Eric Orton is a man with big ideas. His training methods are revolutionary, he
calls for radical dietary changes and he developed his own unique sports
psychology. He describes this all in
his new book, “The Cool Impossible”.
It’s densely packed full of scientifically sound training ideas and inspirational
messages. Orton’s writing flows in an engaging conversational style mimicking
the way he coaches his many athletes.
I doubt you’ll adopt everything he advocates in his book to
your training. I didn’t. In fact, I’ll even go so far as to say I
disagree with some of his approaches to training concepts. But one of the strengths of “The Cool
Impossible” is that different runners will each find things they will use to
reach new heights in running.
And what is this “Cool Impossible”? Orton describes it as, “…getting back to
daydreaming and creating the biggest, coolest fantasy we can think of to
achieve.” While Orton claims this
philosophy applies to all parts of our lives, his book focusses on achieving
this “Cool Impossible” in running.
Orton knows a thing a two about helping runners accomplish
inconceivable goals. He transformed one Christopher McDougall from an injury
prone runner who could only handle runs of a few miles to an ultra-marathoner
who completed a 50 mile race in Mexico’s rugged Copper Canyon in just nine
months. McDougall’s book about this ultra-marathon in the land of the reclusive
Tarahumara Indians, “Born to Run”, became the bible of the minimalist running
movement. Declaring "running shoes
may be the most destructive force to ever hit the human foot", McDougall inspired runners to toss off their
heavily padded shoes for ones with thinner lightweight soles. Some ditched their shoes altogether and
started running barefoot.
What Orton calls for is not so such much a rethinking of
what runner’s wear, but how runners run.
Considering swimmers, tennis players, golfers and even sprinters spend
much of their training time perfecting their technique, this may not seem particularly
radical. But running form has
been largely ignored on the assumption it’s just what comes to us
naturally. Since each of our bodies our
different, we naturally assume different running gaits based on our structural
differences without considering how our individual running form creates
inefficiency and injuries. Challenging
these long held beliefs, Orton declares
“…I have conducted more than a thousand training sessions with runners,
and most have the same issues….all tend to lead back to muscle disequilibrium
and improper form.”
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A slant board I built myself using a couple
6 x 6 inch bathroom tiles and a slat of wood |
Despite all the groovy New Age-like rhetoric on things like
“awareness” and “flow”, Orton’s program is all about hard work, dedication and
applied biomechanical science. He
outlines a number of running drills and strengthening exercises designed to
strengthen the legs and the core to help runners achieve better form. They can be done in your living room or
backyard without much equipment. All you
need is a wobble board, an inflatable exercise ball, and a simple apparatus Orton’s
developed called a slant board. Ski
poles, walking sticks or even cut off broomsticks are also used to help keep your
balance for some of the exercises.
Trying Out Orton’s Techniques
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| Side Lift Position on the Slant Board |
I was eager to try out Orton’s techniques myself and started
working 20-30 minute workout sessions into my training 3-4 times a week. My early attempts resulted in a lot of
flopping and stumbling around in my living room. Say this about Orton’s exercises, they’re
not easy. Standing on the slant board on
one foot, I could feel the strain in my legs, from my feet all the way up to my
hips, especially in the ankles and calves.
The inflatable exercise ball is used to develop muscles in the core by
balancing on top it assuming different positions. Plenty of times, I lost control on the
exercise ball and rolled into a giggling heap on the floor. You’ll probably have the same difficulties,
but just keep working at it and you’ll develop the strength and balance necessary. Orton encourages us that while developing
these new skills “Use some patience and put your ego in check…work like a
martial artist: deliberate movement and constant practice.”
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Knees to chest on the exercise ball
(my back should probably be straighter) |
I saw the results in my running within a week. Running I found myself zipping right through
patches of uneven ground I used to wobble through off-balance. I can see why trail runners are particularly
big fans of Orton’s training. As a
forefoot striker, I tend to get more flat-footed towards the end of runs as
fatigue set in. Gaining leg strength
from Orton’s workouts, I found myself at the end of runs maintaining form and speed
rather than stomping around over the last couple miles. And I recognized from photos in Orton’s book
I wasn’t lifting my knees high enough and so consciously worked on getting
higher knee action in my form.
Orton talks about visualizing yourself striding over “logs” while
running to get proper knee lift. As you
run faster, you should visualize yourself striding over bigger logs. I noticed during my runs I could use my knee
lift as a “throttle” and just focus on adjusting my knee height to control my
speed. It’s powerful to suddenly
realize the possibility to run faster not by working the legs harder, but to
use the mind to guide the body to make subtle changes in form.
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Knee drive position on the wobble board
(Pictured on a carpet, but use wobble board on
a hard floor for best "wobbly' results) |
Orton’s form and strengthening exercises are intended to
supplement a nine-week “Strategic Running Foundation” training plan. The plan is individualized to each runner’s
ability level using one mile time trial and a heart rate test. From this, Orton formulates no fewer than
seven speed zones and seven heart rate zones individualized for each runner to
follow in his training plan. If keeping
track of all 14 zones seems rather complicated to you, you’re not alone. While Orton’s plan is based on sound science
and I personally use a mix of running speeds to train, I found Orton’s plan way
more complicated than necessary. The
workouts are also written in a notation that’s hard to follow. I’m sure there’s some good workouts buried in
there. Many of Orton's readers will wish he outlined his Strategic Running Foundation in a more straightforward, simplified and
accessible manner.
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| Doing the "Scorpion" on the Execise Ball |
Orton on Eating Well, Running Well
When it comes to food, Orton is not bashful about his
opinions. He’s big on organic fruits and
vegetables, and rails against all processed food that dominates our grocery
store shelves. That includes pasta, a carbohydrate
source most runners crave. When it
comes to protein, he’s adamant about eating organic, free-range meats and wild
caught fish with portion sizes no bigger than the palm of our hands. He even encourages us to take on a 20 day
sugar detox, eliminating sugar completely from our diets. Orton goes so far as to suggest runners
develop their own nutrition mission statement.
Whether it’s really necessary or even realistic most for
recreational runners to make this level of dietary commitment is an open
question. To Orton’s credit, he doesn’t
take a rigid “eat this, not that” attitude, and he’s OK if you eat a cookie or
drink a beer now and then. But he’s
pretty adamant as he writes “Listen, we have a choice of how we want to
eat. We know what is best for us:
simple, natural, nutrient-dense foods.
The challenge is choosing to eat that way, making it a habit, and
sticking with that choice. It takes
discipline, focus, awareness.”
I’m not planning on
going on a 20 day sugar detox or writing a nutrition mission statement. But he has inspired me to make better decisions about what to eat. I resist the impulse to pick up that pack of
M&M’s at the grocery store check-out line.
I order a side salad instead of fries.
And yes, when thirsty, I’ve started pouring a glass of water instead of automatically
cracking open a beer. These are small decisions,
but they add up to a larger dietary change.
I’ve lost 5 pounds off my 185 pound frame in the last month as a result,
the lightest I’ve been in years. I do feel
better, too.
Return to Boston?
After finishing Orton’s provocative book, I found myself
thinking about things I wanted to accomplish in running. The last marathon I completed was the 1994
Boston Marathon nearly twenty years ago and I’ve always wanted to come back and
run Boston again. The biggest thing
that’s held me back is my body has broken down on runs long before I’ve
completed anything close to 26.2 miles.
I’ve spent a lot of effort correcting the imbalances and
weakness that led to injuries. I saw a
chiropractor four years ago to correct a hip imbalance that was causing all
sorts of problems. That turned out to be
a great investment, but I still had foot and knee problems limiting my longest
runs to 10-12 miles. I discovered last
fall my running shoes were a size too small, and now can complete runs of up to
15 miles without too much pain.
When I ran the Boston Marathon in 1994, I really never
embraced the whole Boston experience. I
was nervous and uptight, ended up going out to fast and barely made it across
the finish line. I wanted to come back
and do the race over again, but the opportunity never came. Returning to Boston is something I’ve held in
the back of my head, but it never seemed realistic given all the injury
problems I’ve had. After reading “The
Cool Impossible”, Boston doesn’t seem too far away anymore.
(Penguin Group Publishing provided an advanced review copy for the purposes of this review which will also appear in June/July issue of Adventure Sports Journal.)
