I was just going to make this about stride, because I just heard a comment that made my head want to explode (it does that a lot…it maybe concussion, or may be something else)…..it may go into other stuff, but yeah, it’s all about, not the bass, it’s about that stride…….no treble!

you know that thing where when runners wanna be faster they start taking bigger and bigger strides, thinking that’ll make them quicker….nope…maybe for a few STRIDES – which is a kind of an end of run work out – but then you’ll get tired, and injured……..watch what the elites do!

And yeah, that other thing, this time of year, yes it’s icy, so some will suggest that shorter strides are the answer……nope…if you’ve already have a wide stride, slipping on ice is the least of your concern….always think short strides, quick turn overs, knees lead, knees first, just think of leading with those knees, everything below those knees will follow…

For that first thing, check out the video….my favorite part of those Olympics Games, watch them all, especially the Canadian anchor leg, Sage Watson…closely watch her stride……

I love Sage, always perfect form…..which is why she’s so fast, and wow, huh

Yes, it, the stride seems to be, looks huge, but pay attention where her feet touch the ground…..right beneath her center of gravity……yes, it looks like she takes a huge kick, but watch…..if you’ve done those A,B,Cs…..high knees, butt kicks and that thing that looks like a kick and then pawing the ground.…..that’s that kick…(this just hit me, but that final thing looks a lot like a classic cross country ski stride)

Andre De Grasse; the same thing……speed isn’t stride length, it’s strength, and the speed of leg turn-over……you want speed, lean forward from your ankles (pose) – running is like – or should be – like a controlled fall…and then turn those feet over…..think 85 to 90 strikes each foot – just count one foot strike, it’s easier, also most sport watches will do that for you – or your significant other if you ask nicely..

Something I like doing in the winter when there’s snow on the ground, is to follow someone I now is quicker than me, and then try to match leg turnover…..a stronger runner – I’ll match that stride, but her track in the snow, and where mine make contact, for every stride that person takes, I’ll have to take 1 1/2 to 2…just because I’m not strong enough to cover that ground with my stride..as I get stronger, I should eventually be able to catch up…..that’s the theory anyway…

The other magic to a shorter stride, and yes feet should always land just beneath that center of gravity..……..I’m going to talk about the fiction of mid foot, heel strike or toe strikes, in my next post……but if you over-stride, yes, you will strike the ground with your heels with a THUD, not a good thing, BUT if keep those feet beneath you, yes, you may, or even some will probably always touch down, make contact heel first, but with the quicker leg turn over (think hot coals) your strike will be light, and should be……

actually heel striking is kind of not unusual…the secret is, where on the heel and how…..if you ever have the chance, put on a pair of track spikes, they pretty much force the feet into the proper, actually natural stride (they also hurt, are narrow and tight, and they’re the reason why sprinters run so fast, and the first thing they do after finishing a race is take those things off!)…….out side of the heel, outside, inside, and then push off the toe……think of the stride, the proper stride as an upside down ‘S’……….again, watch those sprinters, or check out this year’s New York Marathon…..the broadcasters don’t show the feet/shoes very often, but same thing…….short quick strides, some heel strike, some midfoot some toe strike, about 50/40/10%…….and oh yeah that finish was amazing..

A lot of you may already know this…a lot of the time, folks will come into our store, will show us their shoes, point to the outisde of the heel of their shoes, and say that they’re under pronators, supinators…

well Jimmy, there’s a reason why most shoes have that slight curve on that part of that shoe….that’s where the majority of us first make contact with the ground with every stride…and that outside/inside/toe is our way of keeping our balance with every stride…it’s evolution baby…..yes, some over underpronate/supinate; that’s just not negotiation to the rest of the stride, and there are a few ways to work with that (the Brooks’ Adrenaline! ) and some over pronate (PRONATION IS NATURAL!!!) and I actually love that Adrenaline and Hoka‘s Arahi for dealing with that naturally….not forcing anything, guiding instead (Brooks’ has made a point of designing their shoes to deal with everything from the knees down…..and let the feet do what they naturally want to do, with the goal of finishing the progression to pushing off of the front of the foot)………

On….I love what this company does…they make shoes….like Brooks and Hoka (yeah I know, I know, it’s Hoka On On!)……designed by runners for runners….like what Hoka’s founders Mermound and Jean-Luc Diard brought from the French Alps, On’s Olivier Bernhard brought from the Swiss Alps…..I love the Pods…they work wonders

land soft, push off on a hard surface….that’s part of the story, they just feel right…possibly the most natural shoe I’ve used…and the secret (well not a real secret) is what can be done with those pods…..

On has one shoe called the On Cloud Flyer (the pix is my shoe, I over pronate, remember that…the On Cloud Swift)…..on that shoe, they’ve hardened, and softened those pods to promote that “S” …so a natural stride remains, and an over pronator will just be guided……I have used them, I find the pod on the Swift just work for me…I have an issue where one foot pronates, the other under pronates due to a broken lower left fibula that never healed properly about a decade ago…and interesting, some will notice the pronation, but never ever comment on the other

Okay, this blog has gone way over what I orginally wanted to do….maybe it was this morning’s run….but bottom line….your stride, is your stride…..but keep it short, quick, and you know what? when you run, just run, don’t over think the run, occasionally email your head to check in to see what’s happening, but enjoy the view, and JUST RUN!….