The Barefoot Running Book - Jason Robillard [51]
I decided to have bone resections for the arthritis changes in both great toe MTP joints (joint where toe attaches to foot). I could not dorsiflex (bend up) either great toe MTP joints due to the degenerative changes. The surgery relieved some of the pain but the joint was still essentially fused straight. I thought my days of running pain-free were done….this was the orthopedic message. Perhaps take up another activity? None were as convenient and relaxing as running.
After taking a few post operative months off in early 2000, I was set on trying to retool how I ran with only one goal—getting out and enjoying myself. I lived off a wooded park in Denver where everyone ran, Washington Park. It had a crush surface 2.5 mile loop which one never tires of.
I studied what was written on running methods and found that some concepts made sense for impact reduction and optimizing forces and momentum. Common themes were shorter stride and quicker cadence, not overstriding and braking, a slight forward lean, and landing more midfoot under one’s center of mass. I also tried to figure out how the Kenyans ran … they had no shoes so had to have low impact styles. I trained “easy” by the method made popular by Phil Maffetone and used by Priscilla Welch and Mark Allen. I incorporated a full understanding of the Lydiard method also.
This method focuses on becoming completely efficient at one’s pure aerobic heart rate. This is the level where fat utilization is the primary fuel source. It builds the aerobic system to its maximal potential. The runner becomes efficient in form and metabolism, building millions of capillary beds and the mitochondria to produce aerobic energy at a set low heart rate. With weeks of patience the pace drops and drops with the same low heart rate. The runner morphs from a pure gas car (glucose as fuel) to an efficient hybrid, using electric (fat) as primary fuel and turning on the gas when you need it.
http://www.markallenonline.com/heartrate.asp
Surprisingly with this “easy” running and study of some technique, I rebounded to run a 2:28 at 2000 Marine Corps Marathon after only 4 months back to running and no more than 60 miles per week. I also recovered easier than ever before.
I could visualize the “land with bent knees” and “under center of mass” that the methods were describing. I understood what not to do … do not land on the heels, but did not really get what to do. What areas did one focus on to generate movement? How could I explain this simply to a patient or runner?
I coached “Team in Training” in Denver and was the regional doc there. I shared these principles of low impact and aerobic-only training with a group that often became hurt unless guided correctly.
I continued to have successful marathons but still had occasional breakdowns in later miles. Ran a 2:39 at the 2005 Marine Corps which was not really satisfying, but figured I was getting older and busier with life (kids now).
In December 2005 there was an article in the Sunday Washington Post on ChiRunning. The short article was intriguing and led me to buy the book. After the first read and a little practice, I realized what I was missing in trying to find and teach efficient injury-free running—draw the power from the core and “lift the legs” while off-loading the feet. This was a method I could visualize completely. But more importantly as a physician I knew this was a teachable method for the masses of recreational runners who were often injured while trying to run more