Altra Shoes and Swinging Arms

Last night I attended a running clinic featuring the designer of Altra shoes, Golden Harper. While I do not (yet) own a pair of Altra shoes, I have had the opportunity to demo them during a several-mile run. Though I admit that they felt a little odd at first, I felt very comfortable running in them by mile three. I also trust that they are good kicks because my mother, who is notorious for her constant complaining about her extremely wide, neuroma-ridden feet that fit in nothing other than a pair of socks comfortably, hiked the 500-mile Camino de Santiago through Spain in a pair earlier this year. Not only did she live to tell about her adventures, but she frequently raves about the brand as the only athletic shoe that has never caused her any pain.

The shoe design boasts a "zero-drop" cushioning and box-shaped toe space that allows the foot to land and spread out naturally, much like a minimalist shoe concept but with cushion (and far more comfort). The thing I found most intriguing about the shoe design is that it encourages proper running form by removing the sloping cushion and pointed toe-bed of traditional popular running shoes.

The clinic was small, which was great because we had ample opportunity to ask questions and trouble-shoot individual running form problems. My running-form pitfall? Over-striding. Other issues? Hyper-flexibility throughout all my joints that leads to instability issues and pain in my hips, knees, and rolling my ankles. The fix? Try harder to land with my foot directly under my hip, and focus on my upper body, particularly how I swing my arms, to achieve that ideal foot placement. I feel like I work on this all the time, especially when I start feeling tired, but the difference is that I am supposed to be thinking of swinging my elbows back and minimizing the amount of arm motion versus punching my arms forward like many of us were taught.

This evening I gave that a try and focused on both my posture and arm swing during my four-mile run, which I did with my 10-year-old daughter at about a 9:25 min/mile pace with my running group. That teeny, skinny, long-legged child of mine is the runner I wish I was born to be, and I gave her the tip that I was working on to remind myself to keep doing it. I must admit that my run felt great despite the cold air on my nose and cheeks.

If you haven't heard of Altra shoes, definitely check them out. And if you have never focused on the back swing of the arm versus the forward swing, I think it's worth a try, especially if you have difficulty keeping your posture upright.

Next week the running store I buy my shoes at is supposed to get the latest Altra models in stock. I will definitely be getting a pair, so I'll let you know what I think of them once I have the chance to run more than a handful of miles in them.