Do (can) tights hamper your running?

G

GT2003

0
This is kind of a continuation from my log. But, can tights interfere with your normal stride? The reason I ask is because I ran a 5k last night. It was quite cold, below 30 degrees F. I wore long tights for the 1st time ever running. It felt difficult for me to raise my knee to its normal height after I would push off the ground with that foot. It could have been the temperature or something else but the tights almost felt restrictive.
 
well if they don't fit properly yes.... or you might just have been cold
 
GT2003 said:
This is kind of a continuation from my log. But, can tights interfere with your normal stride? The reason I ask is because I ran a 5k last night. It was quite cold, below 30 degrees F. I wore long tights for the 1st time ever running. It felt difficult for me to raise my knee to its normal height after I would push off the ground with that foot. It could have been the temperature or something else but the tights almost felt restrictive.
Click to expand...

If they are squeezing your package, then yeah, tights can interfere with your stride.;)
 
GT2003 said:
This is kind of a continuation from my log. But, can tights interfere with your normal stride? The reason I ask is because I ran a 5k last night. It was quite cold, below 30 degrees F. I wore long tights for the 1st time ever running. It felt difficult for me to raise my knee to its normal height after I would push off the ground with that foot. It could have been the temperature or something else but the tights almost felt restrictive.
Click to expand...

Don't store Mr. Johnson in one of the legs, keep him at attention.

But seriously, if the tights fit properly, you shouldn't notice them at all.
 
Thanks. The tights were brand new and fit well, not overly snug. So, it could be that they are brand new or it could be that I was simply cold. Anyway, I'll run with them on my practice runs when it's cooler outside and see if it makes a difference. I tell people all the time to not change anything from training to race day (nutrition, clothing etc). Then, I turn around and do the same thing myself. Hmmm.
 
Because running/walking is a cyclic activity, the brain tries to reduce its need to be directly involved (This is why it's possible to get people with severed spines to produce walking patterns, by retraining central pattern generators in the spinal cord). Normally, sensory information signals when to alternate between stance and swing, experiments clearly support this. Therefore, tights like you describe may interfere with this sensory information and intefere with your gait to a degree.

How much so? I don't know. My guess would be that it would be to a small scale, and that you could probably adapt to the new change so that after a couple of run's it feel feel "normal" again.

Matt
 
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OK, so now I have to get past my next couple of runs so they'll feel "normal". Bad week recently but still planning on New Years Eve run so we'll see how it goes. Take care, Greg
 
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