Runningmonkeys

This week I’ve started a new habit of doing a gentle, full body stretching routine last thing before I go to bed.  I start with my hands and work all the way down through my legs.  I expected it would feel good, but not this good.  By the end, I find that I am so relaxed and easy that I feel really mellow.  Sort of like I’d spent all day at the beach or have just eaten a beautiful massive meal.

I have noticed that I really feel like sleeping straight afterwards and I wonder if I have chanced onto a new fall-to-sleep routine.   I hardly ever have trouble falling to sleep, but I expect this will keep it that way. 

Of course I am also benefiting by loosening up my muscles and creaking joints, and hopefully my running will benefit by smoother and more efficient movement.

Who knows.  For now all I care about is how good it feels 

Last weekend was the next in the season’s enduro races at the Tsukuba circuit.  Our team entered two teams of 4 riders.  We had a very successful race in terms of staying on our bikes and staying upright.  The track was quite wet and so I guess all of the riders were a little more cautious than normal.  I didn’t see one crash which is a first for me at these races.

One very important lesson that I had reinforced on me was the power of adrenalin over pain.  I rode 5 times during the six hours and each time I rode 6 laps averaging about 3 minutes 15 seconds per lap.  All except for one ride.  That time I nailed my fastest lap the second time around, cracking 3minutes for the first time (2:59).  I was so excited that after a 3:06 I did another big lap in 2:56.  The hormones were really kicking in by this stage and I ended up racing 7 laps (rather than the planned 6) averaging just over 3 minutes per lap.  And I didn’t feel a thing in the way of pain. 

The only reason I pulled into the pit was to give my team mates a ride.  I felt like I could ride like that for the rest of the day.  Hormones are a wonderful thing.

Here is a quick illustration that I found by chance.

Stand with your back to a wall (a strong, not easily damaged wall or at least someone Else’s wall).  Lift one foot off the ground and place it on the wall a bit below knee height.

Now take your foot off the wall and sharply send it back with all of the force striking on your heel.  Do this a few more times steadily increasing the amount of force that your heel takes as it hits the wall.  This simulates heel striking. 

Remember the amount of force that you used, and do exactly the same but this time hit the wall with the ball of your foot.  Feel the difference?  You can really afford to wack into the wall, if you choose, without feeling anywhere near as much shock as when you hit with your heel.

What you have just proved is that your ankle can absorb the stresses that would otherwise be sent straight up your leg to do its damage.  Is it any wonder that forefoot running reduces injuries?

This week I have launched a brand new website.  For me, it is sort of like giving birth to a new baby.  I’ve been planning about it for about 9 months and last weekend the birth finally happened.  Enough of the analogies!

I’d like to introduce you to my brand new site called LifeGoalAction.com

It is a site designed to help people make the most of their finest asset…their life.

It is a place where anyone can find information on achieving high performance goals using rational, logical and effective techniques.  It is still in its infancy but has attracted a healthy readership for a site less than a week old.  Earlier in the week I wrote an article on Independent Thinking which I gave to an excellent site called Pick the Brain.  This article caused quite a stir and ended up on the front page of Digg, and consequently drove a truck load of visitors over to LifeGoalAction. 

Why am I telling you all this?  Well as a runner, writing to other runners I will let you in on a secret.  Most of what I write over at the new site will be directly applicable to runners and achieving running goals.  I can’t help but write with running in the back of my mind, so although a lot of the articles won’t mention running, if you put your mind to it, you will be able to see how the concepts can help you on the road.  So please drop by and have a look.  I’ll be posting there almost daily and so I trust you will find something that interests you.

I look forward to hearing what you think.

Thanks

Tom

A journey of 8 months starts with the first few weeks (and all that cliched wisdom).  I finished the first three weeks of my conservative, gradual, perfect base training phase last week.  This was three weeks of running 8kilometres 6 times a week at about 5:04 per kilometre.  Nice easy base distance.

This next three weeks sees me raising the weekly total to 57 kilometres.  The first 2 weeks are 6 equal runs of 9.5 kilometres.  The third week starts the long process of finding a long run once a week.

I am very excited.  Although it is such early days, I love progress.  Just simply moving up a notch is exciting and encouraging to me.  I love running, but I love even more running progress.

This coming weekend is the second enduro race this season at the Tsukuba race circuit.   This time it will be a 6 hr event, and I think we have just one team of four entered, instead of two.  For six hours, our team will have one rider on the track at any one time each of us working for about 6 laps of the 2 kilometre course.  We change riders at about 6 laps so that each of us has the chance to race all out and still recover in time for the next session.  It ends up being a sort of bizarre interval work out.  We squeeze out as much speed as possible for the 12 kilometres and then rest while our team members do their bit.  By the time it is our turn again we have recovered and cooled down so we have to work pretty hard for the first lap back on the track, just to keep pace, as our legs warm up again. 

All in all, I look forward to these races.  The packs that form scare me, because there is such a difference in bike skills and ability to stay upright.  But that is part of the challenge.

I am very excited, as you can probably tell.  But for now it is back to running until the weekend rolls around.

Running can be a reasonably painful experience for some.  They suffer from all sorts of blisters and chafing, muscle soreness and joint aches.  These are minor issues that typically go away quite quickly.

Realistically, the main pain of running comes from injuries.  These can range from the low intensity, short duration injuries like a pulled muscle to an extremely painful and long term injury like iliotibial band syndrome.  Runners claim to be some of the most injured athletes for a mass participation sport.  In any given year, way too many runners will spend time recovering in pain from muscle, ligament and bone injuries. [Read more →]

The words relax and run are very seldom seen together in the same sentence.  Most people on this planet seem to think that it is impossible to relax and run at the same time.

Most runners have realised that they can use running as a trigger for mental relaxation.  For many of us, the simple ritual of putting on our shoes and warming up starts the process of relaxation and by the time we have finished our run, we feel like different people.  Relaxed and restored people.

Physical relaxation while we run is another matter.  Often after a run, we can feel loose and relaxed.  During the run, we often have a habit of unconsciously tensing various muscle groups as we concentrate.

This is seen most clearly in the faces of runners.  Especially when they are running hard, many people screw up their faces and furrow their brows which is a sure sign that all of their muscles are tense.  While helping them to focus, this tension can eventually decrease efficiency and lead to injury in the long term.

So how do we combat muscle tension when we run.  A part of this comes down to form, but the most important factor is psychology.

Muscle tension is controlled by us.  We can either consciously or sub-consciously tense or relax our muscles.  If we decide to relax and nothing happens, then chances are that it is our subconscious minds that are controlling the tension. 

So here is what to do:

1. Visualize the skin and muscles of your face physically sagging and drooping as you have absolutely no muscle tension left in them.  Let your arms feel heavy and let your shoulders drop under the weight.  Imagine your feet being dragged to the ground at exactly the right place every step.  All you have to do is lift up a foot and then gravity will put gently put it down again.
2. Take the achievement pressure off.  Instead of concentrating on the outcome of your run, focus on the journey.  Instead of betting all you own on a finish time, focus on what will make your run excellent, including staying relaxed.  As a side benefit, you stand a much better chance of running your best if you are relaxed than if you are tense.
3. Put in 99% effort (whatever that is).  Many of us are convinced by the logic of trying to put in 110% effort in order to be our best.  110% effort leads to stress, injury, sub-optimal performance and frustration.  99% will allow us to perform at our best while still keeping just a little energy intact to keep us relaxed.

Do you have any other hints for relaxing while you run? What works for you?

I have been running with the Pose Method, more or less successfully, for quite a few weeks now, and so I have taken the opportunity to re-read some sections of the book to pick up where I am going wrong.

The main points that jumped out at me were these:

1. I was hitting the ground with the ball of my foot, but the foot was tilted downwards as it swung through the air.  I read that the ankle should be pretty much neutral as we swing, and so I am consciously trying to correct that.  Instead of doing something, I am trying to undo something, the tendency to point my toes.  I think this may have been my primitive attempt to ensure that my forefoot touched down first.  It has the disadvantage that I am able to hit on my forefoot, but still land slightly ahead of my body, something that I know I must remedy.
2. I have a tendency to tense up and use my calf muscles to get my feet off the ground.  Instead, my hamstrings should be doing the work.  This has lead to a slight re-occurrence of my old calf injury, which is something that I won’t tolerate.  Today I focused on leaving my calf muscles alone and using my hamstrings.
3. I have been making a somewhat “active” landing for each foot strike.  I think this is because I want to get my feet down fast so I can get on with the next step.  This won’t work and is probably putting more strain on my calf.  I am trying to re-organize my mental image to focus on getting my left foot up fast, rather than my right foot down fast.  This seems to be working.

All in all, the most beneficial drill I have found, is the one that gets us running with our hands clasped together and flying out behind us.  Apart from making my back end swing around like crazy, it really tunes in my senses to what I should be doing.  However, repeatedly doing it over and over, is the challenge.  I guess that is what I am enjoying.  The challenge of revolutionising my form.

Umeboshi is the Japanese Pickled Plum.  They are eaten by the Japanese in many different situations.  A lot of Japanese people eat a couple with their breakfast every day.  Many Japanese Obento (lunch boxes) have a small Umeboshi on top of the rice.  They are used as fillings in rice balls and other recipes and you can even get tea made from umeboshi.

What does Umeboshi have to do with running?  Apparently they are the best friend of many Japanese athletes.  When I race bikes there are always umeboshi being passed around.  At a Japanese marathon there will often be umeboshi served at a drink stop later in the race.  Japanese sportspeople treat umeboshi with a fond reverence.  Some even call it the Japanese Miracle. [Read more →]