Sunday, July 16, 2006

Running Basics - Tie the shoes properly

Since I hit my 500 milestone mark for this year, had done about 150 in Nov/Dec 2005, had purchased my current shoes pair of shoes in late October 2005 and have been alternating with one pair Tue/Thu and the other for Sun run, they each had about 300 miles on them. Hence, it was time to replace.
 
Miles of use is not my only factor. I have had good success with changing them with about this amount of wear. I also factor in how the cushioning feels. The soles on this pair have worn well but the inner soles are bottoming out. I might get some new inner soles and use them for spot runs here and there.
 
I have a tradition of lacing my shoes so the lace from the right side always goes over the left, and the left goes under the right. This harks back to a day when during an interview with Coach John Wooden who had great success with the UCLA basketball team in the 60's and 70's. Coach mentioned that he started each year by reviewing the basics. He did not assume that the players on the team knew his system. He started them all from scratch with the basics.
 
One of the most basic items was shoe selection. You needed to get sized properly to avoid blisters. You also needed to tie your shoes with the right over left procedure. By getting the players to think of tying their shoes in this way, he helped to reinforce thinking about doing things right the first time and every time. They also learned to tie with double knots so they would not need to stop during the game. The time in the game was important and he did not want to loose time for something as silly as tying a shoe. Hence, before they set foot on the court to practice, they learned how to tie their shoes.
 
Silly! Maybe but look at the success record he established.
How many NCAA championships did his teams capture?
 
I think there is something to the basics even at this level.
 
How do you tie your shoes?
If you do it haphazardly, I recommend undoing your laces and doing it right over left.
 
One small step.
The right over left laces will align with doing things right the first time, all the time.
 
The rest is up to you.
 
 
Technorati Tags : , , , , , ,
Powered By Qumana