running form- heels high or low on recovery?

I have absolutely no idea what you mean.

Less thinking, more running. Trust me, your body is pretty darn good at self-selecting a stride.

ooh, I thought this was a thread about whether you should wear stilettos or ballet flats after a long run.  I too, have no idea what you're talking about.

Um, does anyone focus on bringing their heels up to their buttcheeks (an exaggeration of course) while running, or as a drill,  or do they just do what is natural". Sort of a "do you have a high knee  lift" question but focusing on the heel lifting up instead of the knee.

Because I have been trying Chi running I sometimes use the high heel lift drill, but it isn't natural for me (yet) when running normally.

I admit to being a poor runner, but I honestly had never even though about my heel position during recovery.  But now that it's in my mind, I'm sure I'll never be able to get it out of my head.  Kinda like the bubbles from my hands on the swim.

I agree with Scout that running will address most form issues and that as one adds the miles, the body will "find" the running form that works best for the individual athlete.

However, it sounds like Dallam and Jones are recommended something that sounds akin to a shuffle as opposed to actually running which I would most definitely not recommend.

Much like other aspects of running form (like foot strike) the speed will play a large role in how the leg recovers.  In general, the faster an athlete runs, the higher the foot will come on the recovery and if you look at the recovery of sprinters you will usually see a very high recovery.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nbjhpcZ9_g

However, as speed comes down you can see that the recovery will be a little lower:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_Yk1xeSLRk

I would be very surprised to see someone change from their natural running form to a shuffle and see any improvement in their speed, especially for someone running 39-40'.

Shane

As a drill, yes. Butt kicks and high knees are both drills that can be incorporated.

But not during the run itself. I don't mess with form at all during, other than to make sure that I stay relaxed, and I'm not scuffing/shuffling/slapping my feet.

I disagree with the approach to form taken by Chi/POSE (which are pretty much the same thing).

This ^^^.

But, if you really want to think of how the foot motion? goes ?o?n ?b?e?h?i?n??d??? ???????y???o?u???? ?t?h?e?n? ?w?o?r?k? ?o?n? ?t?h?i?n?k?i?n?g? ?o?f? ?e?x?t?e?n?d?i?n?g? ?b?a?c?k?,? ?n?o?t? ?u?p?.?
?

Thanks very much guys. Good sense much appreciated.

                  Blair

Practice does not make perfect. Bad practice makes bad, in everything you do. If you practice with bad form you will always have bad form. 

When I was fast before injury (I was running sub 20 5k, and a 5:38 mile). I did "kick butt" drills, and a lot of turnover drills. Just like cadence drills in biking, running has similar drills. The faster your foot turnover, the faster you run. The faster you run the more likely you are to either mid-foot or forefoot strike. 

I really think that in general there is a ton of focus in triathlon on biking. Because it is the fastest, I feel like running and swimming are the bastard children of biking in most peoples minds. Everyone thinks that if you bike fast you will have a good race.

So if you have a good running base, I would train like a runner on my running days. Do foot turnover drills, try to get 180 foot strikes per minute. 90 per foot. Focus on that for a while until it becomes second nature. I promise you will be faster. 

I agree with Shane and Scout.

The bolded part is at best misleading, by the way.  Think about it this way:  you have a big weight (your leg) that you've got to get from behind you to in front of you.  Basically your hip flexor is doing this work, so you are 'holding' that weight at one end.  The closer that the center of gravity of your leg is to the hip flexor, the easier job it has.

Hold a hammer at the very end of the handle and swing it.  Then hold it very near the head and swing it.  Feel how much easier that is?  That's pretty much the principle that's at work here.

Yes, it takes energy to lift your heel up, so there's definitely a 'happy medium' here.  I agree with Scout -- just run and you'll find it.

I think people should stop thinking so much and just run. If you have biomechanical flaws that are causing you injury, then try and work with them. Otheriwse, just go run.