Breaking the Wall

Hey Sasha. Hope all is well. Have a question for you: What are your thoughts about arms for long distance running. My brother Jonn says i have horrible form because I tend to swing my arms out and side to side as I run instead of forwards and backwards. Since I am bowlegged and overpronate and everything.. is this just the way my body compensates for poor biomechanics? Or should I be spending more time fixing this. How would you suggest I try to fix it? Maybe spend the last five minutes of every run thinking more about arms then legs? Usually I've just always "gone" and not worried but I don't know. Anything to prevent a possible injury?

Many world-class runners do something weird with their arms. My opinion is that the arms will do whatever it takes to atone for the sins of the legs and the core. So you can monitor your arms to estimate the degree of the transgression of the rest of the body.

I believe it is wrong to focus too much on one particular aspect of the form. Instead you should focus on the overall balance. Does it feel smooth and natural? Are you able to relax the muscles that are not working? Do you feel power in your step? Note that a form does not have to look good to be efficient. If you feel smooth and run fast, but it looks ugly to others, that's OK.

I tried to explain to Jonn that I run because it completes me and that I feel stronger than I ever have . He said my legs looked good when I was running but that my arms were everywhere. I have orthotics but I've noticed that just from using Vibrams my arch is getting stronger so that I don't go completely flatfoot when I walk around now (as documented by looking at wet footprints). Just curious about your gluten free regimen. How will you get all the fuel you need for your 100s of miles every week?

Thanks for the input Sasha. Appreciated much. I kind of knew that but didn't want to accept it. But please tell me what or how do you explain Paul's performance? He is a very good runner but how do you explain it considering his lack of long runs and overall base?

Benn:

There are still a lot of things you can eat that do not have gluten. Most grains, all fruits and vegetables, and nuts. The restriction is wheat, barley, and rye. There are very modest amounts of gluten in oats, but I will not worry about that and still eat them. I was eating oats in 2003 when I had my miraculous breakthrough.

Steve - something happened with Paul that we do not yet understand. The only thing I can say, though, with a measure of certainty is that he is able to run fast in spite of his training, not because of it. There was a newly appearing factor X that made up for the lack of training. As you have seen in your own case, duplicating his mileage did not duplicate his results.

If we can figure out what that factor X is I would love to bottle it and sell it. Or at least take advantage of it. the gluten free thing intrigues me. I am going to have to research that.

what exactly are water clogs anyway? minimal sandals or something?

Scott - they are cheap Crocs that could not be called Crocs due to trademark issues. I got them online from Target for $10 including shipping.