or lack of it...
Case in point. Lets not even talk about the facial expression. I was trying to sprint here, and I always open my mouth during hard effort. Not sure why. (It started in childhood during gymnastics. There were noises then, too, a la Monica Seles.). So, not sure what was happening with my legs here, the L one is crooked to the L, I am about to land way in front of my pelvis, my arms are not sure what to do with themselves....Pretty bad!
In May I ran a 1/2 marathon and when I looked at the pictures I was appalled. I looked hunched over in all of them (worse than this, if you can imagine). I started reading about form, and made some changes such as shortening my stride, increasing my stride rate, paying attention to my posture, standing up straight, landing under my pelvis, and striking with my forefoot.
When I got my pics from the Swanzey Half I ran in September, I saw a huge improvement in my form. I was running straight, with a short (and quick) stride. This picture was taken at the beginning of the race (mile 4 or so), where I made a conscious effort to keep good form (I was looking down at my feet, very serious, concentrating on my form).
So I made some improvement. But, obviously I need more work with my form when I get tired. I can hold on to an OK form up to mile 20, but when my legs get tired, my form gets out of place - I hunch over, my stride becomes too long, my arms all over the place, etc. So what to do? What exercises/drills are you doing for form? Any suggestions about improving form during the last miles of a long race? I don't want to be nicknamed the "hunched over runner". Help!
19 comments:
my form is awful. A few weeks ago someone told me to relax my shoulders, so now I find myself thinking about that all the time on the run. But in pictures i always look awful!
No real good advice. My yoga teacher comments on "hunched over runners" fairly often. I try, I try and I try to keep my shoulders back and what do they do, hunch forward. Dang it! I've been working on it for years, and for me, it will NOT become a habit. Not sure why I have such a mental block about it.
I'm no help either! Every time I think my form is getting better, I see another race photo showing otherwise, haha!
is it ok that i laughed really hard at the finish line picture. i think race pictures tell us a lot. i once gathered all of mine in one blog post to review them all. i think core and strength work helps with this. maybe meeting with someone to talk about it?
My form sucks but is improving. I found that track workouts really help with form and economy
LOL! You're way too hard on yourself! When you're tired, running form often gets bad, and you mentioned before that your IT band seized up right after you finished. Your bad form might be caused from an extremely irritated leg.
That being said in college we often did running drills to improve form. Here's a link to some examples, but there aren't any videos or pictures so I'm not sure how useful it will be. I know a strong core helps too. Planks are good, but I feel the most benefit from pushups. I try to do 3 sets of 20 five days a week.
Katie, you are so hard core. No way I can do 20 push ups in a row. I have strong legs but weak upper body, even though I lift weights and swim. Maybe this is my problem...
I think core work is the key. If the core is strong it's a lot easier to stay upright and not hunch over. RW had an article last spring showing all the core work Lolo Jones does (6 or 7 exercises). Really good stuff, it's definitely made a difference for me and it doesn't take long at all to do the exercises. Women's running just had a article this month on core work too, I think my wife and I are ready to switch from the Lolo workouts to these new ones now, although you need a medicine ball
That Baystate pic is awesome. Love it.
My form sucks, too, and I worry there isn't much one can do unless you're thinking about it all. the. time. Which makes running no fun. The shortened stride is key to conserving energy, so that's what I'm focused on. If you find a method that leads to permanent change, let me know.
I always wonder about my form as well. I only notice for myself when I see pics. But, it seems that it's heightened when I'm coaching because I'm watching the high schoolers form so much! One girl runs quite hunched over. When I reminder her to keep her eyes up, it helps somewhat. She tends to look down right in front of her and causes her to arch her back.
~carpeviam
Your post got me thinking about my running form. I just went back and looked at some past race pics. Man, I over stride like it's going out of style! And I'm constantly swinging my arms across my chest. Looks like I have some work to do. Sigh.
I've been working on form too...when I think about it! There's always so much going on in my head when I run but this is so important. I think arm and shoulder work helps a lot!
Hi A-M. It is a brave and self-assured person who asks for personal feedback in cyberspace :-) I won't give you any, but here's two pieces of advice I have received on my running form:
(a) Increase stride turnover and shorten stride length if necessary to do this. (You are already doing this one.)
(b) Run tall and relaxed. Imagine a string pulling you up through the top of your head. And loosen your shoulders, arms and hands.
A good run coach will have 50 ideas after watching you for five minutes at the start and end of a long run.
Paul :-)
I think a lot of it stems from core strength, as many others have said. The stronger your core, the less likely you'll be to collapse down when running; granted, it's very rare to NOT have your form suffer at least a little towards the end of a marathon . . . but still, every little bit helps.
That being said, upper body strength is also very important. If your arms start to drop, your shoulders will drop as well. Katie was right on with her advice of pushups. Pushups are awesome because they also engage your core (yay for killing two birds with one stone!). Make sure to throw in some specific back and shoulder exercises as well, though (back--seated/bent over rows, assisted pull-ups, lat pulldown, etc.; shoulder--shoulder press, military press, front raise, etc.).
I've also heard that you are supposed to push the crown of your head upwards and look ahead toward the horizon if your posture starts to suffer during a marathon/long run/etc.
Okay, I am blabbing way too much so I'll stop now! Maybe I'll just write a post on my own blog instead of taking over yours!! :)
don't hate me, but that pict is hilarious. I think it is more often than not that pictures of us running are not great pictures of us. oh well, in my mind I'm a very sexy looking runner.
Oh dear. That first picture is pretty bad if you don't mind my saying so. I'm not sure if it really fair to judge your form when your at the last 800m of the finish line at a marathon plus sprinting.
I think swimming will help with that. On long runs I always listen to people say that they're upper body is sore and they start hunching. I never really feel it there I think because of all the swimming. Alos remember Meg Runs' post about her arm workout - (Running motion with weights). Sounds like a good start to me.
Have you tried running in Newtons? I have not tried them yet, but two of my girlfriends have and said they work wonders! Start out with short little runs in them until you get used to them and then build from there. Supposedly they guide your feet so that it's not comfortable to overstride and land on your heel (so you learn to land mid-foot). I'll let you know when I get mine and have a chance to try them out. :)
form can be so hard to deal with!! its hard to think about it constantly to make sure you are doing it right, ESPECIALLY when you are tired. i guess practice makes perfect? i dont know! if you find the magic answer please let us know :)
I channel the yoga breathing and let my shoulders relax down my back (and away from my ears). Holding good form in those late miles is so tough.
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