You and
I both know that running can be tough, but with some simple tweaks to your training
and how you run, I'm going to show you how you can run faster with less effort.
Sounds too good to be true?
Well, of course, it's always going
to feel hard to run at your 10K race pace for 60 minutes, for example.
After all, as you improve, running doesn't get easier; you just get faster!
But what if I showed you a couple of ways you can make some adjustments to
allow yourself to find more running speed whilst putting less stress on your body?
Let's start with your running technique.
The pace you run is dictated by two things: Your stride length
and your cadence.
Think of that as how much ground
you cover with each stride and how many strides you make per minute.
Increase one of those variables, or both, and you'll run faster.
It's just simple physics.
But what about the "less effort" bit?
Well, lots of runners tend to over stride, forcing their stride length to be overly
long in an effort to overcome a running cadence
that's too slow for the pace they're running.
Making up for a low cadence like this by extending your stride
and landing your foot ahead of your body., usually with a pronounced heel strike,
isn't only like running with the brakes on, but also potentially sets
you up for problems in the future due to extra impact that comes with a heavy
over striding heel strike.
But let's focus
on the first part of that statement: "running with the brakes on".
As you're running and your body's center of mass is moving forwards,
your foot striking the ground in front of you will create a braking effect
with your body being met by an equal and opposite force,
pushing back at you as your foot hits the ground.
Not only is this extra loading bad for joints like your knees, but
it also makes it harder for you to run with a smooth, efficient, forwards motion.
Of course you do overcome this braking force,
but you end up having to work harder to push yourself from stride to stride.
The great news is that balancing your stride length
with your running cadence is easier than you might think.
Studies have shown that an increase in as little as 5% to your normal cadence,
for a given running pace, will reduce eccentric loading at the knee.
A 10% increase reduces loading at both the knee and the hip.
So let's say you're one of the many runners I've worked with
who have been running their long, slow runs with a cadence
of around 160 strides per minute for example.
A 5% increase in that cadence would take you up to 168
strides per minutes, and then 10% would be 176 strides per minute.
Usually a 10% increase is actually quite hard to do in one go.
So I like to take an incremental approach of 5%,
then 7.5%, then 10% above that initial baseline.
So that would be a case of starting 160 strides per minutes,
then going to 168, 172,
and eventually 176, but only if necessary.
Often a 5% increase alone is enough to make
running feel much smoother and more efficient.
Where runners tend to get this wrong is they try to run with a quicker cadence
and just run faster, without actually shortening their stride to compensate.
So they still over stride, but just at a quicker pace.
That's not the idea.
Instead, focus on the idea that if you're running at 10 minute miles,
for example, the increase in cadence should allow you to run at the same pace,
only making shorter, quicker strides.
You should feel lighter on your feet and perhaps a little bit more upright
as you no longer sink down into each over striding stride.
Once you've got your running cadence under control,
you're landing your feet closer to underneath your body
and you feel like you're running taller, you can also focus on your forward lean.
OK, so it doesn't need to
be that extreme,
but the world's best distance runners know how to harness the power
of their posture to maintain forward momentum and capture some free speed.
Check out Kenenisa Bekele here: His pronounced forward lean comes
from the ground upwards rather than where so many normal runners get this wrong,
which is by bending forwards at the waist, especially as they get tired.
Next time you're out on a run, focus on running tall,
then drifting your whole body forwards as a straight line from ankles up.
Get the position right and you'll feel your weight shift forward
slightly and your forward momentum becomes slightly easier to sustain.
Of course,, there can be too much of a good thing,
lean too far forward and you'll soon find yourself sprinting.
But with time, you'll learn to use your forward lean as a tool
to help you gently speed up and slow down as you lean into the run and pull back.
Looking beyond your running technique, there's another way for you to run faster
with less effort, that focuses more on your training plan.
For me, getting this next bit right was the biggest light bulb moment
for my running.
Going from a place where I was running every run at a relatively hard pace
to feel like I was getting an effective workout,
to then slowing down and learning to run at a conversational pace for the vast
majority of my weekly run sessions has been truly revolutionary for me.
Beyond the powerful aerobic training benefits that come with lots of easy
paced mileage, that build your running endurance, you'll discover that
taking it slowly or most of your runs is so much easier on your body.
Your legs will thank you.
There are two important things that happen when you ease back on the intensity
of most of your training sessions.
Firstly, you'll find that you no longer pick up anywhere near as many running
injuries simply because your body is under less ongoing stress.
And of course, when you're not injured so often,
it's much easier to be consistent with your training,
which is the key to long term running success.
Then there's the huge benefit that you'll feel almost immediately:
Unsurprisingly, when you're not hammering your body each week
with hard run after hard run, you'll feel so much more rested and better recovered
when the time comes to run faster, either in a specific workout or race.
You'll find that as a result of being smart
about your training intensities, week after week, your legs will be ready
to run faster with less effort when it really matters.
If you want to learn more about running slowly to run faster
check out the video linked on screen right now
and I'll show you where most runners get it horribly wrong.