A Passion for Running

Thomas had a couple good questions for me that I’m finally getting around to answer. Here’s the first post of two.

Q. I don?t mean to be critical, and anyway, I had a bout of shin splint myself a few weeks ago, but you seem to place a lot of faith into the pose method. Are you sure it?s really that good in preventing injuries?

A. I think the best way for me to begin answering might be to ask more questions: Do you think running with good form is easier on the body than running with bad form? Are your chances of getting injured better/worse if you land softly versus by pounding your feet into the ground?

I think we probably agree on the answer to those two questions right? The harder questions are those like:

-How does one learn to run with good form?
-How does one learn to land softly?

For me, the pose method was the answer. Looking back, I had terrible form. Really terrible. I was a horrid heel-striker who landed very elephant-like on the heels of my feet. Might have I been able to correct this bad form on my own? Doubtful. Might I have learned good form from a coach? Perhaps – depending on the coach. Might I have learned it from books and magazines? Maybe parts of it, I imagine.

But, the whole thing? A system of running to teach me what to look for? How to analyze video? What to feel? What physical skills to focus on? What drills to practice? In my mind, the pose method is the system for doing all that and all you need to learn it is a book, a DVD and (if you got some bucks to spare and the will to greatly accelerate the process) a clinic with Dr. Romanov.

Thomas, I have faith in the method because it’s taken me very far in an amazingly short time. My form is radically different and improved from what it was. I land softly. My quads don’t ache at all like they used to after runs – especially hard runs, and I haven’t had a tight I.T. band since I started (used to get them all the time).

Has it been snag-free? Nope. It was hard to learn the method. It took tremendous patience. When I began, I could only run 50 feet at a time in pose before breaking form and losing my breath! In addition, my body had a tremendous amount of adapting to do. My feet hurt for quite a while and my calves were often tense and cramped up.

Of course, the proof is in the long-term pudding right? I mean, I haven’t trained for a marathon yet and I did six pre-pose. The true testimonial (or lack thereof) will come later as I begin adding up the miles and run my first, second, third etc. post-pose races.

I guess we’ll see!