I don't want to change my stride much or alter my foot strike... I don't have problems with injuries (so far) and I'm ok with being a heel striker, but looking at my photos from the last 5k I did, I just wonder if I need to try not to twist my upper body so much. Pictures of the fast folks don't seem to look so...twisty.
Not sure this link will work, but I'm bib # 210.
http://backprint.com/view_user_event.asp?PID=bp%12%7ENq&EVENTID=98792&PWD=&BIB=210
Is this something I should even think about??
Feeling the growl again
Snapshots can be deceiving.
I'm not a heel striker.
What I see of your photos doesn't seem extreme enough....from still shots...to really worry about.
However, arm carriage is one of the easiest things to fix if you want to make sure. Just focus on your arms going straight ahead and not across your body. Fixed it in HSers with little effort quite frequently. Really common in HS girls.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
I agree with spaniel, the stills don't look bad. However, if you think you're crossing over too much, it may be because your over-striding. Make sure that you're not reaching with your stride. You should be landing nearly directly over your feet. Think "run tall".
Above all else, be careful not to over-analyze as this might cause you to stiffen up. Run tall and stay relaxed.
BTW Andy, love the heal strike photo. ;-)
Yeah I got a good chuckle out of it. Though I will admit....I'm not used to running 5:30 pace in trainers very much, it is certainly possible I was heel striking more than normal because I am used to wearing flats at that speed. Didn't feel like it at the time, though.
MTA: I see now that the FB peeps are all over the heel striking. **SIGH**. That will teach me for forgetting my flats. I got distracted changing a poopy diaper on the way out the door, ok??
Thanks for the feedback. Thinking of arm crossover as something that makes me look like a high school girl sure makes it seem a lot less cool. LOL!
And of course, when I race, the things I hope for are... in this order...
1. That I run fast
2. That I place
3. If neither 1 nor 2 happen, that I get good pictures that make me look fast
But seriously, regarding form, I guess the best thing for me to do is not worry much about it and focus on getting REALLY fit.
The pictures (especially the 2nd one) just didn't look right.
Snapshots can be deceiving. I'm not a heel striker. What I see of your photos doesn't seem extreme enough....from still shots...to really worry about. However, arm carriage is one of the easiest things to fix if you want to make sure. Just focus on your arms going straight ahead and not across your body. Fixed it in HSers with little effort quite frequently. Really common in HS girls.
I think you just called Tony a HS girl.....hehehehe
The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff
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Kalsarikännit
I really like this video. I have been thinking about it while I run. It helps to see good form in slo-mo.
Plus it just goes to show what we knew all along...that Meb guy is never going to make it.
I want to do it because I want to do it. -Amelia Earhart
Great link WG...Thanks
That Ryan guy also has a too much vertical displacement (ask SJ), which is what is keeping him from running well.
I really like this video. I have been thinking about it while I run. It helps to see good form in slo-mo. Plus it just goes to show what we knew all along...that Meb guy is never going to make it.
Good link.
Just think how much better that Meb guy could be if he improved his form. I think he should exclusively run barefoot. that'll do it.
"He conquers who endures" - Persius "Every workout should have a purpose. Every purpose should link back to achieving a training objective." - Spaniel
http://ncstake.blogspot.com/
I remember that video from a while back, it was a good one. Tony, take a look at the thread here that we've had in this forum all not too long ago.
Salazar got me thinking
Here's what I like to think of regarding form when running:
1. Keep chin up and look out, not down. Keep the face/cheeks relaxed.
2. Lead with the hips, not the shoulders or upper body. Don't lean into the run. You want to keep alignment with the shoulders and hips. The hips/core is the strongest part of the body. (As Goodman said, "run tall.")
3. Keep the hands slightly clenched with thumbs on top and brush the hips (like a gun out of holster) on the arm swing.
4. Keep the shoulders square
I can't tell you how many times I could remember hearing our coach say..."Lead with hips, shoulder square, chin up, guns out of the holster." Think of it this way. When one tires, they tend to rotate their hands so that their thumbs are pointing in. When that happens, the next natural thing to do is cross the body with the arms. When that happens, the shoulders and upper body tend to rock back and forth (no longer square). Form goes to crap and you waste a lot of extra energy. This is what I saw from the still shot in picture #2. A common thing that happens to many. I'm guilty of it at times too. Look at Hall's arm swing. His hands are somewhat open but thumbs are up and he's brushing the hips just like he's a bringing a gun out of the holster.
It's a few things to think about but as Spaniel said, it's easily correctable.
+1. I'm running about 5:30 pace in this photo from last weekend. I guarantee I was not pounding on my heels like that for the race.
On arm carriage, I hear/read all sorts of things. But flipping through the stills in this montage, these elites seem to be carrying their arms as mbehr described.
"I want you to pray as if everything depends on it, but I want you to prepare yourself as if everything depends on you."
-- Dick LeBeau
With the arm thing, does anyone have any opinion about Gracovetsky and "the spinal engine" v the whole thing with moving arms less? I keep hearing it mentioned and have been told by a couple of people that my really static thoracic spine is partially responsible for my current issues, and I'm trying to work out where that all fits in relation to what mbehr and the rest of you feel with arm movement (and whether it is realistic). My form is crap to start with, but I do know it gets more crap as I tire, but I've never really paid attention to my arms (I guess I should when I actually am running enough to get tired).
"Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend."
I have no clue to most of the physiology but from an engineers perspective I ran today with my arms more in the motion of mbher describes coupled with the "run relaxed" comment from Goodman (btw - all of these things I've had Spaniel tell me as well) and today's run was smooth.
My trouble is how do you ingrain this so it becomes second nature? I've been doing more drills to try and strengthen my legs so they maintain form late in the race but it seems I slip into the old habits far too easy.
Any insight on this would be awesome...I find exactly the same.
It's also interesting about your smoothness when trying mbher's motion (dodgy as that sounds). I guess that's something I'll be trying tomorrow although I guess I won't be able to maintain it for long.