Sunday morning coffee

Sunday, January 19, 2014 · Mike Davis

Good morning running world! Winter is back and it looks like the PV is coming back as well! Yesterday Kathy and I hit the roads at 7:30 so that I could get back for a gait analysis and at one point Kathy recommended that we cut it short and plan to do a second run later in the afternoon when we got back from a funeral. While I knew we were pushing my schedule I decided to stay out and get a majority of our run finished. That decision while making my post run hectic, turned out to be a good choice. When we rolled back into Dover (after a short coffee time at Popover's in Portsmouth) the conditions were ridiculous! There would have been zero chance that we would have run even another 25 feet! Instead I spent the next couple hours working on the driveway and getting some great cross training in! Kathy made me smile as when returned from getting some sand there was a big ole snowman wearing one of my hats. Pretty funny! Yesterday as I mentioned I had a gait analysis scheduled and it would be unique as it was to be two analysis at the same time. My doctor Elizabeth Remillong has become an avid tri-athlete and has been looking to further her running improvement so we were finally able to connect on a good time to bring her in. The challenge of finding a time was mostly due in part to the fact that she wanted to bring her Mother in for a gait analysis as well. Her Mom took up running a couple years ago and Beth wanted to give her the gift of a gait analysis. How cool is that! Despite my morning run, I made it to Runners Alley 15 minutes early and shortly there after Beth and her mother walked in. Beth is a great story; she has been my doctor for a few years now and I would say that she would agree that she weighed a few more pounds than she would have like when I first started seeing her. Around about 3 years ago I remember having a discussion with Dr. Remillong about running and I thought she seemed interested in starting. The next time I saw her I must say I was a bit surprised; she had lost over 40 pounds and looked great! Not only had she begin running, but she had embraced Tri-Athlons. I was extremely happy for Beth as we had become friends and I could see the pride she had in all the accomplishments of her activities. I thought it was even cooler when I started seeing her at Seacoast road races and my admiration continued to grow at her drive. Eventually Beth connected me with her husband who is also a tri-athlete and was looking for a running coach. They are a great couple and I am thrilled to see all they are accomplishing. I don't know the details of how Beth's mother Mary came to start running at this later stage of her life, but I have to believe that seeing the physical changes in her daughter as well as the enthusiasm had to play a role. Mary certainly was enthusiastic about her running and as we went through the gait analysis she took in all that I was pointing out like a high school kid wanting to be a better runner. How could I not be impressed with her desire to improve her running gait so that she could run healthy long into her later years. Her grasp of running posture was quick and helped to convince her of the value of a slight change. Showing her the video and providing practical drills gave her a great deal of confidence that "change" would be possible without a lot of moving parts. I marveled at Mary's attitude the whole time and so much so that I was afraid I was cutting into Beth's analysis time. Thankfully when I got to Beth I didn't have to talk about anything major as it was obvious that she had a great understanding of propulsion and the value of it. Her running gait was a little unique in that she had the foot strike of a sprinter or as she said; "a dancer". Where most that I analyze are somewhat heal strikers, Beth was mostly toe and forefoot in her landing with very little heal involved. Her push off was great along with much of her gait so the fact that she was not fully utilizing her entire foot was the focus of our conversation. We also talked about extending her stride while still keeping her steps short and thanks to a gait analysis I did on Andrew Huebner I was able to show her how you can lengthen stride while still keeping the steps shorter. From there we discussed arm swing a bit and went over a couple exercises and finished only slightly pass the time I needed to be done. I have to say this gait analysis was one of the most unique and enjoyable I have done. Both Beth and her Mother were fantastic and enthusiastic. Later in the day I saw this post on Facebook: Gait analysis with mom today! Done by Michael Davis with No Finish Line Running, very informative and thorough, and we both got some great advice! Thanks Mike! Elizabeth Remillong How great is that and once again gait analysis shows its value! Time to get some other NFLR work done and then off to visit my mother! Have a great Sunday and stay safe! Mike