Sports & Fitness The Running Thread (All Abilities)

Splayed feet might be coming from hip/gluteal elements. Tight hip external rotators could cause this.

A basic stretching routine for piriformis and other deep external rotators could help. This of course presumes nothing structural going on in tibia or femur.

 

Thanks.
I have been doing piriformis stretches for a while but not sure if it's made any difference.
I think I need to get some proper video analysis done before and after to see if any improvements can be made.
From lots of self diagnosis and lots of Google searching, I just can't see how I can get the alignment to work out, unless I can somehow bend my bones/joints.
Will see what the physio assessment comes back with in a couple of days.

 

@Ace in the Hole I've been listening to a lot of podcasts lately, trail running, ultra running etc and a lot of the "experts" have said not to worry about that sort of thing too much. Concentrate on form generally speaking, (straight back, lean slightly forward, elbows bent and not to pass your body line, front foot no further forward that directly under you and push off with your rear foot rather than reaching out with the front foot etc. and let the anatomy of your body in terms of splaying etc just be what it'll be.

Once you start trying to correct that too much with say shoe inserts etc you may find issues popping up all over elsewhere?

I'm very flat footed and splay out slightly, plus i walk outside heel heavy, (cant remember the term but all my shoes wear wedges off the outside soles). I'm still new to running but I've ran the best I've ever ran by wearing minimal shoes at the outset, very minimal) which at that early, slow speed really helped me work on form as there's no escape with no huge cushioned soles to hide behind. I transitioned a a slightly thinker sole now the distances and speeds are up but still not a huge shoe and no corrections in them, I run in a low drop Nike Free Distance on pavement and a low drop Under Armor Speed Tyre Ascent on trail and have very few issues with hips/back as my feet essentially are free to go where, and do whatever they want as long as I watch my general form and I try and concentrate on a mid foot landing strike.

 

You guys have inspired me to get back into running after a 5 month hiatus
Work, renovating, and father duties put an end to runs/rides and have just been long walks with bub and the dog. So Thursday and Friday last week I strapped on the joggers and took the dog for 2 x 5k runs.. sore legs, but fitness hasn't dropped too much. I had an early ride this morning so hopefully this sticks.

The 5k park run is a fun event in Brisbane.. is this in all cities?

 

I think the 5k Park Runs are a world wide movement, they're everywhere!

 

Thanks.
I've been thinking the same thing about running with a natural feeling form.
I also wear zero drop and minimalist shoes, but my running is mostly sprinting.
Just got to keep working away at keeping in touch with the body more and staying injury free.

 

I'm loving Yoga for that. I do 3 different types, Yin, Vinyasa and Iyenga. Yin is very gentle and focused on the mind as much as the body with very gentle (60% of max range) floor based movements,. It's more a relaxation thing for me that anything else. If I didn't have an unlimited pass I'd probably ditch this one, but I like it as a wind down after work on a Monday night.

Vinyasa is a "Flow" Yoga and puts emphasis on moving from one pose to the next as well as deepening the stretch and building strength. It's a very good workout and has done amazing things for my strength and flexibility in only a couple of months.

Iyenga might suit, it concentrates on the pose itself with less emphasis on moving from one to another and more emphasis on aligning both sides of the body in each pose, it's ridiculous how different each side of your body is. I've a massive range of movement in one shoulder for example yet the other I can barely get near the same pose, same with hamstrings and some of the seating poses, one side great, the other atrocious. It's about stretching/strengthening the weaker side and balancing everything out. It's really working wonders.

Both the Iyenga and Vinyasa are fantastic for runners, helps with posture, strength and flexibility and is a really good general stretch workout to compliment your running and other training.

 

Yay for yoga! I use the swan pose to stretch out my ITB's.. I saw a couple physios and masseurs to get a fix, but none really helped. After doing the swan pose and foam roller, ITB's are great.

 

The Yoga is very interesting and I've been thinking about it lately.
I've always been more of a strength guy and never concerned about flexibility in the past, but it is very appealing now in order to get maximum physical performance output without getting injured due to restrictions.

 

I reckon it would aid your strength in many ways as well as the flexibility side @Ace in the Hole as the movements activate all the little stabilizing muscles that are very hard to isolate and train on your own. It would really compliment your strength routine generally.

This is Ryan, my Vinyasa instructor, if the link works, watch the little clip as he exists the seating stretch, the strength, flexibilty and control is amazing. Instagram post by Ryan Pedley • Jul 5, 2017 at 6:02am UTC

 

That dude's got a tops mullet going !

 

Haha, he sure has! He's a ripper bloke, he was a top Martial Artist but got fed up tearing muscles and getting pretty badly injured so he gave it away and threw himself into Yoga, went off to India, the works. Found his "enlightenment" Really nice guy, super chilled out.

 

Good idea to get feedback from your practitioner.

BTW, with piriformis stretching, be mindful that as you pull your knee toward your opposite shoulder (hip flexion and adduction) to counteract the extension and abduction actions of the muscle, the final rotation component is a little non-intuitive. Piriformis changes its action from external rotator to internal rotator once the hip is flexed beyond 90 degrees, ergo the rotation element for stretching should be external rotation.

I watch people who run past me whilst I'm out on my morning beach-side walk and always analyse their running styles and what issues they may have going on. Can't help myself

 

I'm just really impressed how easy and effortless those other people make running look!

 

@Ace in the Hole , if hip flexibility is not the issue then maybe it's your glutes. Clamshells and hip bridge can help gain a lot of strength in the glutes (and lower back).
Also,for splayed feet, try to actively level your pelvis when you run by contracting your lower abdominals. So tilting the pelvis up would level your waist and pull all the connective tissue underneath it hence leveling your feet.

 

Hi all you fellow runners. Has anyone here had any experience in Altra shoes? I have just moved to them (awaiting delivery) and was wanting to see if any of you had any opinions on them. Cheers.

 

I understand Altra's are zero drop shoes. What were your previous shoes? If you go straight into running with zero drop shoes, it may cause calf injuries as your body hasn't adapted to it yet.

 

Read a few good reviews of them lately and hadn't heard of them before. I'm a zero/low drop fan (started my running adventure in a pair of LEMS Primal 2's so about as minimal as you can get). The Altra's look the goods, some of their trail stuff looks great. Be interested to hear your thoughts on them when you bed them in @Mick Butterfield

 

Have run previously in Nimbus (several models), Glycerin (several models) New Balance 1080 and currently have the 880. Have not been able to settle on a neutral shoe that goes not give me grief. Best of them was the 1080 as it had a great toe box, however, caused blistering on the inside arch. I have a big/wide foot 13 2E/4E. I usually run between 40-60km a week and will ensure that ease into the shoes to get use to the zero drop. Have you run in zero drop before?

 

Will be sure to let you know how I go in them. It is fair to say that I have not been this excited in a new pair of shoes for a long time. Fingers crossed I am not left underwhelmed.

 

All these shoes are the traditional approx 10mm heel to top drop. Good idea to ease into the zero drop Altra's. You'll probably find your running style will also change to shorter strides at higher cadence.