Classic Nike Running Shoes

I know a lot of people do not have much respect for the Nike shoe brand these days, but being a runner from the 70's I have nothing but pure nostalgia for the glory days of Nike. One of the few things I would spend my extra money on while I was a poor college student was the latest and greatest running shoes from Nike. I would admire the pictures of the shoes in Runner's World magazine and couldn't wait to try them on my feet.

My first running role model was a local high school runner named Tommy Johnston. He was four years older than me and I would see him running through my hometown of Falmouth on long training runs when he was in high school. I started running in ninth grade weeks after the first ever Falmouth Road Race. Tommy finished in 10th place in that race back in 1973. That fall he went off to run at Wheaton College in Illinois and I started running with his brother at Falmouth High School. As a footnote, I also ran at Wheaton College four years after Tommy and it took me until my last collegiate cross-country race before I finally beat his best time over the 5 mile distance. I don't recall ever running a step with Tommy in my life, but I do recall him showing me a new pair of running shoes that he had ordered from a new company in Oregon called Blue Ribbon Sports. They were a pair of Tiger shoes with that silly Nike swoosh stitched on in place of the Tiger stripes. I wonder how much that pair of shoes would be worth today if Tommy had kept them.

I sold a bunch of my old Nikes on eBay years ago and made some nice money for getting rid of my junk! My wife was very happy, but mystified as to why someone (most were sold to people in Japan and in Europe) would pay for my old sneakers!

But then you have guys like Lindy Darrel, who is a collector of vintage Nike shoes who just love the glory years of Nike. I recently found this interview with Lindy and and his shoe collection as well as wonderful photos of some of the classic Nike shoes from that period of time including some that I had never heard of before. You can read the interview here. It is on a website called Sneaker Freaker.

There is a slideshow on the interview page that has marvelous pictures of some of the pristine shoes in Lindy's collection. I see some of my favorite ever racing shoes in his collection: the lime green waffle racers, Oregon Waffles, the America Eagle racing shoes, and Nike Mariahs (in team colors-Nike used to send special team colored versions of their shoes to top racers and teams- the North Central College guys seemed to get a lot of these as well as our own Danny Henderson. I still have a pair of his old spikes that were handed down to me and which look exactly like the 1973 Americas in one picture- except mine still have some Illinois mud caked onto them). Then there is a pair of the 1980 Nike Eagle- probably the lightest shoe I have ever worn. Nike needs to bring back the American Eagle and the Eagle shoes. They were such great racing shoes. There are also pictures of the old Waffle Trainers. Nike did bring these back into production a few years ago and I got a couple of pair. The funny thing was I blistered in the same place as I did years ago when running in the originals. I don' recall how many pairs of these I ran through, but I used to kill them and my toes would be hanging out the sides before I threw them away. There is a picture of the Nike Terra TC, which Lindy says was a great shoe, but which was the first Nike shoe that I didn't like running in as I did not like the Phylon midsole. Then there is a picture of the Nike Sting, a shoe I always wanted, but never did get. I can only imagine what those shoes would feel like on my feet. Finally there is even a picture of the Nike pinwheel bag. I received that bag (in beige) one year for Christmas. I saw it once on eBay going for a large sum money, and wished I never threw mine away. If you remember the old vintage running shoes, you may want to check out the article and pictures. After awhile your monitor will aquire that new sneaker smell! As you can imagine, one of my favorite parts of being a runner is the shoes. Now you know a bit of why my wife calls me Imelda!

Here I am flying to the finish line of the 1980 Falmouth Road Race wearing a pair of Nike Eagles. They were so light I was going airborne!

Finishing the Year with New Approaches

My brain is running around with all sorts of new information and there is just not enough time to assimilate it all. As 2009 draws to a close, I am happy that it is ending as it has not been a successful year for running from my vantage point, however it is a year where I encountered tons of new learnings about how the human body works and how I might get my body to work better for me as a runner. I have come to the realization that there is no easy fix for the multiple number of imbalance problems that I have, but I have not given up and there are some promising solutions on the horizon. I just have to be patient and continue working and learning until I get there.

I have not been able to get much running in during the past month or two which I don't like, but a break is good to get things back in order and working a bit more properly. I intended to get going after Christmas as I get ready to run the Boston Marathon this April. The Postural Restoration physical therapy I have been receiving seems spot on for me. I don't get it all technically just yet, but I notice the differences and changes in how I hold my body and move.

According to this article,  Biomechanical Influences for the Runner:

Running requires the capability of muscles to work together in three biomechanical planes in the back, pelvis and hip. When these three planes are functional, the runner has the ability for muscles to turn "on" and "off." This allows for reciprocal alternating activity to occur in the back, pelvis, and hip. If control of all three planes is lost compensation, fatigue, strain, and injuries will occur.

One thing that PRI focuses in on is the "inability to shift into the left hip" and this seems to be one of the major things that the therapist is working on with me. The exercises are to strengthen certain muscles and "turn off" other muscles to restore functioning and to use the muscles to shift the bones back into their normal postitioning. I guess my whole left side does not do much work and I am learning to strengthen and use it more properly.

It seems that postural assymetry like I have can be quite common. In this PRI article written for cyclists, Understanding Postural Symmetry to Improve Performance and Prevent Injury, Lori Thomson writes about :

"...a common pattern that exists in all humans that contributes to postural asymmetry. How people compensate for this pattern can vary, however, the underlying dominant pattern exists in everyone. We all have a tendency to stand on our right leg more than the left. Whether right or left handed our right leg is our dominant leg. We have a liver on the right side that weighs approximately three to four pounds and on the opposite side we have a spleen that weighs less than a pound. We have three lobes of lung on the right and only two on the left. In our upper trunk, we have a heart that lies more to the left. This organ asymmetry coupled with gravity, environmental factors, primitive reflexes and vestibular imbalances results in a tendency to stand on our right leg and rotate our upper body to the left."

Part 1 of the article looks at malalignment of the pelvis and its assymetry.
Part 2 of the article looks at faulty breathing patterns and assymetry.
Part 3 of the article looks at ways to treat this assymetry. Some of my exercises are similar to those displayed in the article. There are not many videos that I have found on the internet, but this one shows  a simple way to sit and stand up. One thing that many of my exercises have me doing is pulling back on my left hip and pushing my right hip forward while sitting or doing the exercises. This seems to target, my contiuously chronically tight inner thigh muscle.



This "sydrome" reminds me a bit of what TriggerPoint Performance calls LDLS (Left Drivers Leg Syndrome).


So how is it going. On Monday, during my second PT visit, I ran before and after doing my exercises. There was a very easy to feel difference in my movement patterns. After the  exercises, I had more movement through my left hip and I felt like I was running and rotating over my knee rather than skewing up my whole left leg. I did my exercises before heading out for the Tuesday night track workout. I hadn't done any speedwork or fast running since October and I almost turned around while traffic slowed me down and I knew I'd be late for the workout. I arrived after the second of six 800 meter runs. I whipped off my sweats and jumped into the third interval without any warmup. I finished in under 3:00, but was heavily winded. I did the next three in under 2:55. My left leg did not bother me, although I was stumbling on my right leg around the corners. It was nice to be slowed down in a workout by my conditioning and not by imbalances (although things are far from perfect). It was probably not a  wise decision to run without any warmup. My right achilles felt a bit tweaked a couple of days later. Yesterday I got outside  for a change and ran a nice 8 miler. I feel a bit more balance and stability in my left hip so I am happy. I did run knowing my achilles did not feel right so of course there was no running today as it was a bit hard to even walk properly as I was really tight in that achilles.

So I took out the Muscle Medicine book I had been looking through and decided to apply its principles. This book is easy to read and explains  how the body works together around various joints in the body. As part of the solution, there are ways to self-treat the muscles through a method similar to ART (active release technique). The author calls it Facilitated Active Stretch Technique (F.A.S.T.). Basically you apply pressure, usually with your fingers, around a restricted or damaged area, or in a series of points running up and down the muscle and at the same time you put the muscle through a range of motion. It is easy to do and well explained. I checked out the section on the achilles tendon and did the work, not on my achilles, but on my calf and soleus (where the restrictions led to stress on the achilles). Lo and behold, I had a much fuller range of motion when I was done and could walk normally again. I did not try running as I would rather heal than create more damage. It will be interesting to see if I can run tomorrow.

Here is a preview of what the book says about achilles tendonitis in runners:



Here is how to remove restrictions in the gastrocnemus and soleus muscles.



 The book is chock full of good useful knowlege like this for muscles throughout the body. I highly recommend it. I was talking to a Strider at the indoor track workout Tuesday after the workout. He was doing similar stuff on his muscles based on copying the ART techniques that he had experienced. He was close, but he wasn't getting it completely right as the book shows. He was just pressing down on a muscle rather than using angled pressure. Anyhow I was intererested in seeinig how it loosened up my stiff achilles and I was surprised at the improvement after only a few minutes of targeted work.

Other things I am doing this holiday season is working on my diet which stinks with all the food that my wife keeps cooking. Even though I have severely limited the junk: whoopie pies, cakes, cookies that she keeps baking, I have to eat "some" of it. Without the usual running that I do, I have to cut back somewhere. I have been trying something called "intermittent fasting." I haven't done much studying on it, but I was basically doing this in the summer with my Paleo diet. Basically I don't eat anything until afternoon. By skipping breakfast I don't get that insulin rush and I actually feel better without the food during the morning hours.

Finally I have decided to keep working on trying to build up my stregnth. I work with kettlebells, but I am now trying to work on my great weakness: full body strength. I have decided to do body weight exercises and am using the progressions in a book called Convict Conditioning from DragonDoor. It is heavily hyped like most of the DragonDoor material and I had to get over my leeriness over the title, but it seems to present a sound approach to progressively building your strength throught 6 basic body weight moves. I guess you have to decide if it is worth it to support an ex-con (in prison for what?) with your money and to decide even if the author is a real person: discussion here. I thought it was worth a shot and the book is well written, does not support a "thug" 'lifestyle, and the progressions are reasonable, well planned, and worthy of my energy.

See I told you I had a lot to think about and try, but I would rather be moving forward than stagnating or giving up!

Snowshoeing with my new Dion Snowshoes

Today I took a Christmas day snowshoe run on the fields at Nashua South with my new Dion snowshoes. Andy came along and ran with me in my old Tubbs 10K snowshoes. My new Dions felt fast and very light!

Postural Restoration: Physical Therapy that is Making Sense

I have been busy taking care of medical business the past couple of weeks. After cracking a rib last summer, I went to visit the doctor's office to get it checked out. I was reassigned a primary care doctor and told I needed to make an appointment since I had been avoiding doctors for too many years. So I had a checkup a couple months ago and the doctor got me signed up for all sorts of fun stuff. While getting me all these appointments I asked if I could see a physical therapist (about every five years I try to go in and see if there is someone that can help me out with my stride and mechanics). I haven't got much running in due to a minor surgery that left me with 2 inches of stitches on my hip and a week later the so very fun colonoscopy. I finally also got started with a physical therapist. I was hoping just to get a couple of questions answered on my ankle and hips and to see if a therapist could offer me some good information.

I ended up at Select Physical Therapy in Nashua. The therapist started looking at how my body worked and measured all sorts of angles and rotations. She spent some time looking at how my ankle did not work properly, but it was not the only thing she noticed. Hips, shoulders, back; there was something out of whack everywhere. She took lots of notes and I couldn't keep up, but it was nice I recognized every muscle, bone, and body part she mentioned. The hips were something she spent a lot of time on and I was hoping to get a diagnosis of what is wrong with my so I could get a better idea of what to do with the information in The Malalignment Syndrome book and DVDs I had studied last winter and spring. She noticed all sorts of weaknesses, tightness’s, and improper rotations, but the main thing is that my left hip is much higher than my right hip. This was a good confirmation if I got nothing else out of the visit.

Then she started teaching me some exercises. I received four that I practiced and then was sent home to do twice a day: before running and after. She said I could start up the therapy and that I could still run as part of the process! What I liked was that these exercises where not the standard exercises for hips or low back that I have been given by other therapists. These were targeted for my specific needs and problem areas. What I did on one side was completely different from what I did on the other. The exercises "made sense" to me too. My body could feel exactly what they were trying to do and if felt just right.

I was told that these exercises where "postural restoration" exercises and I recall bumping into this before on the internet. Of course, I went home to find out more about postural restoration and I think it is a perfect opportunity for me to have an expert work with me on trying to bring my body back into balance. I think that I lucked into the perfect physical therapy situation. So I am getting work on my feet, my adductors and abductors, my hips, and my thoracic spine and shoulders. I think it is the first time I have had someone work on all the misalignments in my body as well as seeing how my body works together as a unit. Most therapists just worked on my hips or my back and never the whole.

Here is a bit of information from the Postural Restoration website:

Basic Concepts of the Postural Restoration Institute™

The human body is not symmetrical. The neurological, respiratory, circulatory, muscular and vision systems are not the same on the left side of the body as they are on the right, and vice versa. They have different responsibilities, function, position and demands on them. This system asymmetry is a good thing and an amazing design. The human body is balanced through the integration of system imbalances. The torso, for example, is balanced with a liver on the right and a heart on the left. Extremity dominance is balanced through reciprocal function; i.e. left arm moves with right leg and vice versa.

Postural Restoration Institute™ (PRI) trained therapists recognize these imbalances and typical patterns associated with system disuse or weakness that develops because of dominant overuse. This dominant overuse of one side of the body can develop from other system unilateral overuse.

Many therapies I have encountered treat the body as if it should work perfectly except for one little problem area. Then a stretch or a strength move is supposed to fix that problem leading to a successful resolution. It doesn't happen that way with me and this therapy looks at the body as asymmetrical when in dysfunction. It also has reasons for those dysfunctions. So let's see if I can be fixed or brought into a better functional ability.

Of the four stretches I was initially given, I could not get one to work. It was an obturator stretch (next to the piriformis) so we are dropping that one. Then I had a 90/90 hip shift (like this without the stool and balloon). The hip shift down on my left side is the real key. This strengthens the hamstring and the inside of the thigh, but the shift into the hip teaches me a new position and works one of my most chronically stiff muscles.



I have another exercise that also promotes the hip shift on the left hip and one that works the outside of the right hip. After one day of doing the exercises I had a much better than average 8 mile run on my treadmill. When I do the exercises before I run, I find that I get a better hip position where I actually use the left hip (the left usually does not do the work that the right does) and feel a better foot placement and movement over my knee.


Today I had my second appointment and we are continuing the exercises and adding some new moves. I found that one is their exercise of the week here. It is called the PRI Supine Weighted Punch with Right Apical Expansion and it I am doing it because the right side of my chest and ribs is very tight and rotated behind my fight side. It does not move forward as I run as it is stuck. This should help to strengthen and restore the movement as well as to help me with my breathing. The left side of my chest always seems rotated forward ahead of my right side, so it is nice to find an exercise that works on this problem area. It reminded me of the first move in a kettlebell turkish getup, so I can practice that part of a getup with more meaning. I also have a bridge type exercise and a clamshell type exercise to work on. As for now, I am going in twice a week and I am very positive that I will gain some new insight and direction for fixing my stride.

Running on Vitamin D: A Runner's World Article

In case you don't read Runner's World, in the December issue there was an article on Vitamin D that is now posted online here.

I wrote a previous post on Vitamin D here and since that post have been taking 2000 iu daily. It is very cheap at under $15 for a years supply here.

It might be worth reading up on Vitamin D particularly when we don't get much sunlight in the winter months here in New England.

In case you haven't seen the January issue of Running Times. There is a nice article on Gate City Strider Cathy Merra that tells about her success as a master and now a senior runner. It is not posted online yet so go buy the issue. The same issue also had an article on New England legend Larry Olson, who unfortunately died while on a run last week. That article is posted online here.

Mill Cities Relay: A Great Finish to the Year

Photo by Mike Wade of Me, Ken Snow, and Mike Merra  with the brick we won for our efforts.

Today was the 26th annual Mill Cities Relay run from Nashua to Lawrence, Ma. I was running my first relay as a senior runner. The race also included another personal first. No, not the black knee-high compression socks I wore as I used to wear similar looking tube socks in the 1970's (and at 50 who cares what you look like!). Today I had my first ever photo finish sprint to the finish line.

The Mill Cities Relay is a five leg 28.3 mile relay along the Merrimack River. Over 200 teams and 1000 runners took part this year. I was running on the Snowmen team for the Gate City Striders. The first leg had team captain, Ken Snow, starting us off with his 5.65 mile journey. The next leg saw replacement runner, John Dalton racing 4.75 miles before handing off to Peter Davenport. Peter was so quick I never saw him the entire day. His leg was 2.5 miles and he handed off to Mike Merra for the long 9.5 mile leg.

Mike Merra cruising on the long leg. Photo by Justin Platt.

 Mike stepped it up as Jerry Fitzgibbon was unable to race this leg due to the fact that he is in Japan. That left me with the final 4.75 mile leg.

Justin Platt got a photo of my socks! My daughters are horrified!

I don't know my time or pacing on my leg. I did pass more than 10 runners durinig the leg, but many of them were veterans or fast females on mixed teams. I was thrilled with the fact that no one had passed me until I hit almost one mile to go. I heard fast footsteps and a runner went charging by. I decided that since he looked my age or a bit older that at least I should put up a bit of a fight. I gained back the 10 yards he had on me and tried to stay with him. I kept expecting to be broken and fall back and did get dropped a couple of times, but I renewed my enthusiasm and caught back up. I was pretty pleased to be putting up some fight, because I am not a fast finisher in races and this guy looked very strong and smooth.

With about 1/2 mile to go we had to take a left turn and he got 15 yards on me by running up the sidewalk. I closed that one down and tried twice to go by him with no luck. This was getting fun, but I know these duels always finish with me watching the heels of the other guy sprinting ahead. I was also thinking that I did not want to be the guy that lost by a few seconds to another team that might cost the Gate City Striders some points or even the championship. I also didn' t want to let my teammates down by losing a close finish. I recalled watching the Nike Team Cross Country National High School Champtionships online yesterday and said to myself that maybe I could pull off a finish like that! So at the last corner before the finish line I decided to give it one last go. I think this is about 200 yards or so to the finish. Not only did I gain a few steps, I realized I was catching another runner about 20 yards ahead. Things went too quickly from there. I think the other guy started catching back up with about 50 yards to go. I tried to dig deep and not give up and was quickly gaining on the guy ahead who was getting closer and closer. With about 30 yards to go I was caught and we were running side by side and inches from each other. I tried to keep my legs smooth but I was being pushed over to the snow covering on the side of the road. I was worried about slipping or losing my footing and then with 20 yards to go I got an elbow to my chest. That set my momentem back and I had to scramble from there. We were still attached side by side and I surged and surged and hit the line. I felt my chest was ahead by maybe an inch or two and thought I had it, but I slowed after the line and the other guy got ahead of me in the chute.

We congratulated each other for the fun finish, for it really was fun! He said he thought it was a tie and I said that I was fine with that because I really enjoyed the thrill of the whole thing. I got his name, but forgot it and I am not sure it is the name listed in the results. And the results show that we had the same exact time and we just missed catching up to the other guy as he finished just one second ahead of us. Ten minutes after the finish I asked the timer, Mike Amarello who had finished first and he said I had and the results show this. In the hundreds and hundreds of races I have run this was my first photo finish and the best and closest ever dual I had ever been a part of. I was thrilled with the finish and in a year when I did not have one satisfying or memorable race (other than a snowshoe race win-with only 15 competitors) this one was a great one that I should remember fondly.

To the spectators it may have looked like two weary old-timers lumbering together towards the finish, but to me it felt like this:

And isn't that why we run, to experience such really thrilling moments!

My club the Gate City Striders won the competition for the second year in a row. My team finished third overall in the 50-60 age catagory.

Here is a video of the Nike Cross Nationals High School National Meet. The race is great, but check out the finish starting at about 14:30. The top three runners finished within 6/10 of a second from each other.

Facilitated Active Stretch Technique: FAST Self Massage

Yesterday  I posted an article on self-massage techniques fron a New York Times report. The three massage techniques reminded me of Active Release (ART) techniques. Today I received the January issue of Runner's World and there was an interesting article (not online) called Release 2.0. It shows five similar self massage tecnniques for the shoulders, achilles tendon, hamstrings, iliotibial band, and calf. They are similar to the other do-it yourself techniques in that you use your fingers to apply pressure around a damaged or restricted area and then move the muscle through a complete range of motion. This can loosen up your soreness and tightness. I was particularly pleased to see that these are techniques that you can now find in a book.

Dr. Robert DeStefano, a chiropractor and author of the recently publlished book Muscle Medicine: The Revolutionary Approach to Maintaining, Strengthening, and Repairing Your Muscles and Joints, calls this the FAST method or Facilitataed Active Stretching Technique. According to his website:

We’ve modified ideas from a number of muscle therapies to create a new manual technique that you can do yourself. We call our self-treatment technique F.A.S.T.™, for Facilitated Active Stretch Technique tm. In simplest terms, you are using an external pressure - your fingers, a ball, a stick—to “pin” the muscle near a tight, restricted area.

It appears FAST stretching is a mix of Active Release Technique (A.R.T.), physical therapy, and massage.  I was wondering when someone would come out with a book like this and it looks like it is finally here. Part of Ming Chew's book The Permanent Pain Cure: The Breakthrough Way to Heal Your Muscle and Joint Pain for Good (PB) has similar active stretches like this tennis ball hamstring stretch.The book is called Muscle Medicine: The Revolutionary Approach to Maintaining, Strengthening, and Repairing Your Muscles and Joints and I have already ordered my copy. I would like to get "healed" so I can write a review like this one on Amazon.com:

I have been a long distant runner for over 30 years. I have run over 30 marathons,suffering many overuse injuries over the years. I have been to orthopedists, chiropractors, massage therapists and accupuncturists over the years for an assortment of injuries. After reading "Muscle Medicine" I have a new clarity on the cause of many of my past problems. Most importantly, I now have a strategy for self treatment which should resolve my problems. As a senior runner, this material is critical! And, the best part are the sections on prevention. I am now in control! I feel sorry for the medical practionioners in New Jersey- no more business!! I thank the author for sharing this information. For athletes everywhere, this is long overdue!!!

Dr Marvin Lagstein
(very amateur but determined athlete)

Here Dr. DeStefano talks about his book:

New York Times Article on Self-Massage for Athletes

The New York Times  published an interesting article on self-massage for athletes called Becoming Your Own Massage Therapist by Dimity McDowell. It talks about some of the tools of the trade like the foam roller. I have found that the original white rollers compress too quickly and that the black ones like thisare much harder and last longer. My favorite traditional roller is the The Grid Foam Roller (it even serves as my pillow when I lie on the floor and watch TV). If you want a gentler and softer roll that feels more like a deep tissue massage try the Quadballer Roller. If you particularly want to target the lower legs use the Footballer. The most interesting (and deadly looking) of all the rollers is the Rumble Roller. The Rumble Roller does what other rollers cannot and that is to pin and stretch a muscle in multiple directions. You can more finely tune what points you are hitting with this tool. You can more finely tune what points you are hitting with this tool.

Another way to hit specific spots is to use the Trigger Point Massage Ball. This works well, but it looses its shape quickly and can then feel a bit lumpy. You will find that using a  tennis ball is not firm enough, but the massage ball is gentle and hits the points well. If you can tolertate a harder ball, then do what I do and use a golf ball on the muscles of my feet and other balls like a Lacrosse Ball for the glutes and other leg muscles. I have a variety of balls that I pull at when the mood fits from a softball to a little PINKY foam ball. There are a variety of prodcts, kits, and DVDs such as those from Trigger Point Performance that can make self-massage a breeze. Not mentioned inthe article are excellent products like The Stick or even for more concentrated work the Range Roller .

A more practical article is the companion piece Happy Muscles: Suggestions for Quick Relief that shows three self-treatment massages that you can do without any tools. There is a calf-massage, a quadriceps massage, and a massage for the tibialis posterior- the muscle behind the shin. The two lower leg moves were new to me. What I like about these massage moves is that they are not passive. You move your foot or leg with flexing or straightening moves as you apply pressure to your muscle so that the muscle tissues are stretched and scar tissue can be loosened  (sort of like ART moves).
Here's a quick video showing how to use the Trigger Point Therapy tools (or other substitute tools) before going for a run or workout.



Here is a good presentation on the Rumble Roller.