downhill

i've never liked or been good at running downhill, no matter my footwear.  the fivefingers revealed major flaws in my downhill running, teaching me that though i wasn't heel-striking anymore, i was toe-braking downhill, putting just as much stress on my knees and slowing myself down.

taking the shoes off brings in a whole new universe of teaching sensations, and i learned that toe braking isn't just bad for my knees and hips.  without the fivefingers, downhill toe-braking is likely to open a blister on my toes, or worse, depending on the pavement.

i've known for a while how to run downhill, my feet and body know what has to be done, but i wanted independent confirmation -- i wanted someone to tell me how to do it.

today i gave the technique a little practice: lean forward, cadence to ludicrous speed, and suppress the mental voice that's screaming that i'm going to fall on my face and kill myself.  the very high cadence tires me out pretty quickly, but the really hard part is overcoming the fear that i'm going to faceplant.  maybe if i'd been a skater in my youth i wouldn't have such a fear, but i wasn't, and the fear is pretty strong.

running this way seems to keep my feet landing under me or slightly behind me, eliminating the braking/shearing forces on my footballs and toes, maintaining or increasing my speed, and keeping the body happy.  it's the way it's supposed to be done, but i feel that it will take a very long time for it to become second nature.