I got really spoiled living in California. I was in the Bay Area and I think I saw it snow maybe twice in the nine years I was there. Winter running there is no problem at all if you didn’t mind getting rained on every now and then. But now that I’m living in Asheville, NC where there’s actually some semblance of winter, I’m having to resurrect some of the adaptations to my running that I learned growing up in Colorado.

Here are a few clothing options for those of you who are adventurous enough to insist on running outdoors through the snowy and cold winter months. If you’re a beginning runner you might find some of these tips helpful. If you’re an old-timer, I hope you’ve figured some of this stuff out already. If you live in a temperate climate, you can skip this blog and thank your lucky stars. My next few blogs will be on alternatives to winter running…for those of you who wake up to snowy days finding that there is absolutely nothing in you that wants to go brave the elements.

Upper body layers
1.) I’ve found that a good, thick wicking, sip-front turtleneck top works great for any temperatures from 25º- 40º. If you have trouble maintaining body heat you can add a lightweight nylon vest with a high collar. Your arms don’t need as much protection from the cold as your torso does. If you’re still having trouble keeping warm add on a lightweight windbreaker over everything. It’s amazing how well you can heat and cool your body by merely covering or uncovering your neck and upper chest area to regulate your body temperature.
2.) Wear a good hat made of fleece, wool (ideally with a non-wool lining on the inside of the headband) or some other wicking material. It should be comfortable, stretchy and be able to completely cover your ears.
3.) Get some gloves that will completely block the cold air. I’ve tried every type of glove and mitten in the world to keep my fingers warm and I’ve found that insulated leather gloves work best in temperatures above 20º. For colder temperatures I have to resort to mittens, or I can forget about having any fingers when I get back from my run. You can stretch the lower range of your mittens or gloves by wearing liners.
4.) Cover your face if it’s below 20º out. If you want to stay healthy you have to protect your lungs from getting too much cold air. If you’re in a climate where you’re running in temperatures below 20º it’s also important to protect your nose and cheeks from frostbite (this suggestion is for you diehards). The best thing I’ve found for this is wearing a dust mask (also called a particle mask) available at most hardware stores. It’s worth it to pay for the higher quality ones because they won’t collapse against your face if they get wet from your steamy breath.
Lower Body Layers
1.) Running tights are great in temperatures between 20º and 55º depending on how sensitive your legs are to the cold. If it’s below 20º I’ll wear lightweight warm-up pants over my tights. (A note for men: the best thing for keeping your private parts from freezing off is to wear windproof briefs.)
2.) Smartwool socks…nothing works like these.
3.) A good way to block wind from freezing your toes is to cover the top of your socks (toe area) with good ol’ duct tape. Another option is to get some running shoes with Gore-tex uppers, which do the same thing. (it still amazes me that the shoe companies haven’t jumped on this obvious market need)
4.) If you run in icy conditions often you might consider taking one of your old pairs of running shoes and “equipping” them with ¼” sheet metal screws drilled into the bottoms. The screws aren’t long enough to stick into your feet and they’re much more practical than trying to run in something like Yak Trax.

All I can say is, if you’re going to run outdoors through the winter, be smart about it. It won’t help you a bit if your running program comes to a screeching halt because you’re either sick or nursing running injuries.
Stay warm,
Danny

There seems to be much debate in the running community today on what is the best footstrike for running. Runners of all levels divide themselves into three basic camps: the midfoot strikers, the forefoot strikers and the heel strikers. So, here is my attempt to put forward my best understanding of the three basic types of foot strike and what each one does for a runner.

The Midfoot Strike
The midfoot strike is characterized as having your heel and the ball of your foot touching the ground simultaneously with each foot strike. You can see this very clearly when you watch young children run. They always land with their whole foot on the ground. I would say that at least 95% of all people run this way as kids.

In the ChiRunning technique, we promote the midfoot strike because it is, for most runners, the most injury-preventive way to run. Our emphasis is on preventing the lower legs (including the knees) from over-working, because this area of the body is where, conservatively speaking, 90% of all running injuries occur. Plantar fasciitis, achilles tendonitis, shin splints, calf pulls, knee pain, IT band problems, over-pronation, bunions, metatarsal and tibial stress fractures, and hammer toes lead the list of the most common running injuries. This list is immense compared to everything that can go wrong above the knees.

The propulsion in ChiRunning comes from allowing your body to fall forward with the pull of gravity, not from pushing yourself forward with your feet and legs. For this reason it is more energy-efficient because your legs are not required for propulsion. When your feet come down onto the ground, they land either under or slightly behind your center of mass, in a midfoot strike. The only work required of your legs is to provide momentary support for your body between strides. Landing on your midfoot, in most cases, either reduces or eliminates the work done by A.) the lower leg muscles…especially the shins and calves, and B.) the two tendons that are most commonly injured… the plantar tendon and the achilles tendon.

The ChiRunning technique is primarily focused on energy efficiency and injury-prevention with speed being a secondary focus.

The Forefoot Strike
The forefoot is basically the part of the foot between the forward-most part of the arch and the end of the toes… generally speaking, the balls of the feet. If your heels don’t touch the ground when you run, you’re a forefoot striker.

Sprinters, middle-distance runners, and some triathletes tend to prefer running on the forefoot because of the extra speed obtained by “paw-back” and “toeing off.” This way of running is great if you want lots of speed, but it puts the responsibility for most of the body’s propulsion squarely onto the legs…especially the lower legs. Some of the faster elite middle-distance runners (i.e. Kenyans, Moroccans, Ethiopians, Mexicans) run with a forward lean added in combination with a forefoot strike. This takes some but not all of the burden off the lower legs.

Because forefoot running is primarily used for running at faster speeds, energy efficiency tends to take a distant back seat. As far as being injury-preventive, forefoot striking helps prevent knee injuries because it lowers the impact to the knees. This is a good thing. But the problem with it is that running on the balls of your feet increases the workload on your calves, shins, achilles tendons, and plantar tendons, so you risk either overworking a muscle or pulling a tendon if you go too far or too fast while running on your forefeet.

The Heel Strike
Heel striking is when your heel strikes the ground in front of your body. At least 75% of all runners run with a heel strike. The interesting thing about this fact is that, although it is by far the most common of all the footstrike patterns, it is not done by choice, but by default. The vast majority of all runners are not elite runners or competitors, they’re just regular folks like you and me, who like to run and like to stay fit.

Most recreational runners tend to run with their body in an upright position… with no lean at all. This forces them to have to reach forward with their legs when they run…and when you run upright and reach with your legs, your feet will always land in front of your body and your heels will come down first. When you run this way, you’re basically putting on the brakes with each stride, which sends a lot of impact to your lower legs and knees. For this reason, many heel strikers complain of knee pain at some point in their running career. This is the group that keeps orthopedists and physical therapists in business.

But, just because you might be a heel striker, it doesn’t mean you’re doomed to be a heel striker for the rest of your life. Work on improving your running technique. If you can learn to run safely and efficiently, you’ll be eliminating the causes of running injuries and you won’t have to worry about ending up in a doctor’s office getting fixed.

The midfoot strike works for most runners…the forefoot strike works for some runners…but, the heel strike doesn’t seem to work well for anybody. Try all three and see which one works the best for you.

With the ChiRunning book, DVD or audio CD you can easily learn the midfoot strike. We offer you an alternative way to approach your running so that you can learn the midfoot strike and spend many more years enjoying one of the world’s best and most natural sports.

Happy trails,

Danny

If you’re experiencing achilles tendon pain, I suggest you look at how you’re using that tendon. It usually means you’re toeing off or somehow supporting your body weight with your forefoot. If you’re experiencing any sort of pain, you should not be doing interval or hard workouts. So, if you start a workout with any pain at all, the pain will increase in the course of the workout unless you change the biomechanics of what you are doing.

Adding speed to a workout while there is Achilles pain is going to cause more problems. You need to solve the problem at slower speeds first. Any acceleration in speed needs to come from an increase in lean amount and an increased rotation of the pelvis, not an increase in the push of the leg or foot. Another cause of Achilles tendonitis is having too long of a stride length, which also places too much burden onto the forefoot. As you increase in mileage, be careful that your stride doesn’t get longer as you become tired. During your leg swing, you should only see your legs as swinging to the rear. Never think of lifting your legs forward as you run or you’ll engage that Achilles tendon.

Cheers - Danny

If you’re feeling any soreness in your quads it can be due to several issues:

• It is often due to bending at the waist when you’re running. (see pages 161 & 162 in the book) This will put undue stress onto your quads because they have to “catch” you with each foot strike. When you bend at the waist your feet naturally swing out in front of your body which then creates a heel strike, which is always a direct cause of tired quads. The best thing you can do for your quads is to always run with your center of gravity in front of where your feet are touching the ground so that your stride opens up behind you as soon as your foot hits the ground. If your foot lands anywhere in front of your body, you’re “braking” with each step and you’ll feel it in your quads.
• You might also have too long of a stride which will cause the same result. Running with a shorter stride allows you to keep your foot strike under your body instead of in front of it.
• You are also probably not rotating your pelvis with each stride. (see pages 179 & 180 in the book) Allowing your pelvis to rotate as you run is a great way to cushion the shock to your quads because much of the impact of your foot strike is taken by your pelvis, not by your quads.

Cheers - Danny