Susan
Do you just have to be fearless, crazy, or both? The winner of the half that I ran/walked/wogged on Sunday (Greenwood Furnace Trail Challenge in FTYC's report) ran avg. miles that started with 7's. The uphills were a bit steep, but I can see someone being able to train and run them well, though maybe not as fast as the winner. Some of the downhills were steep AND rocky-the kind of rocky that could split a head or lip open, not to mention bruise or break other body parts if a person fell on them. How does one run those at a decent pace?
I was picking my way through, afraid I would fall and hurt myself if I tried to run. (I'm almost recovered from a couple of herniated disks, so not wanting to worsen those probably played a part in my caution.) Is there a technique? Or does it just take practice? Just curious. I don't have a lot of trail experience. I played a lot of leap frog-passing people on the hills and having the same people fly by me going down the other side.
Occasional Runner
In my opinion, it requires a certain amount of confidence to be able to blast down the technical slopes, and that only comes from a significant amount of experience. The more you do it, the more comfortable you'll be and the faster you'll get. There's no trick to it.
I shorten my strides and try to be light on my feet. In very technical terrain I kind of do a "quickstep" and land on the ball of my foot. Think "quick feet."
I think it also helps to learn how to read terrain at speed. I have ridden a mountain bike for far longer than I have gone trail running so I'm used to reading terrain at bike speed. When your brain learns to pick up visual cues at a faster speed, processing those cues at a slower speed is pretty easy.
Here is an article that I ran across with input from people far more talented than I:
http://www.trailrunnermag.com/beginners/technique/article/38-free-falling
Edit: have you learned how to fall? If you practice falling so you know what to expect and you know how your body might move in a fall, then it doesn't become quite so scary. You can practice tucking and rolling on a gymnastics floor or thick grass. There are plenty of "how to's" available online.
I'm Holden McGruyen. Would you like to join me?
Computer Geek
I agree with Lace_up.....just like training to run uphill....one must train to run downhill. Having a bit of a reckless streak doesn't hurt either....although plummeting down a steep rocky downhill without good technique is a good way to end your day early. One thing I have noticed is that technical downhills require quick feet and a ton of balance. I have a friend who is a great runner....he kills me on all aspects of trail running, except downhills. He just is not nimble enough and doesn't have good enough balance to be comfortable going down steep terrain fast......so that is where I play catch up.
Uh oh... now what?
I don't do fearless at all. I sometimes do crazy when far enough away.
Speed work? An often overlooked, or intentionally ignored, aspect of training is speed work.
Speed work leads to faster leg turnover. Faster leg turnover gives you comfort
at faster running speeds; that leads to confidence while running faster. Take
that confidence to the trails, practice playing with speed on the trails and you
gain confidence for all terrain.
Maybe.
rgot
Thanks for the reply. I really do need more practice and experience on trails.
Thank you too, Mecrowe.
I shorten my strides and try to be light on my feet. In very technical terrain I kind of do a "quickstep" and land on the ball of my foot. Think "quick feet." I think it also helps to learn how to read terrain at speed. I have ridden a mountain bike for far longer than I have gone trail running so I'm used to reading terrain at bike speed. When your brain learns to pick up visual cues at a faster speed, processing those cues at a slower speed is pretty easy. Here is an article that I ran across with input from people far more talented than I: http://www.trailrunnermag.com/beginners/technique/article/38-free-falling Edit: have you learned how to fall? If you practice falling so you know what to expect and you know how your body might move in a fall, then it doesn't become quite so scary. You can practice tucking and rolling on a gymnastics floor or thick grass. There are plenty of "how to's" available online.
This is something I've been working on but hadn't thought to practice the technique on trails. Mainly I had been trying to run lighter on roads, thinking it would jar my back less. Thank you for the article as well. Very interesting and helpful. No, I haven't learned how to fall. Usually it just happens. It hadn't occurred to me to practice-LOL.
I don't do fearless at all. I sometimes do crazy when far enough away. Speed work? An often overlooked, or intentionally ignored, aspect of training is speed work. Speed work leads to faster leg turnover. Faster leg turnover gives you comfort at faster running speeds; that leads to confidence while running faster. Take that confidence to the trails, practice playing with speed on the trails and you gain confidence for all terrain. Maybe.
Speed work sounds like a good idea. I will try it when my back is 100%.
flashlight and sidewalk
I'd recommend checking out some videos of the elite guys coming down the steep/technical stuff. Seeing guys descending like mountain goats was eye opening for me as to what is possible. I agree that you need a lot of confidence and some reckless abandon to bomb down some of the steep stuff. Also +1 to speed work and/or mountain biking to improve the speed at which you read terrain. +1 to landing on the balls of your feet and stepping light. Another thought...maybe just start bombing little tiny hills and the bottoms of the bigger hills, then work your way up...or work on doing a few fast steps and getting back under control...that is a very necessary skill of it's own, if you know you can stop yourself that should improve the confidence level.
**Ask me about streaking**
Le professeur de trail
Close eyes, bomb down the hills and pray!
Agree with quick shortened steps. Choose your line so you are not doing the zigzag more than needed. A little bit of speed work. A little bit of crazy. And most of all practice practice practice on tech trails. Actually one of the things I told myself when I started running some of the same trails I had been hiking (and never though running them was possible) was to pretend I was a kid again and have no cares and no fear.
My favorite day of the week is RUNday
Jamezilla, thanks for the pointers. I will see if I can find some elite downhill videos. A couple of people flew by me Sunday like I was standing still. I have no idea how they didn't end up on the ground. I would have. Bombing down the shorter hills sounds like a good way to practice. Guess I'll hit some of the black mountainbike trails when I run.
Thanks, boyjame. Pretending to be a kid sounds like fun. I am learning to do that when I find mud and streams to run through. Guess I need to work on it coming downhill as well.
There was a funny recommendation on another forum regarding this same question. Somebody recommended dressing out in full pads, like football helmet and pads from top to bottom, and practicing running downhill fast in technical terrain so that if (or rather, when) you fall you're fully padded and it won't hurt.
If you decide to do this, please post video for our enjoyment.
Great advice above. One thing on being light on your feet, this is not exactly the same as what most people thing of as minimalist running nowadays. Landing light is important but more important is taking off quickly. the more shallow the angle your foot leaves the ground, the more likely you are to catch your foot on something. Think of an exaggerated high-step. And when you do catch your foot, it is vital you don't panic, you have to un-catch your foot and bring it up quickly.
Faster Than Your Couch!
Agree with Gumby. Fast downhill running has a lot to do with simply the strength of your legs. The stronger, the more quickly you can straighten your knees and ankles and take off again, which makes you faster and "safer". You can catch a fall with strong legs, whereas with less strength you'd just fall.
Unfortunately there's a limit to one's strength, some people have or develop more of it, some have fairly low strength, although strength training can really help a lot.
Shoes are another factor. The closer your feet are to the ground (the less stack height the shoe has), the easier it is to go fast on technical downhills because you have better control of your feet and your balance. Your ankles have to take less load in lower shoes if your feet land on uneven ground (which they do all the time on rocky trails) because of a more favorable lever action. But if you feel great in your current shoes, don't change just for that reason - overall comfort and good fit are more important, especially on long distances.
Confidence is important, too. If you feel unsafe or insecure, it will stop your momentum. Running with my buddy has taught me a lot about the downhills, they are his strength (mine is rather the uphills). He takes a lot more risk than I do, and he has more strength, so he usually "flies" on the technical downhills, and I have learned some of his technique and become more confident just by watching and copying him.
I also have fallen twice head-first on very steep, technical, rocky downhills, and although it was quite intimidating and I emerged shaking and shaken, I survived both times without major injuries. This has taught me that there's a good chance you will catch your fall and intstinctively minimize injuries, even if you take quite a spectacular spill. I'm not saying you can't get seriously hurt, but it's not a given. Just like anywhere, chances are you'll come out of it with some injuries (mostly bruises and scrapes), but not necessarily with something that needs an ambulance quick.
Holden: I'd love to see a "padding and body armor" video, too, but any good footage of a spectacular spill can keep me entertained and amused!
And - focus! When I go downhills fast, there is nothing else I can think of but repeat the mantra: "Focus! Light and easy - focus!"
Don't try to shake up your perpetuem on a technical downhill...
Run for fun.
If its experience then some people must be "born with experience," as i know a guy who started running less than two years ago winning and placing high in some nasty races. First time out he took 2nd in a 25k with 4k of elevation. Another friend behind him said "He didn't know enough to be scared blasting down those hills."
http://www.valleyrunningclub.org/