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After all of the issues I’ve had with running shoes over the past year, I keep thinking that if I can just get my running form correct, everything will fall into place.
So I’ve finally been able to get my running gait analyzed by a professional! Kim, my physical therapist, set me up to participate in a gait analysis session at Novacare as part of a lecture being held by Mr. Tracy Peal of Tracy Peal Speed. He is an expert on biomechanics and provides coaching to all kinds of athletes.
Learning about how your gait affects your running! #runchat Click To Tweet
I got to Novacare a little bit early so I was able to talk to Tracy before the presentation started. I shared with him my background: how I’ve had three rounds of physical therapy, tried different shoes that ended up causing problems (does anyone like Newtons?), and that I want to find a way to be able to run and be healthy for the rest of my days. Tracy seemed extremely confident that he could fix what ails me, and told me to stay tuned.
The lecture was very interesting, and I took a lot of notes. Here are some of the principles that I learned about the Pose Method of running:
Pose method of running
Tracy Peal giving a lecture on running form.
I have to be honest…sometimes I’m a bad engineer, and all the technical mumbo-jumbo can make my head spin. Physics isn’t my best subject, so I didn’t quite understanding everything that was being said, but the main takeaway is that I can’t be afraid of falling. I’ve had the same issue with learning to snowboard…I’m too scared to lean forward and enjoy the ride!
Not to mention, I was starting to get anxious the longer the lecture lasted. All the PT’s seemed to be stunned by what they were hearing, and I was worrying that there wouldn’t be enough time to spend on me! I was ready to put the theory into practice!
Finally the fun (scary) part of the running gait analysis began, and we went outside in the parking lot. Tracy watched how I naturally run, which ain’t pretty. Tracy says that I have a “rhythm problem”. So then I started by running in place, then taking that basis to move forward. Not easy!! We did this over and over again. Since I haven’t run since September, I was exhausted!
Tracy used Ubersense to take video of my running, and we were able to look at it frame by frame. I’m happy to say that my technique improved after a few tries, but it takes so much concentration to completely alter your technique!!
Here are clips of some of the video of my running form. Can you tell that I gradually get better? Sorry if the quality isn’t great!
http://www.ubersense.com/video/view/biomictu
http://www.ubersense.com/video/view/Ukl4H76P
http://www.ubersense.com/video/view/DLw5pUlM
We also did some work indoors on the treadmill. I actually noted that I felt some pain in my left shin, and when we looked at the video, it was very clear why: My foot was landing all kinds of wrong! With that, we concluded that the best way for me to learn the Pose method is OFF the treadmill.
Here’s the eye-opening video…http://www.ubersense.com/video/view/OdLvJcpg
It was really great working with Tracy! At the end of the day, we discussed next steps, and I’m definitely interested in having a “real” one-on-one session and developing a program with him to learn how to use Pose! As a black person, it hurts to be told I have a “rhythm problem”, haha! But hopefully, I will be a quick study. Unfortunately, Tracy doesn’t work for free, so I will be making a serious investment towards improving my running! I’ll let you know how it goes!
Oh and the timing is perfect, as I just found on Youtube that Pose Method is offering a 12 week transition program with the first 4 weeks free. This will definitely serve as a helpful resource!
Have you had a gait analysis, and did it help you? Do you use the Pose method of running?
Oh, and like I mentioned before, does anyone out there wear Newtons and like them? Leave a comment and share your experiences!
