Note: I am a newly certified RRCA Running Coach. Everything posted in "Coach's Corner" is my opinion. I am not a doctor or a dietician. As with anything on the internet, take everything with a grain of salt!
This Sunday, I will be pacing my good friend, Emily, for her second half marathon. Please send your wishes for good weather and a pleasant race. And pray that she has the patience to deal with my incessant jabbering and encouraging for 160 minutes.
Question of the week: How do I run correctly?
Answer: This is probably the most common question from a new runner. And for a beginner, my answer is always the same... run the way you naturally run. Don't overthink it. Running involves mostly reflexes. Gait retraining can be a dangerous game - biomechanically, things are connected in ways we often don't understand. Your right arm my cross your body more than your left because your body is compensating for a biomechanical issue in your hips (just as a general example). The truth is that most people will naturally evolve into their most economical gait pattern. Trying to alter your gait will often reduce your running economy and will possibly lead to injury. *This is not to say there are never any changes that a professional can suggest to improve your running form, but for a beginner, allowing your body to just move naturally is your best bet.
Tip of the week: Respecting the injury.
As most of you know, I spent the last week or so injured. It was not a major injury. It was a relatively minor sprain in my left foot. It made running painful, although bearable. And towards the end, I can run, but my foot is throbbing after. What I did this last week, though, is try to treat this injury the way I would ask someone I am coaching to treat an injury. The truth is that with most minor running injuries, if you just stay off it a couple days and RICE (rest, ice, compress, and elevate), it often gets better. Continuing to run through pain can often agitate an injury and likely will make it take longer to heal. Not only did I stay off the foot for awhile, when I did come back, I did so with 0.5 mile test run, then 2 miles, then 3... and so on, until today, my foot was finally comfortable and I was able to push through 9 miles (although I was throbbing after and had to RICE). The truth is that every injury is different. And every runner is different. So I am being wildly general, but you must respect the injury. If it hurts... don't try to run again later that day - it will almost definitely still hurt. Pains that you might ignore if you weren't a runner, should not be ignored if you plan to put mile after mile of pounding on it. (Speaking of things other than general muscle soreness.) And this last week, I did something I've never done in all my running (I'm not injury-prone), I called a Sports Chiropractor trained in ART. I've never called a doctor of any sort for anything running-related. But I was glad I did. I got reassurance that there was no fracture and that walking and doing test-runs to see where the pain is were not going to make the condition worse... as well as having Dr. Magic Hands move a few jolted foot parts back into place. The point is to not be afraid to call a doctor if you have a concern or question. It is better to have a diagnosis and a fairly clear path to recovery. Just an example from the other end of the spectrum, a good friend continued to run through hip pain for weeks before finding out that her pelvic bone had stress fractures on both sides. That was months and months ago. She just today ran a completely healed 0.5 mile. Yeee-ooow. That's not where you want to be... take care of yourselves... it's the only body you get.
Motivational Quote of the Week:
At least 99 percent of running is just showing up, getting out there and putting one foot in front of the other.
John Hanc, The Essential Runner
(Some of you might recognize this as yesterday's Runner's World Quote of the Day... but I loved it and couldn't pass up sharing it.)
Note: I am a newly certified RRCA Running Coach. Everything posted in "Coach's Corner" is my opinion. I am not a doctor or a dietician. As with anything on the internet, take everything with a grain of salt!
(Runners and coaches, please feel free to offer more input and/or feedback on these Coach's Corner posts.)
7 comments:
Gait retraining can indeed be dangerous but there is a flaw to the idea of a natural stride. I think that it is 100% truth early in life but many who take up running later in life have already altered their natural movements through long term compensation for weight gain/loss or past injuries that have long since healed. It's amazing how we naturally adjust to compensate but frequently fail to return to our prior normal state afterwards. Watch someone who used to be very obese drop a lot of weight and then walk. They will walk as if they are still carrying the weight. It doesn't necessarily make it optimal. That's my 2 cents. I know a response is coming ..... ;-)
I won't argue... I'm open to other opinions in the comments.
My response would be that do you know that that's what you're compensating for? Perhaps that past injury occured because of a biomechanical issue to begin with and the compensation is a natural response to that biomechanical issue that may stem from a completely different part of the body. Everything is connected... and I think without the watchful eye of an experienced person trained in biomechanics, who can check out everything, it is dangerous ground... and especially for a beginner. (I'm not talking about minor things like shortening the stride, pulling the arms back, etc.) In other words, if you really want to alter your gait, you better make sure the person making the changes is trained in gait analysis and biomechanics. There may be movements in my arms that compensate for the fact that my right leg is 1/4" shorter. Even with that said, a very experienced world-famous coach has altered the gaits of his elite athletes and driven them to major injury.
I will say that when I tried to change my gait I got injured. I wasn't under the guidance of a coach at the time, but it sucked. But here is the funny thing. I finally got running again...and my gait is completely different. In a good way (I think) but I am not sure how it happened.
but what if i want to beat the injury into submission?!
LOVE LOVE LOVE that quote! Thanks for the advice! Good stuff.
Great advice! I sometimes get stuck trying to adjust my form TOO much and its actually worse!
I didn't want to read that, but I'm glad I did. I never thought I'd be disappointed that I couldn't run & I am beyond bummed that I might not be able to run by May 1st, but better to take several weeks off than several months. I guess. lol (I'll get over being bummed eventually, right?)
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