Without spending a dime, I’ve been trying to become a Pose runner. My only tip was that you run in your shoes, just like you didn’t have them on, kind of on the toes. It seems to work well and has been good to my knees. My question is, was that advice correct and do you let the heel come down to earth hard, soft or at all. I have no money for the book or knee surgery so give a guy some advice.
I’d say “on the balls of the feet” / “forefoot” rather than “kind of on the toes”. Also, remember that high cadence, at least 180 foot strikes / min, is an important part of Pose, because it encourages the “running on eggshells” type effortless running (that image, btw, might also be useful). I wouldnt worry about what the heel does so long as you have hi cadence and land on forefoot and keep body mass in line or slightly ahead of lead foot. Also check out the pose forum, which is quite helpful. Finally, allow your body to adapt. Quite common to get calf soreness at first - if so, start w/ pose & cadence drills inserted into regular runs, and build from there.
I would have to say that cadence is critical. If you run at 90rpm or more it will be nearly impossible to land on the heel and everything else will fall into place. Be patient, it’s been more than a year for me and I am still working on it.
I must be on the right track. My cadence is still low and this is hard to do off the bike. I can do it for 3-4 miles and go back to the old way, but I’m getting it done. Thanks
don’t be afraid to do ridiculously slow (as in slow velocity) hi-cadence work (i.e., really shorten your stride length and focus on perfect, relaxed form), either as a stand-alone drill/warm-up, or inserted into regular runs. Eventually as you adapt your speed at hi-cadence will increase with no extra effort. Also, I have found that this focus on breathing, form, and relaxed hi-cadence is a great way to ease into HIM or IM run leg.
I switched my style over to Pose last fall, and it took a good 2 months for my calves to be able to handle 75 minutes of running. I found it to be much LESS stressful on the joints (knees - hips - ankles) and more taxing on the muscles (calves & hams in particular.) But now 10 months later my cadence is higher and I’m a good 30 seconds faster per 5k. I highly recommend sticking with it.
don’t be afraid to do ridiculously slow (as in slow velocity) hi-cadence work (i.e., really shorten your stride length and focus on perfect, relaxed form), either as a stand-alone drill/warm-up, or inserted into regular runs. Eventually as you adapt your speed at hi-cadence will increase with no extra effort. Also, I have found that this focus on breathing, form, and relaxed hi-cadence is a great way to ease into HIM or IM run leg.
Is there anything more to Pose than this?
After working through 18 months of chronic calf muscle strains
I have shortend my stride and increased candence to good effect.
Jeff
IMO your heel will do the right thing for your body as long as you imagine “pulling your foot off the ground.” DO NOT imagine yourself pushing off the ground. Also allow your foot to strike the ground with a neutral & supple ankle. Don’t artificially tense the muscles, allow them to naturally react to striking the ground.
It will also depend on the kind of shoe you wear. If you have runners with taller heel cushioning, you’ll definitely need to allow your heel to make contact with the ground. IMO, the ideal would be to rightaway start gently building up distance with a flat-heeled shoe.