Friday, December 19, 2008

Working hard and the right way to tie Shoelaces!

Been working a lot these last couple of weeks. The prospect of the recession is creating a sense of fear and urgency. So I've been focussing a lot on my company's ability to execute and deliver on what I think are our priorities these last couple of weeks.

As a result my running has taken a bit of a back seat. The last I ran (before today) was last Sunday when I ran with Chennai Runners. Did a slow 11K. Went from the usual starting place - Dimensions Gym - to Besant Nagar Beach. At the beach I did 24 pull ups and 24 dips in sets of 8. Came back to Dimensions.

It has been such a long time since I ran long and slow that certain unmentionable parts of my body were hurting on the drive back. Following that I resolved to really get back into running again. But 'tis the season to be jolly. So a lot of alcohol was moved around and processed this week.

Managed to get out this morning and go to the MCC. Hammerred out a really fast 4 laps - a tad more than a mile. Felt really powerful. I think sprinting has taken my running to another level altogether. Though stamina wise I think I need to throw in a couple of long runs each week. But in terms of just plain running action and feel, I find I'm running a lot more on the balls of the feet rather than heel-toe. And the quads and glutes are responding with a powerful kick.

So it all looks good for now. Planning to run again tomorrow morning with Chennai Runners. Probably do the same 11k route.

Found an interesting article on Runner's World about the right way to tie shoelaces. Didnt even know there was such a thing.

Long article but well worth reading and learning!

Until next time

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Sandy,
Just do one marathon,just for the experience.Identify a marathon and work towards it SOON

Unknown said...

On popular demand Sandy will do a super fast marathon !!!

George said...

Sandy.. sgp 09??

what do u mean by ball of your feet as against heel-toe??

cheers!! G

Sandy - Rat Race Runner said...

Lol. Gents - Marathoning makes a person "skinny fat" - I know one person who wont like me using that term - however it still is a fact!

Unlikely that I will train for an event longer than a Half for a long time to come.

Or maybe just to please Hari...

Sandy - Rat Race Runner said...

George -

When running there are two main goals for the feet.

1. Land at the body';s centre of gravity
2. Minimal contact with the ground.

Runing heel and toe negates both of these. To land on your heel you naturally have to hit the ground a couple of inches in front of your centre of gravity thereby applying a braking effect.

Running on the Toes or the front part of the feet because of the way your foot is structured requires you to land a couple of inches behind where your heel lands. Otherwise you will not be able to push yourself forward. So you naturally tend to land on your centre of gravity (can't land behind your CG - you will fall).

Secondly when you land on the balls of the feet, there is less contact with the ground. Therefore you have faster feet.

Difficult to explain this in words. Hope I made some sense.

Sandy