I went for my 9 mile run today. I was trying hard to change the flaws I saw in my running videos. The run was a struggle and everything just felt off.
After a few miles of trying to correct everything at once, I decided to just focus on a faster cadence. I recalled Dave Scott’s “Baby Steps” drill that I saw on YouTube, where you start out running with very small steps. That worked, but did not feel natural.
I had started out carrying a Gu fisted up in my left hand to try and force that hand to not flop about strangely. That sort of worked, but I caught myself several times doing a strange flop with my fisted hand. sigh…
Near the end of the run, I tried focusing on swinging my arms at a faster pace to force my legs to stride faster along with them. That sort of worked too, and allowed me to focus on my arms and stride rate at the same time.
I will keep trying these focuses on my long runs…maybe it will get easier with time.
I’ve decided that the following three things are my best bet to improve my running (in addition to the hard treadmill workouts, of course)!
Keep working toward higher cadence, as I did today.
Improve my core strength. I’ve started doing my stability ball core workout again to increase my core. My thought being that maybe some of my upper body movements during a run are to compensate for a weak core.
I’m also trying extremely hard to lose a few pounds. The only way I know to lose weight is to allow myself to be hungry part of the day. Okay, most of the day. I was listening to the radio yesterday and heard Nickelback’s Rockstar song. This part struck a cord with me…
“we’ll all stay skinny cuz we just won’t eat.”
Dave,
I have used a metronome mp3 file on my player as a cadence meter, but forgot about it. Thanks for the reminder! Here’s a link to the mp3 files if interested. Thanks! Carol
Carol, do you use a metronome or pace setter for your cadence? I found that helps me rather than just thinking “baby steps”. It’s just like my cadence read out on the bike but with a audible “beep”. I’m also trying this for swimming as well but that takes a bit more experimentation.
Carol, careful with your nutrition. With all the training you’re putting in, if you decide not to eat a lot, at least eat what’s important for you. Keep an eye on how you’re feeling. See if your immune system is functioning well.
Bruno.
i was working on my form last month. For the whole month, i focused solely on my form. I cut down the distance from 8 miles to 3 miles. I started with drill, the baby step that you just mentioned is one of them.
After one month, i can feel that my form improved a lot. It is easier for me to stick to the right form now compared to the previous month.
I am not sure whether this helps but cutting down the distance and focus solely on my form helps me. Just thought of sharing.
I picked up triathlon last year. So far, i have picked up two Olympic distance tri race but the time is not all that great. This year i am working towards 2 hours 45 minutes goal.