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Heel strike to midfoot-Help!
Hi, after numerous problems from heel striking ive decided to try and make the change to midfoot strike. Once i got to half marathon distance it was really taking its toll on my knees hips and lower back so thought i needed the change.
I did a 5 miler tonight alternating between midfoot and heel occasionally but im not sure if im doing it correctly. Im running in asics kayano's as i overpronate when i heel strike, but will this be the same with midfoot? Ive just bought the trainers last week, so could do without having to buy another pair.
Just below the calf muscle slightly on the outside of my leg's felt really tight during and after the run. Is this normal while my body adapts to it or could i be running midfoot wrong? My feet were making quite a bit of noise when landing.
It feels like it will be impossible to do a decent distance with this running technique, and i kept wanting to change back to heel strike when i was midfooting during the run as it just felt like hard work. Hoping my opinion will change on this as i practise it more.
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Comments
Matthew, I tried to make the same transition a couple of years ago. The good news was that it made a big difference in terms of injuries - I still suffer from minor injuries, but they're much less severe than they used to be when I landed on my heels. On long runs now I tend to come home knackered, rather than in pain.
The bad news is that it's not easy to adapt, and it takes time. You're asking different muscles to take the load, and while they may be the "correct" muscles, they're not used to it. I found my hamstrings and claves were very tight to begin with, and I had to start with really short distances and build up. FWIW, it took me about a year to fully feel comfortable with midfoot striking. Avoid the temptation to revert to the heels when tired (even on downhills), and stick with it. If I try to land on my heels now, it feels hard and heavy, don't think I could go back.
Like anything else running-related, my 2p-worth would be to start small and build up from there, and ease off if it feels like there's real injury developing. You will get there, but it will take time. Good luck!
I've never quite managed to give up heel striking in padded shoes...I think I just get lazy however much I try to concentrate, after a while I forget.
But I have managed to avoid it running in very unpaded shoes (if I get lazy it hurts so I remember!) Transitioning my memory was much sorer calfs than heel striking for a while. So maybe try running in something unpaded ideally on hard dirt etc. as I'd imagine you would naturally start midfoot striking just to get a feel for it (When I was starting to swap I just used some old leather slippers).
As for more work, try leaning slightly forward I find that feels less effort than being straight upright.
Heel striking does feel quite comfy on the really padded trainers I've got, so I may have to buy different trainers before I can start midfoot striking anyway.