Primitive Running 6 - The Weakest Link

So I've been running in the new style for quite a while now... about 9 months, and the forefoot strike is starting to feel pretty normal now. That's not to say there aren't challenges though.

There are, for example, my hamstrings. When I push myself either in terms of altering technique or pushing my physical fitness limits, breakdowns occur wherever my weakest link is. In the beginning of the primitive running adventure it was my calves. Those were shored up with healthy doses of practice and strength training, but now I've discovered my next weakest link, the hammys.

When I start a run I immediately feel stiffness and discomfort in the upper hamstrings of both legs. This makes it hard to get going, but once I'm warmed up things usually go well. When I'm done my post-workout soreness is concentrated in that area as well. So the current plan is to make sure I do at least 2 days per week of leg curls and other lower body strength moves, as well as stretching, to hopefully repair that weakest link.

In other news, I've attempted my first race since adopting the new running style. I have to admit that I could not maintain what I thought was perfect technique. The race was a 5k, and 5ks tend to be exhausting right from the starting gun. I wasn't able to stay on my forefoot the whole time, but when I had the capacity to think of it I would try my best.

I think this may mean one of two things: either I'm over-exaggerating the technique during my training or the new technique is hard to maintain when I'm racing at or above threshold. Either way I think I'm going to proceed as planned and stick with the new style. I know that expertise in any particular discipline takes several years to acquire, so I'm not discouraged. I still do all my training avoiding a heel strike and I still plan to try to run my races that way.

On yet another note, two of my friends/training partners have taken barefoot running to heart and have nothing but good things to say about it, aside from the initial calf soreness that everyone seems to get. One of these runners was mentioned in a previous post having initially proclaimed barefoot running the worst idea ever. I think the lesson here is that, although the technique is difficult to adopt in the beginning, it has long-term benefits that are worth the initial struggle.