Revisiting A Parent's Perspective - Part 6: Shoeless and Clueless

Red Hook, NY - We are competing in a curious time.  It seems as if the higher echelons of our sport are competing against the traditional paths.  While one of our harriers going pro is still the outlier, our top female harrier this year is coming off of homeschooling through her middle school years.  In addition, our top male harrier has been competing for the club team Rolling Thunder since he was eight years old.  And finally, the state's next rising talent, has been running CYO meets for years, coached by her father.

So does this mean that High School coaching is dead?  Not even close.  But it does raise some questions.  Questions that have been raised before, when another Home Schooled athlete was the talk of the town.  In 2005, Josh McDougal captured just about all the long distance state records, culminating with a 8:48.11 for the 3200y, and a 14:07.55 for an on-track 5000m run.  Now almost ten years later, the questions come back.

In 2005, one parent set out to answer those questions, submitting to TullyRunners an article entitled, "Josh McDougal is a Perfect Example of What is Wrong With High School Track."  The parent's name was John Raucci, a father with two son's running for Red Hook High School.  Over the next season, we will be re-releasing his original articles, which almost a decade later, prove fascinating.  You can note, that some of the ideas are a bit dated, but some of the things are spot on, before they came to be the accepted standard.  I hope you enjoy the article as much as we have.

 

Josh McDougal is a Perfect Example of What is Wrong With High School Track

by John Raucci

This will be the first in a series of smaller follow up articles to the primary article written in March/2005 entitled "Josh McDougal Is A Perfect Example Of What Is Wrong With High School Track". I am writing these follow ups in part due to the many sincere inquiries I have received in reference to the original article. I hope that they will serve to broaden the approach to running that I set out to present as well as deal with the practical matter of day-to-day training. In order to gain the most from these follow-ups, I would like to put forward a number of guidelines. First of all, it would be essential to first read and try to understand the primary article if you have not already done so. Secondly, as I will make training suggestions especially in this first follow up, I realize that they may not correspond to the kinds of training prescribed by a given coach for a given team at a given time. If that is the case, I recommend that runners follow the schedules put forth by coaches and not by me. Coaches are uniquely responsible for their athletes, and from my perspective, I would say that such a responsibility should not be violated. Any outside interference could lead to conflict and/or confusion, and that would certainly defeat the purpose of these articles. Thirdly, I would petition coaches to at least re-evaluate that which they consider to be ideal in terms of training and performance. We all work from a sense of what is best, and if we are mistaken in any way regarding the very best, the ideal, everything else we say or do will somehow be thrown off kilter. For example, strange as it may seem, it may not be ideal to stress a runner in order to improve performance. Stressing an athlete will certainly make he or she faster, but, in fact, it might be the alleviation of stress that takes a runner to his full potential. In another example, it may not be ideal for a High School sophomore young man to run a 4:10 mile. He may in fact be doing too much too soon, and his body may react with a vengeance in terms of thrusting him into a cycle of injuries. Finally, these articles should never be viewed as an attempt to help us produce champions now. Rather, they are an invitation to bring together the sport of running with the fullness of health. As my own children will attest, I have slowed the progress of their performance levels in the hopes that a future free from sickness and injury, would provide a foundation for the eventual realization of their athletic potential, along with a continuation of their unencumbered enjoyment of the sport.

This follow up will take on the practicalities of barefoot running, proper breathing in and out through the nose, and aerobic conditioning. As we approach summer, we are entering into somewhat of a gold mine of a training zone. A good summer's effort can bring about surges in the career of a runner. I want to express my appreciation to the runners of Red Hook and Rhinebeck who have helped me to understand running from an unusual perspective, as I have been able to observe them and their progress through our day-to-day efforts. I must confess that if I were to say anything about myself, it is simply that I am a student of running. I have learned much through trial and error, and expect to continue to do so. Please accept this presentation in such a light, and allow your own experience and research as well to guide you in your pursuit of excellence.


Part 1: If the Shoe Fits - Beware of It

Part 2: Hold Your Breath

Part 3: Breakdown or Breakthrough

Part 4: Eat a Lot – A Lot of What?

Part 5 :Mind and Body – For or Against One Another?

 

Shoeless and Clueless

 

How do we run barefoot? No question arose more so from the primary article as much as the preceding. This is not an ordinary question, but one that no doubt took humanity millions of years to formulate. In that most of the earth's population for the lion's share of world history went shoeless, who would have thought to ask such a question until recently? In light of that, there is no way to give an adequate answer in a matter of moments. What we have done as a culture is transform a natural form of human behavior (a barefoot lifestyle), into an oddity, and even a crime in some cases. Well, if society at large wishes to corrupt muscle and bone development through the wearing of shoes, this is not a justification for runners to follow suit.

Even prior to the undertaking of barefoot activity, we should give thought to the role of our feet in running. They link us to the earth, and it is through their power and strength in conjunction with muscles in the legs and the pendulum-like swinging of the arms that we cover distance. How can we fail to attend to their strengthening on a day-to-day basis? You will never see a baseball pitcher going to the mound wearing a heavy winter's overcoat. Their arms need freedom to perform. You will never see a football quarterback wearing thick sunglasses. They need to see clearly the entirety of the field as well as the positioning of their receivers. You will never see a hockey player wearing figure skates. They need to stop on a dime and shift directions in a flash. A runner in shoes is in reality no different than a pitcher in an overcoat, a quarterback with thick sunglasses, and a hockey player in figure skates. Now add to shoes gobs of cushioning, motion control, and support from every direction, and what do we come up with? We make of our feet something more aptly described as feet-like! So we return to the question as to how to run barefoot.

We can start by paying attention to our way of walking. If we can walk more so the way we were designed to, we can make somewhat of an easier transition to proper running. Our feet were created to touch the ground. In so doing, we should stand flat on the ground. Proper walking is done heel to ball. Shoes often force us to walk ball to heel. We should gradually shift to barefoot walking. We can do it at home, in the yard, and in certain outdoor environments that pose no significant danger to our feet. When we wear footwear, there should be no heel or uneven lift. Good footwear should allow our feet to remain flat on the ground. This will allow the muscles in our legs to come into a proper configuration without having to shorten in order to compensate for height stemming from heels. There should be ample room for our toes, as our toes were designed to spread and grip. They should not be confined in tight fitting shoes. Take a look at the shape of the foot. Can you see anything that would indicate that the foot was created to carry or lift objects as well as bear weight? Our feet are instruments of mobility. And they do best when unencumbered, even by the weight of a shoe. Should we wear shoes, they should be as light as possible. Heavy shoes cause foot muscles to exert themselves in ways they were never intended to. During winter, my kids wear karate shoes, which are flat to the ground. In the summer, we wear sandals. When possible, it is better not to wear socks. Air circulation is very good for the feet, and the free flow of air can help us to avoid trapping the kinds of bacteria and fungus that are behind so many skin problems.

Shifting to barefoot running should be slow and gradual. We will be using foot muscles that have been inactive for long periods of time, and we need to give them a chance to regain strength. A rapid and decisive shift can result in injury. So don't just toss away those awkward cushioned shoes. Just wear them less and less. You can begin by switching from running with shoes to running without them during a given training session. Proper running is done ball to heel. The heel is a bone, and when it lands on the ground as a result of a running stride, shock shoots throughout our network of bones reaching even as far as the skull. Jump in the air and land on both heels, and you will get a sense of what this kind of shock is all about in its travel from one bone to another. Ball to heel running is not just for sprinters. It is the correct way for all runners. It not only helps shock to be naturally absorbed and dissipated through the legs, but it extends the stride length and increases rate of leg turnover thus making us faster runners. When we run barefoot, we should naturally land on the ball. However, even in shoes, we should consciously and gradually affect a changeover in ball to heel running if we have not yet done so. Heavy cushioned shoes will force us to land on the heel; so the sooner we can get rid of them, the better.

Barefoot running is best done on open fields. In Red Hook, we use the playing fields around the Middle and High Schools as well as some local parks. Choices for locations to work in may vary from area to area. Where choices are limited, there may be a certain kind of boredom arising from being taken off the roads and confined to limited spaces. But perhaps, we as runners got a bit spoiled with the open roads and their endless scenery. Baseball players practice over and over again in the same field, and likewise football and soccer players. Basketball players go to the same gym, and shoot at the same baskets. Hockey players go to the same ice rink. Do we, as runners, need to be any different? In addition, there is one enormous benefit to running away from roads and onto fields. That is the issue of safety. Nothing is more heart breaking than the sad news that we get virtually every year that a runner was hit by a car.

Natural earth is somewhat broken and uneven. When we run barefoot, such earth gives our feet a complete workout as it elicits infinite types of muscle responses due to the infinite and infinitesimal variations in the terrain. (In regard to the latter, a barefoot warm-up is ideal before a race because it triggers all muscles as they were designed to come into use). As we shift to landing on the ball of the foot, we will strengthen the muscles in our calves, as we will begin to rely upon them quite heavily. Needless to say, strengthened calves will have a positive effect upon our overall ability to run. As we develop barefoot running, our form should naturally improve. We will learn to land lightly upon the balls of our feet, and spring vigorously with each step. By getting into the habit of a light landing, we will pick up an immense amount of efficiency when called upon to perform. Like the Africans, we will utilize energy to thrust us across the surface as opposed to crashing into the surface with typically forceful strides that drive us downward with each succeeding step.

During summer training in Red Hook, we meet each morning at 6:45 A.M. We run in the cool of the morning while dew moistens the fields. Afternoons are usually hot and uncomfortable. What's more, in New York, ground bees often lay in wait throughout the fields as the day wears on. They have a nasty sting. If you step on one, you will know it. Just pull out the stinger; squeeze out the poison if you can (you may be able to see a little liquid come out); ice the wound, and apply a paste of baking soda and water. In a day, you'll be fine. At first, I was upset at those irritating insects that got at me more than once. Then, I thought, well, this is just nature's way of saying that we should get up early and train in the morning. I have never seen a problem with them in the early morning, as they seem to be more numerous in the thick of the day. As we become proficient at running barefoot, we should be able to gracefully add miles and miles to our training repertoire. Gradually increase the mileage, but do not fear to run further and further. A normal summer's training day for my kids is a 2-hour morning run, which is about 15 miles. Then, they add 3 to 5 miles of jogging in the later part of the evening. They love it, and rarely complain of soreness as the summer proceeds. However, all of our training is long and slow, and this standard should be applied to any dramatic distance increases in training. The so-called pounding becomes a non-issue as we become better at running without shoes and land on the balls of our feet even down steep hills. In time, our feet will toughen as they form a leather-like exterior. And our toes will spread wide indicating new muscle strength in the forefoot. Unlike running shoes, which shoe companies recommend that you replace every 3 to 6 months, your feet will last for many decades, and improve their strength and power with time. And you got them for free in the first place. How's that for a deal?

If you need to use running shoes when conditions or rules apply, always wear lightweight flats with an adequate width—the lighter the better and the flatter the better. In Red Hook, the kids are using the Nike Free. As with flats, they allow some better flexion of the foot muscles. However, personally, I do not like them. They will not allow you to come anywhere near barefoot running in a true sense. They have a heel, possess too much weight, and are cushioned among other negatives. On the other hand, it is difficult to find any footwear that is perfectly designed to work in absolute conjunction with that most masterful creation, the human foot. In Red Hook, we have added this new barefoot dimension to our training. We are all stronger, healthier, and even happier as runners. We wish you all the best should you decide to likewise vary your training in this regard!