Best Running Tips

Stoniphi said:
Its kinda funny, in a sad sort of way, but most folks just figure they already know how to run without any preparation or thought. Same with walking, which you should get down first before you even try running.

Since the OP didn't bother with any advice to follow the thread title I will throw a bit out here.

Walk first. Point both sets of your toes straight out in front of you as you walk. Keep them straight. I know that you already figure they are, but they are not.

How do I know? Because I watch how people walk. I can tell whether you are right or left handed by the way your walk is wrong. Right handed people walk right duck footed, left handed people walk left duck footed. Usually, right handed folks persistently walk with their left toes pointed out straight in front of them in good form and their right foot cantered out to the right like a duck. The opposite is true for lefties. Don't believe me? Just sit and watch a bunch of people walk by, see which direction their toes point as they walk. You will learn. :) If your walk is not in line, you will stress all of your leg and hip joins, they will hurt a bunch and you will stop. Pay attention to this.

OK, now you are watching that your toes always point forward as you walk. Now, make sure that when you put your foot down it goes heel to toe every time. Not flat, not hard on the heel, not on the ball - heel to toe every step, with a rolling motion. Keep it smooth and regular. Start as slow as you must, pick up speed as you can.

After you have mastered walking and bumped up your speed to your personal maximum, then you can start to run. Just run for 50 - 100 feet at a time first, then go back to walking. After you are comfortable with this, extend the time running and cut the time walking. Same drill: toes pointed straight out in front of you, roll each step heel to toe. As you go further, make a point to focus your eyes at the horizon or where it should be if there is stuff in the way when you run. That will keep you from crouching over as you run putting stress on your lower back.

OK, there are some pointers to get you going, in case you don't want to go out looking for them. These are the pivotal ones too, the rest is less important. If you stick to it you will reap the benefits, if you quit than you won't.

One last tip: use good shoes. Every 6 months I buy 3 new pairs of running shoes and I retire the old sets. I use Aesics running shoes, but there are other good brands. If you are serious about running, go to a running store to get your shoes, make sure they fit and use one of those fancy readers you stand on to find where you put your weight before you buy them. Any good running store will have one.
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O.K. I will add to this for the man knows what he is saying . The kick is important too. Be aware of what your leg is doing behind you when your leg is lifted . Keep it straight behind you just like you do your toes hitting the ground in front of you . Yeah you do , you wing them out side to side . Keep them straight behind you. You will feel the difference when you do .
There is much debate on whether your hands and arms are at your side or at your buttock as you swing your arms . I personally keep mine at my side , but that was the way I was taught . Some of the newer runners keep them down by there buttock and have had lots of success in winning races . The theory is you get more pendulum effect and can conserve energy better with them hanging lower. I think it is more personal choice my self. The main thing is to pace your self
 
Very good tips, thanks all. A number of these tips have been a tremendous help, such as toes forward and heel to toe.

I'm new to running having started this past Jan, so I'm still trying to fine tune my form. My right foot still ducks a bit, and I'm having some issues with my calf muscles when I push the pace or go for long distances. Initially I wasn't able to run more than 2 city blocks before my lungs caught fire and the legs got wobbly. Now I can comfortably run 4 miles at a slow pace, or 2.5 miles at a fast pace. My goal is to run the Carlsbad Marathon next Jan.
 
If you run properly with proper foot-strike . Then you cant be harmed . As marathon runners run on road and they never had any knee problems during their life . There is always a bad way of doing a good thing .
 
True, and many novice runners hurt themselves with bad form or worn out shoes. Nothing hurts quite like plantar faciitus and it takes a long time to heal. Nothing makes you feel a gimp like a good solid limp for a few months.....Good shoes can address that. I use Aesics gel sole runners shoes, 3 pair alternating days, replace all 3 pairs every 5 months when the wear indicators on the soles show as too worn down. I retire them to around-the-house shoes then, until the top wears through, then I toss them.

A lot of long distance runners hold their elbows up due to having gotten a good dose or two of 'runners road rash' on their underarms. Been there, done that, it hurts pretty bad for a while, looks like a sunburn near your arm pit. :( Conservation of forward momentum becomes really important as you amp up your mileage. Even more so if you are racing, but then the pendulum swings of your arms are much shorter due to the speed involved, so you can hold your arms up much higher. That shortens the pendulum motion to match your foot placement.

My son says that I look funny running due to these concerns, holding my arms out from my body proper, elbows up, hands down and swinging. I can feel the momentum as I bring my hands forward though, it kind-of pulls me ahead. The sharing around of the effort between my legs and my arms allows me to go further.

I must admit that the daily morning run puts a very positive spin on my whole day, wakes me up and relaxes me, opens everything up and makes me feel very healthy. :) Insures that my dog eats her kibble and gets a good nap as well....has also made her quite the muscle - hound.

Oh yeah - and Me - Ki has it right, you must learn how to pace yourself to go the distance and the speed you desire.
 
Oddly enough I find that running with shoes but without socks seems to help a lot. Socks (at least for me) tend to bunch up funny once you start to sweat. This can cause hot spots (sore areas) on the feet. The sore feet cause me to run a little funny which makes for aches and pains later in my back and feet.
 
I had to go to running socks due to such problems with regular socks. :eek: I pay very strict attention to the fit of my shoes as well. Also use 6 inch compression briefs to avoid inner thigh road rash when my thigh muscles get pumped after a few miles.

A small injury you get one day can turn into a significant injury after a few days more effort unless you address the problem. This includes stuff like blisters, incipient plantar faciitus and athletes foot.
 
Hello arindam. Thanks for your wonderful tips. I will try to follow these tips during my running. i do running regularly and it is my favorite exercise so these tips are useful and important for me. Keep posting.
 
Components of a safe, effective exercise program are Frequency, intensity, and time or duration. Do not accelerate your workout time too rapidly. If you are overweight and out of fitness, you will need to lose your weight for the perfect body shape and fitness.
 
Hi.........
All tips so good.I also run flat footed,But now i avoid.
Thanks allot for sharing these tips.
 
For those who run regularly -- how often a week do you usually go out? Currently I walk seven days a week, and I'm thinking of transitioning to jogging. From what I've read, though, running seems a more intensive activity and the books advocate rest days between running days. Three days a week (each including an hour or so of running) seemed to be the norm in The Beginning Runner's Handbook.
 
Yes, alternating running days with "off" days doing some other activity is recommended for recovery.

Unfortunately, my 95 pound American Field Yellow Labrador does not subscribe to that theory so she and I run a minimum of 7 miles every day, 7 days a week rain, shine, ice or snow, from as high as 100 F and as low as -18 F. While my legs are always a bit sore I am just fine otherwise. We did get up to 10 miles a day for a while last spring but the summer heat convinced her to spend more time swimming, playing tug-o-war and fetch with sticks we find on the trails.

I figure that at 61, if I can go out and do that every day, I should. I am healthy as a horse and appear 10 - 15 years younger than my actual age. I am on only 1 maintainence med for blood pressure. (Borderline hypertension) Most of the folks I know that are my age are on a half dozen meds now, but they do not exercise or eat right as I do.

EDIT: I should stress that I do not run fast, my average speed is about 5 mph, though I can hit 12 mph if needed.
 
How about running backwards? I saw it featured on a health show some time ago. If you can find a safe place in which to run (being able to find such a place is the main problem) they say it is considerably less taxing on the knees and gives the same workout.

I've tried it and it feels like getting a back massage WHILE exercising.
 
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When my dog stops to sniff I turn around and go backwards until she finishes and catches up with me. I read that going backwards is beneficial for the knees as well, which is the motivator for doing that. It also gives me a change of pace from just running forwards at a steady speed.

My motivations are several. Firstly, my dog is a serious exercise-hound. When she was a 16 pound 10 week old puppy she started taking me out for 5 miles a day, every day. Having a puppy that did this was a new experience for me, I had never even heard of such a thing. Then I found that if I did not take her out for that long a distance she would eat holes in the walls and dig holes all over the yard. She stripped the bark off a cedar tree in the back yard after biting off all of the lower branches and turning them into mulch, killing the tree. She literally broke up a 4 foot long section of tree trunk into little pieces and carried the rocks from my wife's rock garden all over the yard. So she must get her daily miles and play time or else!

Secondly, I am aging and do not wish to become handicapped or disabled, nor do I want to suffer from any of those other nasty things that we can get as we age. 50 miles a week is enough to curb the shortening of muscular telemeres on an ongoing basis. I have no atherosclerotic plaque in my blood vessels at all and my reaction time is very good, so running serves as my primary health care strategy.

Thirdly, I am a martial artist and practice Taekwon Do daily. Running gives me a solid base platform for my martial arts practice, it helps keep my muscles strong, my reflexes fast, my balance solid and my perceptions clear.

I could actually go on, but I won't. Suffice it to say that running has become a base part of my daily life now and it would seem very strange not to go out and run every day if I were to stop.
 
I should note that this has introduced me to a bunch of other older folks who do the very same thing, except they don't have my dog to go with them. One fellow does 70 miles a week, but most run 50 - 60 miles a week. There are couples, groups and clubs of older persons on the trails every day. I am about to go out there and do my daily run now, will no doubt encounter several of these persons when I do so.

I am pleased to find that so many older persons are staying extremely active as they age, it improves the quality of our lives substantially. :)
 
Stoniphi said:
50 miles a week is enough to curb the shortening of muscular telemeres on an ongoing basis. I have no atherosclerotic plaque in my blood vessels at all and my reaction time is very good, so running serves as my primary health care strategy.
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What would be the minimum number of miles per week to prevent muscular shrinkage?

I didn't know it was preventable
 
Stoniphi said:
Yes, alternating running days with "off" days doing some other activity is recommended for recovery.

Unfortunately, my 95 pound American Field Yellow Labrador does not subscribe to that theory so she and I run a minimum of 7 miles every day, 7 days a week rain, shine, ice or snow, from as high as 100 F and as low as -18 F. While my legs are always a bit sore I am just fine otherwise. We did get up to 10 miles a day for a while last spring but the summer heat convinced her to spend more time swimming, playing tug-o-war and fetch with sticks we find on the trails.

I figure that at 61, if I can go out and do that every day, I should. I am healthy as a horse and appear 10 - 15 years younger than my actual age. I am on only 1 maintainence med for blood pressure. (Borderline hypertension) Most of the folks I know that are my age are on a half dozen meds now, but they do not exercise or eat right as I do.

EDIT: I should stress that I do not run fast, my average speed is about 5 mph, though I can hit 12 mph if needed.
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That is impressive! The reason I decided to switch to an active lifestyle is that my doctor put me on blood pressure medication -- and I needed it, because I had some serious spells back in July. Since then I've been losing weight, gaining in strength, and feeling much healthier, so I want to continue that commitment. Even so, walking seven miles at a brisk pace is my maximum -- I was doing eight, spread out throughout the day, but my knees began rebelling. Now I walk in the mornings and evenings and let my knees rest during the day. I've also started doing exercises to strengthen them in anticipation of running.
 
Sounds wise to me. I spiked a couple of high readings (165/105) and my blood pressure average went up to 140/90. I have a cuff and was taking frequent readings, saw that number too often for my own comfort. :eek:

It takes about 50 miles a week to preserve telomere length. From Science Daily:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/search/...tion=all&filename=&period=365&sort=relevance#

A bunch of recent articles that link telomere length to health, longevity and cancer among other things. Both diet and exercise can influence them significantly. Maintaining or lengthening telomeres appears to be an important health factor as we age.
 
Stoniphi said:
Yeah, I saw those stories on running barefoot. Also an interview with the fellow who wrote the book on the tribe of South Mexican indigenous people he based his theories on. The ones who run barefoot from town to town through the wilderness. There are some who feel he missed a few scientific points along the way to publishing. :eek:

I also have very wide feet - 10 & 1/2 4E. Had incipient plantar fasciitus a few years back, that is when I switched to the Aesics for the gel sole. The gel sole in the running shoes is there to distribute the impact such that it prevents damage to the plantar fascia. It works.

At 60, I have been losing the subcutaneous fat from under my skin everywhere, including the bottoms of my feet, so the cushion there is less than it used to be. It is not going to grow back or be replaced, so it behooves me to make sure there is something there to take up the impacts.

I run 6 days a week with my 90 pound American Field Yellow Labrador. We do 10 miles a day average, though last Friday she insisted on 13. We would have done more (she asked) but I had on my North Face cross - trainers rather than the Aesics due to the ice, snow, slush and mud out in the back country here right now. The cross - trainers grip better on dicey surfaces but do not cushion as well as the Aesics, so my left foot began to hurt a bit near the end of the run. Fine now though.

I have been running distance for 45 years now, plan to continue until I die. Hopefully of old age. I run trails where a lot of other folks run as well, and I am a keen scientific observer. Some observations:

- The high school running groups go fast and stay up on the balls of their feet. They blow by rapidly during the HS track season, then disappear.

- Rank amateurs have terrible form, flopping their feet, landing flat - footed, running with one duck foot (as I noted above) got their ear buds in real loud. Many have brand new expensive gear and an attitude. I usually only see them a couple of times, then they are gone.

- Some persistent 'doctors orders' runners, 'varicose vein' runners and 'I gotta lose some weight' runners have OK form and persist for a while, but usually fade away due to poor attitude. They carry that on their faces, you can see and predict their leaving.

- Serious older running clubs go past rapidly with a variety of styles, though most are minor variations on the "heel to toe" style.

- Older runners pretty much all have the same style though. They do not go very fast because they are going a significant distance and must pace themselves to go the whole way. They almost always follow my above advice - heel to toe in a forward rolling motion, toes straight ahead, eyes to the horizon (to avoid lower back strain), hands low, arms freely swinging (this conserves momentum). They do not run fast, but follow a measured consistent pace. They do not raise their feet very far off the ground, just enough to get the heel to toe motion, a very conservative style. These are my people, the folks that I see out there year after year, decade after decade.

If you make your style proper, use good gear, run consistently and conservatively, stretch before and after, you will not damage your knees or anything else. It is when folks overdo it, do wacky stuff, use the wrong gear or do not concern themselves with their style or form that they get injured.
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Great tips buddy. Will watch my feet very closely next time.

I think running is the hardest exercise, I'm finding it very tough. My technique at the moment is just not right, its very laboured. I have some new jogging trainers and I'm just going light for now, hope to build up gradually.
 
Keep at it, concentrate on your style and form, keep it conservative and you will get there. It took me quite some time to get it right, now it is just part of every morning, like brushing my teeth after breakfast, though it takes a little more energy than that does. :eek:
 
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