Runners, joggers, and road warriors. If you want to run fast or run far you can't ignore the half-ton elephant in your shoe.
You've heard of the elephant in the room? The unspoken unavoidable beast that's going to get you in trouble.
Here's the unspoken elephant that can crush your running dreams.
When running you can put 8 times your bodyweight through your big toe joints every stride. Even if you're on the slim side there's still a huge amount of work being done by your big toes.
If you're ignoring this elephant in your shoes there's a good chance you'll be running into your podiatrist rather than a PB.
But it doesn't have to be that way.
Here's what you can do.
Shoes maketh the marathon runner
Barefoot is out. Carbon plated super shoes are in.
Take a look at what the pros are wearing when they run far and fast. Gone are the days of barefoot running and flexible soles. When modern day marvels need to race fast they reduce the amount of work their big toes have to do by using shoes with thick soles and stiff carbon plates.
If it works for more than 95% of elite level runners and rules are having to be changed because of these super shoes, we're onto something.
The right pair of shoes for your feet gets the elephant off your toes and out onto the sole of the shoe.
Train your elephant
Mahouts train and live alongside their elephants achieving more than what humans could alone.
So if you have a half ton elephant bending through your big toe every stride, you can train it to work with you, rather than against you.
Your big toe prefers to bend up and down rather than sideways or in circular movements. You have extra bones, muscles and tendons to get the most out of it moving up and down.
Training your body to push through your big toe rather than off the side puts the elephant straight onto the areas where able to handle them. This means fewer injuries and efficient running.
Acknowledge your elephant and you can run further and faster
Wearing the right shoes and training up your feet can be your pathway to hit your PBs and running goals whilst avoiding the podiatrists office with your injuries.
Happy running