Fast Running Blog

As I paced different runners at the end of Painter's half, and then contemplated the experience afterwards, it dawned on me that there is a quality that faster runners have that we sometimes take for granted. It is the ability to run in auto-pilot mode.

I observed how different women responded to pacing differently, and interestingly enough, the response was directly related to how fast they were running. Ruth told me to go faster, I overdid it, then eased off only a bit, she caught up, and maintained close contact all the way. I did not get to pace Michelle, but I've paced her before, and I know unless you really move out of her range, she will maintain close contact. I did get to pace a few ladies in the 1:28 - 1:34 range, and those were not as tenacious, but still would stay within 10 meters, and were "give me five" responsive. When we went into the over 1:50 range, things were drastically different. I was a lot more gentle on the pace, feeling out the current pace thoroughly, and probing natural pace variations, before taking charge. Then I would increase the pace that I knew was well within the physical ability of the runner to maintain to the finish, and there would be a fast growing gap. Poor response to "give me five". Even after I slowed the pace to what was slower than their initial pace when I found them, they were still not closing the gap!

I believe those slower runners wanted to do their best not any less than the faster ones. But there is a mental quality they had not yet developed that probably could have made them run 10 minutes faster if not more. So how do you develop/improve it? Some ideas:

* Run hard with a mean pacer once a week. Practice maintaining contact.
* Run without music.
* Once in a while run alone hard on a boring course. Give yourself a penalty mile if you fall off pace.
* Do something regularly that requires hard concentration and makes you yawn - e.g study math, read a newspaper in a foreign language and look up every unfamiliar word in a dictionary, or study computer programming .
 

I've noticed this a little too. A couple thoughts and theories:

1. Nature. Some people are just born with "it". ("It" being mental tenacity). Some people's natural "talent" is the ability to push themselves further than others. That's how they win races against more physically gifted runners.

2. Nurture. "It" can be developed through competitive sports during the developmental years. I think someone is going to have a hard time pushing themselves into exhaustion as an adult unless they did it a lot as kid. Discipline, perseverance, and enjoying pain are things that are learned, but may take a long time and a lot of reinforcement. I view someone who ran competitive cross country and track (or soccer, lacrosse, etc.) as having a big advantage in racing and pushing through pain than someone who just started competitive athletic activity as an adult. So an "average" runner who competed in jr high/high school will probably out-push an "average" runner of the same ability level who did not do anything in jr high/high school, even if they are at the exact same fitness level and training level.

Obviously I'm shooting at the hip here, but isn't that what we do around here? Interesting discussion at least.

My thoughts: You just can't downplay how mental long distance running is. I can't count the number of times in my formative years that I ran a race and hit a wall, only to realize at the end of the race that I had more left in me than I gave myself credit for.

I like the "run without music" and "run alone" ideas. I think some alone time without outside stimuli (such as music) is important. I try to do one run a week this way. Some runners tell me that they can't run alone, but I would say they can and it would actually benefit them to do so.

Hey, I'll take credit where credit is due!  Even if it isn't the most attractive credit out there!  I would be the one Sasha is talking about.  I will be the first one to admit that I would LOVE to find out how to conquer that mental barrier!  Unfortunately I am one who never participated in sports in high school or college.  One thing that I have talked to Tom about since the lovely episode was that if I had been prepared  and known I was going to have that help I may have been in a better frame of mind to receive it more graciously.  I feel like if I were to be in the same situation now I would be able to respond better.  I do many of my runs alone and usually never have music with me.  I ran Painter's on my own with no music.  That doesn't bother me at all.  I'm not sure I want to read a foreign newspaper and look up each word, but hey, if that's the ticket I'll do it!  I am trying to make sure to do the shorter, quicker stride to help pick up the pace at the end of my runs to see if that will help me out.  I am so willing to do what I can to make it through this barrier.  I will take any advise there is out their and try to do my best to see if we can figure this out!  I will prove the "no high school or college" theory wrong!  I love a challenge!  Also Sasha, if you ever have the desire to do an Uneventful Half at my pace, I would love to come in and have you push me again! :

For what it's worth, I tend to run faster during training runs with music or podcasts. I've never tried racing with it though.

I never run with music, even on 20+ mile runs by myself.  It helps me listen to my body and have some thinking time.  Though I'm usually not sure what I am thinking about.  Music distacts me and slows me down.

Sean:
I am wondering if different runners respond to speed work differently based on their level of aerobic conditioning and slow-fast twitch ratio. For me, the difference between targeted speed work vs pure base in a 5 K is no more than 20 seconds. If my base is 100+ miles a week and base is all I do, I can actually hit faster 5 K times than I would off 70 a week and targeted 5 K workouts. Can you detail your experience with improvements from speed work?

One synonym for auto pilot is "relaxing." I ran track in high school my last two years. My senior year I distinctly remember an Invitational in Portland where the father of our top female runner told me in the middle of my 3000m race to drop my shoulders and relax. I did and it made a world of difference. I ended the race with what would be my high school PR of 8:57.2. Not relaxing wastes so much energy and even for shorter distances it can make a difference. But in a half or full marathon it can make a world of difference. Everyone manifests tenseness in some way. For me, I tend to tilt my head back, lift my shoulders and pump my fists way higher than they should come. When i was doing my workout today and wanted so badly to quit, I remembered to lower my shoulders, lengthen my stride a bit and just relax. It didn't make it hurt less but it felt smoother and I went on to finish the workout.

As for Sasha's question, speed workouts for me have largely been focused on marathon training so they have been a lot of tempo runs and longer interval runs. So it's been different than what a miler would do for a workout. One of my goals this year is to get faster, or better said, quicker. I don't feel like I get the leg churn I need to. So I want do a few more workouts that focus on getting me quicker in the shorter distances like 5 and 10ks. So when I say that speed workouts helped me drop my times enormously, I'm speaking only of half marathons and longer. To be honest, I haven't run a 5k in 16 years and I've only run one 10k in the three years I've been back running. So I really don't know how fast I can run those. But I do know i have traditionally been very slow at the shorter distances. In fact, and I'm still embarrassed to admit this, I never broke 60 seconds in the 400m in high school. To be honest, I don't know if I can right now. That's certainly not the end all be all measure of speed but it is an indicator.

When I began running in April 2005, I set out to qualify for Boston at SGM. I did no speed work, just mileage in the 65 mpw range. But, i did each of those miles at goal marathon pace (7:15) not knowing at the time you weren't supposed to do that. So when I ran SGM 2005 in 2:44, my first marathon, I decided I should buy a book that would tell me how to train. That's when I added speed work specific to the marathon. All of the sudden my easy runs dropped in pace for less effort and my times in the marathon dropped significantly despite not adding any mileage.

Time will tell for me if spending this winter and spring on getting quicker bears any fruit.

I actually had a conversation with myself while running today similar to this.  There are not very many runners in my area.  There are several people I know who want to though.  But most never stick with it after the first month.  I think having run since I was age 7 with my dad, then onto track and cross country in school, helped me be better prepared as to what to expect when I started running again after over 12 years off.  Plus I had the desire to do more that just "lose weight" or get in better shape".  I wanted to compete again.  Even if I only manage 3 or 4 small town races a year it gives me the drive to work harder to be more competitive. 

As far as learning to run faster I have wished many times I could run next to someone and say show me what a 6:00 minute mile pace or a what a 5:00 minute mile pace feels like.  I can simulate it on a treadmill but it does not feel the same.  I have not tried using my Garmin either.  I am not sure how accurate it would be for that type of demonstration.  Unfortunately I cannot just go out there and run either of those paces for a mile to find out.  But I think it wold help me prepare better for the day I can.  Reminds me of a saying I heard once, "if you want to race with the big dogs, then train with them."

To add to my information.  I started running in August after a year and a half of no running.  Before that I had done some here and there but never more consistent than just getting to a 1/2 marathon and then letting it go after that.  I joined the blog in October.  From Aug. to Oct. I was running 3 days a week.  After joining the blog I have been a 6 day a weeker for the most part.  I have not really worked on speed training yet.  I was increasing mileage.  I am at about 30 miles a week.  After Painter's my goal was to start speed work in preparation for Strider's Half in April.  I am liking this discussion, I'm excited to see what it can do to help me, and others in my same position, out!  Thanks for your input.

The mental aspect of running is a big key to improvement.  A good commitment to running is needed first (which I see with members on the blog).  The next mental leap is the commitment to racing or running faster and then the mental leap to tackling something like a half marathon or marathon.  Each needs to develop from the individual with the nurturing of others around them. 

I know for me that mental leap to want to actual run a marathon came on suddenly, and when it did, it changed a lot in how I looked at my running.  Instead of being part of my overall workout routine, it became the focus of it.  I also committed to a training program and learning more about proper running technique.  The most important thing I did to increase my pace, and thus "auto pilot" pace, was to focus on optimizing my turnover rate, increasing the power that I put into the ground with each step (or "toeing off") and changing my stride to minimize joint impact and allow for the muscles to take the force of impact.  All of this took a while to make a habit in my form.  Once I mastered it, the mileage increases starting coming more naturally, the pace increased easily and the willingness to keep pushing myself improved.  All of this led to great increases in my running efficiency and and racing results.

I agree with Sean's comment on "relaxing".  I was running my second ever HM in 2005 and I was at about the 7 mile mark, about 1 minute behind the leader.  A spectator made a comment to "relax my shoulders".  Since then, I have really focused on trying to do this in training and races, keeping my tilt slightly forward but running erect and, like Sean, not letting my head tip backwards.

I agree with Paul on both counts. 

1) Nature - Paul puts "mental tenacity" as one definition.  I would add another definition, "competitive drive".  I am a fierce competitor, and being a competitive person is inappropriate in so many aspects of life, but one place, where I get to be several times a year, it is completely appropriate and an edge - in a race.  In a race my competitive drive is an asset instead of a liability and it helps me. (pardon the accounting speak).  I think those who are less competitive are that way sometimes because they feel that being competitive is a negative attribute, but you can nurture it in appropriate avenues.   Perhaps practice being assertive and competitive.

2) Experience - I have been running since age 12.  I took a hiatus from racing competitively for 6-7 years (1999-2004), but the many, many, many lessons I have learned about racing, running, training I think did help me ramp up faster last spring and are like money in the bank.  I am still learning a ton, though.  It's cool.

Wow - how true that statement is. In the Bryce Half 2006 I was doing a quicker pace and hit around the 8M and the mind/body connection was losing it. But I kept telling myself to relax into the pace, don't make it such a chore to do - and the more my mind started relaxing and realizing I could do it - then my body also became less tensed up and was able to maintain the pace to the finish.

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?

Another idea for improving your auto-pilot. Turn off the television. Or at least do not watch random shows. Only watch what you believe  will build your auto-pilot - e.g a show about somebody who overcame some difficult challenge that has no cheesy stuff in the middle (good luck finding such a show). In particular, do not watch shows where they tell you when to laugh with the laughter in the background in supposedly funny places, where you see an argument with angry words, or a lot of flashy images. I can often feel some power leaving me when I hear TV even in the background, or happen to accidentally put one of those things into my view.
Pushing yourself to the utmost limit requires inner peace. It is difficult to do it when you feel a grudge, or when your mind is seeking some trivial entertainment. You have to abandon your carnal self. Me has to become second to My Higher Goal. We have a challenge. We live in a culture that teaches is in so many subtle and not so subtle ways the doctrine of Me first poisoning us with this pattern of thinking to the very bone. To overcome this for us is like learning a foreign language, and the best method is full immersion.

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).

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.

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.

Jeff

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

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

What method are you using to determinine your stride rate?

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.

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.

That would be quite the stride!

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).