Learning about "Running With the Whole Body"

I am looking forward to trying the Feldenkrais Method to try to get proper movement and running patterns back and to learn to run with my whole body. What is the Feldenkrais Method? (from their faq)

The Feldenkrais Method is named after its originator, Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, D.Sc. (1904-1984) [about], a Russian born physicist, judo expert, mechanical engineer and educator.

The Feldenkrais Method is a form of somatic education that uses gentle movement and directed attention to improve movement and enhance human functioning. Through this Method, you can increase your ease and range of motion, improve your flexibility and coordination, and rediscover your innate capacity for graceful, efficient movement. These improvements will often generalize to enhance functioning in other aspects of your life.

The Feldenkrais Method is based on principles of physics, biomechanics and an empirical understanding of learning and human development. By expanding the self-image through movement sequences that bring attention to the parts of the self that are out of awareness, the Method enables you to include more of yourself in your functioning movements. Students become more aware of their habitual neuromuscular patterns and rigidities and expand options for new ways of moving. By increasing sensitivity the Feldenkrais Method assists you to live your life more fully, efficiently and comfortably.

From what I have learned there are two branches to learning movement through Feldenkrais. You can go to Awareness Through Movement® classes where you explore movement in a group setting or you can go to Functional Integration® lessons with a practitioner who guides you through a more hands on form of movement lessons.

I have stretched, strengthened, mobilized, massaged, and done everything possible to try to get myself to run correctly and without misalignments. I just can't get the correct movement patterns down anymore. Running poorly with bad rotations and movements seem normal to me. I am hoping that this type of movement will help bring back an awareness so that I can run and function more smoothly and effortlessly. I intend to work with a practitioner: Charlie Murdach at 4seasonsfitness in Portsmouth. Charlie is a Feldenkrais practioner but also a marathoner, an Ironman, and an Ultramarathoner (Western States 100) so I am happy that a runner will be working with me. I also intend to study up on my own.

The way I am going about this is by going back to a book I used a few years back called "Running with the Whole Body" by Jack Heggie. The lessons in this book are based on the Feldenkrais Method. I first tried using this book in 1996. I remember doing some of the exercises at the time I put up one of my best races ever as a Strider (59:46 for 10 miles at the Yankee Homecoming). It was one of my best summers of racing. Of course I was younger, but maybe the book helped contribute.

I took out the book a month ago and did one lesson. Yesterday I took it out again and did the ninth lesson on the feet. A couple of things jumped out at me. First was the recall of doing these before. Second, it was hard to do the lessons and find your place in the book. Third, the movements are very similar to Z-Health but on a different level. I found some links suggesting the resemblance to Z-Health. Both are mobility (or movement) programs, but also both work on retraining neuromuscular patterns. Finally, the repeating of proper movement patterns reminded me of the SAID principle used in Z-Health. The acronym SAID stands for "Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands". In Z-Health it is defined as, "The body always adapts to exactly what it does." In school, I use the term, "Perfect practice makes perfect" with my students. If you practice something the wrong way, you are just training yourself to do that in the same way. I am continually practicing running wrong.

When I teach vocabulary at school, I don't just give my students a word and tell them to look it up in a dictionary and write down the definition and put it in a sentence. I know many teachers do this, however the students don't "learn" vocabulary this way. I use and define the word in as many ways as I can. The general rule is that a person has to be exposed to a word over 30 times before they "own" it. During the week my students and I will try to use the vocabulary words as often as we can (we even keep tallies at times) to reach that goal of getting them to own the word. It takes my guidance and their practice. I noticed that there was a lot of practice of the movements when doing the lessons in the book. I think the guidance and the "perfect" practice are pretty important.

Here are some links that mention Z-Health and Feldenkrais:
"A Year of Feldenkrais Training" Mike T. Nelson is mentioned here. I read his blog (see over on left). I would like to know more of his thinking on this.
"To Go Harder, Go Easier"
"Movement Precision"
"Learning Feldenkrais Exercises at Home"
Interesting comments on understanding joint mobility and joint coordination.

I think Z-Health has a lot of potential. I have all the Z-Health DVDs, but I have yet to visit a practitioner. A lot of the Z-Health exercises are done (particularly in the beginning levels) with the person standing with a straight posture. I know when it gets up in levels there is more movement involved, however as far as I can tell, Z-Health for the distance runner has not been done yet. I am talking about the coordination of movements, not just the movements around a joint. I am seeing that Feldenkrais seems more focused on the coordination of movements around full body movements. I think this coordination is exactly what I need. Maybe a Z-Health practitioner can teach you similar things, but it is not just one joint, or one muscle, or isolated movement that is my problem, it is how all the movements relate to each other.

Anyhow, I didn't like looking constantly at the book (I have an earlier version than the one Amazon sells). So I went online to see if I could find a video or audio lessons from the book. There was no video but I found you can buy the CD at Amazon: Running With The Whole Body™: Your Guide to Running Faster and Farther — Based on the work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais. I wasn't sure if it was just a rereading of the book or if it was the actual lessons, but I downloaded the lessons onto my iPod. I did one lesson yesterday and one today. This is the way to do it! It is perfect! A video would take your concentration off what you are doing and you don't need it. The audio, particularly now with iPods, allows you do do the lessons in private (my family couldn't figure out why I kept walking around the house). These are lessons and the tone and pacing are perfect. You "are the video" in a sense as Jack Heggie gets you to pinpoint in your body what you are supposed to be looking for, feeling, or doing. When reading the book you tend to rush through the examples and exercises trying to get to the "payoff" moves. On the audio, there is no rushing and you become very aware of what you are usually not very aware of. I was surprised at some of the things that I noticed. There are 7 lessons that are about 40 minutes each. I have done two. The audio is defininitely the best way to follow the movements. I still read the book for additional thoughts before and after each lesson, but it just doesn't flow as well when you try out the movements as you read.

The first lesson was on the feet, the hips, and shoulders. You do a lot of walking around noticing what your hips and shoulders do as you walk. My right side wasn't bad except my hip did not do much. However on my left side, I could feel the hip twisting (I knew it did that) but strangely enough my shoulder moved the wrong direction. Instead of moving opposite of the left hip, it moved forward when the leg and hip moved forward. Weird! This helps explains how my left side always feels rotated forward of my right side. Then I was guided through exaggerated motions of walking with the legs, hips, and shoulders working in the proper way. It was very revealing and I also flashed back to doing these exercises (although not understanding the precision so well) thirteen years ago.

I did not do any running yesterday as I was banged up from my tumble during the race on Monday. Today I did the second lesson on connections in the back. This concentrates on the lower back (where I am very tight and stiff). By doing slow and gentle movements and explorations, I was able to get a better understanding on how movement of the legs and arms come from the torso. My back also loosened up an awful lot. It was a couple inches closer to the floor when laying flat after the exercises than before.

I wanted to try out what running would feel like so at exactly 12:00 on this very hot day I went out for a run. I tried to put some of the learning into place. I noticed a lot of things. My left side needed a whole lot of concentration, and I was running very differently trying to engage that shoulder. I felt very fluid (but not my normal) when I got things closer to correct. When I did, my stride became longer and more balanced. My hips were sitting completely different in their sockets (or it felt that way). I wasn't collapsing on my left side, in fact it felt like it was elevating. It was hard to keep this form and it took some concentration. If I didn't get things right with the left shoulder I could feel the pinching in my inner hip flexor against the bones of my hip. When I was done, I looked at my watch and I had my fastest time on this (my normal 8 mile loop) in the past couple months (and it was the hottest weather I have run in this year- getting all sweated up felt great!).

It looks like I may be on to some positive ways to get my stride back. It will take a long time I am sure, to relearn what I have forgot, but it makes more sense to work on how I run than just working on specific muscles, pains, or movements in isolation. I guess this is why it is called "running with the whole body".

What I want to picture is a straight backbone with arms and shoulder coordinated and the legs, torso, and arms rotated around that backbone. There is a tall and balanced posture that I know can be much more efficient. Strangely enough my posture has improved when I am standing or sitting. My parents used to be all over me because of my poor posture years ago. Last week they told me I need to teach one of my kids better posture like I have learned. So I guess it is noticeable to at least my mom and dad. But that is a standing static posture. I need to get the coordinated posture for running.

Speaking of which, I always watch the great European track meets (and American meets) when they are on TV or the internet (where you find them most often-at least until the World Championships). American women's middle distance running has been the revelation this summer. Maggie Vessey has been the biggest surprise (out of many). It was fun watching her win the Prefontaine classic 800m and then this "nobody" won her first major European race. But she was still chasing the A Standard to make the World Championship team. Yesterday, with two days to spare, she ran the fastest women's 800m in the world this year. Watch how tall she is when she runs and how straight, tall, and still her head is. She is a kicker who magically appears on the inside behind Christine Wurth-Thomas near the end of the race. That is some fine running and a super time of 1:57.84 (7th fastest American ever).

Working on Improving Running Form and Efficiency

No that is not me, but wouldn't it be nice to have form like Kenenisa Bekele? For the past couple of weeks I have been learning about and playing around with the Feldenkrais Method to try to restore proper movement patterns to my body and to relearn how to run properly. I am very intrigued with the system having tried just about everything else out there to rebalance my body with only limited success.

On one hand I find the Feldenkrais routines easy to do and learn and on the other I have experienced some pretty positive results and an almost instant reawakening of more proper movements patterns. I have only had one visit so far with a Feldenkrais teacher, but there are a lot of ways to learn the movements patterns that you can do on your own. While the Feldenkrais Method is not a running technique (think POSE or Chi Running) it is a way to rethink or replay movement patterns that will positively effect your running. It is not stretching, but I feel much looser. It is not a strength training strategy either. As best I understand it, it seems to help repattern movement in your body. It also helps the brain take in the new patterns so that you can use them in your movements and running. Basically we get stuck in patterns that we think are correct, but may not be the most correct or efficient way to move. We get stuck in routines of movement and "forget" how we used to move. For years I knew I had bad movement patterns, but I didn't know how to change them because they feel "natural" to me.

Ir you are an efficient well balanced runner, than Feldenkrais may not be for you. However if your running form is impossible to fix, like mine than this may be a solution to relearning how to move. Here is what one Feldenkrais website suggests how Feldenkrais can help runners:

The connection of the shoulder and pelvis in rotation;
The ability of the lower back to lengthen as the leg comes forward, but also how all your back can share the work as the leg goes back (and so avoid back pain)
The connection of the foot pushing the ground away through the extension in the hip joint and the back (esp upper back) to the propulsion of the chest forward. Extension of the upper back also frees the lower back from doing all the work.
The mobility, alignment and passage of weight through the foot, ankle and hip for the safety of the knee, shock absorbency and propulsion
The ability to rotate freely and quickly in the spine
Differentiation, loosening and freeing of the chest and shoulder girdle.
Freer, easier breathing.
Greater awareness of running as a movement of the whole self and accompanying ease and power.

Here is what I have found to help me better understand using the technique. First you may want to get the book Running with the Whole Body: A 30-Day Program to Running Faster with Less Effort. I have had a copy of the book for over 10 years. When I first used it, I did not understand the concepts or how to do the routines. I did them in typical "runner" fashion, quickly going through the movements to hit the "payoff" last movements. I also pushed very hard to try to make them work better. While I had a great year of running the summer I used the book, I only now realize I really did not tap the potential of the routines. I learned so much more about how to do the movements when I bought the audio version of the book. You can get it on CD from Amazon or get an audio download of "Running With the Whole Body" like I did already in mp3 format.

I have gone through all of the audio lessons once, and will do so again. Some are in a different presentation than the book. The book includes additional lessons that are not on the audio version. However, in following the audio, you learn the pacing and simple efforts needed to do the lessons. It is hard to read a book and do the lessons. But it is much simpler doing the book lessons having practiced the audio lessons first.

There is also a website that has free audio Feldenkrais lessons, The Open ATM Project Feldenkrais® Awareness Through Movement® Lessons. Sharon Moyano, a runner and Feldenkrais teacher, has over 50 lessons there including 6 lessons from a runner's workshop. I tried the "freeing the hip joints" lesson from the runner's workshop last night and I found it simply amazing for helping my body and mind "see" new ways of moving from my hips. Whenever I do a lesson I feel extremely loose and free, a much different feeling than what I would get from a stretching routine, but strangely it is exactly how you would want to feel after stretching. I find that I walk and move different after a lesson. I feel it also is helping to change my running, but my running form is so messed up that I can only hold onto a proper movement pattern for a short time before losing it. I expect that my form will keep improving, but that it may take quite awhile to get every lesson to hold as my muscles have to adapt.

After a good week of running and dieting, I couldn't wait to see what would happen at tonight 5 mile trail race. For the first time all year I felt like I was racing when the gun went off. I had a great first mile (in the lead) until Mike Wade realised I was not doing the 5K. He passed at about 1.5 miles and I stayed close. Greg Indruk caught up at about 3 miles and Mike was still in view. He had to stop to deal with a loose dog and at about 4 miles I was only about 5 seconds behind Mike and Greg. Then it was the rough trails of the last mile. I took it easier in here not wanting to trip again and the other two guys raced ahead until they were out of sight. Despite the heat and humidity I only ran 5 seconds slower than my best time of the year on the course. I liked that I felt loose for a change. The terrain and twisting nature of the course is not the greatest course for someone trying to learn how to run smoothly again. The hills, roots, twists, and turns kept throwing off my stride pattern, it will be interesting to race on a smoother surface.

On a dieting note, I had to pig out a bit yesterday as I was losing too much weight too quickly. I had dropped about 5 pounds in three days and that was not good.

I hope to continue learning movement patterns through Feldenkrais lessons and when my rib is fully healed I hope to go visit Charlie, the Feldenkrais teacher again. Charlie also teaches a version of Feldenkrais called the Anat Baniel Method. So I have been reading her book called Move into Life: The Nine Essentials for Lifelong Vitality. It is very interesting and although not necessarily a book for athletes, the lessons can be applied throughout your life, including sports. I am also interested in the brain learning in the book as well as the Feldenkrais movement lessons that go with each chapter.

I am having a great time following and watching the World Championships in Berlin, both on the Internet and on TV. It is so much fun not having track and field conflicting with other sports on TV like during the Olympics! Kenensila Bekele won another championship medal with his 10,000 meter win today.

"Building Your Body Maintenance Routine" ebook

Leigh Boyle over at Athletes Treating Athletes has produced a free e-book called "Building Your Body Maintenance Routine" that you can sign up for on her website. This e-book can teach you how to remain injury free:

My big motivation in writing this guide was to show you how to use the resources on the A-T-A site when you are not hurt as a way to monitor common problem areas and prevent the bigger injuries from sneaking up on you. In doing so, I also wanted to dispel some of the common myths about how often and when you should be using this stuff. I think you’ll be surprised by how little it takes and how repeatable the whole process is. That is the guide’s ultimate goal- to help you build a plan that is specific to your injury history, your sport, your job, and your training schedule. Inside you’ll find a blank planning page so that you play along as your read. You’ll also find a filled in chart full off all the A-T-A links you’ll need.

It links to the videos that Leigh has produced to explain the different techniques. If you are injured and in the area, you might want to visit Leigh at Pinnacle Physical Therapy in Plaistow, NH.If not check out the Athletes treating Athletes website or Facebook page.

That is where I have been going for therapy the past two months. So how is it going? I am only running once or twice a week, but hope to build slowly. I wasn't too smart and did a very hard 4+ mile snowshoe run two weeks ago. I got the pinching back in my inner adductors after that. It went away after one day. I did a good 3 miler on the treadmill last week. My legs feel much more balanced, straight, and dare I say strong. I can push off with the left foot and my right shoulder and ribs are moving forward to be equal with my left side. I am out of shape, but my legs want to go faster than my conditioning allows! If I don't run at all, my hips and back feel real good and I don't even think about them during the day. I am able to do kettlebell swings much better than I ever could without the former hip problems and I have jumped from a 35 pound kettlebell to a 50 pound bell. Because of all the work, I have feel great, even when shoveling snow. That is an activity that used to kill my back. Now, I like attacking all the snow that this winter has brought. I think I got a little too vigorous after the last storm trying to throw the snow over my cars and snowbanks. I didn't feel it until, I ran on the treadmill after the shoveling and I got the pinch back in my adductor (probably from twisting movements). I have a new policy for myself. I will not run when feeling hurt or any discomfort, so I no longer push through pains. I am just being patient and careful.

I think I am getting all the gunk out of my muscles and stuff surrounding my left hip and inner hamstring. My knee is straightening out and my foot falls better. Sometimes my "bad" left side feels better than my normal right side! I have been going twice a week to PT but dropping it down to once a week now. 

My one concern is learning how to run correctly again and not returning to similar patterns in my running. I believe it is true what Carson Boddicker says  in a recent post called The Brain Maps Movement, not Muscle.

You’ve heard it before. The brain doesn’t think about turning “on” individual muscles, but rather works in terms of movements. The brain... likewise does not speak in terms of “movement quality,” but rather cares only about movement success. The brain does not care how it gets from A to B only that it gets from A to B."

(note: I used to describe my running that way: just build up momentum and then try to maintain it any way possible! Form? what form?)

Regardless of whether or not you can move in a particular way or via a specific joint movement during a particular exercise does not necessarily mean that it’s good. It simply means that the brain will access plan B by stimulating a slightly different motor area to achieve the same or similar final posture.

With repeated activation, plan B simply becomes plan A due to impediment, and becomes “normal” and functionally dominant. Changes in the brain’s maps are implicated across a range of function and dysfunction. As is the case, remember, our number one target organ for all intervention is the brain. 

 I know I have faulty "brain maps"and my body follows these faulty movement patterns. The question is how to change my movement patterns so that I can run and move with greater efficiency and allow my muscles to move my bones and joints correctly. I have always run through therapies: maybe that is why rolfing and other things I have tried have never worked. I would start feeling good and immediately push things as hard as I could. I even did that this summer with new orthotics and ART therapy. I would just run with faulty patterns and never allowed my body to recover and learn new patterns and would just reinstall the old patterns on top of whatever therapy I tried.

How do you retrain your brain? I am not sure. I really liked the Feldenkrais movement work I did a couple of years ago. I was happy to see a new book published called The Art of Slowing Downby Edward Yu this month that brings Feldenkrais, Taichi, and something called Bagua together to relearn better movement patterns specifically to improve running. I only got the book yesterday, but I like a lot of the movement wisdom in the book and the Feldenkrais lessons. If you are not familiar with Feldenkrais, it uses non-stressful slow movements that help you feel and relearn how you move. The one problem that I have with the book is that it is only a book. I have followed through many Feldenkrais lessons and the best way to do them is when the are mp3 sound file. There are lessons in the book, but most runners will not do them properly. This is spelled out in the book, but still runners like to get places quickly and it is hard to understand slow. The book should  have come with the lessons on a cd or there should be a website where you can buy or download them. Other than that I will be delving into it daily. I like how the beginning movements tie the 1st MPT joint to hip movements. Well I have a left hip problem and a left toe problem (functional hallux limitis). It is amazing how everything is tied together. I also have a right shoulder problem and that too is tied to the left hip. If you have never participated in Feldenkrais, I have a lot of blog posts on it with links to free Feldenkrais ATMs. These are sound file lessons, some made specifically for runners. Here is one post with some links. Jae Gruenke of The Balanced Runner has a cd called "Loosening up to Run" that I have used an awful lot (directions for similar movements are in Edward Yu's book) but it is easier to listen to a cd (nice review on her site too!). I now notice she has a new mp3 called "A Leg to Stand on". I will have to try that one some day. She sent me another cd a while back called "Well-Armed" but I guess she has never released that one.

So hopefully it will all work out soon for me. I am getting my muscles and hip joint fixed and then I can relearn proper movement patterns. I just hope that is all that is wrong as that pinching feeling in the front of my leg makes me nervous. And if you don't want to be a messed up runner like me, then download Leigh's e-book and learn how to take care of yourself before you turn into a mess.

Recovering From Running

This is not the post I really want to make. I am finding it harder and harder to run. I believe I have to adjust the way I look at running. On reflection, I cannot get my body to do the serious training that I would like to do. In fact, I can't get it to accept mediocre training anymore, either. More to the point, I can't even get a successful run in much any more. My mind tells me what I would like to do as a runner, however my body is firmly telling me, "No more!"

I have not been able to run on any schedule this year, as I keep going through cycles of injury. I have had three times where I have missed about a week of running due to spasms in my left mid back. I have had a calf injury. I have also had the aches and pains of running through constant misalignment.

Strangely enough, I have also had the best year for having my back feeling healthy as I have had more "good" days where I have no pains as I go through my daily life then I have had in about 25 years. That is what I should really be focusing in on, if I were smart! I figure that is due to my working so hard on various things to try to get control and keep running. It has been a very successful year in that regard, except the "good" running days are far and few between. Running seems to stress things more.

I felt great overall when my calf was hurt (except I couldn't run) last week. Sunday night my hips went off again, and I couldn't sleep at all. I did the Mine Falls Trail 5 miler, but my whole left side was not working right and I was very unbalanced. That night I couldn't sleep again as I spent most of the night trying to work out the kinks that I get when the hip is "stuck". They go from head to toe and everything feels pinched or something on one side so that I can't be comfortable at all. That night I tried everything again. Nothing worked. Finally, I tried a move that seemed to work. I stood up straight and pushed one leg into the ground, and pulled the other leg straight up into the hip and lower back. When I tilted to the side a bit, all the kinks went away, and I was fine. However, the lower back, next to the backbone felt weak. I am not sure, whether I just activated a muscle or maybe "shifted" a vertebra back into position. It somewhat "felt" like that is what happened. My pains were gone, but my lower back felt "gimpy", almost like it might go into spasms again. It was a worrisome feeling.

I had come to a decision earlier in the week that I am unable to "healthily" get the miles in anymore and so I established, in my mind, that for now I would keep my runs short and not worry about missing so many days. Maybe I would have to work on what I could get out of the sport of running. I am not sure how, but somehow I will have to "act my age" and realize I can't run as much any more if I want my body to feel good and be healthy.

I went down to the Cape for a few days with my family. Feeling good from the back "move" I went for a 4 mile run. It felt good and I ran hard. Later that night I was out of sorts again. The next day I tried to run again and it was very unpleasant. My hips got worse and I was unable to run the next two days.

So how do you exit from being a runner after 35+ years of running?

I guess I have to agree with the physical therapist that told me about 10 years ago that, "You are so made for running, and yet you are so not made for running." I have tried all sorts of therapies, stretching routines, mobility exercises, strength exercises, and have read everything I can trying to get my body in balance.



While in Falmouth this week, I rode my kickbike while my family cycled on the "Shining Sea" bike paths in Falmouth. I saw hundreds of cyclists and quite a few runners. I saw most runners plodding along in all sorts of degrees of bad posture and form. Most of it was not pretty. I don't want to become one of those runners, barely making it down the road in a shuffling sort of run. I recall seeing another runner last year on the same paths, shuffling at a snail's pace on the bike paths. I could have walked faster without trying. He was barely moving. I remembered that runner from back almost 30 years ago, when he was a decent local runner who could run quite effortlessly all around town. That is not what I want to become!

Heck I was even having a rough time walking comfortably through the woods out to the "Knob" off of Quisset Harbor. It was only about 1/4 mile of walking but I could not even get comfortable doing that.



I guess I have to adjust. I am trying to look at my running now as something to do when I can without overdoing it. I hope to keep running races and track workouts, but will have to rethink about marathons and even half marathons (what to do about Applefest this year?). If I don't feel like running, I should bike, do some kettlebells, or something else to get rid of energy. Trying to run 3-4 days a week maybe better than trying to run every day (particularly when I have been unable to run that much anyhow this year!).

I need to run on the dirt trails more rather than the road. I need to run faster (I usually feel better) than run farther.

I do envy other runners who seem to only get the basic injuries. At least you know with a bad knee or other injury what it it and after a time it should heal. I think my body is just too "adaptable": rather than getting an overuse injury, it would shift and change balance to keep out of pain. It is just that my body had adapted to all these weird compensations and I can't get it back to the free and natural way of running. There is no connection between my shoulders, arms, back, hips, knees, ankles, and feet. It seems everything works independently instead of together. Particularly one side works different than the other. No amount of foam rolling, stretching, strengthening, or other techniques seems to be able to "retrain" my brain and body back to a smoother running form. Basically, I guess my body has "forgot" how to run. Sure some people think I can go fast for my age, but that is more will power and just getting my body in any way possible to the finish line. So I keep running with these weird movements and patterns that are just running down my body.

So I need to slow down! but I am not sure how.

And then Matt Metzger writes about something he is trying on his blog called Feldenkrais. I have heard about this "movement" therapy before. It is used as the basis for the movement in the book "Running with the Whole Body" by Jack Heggie that I have used to some improvement in the past.

I found an interesting article from a Feldenkrais teacher named Steve Hamlin called "Running and Skeletal Alignment". He writes:

Repetitive, forceful-shearing-pounding on all the weight bearing joints - when alignment is faulty - is a great stress on the body, the brain and the psyche. It can certainly be considered a form of self-abuse if is long continued, using lots of will power and determination to heroically push through injuries.

Yeah that is me. I think it is those "shearing" forces that I am constantly battling. He talks about the breakdown in alignment for many people today. Of course, he recommends using Feldenkrais to learn how to move naturally again, which will help with alignment. For a quick fix, he recommends "The Malalignment Syndrome" DVDs (these are not Feldenkrais). I have found these on my own earlier in the year. I found them helpful, but I think I tend to overdue the movements and push too hard. I would need someone to show me how to do these properly and where can you go for that?

He then predicts that if you run through your malalignments that:

If you ignore this and in spite of malalignment push ahead with will power to run at any cost - (as I did for many years) to lose weight, or get fit, or to get the "runner's high" - I think I can predict how it will be for you:
•You'll be puzzled why some other people seem to run much faster, easier, with apparently no effort.

•You'll begin to get "down" on yourself since you'll think your will power is insufficient, your technique is flawed, or something else must be wrong with you (actually you'll be right, there).

•You'll find that it continually takes will power to make yourself run. You won't ever fully come to a place where you really enjoy it, and enthusiastically want to do it. That's because an innate wisdom in your body knows you are hurting yourself.

•If you compete, your times will be mostly mediocre. You may have a few bright moments, good days. You can easily develop an inferiority complex from this.

•The more you increase your workouts, the harder you try, the more you will be disabled by "setbacks" - various inexplicable injuries.
•You and/or your coach will think you are injury prone.
•It may seem that your ligaments and tendons are prone to injury - while actually they may be fine, it just that the structural malalignment puts a tremendous stress upon them.
•The "runner's high" will be mostly why you run. That nice feeling after a long run, all those endorphins, let you feel very comfortable in your body - for awhile. It's something you don't have at any other time, so it is natural you'd become addicted to it. Then you have to run again. This is a particularly vicious syndrome, partly because it is usually unconscious. Feldenkrais work will quickly (or, it may take some years, to be realistic) show you how to create amazing comfort in your body, without running. Then, if you do run, you can do it for the right reasons.

OK! Lots of those predictions are so true of me. I am not sure if there is an answer, except to be smart for a change. Maybe I will look into Feldenkrais, but I have the feeling that I would be a long term case, and I don't have the money to do a big program like this. Whether it works or not, I am not sure. I know from what I read, that it matches my feelings about my body not knowing how to move properly anymore.

Everything I have tried has not really worked. My body innate pattern of running is just not changing. This is last July's Ultimate Runner.


Rich Blake took this photo this year and things have not changed much.


The left femur still rotates in, the left foot twists out and my shoulders and hips are not aligned. I don't know if anything can fix it any more. If I had assurances that Feldenkrais or any other method could permanently get back my old running form, I would certainly give it a try.

Arms up - Face Forward

A recent article Healthy Running Comes from the Arms and Head Connection over at The Natural Running Center by Jae Gruenke gives two tips to improve your running posture that counter the notion that you tuck your chin in when running and keep your hands low. Her tips are based on the Feldenkrais Method of movement. One is to keep your hands close to your chest, and bring your knuckles to the midpoint of your breastbone on the forward swing as in the photo taken at the World Cross-Country Championships.

 Her other tip is on the face forward head position.

When you run and therefore lean, you still need your eyes and inner ears upright relative to gravity so they work properly for balance and orientation, which means you have to let the distance between your chin and your throat increase in a move we have nicknamed “face forward.” What actually happens is that your skull slides forward on your atlas vertebra (this is the top vertebrae that along with the axis forms the connection to the skull) the same way it does when you kiss someone or when you hunch up at your laptop. But in running you allow this forward movement of your head to cause your whole body to fall forward, rather than just caving in your chest and hunching your shoulders, and it leads you into a beautiful, free, and easy lean.

Jae can be found over at The Balanced Runner. I have enjoyed doing Jae's cds in the past as a method to warm-up for a run or in an attempt to move better. If anyone these cues on a run, let me know how it goes.

Here is a Runners World interview with 3 time Olympian Jenn Rhines who explains her work with Jae  Gruenke and the Feldenkrais Method.

Well, you mentioned earlier in this Chat that there had been some tweaking of your running form. What exactly did you do, and what was the reason a need for that was perceived?
JR: Last year, I was running some decent workouts. I couldn't put anything together in a race and felt like I was really struggling. I felt like my body couldn't do it anymore, so I figured I'm either done or I need to figure out a way to do it differently.  I've been working with Terrence; I also worked with a woman in New York. Her name is Jae Gruenke, doing a thing called Feldenkrais Lessons – basically, teaching your body there's an easier way to do things. Things are starting to stick now. It's starting to come around.
Can you explain a little bit what Feldenkrais Lessons re?
JR: They're called awareness through movement lessons. I was actually doing them with her over Skype. To me, the easiest way to explain it is just that you're doing simple movements and teaching yourself to use different muscles and to do things a little move easily than in the patterns you've been stuck in. For somebody like me who's been running for over 20 years, I was definitely stuck in some bad habits.
One thing I've learned about is how everything interacts together. I'll get a very tight upper body and my arms with be way up high and twisting when I get tired, and now I kind of understand you can't just force yourself to drop them and have it be perfect. I understand more how everything works together.  It's probably still subtle, because I know I don't look dramatically different, but I'm not overstriding quite as much and I'm using my glutes and hamstrings more so I have a little bit higher back kick. It's better for me;  I don't look like a gazelle yet.

A Taste of Heaven

Today I got outside to run for the first time in a couple of weeks after a calf injury kept me from running. I got back to training two days ago, but I only had time for treadmill runs the previous two days. Today I rushed home from school, got the gear on, and headed out the door, and ran. It had turned dark before I finished, but it was still a bit like heaven, running again, outside, on a warm November day.

As I person of faith, I believe that someday I will be up in heaven. When I get there, I am holding God accountable for that "getting a new body" thing that He promised. I intend to get in line for the lean, fast, and powerful body type and I am going to make doubly sure it has perfect biomechanics. Then one of the first things I am going to do is run like the wind on those "streets of gold". I intend to run a sub four minute mile and then go off and run a sub 2:10 marathon and because there is no pain up there, I am going to turn around and do it again just for fun. I want to "feel" how if must feel to run so fast and perfectly. When I am done, I will then know I am in heaven and will sit on my cloud and play my harp. And while I am getting a new body, I am sure it could not hurt to get a better looking one too! Then on my harp, maybe I will start playing "Where the Streets have no Name." When "I go there...I want to run... where the streets have no name." Now that is one of the all time great songs. I have not seen this video for years!




Here on planet Earth, where I have to continue to run with my messsed up biomechanics, I am putting together a hodge-podge "best of" plan to get my body working better and it is good to get things rolling again. I like the Feldenkrais, but I had limited myself to just that and running since August and I need to put back into my routine the other things that may work best for me in the right combination. So I have a mix of Feldenkrais, Z-Health, Yoga, trigger-point work, and Kettlebells that I am doing with a few additional strengthening and stretching routines that target certain muscle groups. It sounds busy, but I have "faith" that I can still improve on my running mechanics. My plan is to continue targeting my hips and back with the Feldenkrais and use what I have learned through Feldenkrais to better inform my movement patterns using the other methodologies. Some of the work I have done has really helped me understand movement patterns and while far from perfect, I feel so much better and in control as I reorganize the way my body works and moves.

I am not sure if it will make me any faster, but at least I want the running to be more enjoyable. However, if you hear of me running these outstanding world class times any day soon then it "must be a mistake" because "Heaven Can Wait"! Remember this old Warren Beatty movie?



Wasn't Beatty a football player in the movie? Did he die while running? I can't remember. I saw this film years ago with the Wheaton College Cross Country team during a preseason running camp in the Northern Woods of Wisconsin. We geeky runners loved it, and like any college age group of guys we used lines from the movie as jokes all that year. We really thought that "I'm just memorizing your face" would be a great line to use with the girls!

I wonder if any of my teammates ever tried that line. Here we are trying to be a bit more macho! I am 3rd from the right and I know I never did!

Starting All Over Again

I had another successful week testing out my hip to see what I can do. For the second week in a row I did 12 miles of running, however last week I did no gym work. This week I also went back to the YMCA to work on the bikes, elliptical, and indoor track. I also went out mountain biking for the first time post surgery.
Monday: nothing
Tuesday: 5 miles run. I felt OK during the run, but my piriformis or glute medius got real tight after the run and into the next day. I decided to be careful of pushing too much.
Wednesday: 10 miles recumbent bike, 5 miles stationary bike, 2 miles elliptical
Thursday 5 miles stationary bike, 2 miles elliptical, 1 mile run
Friday: nothing
Saturday 10 miles mountain biking-felt great- only a bit of difficulty getting my leg over the crossbar, 1 mile run, 1 mile elliptical, 1 mile run, 1 mile elliptical, 1 mile run
Sunday: 5k run through Mine Falls Park

I am being careful to not hurt things, my hip feels fine, but the muscles around it can act up a bit. Last Monday, I called my doctor's' office to see if I really was OK to run. I was told it was find as long as it doesn't hurt. I called again today and asked for a referral for PT, just to make sure I know which exercises to do and which to avoid to speed things along.

I saw this video posted on two sites that I follow last week:  Better Movement and Conditioning Research. It shows one of the greatest explorers of all, a human baby, as she learns to move. Babies work hard to figure things out, we sometimes forget how to move and our bodies become rigid and locked. This leads to a lot of aches, pains, and improper movement patterns. The video reminded me to continue to practice Feldenkrais movements, particularly after surgery. I have written plenty on Feldenkrais before as it is a gentle and powerful way to get back in touch with how your body should move, just like the baby in this video. Despite having plenty of Feldenkrais audio lessons I decided to try out The Fundamentals of Better Movement as well as Becoming Bulletproof: An Uncommon Approach to Building a Resilient Body. I will review them later at another time as well as review Martha Peterson's The Essential Somatics Pain Relief Through Movement DVD. I found her website through this link on labral tears two days before heading to Kenya and learned a few of her Somatic exercises that literally kept me out of pain for the longest time in over 25 years (you have to explore more on her website- look for posts written in February on the hip). I was free from the pain that I normally get and can never fix the whole trip. Except for the day when we flew to Kenya, I was able to control all pain by doing less than 5 minutes of exercises that I found on her website. The whole flight to London, I was very uncomfortable because I did no exercises that day. When we stopped to change flights to Nairobi, I did the exercises and I was fine the rest of the way as well as the rest of the trip. Every time I felt like things were getting out of balance, I did the exercises and I was fine. Some of the exercises are similar, but presented in different way with the Feldenkrais movements on "The Fundamentals of Better Movement".

 

Being Thankful for Health and Running

I know it is not Thanksgiving time yet, but two tragic circumstances has just made me feel a tiny bit thankful that I have good health and can enjoy running, but very sad for these two fine gentlemen. A friend of my son's and the camp director of the camp Andy worked at this summer was on a missions trip to Haiti at the beginning of the summer and was involved with a motorcycle crash. He suffered some brain damage (no helmet) and is still in a hospital in Boston. Last week a friend of mine was in a horrific car crash. He was just married this July and had just bought a new house up in Bedford. He crashed his car head on into a tree. He has multiple fractures in his leg, 5 ribs, face and worst of all in his back. Most likely he will be paralyzed from the chest down. He had to be revived three times and had to have a pacemaker inserted to keep him alive. My thoughts and prayers are with Dan and Sean for the long recoveries they face. It makes it very silly to worry about miles, seconds, and minutes in my running, but gives me pause to be very thankful for the health I do have. You never know what can happen to change the things we often take for granted.

Speaking of thanks. A big thanks to Mike Wade and the Gate City Striders for the Mine Falls Trail races that ended on Monday night. There are many Strider volunteers who show up week after week and help put on this race series and they deserve thanks too. It is a fun part of the week to be able to show up and put in a decent workout testing your legs on the trails of Mine Falls. This year I graduated away from the 5K races that I have always done and for the second half of the series participated in the 5 mile races. I won two nice aluminum water bottles for winning my age group in each half of the series. They will be great for school if my kids don't steal them from me (which I think they have already done!).

Tonight's track workout was my best so far this year. It was a killer: 2 miles, 1 mile, 3/4 mile, 1/2 mile, 400, and 400. I was feeling good. I did the two mile in 12:17, but I had no warm up. All the other intervals were under 6 minute mile pace as I tried to keep pace with Mike Wade and Steve Wolfe. I felt more balanced in my running then I have all year on the track. I was able to run relaxed and concentrate on trying to have good form. I attribute this to the Feldenkrais lessons I have been doing each day. I am working on my own to see how much I can figure out. The Feldenkrais teacher says my ribs and torso are very tight. He suggests that to get fixed I would need to take 6 months off of running. I am not sure I am ready to do that just yet.

I remember a massage therapist who used to tell me that the left side of my ribs were dropped 2 inches below my right side and then would attempt to push them back into place. On reflection, I always pay attention to my hips, but I do notice how my rib cage is tilted and rotated. Just because it didn't hurt, I didn't pay it too much attention. That is something that I am working on with the Feldenkrais movements.

I found an interesting article the other day that exactly describes my running form and posture, explains why it works that way, and offers a solution. If the article is correct, it will be the first time that someone has relayed to me (well in this case relayed in an article) exactly what is going on in my body. I have lightly tried the stretches the past two days and my runs have gone better and the hip misalignment and weaknesses I had Sunday and Monday in the races have cleared up.

The article is called "Corrective Methods For Common Postural Deviations: The Anterior Pelvic Tilt" written by Marc McDougal. I am just working on the anterior pelvic tilt in my left hip and leaving alone the other hip. First off the article gets right to something I have always overlooked and what Feldenkrais is teaching me. The article says:

"Your chest position effects your pelvic position. The Thoracic Cage is roughly the area from your shoulders to the bottom of your ribs, and movement here causes a muscular chain reaction all the way down to your pelvis."

Just what I am working on. Which leads to:

"Tightness or instability of any of these (muscles around the rib cage)can cause shifting of the Cage, which can then translate to a shift at the pelvis.
A pelvic tilt will most certainly cause the muscles of the lower limb to compensate. It’s not always easy to tell what caused what, but usually one will find an internally rotated femur accompanying a forward pelvic tilt. Simply put, this is when the knee starts to turn inward during standing, walking, squatting, etc."

That has been my complaint for many years. My left femur rotates in and makes the knee knock-kneed. Finally this is the first article I have ever seen (or doctor or therapist) that explains why my knee rotates in and my foot rotates out.

"When your knee turns inward, your lower leg compensates by turning the foot outward to maintain balance and keep you from walking like you’re on a boat. This outward foot rotation then causes another host of problems, including a pattern change in the hamstring recruitment.

Specifically, because of the mechanical advantage, this results in an over-reliance of the medial hamstring muscles (semitendinosus and semimembranosus), and an under-recruitment of the biceps femoris group of the hamstrings; which can lead to eventual atrophy and further knee problems."

I really don't have knee problems, for some strange reason, however it always feels tight under my left kneecap when I am out of alignment. But my hamstrings and tight adductor muscles on my left side are always part of my problem. This is also addressed in the article.

There is a lot more in the article, including a very good presentation of remedial stretching and strengthening exercises. The directions for the stretching are a bit more precise than just "stretch your hip flexors." It tells you exactly how to target the muscles at the proper angle to affect change. Because the article precisely describes my postural conditions, I am going to keep working on these stretches while I loosen up my movement patterns with the Feldenkrias exercises.

That is something else to be thankful for, a means to fix problems within my own body and relearn good movement patterns for a healthier life. You just don't have to give up.



I ran with a new pair of shoes that I bought last weekend on the track tonight called the Puma K Street. I always liked running in the Puma H Street shoe, a very minimalistic shoe that is now hard to find. I went through about 5 pairs. The K Street doesn't have the fancy colors of the H Street and although minimalistic, it didn't seem to be built the same as the H Street. That being said, I absolutely enjoyed running the workout on the track in them. They are lightweight and have a wider toe box than the H Street. That is good for me. The sole was flexible, but not the same as the H Street. However on the soft spongy track, I actually like the nubs and feel of running in them better than the H Street. They will certainly make a great track shoe, I am not sure if I will take them on the roads.

Crawling Like a Lizard

This morning I finished the fourth lesson on the Feldenkrais based audio of "Running With the Whole Body". I was expecting the lesson to go along with my earlier edition of the book with work on the hips. However, something completely different than my edition of the book was introduced (I don't know if the rest of the lessons in the newer edition match the audio lessons). Anyhow, I was told I was going to learn how to crawl like a lizard. The next two lessons are about moving like an animal and then moving like a human. Well, seeing I am trying to follow a Primal-Paleo diet (lost 5-7 pounds in two weeks- which means I am losing too much and have to eat more)I guess I can learn to move in a more primal sort of manner (actually it is how we all started to move when we started crawling as a baby). Watch how the hips and spine of this baby moves as he creeps across the floor.



I guess Feldenkrais reawakens some of these movement patterns from our past. Interestingly in cultures like Bali where babies are not allowed to crawl they develop movements pattern problems when they mature: they cannot hop from one leg to the other.

Of course—no Balinese baby is allowed to touch the ground for the first ‘rice year’ (seven months), so they never have the opportunity to creep. Creeping (how you motivate when lying on your belly) is substantially different from crawling (how you get about on all fours) and involves—try it—that very shifting from hip to hip which is a precursor for hopping. Because they miss that stage, the Balinese—able dancers and sportsmen—are unable to organize a simple foot-to-foot hop.

According to "the World's Fittest Man" Erwan Le Corre quadrupedal movement is one of the 12 key movements of Movnat (Move Naturally). By the end of the lesson I was indeed feeling like I was moving like a lizard. It was fun as well as revealing as the lessons help me perceive how I move and how movements connects throughout my body as it works as a unit.

I just love the audio version of "Running with the Whole Body". I was ready to call it quits knowing that it was movement patterns, that I could not seem to fix, that was hindering my stride and this is what the program is all about. The lessons awaken an awareness of how we move and more importantly how I should be moving. My running is changing, slowly. Last week I could hardly move. Yesterday I went for a 7 mile run and then kept increasing what I was doing because it felt so good for a change. Eventually I hit 13 miles. I notice a definite change in how my body, hips, and shoulders move and find that more power and balance is coming from my torso and not just my feet and legs (like what I used to concentrate on). Hopefully things will keep improving and I will not have to give up the sport of running.

I find the the audio lessons, although not hard, leave me feeling refreshed, aware, loose, and moving in a new manner that I can't wait to try out when running. The funny things is I am doing them despite a rib injury; I got kneed by mistake on Wednesday by my daughter in my right lower rib. The muscle down there is sore when I lay down and it hurts to roll over in bed and get comfortable. I have had to limit some of the movement exercise and I hope that by Tuesday when I go to see a Feldenkrais practitioner that it won't be so sore anymore.

Pushed the Button, One Week to the Cape Cod Marathon

I have had a very poor three weeks of running, since racing the Applefest 1/2 marathon. I had a two week cold of some type, a sore calf-achilles, and for the past two weeks my left side has been acting up. I only got about 2 or 3 runs in per week with nothing over 8 miles. I decided, with the weather outlook this weekend, that I wouldn't get another long run in and so I wouldn't enter the Cape Cod Marathon next weekend. Yesterday wasn't a bad day, like they predicted, and after doing a new Feldenkrais lesson Saturday afternoon, my left leg straightened up a bit and the pains of the last 2 weeks left, so I drank a glass of water and headed out for a run.

I had a nice loose run, although I lost a lot of conditioning during the downtime, something I also noticed Wednesday night at the track when I struggled through 3 X 1600 in 6:13, 6:07, and 6:06. I was enjoying feeling loose again and decided to try to go 16 miles. I started losing my form around 13 miles, but soldiered on thinking I would go 21 miles. At about 16 miles, I changed my mind, as I had nothing to eat or drink and going longer would only do some harm. I headed home and ended up doing 18 miles.

I got a long run in, so today a hit the "Enter" button and entered the Cape Cod Marathon for next Sunday. I am not going to worry about time and just see what happens. I guess I would be happy just running under 3:30, although if everything feels right I could go faster. If I qualify for Boston, it gives me an option to do that race in the Spring.

The past two weeks, my left leg has been acting up (out of whack). When that happens, I get a pain in my butt, in my lower back, and my knee feels tight and constricted. I also notice my left foot rotates out to the side more and when I run I have to roll over on the inner side of the foot which twists my knee, tightens my adductors, and gives me pains all over. Usually this is where I start stretching and beating myself up making it worse. I was doing lots of back Feldenkrais lessons, but started looking for foot-ankle lessons. The lesson I finally found, had me working on the ankles, my left one has limited mobility in one quadrant. I noticed that while rotating the ankle, I could feel its effect right in my left glute that gets really tight. There is a definite connection there and after about 1/2 hour of gentle movement and rotations, I was getting a smoother movement. When I was done, things weren't perfect, but I could run without the constrictions I had beem feeling all over my left side. I find it very fascinating noticing, through Feldenkrais, the ability to move in different ways and the positive effect I can achieve. I am slowly unraveling the tension and tight spots throughout my body and feel a lot freer in the back and hips. I also still find a lot of tight spots, so this is going to be a long process. Today is the best my body has felt in the past three weeks!

I don't expect much out of this marathon, in fact it is probably stupid to do it as I should not put new movement patterns under so much stress, so I will keep it low key and turn it into a long run. Hopefully the weather will be better than what the runners in the Bay State Marathon had to face today.

Taking a Closer Look at the Ankle Joint: Dorsiflexion and Mobility

For over 20 years, I have been looking at my hips and back trying to figure out the pain and imbalance problems that I can't get rid of. My left lower back and my left front hip have always been the two areas that I can never seem to fix. I have been told not to run anymore by many doctors and even physical therapists have said it must be something wrong with my hip. But they are never sure what! I have actually helped my back, this past year, to feel the best that is has since the mid 1980s when triathlons just killed my back (or as I now suspect- a faulty bike set up and fit caused the problems).


I have always looked at my hip for a solution, but what if the hip is just the symptom and the problem can be found somewhere else. I have started looking somewhere else and I think I may be able to pinpoint the problem. Is there a solution? I don't' fully know, but if I could run marathons prior to my excursion into triathlons without the problems I have now, then why can't I get my body back to that point.

About a month ago, after much work with Feldenkrais, I started realizing that my hips and back seemed to work just fine (at least while lying on the ground). My left hip could do the same movements as my right hip. I then wondered if Feldenkrais would work on lower body parts, particularly my left foot and ankle. My left ankle does not work like my right ankle. The foot twists out to the side and the inside half of the foot is higher than the outside part. It is sort of like a twisted foot. If I point my left knee forward, the left foot points to the outside. If I straighten my left foot on the ground, my left knee knocks into the right knee. This has been a long-standing problem. In high school, I was jokingly given an award for being knock-kneed. When I started triathlons and fit myself to my bike, I knew my left foot pointed out, so I locked them into that position with my pedals. I did five intense years of triathlons (including five Ironman distance races) with this toed-out position on my left foot. After one year of triathlons, I was trying to figure out the pain in my back (I didn't do stretching or know anything about chiropractic back in those days 1983-1987). By 1987, I honestly thought I would be in a wheelchair by my mid-thirties as I couldn't do much of anything without trying to relieve the pain by cracking my back every 15 minutes all day long. I was a mess! I have improved a lot since then and have kept myself out of a wheelchair, but I have yet to fully straighten out my body again. I went to get physical therapy for the first time in 1988 right before my marriage, because I wasn’t sure that I could stand up long enough during the ceremony without needing to crack my back! This was less than one year after my fifth and final Ironman distance race.

Here I am back in 1985 winning a triathlon in Lakeville, Ma. The ankle-knee-hip thing isn't so bad. Same with this photo from  the Falmouth Road Race in 2004.

But look at what is happening at this year's Applefest 1/2 Marathon. It is painful to look at. I have to straighten things out starting somewhere.

So I started thinking again! What if the problem isn't my lower back (first problem area) or hips (a later problem)? What if it has to do with my feet. I have experimented with Morton's Foot remedies, but that doesn't fully address my misaligned foot. Could it be that my weird stride is because of my foot? When I run the left foot splays out to the side and then my foot rolls over the arch, sending my left knee in the opposite direction so that it knocks into my right knee. Then my femur sticks up into my hip socket at a weird angle causing the hip, butt, and back problems. My body has learned to compensate by getting all out of alignment and running with all sorts of twists and imbalances that somehow work (but is very ugly). I started wondering if I could fix my foot and ankle, thus creating a fix for my hip and back. I found a Feldenkrais ATM lesson for the ankles and used it the night before the Cape Cod Marathon in October. It was an hour-long practice with the ankle and I noticed something right off the bat, well I already knew this, but never really thought much about it. Part of the lesson was done lying on my belly. From this position, you have to leave your knees on the ground together and lift up your lower legs to a ninety-degree angle, bottoms of the feet pointed to the ceiling. With you feet together, you had to do slow movements: toes out-ankles together, toes together-heels out. I could move my right heel out, but the left would go nowhere. Doing these and other movements I was able after an hour to get my left heel to move less than an inch, but there was some improvement.

I have no idea if my left ankle-foot arrangement is something I was born with or something I developed through misuse or poor movement patterns (or locking myself into an unnatural pedal position). I decided to try to find out more information, and am still looking, and I am not sure it is something I can fully fix, but I am willing to see what I can do to improve my movement patterns. I am no expert, but unless my bones are formed improperly or worn down, (can that happen?) then it might be my muscles and ligaments that are holding things in bad positions and alignment and maybe that can be fixed. There are 26 bones, plus the tibia and fibula, in the lower leg, ankle, and foot so there are many places where "something" can go wrong.

In a well-written article called The Ankle Paradox: Building Indestructible Ankles for TMuscle.com, Jimmy Smith writes:

Some of my colleagues may want to slap me around a bit, but I'm convinced that the ankle is the primary cause of abnormal gait.... Pain or improper movement will cause the individual to compensate for the dysfunction.

I never have pain in that ankle, but I certainly have dysfunction and an "abnormal gait." So maybe the ankle is where I really should be looking and it looks like a very complicated joint complex. Here is a wonderful video of how the ankle joint complex works:



I still don't know how or if I can fix things. I do know this. Once I start running forward and put weight on my left foot rather than moving straight ahead over my foot, it feels "stuck" as my leg moves over my ankle (that part right in front of the angle-sort of like the vertex where the foot and leg meet).. Rather than move straight over the foot, the front of my ankle rolls to the inside, everting the foot out to the side, and rolling down towards the arch. Could this movement be throwing off my stride? Could this habit be the cause of my funky left foot positioning?

What if I could roll forward over my ankle in a straight line?There are many ankle mobilization videos that show how to test and work on this dorsiflexion. Bill Hartman shows how it is done in this video, as well as a tennis ball trick to work on the soleus muscle, calf muscle, and plantar muscles. I have been working on this mobility work to see if I can get a better sense of moving properly and gaining better dorsiflexion.




Here are other videos that take the ankle mobilizations further into a kneeling position. It helps you line up the knee and ankle with a long dowel or broomstick. The blurb for the first video states

Great warm up for walkers and runners, especially if you have suffered from a previous ankle sprain. Improves ankle and opposite hip flexibility, but more importantly helps to re-wire the front knee on how it is supposed to move and keep it from caving in during walking and running.

Here is another take on that mobilization:



I was also wondering a bit about something that chiropractor, Brian Bigelow, told me many years ago. He mentioned something about my tibia or fibula being out of position. I really didn't realize that these bones move in a small way as your ankle flexes. Bill Hartman shows a technique he developed to mobilize the ankle when the fibula is stuck in the forward position. I used a regular belt when I tried this and it seemed to do something the first time I did it. This stopped some of the pressure I was feeling in my left peroneals and knee. I used it again twice more in the following week when I had the same pressure. It seems to do something positive with my leg, so it is something I am trying to learn more about.



Bill Hartman together with Eric Cressey (I have a couple of his books, plus the Magnificent Mobility DVD), and Mike Robertson have recently come out with a new DVD called "Assess and Correct". I do not have this yet, but it looks very interesting. I am wondering if it gives any more information on ankle mobility techniques.

Here is an article with more videos called Alleviating Ailing Ankles by Carson Boddicker with many exercises to increase dorsiflexion. Carson writes:

All the issues can be both joint mobility restrictions and muscular tightness; achieving proper dorsiflexion should be addressed with a multifaceted approach including altering tissue lengths, joint mobility, and other modifiable lifestyle factors.

Here is a good blog post. It is for frisbee player, but they run too!
I am also looking again at the joint mobility work through the Z-Health exercises. I am paying proper attention to foot placements when doing them.

Many ankle mobility mobilizations require an expert to evaluate and practice. Here is an overview and then some other more complicated videos that I just want to keep track of.





Who knows if doing the simple mobilizations will improve my stride. I am willing to try. Like anything, I assume it will take some time to alter the tightness and alignment issues and then to let the body adjust.

My foot seems a bit better in alignment and as it straightens out. I notice more arch in my left foot. Mywhole foot seems to do its own wiggling and rotations that are not normal. I assume this is also a neurological problem and hope that if things fix in my foot, I can retrain the brain for proper movement patterns. Like everything else I try, I never know if it will work, but I think it is another step on the way to recovering my stride.

Yesterday was another warm and beautiful November day for running. I was stiff, particularly in the hamstrings, as I spent most of the week doing lots of additional things, Z-Health, resistance stretching, yoga, and a return to kettlebells. I think the kettlebell swings tightened up my hamstrings, but I wanted to get back to a consistent use of the kettlebells.

It took a few miles to warm up, but I ended up doing 11 miles and my stride was shifting after a while to a different position as I tried to keep the left foot straight. It really affects the rotations in both hips and the imbalances in my back. By the end of the run (which went very well), I was very stiff over my entire back. I will just take that as a sign that my balance is shifting and my body is readjusting. After a month, I can now rotate my left heel out about two inches when I do the Feldenkrais exercise I wrote about earlier.

The ankle joint is something I have to learn a whole lot more about. I would really like to know if it is possible to get that left foot to rotate back into position. If it is doable then I may really be onto something!