Hey all,
At long last my long-awaited post on technique is here! It's been quite a challenge to get here because I've been busy and lazy (mostly lazy!), but also because I wanted this post to be absolutely perfect, especially with regards to how it has changed the way I've run. Technique has really been hammered into me for the past month, so much so that every run I've been doing has been a master-class in concentration and engaging my mind as much as engaging my legs.
I always thought that I was a technically sound runner. I've been running for 6 years. I've read the books and the articles on how I should run, and I always thought quickly to myself "yes I'm currently doing that right now". I think it was easy to not pay attention to technique because when we start running we just put one foot in front of the other really fast - how hard could it be? It's such an instinctive thing to do, right? We've been doing it since we were kids. Then those training programmes that you follow to get you into running in the first place emphasise what you should be running, but they don't go into any detail on how you should be running.
When I watched the London Marathon last year, I was amazed at the effortless movement of the elites, even at mile 15 where I was standing in the crowd at a time when the strain of it all would start to show in their running action. They were fluid in their strides, didn't seem to be working hard and just appeared like they were still in 3rd gear. One lady in the crowd said it best - they look like they are floating on the ground.
A short while later, the mid-pack runners arrived, and while they were no doubt fast runners, they made running look like it was painful. Their bodies were tight, their legs looked stodgy and they had pained expressions on their faces. This made me wonder, what really separates the elites from the mid-pack runners? A couple of things spring to mind. The elites put in more mileage, and they have a bit more natural ability. But the elites also devote time into running better, which seems to be the most neglected aspect when it comes to training.
Over a month ago I saw a video on YouTube presented by George Anderson on running technique. And that was the first time that technique really started to play a more important part in my training. When I look back at my past recent training programmes, I have to admit that I work hard, and have put in a fair amount of gut-busting runs in that quest to go that much faster. After missing out at my sub-1:30 target time by 4 minutes at the Reading Half Marathon last March, I started to wonder why the results didn't come after all that effort. It took a while to figure out and I came up with a few reasonable explanations. But it was definitely revealed to me when I saw George's video. No matter how much hard and fast running you do in training, if you don't learn to run better then that will really limit your performances.
So over the past few weeks, I started to examine my running with regards to technique, and I was amazed that there were still a few aspects that I needed to address and learn to incorporate in my running. Since watching the video, I've incorporated them in my runs, and it hasn't been easy because it's like learning how to run all over again. You have to gradually undo how you run (and having run for 6 years it's a hard thing to do), and then start to incorporate newer techniques. The ones that have been most pertinent to me are below.
Breathing
Before, I never thought about the way I breathe doing a run. Often I go off in my own world, then realise that I haven't really taken any breaths for the last 30 seconds or so! It's because breathing is a sub-conscious activity. My breathing also tended to be random without any set pattern.
Recently I've learned to breathe according to my footstrike, with a big breath in every two steps and a big breath out every two steps. It hasn't been easy to do this, and I've had to slow down in order to get this right. But when I did get this right, running become so much easier! I think it's a combination of the psychological (focusing on breathing instead of other things) and the physiological (getting more oxygen into your system).
In the Copenhagen marathon a couple of Sundays ago, I vowed to concentrate on my breathing for the entire 42.195 km. I did miss some breaths and/or breathed on the wrong footstrike, but for the whole race I was very conscious of my breathing. And it felt like I was running on oxygen alone! Running a sub-4 hour marathon never felt so easy, and it honestly felt like that at Copenhagen!
Forward lean
Stand tall and still. Obviously you won't be moving. Now lean forward at your ankles, not at your waist. You'll find that you instinctively put one foot forward to stop you falling flat on your face. In running, by leaning forward you utilise gravity to help you move forward. Leaning forward also encourages your feet to land below your centre of gravity which lets you run more efficiently and with less effort. If your feet land in front of your centre of gravity, your legs have to work harder to get you moving forward. Imagine doing this for 42.195 km - your legs would be screaming!
Whenever I run past a series of tall shop windows, I always look at the way I run through the reflection in the window. This is not because I'm vain and love to check myself out in the mirror. This is a chance to see whether I'm putting enough forward lean in my running, and also checking out where my foot is landing in relation to my body, whether it's directly below my core or in front. So whenever you're running past a series of windows, try looking at the way you run and see if you have a forward lean in your posture. Just be careful not to hit the lamppost head on whilst doing this!
Running with your hips and core
For me, probably the most valuable technique to focus on. As with the forward lean with utilising gravity to run more efficiently, you also need to utilise the appropriate muscles in your body to run more efficiently, in particular your hips and core. They are your bigger and stronger muscles, they generate more power and they can work under load for a longer time, so it makes perfect sense to use these muscles as much as possible, as well as building them up using some sort of body conditioning programme.
Don't think of the core muscles as just your abs and that you can only strengthen them with sit-ups and crunches. Don't even think for a second that you need a six-pack to be a better runner! Your core includes your abs, hips, glutes, lower back and the entire pelvic region. Try putting all the effort on your calves and even your quads and hamstrings and you'll find that they will eventually fatigue and cramp up. In conjunction with the forward lean, focus on generating your forward momentum from your core. For me, if I can feel my hip flexors and glutes working then I know that I'm engaging the right set of muscles, and taking the effort away from my legs. In fact, your legs are just there to stop you from falling over... and that's it!
By engaging my core, I found that a combination of my stride cadence and stride length had increased, which meant that I was on my way to becoming a faster runner - without significantly changing what I did with my legs.
Arm drive
Look at a sprinter, for example. It's no secret that their speed is generated from the arms and upper body. This is applicable for all runners, even down to the slowest marathon runners. You might think that a lot of marathon runners don't use their arms a lot, but imagine how much faster they'd run if they did engage their arms?
A lot of marathoners do move the arms in various ways, but there's only one correct way to do this and that is using the forward-back motion, where driving the arms straight back will allow us to generate more forward momentum. Too often I see runners moving their arms side to side across their bodies with their elbows sticking out their sides. This is the wrong kind of arm drive as it doesn't contribute to any forward momentum whatsoever.
At the moment I'm still working on this, as too often I start out with the correct arm drive then fall back to incorrect movements. It takes me a while to realise that I've sunk into my old habits. Just like learning to breathe properly, learning to move the arms in the proper direction will also make running that much easier.
Conclusion
So there you have it! These are the techniques that I've had to consolidate in my running. They aren't major improvements, but slight tweaks in my existing technique which will go a long way in making me a better runner. My usual easy runs have felt a lot easier when keeping these techniques in mind, and pushing the pace of my easy runs hasn't been difficult at all - recently my easy runs were just a shade under 5 mins/km. If you told me 6 months ago that I would be running my easy runs at that pace comfortably, then I'd probably laugh at you. Copenhagen felt easy too - at 3:43:17, that's an average pace of 5:18/km sustained over a marathon. It's been a while since I did a continuous hill session or threshold run so I'd like to see how I fare whilst keeping technique in mind.
I must admit, I always like to see other runners on the street and analysing how they run, whether they are landing properly, using the arms, incorporating a forward lean, etc. It makes me mindful of the proper running techniques and it's a great way to see whether you can incorporate what they're doing in your own running. After all, better technique was first introduced to me from watching the elites, so I can also learn from the old man or the young girl and seeing how they run.
If you're a runner who might need a helping hand with technique, consider those points above, watch George's video, and go on a few training runs with proper technique firmly placed in the forefront of your mind. You'd be really amazed at how high you can raise the ceiling of your own performance just by being mindful of how you run as opposed to what you run.
All the best,
Aaron
