The Frugal Triathlete

The first thing a new triathlete gets is a list of equipment needed to start training, which typically includes the following (minor generic items and consumables have been left off):

General Stuff:

• TCSD Membership (required to get discounts from club sponsors)
• TCSD timing chip (highly recommended: helps for the free club races)
• Tri-kit (two-piece top/shorts pair) or trisuit (one-piece) (highly recommended)
• Sports GPS (monitor and track run/bike/swim, recommended)
• Heart monitor (recommended if no Sports GPS)
• Gear bag (recommended) or Transition bag (optional)

Run Stuff:

• Running shoes (highly recommended if you don't go barefoot)
• Elastic laces (recommended)
• Race belt (recommended)
• Fuel belt (optional)
• Hydration pack (optional)

Swim Stuff:

• Triathlon swimming wetsuit (long-sleeved and/or sleeveless, highly recommended)
• Latex swim cap (freely available)
• BodyGlide and/or TriSlide (skin/wetsuit lubricant, highly recommended)
• Open-water swim goggles (highly recommended)
• Nose/ear plugs (as needed)
• Neoprene swim cap (recommended for cold swim conditions)
• Swim booties (recommended for cold swim conditions)
• Swim suit (optional)
• Pull buoy (optional)

Bike Stuff:

• Road bike (required for beginners)
• Bike shoes (highly recommended)
• Tri/TT bike (optional)
• Tri-shoes (optional)
• Clipless (cleat) pedals (highly recommended)
• Clip-on aero bars for road bike (optional)
• Bike computer (recommended if no Sports GPS)
• Spare tire (recommended)
• Spare tubes (highly recommended)
• Chain lube (required)
• Tube repair kit (highly recommended)
• Tire levers (if using clinchers, highly recommended)
• Sew-up glue (if using sew-up tires - not for beginners!)
• Floor pump (required)
• Hand pump and/or CO2 inflater + cylinders (highly recommended)
• Allen wrenches (highly recommended)
• Under-seat tool bag or tail mount (highly recommended)
• Food box ('speed/bento box', recommended)
• Water bottles and cages (at least 1 of each highly recommended)

Whew! If you walk into local stores and try to buy all of the required and highly-recommended items above, it is impossible to get minimally 'decent' equipment for less than $2000, even if you make full use of all available TCSD discounts. Even $3000 would still be near the low end. I've seen new triathletes with money to burn easily spend $5000. And there is no limit: Some triathlon addicts spend over $10,000 on their gear!

There is an important saying in triathlon, something I call the 'Comfort Rule': Everything that touches your body must be comfortable. And, unfortunately, low-end gear is seldom comfortable.

Does this mean you should take on debt or liquidate a large chunk of your savings just to get into triathlon? What can you do if your budget is more in the range of around $1000? What trade-offs are available? Let's look at the more expensive items one at a time.

First, the bike: The obvious cost-saving measure would be to get a good used bike. When it comes to value, a good used bike will have higher-quality components than a low-end new bike. The 'Comfort Rule' above absolutely applies, which means you must get a bike that fits you, and is comfortable to ride for hours at a time.

What does it mean for a bike to 'fit' you? It means the fundamental dimensions of the bike frame, stem, bars and seat-post are compatible with your body, and the bike bars and seat have been adjusted to maximize your riding comfort, power and efficiency. Getting all this done is called a 'bike fit'. When buying a new bike from a local bike shop, a bike fit is included in the cost of the bike. It is not uncommon for the stem to have to be replaced as part of the bike fit process, and occasionally even the seat-post and/or bars.

If you choose to get a used bike, plan to spend additional money for a good bike fit at your local bike shop. However, most bike fits are done after the bike is purchased. How can you tell if a specific used bike will fit you before you buy it? I know of only one solution to this problem: Buy your bike fit first, then go shopping for your used bike!

Unfortunately, there are very few bike shops in the nation that will sell you a bike fit without either buying a bike from them or already owning a bike. Fortunately, we have one bike shop in San Diego that provides this service as a separate product: TCSD sponsor Moment Cycle Sport in Point Loma offers their 'Fit First' service, which puts you on a 'fit bike' that is adjusted until a good fit is obtained. A set of numbers describing the fit are given to you at the end, along with a thorough explanation. They charge about $200 for this service, though they do offer a substantial discount to TCSD members. (It is possible that other bike shops will provide a similar service in the near future, so be sure to ask around.)

So, you got your bike fit numbers, and now you're ready to buy a good used bike. The first place to shop is the TCSD Classified Ads, on the TCSD website. I've seen many truly excellent bikes listed there for around $400. Then check Craigslist, eBay (local only), local bike club sites, and the classified listings at local newspaper sites. You should be able to quickly find a decent bike that's within your budget. The goal is not to get 'the perfect bike', but instead to get a bike that won't hinder your first year of triathlon training and racing. The good thing about a $400 bike is that you'll probably be able to sell it in a year for the same price you paid, assuming you take good care of it. Think of it as a only a 'first bike', and not a lifetime commitment.

After you buy your bike, you may be able to adjust it to your fit numbers on your own, though if you have problems, a local bike shop may make the adjustments for a small fee (or possibly for free).

Now, I've talked only about getting a road bike. You could get a tri/TT bike, but that is certainly not recommended starting out, though you may well want to get one eventually as a second bike.

A side note: When shopping for used triathlon gear, it very much matters when you shop! Many triathletes get the urge to upgrade in the late winter or early spring, and will sell their old gear for whatever they can get in order to help fund their new gear. Another thing to keep in mind is to maximize the use of coupons, sales, and your TCSD discounts. There are several local vendors who, even though they are not TCSD sponsors, will still offer impressive discounts to TCSD members. And remember, REI annual member rebates are usually 8-10% of the price paid, so combining that with an REI sale can sometimes yield an unbeatable price.

So far we've spent under $200 for a bike fit, and about $400 for a decent used bike, for a total of $600 spent. Can we get everything else we need for just $400 more?

The next most expensive item is typically the swim wetsuit. A new one can range in price from $150 to $800. There certainly are used wetsuits available, but many of these will have some degree of damage that may be expensive to repair. Another option is to get a 'seconds' or 'demo' or 'return' wetsuit from a local manufacturer (of which there are at least 3 in San Diego, and at least 1 of them is a TCSD Sponsor). If you shop carefully, you should be able to find a quality wetsuit that fits very well for no more than $100. If you ask around, you may be able to get a perfectly serviceable wetsuit for free. I would recommend getting a long-sleeve wetsuit first, since sleeveless wetsuits can have several disadvantages for beginners.

One important note: Be sure to swim in your wetsuit before you buy it, or ensure you can return it. A wetsuit that fits well on land can have serious friction spots when worn in the water. Be sure to use BodyGlide around the neck when wearing a long-sleeve wetsuit. TCSD has a free Wetsuit Loaner Program (no link available) that lets you easily try many different wetsuits, and the Thursday evening TCSD Open Water Bay Swim clinic (see the TCSD Calendar) has its own inventory of free loaner wetsuits provided by clinic sponsor WetsuitRental.com.

Let's say you got lucky and found a comfortable wetsuit for free (it isn't really all that hard - just ask around on the TCSD email list), so we still about $400 left to spend.

The next most expensive must-have item brings us back to the bike: Bike shoes and pedals. It is almost impossible to find road shoes + pedals for less than $200 new, and tri-specific bike shoes and 'cool' pedals can add much more to the cost. Getting them used is difficult. And remember, the 'Comfort Rule' certainly applies here!

Fortunately, you can get new mountain bike (MTB) shoes + MTB clipless pedals (clone of Shimano SPD) for well under $100 (as low as $50 is you shop hard). Mechanically they work just as well as fancier road-specific shoes and pedals, and they even have some advantages for beginners. If you go this route, get MTB shoes with non-flexible soles that have laces with a single velcro strap over the instep (such as the Shimano MT31), then replace the laces with elastic laces. You will get most of the convenience and functionality of tri-shoes for a fraction of the price. Plus, the stationary spin bikes in many gyms are SPD-compatible.

That gets the total spent so far up near $700, leaving at least $300 to get everything else. If you shop carefully, you can get all the non-electronic items remaining on the list for under $300. For your apparel, be sure to check the TCSD Online Store, which has the best-looking and highest-quality stuff for great prices.

A note about electronics: This is one area where I urge beginners to either splurge a little, or have a serious talk with Santa. Rather than get a separate bike computer, heart monitor, pedometer and sports GPS, I'd recommend getting them combined in a single multi-sport unit. If you shop carefully, you can get a Garmin Forerunner 305 with heart monitor, bike pod, shoe pod (optional), and bike mount kit (which also includes a velcro wrist-band) all for under $300. Having this unit, and using its features as part of your training and racing, will pay significant dividends. And the bang-for-the-buck for this specific model is huge, since it can give you detailed performance data for all 3 sports: Run, bike and even swim.

So, if you do get the Garmin, then we've blown the $1000 budget. But you'll certainly be under $1500, even if you have to pay for your wetsuit.

Another important item to consider spending extra on is your bike saddle. This is where the 'Comfort Rule' really matters. If you have any discomfort or numbness after your first 10 hours of riding, consider getting an ISM Adamo Road saddle. It costs under $150, and even elite competitors use it. When I got mine, it changed everything for me.

Finally, a note about online shopping (other than at the TCSD Store): I'm against it, particularly for beginners. You will very much need the support and wisdom of local vendors, since you will have a million questions, need some fast returns, and quick service. They are well worth it, and deserve to be supported, especially if they are one of our amazing TCSD club sponsors! The only possible exception would be for the electronics.

Back in the game...

After replying to a post on the TCSD email list, I realized I hadn't posted here in a while. Here's the post:

I have a friend who is a strength and conditioning coach with whom we were doing some circuit training. One circuit being a dumbbell clean & jerk.

Well....i believe this was the motion that has now left me almost immobilized.

At work today only because i work in an office environment.

I have the SDIT this Sunday and this injury (one that has never happened before) could not have come at WORST time!

Last week of training will be severely hampered if not totally eliminated.

Have any Club Members had lower back strains / sprains ect....

How long were you on the mend and what recovery aids did you use, if any, to speed up the recovery time of this injury.

Thank in advance for any input.

My training has been the best it ever has and i was looking forward to one good final week, before my first International Distance Race Sunday!

And my reply:

I'm no medical professional, but I have learned a few things about my own back over the past year.

First, find out just what HAS happened to your back: It could be anything from a muscle strain (most common) to a damaged/displaced disc (especially if over 40), or a damaged vertebra (rarely). Go to a Sports Medicine MD for a diagnosis, and also be sure to stop by Rehab United for a FREE Injury Assessment.

For what follows, I'm assuming your back hurts all the time, even first thing in the morning. I'll also assume some motions are impossible for you due to back weakness, and other motions cause varying degrees of added pain.

Since muscle strain is a common factor to just about all back injuries, you may be treating that anyway, no matter what else may be wrong, possibly with a combination of physical therapy and muscle relaxants. My own experiences over the past year with a degenerated disc taught me a few things:

1. Don't wait to seek professional opinions! See your Sports MD and Rehab United immediately. Waiting increases the risk of further injury, and needlessly prolongs the pain. I waited over 4 months, hoping to adjust my training to take the load off my back. Dumbest thing I've ever done (well, that depends on who you ask).

2. There are some things that can help temporarily, but may NOT lead to any real recovery: Applying heat/cold, sports massage, very gentle stretching, and NSAIDs (aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, etc.). I used these, and the partial improvement I saw is what led me to delay diagnosis and treatment. Not smart! But do use them to help you "get by", but only until you do get your diagnosis.

3. Trying to "train around" a back injury is also of doubtful usefulness. I recommend you stop all running, biking and weight training until you get a diagnosis and training advice, though you may be able to continue swimming in the ocean or bay (avoid pool turns). After my initial injury, I spent months modifying my training, all of which simply made things worse and delayed my eventual recovery.


My current philosophy concerning fitness and competition is simple: I want to be doing this when I'm 80! Any injury or over-training that jeopardizes that goal gets corrected promptly and thoroughly.

My specific injury was a degenerated L5-S1 disc. The disc had been degenerating for a decade, but it became an issue only when my bike training reached new PRs. I was really hammering hard on the hills, and going faster than ever in aero. So when I started getting back pain, I naturally blamed my bike workouts. Turned out my flat-footed running was also a factor, and the two together did a double-whammy on my lowest disc and my back muscles.

The good news is that, once I was properly diagnosed, my recovery literally started with my first physical therapy session. After my therapy ended, I completely overhauled my training to minimize back stresses: First, I became a toe runner (I've got the calves to prove it). Second, I switched from my carbon princess to a TitanFlex (like switching from a hard-tail Harley to a SuperGlide), and I raised my bars 4 inches.

My expectation was that I would eventually compete again, but that I would be much slower than I was before (not that I was ever that fast). The reality has been surprisingly different! I'm now running at speeds I haven't seen in 25 years (though I'm still building my distance back up), and my bike endurance (comfort in the saddle) is better than before (though I'm still building power).

My new expectation is that my race times will become faster than ever! Strange but true: I never would have reached this place if my back had NOT failed. That failure led me to learn more about how my body really works, and to also learn how to use it better.

I also had a huge piece of Pure Luck: About 90% of those with my level of disc degeneration and pain get an immediate spinal fusion. I was a candidate for PT only because my core fitness permitted my back to take tons of punishment without allowing my spine to slip out of alignment. My Sports MD said my successful therapy and return to training will probably postpone my need for spinal fusion by 5 years. I'm hoping for 20.


'Nuf said: Take it easy, get to your Sports MD, and get a FREE Injury Assessment from Rehab United.

Hopefully, my next post won't be so long in coming...

Back Pain

Time to 'fess up: I've been having low-back pain since mid-August.  It is worst when getting up in the morning, and flares whenever I try to lift anything, including myself.  Even picking up a penny on the ground requires that I squat way down.  I can't even put on my pants standing up!

I can walk and sit without pain, but that's about it.  If I'm careful, I can exercise without pain.  But even the slightest mistake guarantees the pain will increase, if not immediately, then soon after the workout ends.

At first, I thought the back pain was due simply to all the additional time I'd been spending cycling in the aero position.  But cutting back on my bike time, then zeroing it, did not affect the pain at all.

I talked to a personal trainer, who recommended things not to do, activities and motions to avoid, to help prevent making it worse.  It hasn't gotten worse overall, but there are certainly good days and bad days.

I got several massages, and while they felt great and gave me temporary pain relief, they had no lasting effect.  But a massage therapist did recommend some changes to my body position when I sleep.  That did help reduce, but did not eliminate, the morning discomfort.

I met with a physical therapist, who recommended some simple stretches, mainly for the hamstring, to try to remove stress from the back.  No immediate change in the first couple weeks, but I'm sticking with them.

I saw my primary physician to get a referral to my sports medicine doctor, but he said that since I was pain-free for my day-to-day activities, my condition did not rise to the level of clinical significance, so there was no need for immediate treatment.  But he did give me a thorough physical to ensure my back pain wasn't a precursor to another condition.

The personal trainer did some research, and uncovered a surprise: Everyone experiences back pain sooner or later in life, and for many people, their back pain lacks a direct cause (such as injury, mis-use or over-use).  There isn't all that much known about back pain that lacks a clear and direct cause.  One fairly common factor is emotional/life stress, and I do have tons of stress in my life right now.

I should mention that when I was in college I had developed severe back spasms that sometimes kept me from walking upright, and that required medication to relieve.  I was scheduled for physical therapy after the spasms subsided, but it turned out not to be necessary.  Evidently, just turning off the spasms for a while was all that was needed for me to heal on my own.  For the next 25 years I had no significant back pain.

So I know what back spasms are, and I'm certain I don't have them now.  The current pain really feels like my back was over-fatigued, but my back hasn't responded to my efforts to eliminate all forms of back fatigue from my daily life.

Could stress be the main issue?  The timing is interesting, since the back pain arrived about 2 months after a major increase in the stress present in my life (about 7 months ago).

During this entire year, I had been carefully and steadily increasing my training load (mainly distance and time, not peak effort) in all 3 triathlon sports.  The only constant has been my strength training, which I have been doing for about 8 years now.

I have lost about 20 pounds during the past year, which I attribute not only to the higher training load, but also to significant improvements to my eating patterns (I'm not on a "diet").  Thanks to the Holidays, and my currently reduced training levels, 8 pounds of that loss has returned.  Not enough to be a strain on my back!

Most importantly, aside from my mystery back pain, I have otherwise been injury-free since starting triathlon: I have tailored my training with the long-view in mind, and have no desire to push myself hard enough to risk injury.  But I do want to see steady improvement in all areas, since I know I have lots of room to improve both my speed and endurance.

Fortunately, short runs and long swims still feel good (well, they don't make my back worse), so I do them both in moderation, being careful not to start a run or swim if I'm too fatigued or in pain, and I stop the moment I feel any new pain in my back.  And I'm still doing my strength training, modified to avoid loading up my back.

Cycling on the road is out, since I can't hold my back up, and my arms don't handle the extra load very well (hands go numb).  Worse is that I can't pedal anywhere near full power, since I need to use my back to get power to the pedals when I'm in the saddle.  I'd be more comfortable on the bike if I could sit vertically, but neither my road bike nor my hybrid bike supports that position.  All that leaves me with is cycling out of the saddle, which I can't do long enough to last a whole ride.  So, I haven't been cycling at all.

That's what I've been telling myself, at least.  But the simple truth is there is a way to get lots of biking in, sitting vertically, with plenty of time out of the seat: Spin classes.  For some unknown reason, I've been resisting going to class: I think I became spoiled by all the road riding I was doing.

Time for that to change!

Pain-Free Running, Part V

I promise not to mention either Mr. Bean or Pee-wee Herman in this post. Oops. Let's talk about arm swinging.

Is there a useful limit to arm swinging? A useful minimum? Should my arms be more bent, or more straight? It turns out, there is lots of discussion online about arm swinging. While everyone had an opinion, and some differed significantly, unlike the foot strike discussions, there was very little religious warfare. Bottom line, the arms should feel like they are doing work, and not just swinging passively.

I thought about what my arms did when hiking with poles, or alpine (cross-country) skiing. Sometimes I'm using my arms to push along with my legs (uphill and downhill), and other times my arms swing more freely to provide smoothness and stability (fast, flat conditions). Running shared all of those situations. How can/should my arms support my run?

I next did a series of test runs on a fairly flat road, varying only the swing of my arms, holding my elbows at 90 degrees while keeping my stride and cadence constant. It immediately became clear that if I wanted to use a heel-push and a short stride with a high cadence, I would have to swing my arms hard to smooth things out. And I had to swing them fast. The next runs explored how big an arc, and where the arc was centered (elbows more up in front, or more up in back).

I really wish I had started with the arms instead of the feet. Really. I clearly remember the first run I had when all the pieces started coming together. My arms were swinging like I was a Rock'em-Sock'em Robot. I tried swinging my arms as hard as I could, and found I was literally lifting myself off the ground, amplifying my heel-push, which made it much easier to run without a toe-push. A forceful arm swing could nicely balance the removal of the toe-push!

My level stride came together. Soon I had run 1 flat mile several times, with no foot or joint pain! This was really a magical moment, so I didn't look at how long it took to do each of those 1 mile runs. Success mattered far more than speed!

Next, I added very small hills. I'm pumping my arms hard on my flat run, and the first tiny hill approaches. Like hiking, I let my stride get shorter. But now my arms were swinging too much, so I had to shorten the swing as well, while still keeping the cadence the same. But going up hill needed more force, and my arms were doing less! So I dropped my hands slightly to add more inertia to each swing of my arms.

And I felt like I flew up that hill! It was the easiest uphill run I could ever recall. When I got to the top, I brought my elbows back to 90 degrees, increased my arm swing, lengthened my stride, and resumed my flat run. All at the same cadence. I felt like I had gears!

The mild downhill came next. Back in my earlier days, downhill running always gave me shin splints, and I never learned how to avoid them. It seemed clear that if lowering the hands helped uphill, raising them should help downhill. And I flew downhill. The best part? No sign of shin splints! I never tried to slow down (though I may have). I maintained cadence, and used my arms to adjust for the terrain.

I wish I could describe how I felt coming off that run. It was as if I had been touched by the Hand of God, and my crippled run was miraculously healed! Sure, I knew the work it took, but that's how it felt right then.

I did several more 1 mile runs over the coming weeks, and gradually increased my distance. I soon found that it was almost impossible for me to hold a 90 cadence past the first mile, but a slight drop to 85 worked fine. The best part was that I was soon covering 2 miles in under 20 minutes. I had gone from having no running at all, to having a sub-10:00 mile!

Of course, the next thing I did was go looking for another miracle: Sure, I could run on the flats, and uphill and downhill, but how fast could this new pace go?

One problem: When I'm already swinging my arms at an 85 cadence, with no easy way to increase it, what do I do to go faster? Clearly, I'd have to lengthen my stride. But wouldn't that change everything? Would the hard heel strike return? How would my arms compensate? Was I going to have to start all over again?

How to go faster? Well, there was that mysterious saying I had encountered earlier: "To run faster, lean forward!" So I leaned forward. And I went faster!

But what was really going on here? What changed? How did I do that?

Surprisingly, my arms already knew what to do, and they did it. When I leaned forward, my elbows moved back, maintaining my center of balance, but letting it shift forward just enough to match my slightly longer stride.

It turns out, this had happened to me before! When going uphill, I had leaned forward and my elbows had gone back. But I was so focused on the bend of my elbows and the shorter uphill stride, that I hadn't noticed that my elbows had changed were they were going!

That's about where I am today. I'm still doing my 2 mile run twice a week, though I've been adding in occasional longer runs: I did a 5 mile run 2 weeks ago, pain-free! My first in over 16 years.

I forgot to tell you how fast I went in my speed tests: My PR for my 2 mile run is 16 minutes flat. That's an 8:00 mile! However, my normal 2 mile run is consistently around 17 minutes, and is never slower than 18 minutes.

I can't believe it. Sixteen years ago I was running at a 7:30 pace with bad pain. Now, at age 53, I'm running at an 8:30 pace pain-free. Lose the pain, add 16 years, lose only a minute.

I'm OK with that. Because it means I'll be doing my first Olympic distance race next year, and a half-IM doesn't look impossible for the year after.

Yeah, I'm really, really, really OK with that.

Pain-Free Running, Part IV

Some of my favorite memories from my earlier running years center on "zoning-out" during long runs. This was different than the euphoric "runner's high", since for me that only happened after I broke through a wall of pain. My "zone" was more of a meditative place, where I could let my body do its thing, and my mind was free to look at everything happening around me. If I managed to zone-out during a 10K race, I knew I was running near peak efficiency, since any body problems would always keep me out of the zone.

My new long-distance swim skills had allowed me to experience a similar meditative feeling, but it wasn't quite the same, since it was more of a turning inward, where the running state was more outward. I realized I would dearly love to not only run again, but to have a stride that would work on "autopilot" and permit me to "zone out" and cruise through the miles.

My most recent attempts at shortening my stride, easing my foot impact, and increasing my cadence/turnover, were about as far from "zoning out" as I could imagine. But I was beginning to feel I may be on the right track.

I figured I needed to look at the whole picture, at what each part of my body was doing while I ran, and stop focusing exclusively on my feet and legs. Where am I holding my head? What are my shoulders doing? What is my spine doing? What are my arms doing?

One of the best web sites I found that took a similar whole-body view was Chi Running. No, I didn't buy the book, but what I gathered from online discussions helped me realize I may be on the right track. My new stride must involve my whole body, and poking at isolated pieces of the puzzle would no longer suffice.

I researched the parts of a stride, and how they fit together. I looked at my old stride, and tried to identify what was actually going on with it. I examined the strides of other runners to learn about the range of variations in running technique. It was tough going, since I was very suspicious that what I thought I was seeing may be completely different from what the runner was actually doing! I simply didn't know enough about how the human body moves, and I wasn't about to master body kinematics to figure it out.

I decided to change how I observed other runners. Instead of trying to figure out what all the pieces were doing, I'd first see which runners looked smooth and relaxed. If they weren't in pain and weren't flailing about, they probably had all their pieces working well together. I looked at both "natural" runners, and those who were heavy and/or old.

My online searches sometimes led me into interesting corners. At one point, I started looking up some running-specific terms I had previously stumbled across. The one that interested me most was: "To go faster, lean forward." That didn't make much sense to me, unless the goal was to land on your face. What does it really mean to "lean forward" while running? Was it just a psychological thing, to "think forward", or was there a real physical change involved?

I saw lots of videos and pictures online, but none of them made sense to me. Sure, the runner sometimes looked to be "leaning forward", but nobody explained how they stayed in balance! What happened to the center of gravity? Did the stride get longer to restore balance, or what? I was left with more questions than I had started with.

Not all the searches led to corners. There was lots of common advice when it came to the parts of a run. The most prevalent was: "Keep your head up." That made sense, since it would reduce stress on the neck and upper back. Something else also became clear: "Lean forward" did not mean tilting your head forward, for that would violate the "head up" rule.

I next looked at the core, the torso, from the hips to the shoulders. What was going on there? The fastest runners, and the smoothest runners (independent of speed), all ran with very little bend in the spine, and very little twisting of the hips relative to the shoulders. Those that did run with lots of twisting were generally quite young (in puberty or younger), or had unusual weight distribution around the body.

This was especially evident for heavier runners who had far more weight below the belt line than above: It seemed the upper body had to do lots of extra twisting to counter-balance the motion of the lower body. When I looked closer, however, it was clear that not all low-heavy runners had lots of twisting. Some had no twist at all, and it wasn't immediately clear to me why not. But what was clear to me was that those who did the least twisting tended to be the better/smoother/faster runners.

I also looked at bounce, but learned nothing from it. It seems that some runners bounce, and other runners don't, and both can be excellent runners. But I did notice that most short-stride runners looked as if they bounced more than long-stride runners. Perhaps they did have more up-and-down motion, but the short stride could have simply made it an optical illusion. Since I had no reliable way to measure bounce, I also set it aside.

OK. What did I think I had learned so far? Not that much: Head up. Minimize torso twist. Short stride. Heel push. Fast turnover. I didn't quite see what kind of stride I could assemble from those parts. All that was left to examine was the arms. What should my arms be doing?

Once again, I looked a bit closer at some of the basics online. Every site always said: "Swing your arms!". Well, I thought that was just too obvious: Only Mr. Bean and Pee-wee Herman could run without swinging their arms. No way was I going to run like that! So arm swinging did indeed seem way too obvious.

But what if I were to swing my arms more or somehow differently? That's for the next post.

Pain-Free Running, Part III

To recap the prior post: As I became fatigued while running, my feet started to slap the ground, which set off a whole cascade of pain. This confirmed that I would never again run as I did in my youth. It was clearly time to change my stride into something that would work better with the bones and muscles I had today.

This wasn't the first major change I had encountered on my path toward becoming a triathlete. While I had owned up-market road bikes for 35 years, I had never competed. When I started training for triathlon, I finally started to learn what competitive cycling was all about. It all comes down to two basic things: Minimize drag, and use muscles wisely. Some would add a third basic item: Get a power meter. But my budget hasn't made that possible.

When Joe Friel was the guest speaker at a TCSD meeting, I heard about "mid-sole cleat positioning". Since I have flat feet, I was already positioning my cleats just behind the ball of my foot, to provide some support to my plantar fascia. Joe showed that moving the cleats further back would greatly reduce the load on the calf muscle, freeing up energy that would then be available for propulsion.

My bike shoes have very long cleat slots, and I was able to move my cleats back a centimeter. The effect on my feet and calves was literally night-and-day: Since pressure on the ball of my foot was further reduced, my plantar fascia never hurt, no matter how hard I pedaled, and no matter how rough the road (bumps and corduroy used to hurt my feet). Even better, my calves stopped cramping when going up steep climbs.

I found it hard to believe that such a small adjustment could possibly have such a large impact on my riding. I wondered if something similar would be possible for my running.

I did lots of running research online. I found no sites dedicated to the "bad/broken runner". There were sites for doing physical therapy and rehab on injured and post-surgery runners, and lots of sites focused on making slow runners into faster runners, but none for those of us who just can't run any significant distance due to non-fitness issues.

The odd thing was, there were lots of sites for non-swimmers, and non-cyclists, but not for non-runners. The only advice I found, repeated over and over again, was this: "Start jogging. Then start running." Not exactly the advice I was looking for.

So I went offline and started looking a bit closer at other runners, particularly those with physical limitations of some kind. Two common limitations soon became clear: High weight, and great age. So I focused on watching very heavy and very old runners. And one thing was immediately obvious: The best runners in both groups tended to run with a rapid, short stride.

So I tried running with faster, shorter strides. And I felt as if I would shake myself apart. It wasn't a pretty sight, and I had trouble getting around a single block. And I still hurt when I finished, but in all-new places: My butt and lower back hurt.

When I went back online to research different running strides, I stepped into the endless discussions and religious wars concerning heel-strike versus toe-strike versus mid-sole strike. Google for them if you are curious. The one thing I did take from the discussions was that I did not, necessarily, have to strike so hard with my heel.

The mid-sole strike got me thinking about how mid-sole cleats had affected my biking. In particular, could I use my calves less while running?

So I tried an experiment, and replaced my toe-push with a heel-push. Using a heel-push wasn't new to me: When hiking with a 60 lb pack on my back, the only way to get up steep hills was to use a heel-push, never a toe-push. Use the big muscles instead of the little ones. And when the going was steeper, take shorter steps: Sometimes, my feet overlapped, moving only a few inches up and forward with each step. I've hiked up a few mountains that way, making it to the top with lots of energy.

Trying to run with a heel-push and a short stride is vastly different than walking with one. The running toe-push seems to be programmed in at almost a genetic level, and it was extremely difficult for me not to use my calf muscles. The resulting stride still lacked smoothness, but it was somewhat more comfortable than my prior short-stride test. Getting around the block was still a struggle, but it was much less uncomfortable.

Back to the net, where I found no discussions of heel-push running. Nada. Zilch. Bupkus. Oh, sure, people will rage about foot strike, but not the push. Obviously, it was too obvious to discuss. Obviously, I was on my own.

One thing was immediately clear: If I was going to run with a short stride, and if I ever wanted to run fast, I was going to have to make those short strides happen very quickly. In cycling this is your pedaling "cadence". In running, I learned it was called "turnover". The general consensus was that higher turnover was better, but that whatever your "natural" turnover was would be best.

I had no way to measure my turnover, so I purchased a shoe-pod for my Garmin 305. It goes well with the bike-pod, and serves a similar purpose. Some running web sites recommend using a metronome, but I also want to record my cadence during a run, and my Garmin 305 with the shoe-pod would that too.

On the bike, I had worked hard to get my normal cadence on the flats up from the low 70s to 90, and my speed improved with it. Should I try to run with a 90 cadence as well? I did some short test runs, and it seemed faster was actually better, since it made my shorter stride "flow" better. But holding a 90 pace was just about impossible.

My stride still needed more work.

Pain-Free Running, Part II

Last post, I described how I started to get back into running, and how it wasn't working for me. This time I'll describe where I went from there.

First, I'll share my definition of "pain-free" running: No joint pain, no foot pain, no back pain or any other structural body pain. No shin splints. No plantar fasciitis. No tendon pain.

Muscle pain, though not desirable, should not be unexpected. If cramps occur, they should be taken as a clear sign of over-doing it, and are an excellent reason to end the run and start walking. Tendon pain must be prevented and avoided to the greatest extent possible, but when it does occur it must be treated as an injury.

While doing the 1/2 mile runs described in the prior post, I noticed some pain in the front and side of my knees that tended to ache and fade slowly. I scheduled an appointment with my GP, who promptly referred me to Dr. John Fellow, a sports medicine specialist.

X-Rays revealed some roughness on the inside of one of my knee caps (mild chondromalacia), and Dr. Fellow also detected a small amount of patellar tendonitis on both knees (not unexpected at my age). After performing some mobility and stability tests, Dr. Fellow's final diagnosis was ITB Syndrome (ITB = IT-Band = IllioTibial Band, the tissue along the outside of each thigh). This too is very typical of people getting into running, and Dr. Fellow was not too concerned. He prescribed some stretches, which I added to my normal (and very thorough) stretch routine.

A note about stretching. Over the years I've put together a great 20-minute active stretch routine that borrows from yoga, modern dance, martial arts, strength training, massage therapy, and, of course, doctors. It has kept me extremely flexible and very limber, and has provided many benefits beyond flexibility: I'm much more resistant to accidental injury, since I can bend before I break, and I'm more able to catch myself when I stumble, instead of falling. I can't recommend highly enough the value of a proper and safe stretch routine!

Over the years, I've accumulated some basic rules about stretching. These are my rules, based primarily on my own experiences. Since I'm in no way a stretching expert, you should take them only as basic advice, not as laws.

1. Never stretch a cold muscle. This is #1 for a reason, since it is the easiest way I know to rip muscle and tendon. Don't do it. Never, ever. Always warm up a muscle before stretching it.
2. Never stretch immediately before hard exercise. Recent studies have shown that stretching decreases both muscle strength and endurance when done before hard exercise. Stretching is best used as a recovery activity, or as part of a series of low-intensity exercise or training activities (such as in a fitness class). Think of stretching more like vitamins: Something you want to take daily, but not right before a big race.
3. Always activate the muscle being stretched. Never "relax" into a stretch. Work against the muscle being stretched, but don't over-do it. Mild to medium activation is all that's needed.
4. Never "fall" into a stretch using gravity. Gravity may be used provide a slight assist, but should not be used to force a muscle to lengthen. Re-orient your body (such as lying on a mat) so gravity can't help over-do the stretch.
5. Never "bounce" in a stretch. This is another great way to rip a tendon or muscle. The worst general error in this area concerns stretching the groin and Achilles tendons. Be very careful!
6. Never "force" a stretch. Go gently and slowly to the limit of motion, then hold using dynamic tension (pull using opposing muscles, and stay in the same place). Excess force can cause a range of injuries, including joint dislocation.

I won't go into the "why" behind each of my rules, but I will say they are generally based on my own mistakes, or watching the mistakes of others. I won't describe my specific stretch routine here, though that may be a topic for a future post.

The bottom line is to make no assumptions about stretching: If you don't know what you are doing, then stick to doing an easy warm-up followed by very gentle stretches, with muscles activated (stretch against a tense muscle using the opposite muscle), without any gravity assist.

Back to the main topic: I did only easy 1/4 mile runs while waiting for the new stretches to help correct my ITB Syndrome. When all was well, I resumed my 1/2 mile runs, this time without knee pain.

When I extended my run to 1 mile, I started huffing and puffing at the limit of my fitness, and the old ankle and hip pain returned (without knee pain this time), I also had shin splints, and my feet hurt. I was running with the same style I was using 15 years ago: A long stride with a hard heel strike. Immediately after that run, I took off my shoes and probed my feet and all my joints. My plantar fascia were tender, and my joint stabilizing muscles all were tight, much tighter than I had ever noticed before.

Some Googling led me to several running and sports medicine web sites, which helped me put together a picture of what was probably going on: When running faster and farther, as I started to fatigue my hard heel strike caused my foot to slap onto the ground. That slap sent a shock wave up my leg that caused my shin splints. The foot slap was also stretching my plantar fascia, which was making my foot hurt when I pushed off of the ball of my foot. The stretched plantar fascia was making my foot less stable, which in turn was causing me to tighten my ankle for additional support. The ankle support muscles soon tired, and the knee tried to provide the needed stabilization. But my knee was now more limber, so rather than taking more damage and hurting, it became weaker, and the weakness traveled up to my hips.

I had gone from running using my feet, legs and muscles, to running on flippers under stacks of wobbly bones. No wonder I hurt!

At this point, it was clear I needed to do things differently. My next thought was simple: If I could get rid of that foot slap, perhaps I could completely prevent the rest of the joint pain. More about that in the next post.