The second of the two issues with my running form was my posture. With the number of years I have spent in front of a computer I have developed a somewhat hunched-over posture, which I naturally carried over to my running.
The first thing I had to do was stop looking at the ground. Focusing on each step makes for a very long, tiring run and all I can see and think about is my feet and my legs, as well as being unaware of any potential safety hazards ahead of me. I broke myself of the habit by constantly reminding myself to look forward at the horizon when running, or by picking something in the distance and looking at it.
Next was to straighten up. Keeping a straight spine and square shoulders, as well as pushing my chest out a little allowed me to run longer without the back pain I had been feeling initially towards the end of my runs, it also allowed for easier breathing, which is the next part. Like all posture adjustments, this will take a lot of reminding yourself, but it does become natural over time.
More on running form and posture.
One of the problems I ran in to was side stitches, and I found two things to help me fix that. First, was to try to exhale as much as I could, reasonably, with each breath. Second, was to force my breath cycle (in/out) to take an odd number of steps. For me, I settled on two in, three out but that is just a guideline. If you are constantly breathing in with every right step it can cause side stitches. You will have to constantly remind yourself of this at first, but it becomes natural after a few runs.
More on side stitches, and how to fix them.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
C25K: Running Form
There are two major issues I had with my running form which were both relatively simple to correct. The first was that I tried to take big steps, which led to tiring myself out and shaking up my insides.
The natural assumption is that, when running you should take big steps. There are various reasons for this ranging from efficiency to "I saw it on TV". I'm here to tell you that this is wrong, and that in fact it is not efficient and that you can cause damage to your joints as well as cause shin splints by taking big strides. Personally, I run with a quick, small stride. There are two reasons for this:
First: I can land more or less flat footed, or slightly toward the front of my foot to cushion my landing, this prevents the huge shockwave my body has to absorb when running with a larger, heel-landing step.
Second: It is more efficient. When you see people run with huge steps landing on their heels, they are actually bouncing their entire body up and down to keep with this running style. They actually have hangtime with this gait, which is something I have more or less eliminated with a sort of "shuffle" that I do.
You don't have to take my word for it: Through the 80's in Australia was held an annual Ultramarathon event: The Sydney to Melbourne Ultra Marathon. This event was a 544 mile run from Sydney to Melbourne. The first year this event was held, in 1983, it was won by Cliff Young, a 61-year old farmer with no previous competitive running experience. His running style, which is similar to the one that I employ, has garnered its own name: The Young Shuffle.
Not that I am going to be running any ultramarathons any time soon, but it is proven to use less energy than a bouncy run, and is better for your joints as well, as there is less shock through your body.
The natural assumption is that, when running you should take big steps. There are various reasons for this ranging from efficiency to "I saw it on TV". I'm here to tell you that this is wrong, and that in fact it is not efficient and that you can cause damage to your joints as well as cause shin splints by taking big strides. Personally, I run with a quick, small stride. There are two reasons for this:
First: I can land more or less flat footed, or slightly toward the front of my foot to cushion my landing, this prevents the huge shockwave my body has to absorb when running with a larger, heel-landing step.
Second: It is more efficient. When you see people run with huge steps landing on their heels, they are actually bouncing their entire body up and down to keep with this running style. They actually have hangtime with this gait, which is something I have more or less eliminated with a sort of "shuffle" that I do.
You don't have to take my word for it: Through the 80's in Australia was held an annual Ultramarathon event: The Sydney to Melbourne Ultra Marathon. This event was a 544 mile run from Sydney to Melbourne. The first year this event was held, in 1983, it was won by Cliff Young, a 61-year old farmer with no previous competitive running experience. His running style, which is similar to the one that I employ, has garnered its own name: The Young Shuffle.
Not that I am going to be running any ultramarathons any time soon, but it is proven to use less energy than a bouncy run, and is better for your joints as well, as there is less shock through your body.
C25K: Out of Breath
The second issue I ran in to was that I found myself huffing and puffing along as I worked on the longer runs. Sure, running 60 seconds at a 10 minute/mile pace and then walking for 90 seconds allowed me to catch my breath in between each set, but in the end that isn't sustainable.
There are a few things to keep in mind on this, and the first is that during the C25K program your muscles will change and grow to allow you to run longer, but your lungs won't change much, and they are what you need to run faster. The rule of thumb for runners of any distance is that if you want to be able to keep it up, you should be able to carry on a conversation as you run. Not necessarily as easily as you would if you were sitting at the dinner table, but you should be able to talk. If you're running alone, try talking to yourself.
Once you find a pace that you can sustain, you will want to keep working at that pace. That may not seem necessary for the 90 second or 3 minute runs, but you will thank yourself (and me) for it later on when you are running 20 minutes at a time.
There is absolutely no shame in going slow. You're just starting out and nobody expects you to be fast. The phrase I've come to adore when I feel slow is this: "No matter how slow you go, you're still lapping everyone on the couch."
My own lack of speed can be epitomized by the fact that in both 5K races I have completed so far, I have been passed by visibly pregnant women. Realistically, though, I am carrying much more than they are in terms of weigh, so it's reasonable from that perspective.
There are a few things to keep in mind on this, and the first is that during the C25K program your muscles will change and grow to allow you to run longer, but your lungs won't change much, and they are what you need to run faster. The rule of thumb for runners of any distance is that if you want to be able to keep it up, you should be able to carry on a conversation as you run. Not necessarily as easily as you would if you were sitting at the dinner table, but you should be able to talk. If you're running alone, try talking to yourself.
Once you find a pace that you can sustain, you will want to keep working at that pace. That may not seem necessary for the 90 second or 3 minute runs, but you will thank yourself (and me) for it later on when you are running 20 minutes at a time.
There is absolutely no shame in going slow. You're just starting out and nobody expects you to be fast. The phrase I've come to adore when I feel slow is this: "No matter how slow you go, you're still lapping everyone on the couch."
My own lack of speed can be epitomized by the fact that in both 5K races I have completed so far, I have been passed by visibly pregnant women. Realistically, though, I am carrying much more than they are in terms of weigh, so it's reasonable from that perspective.
Pronation, Continued
Pronation is, the way that your foot contacts the ground as you are running, and how it pulls or pushes you along to keep you moving forward. Essentially it is whether you use the outside of your foot (as I tend to), the inside of your foot, or are somewhere in between.
None of these habits are inherently bad, but they do make a lot of difference in the shoes that should be worn. I could write an entire article on this topic alone, but the folks ad Runner's World have already taken care of that for me, and to be honest they are certainly more qualified. Take a look at the link below.
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-240-319-327-7727-0,00.html
None of these habits are inherently bad, but they do make a lot of difference in the shoes that should be worn. I could write an entire article on this topic alone, but the folks ad Runner's World have already taken care of that for me, and to be honest they are certainly more qualified. Take a look at the link below.
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-240-319-327-7727-0,00.html
C25K: Wrong Shoes
I learned a lot from the About.com section on Running. Christine Luff, an author there, has created very thorough and helpful documentation on some of the common mistakes while running.
I ran in to this and it almost ended my running habit before it began. I went to a shoe superstore and spoke with someone who really didn't know how to help pick out the proper pair of running shoes. I recommend you first look in to something called Pronation.
Pronation is the way that your feet make contact with the road. While running, some people use the outside of their foot, some use the inside, and some people are more or less in the middle. None of these are inherently bad, but they are really key to determining what type of shoe you need. If the person helping you find your shoes doesn't ask you to walk around or run on a treadmill, or at least ask you about your Pronation, you are not speaking with someone "qualified" to help you find your first pair of running shoes, in my opinion.
In my case, making this mistake led to my having a pair of running shoes made for a completely different type of runner than myself, in turn leading to a severe pain in the side of my calf when I ran. This was resolved immediately when I visited my local running store and spoke with someone who knew how to help me find the right shoes.
I ended up with a fantastic pair of Brooks Glycerin 9 shoes, made for a neutral runner. I love those shoes so much I ended up buying another pair just to walk around in, so I don't have to worry so much about keeping them in pristine "running condition"
That's not to say that you should go to the store and ask for those shoes -- first, they're a bit expensive at around $130. Second, they may or may not be right for your foot type and gait. I tried on about six or eight pairs of shoes before I found the right ones, and even then I was tied between the Brooks and a pair of New Balance shoes.
After I changed shoes, the pain I had in my calf was gone immediately. I went from being able to run only about a half mile's worth of intervals to running a mile's worth with no problem. This in itself was easily the single biggest boost to my C25K program.
The About.com article I mentioned can be read here.
I ran in to this and it almost ended my running habit before it began. I went to a shoe superstore and spoke with someone who really didn't know how to help pick out the proper pair of running shoes. I recommend you first look in to something called Pronation.
Pronation is the way that your feet make contact with the road. While running, some people use the outside of their foot, some use the inside, and some people are more or less in the middle. None of these are inherently bad, but they are really key to determining what type of shoe you need. If the person helping you find your shoes doesn't ask you to walk around or run on a treadmill, or at least ask you about your Pronation, you are not speaking with someone "qualified" to help you find your first pair of running shoes, in my opinion.
In my case, making this mistake led to my having a pair of running shoes made for a completely different type of runner than myself, in turn leading to a severe pain in the side of my calf when I ran. This was resolved immediately when I visited my local running store and spoke with someone who knew how to help me find the right shoes.
I ended up with a fantastic pair of Brooks Glycerin 9 shoes, made for a neutral runner. I love those shoes so much I ended up buying another pair just to walk around in, so I don't have to worry so much about keeping them in pristine "running condition"
That's not to say that you should go to the store and ask for those shoes -- first, they're a bit expensive at around $130. Second, they may or may not be right for your foot type and gait. I tried on about six or eight pairs of shoes before I found the right ones, and even then I was tied between the Brooks and a pair of New Balance shoes.
After I changed shoes, the pain I had in my calf was gone immediately. I went from being able to run only about a half mile's worth of intervals to running a mile's worth with no problem. This in itself was easily the single biggest boost to my C25K program.
The About.com article I mentioned can be read here.
How I Got Started
I can get you started on running with five syllables: See-Too-Five-Kay. That is to say, the C25K program. C25K is an initialism for Couch-To-Five-Kilometer. To elaborate, the goal of the program is to move any person from the couch to being able to run 3.1 Miles (5 Kilometers) in nine weeks.
From experience it can be said that this program is absolutely phenomenal. Starting with 60-second run and 90-second walk periods (if I can do it, you can do it. Get used to hearing that phrase.) to running a full 5K. It takes determination, to be sure as your body goes through a lot of changes in the process -- from a body tuned for a sedentary lifestyle in the direction of an athletic body -- but in the end you get a lot from it, and it can start you on a path of epic and lasting reward.
With respect to the C25K program, there are two fantastic links I can provide. First, is a link to the program itself, via the Cool Running website.
This website breaks down the program in to an easy schedule: A slowly building three days per week for nine weeks.
Additionally, I recommend that if you aren't already, joining the Reddit community at www.reddit.com/r/C25K and even www.reddit.com/r/running for information, help and inspiration. I spent a lot of time on these pages and they really helped keep me going in terms of motivation, and helped a lot in terms of answering the questions I had. There are some fantastic people here, and you will most likely run in to me at one point or another.
Take some time and digest the C25K information as a program, and in another post I will discuss the pitfalls that I ran in to.
From experience it can be said that this program is absolutely phenomenal. Starting with 60-second run and 90-second walk periods (if I can do it, you can do it. Get used to hearing that phrase.) to running a full 5K. It takes determination, to be sure as your body goes through a lot of changes in the process -- from a body tuned for a sedentary lifestyle in the direction of an athletic body -- but in the end you get a lot from it, and it can start you on a path of epic and lasting reward.
With respect to the C25K program, there are two fantastic links I can provide. First, is a link to the program itself, via the Cool Running website.
This website breaks down the program in to an easy schedule: A slowly building three days per week for nine weeks.
Additionally, I recommend that if you aren't already, joining the Reddit community at www.reddit.com/r/C25K and even www.reddit.com/r/running for information, help and inspiration. I spent a lot of time on these pages and they really helped keep me going in terms of motivation, and helped a lot in terms of answering the questions I had. There are some fantastic people here, and you will most likely run in to me at one point or another.
Take some time and digest the C25K information as a program, and in another post I will discuss the pitfalls that I ran in to.
Who am I?
No worries - this post will not be as existential as the title suggests. More than anything this is an attempt at getting the formalities out of the way for anyone who reads my accounts. My intent is not only for friends and family to keep up for me but to be informational and perhaps even inspiration to men and women, boys and girls in a plight similar to my own: Fat and tired of it.
My primary intent as a runner isn't even weight loss; in fact it's only come to the forefront of my mind as a result of running. That's not to say that you couldn't use what information I will provide to help you along that path, merely that I started running because because I wanted to, and now I am losing weight both naturally because of the time I spend "on the pavement" (runner's speak for running.. I think) but because I realize it will make my times better and help prevent injury later down the road.
Statistically speaking, I'm a 22 year old male of around 375 pounds who runs about a 16 minute mile on a decent day. I grew up playing soccer and let myself slip pretty horribly starting sometime around ten and continuing through the teenage years unchecked, despite the best efforts of my parents.
I started running in late May of last year, and ran my first 5K Race on August 13, 2011 with a time of around 51 minutes. If you do the math, that's about 16:30 per mile. This, for most people is in the range of a "fast walk" but with my physical state it was as fast as I could go. There will be much more information about this in a coming post.
In the end, I intend to blog first and foremost for myself, my friends and family. Second, for anyone who happens to stumble across this either via Reddit (shoutout to reddit.com/r/running and reddit.com/r/c25k) or any other means on the internet to learn from my experiences, and hopefully to realize that they too can make the huge strides (no pun intended) that I have made in life over the past 7 months.
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