Clown Feet Do Not Help

Friday, August 12, 2016 · Mike Davis

Good morning and happy Friday! This morning I am off to a slow start and am actually on my third cup of coffee. Grab a chair and pull it up! The week has gone better than some as far as my running. Monday Kathy and I ran 50 minutes in the middle of the day with the real feel was near 95 degrees. Thankfully Kathy chose a trail that had enough shade to make it a little easier. We did a 4 minute running and 1 minute walking routine that certainly helped combat the draining heat. Wednesday morning I did an interval workout that consisted of 3/3 with some easy running wrapped around the actual intervals. Certainly a challenging workout but it went well and that pleased me. I feel like my calf and knee injuries are behind me and now I have to figure out if the burning on the bottom of my left foot will push me back to my Triumphs. I felt like it was better Wednesday but with some long events in my near future I cannot mess with anything that will cause me to pull back on my running. Overall I am happy with my running and while I have some lose ground to make up for, I know I am moving in the right direction. I certainly will not be where I want to be, come “Reach the Beach” but, I will get through that and be in a good place for the “White Mountain Milers” half marathon. Of all the data I review from my Garmin, one I focus on quite is ground contact time (the time our feet are on the ground). Ideally for efficient running we should be between 218ms and 248ms as far as ground contact time. I typically fall a little higher in the 249ms to 277ms range. Quite frustrating because I really work at getting off my feet quickly. Reading this latest book on this particular subject it has shed some light on my particular struggles. While I am not that much taller than the average height, I do have rather large feet and apparently my clown feet (size13) work against efficient running! Having more foot surface means more contact thus requiring more time to get completely off the ground. I can see the logic though I am not pleased with it. So you runners with smaller feet definitely have an advantage when it comes to running efficiency. There certainly are other factors that contribute to efficient and I will have to focus on them. “Running efficiency” is most definitely something NFLR focuses on for our runners and now shoe size will be looked at closer. We can all improve regardless of the length of our feet but it is good to know all the factors. Our latest running group is off to a great start! We have a nice group of runners that are training for the October 30th “White Mountain Milers” half marathon or relay. We will be accepting new people to the group for 2 more weeks so, there is still time to join this group. NFLR training groups focus on training runners to run strong and healthy, while having the most fun possible. We have been quite successful and the great thing is that it does not matter whether the runner is beginner, intermediate or advanced. We have coaches that help all levels and provides a comfort level for all runners. Come run with us tomorrow morning (Saturday, 8am) from the NFLR Center and you will see for yourself how we offer a more enjoyable approach to running! Time to get along. Have a great Friday and even better weekend! God Bless! Mike