If you’ve ever wondered why humans don’t have long, prehensile toes that would turn our feet into extra hands, here’s an answer: stubby toes may be custom-made for running.
Biomechanical analysis shows that long toes require more energy and generate more shock than short toes, making them one of many adaptations that may have helped our savannah-dwelling ancestors chase their prey.
"Longer toes require muscles to do more work, and exert stronger forces to maintain stability, compared to shorter toes," said University of Calgary anthropologist Campbell Rolian. "So long as we were engaged in substantial amounts of running, natural selection would favor individuals with shorter toes."
With my "flintstone feet" the short stumpy toes are probably the only thing going for them in terms of running.
In terms of post marathon recovery, my legs have been quite stiff and sore. However have been doing quite a bit of walking and that has helped. Thursday morning went for a very gentle untimed 2km jog, and this morning blew the cobwebs out with an 8km run (7.95km / 38:44 / 4:52min/km). It was good too and I wore my Auckland 2009 Marathon shirt (feeling good after "earning it" last Sunday!).
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3 comments:
I'm sure you'll be very proud every time you wear that shirt for many years to come. The first marathon is an important event!
You'll be seeing a lot of those red shirts out and about but very few of them will have Marathon on them!
Well done for getting back out.
I am taking a running break for a few weeks to let my body recover from the shock, but I look forward to putting on my new red shirt when the right time comes :)
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