I just realized I have been running incorrectly for the past 10 years of my life.
I was a sprinter in high school track. I was taught at the time to always run on my toes. It made sense, and sense then I have always ran on my toes.
However, I didn’t make the connection that running on your toes is targeted for sprinting only! Whenever I ran long distances I was running on my toes. This was not a problem until recently, when I realized I have shin splints.
So I did some research, and this is what I find out. When you’re walking, you should strike your heel first. When running, your feet should hit the ground flat – no heel or toe first, but both. When you’re sprinting, go toes first. I’m going to take a couple days off from running to let my shin/calves heal and then try again, only this time running more balanced.
I also found the following advice, which I’m going to try out: “A proper distance running stride is difficult to describe without showing it, but it is truly thing of beauty. It should feel almost like you are pulling the ground underneath you as you glide over the road/trail/field.”