proprioceptive cues...what they are, and why they might help

Don't be alarmed by the fancy sounding name.  While "proprioceptive cue" may sound like some tortuous neurological concept, it's actually quite simple and helpful for improving one's running.  These cues are just metaphors for running technique - visuals for improving one's stride and becoming more efficient in forward motion. Nothing to be scared of.

The idea comes from Matt Fitzgerald's Braining Training for Runners book, a guide to harnessing that space between your ears to improve your performances.  I bought this book, along with several others, about a year ago when my brain was motivated to study every training plan under the sun.  (I never did implement any of the plans for more than a week or two.)  His basic concept is that our brain can be trained as well as our bodies to push harder longer, to run more efficiently and to show better performances.  He explains how many of our fatigue signals are our brain's safety mechanism, getting us to slow down before we really have to in an effort to make sure we don't hurt ourselves. As such, we can push back against some of those signals by training our brain that we won't die if we go just a bit faster a bit longer.  (We cannot ignore our brain entirely though - don't get too excited!)

After thumbing through this book over the past year, I've finally started to use his half marathon training plan.  One of the features of his plan is that each week you work on a proprioceptive cue during your runs.  Like I mentioned, these cues are metaphors.  This past week, I had to work on "floppy feet".  Here's what he has to say about this cue:

"The human foot contains twenty-seven bones and dozens of muscles and ligaments. This complex structure enables the foot to deform in an intricate wavelike pattern while it is in contact with the ground during running. Unfortunately, shoes greatly restrict this natural movement...You can get even more [movement] back by concentrating on running with relaxed, "floppy" feet while running. When practicing this cue, continue to strike the ground forcefully with your feet, but use the muscles of your upper leg to generate the force while keeping your foot relaxed..."

You might think that such a small change wouldn't be noticeable, but it was.  As I focused on running with relaxed feet, I realized how much tension I had been carrying in my lower legs. I have been having some pain in my calf below the knee, but there was none of that this week.  I've also been experiencing some pain in the bottom of my feet, and that eased up as well.  I did notice that I felt even better doing this while wearing my neutral Launches - the more structured Ravenna was harder to work with.  I didn't even wear my Adrenalines - I think I may move away from them permanently.  If you've been having some issues with your lower legs, you might want to try bringing awareness to how you're carrying your feet.  Try relaxing them and see if that changes the feel of your run and your foot strike.  You can always stop if it isn't working.

Now that I have started a new training week, I have a new cue to work on - the "butt squeeze"! I'll let you know how that one goes : )