Rachel and I hit the fire trail this weekend. We haven't been running and she's new to running anyway so usually when we run together I focus on form and strength rather than speed or distance. I forgot to bring my Vffs out of force of habit. I've been dying to try running in them but decided I could run the POSE way in my sneakers. I did and it was awesome. No kidding. I have a tendency, in my daily life, to do things on the balls of my feet and by 'springing'. I do it when I'm standing still, when I'm going up and down stairs. I like walking around my house on my tiptoes or the balls of my feet. I'm a weirdo. But, I think that's given me a decent foundation for POSE because not only did I not get that tired, I seemed to be able to go faster for longer periods of time. I mostly stuck with Rachel, but at the end she was burnt so I took off up the trail to the parking lot and then circled back for her. It's funny, a woman had just gone by us and she was POSE running (it's easy to spot once you know what it looks like) and she was FAST. Just zooming up the trail. So I tried going fast and it was easy, not only was it easy but it kind of forced that instinct out of me to run like I was barefoot on grass. I tried switching back to my regular run style but the muscles were engaged differently and it felt really crazy and clunky and slow and difficult, I'm sure because the proper muscles weren't warmed up. Anyway, I think I'm hooked, if not on VFFs then on POSE style. I think with some practice I can go faster with less pain than I can with a midfoot or heel strike.
Speaking of pain, I had very little after my run, if any. My right knee was a little chuffed at having accidentally been over-extended at one point but other than that, nothing. Totally cool. However, the next day was excruciating. It was as though I had never run before as every muscle in my lower leg seemed to scream out with every flex. I'd been warned to not push it my first time out but I had not listened. I used the stick for a while and was able to ride my bike around town but was still super sore. Today is just as bad. I decided to not even swim today just so I can sit here and not use my legs for anything. I over did it. I felt too good and didn't think how much I was tearing up the muscles in this new application. I can't wait to get back out there and to do it some more.
Things that surprised me:
- How non-painful it is to land on the ball of the foot. I thought this would be excruciating after a while and would bruise the ball of my foot. Sure, I was wearing shoes but the shoes I favor are very... unfriendly in their padding.
- How easy it is to control speed without upping my heart rate significantly. I thought I'd be huffing and puffing a few hundred yards in but felt comfortable and speedy and light... until my calves started to tire and then I could feel my heel occasionally coming down and contacting the trail like I was extra heavy or something.
- How unnecessary it made my shoes. Now, I'm not saying I'm about to go barefoot or even VFF for running. I'm just saying that without a forefoot or heal strike, the extra technology in my shoe seemed superfluous. I wasn't using any of it because I was catching and releasing my body weight just from the ball of my foot.
