An intro to Newton Running

A couple of weekends ago I went to the Multisport Expo held over at MIT and attended a seminar on running form and biomechanics.   The talk was led by the co-founder of Newton Running Danny Abshire, Ian Adamson and Dr. Mark (I think this was his name?  I wasn't taking notes...  oops).   I haven't done reading on barefoot/chi/pose running styles, but apparently the idea of Newton running is similar.  That is, to run with a more natural footstrike.

What is a natural footstrike?   To get this idea, they suggesting taking off your shoes and trying to run.   Should you go and try this, you would notice that your footstrike is on your mid or forefoot.  Modern shoes have a heel lift (which are not actually beneficial for running) and are highly cushioned.  This promotes heel striking and by providing so much cushion, prevents feet from feeling the ground and weakens the foot/leg.   Hm, interesting...  go on.

Newton Running shoes have been designed to encourage a more natural running and allow you to land on your mid/forefoot safely.  While they mimic barefoot styles of running, they provide the right type of cushioning to enhance shock absorption and promote proper running form.

Now, if I had never had issues running, I wouldn't have even been at the seminar, let alone be intrigued by what they had to say.    But I've always had issues with running and alignment, various muscle tightness and aches that can't be explained.   For the past two years I haven't been able to manage more than 10-15miles in a week (which isn't necessarily a goal, but an observation).   I knew that something was still not quite right.

There's more science behind the shoe that you should take a look at if you're interested, especially their Action/Release Technology (based on Newton's 3rd law of motion) that's supposed to absorb and return energy back to you.    There's also a ton of information in this post (including the comments), and I'm sure much more elsewhere.

I would be remiss to not mention more about proper running form.   Newton has a lot of great videos on the topic, I'd recommend starting out there.   The idea is to land with your weight centered over your body mass (under the hips).   Instead of long strides and muscling through your stride, better form comes from short strides and quick leg turnover (or cadence).  Illustrated much better in the videos, you want a slight forward bend and to think lifting your foot off the ground at your hips instead of pushing off.    Does that make sense?

Why am I telling you all of this?   Well, I ended up getting fitted for a pair of Newton running shoes and I have 30 days to try them out.   Will they work?   I have no idea!   I was impressed right away at how they corrected my alignment, to show you this I learned how to use the timer on my camera!  In the image below, my feet are hip-width apart and I'm bending my knees, sort of going to a squat.  Barefoot you can see my knees go in, and my heels roll inward, causing my arches to collapse (ouch).  You can see how that is corrected in the Newtons (w/o orthotics), and I've included the shoes I'm currently running in (w/current orthotics)

(l to r):  barefoot, Newtons, Asics Nimbus w/eSoles

I'm going to follow their advice, starting out slow, running every other day and focusing on form.   We'll see how it goes, and I'll be back with weekly recaps to see if these shoes can work for me, or if they won't.   I have already talked to someone a Newton about my orthotics, and I'll have to try it out to determine whether or not I should still use them.   Remember, I'm not a doctor (well, that kind of doctor ;)), and am not telling you to go run barefoot!   I have not read all the research, and these ideas I'm sharing are not my own, I am simply sharing my experiences as I try out something new.

Let me know if you have any comments or questions, I can try to answer or at least point you in the right direction!   Have you tried barefoot/chi/pose running??

**Just so you know, I purchased these with my own $$ and will follow with weekly reviews based solely on my experiences! **

Dinner on the Table

A man of my acquaintance turned near bankruptcy into near billions. He works all the time. He calls his wife all the time, tells her he loves her all the time. There's not a second of the day she doesn't know where he is and what he's doing.

She receives Aston Martins on Valentine's Day. She takes summers in Bermuda. She writes cheques (big cheques) to any dopey political or social cause she wants.

But what she never does is have a hot meal waiting for her husband when he gets home after an eighteen hour day.

He orders in pizza. Or he stops for KFC. Or he just goes without.

The man licks her arse and grills her cheese, but she can't so much as fry him an egg. But I'm the only one unhappy about it.




Fried eggs and bacon from here [link]

Dental Nurse Daydream

Having spent all last week obsessing over a cracked tooth, I was reminded again of the peculiar relationship the (generally) women assistants/nurses/hygienists have with (oftentimes) male dentists. Lust can blossom over a gaping jaw and a whining drill, apparently.

The time I became aware of something more than professional courtesy between two these trained specialists was in my childhood. Dr Begley was the family dentist, a mild-mannered man with a moustache and an acerbic wit. Now I see that the jokes weren't for my benefit - they were for Louise, his beautiful blonde assistant.

I loved Louise, but I think Dr Begley was getting all the action. Plus I was only ten. She actually fit the mould of the chaste-but-slutty nurse, with the white dress, white hose and full bob. Maybe she modelled for bedroom attire catalogues in her spare time. In any case, she was all that and a bag of chips, and I think it wasn't coincidental that there was always a gap between the Doctor's appointments. Never did I ever see a patient waiting after me, nor someone limping out, sore and pale before me.

It's a guess, of course, but one can pick up much from subtle looks between man and woman when their faces are six inches away.

A dualistic nature pertains to these dental-office relationships. Not only does the competence of the assistant/nurse/hygienist need to be there, but they are also completely subservient to the god-dentist. My question is whether this extends to their romantic lives as well, or whether the demure woman turns domme when the last patient leaves for the day.






Nurse romance cover from here [link]

Updates

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!  Temperatures dropped here again so I stayed inside and got some work done on my blog...  what do you think??   Props to blogger for their updates, I was able to easily add some more columns to my layout and pages quite easily.

I finally got around to archiving my recipes (check the Cook tab up top).  Holy heck, have i done alot of cooking since I started this blog!!  Crazy.  And my fingers hurt from all this clicking and copying and pasting :/   I included not only my own, but links to original recipes that I've tried and talked about, so go check it out!  Hopefully this will be helpful for everyone? 

I also setup a page for triathlon-themed posts, so check out there for tips if you're interested in getting started!  Hopefully I'll pick out races for this year soon and post them there as well.  Any feedback on what you do/don't like with the new layout, or suggestions for how to improve the blog is more than welcome!

One note on some of my old posts...  I didn't realize that photos were stored in Picassa, and when you delete them from Picassa, they're gone.  Oops.  I have also deleted my trash since then, so I think they're gone for good.  It's (somewhat) ok since they were bad pictures, but I need to fix the posts.

One last thing before I get back to watching my alma mater kick some hockey booty...    it's pretty exciting, too ;)   I'm going to Italy this summer!!!   Who's got advice on where to go or travel tips??  I've got no plans as of yet besides a friend's wedding, so please hit me up with your favorite spots!

Thanks in advance, and enjoy the rest of the weekend :)  When my fingers rest up, I'll be typing up my first post on Newton Running.

All Single NYC Girls...

...and everyone else must read Snaf's post today. It's brilliant. [Here.]

She reviews Julie Klausner's book, thereby kicking off the Blogger Critics Network in fine style. Just as you'd expect of a sassy NYC dater.

The idea is for we bloggers to review books of interest to us: In our case, it's books about dating, sex and relationships.

My original review is here. (I Don't Care About Your Band by Julie Klausner)[link]




Photo of typical NYC single girl from here. [link]

Brussels and Breakfast

I'm (supposed to be) working on a presentation for work so I haven't spent much time in the kitchen (except to roast the butternut squash I ate for dinner... ), but I can point you to two good recipes! I mentioned that I had the best brussels sprouts EVER at the Foodbuzz Festival. Well, Chef Dennis Lee was gracious enough to share the recipe!! You can find it here, or check out an awesome step-by-step version at We Are Not Martha. I didn't find all of the appropriate ingredients, but I came close ;) Still a winner, and worth checking out your local markets!

Brussels Sprouts to die for ;)

The second was a breakfast cake I made while my parents were in town, flavored by the last of my Coconut Chai tea. Smelled great in the oven, and I think they enjoyed it as part of their breakfast! (edited to add: Mom and Dad added their thoughts in the comments below!) You can find the recipe here.

Coconut Chai Breakfast Cake

I'm going to mix it up a bit in the upcoming weeks, to talk a little bit about these. Stay tuned!

Siege

A marriage or LTR might be done, over, cooked and stinking up the joint, but no-one is allowed to say so until one or other of the participants says it first.

This public defense of the widely held private opinion is the same mentality that those under siege take. Stalingrad in World War II springs to mind, or Boston in 1775/6.

Gradually the food runs short, so less and less to eat becomes acceptable. (Marriage equivalent: progressively less communication.)

Gradually the fuel runs short, so colder days and nights are taken for granted. (Marriage equivalent: sex becomes less frequent, more perfunctory.)

Gradually the participants daydream about better times, willing the reality to be different. (Marriage equivalent: resorting to drink or drugs or anonymous sex outside the relationship.)

To outside observers this is as obvious as Mick Jagger's lips. We know what's happening in the lives of those close to us nearly as soon as they do, and acknowledge it (out of their hearing) much sooner.

No-one outside a relationship can ever know all the ins-and-outs, but dispassionate onlookers have the advantage of perspective. Nature apparently sets us up to defend indefensible positions - or nearly indefensible, because although the Americans won the siege of Boston, the Germans failed to take Stalingrad. But do you really want to go through that kind of epic horror?[link]





Revolutionary War spy pic from here [link]