YammyMonkey
08-16-2014, 22:19
A few years ago I tried to start Pose running, but I couldn't get the stride to work for me. I was landing on the ball of my foot, but it was still traveling forward at contact and this caused me to have some Patellar Tendon pain. I tried off and on, including the drills that were posted online, but I just couldn't break the foot going forward at impact or the knee pain.
A couple months ago I decided to try again, this time by taking a Pose Running class. The only even remotely local Pose coaches I could find were a pair of physical therapists down in the Springs at Peak Performance Physcial Therapy http://peakperformancept.org/pose-seminars/. I know, a class on how to run seems foolish, but this turned out to be $40 and 4 hours well spent.
It started off with some of the history and research that went into the Pose methodology, including the analysis of elite runners in a variety of different running events, from sprinters to marathoners. It turns out that a lot of the truly top level competitors use a forefoot strike (as opposed to a heel strike) that essentially only keeps them from falling forward onto the ol face. This technique is supposed to allow you to expend less energy than the traditional heel strike because you're not reaching forward with your foot and impeding your momentum with each heel strike.
Everyone in the class was videoed running approximately 30 yards and the coaches critiqued our current running gait in relation to the typical components that drive the heel strike problem. The class went through a bunch of warm up drills, then we got into the specific Pose drills that would help us learn to change from heel striking to forefoot striking.
After the drills, we were all re-videoed and again critiqued on our new Pose running style. Everybody came away with coaching points and things to specifically work on. For instance, I needed to work on pulling my foot off the ground faster after landing.
We received a hard copy of the Power Point slides as well as a thumb drive with video examples of a number of Pose drills and a warmup scheme that they encouraged us to use. They weren't as dogmatic as I expected them to be, especially with the Crossfit/Pose connection and the fact that the class was being held at a Crossfit box. Their answers for a lot of questions from which shoes should you use (it doesn't really matter, it's the technique that matters, but the zero rise shoes are generally recommended) to what if I have a race coming up (run the race heel striking if you haven't built up the Pose mechanics enough) were well-metered and made sense. There was no over bearing dogma-type attitude toward the technique exhibited by the instructors.
It's been a few months since the class, I've only been running once or twice a week, and I'm up to 5 miles at a time with the Pose method. My calves are still a little sore for a couple days after a run, but it's not the debilitating horror that I experienced on my first few 2 mile Pose runs. In reality, I probably should have started off with a lower mileage, but I'm stubborn and sometimes not very smart. I probably would have progressed just as fast, and with less pain, if I would have started out with 1/2 mile runs and slowly bumped up the distance every week. I don't have a time to compare to because prior to my class I had been doing strictly 75-90 minute LSD runs, so I wasn't concerned with the distance, just time in the 130-150 bpm zone. That said, the perceived exertion level is noticeably lower with the Pose method. When I started I would hit a pace that normally get me into the 130-150 bpm zone, only to see that I was barely breaking 120 bpm.
Why did I decide I wanted to change?
I was interested in the concept and it made a lot of sense to me that it would decrease the amount of stress on the joints, and displace that stress onto the muscles which can adapt and heal and take that stress for long periods of time without the damage that the joints would see from the heel-strike running.
I had gotten my resting heart rate down to the low 50s so I figured that was good enough for now and it would be a good time for me to start focusing on shorter, faster runs which would allow me to work into the Pose running.
A friend of mine, Paul Sharp, who on a light day weighs in around 230 lbs of mini-hulk muscle has used the technique to race everything from 5Ks to marathons without any adverse effects.
I'm going to try to get a slot in the Leadville 100 in 2015 (it usually sells out in less than a day) and I'm 6'1" and usually between 185-190 lbs so if this has worked for years for Paul, I figured it could work for me as well.
I really like the feel of the zero-rise, minimally padded shoes for a number of reasons, and if I could incorporate those same benefits into my running, all the better.
A nice side-benefit to the Pose method is that I feel much more agile on my feet when I'm running. I live in the older part of Lakewood, where there are a lot of horse properties and since horse riders don't bother to clean up after their ponies it can make the sidewalks and trails a bit interesting. I've found that it's a lot easier to pick my way through partially digested hay bombs when running Pose, especially at night, when they kind of sneak up on you. This added agility is also great on the trails as it's much easier to pick a good line through rough sections without having to stutter step and make drastic changes to your stride.
Overall, I would highly recommend the class to anyone who is interested in learning the Pose technique as it absolutely shortened the learning curve. I can feel the difference between what I was doing when I thought I was Pose running and what I'm doing now, and I haven't had any Patellar Tendon issues at all.
A couple months ago I decided to try again, this time by taking a Pose Running class. The only even remotely local Pose coaches I could find were a pair of physical therapists down in the Springs at Peak Performance Physcial Therapy http://peakperformancept.org/pose-seminars/. I know, a class on how to run seems foolish, but this turned out to be $40 and 4 hours well spent.
It started off with some of the history and research that went into the Pose methodology, including the analysis of elite runners in a variety of different running events, from sprinters to marathoners. It turns out that a lot of the truly top level competitors use a forefoot strike (as opposed to a heel strike) that essentially only keeps them from falling forward onto the ol face. This technique is supposed to allow you to expend less energy than the traditional heel strike because you're not reaching forward with your foot and impeding your momentum with each heel strike.
Everyone in the class was videoed running approximately 30 yards and the coaches critiqued our current running gait in relation to the typical components that drive the heel strike problem. The class went through a bunch of warm up drills, then we got into the specific Pose drills that would help us learn to change from heel striking to forefoot striking.
After the drills, we were all re-videoed and again critiqued on our new Pose running style. Everybody came away with coaching points and things to specifically work on. For instance, I needed to work on pulling my foot off the ground faster after landing.
We received a hard copy of the Power Point slides as well as a thumb drive with video examples of a number of Pose drills and a warmup scheme that they encouraged us to use. They weren't as dogmatic as I expected them to be, especially with the Crossfit/Pose connection and the fact that the class was being held at a Crossfit box. Their answers for a lot of questions from which shoes should you use (it doesn't really matter, it's the technique that matters, but the zero rise shoes are generally recommended) to what if I have a race coming up (run the race heel striking if you haven't built up the Pose mechanics enough) were well-metered and made sense. There was no over bearing dogma-type attitude toward the technique exhibited by the instructors.
It's been a few months since the class, I've only been running once or twice a week, and I'm up to 5 miles at a time with the Pose method. My calves are still a little sore for a couple days after a run, but it's not the debilitating horror that I experienced on my first few 2 mile Pose runs. In reality, I probably should have started off with a lower mileage, but I'm stubborn and sometimes not very smart. I probably would have progressed just as fast, and with less pain, if I would have started out with 1/2 mile runs and slowly bumped up the distance every week. I don't have a time to compare to because prior to my class I had been doing strictly 75-90 minute LSD runs, so I wasn't concerned with the distance, just time in the 130-150 bpm zone. That said, the perceived exertion level is noticeably lower with the Pose method. When I started I would hit a pace that normally get me into the 130-150 bpm zone, only to see that I was barely breaking 120 bpm.
Why did I decide I wanted to change?
I was interested in the concept and it made a lot of sense to me that it would decrease the amount of stress on the joints, and displace that stress onto the muscles which can adapt and heal and take that stress for long periods of time without the damage that the joints would see from the heel-strike running.
I had gotten my resting heart rate down to the low 50s so I figured that was good enough for now and it would be a good time for me to start focusing on shorter, faster runs which would allow me to work into the Pose running.
A friend of mine, Paul Sharp, who on a light day weighs in around 230 lbs of mini-hulk muscle has used the technique to race everything from 5Ks to marathons without any adverse effects.
I'm going to try to get a slot in the Leadville 100 in 2015 (it usually sells out in less than a day) and I'm 6'1" and usually between 185-190 lbs so if this has worked for years for Paul, I figured it could work for me as well.
I really like the feel of the zero-rise, minimally padded shoes for a number of reasons, and if I could incorporate those same benefits into my running, all the better.
A nice side-benefit to the Pose method is that I feel much more agile on my feet when I'm running. I live in the older part of Lakewood, where there are a lot of horse properties and since horse riders don't bother to clean up after their ponies it can make the sidewalks and trails a bit interesting. I've found that it's a lot easier to pick my way through partially digested hay bombs when running Pose, especially at night, when they kind of sneak up on you. This added agility is also great on the trails as it's much easier to pick a good line through rough sections without having to stutter step and make drastic changes to your stride.
Overall, I would highly recommend the class to anyone who is interested in learning the Pose technique as it absolutely shortened the learning curve. I can feel the difference between what I was doing when I thought I was Pose running and what I'm doing now, and I haven't had any Patellar Tendon issues at all.