and tips specifically for bigger runners?

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I think I've got shoes that fit well and I've already found that
jogging on concrete is a bad idea, but what are some other tips that
might help a big, tall guy that's trying to start a running program?

Old overweight slow guy here who just started walking/running 3 years ago.

Sounds simple but the best advice is "Don't hurt yourself!". Start walking,
then when you can walk a few miles at a fast pace, start jogging a few steps
sloooowly. At the slightest pain in ankles, knees, etc., go back to walking.
As you lose weight and get fit you can run a little more. If your muscles
are tired, that's ok.... if your joints hurt..... slooow down and\or take
some time off.

Walk.... run..... walk...run.... I find that I can run much further if I
take a few walk breaks..... even just 10 or 20 seconds, not so much to catch
my breath, but to change the motion, thus pressure on knees and ankles.

As you run more..... pay more attention to your shoes.... if your
ankles/knees/ hips start hurting make sure you have good shoes and the right
kind for your gait. Doesn't matter so much when you are walking and not
running much but when your mileage starts piling up...... careful!

--
Les <SlowFoot> Stewart
Beaumont, TX

[[ This message was both posted and mailed: see
the "To," "Cc," and "Newsgroups" headers for details. ]]

In article said:

I think I've got shoes that fit well and I've already found that
jogging on concrete is a bad idea, but what are some other tips that
might help a big, tall guy that's trying to start a running program?

First, I'd purchase Danny Dreyer's ChiRunning Book http://www.chirunning.com. His DVD is extremely helpful especially in seeing what he is describing and talking about in the book. While there is no financial benefit for me, I am a champion of the work that Danny and his instructors are sharing regarding learning to run lightly and also to prevent running injuries. My folklore parallels Danny's ChiRunning and he's been able to explain it in a way that I have not.

In Chirunning one learns that the knees are not really picked up. they pendulum forward and backward and the foot scribes somewhat of a circle.

One runs much more easily and realizes that the foot doesn't push off when the body is erect and one is running with an ever so slight forward lean that starts from the ankle

Here's a piece of my folklore for big guys...being in that category myself:

From: "Jan Gontang" <[email hidden]>
To: "Ozzie Gontang" <[email hidden]>
Subject: How To Run Lightly And Quickly Over Terra Firma
Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2001 01:28:11 -0700
X-Priority: 3

How To Run Lightly And Quickly Over Terra Firma

The balls of your feet may be sore from being slapped. If you are landing on
the back of the heel of the shoe it can cause a trigger effect that slaps
the ball of your feet down...the faster you run the faster and harder the
slap of the ball of the foot against the ground. In this article you may be
able to find some folklore to help run lightly, quickly and quietly.

How To Run Lightly And Quickly Over Terra Firma
by Austin Gontang,
September 26, 2000

Running Quietly & Lightly Over Terra Firma: A Response to Jessica's SLAP
SLAP
c. 2000 Austin "Ozzie" Gontang, Ph.D.

Those of you who were avid fans of Kung Fu remember David Carridine as a
young Shaolin monk having to walk across the rice paper without tearing it.
When he could do that then he would be able to leave the monastery, as he
would have learned the lessons he needed.

Those of you who have watched the Discovery Channel and various series on
predators will note that all the predators are very light of foot and their
prey is even lighter of foot. Even watching the charging of a bull elephant
one realizes that the elephant for all its weight runs lightly over the
terrain upon which it charges the camera. Rhino, water buffalo, horses,
lions, cheetahs, Olympic 5K and 10K runners move over the surface of the
earth.

What that means in the kineseology of running is that there is very little
vertical displacement (up and down movement) in running. In weight lifting
there is very little if any horizontal displacement (forward or backward
movement). Any movement other than movement in the plane in which you are
moving is detrimental.

Simply put, you are running and you weight 150 pounds. Every step you lift
yourself vertically 1/2 inch more than necessary while running forward. This
would mean that every 24 steps you have lifted yourself 150 foot-pounds.
That is, you have lifted your 150 pounds one foot and gotten no energy
benefit in the direction in which you want to move. Along the horizontal.
You've just lifted yourself up one foot and wasted valuable energy. While if
you could get rid of that extra 1/2 inch vertical displacement that energy
could be used or saved in helping you run in the direction you intend. Along
the horizontal

Then add to that a toeing out (\ /) of the each foot 20 degrees which means
a lost of distance on each stride to the tune of:

Size 9 loses 18 yards per mile or 471.6 yards lost/ marathon
Size 10 loses 20 yards per mile or 524.0 yards lost/ marathon
Size 11 loses 22 yards per mile or 576.4 yards lost/ marathon
Size 12 loses 24 yards per mile or 628.8 yards lost/ marathon

The slap of most runners' feet is due to the overstride. This means the
planted foot is landing in front of the runner's center of gravity. The slap
comes when the foot strike hits so that the runner lands on the back of the
heel "of the shoe." It creates what is similar to the snap bar of a mouse
trap. It effects the front of the foot as it slaps down on its unaware
victim...the earth's surface. The only problem is that the helpless
victim-the earth-sends the shockwaves back up the foot as the leg compresses
and is jarred as it hits the unforgiving earth.

Again from the martial arts Bruce Lee's inch punch can hit a tissue in front
of a vase or a piece of tile with the tissue just touching either. With the
punch the vase or tile shatters and the tissue remain untorn. Bruce or the
martial artist's fist hits the surface of the tissue with such force but
stops at the surface of the tissue touching the object.

The runner with good form and style touches the surface of the earth but
does not allow the entire weight of the body to collapse upon the foot. The
center of gravity is already over the foot as it lands. When the ball/heel
or midsole plant takes place the foot touches down for however short the
millisecond. The difference is that the bottom of the foot neither slides
back nor slides forward and is the point from which the body is launched
forward. As soon as the launch of the upper body takes place from that
unmoved spot, the momentum of the lead leg and body going forward pulls the
plant foot off the ground.

Two techniques I've used to teach the quick touch down of the foot without
allowing the full weight of the body to follow the vertical displacement:

1. Imagine you're running on a hot grill, yelling "Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah with each
step. You're so interested in not getting burned, you don't think about
putting your feet down...gravity does that. You are worried about picking
them up as quickly as possible to keep them from getting burned on the
grill.... or Tucson summer hot pavement.

2. Stand with one knee up and get ready to pop a Styrofoam cup with the foot
of the lifted knee. As your foot goes down to pop the cup, instantly lift up
the leg upon which you've been standing on. If you can lift it up as fast as
the other leg is going down to pop the cup, you will have counterbalanced
the cup popping foot. The foot lands and pops the cup but the leg you were
standing on by going up as rapidly as the cup popping foot was going down
allowed your center of gravity to have minimal movement. You popped the cup
but your foot stopped at the surface of the earth because your center of
gravity had minimal vertical displacement on the cup popping foot.

3. When you see a cyclist coming toward you seated on his/her bicycle, you
notice that the knees and lower leg are going up and down. It is only when
it passes you from the side, do you realize that the foot is scribing
circles as it pedals. Now Tom Miller from Utah had people train for 10K's by
riding on stationary bicycles while standing up. Notice that you can peddle
you stationary bicycle standing up and notice that your body can be held
such that it doesn't go up and down. You may now be getting a little sense
of what I've been teaching so that I can get average runner to become
stealth runners.

They never hit the ground. Their foot touches the ground and the falling
body along the horizontal allows for minimal vertical movement. Therefore no
slapping.

Loud running is unhealthy for the human body and can cause severe damage not
only to the body but the mind and spirit as well.

Running is falling and catching yourself. You can do it clumsily or
gracefully. Go for the grace!

Again for those who want one of the books I've used to make sense out of
what good form and style (e.g. Chapter. 5 The Mechanics of Correct Running
Form. pp. 51-53 )are in running:
Send $20 to Int'l Assoc. Of Marathoners for John Jesse's
"Hidden Causes of Injury, Prevention and Correction
for Running Athletes and Joggers, © 1977
To: IAM-attn Ozzie
2903 29th Street
San Diego, CA 92104-4912

Quoted message said:

I think I've got shoes that fit well and I've already found that
jogging on concrete is a bad idea, but what are some other tips that
might help a big, tall guy that's trying to start a running program?

Look at the shoe reviews in Runners World. Find a shoe
that fits your size (weight) and style (pronation) just because
the shoe fits your foot does not mean it is the best shoe for
your running program.
IF you have a high arch, I'd recommend Saucony Trigon DC (its a cushion
shoe for bigger runners).

Start easy, dont worry about being slow. Take pleasure in being outside
and active.

Good Luck.

Quoted message said:

any tips specifically for bigger runners?>

Loose some weight lard-ass.

"Ted" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

any tips specifically for bigger runners?>

Loose some weight lard-ass.

He wasn't talking about your mother needing to "lose" weight, idiot.

Quoted message said:

I think I've got shoes that fit well

Says who? They're too small. Return them and get a size larger than your
regular shoe size. This will allow for the increased blood flow from running.

Well, I went to two different running specific stores and tried on
about ten pairs of shoes before I bought these. They're Brooks Trance
NXRs. They're really comfortable, so I don't think the shoes are my
problem.

After reading that short article above, I think most of the issue is my
running style, to use the term loosely. I am literally pounding the
pavement. That, combined with the fact that I started out running on
concrete, is killing my knees and shins.

I'm going to find someplace to run on grass this morning and see what
effect that might have.

<[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

Well, I went to two different running specific stores and tried on
about ten pairs of shoes before I bought these. They're Brooks Trance
NXRs. They're really comfortable, so I don't think the shoes are my
problem.

Unfortunately, simply trying on a pair of shoes will tell you
nothing about how they will feel when you are running in them.
Many good specialty running store will allow customers to run
around the block, or up the street a bit and back. Even then
mistakes can be made.

cheers,
--
David (in Hamilton, ON)
www.allfalldown.org
www.absolutelyaccurate.com

Quoted message said:

Many good specialty running store will allow customers to run
around the block, or up the street a bit

I get all my shoes this way. Just run around the block, jump in your BMW and
drive away.

As a heavier runner myself, I agree with everything Ozzie says here.
I'd also like to add a little anecdotal advice (this seems to apply to
my running; don't know if it does for others) - take a longer view of
the road ahead. I notice that I tend to run more lightly and with less
up-and-down motion when my head is up and my vision focused well ahead,
rather than at the ground right in front of me.

"SwStudio" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

<[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

Well, I went to two different running specific stores and tried on
about ten pairs of shoes before I bought these. They're Brooks
Trance
NXRs. They're really comfortable, so I don't think the shoes are my
problem.

Unfortunately, simply trying on a pair of shoes will tell you
nothing about how they will feel when you are running in them.

Absolutely and why I buy from RoadRunner. if it takes a001 miles to find
that shoe sucks back they go and I get another. What other shoe company
allow one to return used shoes for full price.

Quoted message said:

Many good specialty running store will allow customers to run
around the block, or up the street a bit and back. Even then
mistakes can be made.

One can only find shoes with big flaws when running around the block.
Most real problems manifest over 50 to 100 miles.

-DF

FabulustRunner said:

Quoted message said:

I think I've got shoes that fit well

Says who? They're too small. Return them and get a size larger than

your

Quoted message said:

regular shoe size. This will allow for the increased blood flow from

running.

careful, this sounds like actual advice. logged in with the wrong sock
puppet?

Quoted message said:

careful, this sounds like actual advice. logged in with the wrong sock
puppet?

Oops, sorry, it happens.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Keith said:

As a heavier runner myself, I agree with everything Ozzie says here.
I'd also like to add a little anecdotal advice (this seems to apply to
my running; don't know if it does for others) - take a longer view of
the road ahead. I notice that I tend to run more lightly and with less
up-and-down motion when my head is up and my vision focused well ahead,
rather than at the ground right in front of me.

As Keith mentions, when your head is held up and balanced upon the neck
over the shoulders, there is no need to use the muscles to hold the
head up. It is balanced.

The problem is that most people are looking down so that they won't
trip over something. If you are looking ahead 150 feet or more, your
computer like brain can calculate all the objects between that point
and two or three feet ahead (which you can see because of the
peripheral vision that sees in front of you without you having to look
down). Your fisheye type lense can see two or three in front of you
without having to look down.

It becomes a matter of trusting your body and your brain and your eyes
and using good posture to align yourself.

Check out the alignment techniques in Danny Dreyer's book ChiRunning;
http://www.chirunning.com.

In health and on the run,

Ozzie Gontang
[email hidden]
Maintainer - rec.running FAQ
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/by-newsgroup/rec/rec.running.html
Director, San Diego Marathon Clinic, est. 1975

Mindful Running http://www.mindfulness.com/mr.asp

[[ This message was both posted and mailed: see
the "To," "Cc," and "Newsgroups" headers for details. ]]

In article <[email hidden]>, Doug Freese

Quoted message said:

"SwStudio" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

<[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

Well, I went to two different running specific stores and tried on
about ten pairs of shoes before I bought these. They're Brooks
Trance
NXRs. They're really comfortable, so I don't think the shoes are my
problem.

Unfortunately, simply trying on a pair of shoes will tell you
nothing about how they will feel when you are running in them.

Absolutely and why I buy from RoadRunner. if it takes a001 miles to find
that shoe sucks back they go and I get another. What other shoe company
allow one to return used shoes for full price.

Quoted message said:

Many good specialty running store will allow customers to run
around the block, or up the street a bit and back. Even then
mistakes can be made.

One can only find shoes with big flaws when running around the block.
Most real problems manifest over 50 to 100 miles.

-DF

Doug,

I have been blessed by all the runners who buy from RRS and wear size
13 and don't like the thin soled shoes/racing flats/XC running shoes
and send them back. The price when returned is usually between $20 and
$40 cheaper...and then during the blow out sales even less.

RRS and shoe stores probably have a 30 to 50% markup or sometimes more
depending on what kind of volume they purchase. RRS's policy makes
good sense when you look at the lifetime value of a customer...which
will be in the thousands of dollars.

In health and on the run,
Ozzie Gontang
Director, San Diego Marathon Clinic, est. 1975
Maintainer - rec.running FAQ
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/running-faq/
Mindful Running:
http://www.mindfulness.com/mr.asp

On Tue, 01 Feb 2005 00:16:04 GMT, Ozzie Gontang <[email hidden]>
wrote in part:

Quoted message said:

. . . If you are looking ahead 150 feet or more, your
computer like brain can calculate all the objects between that point
and two or three feet ahead (which you can see because of the
peripheral vision that sees in front of you without you having to look
down). Your fisheye type lense can see two or three in front of you
without having to look down.

It becomes a matter of trusting your body and your brain and your eyes
and using good posture to align yourself.

Check out the alignment techniques in Danny Dreyer's book ChiRunning;
http://www.chirunning.com.

In health and on the run,

Ozzie Gontang

Hi, Ozzie,

I was thinking about this eye-to-brain-to-feet idea on my run on trails
last Tuesday. These trails offered a variety of surfaces. One stretch is
packed sand/gravel quite similar to the old-style cinder or
decomposed-granite track surfaces, but dotted all over with larger rocks.
Yes my eye-brain-foot reflexes see down the trail and dodge the larger
rocks! (I also think it is good exercise because of varied stride
length...) The Gontang navigational calculator theory is demonstrated
quite nicely.

On another stretch of trail I usually run on the side of the trail where
the surface is earth with dips and bumps -- irregular surface running for
the sake of my ankles. Easy enough when the surface is visible and the
eye-brain-calculator kicks in. But the parks department had just gone
through with a tractor mower, cutting off all the grass and weeds ( yes,
for all you still locked in the ice and snow of the frozen North, it's been
Spring here for weeks), leaving the visible surface *flat*. Still no
problem though. Running with a light step, almost like barefoot across hot
concrete, now the navigational control is less eye-brain-foot and more like
foot-brain-foot. I think this develops with practice.

With patience and practice (miles! more miles!) the eye-brain-foot and the
foot-brain-balance telemetry allows me to maintain a relaxed stance
(faster! farther!).

--
Daniel
[email hidden]

Daniel said:

On Tue, 01 Feb 2005 00:16:04 GMT, Ozzie Gontang <[email hidden]>
wrote in part:

Quoted message said:

. . . If you are looking ahead 150 feet or more, your
computer like brain can calculate all the objects between that point
and two or three feet ahead (which you can see because of the
peripheral vision that sees in front of you without you having to look
down). Your fisheye type lense can see two or three in front of you
without having to look down.

It becomes a matter of trusting your body and your brain and your eyes
and using good posture to align yourself.

Check out the alignment techniques in Danny Dreyer's book ChiRunning;
http://www.chirunning.com.

In health and on the run,

Ozzie Gontang

Hi, Ozzie,

I was thinking about this eye-to-brain-to-feet idea on my run on trails
last Tuesday. These trails offered a variety of surfaces. One stretch is
packed sand/gravel quite similar to the old-style cinder or
decomposed-granite track surfaces, but dotted all over with larger rocks.
Yes my eye-brain-foot reflexes see down the trail and dodge the larger
rocks! (I also think it is good exercise because of varied stride
length...) The Gontang navigational calculator theory is demonstrated
quite nicely.

With patience and practice (miles! more miles!) the eye-brain-foot and the
foot-brain-balance telemetry allows me to maintain a relaxed stance
(faster! farther!).

On my trails I use it mainly to avoid rather
large piles of horse hockey 🙂

[[ This message was both posted and mailed: see
the "To," "Cc," and "Newsgroups" headers for details. ]]

In article <[email hidden]>, Daniel

Quoted message said:

On Tue, 01 Feb 2005 00:16:04 GMT, Ozzie Gontang <[email hidden]>
wrote in part:

Quoted message said:

. . . If you are looking ahead 150 feet or more, your
computer like brain can calculate all the objects between that point
and two or three feet ahead (which you can see because of the
peripheral vision that sees in front of you without you having to look
down). Your fisheye type lense can see two or three in front of you
without having to look down.

It becomes a matter of trusting your body and your brain and your eyes
and using good posture to align yourself.

Check out the alignment techniques in Danny Dreyer's book ChiRunning;
http://www.chirunning.com.

In health and on the run,

Ozzie Gontang

Hi, Ozzie,

I was thinking about this eye-to-brain-to-feet idea on my run on trails
last Tuesday. These trails offered a variety of surfaces. One stretch is
packed sand/gravel quite similar to the old-style cinder or
decomposed-granite track surfaces, but dotted all over with larger rocks.
Yes my eye-brain-foot reflexes see down the trail and dodge the larger
rocks! (I also think it is good exercise because of varied stride
length...) The Gontang navigational calculator theory is demonstrated
quite nicely.

On another stretch of trail I usually run on the side of the trail where
the surface is earth with dips and bumps -- irregular surface running for
the sake of my ankles. Easy enough when the surface is visible and the
eye-brain-calculator kicks in. But the parks department had just gone
through with a tractor mower, cutting off all the grass and weeds ( yes,
for all you still locked in the ice and snow of the frozen North, it's been
Spring here for weeks), leaving the visible surface *flat*. Still no
problem though. Running with a light step, almost like barefoot across hot
concrete, now the navigational control is less eye-brain-foot and more like
foot-brain-foot. I think this develops with practice.

With patience and practice (miles! more miles!) the eye-brain-foot and the
foot-brain-balance telemetry allows me to maintain a relaxed stance
(faster! farther!).

--
Daniel
[email hidden]

Daniel,

I appreciate your images, explanations, and experimentation. Always
fun to play with one's running.

I run in the dark around the dirt path that circles a big field south
of Morley Field where the Foot Locker National XC championships are
held. Over the years I've played with the Gait of Power that I read
about when reading Carlos Castenada 35+ years ago. It's interesting
when running back towards the baseball diamonds at Morley as the far
off field lights make it unable for me to see the darkened ground in
front of me. So its playing with shorter quicker steps while slowing
down. Keeping the head erect while looking down with the eyes so as to
not be distracted by the far away field lights.

You're right about the foot=brain=balance telemetry. I'm feeling my
way along the path with my feet and responding to the surface. For me
it's keeping my body up and light as you mentioned like barefoot across
the hot concrete. If a hole, rut, dip, rock, small mound, I'm able to
react quickly so as not to fall or sprain an ankle or jam my back.

Now if it were unfamiliar terrain, I'm be going much slower. My
experience at running in the dark in unknown territory, I using what
little ambient light to distinguish what's in front of me while using a
mix of eye-brain-foot to set the direction and then foot-brain-balance
to feel my way along the course. I've never been into using
flashlights or head lights. Probably would if I were doing the Western
States or other types of mountain runs.

Ken Young, who used to keep the running statistics of the US,
lives/lived in Tucson, AZ. I remember him talking about all his
mountain and trail running. He said he averaged about one fall every
1500 miles. Knowing his love of the stats, I took him to be spot on.

For me, I think I average about one fall every 3 or 4 years.

In health and on the run,
Ozzie Gontang
Director, San Diego Marathon Clinic, est. 1975
Maintainer - rec.running FAQ
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/running-faq/
Mindful Running:
http://www.mindfulness.com/mr.asp

[[ This message was both posted and mailed: see
the "To," "Cc," and "Newsgroups" headers for details. ]]

In article said:

Well, I went to two different running specific stores and tried on
about ten pairs of shoes before I bought these. They're Brooks Trance
NXRs. They're really comfortable, so I don't think the shoes are my
problem.

After reading that short article above, I think most of the issue is my
running style, to use the term loosely. I am literally pounding the
pavement. That, combined with the fact that I started out running on
concrete, is killing my knees and shins.

I'm going to find someplace to run on grass this morning and see what
effect that might have.

Some thoughts from a previous post in 2001:

It all started with Camelbak Feedback. Here's a way to see and understand
what unnecessary vertical displacement or bouncing is about and why it is so
damaging to the body. Simply said, if you are landing on the back of the
heel of the shoe and it's not under your center of gravity as you run you
are creating your future injuries. Remember running is falling and catching
yourself gracefully. It's not jump, stop,jump, stop, jump, stop....

A Look at Unnecessary Bouncing When Running
by Austin Gontang,
October 28, 2000

Reflections On Unnecessary Vertical Displacement Or Bouncing While Running
With A Backpack
c. 2000 Austin "Ozzie" Gontang, Ph.D. & Steve Freides

Steve Freides wrote:
Ozzie, while I'm sure running with any backpack provides useful feedback
on the up and down motion one makes while running, running with a full
bladder and no waist or chest straps didn't serve to help me; rather, it
served only to make me run uptightly, minimizing what felt to me like a
good, but small, amount of vertical motion in my running. I'll report
back again when I get a new backpack, one that's designed for running
and has the additional straps, but there is sometimes too much of a good
thing, and I had too much feedback about the vertical component of my
running yesterday to ever want to go through the experience again.

It would make an interesting study, no doubt, to see how much vertical
motion makes for efficient running for most people. My guess is that
the complete elimination of vertical motion is impossible, and that the
suppression of vertical motion past a certain point begins to be
counter-productive, not because it wouldn't be good to eliminate it all,
but just because it's impossible, given that we're in the air and then
landing, to eliminate it all without the cure becoming worse than the
disease.

Steve,

I went for a run this morning with a backpack and carried only about 3 or 4
pounds of some packages I took to the post office. In the pack were packages
to Greg Raven in Florida with John Jesse's book plus a little surprise for
Greg, a stack of back bibs for MaryEleyn Duane who's the lead person for the
NYC Marathon Psyching Team, and an article from about two years ago plus a
packet of information to Sheryl Marks who was the Executive Director for
many years of ACE which spun off from IDEA a number of years ago and I
believe became one of the certifying organizations for personal trainers and
aerobic instructors. With nothing but the shoulder straps, which were tight
I ran with no discomfort or much excessive movement.

But to test the effect with more weight and only shoulder straps I just did
the following:

I just went for a run around the block, about a third of a mile, to check
out running with a heavier weighted day pack. I used a Caribou
Mountaineering day backpack with padded shoulder straps attached to cinching
straps. Backpack is approximately 16 ' long. I cinched it tightly so that is
sat snug against my upper back. I did not use any waist or chest strap to
hold it tighter against my body.

I loaded it up with:

20 oz Pillsbury Moist Supreme Cake Mix (Pudding in the Mix) box
20 oz Krusteaz Almond Poppyseed Muffin Mix (Popply seeds enclosed) box
20 oz Betty Crocker Pudding in the Mix SuperMoist Cake Mix box
34 oz Krusteaz Buttermilk Pancake Mix w/Real Sweet Cream Buttermilk box.
36 oz Vanilla Praline Designer Protein from Whey and with Zmax.
9 oz Backpack, wallet, keys, fingernail clippers, pen, penknife
139 oz 8.7 pounds.

Nine minute pace with two accelerations to 7:30 for 50 yards. Landed
ball/heel. Eyes on horizon.

I experienced minimal movement of pack at easy pace. During accelerations I
noticed that I needed to allow the elbows to swing forward in a more relaxed
motion to counter the side to side movement of the backpack. It was not
uncomfortable or distracting.

The Issue: How to understand and experience the difference between good
running form and style and bad running form and style

Unnecessary Vertical Displacement A look at one aspect of running form
commonly observed in runners.

Task:

Demonstate unnecessary vertical displacement
Show a way to remove all unnecessary vertical displacement.
Observe unnecessary vertical displacement in runners
Do further dialogue, reflection, experimentation on running form
and style to remove unnecessary vertical displacement

An Experiment on Vertical Displacement

If you want to see what too much vertical movement looks like, ask someone
to stand in front of you. Then say:

1. Please balance on one leg with the knee up so that the thigh is parallel
to the ground.
2. Jump to the other foot.

Observe the vertical lift of the body to jump to the other foot.

There is no need to jump up in order to jump to the other foot. This
changing of feet can be accomplished by lowering the raised leg quickly as
the balancing leg is lifted. There is no need to lift the center of gravity
of the body up to "jump" to the other leg.

I think that when we hear jump, we think lift the whole body up. If you
watch world class hurdlers, they do not jump/raise the entire body's center
of gravity to get over the hurdle. They step over them with the front leg
and I believe the trailing leg is dragged through so the inside thigh and
knee are parallel to the hurdle as the leg goes over.

One of Bill Gates tricks is to stand in a trash can and jump out of it.
While he needs some vertical lift of the body, the trick is the ability to
quickly raise the knees together towards the chest. If the bottoms of the
feet can be raised so that the soles of the feet are parallel to the bottom
of the torso, one does not need to jump up very high. It is more a matter of
jumping just enough to the side so that the legs can be brought up toward
the chest and quickly be put down. Again it's the hurdler principle. Use
minimal vertical effort to raise the center of gravity only enough so that
the legs can clear the hurdle or edge of the trash can.

Most runners land on the back of the heel of the shoe, which I call an overs
tride. An overstride occurs when the foot lands in front of the body's
center of gravity rather than under it. In order to take the next step the
runner must lift the body's center of gravity up to counter the stopping
effect of landing on the back of the heel of the shoe. To do that, the
body's center of gravity is lifted more that is necessary to compensate.
That allows the body's center of gravity to get above the overstriding foot
so the next overstriding step can occur.

If you look at these runners you'll notice the up and down movement of the
whole body. You will also notice that there is minimal lifting of the knees.
The whole body lifts. This lifting of the entire body allows the runner to
swing the lower leg through. The lower leg pendulums forward. The runner
lands on the back of the heel of the shoe of as that foot becomes the
planted foot.

A Perspective to Observe Unnecessary Vertical Displace of Runners Who Do Not
Lift Their Knees

Here is a way o get a perspective that makes the vertical movement stand
out:

1. Find a group of runners who are running towards or away from you.
2. Turn your back to them and spread your legs and look like your doing a stretch for your hams or inside thigh/adductor muscles.
3. Lean forward and as your mimic your stretch or really do it look at the runners coming toward you through your legs. You will be looking at them upside down.
4. That perspective will give you the best perception of the vertical movement of the runners'/joggers' bodies.
5. You will notice what I am saying about the joggers who don't lift their knees. You will observe that they lift their bodies up and down and don't lift or minimally lift their knees.
6. If they are coming towards you, you will notice that their lower leg never disappears behind the upper thigh as is seen in most knee lifting runners.
7. You will see the lower leg pendulum forward so that you can actually see the bottom of their feet completely from heel to sole before landing.
8. Your inverted view also will give you a better perspective of the impact upon landing.

You will also see the overpronation and collapsing in of the ankle on the inner arch due to the deceleration impact of the foot landing in front
of the body's center of gravity.