Running Technique, tips and tricks

So the photos from the TYS10K are in.  After a quick review of both good and bad running form, I decided to post some photos featuring some tips for a good run.  I've been reading Chi Running, which (in training runs) has changed my running format and how I feel about running for the better.  Using this technique, let's explore:

How not to run

In this photo as I crossed the finish line, we can see some excellent examples of how not to run:

• huge arm swing crossing the centre of the body.  This is doing two things that are unhelpful: a) using more energy than is needed, and b) twisting around the torso, probably contributing to the amazing stomach cramping.  It is also causing my shoulders and upper back to become tense, again using muscles that don't need to be used and ultimately, contributing to soreness and potential for overuse injuries.
• heel strike.  After looking at this photo, I realized why my knees hurt so much after the run :(  Heel strikes cause you to break the momentum of your running stride, kind of like hitting the brakes.  The force of impact goes into the joints (ankles, knees, hips) which are not designed to take that kind of stress.  Enter the injuries.
• I also appear to somehow be rolling to the outside of the heel when I landed.  This is not condusive to injury-free running, and is probably another excellent reason why my knees were sore.
• leg is extending ahead of the body (which is why there is a heel strike), also expending more energy than is needed.
• large yellow sad face indicating how unfortunate the whole situation is.

A better technique

I can't quite call this one "how to run" because it still doesn't demonstrate awesome form, but it's a start anyway...

• arms are relaxed and not crossing the centreline of the body.  Shoulders are still tense in this photo, but imagine like they're relaxed and enjoying the ride.
• most important - a midfoot strike.  I am not slamming my heels into the ground with each step, rather landing in the middle and ball of my foot.  This way, I allow myself to continue moving with the momentum of my stride, rather than hitting the breaks and causing shock of impact in my joints.
• not seen very clearly, but my body is leaning slightly forward.  This is a very important component of Chi Running (aka the best book/running format ever).  Imagine your lean as being kind of like your "gears".  The more lean you have, the higher gear you are in and, the faster you go.  Essentially, by leaning forward, you allow gravity to do the work of propelling you forward.  All you have to do is keep your feet moving to stop you from falling on your face.
• foot is ready to touch the ground right below the hips rather than extending forward. 
• large yellow happy face indicates how much better this situation is.  However the look of unhappiness on my own face probably negates any of that :P

If you aren't sure what you do when you run (which, I think, most of us don't), it can be really helpful to get someone to take photos/videos of you running to check out your form.  Even more helpful is if they can catch you running from the side, as this will give you a better indication of where your foot lands (under the body or in front), and the degree of your body lean.

Other considerations for good posture in running:

• Abdominal strength - lower abdominals are particularly useful in good running form.  If you are using body lean to increase your speed, you will need core strength to stop you from simply collapsing forward.  Also necessary to protect your lower back from collapsing (i.e. over-swooping)
• Relax anything that doesn't need to be used.  Notice if your jaw is clenched, or your fists are balled up tight.  If they are, chances are that you're tensing up other things too that are not condusive to running.  For example, tension in the ankles reduces the joints' ability to absorb impact, tension in the hips/pelvis prevents rotation and limits the leg's movement.
• Stand tall.  Lead your run from the heart, as if you're being pulled along by a string attached to your sternum (chestbone).  The tailbone is slightly lowered toward the ground and the back of the neck lifted and long to keep the spine lengthened.
• Smile :)  Have you ever seen those photos of people running who just look so miserable??  Why would anyone do something that makes them so unhappy!?  My favourite example that I saw recently was the photos in The Star from Harry's Spring Run Off.  There are some VERY miserable looking people in there!  Amazingly, simply looking like you're having a good time can have a really strong impact on your emotional state.  If you look happy, you might just become happy :)  Ever seen the Ridiculously Photogenic Guy?

In upcoming blogs, I will post about other running tips and tricks, such as hydration and nutrition (and why avoiding Thai food the night before a race is a better idea than what I did :(!)

Spring into Action: 10k race update, and why Thai food is a bad pre-run choice

Sunday was the Toronto Yonge Street 10K, and I did NOT come anywhere close to my intended target time.  However I still crossed the finish line with a grimace smile on my face.

Let's talk about how that was an epic fail of life.  Also: why Thai food is a really bad pre-run food choice.

I really can't give any excuses about what happened on Sunday.  It was entirely within my control and I didn't follow through.  I have definitely learned some lessons for the 1/2 marathon in May (i.e. what not to do). 

I didn't get to run the week leading up to the 10K, only a 6k on the Tuesday.  Meanwhile, I'd been sitting on my butt studying all day and night for the week with little activity other than short walk breaks to save my sanity.  In addition, the weather has taken a wicked turn for the worse - my last run was in sunny warm 17+ degree weather.  Race day, I woke up to a temperature of NEGATIVE ONE.  The night before the run, boyfriend wanted to order Thai for dinner because he had a groupon that expired on Saturday.  Ok, I figured, I'd order something noodley and not spicy so that it would be kind of like a pasta dinner (traditional pre-race food).  I also drank an insane amount of water in an attempt to flush out the sodium/water-retaining properties common to Thai takeout.  Also guzzled more water the morning of the run to keep hydrated.

At the start line, I was feeling good.  Within the first 2k, suddenly I was bombarded with EPIC stomach cramps and crazy pain in my sides.  Very bad. I had to stop and walk a lot.  Like, a lot.  I ran  3 minutes, walked 3 minutes, and even at that, my running was barely faster than a walk.  By about 5k the cramping had worked it's way out and I was doing a bit better (still some cramping, but I could actually move and breathe properly).  Amazingly by this time, I was only a few minutes above my 5k goal time (normal 5k takes me about 35-36 minutes, I did it in 39).  Decided to keep running slower than usual to avoid a re-cramping situation. 

I finally crossed the finish line at a humiliating 1:20:29, the slowest 10k that I have ever run.  I later found out that a friend of mine had been waiting at the finish line to see me cross (I didn't know this ahead of time) and waited until 1:15:00 before heading out.  She figured that she had just missed seeing me in the crowd.  I nearly cried with embarassment as I told her that no, I was actually still 5 minutes away.  As I reluctantly told my dad (who picked me up) about my time, he looked at me in disbelief and said "... it was only 10k, right??".  Thanks dad.

My knees were also hella swollen by the end of the run.  My left knee has had all kinds of problems before but has been well-behaved over the last few weeks.  After the run when I stopped to stretch my quads, I couldn't actually reach my foot behind me because my knees couldn't bend that far.   I think I need new shoes. Not cool.

I was bummed out.  That's not true - I'm still very bummed out.  And I'm terrified, because in 5 weeks I will be expecting to run DOUBLE this distance.  0___0

I'm going to try to use this experience as a learning rather than dwelling on all the things I did wrong.  But I'm really struggling with it, because I had really had such high hopes for this run.  I should be realizing that 10K is a huge accomplishment, that many people could never cross in 1:20 in their wildest dreams, and the fact that only a few short years ago, I couldn't run a kilometre without feeling like death. 

And yet, I'm bummed out.
:(

The photos from the race just came out yesterday.  I will soon post a photo and yes - some education!  There will soon be a post about running technique so that you, dear readers, don't end with the same unfortunate circumstances and results as I did.

Spring into Action Week 6 and 7

I apologize for the late/double post.  I had written out the week 6 activity and thought that I posted it.  It wasn't until logging in today that I realized it was still sitting in "drafts".  Oops :)

Week 6
Sunday: Snuck in a 1hr hot yoga class at work, as the studio wasn't very busy over the Easter weekend and I wasn't needed :)

Monday: I had planned a run today, but boyfriend ended up getting the day off as well and wanted to go for a walk (and I couldn't convince him to run with me, as he is currently hobbling around with a sprained ankle).  Despite his ankle issue, we walked for an hour and a half through High Park with a 15 minute lunch break.  Our walk took us through the zoo, where a group of volunteers was encouraging donations to help save the zoo from closing in June.  I paid $2 to feed the llamas :)

Tuesday: Activity failure today.  This was the last day of one of my longest lectures, and I had expected that we would be let out early (figured that there was no way that the prof would be able to fill up 3 hours worth of talking, given that everything we needed to talk about was already done).  So, I brought my gym clothes and shoes with me to go to the gym between class and a WW meeting in the evening.  Fail.  Somehow the prof not only managed to keep us the whole 3 hours, but went OVERTIME.  By the time I left, I didn't have enough time to get in more than about a 10 minute workout before having to leave and walk up to the meeting.  Instead, I walked for 20 minutes around the neighbourhood before landing in the meeting with my heavy gym bag.  Also got another 15 minute walk in post-meeting.  Sad face.

Wednesday: Planned a 5 or 6k run on the treadmill (because it was effing cold and windy outside).  When I got to the condo gym, one treadmill was occupied, and the other was BROKEN :(!!!  I tried fiddling around with the plugs, but to no avail.  Instead of turning around and sulking back home with no activity at all (which would probably be my normal response :P), I opted to hop on the elliptical till the treadmill became available again (about 20 minutes), then jumped on the treadmill for a 3k run (about 22 minutes).  By that time, unfortunately, I had to get going to get back to studying (stupid exams >:( ), but at least I got in a solid 40+ minutes of activity, plus a really good 5 minutes of stretching.

Thursday: School all day, work all night.  I did walk home from work (30 minutes), so I guess I got at least a little bit of something in?

Friday: I had planned to go to the gym after class for a strength class, but it turned out that we got out of class early today.  Sigh.  I wasn't willing to wait around for 2 hours for the class, so I went to the gym anyway and did my own thing for an hour instead (steep incline walking on the treadmill, some weights and ab circuits)

Saturday: Another unfortunate activity fail.  Worked all morning, taught a yoga class (minimal activity), and then off to my parent's house for Easter dinner part 2.  Other than the small activity done in my class, and a bit of walking around at work, I didn't have much movement today :(

Week 7 -- The first week of exams.  I'm afraid my activity log isn't all that exciting this week...

Sunday: planned rest day

Monday: I had an exam on Tuesday that I desperately needed to study for, so I didn't get in the run I had hoped to get.  I did go out for a 30 minute walk as a break.

Tuesday: 6k post-exam #1 run :)

Wednesday: More studying, more 30 minute walk break

Thursday: More studying.  Walked to and from work (30 minutes each way)

Friday: More studying, took two 30 minute walk breaks (1hr total activity)

Saturday: Exam #2 day, more walking (30 minutes)


So I've been having some challenges keeping up with my goal of getting activity every day.  I had a sneaking suspicion that this would happen once exams rolled around, but I had hoped that maybe, just maybe, if I had already gotten into the habit of exercising every day well before exams started, that there would be a higher chance that I'd keep up with it during exams!  Weeeelllll unfortuntely it didn't work out that way, but I've still been active almost every day, but in shorter durations than pre-exams (e.g. instead of a 1 hour gym session, I'm lucky to fit in a half hour, but it's better than the 0 hours that I probably would have done without the Spring into Action challenge!)

Tomorrow is the Toronto Yonge Street 10K!  I signed up for this one instead of the Sporting Life 10K this year because, well, the Sporting Life one didn't exist yet at the time that the TYS10K registration opened.  The Sporting Life is no longer a Canadian Running Series event, and actually didn't even exist until several months after I signed up for the TYS10K instead.  Even stranger, they both have the exact same route, but are being held two weeks apart.  Whaaat?

My fastest 10K time was 1:12:23 (2 years ago at the Sporting Life 10K).  This year I've had much more training, so I am hoping to break that time if I can.  But really for me, this event isn't about running fast, it's another training run for me.  Because the Toronto Women's Half Marathon is only 5 weeks away  .___.

How have you been active this week?

Spring Into Action Week 5

Happy first week of April!
Sunday, April 1: rest day

Monday: Ran 6k in the park :) I tried out my exciting newfound knowledge from the Chi Running book, and I must say, I'm a believer!  Though I still didn't run as far as I'd hoped, I was thrilled that it was a heck of a lot farther than I got last week.  Plus, it didn't feel like death - I breezed through the park and my legs didn't feel like lead.  What killed me was the random gusts of wind and the enormous steep hill that I chose to run at the very end for some reason.  Next time - better route mapping :)

Tuesday: Accidental rest day (accidental because it wasn't planned, just that life kind of ended up getting in the way!)

Wednesday: Snuck in a 75min hot Flow yoga class at the end of the day.  Flow is a vinyasa-style yoga class where all of the postures flow together (get it? Flow!) without rest between postures.  It's a bit more cardiovascularly challenging than a regular hatha class, and involves a lot of downward dog flows (down dog --> plank --> chaturanga --> upward dog --> downward dog).

Thursday: Unfortunately I didn't have enough time today between class and work to fit in a workout, but I walked to my WW meeting (about a half hour walk) and back home, for a 1hr walk in total :)

Friday: We were going to boyfriend's mom's place for Easter dinner tonight, so the only time I had available to fit in a workout was this morning.  I had planned for a run, but it was still only 1 degree outside, so I went to the condo gym's treadmill.  Sadly, the gym was already full by the time I got there :(  So instead, I hopped on the eliptical for a 15 minute warmup/light cardio, followed by 20 minutes of upper body workout (bicep/tricep, lats, chest, etc), 10 minutes of lower body workout (lunges, glute lifts, squats), and 5 minutes of abs (crunches, bicycles, planks), and 5 minutes of stretching.  By the time I was about 3/4 of the way through, the treadmill became available again, but I decided to just finish up what I was doing and get in a run on Saturday instead.

Saturday: My dad and boyfriend were doing a fundraising event at a fancy shop near us to raise money for the Ride to Conquer Cancer.  I decided to go visit - and run there and back.  In total, it was just over 7k that I ran, with a little 15 minute visit break in between.

Spring into Action Week 4

This week was an unfortunate one for me... I had such great plans, but got sidelined by a recurring injury in my knee.  I had to take it easy and avoid doing too much strenuous work in order to heal my poor knee.  By the end of the week though, it was feeling much better and I had done lots of stretching and strengthening exercise instead, so hopefully next week will be a bit more impressive :P

Sunday March 25: rest day

Monday: Planned to go for a run outside, until it turned out to be -2 degrees.  Took the run inside to the treadmill instead.  I don't know what was going on with me, but my body was just EXHAUSTED.  I only squeezed out 3.4km, which is really strange since I could easily run 5+km outside just last week.  I was huffing and puffing and sweating like crazy only a few minutes in.  Wtf :(  To make up for it, I did 20 minutes of upper body work as well (squat-press, lunge with bicep curls, tricep extensions and dips, and push ups)

Tuesday: Woke up this morning with a wicked charlie horse :( Also my knee had started acting up again for the first time since like, January.  Not cool knee, not cool.  I did about a half hour of yoga at home to try to stretch out my calf and be nice to my knee.  Also did about 15 minutes of upper body stuff (push ups, tricep dips, ab work)

Wednesday: Attempted run #2, took it outside this time.  Again, I had planned a long run (6km+ minimum), but was again only able to squeeze out about 3.7km.  Wtf :( My calf was still in some pain, but problems were now starting in my foot as well (I've had problems with plantar fasciitis before, ironically in the same leg that also has knee problems and got the calf pull this week.  Sweet.)

Thursday: Another gentle stretching day to relieve my poor calf/knee/foot, did a 40 minute yoga practice in the living room.  My knee was feeling a bit better by the evening :) yay!

Friday: A one-hour strength training class at the gym, including circuits of lower body, upper body, and abdominal work.

Saturday: I had planned to get in a yoga class, but after already teaching two classes and working a WW meeting in the morning, I was just far too exhausted to make that happen.  But, I did get in some activity in my two classes by demonstrating stuff and moving through vinyasa flows with the students.  My hips were feeling it by the end of the second class, so I must have been doing something!

During the week I also picked up a book called ChiRunning.  And it is seriously blowing my mind.  I'll update next week on whether it's actually helped my running or not :)