nose to the grindstone
More Pose drills today, pose stance, pony, change of position, foward pony, hop in place, forward change of position. I had a minor revelation today; I felt the pull in a different way. All of a sudden in one of the short runs I could feel my heel being pulled toward my rear. I think I stopped pushing for a few moments. So that felt good, but it was a little bit ethereal. I wasn't able to feel it every run. I didn't do a barefoot run because I had a bad headache and just wanted to get home.
There was a mild hulabaloo on the pose message board recently. That board is really a gold mine of good advice and it is mercifully left alone by wingnuts and those who just want to provoke, but it's awful serious sometimes. A lighter attitude toward the whole thing would improve the mood there, I think.
J and I volunteered to the Saturn Relays as part of an effort by our running team to raise money for a teammate whose daughter is quite sick and will most likely be receiving a kidney transplant from her mother, (the teammate, who, incidentally, is pretty fast.) I thought it would be fun and it would help support our teammate, and at the time, I was training well. But then I got injured, and now with the whole switch to Pose thing, I really don't know if I'll be ready. I don't know which legs I will be doing, but basically it's a race from Calistoga, CA to Santa Cruz, CA, and 12 people do three legs each, while living in what has got to become a nasty smelling van. A teammate described one of the highlights from last year as eating top ramen under the Golden Gate Bridge at 4:00AM. Obviously something that you have to experience to truly appreciate. The race is October 15 & 16. Relay legs are between 3 and 9 miles. I was originally planning to run at projected marathon pace. Should I try and find a replacement or can I be ready? Opinions?
posted by erin at 9:51 PM
4 Comments:
Hey Erin, it's Coop, a new guy from the Pose board--my first attempt at posting there came at the top of the Dark Thread you referenced in your latest entry here.
As I mentioned there, I'm still pretty new to Pose and I worry that what I say will be rolled over by Jack, but here goes.
It seemed to me in your video clip that you're a powerful runner. I'm finding, at least in my early phase, that Pose is about less power and more finesse. The more relaxed and "minimal" I feel at the start of a run, the better. The small stride and quick putt-putt cadence were tough for me to accept at first. (I'm 6'3" and most of that is leg, so I'm used to a long, loping stride.) I've found that the quick cadence allows me less time and room for mistakes, but the long stride is always trying to sneak back.
I'm also finding that what I call Just Enough Support (JES, if you need another acronym) is a good phrase to keep in mind. In other words, give just enough effort to keep from falling on your face. No raw power, no macha displays of strength, no flexing and twitching, unless you're showing off the hamstrings. This may change for me in the future, but as an excercise of sorts right now it works wonders.
As for the pull, sometimes I'm not too sure about the word "pull". I know this is heresy, but for me when I think pure "pull" I tend to yank my foot back more than up. If I add a little bit of "lift" to my "pull" thoughts the ankle comes up just right. Just don't lift the thigh.
Also, as someone mentioned, you can't get a good pull with a straight leg. The bent knee does more than just cushion impact, it really sets up a good pull. When I run I try to lead with my knees. I want them to feel like they're right out front with my abdomen, kind of leading the way. I have a lot of indicators for when my wheels are coming off form-wise, and losing sight of my knees is one of them.
A good landing on the BOF also sets up a good pull. When I stray to midfoot the pull loses some verticality and heads toward rearward extension. (Rearward?)
It took me a while to get my distance back after I started Pose. I'm good for 6 pretty frisky miles or a few more easier ones now. I'm sure you'll be able to run that event in October without suffering any more injuries. Just keep in mind that less really is more.
8:31 AM
Hi Coop,
Thanks for the input. The JES thing worked well for me today. I almost don't want to know, but how long did it take you to get back to running some distance after you started the pose? The "Dark Thread" moniker cracked me up.
-erin
10:34 PM
Erin, I started Pose in the first week of May. It took me maybe 5 weeks to get back to a 5 or 6 mile run with no stops.
It's weird how different things are now. My first attempt at going faster was a disaster. I could only go about 1oo yards and I was sucking wind like a cigarette smoker. Like you, my speeds have increased in every aspect-long runs, speed work etc. It's really hard to go as slowly as I used to for my longer runs. Right now I've kind of given up long runs (for me that was usually 9 or maybe 10 miles) and settled into 5 and 6 mile tempo runs instead.
Have you also noticed that your fatigue is different? After a hard run I don't feel tired all over like I used to. I'm still whipped, but the fatigue feels "lighter" in some way.
I'll be going out to do some half mile repeats in a few minutes. I've found that to be a good way to work on form and conditioning.
All in all this old dog has been really happy to learn this new trick.
-coop
8:11 AM
good comments by coop. It's been about 3 months since my pose clinic. I got up to 8k runs about a month ago. I had to take several walk breaks but yesterday I ran a full 70 minutes with only 3 or 4 short walk breaks and my cadence was 200. A very good run. It will come Erin. You have talent and desire. It will come.
10:21 PM
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