POSE method - Training - Runner's World

moor man

17/03/2004 at 08:20

I know that in the past there has been many a thread on the pose method of running. I have decided to give it a try due to too many injuries in the past itbs etc, I over pronate and have one leg 1/2 inch shorter than the other. Anyway I gave it a go on monday, did about 3.5 miles, and have been unable to walk properly on tuesday, and still having problems today due to v bad pains in calves. I know this should pass as obviously these muscles haven't been used so extensively before. Just after a bit of encouragement really, as I really want to give this method a go.

Chaos

17/03/2004 at 09:28

Hi moor man, As you suspect sore calves are a bit of a "feature" of Pose in the first few months and you do need to take it exceptionally easy at first. I don't know what pace you ran at, but I found I could really only do 20 minutes a time at first so 3.5 miles is in fact quite a bit.

Also have you been trying out the various drills in the DVD or book? I'd count these in your overall mileage as of course they are also working the calf muscles quite intensively.

Good ways of helping your legs recover and re-build more quickly would be a) sports massage and b) the cold water thing as per the "cold bathes?" thread further down this forum page.

Good luck with it anyway - there's a long Pose thread on the General forum which is a bit rambling now so I can understand you posting a new thread. Pose is working for quite a few of us now and we nearly all went through an initial soreness phase. In fact I overdid it and got a slight muscle tear so had to take a few weeks out, but all's well now.

moor man

17/03/2004 at 13:17

Thanks for the reply chaos, did the run in around 35 mins, so probably a little bit too much. Haven't bought the dvd or book, so for all I know I could be doing it wrong, but the way I look at it it must be better to land forefoot when running and use the natural shock absorbancy of muscles etc. As luck would have it I'm due to see my osteopath tomorrow night, so will be able to get a vigorous calf massage then. Going to go out tomorrow dinner and try the pose method again, I read a little bit more about it on the pose website yesterday.

Chaos

17/03/2004 at 13:59

Might be worth finding a short 30m stretch of path/grass to run barefoot on briefly as that can be an excellent way of finding how your body naturally wants to run forefoot. Particularly on a slightly gravelly path since you HAVE to run lightly or it's too painful!

moor man

17/03/2004 at 14:03

just printed off the running fast and injury free by gordon pirie. seems pretty much the same idea, definitley determined to give it a go. will probably have to get some racing flats though (have to convince the wife first)should be easier to give it a go with my inov8 mudrocs might give them a go this weekend.

Chaos

17/03/2004 at 15:28

I love the Mudrocs - the first time I used them was for 12 miles round all the muddiest bits of Richmond Park I could find & not a single blister. No fat heel cushioning getting in the way either as you've probably noticed.

Tmap

17/03/2004 at 16:12

moor man

Please take care before embracing this too enthusiastically. I got awful shin splints when I did it which put me out for nearly 3 weeks and screwed up my FLM.

I think the Pirie book is a great read and he has some good points to make. It's helped me to realise that leg speed is important rather than big aggressive strides and I made big improvements from that.

However, his notion that modern running shoes are all basically a waste of time and green flash plimsolls are all a real man really needs is all very well, but try running your normal training in racing flats and then see.

moor man

19/03/2004 at 14:36

just been for a run round the local park at work, tried using the mudrocs. I read a bit more about pose method on other websites, and tried the 180/min cadence, found I could keep this up for only 7 minutes (then my lungs were trying to pop out to have a look at what was happening!)I then did a few one minute runs at the 180, still quite sore with the calves, so will have to take it easy and steadily increase the time, came to the conclusion I must've been doing it completly wrong on monday. What sort of time scale should I be looking at getting back to my normal distances and times with running? (weekly mileage usually 30-35 miles, including a long run of 10-15)I didn't realise I was so unfit ref the burning lungs!!

Chaos

19/03/2004 at 15:28

To be on the safe side I'd say at least 6-8 weeks. To maintain the high cadence and form whilst trying not to bust a lung, you might find it helpful to focus on limiting how high you are picking your feet up. The higher the faster you go! To slow down you really need to have a very small range of motion and it will initially feel as if you are mincing it along a bit. (to be honest I don't worry too much about the cadence if going for a v.slow run; I just try to maintain the "pull" upwards element and a very light feeling on my feet). Perhaps imagine you are having to step on every paving slab.

another test of balance/pose is to run on a muddy slippery but flat field in slippery ordinary running shoes. If you're skidding around then it's likely that you are either not landing under your CoG or you are still pushing off the ground rather than pulling up. (Just don't blame me if you get all muddy!)

Forefeet Good

19/03/2004 at 15:44

"Most of the time we trained in our plimsolls. The plimsolls were smooth-soled, so we had to concentrate very hard on staying on our feet when running on slick or muddy ground. We became very strong as a result. The constant hill running, the mud and the smooth-soled shoes
meant that we had to develop efficient technique!"

Gordon Pirie

Chaos

19/03/2004 at 17:36

Nice one - I had forgotten that. It made life interesting when all the pavements were iced up earlier this year.

Running on gravelly surfaces also shows up any wasted energy in technique scuffing quite effectively.

Dipsy

21/03/2004 at 16:02

I haven't seen the DVD or read the book but I have recently switched to forefoot running. I did get sore calves at first but that was because I was staying up on my toes too much. Although you initially contact the ground with the ball of your foot, you need to relax your feet and allow your heel to come down (possibly even touching the ground lightly at first). Once I started to do this the calf pain pretty much dissappeared.

You are definitely right to persevere though, it is a much nicer way of running.

Have a go at the barefoot running as well, apart from anything it feels so much easier than running in big clumpy trainers (I haven't tried the running on gravel though, I think I might give that one a miss! Ouch!)

P.S Thought the Gordon Pirie book was brilliant, realised that everything you could do wrong regarding running, I was doing. I'm working hard now on putting it all right.

moor man

26/03/2004 at 14:38

owch! went out today for 20 mins, feels like shin splints returning on my left leg (haven't had them for about a year and a half)it's hard work not to go back to heel striking, as all I want to do is get out and run. The hardest part is that I haven't been out on my local moors running since about october last year (injuries, plus later stages of wifes pregnancy) but now I am able to go up and down all those lovely hills, though I've decided to change my running style so it looks as though I'll have to wait for ages!

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