More efficient running style

183 watchers

Bazoaxe Mar 2018 7:15pm, 24 Mar 2018 12,741 posts	0 Bazoaxe I ran 2 marathons last year. I was c 4 lbs heavier for the 2nd where I was 10 mins faster.
SSLHP (Shoes smell like horse piss) Mar 2018 9:01am, 25 Mar 2018 346 posts	0 SSLHP (Shoes smell like horse piss) Bazoaxe. You could have been 14 mins faster
SPR Mar 2018 9:23am, 25 Mar 2018 25,761 posts	0 SPR This why I think let weight take care of itself. Once in a generally health range, even if you can race well at lower weights, you might not be quite ready at that point in time and forcing a few pounds off just to hit a predetermined number could be counterproductive.
Bazoaxe Mar 2018 1:54pm, 25 Mar 2018 12,743 posts	0 Bazoaxe I worried about being too heavy for the autumn marathon, but actually I was about right and there is an argument I was too light for the spring marathon ! Having said that my weight now in prep for VLM is broadly what it was 12 months ago.
Canute Mar 2018 2:43pm, 25 Mar 2018 1,855 posts	0 Canute Weight does matter for a marathoner but so does strength; a strong wiry frame is required though not bulky muscles. Despite my concerns about much of Dr Romanov’s theories, I consider that he was right to emphasize exercises and drills. A realistic understanding of running mechanics indicates that hopping and skipping drills are important. I think that a modest amount of hopping/skipping once a week is very beneficial for a distance runner. It promotes neuromuscular coordination while developing the capacity to withstand the eccentric contraction at footfall and to store elastic energy to assist the push off from stance. But as with all aspects of exercise, build up slowly. Line jumps are a good place to start
Fenners Mar 2018 8:20am, 26 Mar 2018 14,524 posts	0 Fenners For you racing snakes it possibly could be a factor you lose too much weight but for a back of the pack plodder, losing weight has got to be a good thing. probably many many lbs over even the most kind weight calculator
Fenners Mar 2018 8:25am, 26 Mar 2018 14,526 posts	0 Fenners Stolen from a link provided by SPR. "The science of running has come a long way, but it has an even longer way to go before it replaces the art of running." That sums up very precisely how I feel about efficient running. If you have to think about running you've already turned from a natural runner to a robot that is being forced to adhere to some arcane rules.
jdarun Mar 2018 8:48am, 26 Mar 2018 2,633 posts	0 jdarun The precise quantitative evidence seems pretty thin on the ground but losing weight down to quite a low level must be beneficial. Obviously it gets to be unhealthy at some point but look at all the fastest finishers at any amateur or even pro race of your choice... I’m not really considering sprinting in that of course.
Canute Mar 2018 9:26am, 26 Mar 2018 1,859 posts	0 Canute Fenners, I think the science of running has got somewhat further than John Kellogg gives it credit for. (JK is the author of the article quoted by SPR). The scientific evidence indicates that training zones determined by HR or by pace are only a crude approximation to the level of stress associated with a particular training session. What science has demonstrated is that a training session must be stressful enough to stimulate growth but not so stressful as to stunt growth. The challenge is in estimating the optimum level of stress. As you know, we have been discussing this recently on the Polarised training thread. The effort of breathing is probably a more helpful guide than HR, but it is only part of the overall sensation of effort. Our non-conscious brain is capable of far more subtle estimate of effort than we give it credit for. But it can only achieve this if we allow it to develop that ability. Like JK, I believe that the best way – perhaps the only way, is via a lot of running, built up gradually over a period of years. However we can help develop confidence in our non-conscious brain if we frame our conscious description of our experiences in a manner that allows us to recognise when our body is well tuned. That is why I favour words such as ‘effort’ in preference to ‘pain’, and in particular, why I emphasize the importance of being open to the experience of exhilaration.
SSLHP (Shoes smell like horse piss) Mar 2018 9:48am, 26 Mar 2018 347 posts	0 SSLHP (Shoes smell like horse piss) Fenners. The trouble with not being mindful of your running is that negative movements can get lost in habit and go unnoticed. I think that some confuse 'natural' with habit. For example, when you see someone walking down the road with poor posture -slumped over with rounded shoulders. That probably feels perfectly 'natural' to them, because the degrade has happened over a long time. That person would need to become very mindful of his posture and movements to improve it, which would probably feel awkward at first.