I’m watching the Pose DVD, did some of the drills this morning. (As an aside: who did the soundtrack playing in the background? Dick Del and Deltones? What’s that all about?)
Big question. How in the WORLD can anyone run more than five or six miles on the balls of your feet like this? I just don’t see it. Plus, it’s essentially all on the hamstrings, and, yes, hello, ouch!
While I’m doing these Pose shuffles and bounces, that’s the theme hitting me over and over, maybe this is good for sprints, but for anything 20K plus, boy, it’s going to be tough: first, I can just count on blisters, starting off doing this, on the weight bearing front part of the feet. That’s a given. Then, I’m guessing a callous sits in there, big and hard, given the over and over friction, on the balls of your feet.
Lastly, who’s REALLY got a good enough friend or spouse willing to be a “pupeteer” in public for you, should you decide to get advanced in this and have someone follow behind you, with cables, tied to your ankles? That’s some friendship right there. “Okay, honey, tie these on to my feet, and follow me around the block, if you don’t mind?”
Everyone runs differently. Its as personal as a signature. But if you want or need to “learn how to run” the pose method is a great way to go. Forget about the rubber bands (although I do like the other drills which are basically run specific plyos). But just look at as many pictures of elite athletes running - marathons, IM, olympic. Sure some, like Tim Deboom, have a pronounced heel strike and that evidently works fine for him. A lot (perhaps even most), however, look just like the guy on the front cover of pose method. See if you can find any picture of Leder and Macca head to head at Quelle Roth, for example. I think the toe strike pose method is even more prevalent among pure distance runners. Keep looking at pics in inside tri and elsewhere and you will in fact see that tons of distance runners and IMers have a similar style to the pose technique. It is a graceful way to run. To be sure, if you are not used to it, your calves and maybe other muscles will kill after even a short run - to begin with. So if you are happy with the way you run maybe there is no need to change. I however ran like a mack truck with a wheel missing. I needed help. Pose technique combined with cadence increase has helped me a ton. And it makes sense, too. Think about how long your foot stays on the ground on heel to toe strike versus just the ball of the foot (not to mention the braking action). Anyways, you can hash out these ideas ad nauseum on the pose forum with tons of pose converts at posetech.com.
agree with johnthesavage. if you’re already doing well, there really is no need to switch. but the pose was formulated out of watching the very best runners in all distances so despite the exceptions (notably deBoom and Lessing), i think there’s something behind it. i also had problems with posterior leg muscles feeling strained but i was able to adapt about after a month. long training runs (as much as 2 hours) are no problem. i do get tired and struggle to maintain formtowards the end of race-level efforts. but i’ve PR’d my 10-miler with the POSE. i recover much faster after long or hard sessions. i got rid of my plantar fasciitis.
This isn’t a troll, right?..right, a troll this isn’t. Search this board and those on cruciblefitness.com and byrn.org for “pose” and you will find enough dissenting opinions to make the mideast crisis pale in comparison. I’m a 90% convert, and here are my 90% answers. While my forefoot strikes 1st, my heel hits the ground unless I’m going (for me) fast. I can’t imagine running 42.2K with heel never touching. 5K is another matter. With regard to blisters, I get them much less following my evolution toward Pose (mainly forefoot rather than heel strike with attendant cadence increase). My foot slides around much less in the shoe as it hits and leaves the ground (with less contact time) than before. I have yet to find a puppeteer, but when I hit 30 minute splits in my non-drafting OD races (in about 12 cycles of reincarnation), they’ll be lining up at the door to help out. Until then I’ll just suffer along with single-person drills. They probably couldn’t afford an original score for the sound-track. Have fun,
How in the WORLD can anyone run more than five or six miles on the balls of your feet like this? I just don’t see it. Plus, it’s essentially all on the hamstrings, and, yes, hello, ouch
Simple answer – you can’t, and no one does. Romanov doesn’t even teach that in the actual clinics. In the clinics, he notes that that is only for drills and 400 or shorter distances. Get your hands on some video of elite distance running (not photos – they’re meaningless). Troll around letsrun.com and you’ll stir up some links to online race videos.
All of the distance runners let their heels hit the ground. Usually not a heel-first-strike, but the heel does come down, the center of gravity moves over the mid foot, the heel comes up and off you go. Gebrsellassie has even noted in interviews that he only keeps his heel off the ground the final 1k of a 5k or 10k race, if he’s really going all-out for the finish. This is about 4:30 pace by the way. Paul Tergat just ran 4:45 pace for 26.2 miles in Berlin with a very pronounced mid-foot strike, even bordering on heel strike. He most certainly has his heel fully on the ground as his body moves over the foot.
Lydiard talks about it, too. At anything slower than about an 800, the heel must hit the ground. He points out that a ball-of-foot strike will actually cause you to brake yourself and slow down. You have to be moving wicked fast to get away with a genuine forefoot strike.
Just about everything else about Pose is great, and I got a lot out of the teachings. Cadence being the most important, IMO.
Great post–you are a very funny guy. I like this forum for the great free entertainment it provides (as well as some occasionally useful bits of information).