Finding My Form

My run today was quick. I overslept and didn't get out the door till 40 minutes after the time I was hoping to leave. I was anxious to give my new shoes a good workout, but only managed a quick 2 miles. Also, the Garmin I'm testing was off a little bit. It said I was pacing at about 20 seconds slower than my actual pace. I was excited about my speed, but would have appreciated more accuracy.

My new Brooks Green Silence shoes

I'm really happy with my new shoes and will write a proper review once I've gotten a variety of runs in on them. But today, I want to talk about why I picked them.

A little over a year ago I picked up a copy of Tim Ferriss's book, The Four Hour Body. There's a section called Ultraendurance I: Going from 5K to 50K in 12 Weeks—Phase I & Phase II. He writes about running form and gets into detail about one style in particular that's supposed to be super-efficient and make you faster in the long run...The Pose Method. I did try this style in January 2011 while there was a good bit of snowcover and I ended up straining my left achilles, which Ferriss points out in the book could be an unfavorable side effect of using the technique. However, I still believed in a more efficient running style existing out there and wanted nothing more than to track it down.

Information on efficient running isn't that plentiful or easy to find. The closest thing I did find was posted by Newton Shoes, but the videos I found to be largely about how you needed their relatively expensive shoes to run like this. The majority of the other information I came across was based around the barefoot/natural running style movement, but I found little instruction for how to properly run barefoot. It seemed like the assumption was that if you wore the barefoot shoes your style would naturally change and all would be well...not so with me. I did try a pair of Nike Free Run+ 2s, but didn't change my form and my knees and shins could barely take it. I'll take the blame for not running properly, but I was frustrated with my inability to Google a solution that I could comprehend. So, I went back to a more traditional shoe.

More time went by until Runner's World published an article about Ryan Hall's running form and it talked about the midfoot/forefoot strike running style. This luckily sparked a lot more internet buzz and I was finally able to find more information that I was looking for, except for one thing...what shoes do you need to properly run like this? I started with Asics Gel Nimbus 12s, which are a good shoe in their own right, but not for forefoot running. Also, my feet fell asleep in these shoes, which really made my form fall apart. So, I returned them and made the switch to Brooks Ravenna 2s. I preferred how these felt over the Nimbus, and my feet never fell asleep, but they still weren't quite right for changing my form. I did stick with these shoes though for the last 5 months because they work great with my old running form and are very comfortable for just wearing around.

A week ago, I received a shoe sale promo from Road Runner Sports and luckily came across the Brooks Green Silence. The price was right and a lot of the reviews talked about how good this shoe was for midfoot runners. So, today I took my first quick jaunt in them and I believe I've found a shoe that works for making the switch to my form. The cushion is good, so I don't think this shoe would count as a barefoot shoe. But, the drop between the heal and the toe box is minimal, which makes landing on the balls of your feet much easier. I have to take more runs to figure this out some more, but I feel like I'm finally making big strides after almost 1.5 years of searching.

Has anyone out there struggled to find better form? What tips or links can you share with me? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!