Tag Archives: UVA SPEED Clinic

Christmas gifts for the athlete you love (or yourself!)

So we are officially past one of the coolest days ever (12-12-12) and now 11 days away from when the man in the red suit flops down your chimney to bring joy to all the good little boys and girls. Those of you much better than I are likely done your Christmas shopping. But if you are like me, and still haven’t picked out any presents for your wife (or other person you care about), I’d like to offer a few suggestions. If someone you love is looking for an edge, wants to improve their skills, and is looking to blow their inner athlete wide open – then look no further……

#1 – Rocker Board.
You’ll notice a common theme here. All of the tools (toys) listed here are designed to help you improve balance and proprioception. These skills carry over in spades to all your athletic persuits: running, cycling, skiing, surfing, climbing, kiteboarding, football, basketball, tennis, and possibly even bowling. Rocker boards are a great tool to teach you how to stabilize your foot and ankle. Hard unstable surfaces provide an optimal training environment to improve you. You should look for a board that only rocks in one direction (thus the name rocker board). Many folks also make boards that wobble and spin in all directions (called wobble boards). Both have their place, but when it comes to training the foot and lower leg, I’m a big fan of the former. These are sold in many places. If you are looking for suggestions, I typically direct people over to sportssmith.net because they have the cheapest one I’ve found: $29.99.

#2: Surfing in your living room – meet the Si-Board.

So you’ve mastered basic balance skills, and are looking to quite possibly have as much fun as possible while under your roof? Look no further than the Si-Board. Sure the Indo Board is cool, but this thing is in a class by itself. I have one and absolutely love it. Its so much fun! Its not one of those things you’ll say “oh I have to make time to work on my balance……” Its so engaging that you may find yourself taking time away from other things! Your feet and hip stabilizers will get a workout like nothing else. They are pretty $$$$. I bought the DIY creator kit for cheap, and in 45 min was “surfing” in my living room. In my mind, if you are an athlete, you should have one of these. Period.

#3: Surfing down the pavement –> Longboard.

Presents are all about fun right? Buying a long board was one of the best decisions I made. Its not like hucking off the loading docks like we all did when we were 12. This is all about the flow. It’s great to carve slalom turns down the hill – almost as much fun as skiing or snowboarding. And once you learn to “pump it” you can fly. I can roll miles down the road without pushing at all. I guess some people might say its a great workout, but its so much fun I’d do it even if balance skills didn’t translate into other sports. What board to get? wow – there are hundreds of options out there. Personally, I’ve got a Original Pintail 40. I bought it because it has springs instead of bushings. This makes it easy to rail turns at low speed and a bit tougher to control at high speeds, but lets’ face it: Most of us aren’t looking to hit 50 mph down a mountain while slamming a RedBull. Only warning I’d offer is this: you may find yourself longboarding more and doing your typical sport a bit less!

#4: a book? Maybe a book called Anatomy for Runners! Its by far the cheapest thing on this list, and quite possibly the most valuable. I’ve spent many years of my life teaching. I’ve taught at UVA and continue to teach around the US. You’ll be surprised what people are capable of when you give them the knowledge to succeed. That was the goal behind my book. Its a way to give you information to help you hit your goals this season and beyond. Sure its slanted towards runners, but about 80% of the information in there applies to other endurance and strength and power sports as well.

If you are looking at the equipment above and thinking “that’s a bit high level for me- no way”……let’s put something out there. Blowing past your comfort zone is the only way you’ll ever make jumps to the next level in your performance. And yes, I’ve put “old folks” on these with tons of success. Sure you should be careful when you are learning, but I will caution you that liberal use of #2 and 3 above just might result in fun!

Disclaimer for the people who think I’m funding my retirement with these recommendations. I personally bought the Si-board starter kit and my Original Longboard (in fact I bought a second one too!), and my clinic purchased the rocker board form Sports Smith. These folks have no idea that I am writing this, and I’m getting absolutely nothing in return.

Well, with the legal mumbo jumbo out of the way, Happy Shopping, and Happy Holidaze!!!

And if you’d like to re-live a little Christmas story from last year, check out how Climate change is impacting reindeer training.

Class in session! Upcoming Talks for Runners, Coaches, and Clinicians

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One of my favorite things is teaching. Sure I like the human body and what its capable of, but more importantly, I like the challenge of trying to teach average-Joe runner, their college coach, and their physicians and therapists. Each of these groups has a different education, different background, and different expectations, but they all want to learn to be better. Its my hope that I can offer some specific help to all of them.

I went to a class on teaching once, and learned a thing or 5000 about how we absorb and interpret information. To really enable someone to learn, you had to challenge the student to the point that their previous thought process is shattered. By poking holes in what we think, and replacing them with what we know, your and frame of understanding is shifted forever. Its my job to get you to think critically, so that you can think for yourself.

Since I get lots of people asking when my next talk is, I thought I’d share a few upcoming events in case folks were interested. Always good to cram more stuff in you brain.

Wed Dec 5th, 2013: The Running Event in Austin, TX – the annual conference for the Independent Running Retailer Association. Saucony is gracious enough to bring me in to discuss the mechanics of running. The more your local running retail staff knows about running the more they’ll be able to help you. I’ll also be doing book signings if anyone needs stocking stuffer.

Jan 20-21st, 2013: The Speed Summit in Morristown, NJ, an official USATF Level 3 Coaching Education Seminar. Want to save a few bucks? During checkout, type in “Dicharry” in the code box and you’ll save $10. Also if you print out the form and mail it in, you’ll also save an extra $9 dollar processing fee. I’ll be giving two talks: “How to prepare the body for optimal speed and strength training” and “How to screen for zebras in a field of horses.” But enough about me though….there are some major heavy hitters speaking. I’m really looking forward to this event.

Feb 23rd-24th, 2013: The Running Summit in Costa Mesa, CA, an official USATF Level 3 Coaching Education Seminar. And if you decide to attend, type in “Jay” in the code box during your checkout and you’ll save $10 dollars. An impressive weekend of discussion from some of the country’s most prominent coaches. As for me, I’ll be giving two talks: “Stretching, Strengthening, and Screening: Answers to questions to help your runners run” and “How shoes impact your form and how your form impact your shoes”

March 8-9th, 2013: The 10th Annual UVA Running Medicine Conference: From the Lab to the Clinic. This one really is near and dear to me. This started as a vision a decade ago when Founding-board members Dr. Robert Wilder, Eric Magrum, and myself came together to see what would happen if we had the first running-only medical education conference. Well, what began with 50 people mushroomed to over 240 of the most passionate running-specific healthcare providers in North America gathering to discuss better care for their patients. Its our 10th year! Thanks to all of you for your support over the years as we aim to give you the best experience possible. I’ll present “What to expect when you’re expecting: how clinical lab measures translate to gait.” But don’t come just for my talk! We’ve got a host of talented presenters, including the one and only Dr. Rodger Kram from CU-Boulder. Whenever I get some great brainwave creep into my head that I think is new, I’ll research it and sure enough, Dr Kram already found it out years ago. He’s brilliant and an amazing presenter that we are luck to have. And yes -there is a lab session yet again on Saturday and space is limited. Check out the link for full content.

April 19th and 20th: Care for the Injured Cyclist in Ann Arbor, MI. Yes, time to switch gears – literally. We’ll delve into the finer points of bike fit from both the performance and injury aspect, discuss how cycling contributes to chronic problems, and cover novel ways to improve on-the-bike stabilization and technique drills for efficiency. Don’t have the reg link for this one yet, but I’ll post it when I do.

Whew. that’s a lot for now. And somewhere in here, I need to fit in a ski trip!

Hope to see you in class.

Chevy Tahoe or a Mini Cooper? A tip on running shoe selection.

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You are about to leave your house and have the keys to both your cars in your hand. Which do you take?

Today, you have to drive through town town to get some groceries, and then to the mall. Its a slow drive on neighborhood streets to the freeway. Your SUV is comfortable, affords a good view of the road, and has lots of room for the stuff you are going to buy. Given the fact that SUV’s account for huge number of sales in the US, the public agrees this is a logical choice.

OK – its the weekend. You are going to flee the city and head up to the cabin. Its a really twisty backcountry mountain road. Turn after turn, its hard to even maintain the posted speed limit. Do you select the SUV that ensures you need to slow down due to body roll, or do you take the sports car? The sports car is lighter, lower, and has a firmer suspension. It was designed for these very conditions. While a stiffer suspension may be less comfortable driving through the burbs, the improved “road feel” you get with the sports car helps you drive better at speed through more challenging roads.

Time to go shoe shopping! You ask the salesman to pull two pairs of shoes for you. The first feels like a cloud at first step. It feels like you could stand around in them for hours. Your quick run test on the sidewalk in front the shop confirms that same cushy marshmallow feel during your run. Going back inside, you slip on shoe #2. It feels comfortable, but is much firmer. It didn’t grab you at first step as you walked around the store, but when you repeated your short demo run outside, it felt pretty much like the shoe wasn’t even there. The firmer feel felt a bit more responsive.

What running shoe should you buy?

Well, the marketing research is clear. People buy shoes b/c of 1) color, and 2) “first feel”. First feel is that first step you take. You know that sense of walking on a cloud…..the same feeling that made you think you could stand around in them for hours? Well, that doesn’t have anything to do with running shoe selection. Running is not standing. When you stand, you have half your body weight split between each foot. The total load on each each leg is about half your body weight. When you walk, sometimes you have two feet on the ground, and sometimes you have one foot down on the ground. So at the most, you’d have your full body weight on one leg, and at the least, it would be split between both legs. And when you are walking, your feet are on the ground for a long time. If you need to “micro-correct” your muscles to stabilize your body, you’ve got time to do so.

Running isn’t standing. And its not walking. During running, your foot is only on the ground for a very short time: The average runner moving at 7.2 mph is on the ground for only .17 seconds. Decisions on stability need to happen very very quickly, faster than you can actually think about them. And when running, there is no double leg contact. You are either sailing through the air, or in contact with a single leg. That single leg must not only support your full body weight, but about 2.5x’s your body weight.

So what “car” do you pick? Well, lets look at hundreds of research articles on foot and ankle balance. Almost every single article says that you have a harder time balancing and stabilizing when on a cushioned surface. On marshmallow-cushy surfaces, the muscles that control your foot and ankle kick on too late and not enough to keep things under control. So if you are going to rally around a twisty mountain mountain road, the stiffer suspension on the Mini Cooper gives you better traction and feel. When running, a firmer feeling shoe provides a stiffer surface for the muscles in your foot and ankle to support your body. Said very simply: the foot works better when on a firmer surface.

So do yourself a favor. Go to the store. Try on your shoes. Obviously you’ll stand, and then walk outside or over to the treadmill. But resist the urge to make an impression on the shoe until you are actually running. Of course you should buy a pair that feels comfortable! But most of us are in shoes too soft and squishy to be running fast. Pick the right car for your drive, and the right shoe for your run. Running comfort, not walking comfort, should be key.

any pearls for the aging runner?

Do runners with a ball “get it” more than runners?

South by SouthWest Festival: When Biomechanics Attack

Are you ready for minimal?

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Looking to get into “less” shoe? Don’t understand why you need to make some changes in your body to help this process? Looking for some help moving towards something new? Check out this month’s issue of Running Times to check out an article I wrote with my colleague, Dr Mark Cucuzzella, on a smooth and successful transition to minimal running shoes.

And if you’d like to see the print word come to life, check out the video “are you ready for minimal” by yours truly on the www.runningtimes.com homepage. Also on their youtube channel here.

When the Big Man in Red calls, you have to be ready

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Thought I’d share this with you guys, because it’s a bit different than most of the cases I see here in the lab on a daily basis. So the phone rang on today. The caller ID just said “North Pole” – not knowing what to expect, I picked up and surprisingly spoke to Ms Claus! She spoke very frantically. Santa was overheard in the background, and did not sound jolly. One of their athletes was down for the count less than one week before the big day, and they were in serious need of our services. ASAP. Rudolph is suffering from Achilles pain, and can’t fly at race pace. At his current speeds, they’ll be about 8.5 hrs behind Christmas-Eve night delivery schedule. Kids on all sides of the world should all be able to wake up to their loot. Running late is not an option.

Seems like all this global warming has taken its toll on a number of fronts. Yes, its hotter, and more of you are driving Prius’s (or is that Priui???), and sea level is rising – but folks, reality is now staring you in the face…. and its taking your Christmas presents with it. Typically, the reindeer wind up their training volume when the snow starts to fall in the end of October. This year, October saw record high temperatures. Instead of training, the reindeer were sunning themselves at the lake. A typical week in October looks like this:

Sunday: light 6 hr hike through the woods
Monday: 8-mile Hill repeats (about 4,000 ft per climb) x 12 reps
Tuesday: AM Speed work: 10 x 1.5 miles, all negative split. PM workout: easy 5-mile flight
Wednesday: Flight training: Circumnavigation of Arctic circle x 3. 1st and 3rd easy, middle rep at tempo pace.
Thursday: Weighted sled training: 3.5 metric tons for 6 miles, 2.5 tons for 4 miles, 1.5 miles for 2 miles at 90% VO2
Friday: easy run to Canada and back, with 1 hr of fartlek
Saturday: Tempo intensity, all flight – equator and back. Goal time is around 2 hrs.

The Elves in the training room had to be pulled out to help with some last minute Xbox orders, and they are understaffed. So Donner and Blitzen volunteered to get Rudolph down here within 2.5 hours The made it in 2:10. For starters, Rudolph is super nice – a bit too much on the Type-A sometimes, but I guess its that kind of work mentality that gets you to lead the sleigh year after year. He said this is the first time he has been injured. He even did weekly jogs sans horseshoes in the early summer after reading “Born to Run”, but he thought it was the sudden ramp up in volume that really got him.

Head Elf stretches Rudolph after last week

So, we did what we normally do. Got some markers on Rudolph and threw him on the treadmill. Results? Well, Rudolph has some serious imbalances going on. Pretty weak stabilization of his right rear ankle, and some inflammation of his bursae seem to be the culprit here. But the real issue was his weak right hip. Failure to drive off with his hip was actually increasing the stress on the achilles. Using data on our force-measuring treadmill, we cued him to use more of his glutes to stabilize his hip. We fit him for some minimal horseshoes to reduce the lever arm on his ankle. Lastly, we gave him some self-mobilizations he could do on the rooftops to keep him supple throughout the night. So how’d it go? Well, here’s hoping that all of you have something special under the tree on Christmas morning…..on time. Happy Holidaze!!!!

one leg under the mistletoe

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My good friend, Dr Mark Cucuzzella, did a nice write up from some of our work on the Natural Running Center site here (of which I am an advisory board member).

Why? Well – you can’t change your arch height -and don’t need to. There is no evidence to show that static arch height really makes a difference since passive structural joint position gets throw out the window when doing something active like running. My friend Pete Larson sums this up nicely here on his infamous runblogger.com (which just make Outside magazines list of Top 10 Sports blogs – nice Pete!

Its high time to dismiss the notion that shoes can “stop” pronation don’t you think? Because there is no evidence to show that they do. This entire concept should go the way of pet rocks, stonewashed jeans, and shoulder pads. What’s important are the muscles, and they can be trained to keep your foot position in check as you run.

Maybe you should practice standing on one foot under the mistletoe this weekend? Or maybe just binge on eggnog. Merry christmas everyone !!!

Behind the Scenes

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If you’ve read our blog in the past, you’ve seen our findings on successful transitions to minimal and barefoot running. Running Times magazine approached myself and Dr Mark Cucuzzella to write a piece for the upcoming April edition. Lots of good wisdom, pics, and video to come……. But that has nothing to do with why this post is cool.

Do you ever wonder what it takes to get those cool cover shots you see on all the mags? Perfect lighting, perfect smiles, perfectly trained runner’s bodies lightless treading through the viewfinder…. Likely with a full hair and make-up team, and a full catered spread for lunch….. Well, I’m here to tell you otherwise. All you need is:

1 fast career runner ( something like 25 years of marathons under 2:45, PR of 2:24)

A subaru with a pilot, flash operator, One closed downhill subdivision road, and our fearless cameraman, Joel Wolpert. Here’s Joel at almost 20 mph downhill on my longboard. It’s rain/misting and slick as anything. Notice he’s focused on the shot, not the road. That my friends, is zen.

Here’s to all of you and your inner paparazzi !

Jay Dicharry's Website, An Athlete's Body

Jay Dicharry, physical therapist and biomechanist