Downers (Now I am referring to hills)

About a month ago, I pulled my left calf muscle while doing a long hill run.  I hit the top of the mile or so long hill, looked around to enjoy the scenery and headed back down.  As I started down the long, steep hill it suddenly occurred to me –

Obviously, the runner pictured here is not me. Heck, I don't even know the person!

I don’t know how to run down hill in Vibram Five Fingers.

A quick google on my phone let me know that you needed to move your feet fast, and control your speed by leaning. I made it down the hill, ran a ways longer and felt that *SNAP* feeling in my calf that you can read about – if you google “runners calf strain.”  

Enough back ground, now the neat part.  As I obviously wanted to learn HOW to run downhill in the VFFs in a way that didn’t end with me calling my wife to come get me, I did what we “computer geeks” do – and started googling online.  Believe it or not, I couldn’t find any good information.  I found conflicting information on stand up straight, or lean forward/back.  This made me decide to go to everyone’s favorite resource:

Vibram FiveFingers Facebook Page

FACEBOOK!!!!  So I went to the Vibram discussion board and posted there.  Same result – DEAD END!!! no one responded..  Then the responses started coming in a flash!

Here was the response that I got that I am going to try this weekend:

“If you bend your knees a lot – you’ll find that you can comfortably just fly down the hills. I used to take it easy down the hills – now with lots of knee bending, I take short strides but go down hills very quickly and comfortably. Don’t lean forward – just bend your knees. – I didn’t invent this – it’s all well explained in Barefoot Ken Bob’s new book.”

Looking forward to trying it this weekend!

About Robinson

I run, because I am a runner. Having realized that I have always "been a runner" - even when I went years with out running, I am learning how it has integrated itself in all aspects of my life. When I started running in highschool, my perspective on life changed. Funny that I didn't realize how much it had affected it until just recently.