Here's the latest video capture, thanks to Steve Marcer for, erm, capturing it!
The handlebar mount on the bike didn't work as even with soft-ish tyres, there was too much vibration coming up through the forks. But holding the iPhone was easier in a number of ways. This is a 240 frames per second device, which I'm very lucky to have.
Results
I'm not too impressed! There's still a way to go! I'm still landing in front too much
This clip is 55s long, and about half way it slows down, then pauses. I paused the clip as my big toe meets the track (so the foot is load bearing), then draw a line to show the remaining over extension.
https://youtu.be/14-WhMnRaW0
It's no where near as bad as it used to be, but I need to get back to the drills! I've neglected the drills over the past 6 or 7 weeks, since my metatarsal stress fractured.
This clip was taken at 5km pace (about 3:30 to 3:45/km).
Sunday, 31 January 2016
Sunday, 24 January 2016
I'm very happy that I have a new iPhone 6 with the 250fps slllllloooooowwwww motion!! Courtesy of my employer.
This means that, finally, I can get some good quality footage.
Remembering that my first attempt was of a spec, running past in the distance (well, not quite, but you get the picture) https://youtu.be/hGMycTCefYU
I've bought one of these (Although at seven of our English pounds, I remain skeptical about it's capabilities). I'm going to affix to the bike, oriented sideways, and get someone (Jon, probably) to cycle next to me down the home straight.
This wonderful event will occur next Saturday (30 Jan 2016), unless it's cold, raining, icy, snowing, hail-storming, or otherwise detrimental to the health of my new toy. I mean phone.
This means that, finally, I can get some good quality footage.
Remembering that my first attempt was of a spec, running past in the distance (well, not quite, but you get the picture) https://youtu.be/hGMycTCefYU
I've bought one of these (Although at seven of our English pounds, I remain skeptical about it's capabilities). I'm going to affix to the bike, oriented sideways, and get someone (Jon, probably) to cycle next to me down the home straight.
I ran a long run today! My first long run since last April/May, 2015.
My neighbour is fast turning into a competent ultra runner - he ran the 104km IoW Ultra last May, and has plans for races much, much longer. But I've still got him on speed, and we're quite evenly matched on a Sunday 10 mile training run.
Anyway, the key points from this run were that:
So there's now one week left to January. I've been running the Bateman style for 5 months, but with a 4 week break. I feel that I've got the right queues at a 5:00/km pace. So there are two aspects to work on now.
The first is to make sure that the style is ingrained at speed. This should be relatively easy
The second is to make sure that the style is ingrained at distance, ie tired. This may not be so easy.
We'll see!
The pic below is stolen, and now I can't find where from to attribute it, but thanks anyway, kind outdoor-type person... It's a view very similar to the mist of this morning, from one of the paths. This is Farley Mount in Hampshire.
My neighbour is fast turning into a competent ultra runner - he ran the 104km IoW Ultra last May, and has plans for races much, much longer. But I've still got him on speed, and we're quite evenly matched on a Sunday 10 mile training run.
Anyway, the key points from this run were that:
- despite the 5 weeks out due to the stress fractured toe, I have maintained my style. at least I think I have: it will take some filming to confirm. But interestingly, I feel that coming back after a break means that my muscle memory is left with the good style that I'd achieved before the break
- I'm straight back on the minimal shoes. Well, there is the one pair of 3mm thick Vivobarefoots which I haven't dared put back on yet. But almost all other runs have been NB Minimus, Merrell Trail Glove (both about 5mm sole, no drop), or XC spikes. BUT, I have been careful that almost all my running in the past 2 weeks since returning, has been off road.
- I'm not sold yet, and it could be just psychosomatic (is that a word?) but I've been low carb for 2 weeks now, and at the end of today's 11 mile, 1hr48 run, I still had plenty of energy left, despite not consuming anything other than a cup of coffee before we set out. This is unheard of!! I would normally be passing out after 3 miles without a ton of carbs!! I'll keep you posted on this one, though!
So there's now one week left to January. I've been running the Bateman style for 5 months, but with a 4 week break. I feel that I've got the right queues at a 5:00/km pace. So there are two aspects to work on now.
The first is to make sure that the style is ingrained at speed. This should be relatively easy
The second is to make sure that the style is ingrained at distance, ie tired. This may not be so easy.
We'll see!
The pic below is stolen, and now I can't find where from to attribute it, but thanks anyway, kind outdoor-type person... It's a view very similar to the mist of this morning, from one of the paths. This is Farley Mount in Hampshire.
Friday, 22 January 2016
Being injured gives you a lot of time to think. Too much, in fact! So much so that I've stopped myself thinking about running because I was starting to over-think it!
Over Christmas I've read 4 or 5 books about running, some of them stories, like Natural Born Heroes by Christopher McDougall, some factual like Brain Training for Runners by Matt Fitzgerald. I've take some motivation from them. Interestingly, they almost all refer to the benefits of paying attention to running form. I'll write a blog page about the books I've read at some point soon, if you're interested?
So here's how I'm approaching my running in 2016. This is where I'd like to make real life changes. I'm not going to dilute this blog too much with stuff that's not related to the top left "Running Form", but I'll mention them in passing.
Running form is the obvious one, and goes hand in hand with foot strength. But I've separated them, because I think that even for people who have 'perfect' form (Alex Wall-Clarke, Jacob Wiebel, Mike Twomey, Rod Finch are those that I've known personally!!!) there is still an opportunity to work on foot strength. I base that on the Older Yet Faster approach and now my own experience.
In terms of being less sedentary, I'm not talking about burning more calories. I'm talking the effects of my 2.5 hours sat in a car seat 4 days a week, and the 8 hours I sit at a desk. Not much I can do about the car (at least I'm rolling my feet ... when it's safe!). My Garmin fenix 3 has a pedometer, and it will beep at me "Move!" after an inactive hour, and I plan to pay more attention to that. Swimming is going well too, I'm just looking for a regular spot in the week that I can stick to, and when the pool isn't too rammed.
On the fuelling, this is a bit of an experiment at the moment. We all know that we eat too many refined carbohydrates (well, most of us do!), and I was pretty guilty. So this year I've cut out all carbs to start with. I consume about 100g a day at the moment, so not the 25g of the Atkins diet, but certainly less than I was eating before. I don't think 100g is sustainable, but I want to make sure that I cut out all refined sugar for ever, and with Mrs Blackman's help, all white bread rice and pasta.
Next blog entry will be about how the running is going with the recovered metatarsal, but what else would you like to hear about?
Over Christmas I've read 4 or 5 books about running, some of them stories, like Natural Born Heroes by Christopher McDougall, some factual like Brain Training for Runners by Matt Fitzgerald. I've take some motivation from them. Interestingly, they almost all refer to the benefits of paying attention to running form. I'll write a blog page about the books I've read at some point soon, if you're interested?
So here's how I'm approaching my running in 2016. This is where I'd like to make real life changes. I'm not going to dilute this blog too much with stuff that's not related to the top left "Running Form", but I'll mention them in passing.
In terms of being less sedentary, I'm not talking about burning more calories. I'm talking the effects of my 2.5 hours sat in a car seat 4 days a week, and the 8 hours I sit at a desk. Not much I can do about the car (at least I'm rolling my feet ... when it's safe!). My Garmin fenix 3 has a pedometer, and it will beep at me "Move!" after an inactive hour, and I plan to pay more attention to that. Swimming is going well too, I'm just looking for a regular spot in the week that I can stick to, and when the pool isn't too rammed.
On the fuelling, this is a bit of an experiment at the moment. We all know that we eat too many refined carbohydrates (well, most of us do!), and I was pretty guilty. So this year I've cut out all carbs to start with. I consume about 100g a day at the moment, so not the 25g of the Atkins diet, but certainly less than I was eating before. I don't think 100g is sustainable, but I want to make sure that I cut out all refined sugar for ever, and with Mrs Blackman's help, all white bread rice and pasta.
Next blog entry will be about how the running is going with the recovered metatarsal, but what else would you like to hear about?
Monday, 4 January 2016
I'm back running. 2 days ago. 4 weeks to the day since the fracture occurred. A 1 mile test, then a couple of very slow 3 milers.
The foot aches, not necessarily where the broken metatarsal was, but generally in that area. But, it doesn't ache any more at the end of a run as it does at the beginning. I think it probably soft tissues getting used to a new bump in the bone!
I did notice, however, that there was a little pain on pavement. So I kept to the grass.
Anyway, feels good to be back running, even if the world got a whole lot muddier in the 4 week break...
The foot aches, not necessarily where the broken metatarsal was, but generally in that area. But, it doesn't ache any more at the end of a run as it does at the beginning. I think it probably soft tissues getting used to a new bump in the bone!
I did notice, however, that there was a little pain on pavement. So I kept to the grass.
Anyway, feels good to be back running, even if the world got a whole lot muddier in the 4 week break...
Thursday, 10 December 2015
I knew that when I started out on this gait changing journey that I had the opportunity to make a Big Change to my style, and therefore the most effective (legal!) way that I could take my 2:03.75 800m time down to a 2:02 ish.
There are runners who, like me, have the opportunity to make big improvements. There are others who wouldn't. Some of them I train with on a Tuesday night - they [mostly unwittingly] have a beautiful upright, springy style, although most of them don't seem to be that aware of it. I feel sorry for them - what is there left to improve? (#jokes!)
So, a factor that must feature strongly in your thought process, assuming you are thinking about making a change, is "how big will this change be?"
I like the way that James Dunne approaches all running aspects from the "one size does not fit all" point of view, always making his audience think about what they're doing, and not just following the latest trend. Also, his philosophy on making running style improvements is "little changes" and I think for the athlete who is training consistently each week, all year round, this is good advice.
However, my window of opportunity to make some drastic improvements is a relatively small 18 months (post t&f season 2015 to indoor t&f March 2017). So I am aiming to do it all in one go. I bit the bullet. I threw the baby out with the bath water. I went for it.
Instead, I could have made one change at a time. I could have tried to bring my landing back, but in my old padded shoes. Or I could have switched to the minimal shoes but not tackled the over extended problem. I'm sure there are other combinations.
But I still believe that I'm making the right approach. I'm "ripping off that band aid". Ok, it smarted a bit, but I've learned a lot.
PS here's the best page on stress fractures for runners that I've found in the past few evenings of Googling! by Terry Smith.
There are runners who, like me, have the opportunity to make big improvements. There are others who wouldn't. Some of them I train with on a Tuesday night - they [mostly unwittingly] have a beautiful upright, springy style, although most of them don't seem to be that aware of it. I feel sorry for them - what is there left to improve? (#jokes!)
So, a factor that must feature strongly in your thought process, assuming you are thinking about making a change, is "how big will this change be?"
I like the way that James Dunne approaches all running aspects from the "one size does not fit all" point of view, always making his audience think about what they're doing, and not just following the latest trend. Also, his philosophy on making running style improvements is "little changes" and I think for the athlete who is training consistently each week, all year round, this is good advice.
However, my window of opportunity to make some drastic improvements is a relatively small 18 months (post t&f season 2015 to indoor t&f March 2017). So I am aiming to do it all in one go. I bit the bullet. I threw the baby out with the bath water. I went for it.
Instead, I could have made one change at a time. I could have tried to bring my landing back, but in my old padded shoes. Or I could have switched to the minimal shoes but not tackled the over extended problem. I'm sure there are other combinations.
But I still believe that I'm making the right approach. I'm "ripping off that band aid". Ok, it smarted a bit, but I've learned a lot.
PS here's the best page on stress fractures for runners that I've found in the past few evenings of Googling! by Terry Smith.
Wednesday, 9 December 2015
Bad news I'm afraid
I've been treading very carefully since mid August - sometimes more carefully than others. There were a couple of races that I shouldn't have done, for example. But I've been "listening to my body" which in reality means I've taken between 1 and 4 days off training whenever I've felt something hurting more than I thought it ought to. For example, after the 5 mile road race, I thought I felt some plantar faciitis lurking, so that was a session with Kyle Pepperman-Hacket (highly recommended) and 4 days of rolling the foot on spiked ball. And I've had many single day lay-offs to let tight calves recover.
So I'd say I'm pretty good at listening to my body - feeling those soft tissues straining, and reacting accordingly.
So, it was with dismay that I was hit with a stress fracture at the weekend. Actually, it was with a fair bit of swearing, but I made sure there were no kids around first.
The second metatarsal of my left foot has gone, and on Sat and Sun I was in a lot of pain.
Mrs. B. drove me to A&E, but as expected, nothing showed up. A stress fracture is too small to show on an x-ray, and it's not until the bleeding starts to calcify that anything will show up, which is about 2 weeks after the initial trauma. But the doctor, who seemed to know an awful lot about lower limb physiological matters, had a good poke, and based on my history, said that a stress fracture was most likely the problem. Ok, so I wasn't quite brave enough to tell her the whole story of the complete switch from the Kayano (Asics' most padded stability shoe) to the Vivobarefoot (3mm of very flexible rubber, absolutely no padding) in not much longer time than it took Amazon to deliver them, but I was honest about the training volume.
And that is the problem. It's too much pavement, on too thin a shoe, with too much gait change. Consider where I started from, as shown in these pictures. That's a lot to change in just 3 months. But it was going so well that I got carried away. I ran 29 days in November, and although that was an average of less than 5km per session, at an average pace of only 5:15/km, too much of it was on hard pavement. So I either needed to run less, or more off-road.
I'm just reading Kelly Holmes' autobiography, and this morning my eyes popped out when I got to the chapter about her stress fracture that she noticed on the flight over to the Atlanta Olympics. She writes:
Onwards!
I've been treading very carefully since mid August - sometimes more carefully than others. There were a couple of races that I shouldn't have done, for example. But I've been "listening to my body" which in reality means I've taken between 1 and 4 days off training whenever I've felt something hurting more than I thought it ought to. For example, after the 5 mile road race, I thought I felt some plantar faciitis lurking, so that was a session with Kyle Pepperman-Hacket (highly recommended) and 4 days of rolling the foot on spiked ball. And I've had many single day lay-offs to let tight calves recover.
So I'd say I'm pretty good at listening to my body - feeling those soft tissues straining, and reacting accordingly.
So, it was with dismay that I was hit with a stress fracture at the weekend. Actually, it was with a fair bit of swearing, but I made sure there were no kids around first.
The second metatarsal of my left foot has gone, and on Sat and Sun I was in a lot of pain.
Mrs. B. drove me to A&E, but as expected, nothing showed up. A stress fracture is too small to show on an x-ray, and it's not until the bleeding starts to calcify that anything will show up, which is about 2 weeks after the initial trauma. But the doctor, who seemed to know an awful lot about lower limb physiological matters, had a good poke, and based on my history, said that a stress fracture was most likely the problem. Ok, so I wasn't quite brave enough to tell her the whole story of the complete switch from the Kayano (Asics' most padded stability shoe) to the Vivobarefoot (3mm of very flexible rubber, absolutely no padding) in not much longer time than it took Amazon to deliver them, but I was honest about the training volume.
And that is the problem. It's too much pavement, on too thin a shoe, with too much gait change. Consider where I started from, as shown in these pictures. That's a lot to change in just 3 months. But it was going so well that I got carried away. I ran 29 days in November, and although that was an average of less than 5km per session, at an average pace of only 5:15/km, too much of it was on hard pavement. So I either needed to run less, or more off-road.
I'm just reading Kelly Holmes' autobiography, and this morning my eyes popped out when I got to the chapter about her stress fracture that she noticed on the flight over to the Atlanta Olympics. She writes:
... How I got the fracture I still can’t ‘be sure but it is possible that it was down to my footwear. I had changed sponsors halfway through the season after I had been offered my amazing four-year deal from Nike. I was so chuffed that the biggest sporting brand wanted to support me that I went for it. Instead of gradually changing over my running shoes so that my body had time to adjust to the new footwear, I just swapped my previous trainers for my new ones. Now I understand more about the intricacies of footwear and how careful one has to be...So here I am, 5 days after the bone gave way, and the pain is subsiding quite quickly. I shan't be running for a few weeks, but I'm not that down about it - I will get into some cross training (I'm going to the pool later today), and I've got another 15 months before my target race.
Onwards!
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