. Main one is i'll do it tomorrow. That tomorrow never comes and days go by and here i am wring after a while.
Sometimes the tiredness after a run makes me just lye down and look at computer code. That is what i do most of the time thanks to work. Then with the marvels of internet add kicks in; i'll check the papers and see what's happening with the world, then go through programming blogs, then look at nice web designs, then look at marathon videos and when super boad look at good looking super models for kicks. O my days. No writing but reading and knowlede gathering. I guess they are all good and add value but how much of a add value for the future. As they say only thing we all have in common is 24 hours a day; guess have to use it wisely.
So now today for example; third of january; after two days in to weekly running schedule. Tired as hell. Yesterday it took some time to even to run properly. After running for 18km on a hilly gravel track - The mighty tan track on Saturday and follow up with 12 km the same plus some cross training; have been procrastination all day should i go or should i stay. Just like writing; should i write or should i not.
Guess i should, i think i can i think i can. No one else would do that for me. It is me who has to reach..... so i go... and hopefully i'll find what i am looking for.
When i start to write this blog i promised my self i am going to write everyday no matter what. Even if there is no one reads, just keep writing. But it is not easy; mainly thanks to excuses. Main one is i'll do it tomorrow. That tomorrow never comes and days go by and here i am wring after a while.
Sometimes the tiredness after a run makes me just lye down and look at computer code. That is what i do most of the time thanks to work. Then with the marvels of internet add kicks in; i'll check the papers and see what's happening with the world, then go through programming blogs, then look at nice web designs, then look at marathon videos and when super boad look at good looking super models for kicks. O my days. No writing but reading and knowlede gathering. I guess they are all good and add value but how much of a add value for the future. As they say only thing we all have in common is 24 hours a day; guess have to use it wisely.
So now today for example; third of january; after two days in to weekly running schedule. Tired as hell. Yesterday it took some time to even to run properly. After running for 18km on a hilly gravel track - The mighty tan track on Saturday and follow up with 12 km the same plus some cross training; have been procrastination all day should i go or should i stay. Just like writing; should i write or should i not.
Guess i should, i think i can i think i can. No one else would do that for me. It is me who has to reach..... so i go... and hopefully i'll find what i am looking for.
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