Runningmonkeys

I have been running with the Pose Method, more or less successfully, for quite a few weeks now, and so I have taken the opportunity to re-read some sections of the book to pick up where I am going wrong.

The main points that jumped out at me were these:

1. I was hitting the ground with the ball of my foot, but the foot was tilted downwards as it swung through the air.  I read that the ankle should be pretty much neutral as we swing, and so I am consciously trying to correct that.  Instead of doing something, I am trying to undo something, the tendency to point my toes.  I think this may have been my primitive attempt to ensure that my forefoot touched down first.  It has the disadvantage that I am able to hit on my forefoot, but still land slightly ahead of my body, something that I know I must remedy.
2. I have a tendency to tense up and use my calf muscles to get my feet off the ground.  Instead, my hamstrings should be doing the work.  This has lead to a slight re-occurrence of my old calf injury, which is something that I won’t tolerate.  Today I focused on leaving my calf muscles alone and using my hamstrings.
3. I have been making a somewhat “active” landing for each foot strike.  I think this is because I want to get my feet down fast so I can get on with the next step.  This won’t work and is probably putting more strain on my calf.  I am trying to re-organize my mental image to focus on getting my left foot up fast, rather than my right foot down fast.  This seems to be working.

All in all, the most beneficial drill I have found, is the one that gets us running with our hands clasped together and flying out behind us.  Apart from making my back end swing around like crazy, it really tunes in my senses to what I should be doing.  However, repeatedly doing it over and over, is the challenge.  I guess that is what I am enjoying.  The challenge of revolutionising my form.