Auto Pilot

[Jon Allen]

Of course, Pfitzinger would ask for scientific proof for all of this (one reason I like his book)- if there is not scientific proof, he won't talk about it.  On the other hand, he deals mainly with the physical aspect, not psychological (i.e. mental toughness, distractions, etc).

[adam]

I think it is important to note that there is always a line where you are doing too much mentally. Just like with running, your mental strength and speed must be developed over time. But, just like running, I think there is the possibility of overtraining yourself mentally.

For example: Much of my training years ago was done by myself. I would not bring music (mp3 and Ipods were still not affordable and I wanted to focus on the running), I would train out in the woods miles from anyone, and rely on myself to keep pace, push the pace, do intervals, speed training, and weight training. When I was 16 the first thing I would think of in the morning when I woke up was to check my resting heart rate and write it down. Pouring rain, snow, whatever the conditions I was out there. I would say I was mentally tough. In training I was relaxed and focused, but in racing I would become so focused that if I was even one second off my desired pace I would shut down and sometimes even call it quits (despite how good I was feeling). My coaches were always pleading with me to "not think about it, and just run". Only until I finally allowed myself to relax somewhat mentally and have fun with the running was my training able to take effect. Some of my very best running during that time came after watching an episode of the Adam West Batman shows (later, in college, when I didn't have to watch the military's only channel, it was reruns of Seinfeld).

So while I know it is important to train your mental power to benefit your running and develop that autopilot effect, I think that it is as equally important to know when it is okay to let yourself relax a little bit in order to gain the benefit. At least for me, it is just like running too many hard days in a row if you don't.

[jtshad]

Intersesting discussion, I agree with what Kim has said for those of us with no prior experience or coaching.  I'd love to hear what jtshad say's in what helped him make those improvements with form, turnover, toeing off, increased power?  Are they things that would help anyone or do you have to be at a certain level before implementing those practices?

A lot of what I did to improve my running was from discussions just like these from other experience runners.  But the basics of what I have applied over the last couple of years are pretty fundamental and can be beneficial to any runner.  These are not my ideas, but things I have applied:

1) Turnover:  I increased my foot turnover rate to try to improve my running efficiency.  The 'standard' is 180 strikes per minute (give or take).  Each persons optimal rate is different but should be in this area.

2) Decrease stride length:  I decreased my stride length in conjunction with the increase foot turnover.  This allowed me to keep my gait better under my center of gravity and for injury prevention, allows for my leg muscles to take more of the impact of my running rather than my joints.  By taking shorter steps and landing on your mid foot rather than your heal, the force is not not transferred as much into your skeletal system.

3) Increase power to ground:  The two factors that determine your pace are you foot turnover and power into the ground.  I have a scientific study that looks at this and will post it later (when I have it on my computer).  One way to impact more power into the ground is by and effective 'kick' and/or toeing off at the end of your stride.  This in turn propels you farther from one strike to the next and in effect lengthens your stride.  That, combined with efficient turnover rate, increases  your pace.    Here is the link to the study: 

http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/reprint/89/5/1991?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&author1=weyand&fulltext=faster+running&andorexactfulltext=and&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&sortspec=relevance&resourcetype=HWCIT

4) Form improvement:  I run very erect and with a slight forward lean or "controlled falling" motion to help keep your momemtum helping you move forward.  One thing that I focus on is ensuring my head leans forward to keep this form correct.  I can tell when I am getting tired or losing form when my head leans back and essentially starts putting on my brakes.

These factors have made a huge difference in my "auto pilot" pace over the past couple of years and are applicable to any runner to help with there performance and injury prevention.

[Jon Allen]

Jeff

What changes did you make to your kick/toe off to increase power to ground?

[jtshad]

Jon, when I am running harder, I focus on proper landing on my forefoot and I concentrate on extending the kick via a strong toe-off and follow through for a full kick (foot extending up higher towards my buttocks).  I now focuse on a more down and back stride motion as opposed to a movement that was more of an up and down stride/foot motion.

[James Winzenz]

I second the part about the power and have seen this in my own running - when I focus especially on the toe-off, I find an immediate increase in the available power!  I believe there are studies that show the most power is available from your legs when they are fully extended (i.e. toe-off).  If your legs do not fully extend during your stride, you are not making use of all the available power from your legs.

[Kim Lee]

So I'm a little confused with stride.  I hear that it is good to have a quick turnover which I take as a smaller stride.   But then I hear it is best to lengthen your stride.  Am I calling two different things the same thing?  I try to add some time in each run where I focus on kicking off with my toes, (like I am riding a scooter).  I find myself going faster, but then I wondered if I was going to long with the stride when I do this.    Thanks to everyone, I really appreciate this discussion. 

[Sasha Pachev]

Some food for thought. A world class 10 K runner turns over at about 190 while running 66 second quarters comfortably (or as comfortably as your 10 K race pace can get, but it is comfortable enough to sustain over the distance). This gives him the stride length of about 6 feet and 3 inches. To appreciate that, draw 10-20 marks on the ground 6 feet and three inches apart and try landing on them as you run. I would guess any distance runner (as opposed to a sprinter) who cannot break 6:00 mile would not be able to do it even bounding. Those who cannot break 4:30 in the mile but can break 6:00 will be able to do it bounding but not running. Those slower than 4:15 will be able to sprint their way through it. It would take a sub-4:15 (plus or minus) miler to feel like he is running any kind of a sustainable effort in those circumstances.

For myself - I race a 10 K at around 185-190/minute stride rate, but my stride length is much shorter - 5 feet and 3 inches. To run a quarter in 66, I would have to turn over at around 220 instead of 190 (this is based on actual measurements running at 64/quarter pace rather than approximation from the 10 K) which is why I cannot run even one mile at that pace.

I think it is wrong to tell a runner to artificially decrease his stride length. The turnover should be quick, ground contact time minimal, you should imagine  you are stepping on something hot so your foot will not linger. But once you are turning over at 190/minute (some people like Dallen can have this as high as 200, others have a hard time sustaining even 180), the only way your sustainable pace will get faster is if your stride gets longer.

If you cannot turn over at 180 or above - my theory on that is that it could result from two things, both get fixed with the same method. Lack of aerobic fitness, and lack of distance-running specific neurological fitness. E.g. if all you can do sustained is 12:00 mile pace, then if you are turning over at 180, your stride length is only 2 feet and 5 inches. The stride length of 1 foot can be achieved by merely putting one foot in front of the other with a minor gap for the small-footed individuals - you will do better than that when walking. With that in mind, 2-5 stride is going to be very unnaturally short unless you are a kid.

[jtshad]

I agree with all that Sasha has said.  I am not telling people to artifically decrease their stride length, but instead running with a more natural stride length that keeps it within their center of gravity and has them landing midfoot rather that on their heels (which overstriding creates).  The way the stride length increases is with increased power generated by a proper toe off and kick.  This increase power propels you farther from one step to the next, thereby increasing your stride length, allowing for proper landing and enabling the faster foot turnover (180-200 strike/min).  I race in the 190-200 strikes per minute range and focus on a good toe off when I am racing, but have never measured my effective stride length specifically.  But when I am racing or doing tempo work, it is significantly longer than when I am just training at an easy/recovery pace and my turnover rate is probably in the 180 range during easy training.

[adam]

What method are you using to determinine your stride rate?

[Jon Allen]

Count how many steps you take in 1 minute while running at a normal pace.  180 strides means 90 per foot- I count how many times my left foot hits the ground in that time period.

[adam]

Oh, Duh! I was reading this all wrong, wondering how on earth you people were running a mile only touching the ground 180 times. Sorry. Morning time is not a good time for reading I guess.

[Kim Lee]

That would be quite the stride!

[Tom]

As far as little things to help improve form - I thought I'd share some ideas from a book I read recently "Brain Training for Runners" by Matt Fitzgerald. These are things you can concentrate and think about while running to help improve form.

Falling Forward - Tilt your whole body slightly forward while running, bending at the ankles NOT at the waste.

Navel to Spine - Concentrate on pulling the belly button inward toward the spine.

Running on Water - Imagine you're running on water and the goal is to not fall through the surface, i.e. run like you are a skipping stone.

Pulling the Road - Imagine you are grabbing the road very briefly with each foot strike and then throwing the road behind you with each step.

Scooting - Imagine you are running with a ceiling 2 inches above your head and run such that you don't whack the ceiling with your head.

There are a few others as well, but these are the ones I've found useful to me to help wake me up and shape up my form when I'm getting sloppy (which if frequently for me).