This blog was written some time back but stayed as draft till now... :)
Due to bronchitis I always found it very difficult to run longer. Before my mountaineering courses I used to work on my running as many blog suggested that I should be prepared to run at least 5-10 kms. I was not sure whether it was just mental but I couldn't run more than 3kms. I couldn't breath effectively after 3kms and I dint understand where I was going wrong.
In July of 2010 I dislocated my ankle. I was relieved to see my X-ray which said 'no fracture' but doc said that fractures can be completely fixed but with the degree of ligament tear I had, there is always a chance of recurrence. My leg was plastered and I was on bed rest for next 3 weeks. During these 3 weeks body intelligent was taking over. I observed that my leg was shrinking in its size (which is medically termed as 'Atrophy') and was more worried about recovering from the injury. This is when I goggled and bought the book "Born to Run" by Christopher Mc Dougall to motivate myself to recover sooner.
Born to Run was all about running bare foot. It sounded crazy initially but author had done good justice by explaining scientifically why running bare foot was good. He mentions that people can run bare foot for long hours. It indeed motivated me to recover sooner to try running bare foot. After 3 months my doc said I can start jogging but still no running. I was still worried about recurrence and had almost surrendered for the injury.
Next day, I decided to test the contents of the book by jogging bare foot. Till then I had complicated my life so much with good running shoes, socks, attire etc that I was very hesitant to run bare foot in front of people. I got up early in the morning to try before many could see my foolishness :-). I must say it was a very good run. My rhythm was perfect and I did not feel tired after 3-4 km which was usually the case. I stopped because I thought it was too much work done already. It was my mind saying you have run a lot but my body was not showing any signs of tiredness. I was happy when even my breathing was in control. It was magical.
From then on I always run bare foot and I can run comfortably. Lesson learnt "Nature has designed us perfectly with everything that is required. We want to act smart by constantly trying to interfere with nature" This battle which we will eventually loose. Now I am facing with the next big challenge- Mind. After one hour of running I stop because I get bored. I was able to overcome my physical limitation of running and now I need to deal with my mind. I hope I will be able to conquer it soon with practice. It funny that, I had to dislocate my ankle to find the secret of running :)
Book mentioned in the blog
http://www.flipkart.com/born-run-hidden-tribe-superathletes-greatest-race-world-has-never-seen/p/itmczyzknnhy9tds
Due to bronchitis I always found it very difficult to run longer. Before my mountaineering courses I used to work on my running as many blog suggested that I should be prepared to run at least 5-10 kms. I was not sure whether it was just mental but I couldn't run more than 3kms. I couldn't breath effectively after 3kms and I dint understand where I was going wrong.
In July of 2010 I dislocated my ankle. I was relieved to see my X-ray which said 'no fracture' but doc said that fractures can be completely fixed but with the degree of ligament tear I had, there is always a chance of recurrence. My leg was plastered and I was on bed rest for next 3 weeks. During these 3 weeks body intelligent was taking over. I observed that my leg was shrinking in its size (which is medically termed as 'Atrophy') and was more worried about recovering from the injury. This is when I goggled and bought the book "Born to Run" by Christopher Mc Dougall to motivate myself to recover sooner.
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| My injured ankle and the book |
Next day, I decided to test the contents of the book by jogging bare foot. Till then I had complicated my life so much with good running shoes, socks, attire etc that I was very hesitant to run bare foot in front of people. I got up early in the morning to try before many could see my foolishness :-). I must say it was a very good run. My rhythm was perfect and I did not feel tired after 3-4 km which was usually the case. I stopped because I thought it was too much work done already. It was my mind saying you have run a lot but my body was not showing any signs of tiredness. I was happy when even my breathing was in control. It was magical.
From then on I always run bare foot and I can run comfortably. Lesson learnt "Nature has designed us perfectly with everything that is required. We want to act smart by constantly trying to interfere with nature" This battle which we will eventually loose. Now I am facing with the next big challenge- Mind. After one hour of running I stop because I get bored. I was able to overcome my physical limitation of running and now I need to deal with my mind. I hope I will be able to conquer it soon with practice. It funny that, I had to dislocate my ankle to find the secret of running :)
Book mentioned in the blog
http://www.flipkart.com/born-run-hidden-tribe-superathletes-greatest-race-world-has-never-seen/p/itmczyzknnhy9tds
I haven't read this book, but I've read about it. The distances covered by the tribesmen mentioned in the book seem to require superhuman effort. But apparently, they do it with effortless ease and even have fun while running.
ReplyDeleteI must try barefoot running sometime.
Only after our body breaks down we can suddenly see very clearly what we were doing wrong and what we must do to correct it :)
Unfortunately sad thing in Bangalore is all parks have concrete pathways which make it a bit difficult. Mud pathways are best for running bare foot. I hope once bare foot running community grows then we can ask government to do some changes. In our current political setup at best I can hope to see the changes in my lifetime :)
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