I feel as if my hard work this winter has taken my running from “mediocre” to “just so-so”. All I want to be is “half way decent”. Is that expecting too much?
I did a tempo run last Tuesday on the treadmill. I videotaped myself to check out grand improvements. To my utter dismay, I saw the same flaws: my right hand flicking around, my shoulders rocking back and forth, overstriding – and even saw some heel striking – ACK!!! The only good thing is that I am doing better on cadence. I counted 30 strikes per 10 seconds, which equals 180. (I counted several times throughout the workout to check for consistency.)
I’ve long been aware of the fact that my feet stay on the ground too long. When I first starting running, I was 40 pounds overweight. Out of fear of injury, I developed a very slogging sort of running style… so that with each step, I would brace myself and try to land softly to help absorbing the shock. Imagine how you land when you jump off something onto the ground, and you bend your knees to brace yourself. That’s my running style. This concept is totally flawed. In fact, you should land with a quick snap and minimize the amount of time each foot spends on the ground. That way, the force of hitting the ground will be transferred into motion, rather than absorbed by your body.
Imagine dropping a nerf ball to the ground. The nerf ball is very soft and will squish as it hits the ground and absorb alot of the energy. It will not bounce very high, because very little of it’s energy is transferred back into motion. Now think of dropping a golf ball. It is very hard and will bounce back up very high. Very little energy is absorbed into the ball – most of the energy is transferred back into motion. This is what you should think of when your feet hit the ground. (I believe this same concept holds true for having strong core muscles…a squishy core will absorb energy, a hard core will transfer energy).
On Thursday, I did my long run of 9 miles. I was focusing hard on trying to lift up my feet fast, as soon as they hit the ground. Old habits die hard, and I ended up just feeling frustrated. At one point I stopped running and found myself in my negative space thinking that I’ll never be a decent runner, and why do I bother trying, and maybe I should accept it. Maybe I ought to put my energy into getting better in the swim and bike, so that I get so far ahead that no-one can catch me no matter how slow I run.
Back in the fall when I had began working on my running form, I told myself I would never slog through endless miles again. But the truth is, it’s so much more fun to slog mindlessly. So, after a few minutes of negative stuff running through my head, I put on my emo playlist, and decided to just slog back home and not worry about form. That was quite enjoyable!
Here’s my Emo playlist…
Blasphemous Rumors by Depeche Mode
Mad Word by Tears for Fears
Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day
Stricken by Disturbed
Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin
Helena by My Chemical Romance
This Photograph Is Proof by Taking Back Sunday
Thanks for being so honest with your writing. I can SO relate to your writing about running style because it sure sounds like mine! (I expect you’re a lot faster though) I started running last September with about 1/2 mile run. I weighed 359 lbs! I’m now down to 264, with another 40 or so to lose. In the process, I’ve worked up to 12 km runs but MY GOODNESS I’m slow! I average just under 12 minute miles. I continue to favor my left leg because of knee soreness, etc.
I appreciate your blog and it is encouraging for me. For me, there’s this constant balance thing of working to improve and giving myself a pat on the back for coming this far already. I’m training for an Olympic distance triathlon in October.
Many blessings, William Haynes, Chiang Rai, Thailand
Don’t be too hard on yourself. Running is a tough workout. Many of runs should be easy. Take the nine mile run: Run the first two miles easy or mindlessly, then say OK for the next 5-20 minutes my plan is to sprint workouts, tempo run, etc., then go back to your easy mindless run. Repeat as you are capable. Running takes a bigger toll on you than the non-impact sports. So running mindlessly is OK–just mix in the harder workouts as necessary. You have to give yourself bigger breaks with tough running workouts than with swimming or biking.
I think you have made a big improvement with your running. The candence is a big improvement, plus you have focused more on running, and that alone will result in improvements. Your improvements are masked right now with some overtraining. Backoff a little–or run easy for a 2-4 weeks–and I’ll bet you will fly once you resume your hard workouts–but be careful not to push yourself too hard. Save the hardest running for race day.
Bob