melissatwa's Journal, 18 Jan 21

Oh goodness, Katsolo! I just had a great laugh looking up what on earth Prancercize looks like. No way!!! I don't look that crazy! 😁 I do get odd looks the rare times I pass joggers while walking. I haven't had my gait inspected. I do think my knee trouble could have been created in part by running in worn shoes. I simply don't think to switch them out after the recommendation number of miles. The ones I was wearing were well past their prime. I too am not sure I'd want to be told I don't know how to walk! 😁 ❤️  

One of the people I mentored on their weight loss journey was 8 years old when I met her and quite obese for that age. She lost the weight as did her mother and eventually moved from being a walker to a runner with a running club of her own. When I realized how serious she was I called in some favors and had her assessed by a high school athletic coach and a friend who is a pediatrician into sports medicine. The first thing they did was to evaluate her shoes, checked her feet and legs out and then videoed her running looking for faulty techniques that might contribute to injury and inability to perform at her highest potential. At age 15 she has now run 6 marathons and one of her goals as a child was to earn a college scholarship so her mom wouldn’t have to help her— mom was single at the time— mom lost 175 lb in a year and is a runner herself now and married to a financially stable fellow runner who we all love dearly. Huge success story. But yes, the way you run makes a huge difference. This little girl had to make sever changes in the way she walked and ran. Hard to do— it’s like learning to walk all over again. 

Very awesome successes, Kenna!!! I know it certainly would be useful to be evaluated. Although it isn't the same as someone looking on and telling you everything you are doing right and wrong, I have spent a very large amount of time relearning how to run as a result of the research I've done. Years ago I would heel strike and had very bad form. One the ways I trained myself was ditching shoes for a while and feeling how running felt naturally when the body is protecting itself from injury. It is totally different than when running on the super padded shoes we have for running on pavement. I've learned to run lightly and more toward the ball of my foot. It made a huge difference for me for a long time. I really hope I can run again, but if I can't, I'm thankful swift walking is working! 😁 1m