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http://tullyrunners.com/Articles/RaucciArticle.htm
I found the breathing part and the shoes part especially interesting. Read it, it's worth it. There are also a lot of other interesting things on the website.
http://tullyrunners.com/Articles/RaucciFollow1.htm
http://tullyrunners.com/Articles/RaucciFollow2.htm
http://tullyrunners.com/Articles/RaucciFollow3.htm
The three other articles in the series.
A few excerpts:
I found the breathing part and the shoes part especially interesting. Read it, it's worth it. There are also a lot of other interesting things on the website.
http://tullyrunners.com/Articles/RaucciFollow1.htm
http://tullyrunners.com/Articles/RaucciFollow2.htm
http://tullyrunners.com/Articles/RaucciFollow3.htm
The three other articles in the series.
A few excerpts:
IS IT BETTER JUST TO RUN OR TO COMBINE RUNNING WITH CROSS TRAINING?
Certainly, this has been debated for the last twenty years. Personally, I support Cross Training, and my kids are avid Cross Trainers. However, if a human being runs according to design, there is absolutely no need for Cross Training. Did Native American Indians who ran on a daily basis spend a few days a week at the gym? Did they get overuse injuries? Absolutely not! If we run as designed, there is absolutely no way to overuse anything. On the other hand, just lace up a pair of shoes, and run consistently around the track, and you are on the path to an overuse injury. How could that be? Well, it's very simple! The shoe alone forces you to rely on certain foot muscles while leaving others alone. Then, when we run on a flat surface, we will use even fewer foot muscles - those that are called upon for flat surfaces. The muscles we use will become strong while the others which lay dormant will weaken. As certain muscles weaken, the ankles will be called upon to compensate, and so on up the leg. And injuries, such as stress fractures and the like will be on the horizon. On the other hand, run without shoes on natural uneven surfaces, and all muscles will be called upon, eliminating the need for any kinds of compensation. There will be no overuse. Overuse never comes from running. It comes from failure to observe our human design. Overuse injuries are an example of a half truth. Cross Training will never eliminate running injuries as long as running is practiced against the grain of human design.
RUNNERS SHOULD CUT DOWN ON THEIR SMOKING
I must admit that I have rarely seen a runner pick up a cigarette. However, what in fact is smoking? It is the practice whereby we ingest carcinogens directly into the lungs. Do you think that cigarettes have a monopoly on carcinogens? Long before any of us were born, many, many tribes and societies throughout the world maintained the practice of nasal breathing. There have always been poisons in the air. But what about today where we have so damaged the atmosphere through pollutants ad infinitum? In any case, God put an army of security guards at the main gate, such that no poison would enter into the lungs. Those trained and well-equipped guards can be found in the hair follicles and mucous membranes of the nose. When we breathe through the nose, they close the gate on the poisons, and allow the pure air to enter. Not to be outdone, the poisons of today have found a hole in the fence. Streaming through the mouth, they invade the lungs with each breath we take. So, we understand why Peter Jennings, a smoker, got lung cancer, but we are perplexed as to how the wife of Christopher Reeves, a non-smoker, would wind up with the same disease. Well, the lungs were never designed to deal with any kind of poison. They are agents of respiration, and are too busy handling the give and take of oxygen and carbon dioxide to be fighting back against an army of invaders.
Among all the sports I have witnessed, runners are number one when it comes to ingesting poisons into the lungs. Heavy mouth breathing goes hand in hand with the sport, and little thought is given to human physiology which clearly states that breathing through the mouth is absolutely bad for our health. What's more is that running the way we do, we accustom ourselves to mouth breathing, and that mode of breathing permeates virtually all of our daily and nightly activity. Night time is essential for recovery, and repair if necessary. When we breathe through the mouth during sleep, the lungs must divert respirational energy to contending with the invaders. In addition, air is ingested directly into the stomach, wreaking a havoc upon the digestive system when it should be in a state of repose. When two systems of the body are battling through the night, can the rest of the body reap the vital benefits that only rest can provide? Thus, not only does the day takes its toll upon us, but also the night.
Running in accordance with the design of the human body is an extremely healthy activity. However, running in opposition to human design can be deadly. It would be unfair to say that running causes cancer, but running improperly in my opinion is certainly a contributing factor to not only cancer, but many other harsh diseases. When we are young, we are incredibly resilient, and unfortunately almost invincible whether we run properly or not. But, poor habits will take their toll sooner or later. We should all analyze why great athletes succumb to illness and injury, and learn from what must be termed as their mistakes. Cancer does not just pop up. It comes at the end of the Chain. Cancer cells thrive in an environment without oxygen, when the body is acidic, and when copious amounts of sugar are ingested. Runners who stress themselves improperly, and who rely upon anaerobic activity as a basis for their training, are setting themselves up for a problem. Runners who have developed themselves anaerobically muster up a great many pathways within their bodies through which that type of energy can flow. Anaerobic energy comes about when oxygen is not present. Cancer cells multiply in an acidic environment, and again, without the presence of oxygen. By building up anaerobic pathways, we have now created a super oxygenless highway system whereby cancer cells are free to move throughout the body. When we hear that a young Lance Armstrong developed testicular cancer which spread quickly to his lungs, brain etc., would this not then be connected to his own anaerobic development as a super athlete? In addition, any type of stressful exercise gives rise to free radicals which break down human tissue, and are now credited with a link to cancer.
My boys Joe and David have raced on average for almost once a week or twice a month for the last five years. They are certainly going anaerobic in the races. Yet, their health is incredible as evidenced by their immune systems and resistance to injury. The reason I would give for that is connected with their training. It has been essentially aerobic. They always run long, but comfortably in training. Their hard days for the most part have been left to the races, and those have been somewhat spread apart as indicated. I am not saying that we must avoid any and all anaerobic activity. I am saying that we should work anaerobically with disgression. What we gain from it in the short run is far overshadowed by the negatives that can come over time. Lydiard was very well aware of all this.
Run Like An African, Breathe Like An Indian, Eat Like An Eskimo
If we are really to be concerned with balance, we may have to look beyond Western Culture. With all the advances of our civilization, we have not yet become a people of harmony, neither internally nor externally. Many other cultures, though less technologically gifted, nevertheless outclass us in a wide array of areas, and balancing life, physically and spiritually is one of them. Good runners should always look beyond their borders and learn from elsewhere.
Africans run long and slow from early on, and with nothing on their feet. It's so simple, but so right. It makes for great running and incredible health. The best runners now in American Colleges are Africans, and the same is becoming true for American High Schools. Running long and slow make for physiological strength and balance throughout the body. Running without shoes brings about power and balance in all of the running muscles from the feet on up.
Recently, Integrative Health Specialist, Dr. Andrew Weil was asked by Larry King if there was one point that people should work on in their lives to make for the biggest gains in health. To King's surprise, Dr. Weil, who always speaks most often of nutrition, made no mention of food. He said that if he were to pick one element, it would have to be breathing. He said, if we learn to breathe correctly, we can vastly improve our health situation. We should learn from Native American Indians as to how to breathe. In America, we incur stress through breathing, especially when we use the mouth and breathe shallow breaths into the upper chest. Wrong breathing is exasperated during running, and throws the body into severe imbalance. Indians breathe deeply, and slowly, in and out through the nose. This is the cornerstone and starting point of all human physiological balance and harmony.
Eskimos have been regarded as some of the healthiest people in the world. Interestingly enough, they could not even eat fruits and vegetables. They lived on good raw meat consumed sparingly throughout the day. The body does well when eating raw food. It's much less taxing on the digestive system, and thus easier for the body to assimilate. If meats are not contaminated with growth hormones and processed feed, they can be very healthy. As such meats are hard to find in this society, we still may eat raw foods by consuming fruits and vegetables. Big meals are a monster for the digestive system. Digestive enzymes do better when they attack one type of nutrient at a time. Eating gradually throughout the day has many advantages in terms of human digestion. When food is not digested properly, toxins from the undigested food circulate throughout the body, thus taking a toll on the body's ability to balance itself. We should study not only what people of other cultures eat, but how they eat, and we should apply the many good things.
Imbalance connected with over-acidity in the body, can be brought on by a wide variety of elements. Some that come to mind are the following: emotional stress, improper stress arising from exercise (anaerobic activity), shallow mouth breathing, processed food, an over abundance of acidic foods in the diet, alcohol, soda, coffee, cigarettes, drugs, and medicines. This is but to name a few. Remember, Adam and Eve were born in a Garden, a place of beauty and harmony, and that which comes from the Garden is closely connected with healthy living. Try to keep close to nature - warm sunlight, fresh air, clean water, fruits, and vegetables. And keep away from the drugstore. Good health makes for good running!
Last edited by HXC_Runner2012 on Fri Jul 18, 2008 7:50 pm; edited 3 times in total
i only read the shoe part but it is a good article. However, running without shoes isn't an option so I am a little worried about the consequences..just a thought
