Slow down, you move too fast..... feelin' groovy. (What I've learned about Running)

I have images of myself completing a marathon in 4 hours and 5 minutes. It's the maximum amount of time, I'm allowed to complete a marathon in, so I can qualify to run the Boston Marathon. But, ever since I wrecked my hamstring, back in April, less than 3 months after I started running, I’ve had to scale my cathedral size goals back, down to the size of an outhouse I used to have on my back forty.

I’ve had tons of advice. Doctor friends have told me too stop running and let my hamstring heal. Running friends and physiotherapists have told me to stretch more, run slower, for shorter distances avoid hills but most of all don’t stop running.

Like anything running has it’s Geeky element. Running styles like forefoot running, chi running, barefoot running and pose running are all methods to increase performance and decrease injury. There is the Newton shoe designed to force you forward onto your forefoot, vibram shoes are meant to simulate barefoot running. Supposedly high-tech running shoes are the cause of most runners injuries. If we all just threw away our shoes and went around barefoot or wore Newtons all our problems would disappear.

My brother in-law, an ultra marathoner and Ironman Triathalete was anxious to help me navigate this hypertexed, animated, glittery hype. But his old school sensible advice was like remembering to take my calcium pill everyday and I soon forgot it.

Last week, desperate for new solutions for my chronic hamstring injury, I accused the manager of my local running shoe store of selling me bad shoes.

He’s a very nice guy, quiet, an experienced runner and his brain is stuffed with sensible facts on the right way to run. Gently he showed me how my shoes were not to blame for my injury. He told me our sedentary lifestyle, where we all drive around in cars or sit at desks or on the couch most of the day is to blame. He said we don’t walk anywhere we shuffle. We lean backwards and heel strike. Which I found can be very painful when slamming my foot into the asphalt during a long run. He suggested I see a Physiotherapist who helped him heal a recurring hip injury he had a few years ago.

The Pyhsiotherapist told me I had a rotated pelvis and it was the cause of all my pain and frustration. It took him less than thirty seconds to rotate it back into place. The procedure didn’t hurt by the way and neither did I hear any painful cracking noises. He also gave me some new stretching exercises and told me not to give up running.

All of a sudden my little bit of the world has come into sharper definition. I must not have deleted My brother in laws advice because now I’m remembering to lean forward when I run. Leaning forward forces you off your heels and onto the balls of your feet. I realize I do this naturally when going for speed on cross country ski trails and when hiking up steep mountain sides. Leaning into the hill is a more efficient use of my bodies’ resources.

Just because I can easily hike for days, with a thirty five lb pack on my back, up and down steep mountain sides, does not translate into easily running a marathon. I need to build up a strong running base. The way I use my body to run is not the same way I use it when hiking or skiing or swimming. I understand now, it will take time, a long time, to slowly build up my running strength.