FiveFingers in the Lakes

Hi Helen

Feeling amazingly pleased with myself for making it up from Ullswater to Martindale Common – quite a way up and this the person who was told by the chap in MK hospital that I would never again do fell walking and only a matter of time before new knee was needed. The latter may be so but your tights [CW-X ... Ed] and five fingers have put that day off for a good bit. No tights up the mountain but wearing five fingers as I do most of the time.

OK I did not swim and cycle for miles and run a marathon as you do most days before breakfast but am feeling amazingly chuffed about what I have managed all thanks to you.  You have the distinction of being the first girl to get me into tights but I am sure it will not be held against you.

Hope all is well

Best wishes

Robert Secret

Nordic Walking too!

Hi Helen

Exposure Flare Front Light Review

There are many cycle lights on the market and generally you get what you pay for. Within a particular price band the light output will be quite similar. Therefore it generally comes down to look, feel and in particular how user friendly they are in terms of operation and attachment to the bike.

We consider that the Exposure Flash front light for the price of £40 is one of the best front lights you can buy.  What sets it a part is its simplicity and attachment to the bike. a simple sturdy rubber band hooks round the bar and back to the unit. To turn on you simply rotate the front bezel. To change from continuous to flashing you rotate the bezel again but wait a few seconds. And its light.

Exposure Flash Front Light

Profile Design T1 Plus Aerobars Reviews

Whenever we are asked to attach a set of clip on aerobars to a road handlebar or, aero base bar we invariably recommend the Profile Design T1 Plus aerobar. It is arguably the most versatile clip on in the market. You can adjust the width of the extensions as far apart as your handlebars will allow. You can adjust the width of the pads on top of their mounting brackets and you can move the extensions forwards and backwards independently of the pads.  In practice this gives you numerous permutations for fine tuning your ultimate position. They are extremely advantageous when used on a tri specific frame with a road handlebar front end. They also come in a full carbon version called the T1 Plus Viper.

Profile Design T1 Plus Aerobars

New Barefooter 24.8.11

Thanks Helen; and great vibe at Ten-Point.

The aim is to get fit enough for sept 2012 to run / walk ireland trailtrekker; Big Sur Marathon April 2013 and an ultra run later on in 2013. This means a series of runs / events  from Jan 2012 onwards. This in turn means I have to get my training into gear and chart out the events.

If you have ideas for other events then also let me know, but I need to get in 4 months (from beg Sept) of decent injury-free training in before I do anything.

My sunglasses are tethered, my feet aim to be un-tethered. My brain needs to be equally free – so I can mix work and training.

Thanks for the insight and opening up a new way for me.
Andrew Woolfson.

barefoot running, natural running, efficient running, midfoot/forefoot running, barefooting

Ten-Point Triathlon Store is a midfoot/forefoot and Natural Running Concept Store. We are the first triathlon and running store in the UK to specialise only in running shoes that encourage a midfoot/forefoot and natural running action. Because of this philosophy, we DO NOT offer ‘traditional’ cushioned or stability running shoes.

There are many terms being banded about at the moment, causing a degree of confusion:

• barefooting
• midfoot/forefoot running
• natural running
• efficient running

Actually, they are all linked and are mutually inclusive.  If you’re ‘barefooting’, you’ll be running with natural form, which is biomechanically friendly, in minimalist footwear.

If you’re ‘natural running’, you’re running efficiently, which is biomechanically friendly, either barefoot, in minimalist footwear or footwear designed to encourage natural running form.

By using the term ‘natural running’, the assumption is made that you’re working with biomechanics instead of ignoring biomechanics, and this focus tends to minimize injury risk.

Both ‘barefooting’ and ‘natural running’ are considered to be ‘Efficient Running’ styles, which means:

faster running for no extra perceived effort, or

same speed running for less perceived effort

Efficient Running:

1. maximizes output for minimum effort;
2. is fuel-efficient, burning the almost limitless fat stores in the body through the aerobic system;
3. is biomechanically friendly, reducing impact and rotational forces, utilizing the free energy from the elastic recoil of muscles and tendons, and so leading to fewer injuries;
4. is relaxed, comfortable, enjoyable and connects you with the ground;
5. and still gets you fitter!

As Danny Abshire, co-founder of Newton Running, and author of Natural Running says:

‘When we run naturally, we use the whole body to run.  Relaxed, graceful, light impact, forward movement is natural.  We need to connect our mind and body and move more efficiently.  Running in this manner is healthier and faster.’

A skilled runner, displaying ‘running economy’, has his/her entire body positioned correctly so heart, lungs and muscles can exert the least amount of effort for any given speed.

• The body alignment is vertical.
• The cadence (step rate) is relatively high, and generally above 180 steps per minute.
• The landing is light and midfoot/forefoot under the centre of mass.
• The arm swing is curved around and close to the body, with a 90 degree bend at the elbow.
• There is no wasted energy and with 75% of the effort of running being in lifting body weight against gravity, there is no bounce!

So, are we ‘Born to Run’?  The communal chase (the ‘hunters’ of our ancestry) is part of our biological make-up.  You might have come across this now famous quote:

“Every morning in Africa, an antelope wakes up.  It knows it must outrun the fastest lion, or it will be killed.  Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up.  It knows it must run faster than the fastest antelope, or it will starve.  It doesn’t matter whether you’re a lion or an antelope – when the sun comes up, you’d better be running”.

And, were we born with shoes on? No!

Have we evolved to need shoes?  YES – is the extraordinary answer from Dr Murray Weisenfeld, a leading sports podiatrist, and the author of ‘The Runners’ Repair Manual’, one of the top-selling foot-care books of all time, and still available on Amazon.  In it, he claims that “man’s foot is not yet completely adapted to the ground.  Only a portion of the population has been endowed with well ground-adapted feet.  Nature has not yet published her plan for the modern runner’s foot”.

Here at Ten-Point Triathlon Store, we are more comfortable accepting roughly 3 million years of evolution and natural selection, and would rather not interfere with the innate strength of feet and ankles. More than 26 bones, 33 joints (20 of which are actively articulated), and more than a hundred muscles, tendons, and ligaments, make for a complex mechanical structure that modern man still hasn’t fathomed how to replicate.  Man can rebuild many things now – but new feet are still on the ‘to do’ list.

As Efficient/Barefoot/Natural Runners ourselves, we have a wealth of running experience within our team and provide technical and practical advice on how to safely transition from a heel strike to a more natural running gait.

Along with the actual mechanics of improving running form, there are soft tissue adaptations that require understanding and patience, and we can help you to master the calf-conditioning journey that so many ignore – at their cost.

Leading the Ten-Point Barefoot Running Team, Helen holds the achievement of being the first woman to run the marathon of an Ironman triathlon in Vibram FiveFingers. She has done this twice now.  She was one of the first Newton Natural Running Coaches in the UK and is listed as the first Ultra Retailer on the Vibram FiveFingers’ website.

Helen provides a Runner’s Clinic for those of you who are struggling with running related injuries and Efficient Running Coaching Sessions for those of you who either want to make the leap or who want to make progress.

For more clarity on why you might want to ‘give it a go’, read the Barefooting article.

Confident, comfortable and relaxed running – 22.8.11

Hi Helen

thank you so much for this [follow-up coaching notes, Ed] and the coaching sessions.  I have found them hugely helpful and positive.  I feel more confident, comfortable and relaxed when running now so am enjoying it lots more!

best wishes JM

Sram R2C Return to Centre Shifters Review

The concept behind Sram’s R2C shifters makes sense from a biomechanical perspective. Once installed you can position the levers to where you find them most comfortable in the knowledge that whenever you make a shift front or rear, they will return to that comfortable position.

But how does this work in the real world. Having used them for some time I am a real advocate of the rear derailleur shifter. No matter where you are on the rear cassette that lever is in the perfect position for the next gear change. However, I am not so impressed with the Return To Centre front derailleur shifter.

The issue is that the cable is moved in three micro shift stages. For those of you who are accustomed to using the standard TT500 or TT900 levers you may well prefer the smooth efficient continuous pull of those front derailleur shifters.

In practice the R2C front derailleur lever appears cumbersome. Yes, I like the fact that it returns to centre after each shift but I miss the smooth pull of a conventional TT front derailleur lever. Secondly, as there is less cable travel with a front derailleur the R2C, from a biomechanical perspective, is not as advantageous as with the rear derailleur. Further, mechanics may find setting up the R2C front derailleur shifter more problematic when combining with unconventional chain rings.

In an ideal world I my favourite combination would be that of a R2C rear derailleur shifter and a conventional TT front derailleur shifter. Can you hear me Sram?

Sram Return To Centre Shifters

Advice for all runners, 8.8.11

Thanks Helen,
Every runner should do a T2! Nothing I’ve done in the last year has had such an effect as the T2, I doubt the lovely bike Robin is building will be as effective on the cycling as the T2 was in the running – don’t tell him that though!!
BW
Jason Smith
Consultant Surgeon

A Happy post-T2 Runner, 17.8.11

Hello Helen,
I wanted to let you know what an exciting day I have had today…For the first time in my life I was running and smiling…I felt so excited to be running freely and breathing normally…I loved it. For at least some of the run today I had it, it felt great…rolling waves, see saw, power on, power off, drills…yes we went S  L  O  W  L   Y [the slow speed that Carolyn is referring to is just for the drills! - Ed!]…
Thank you so much for the invaluable tuition Helen.
Looking forward to the next lesson,
Kind Regards
Carolyn Wiggs