The meal before a race is very important. This meal should be 80% carbohydrates. I recommend for breakfast a bowl of oatmeal, a banana, or both depending on your appetite. Drink lots of water that morning, your body will have dehydrated while you slept the night away. I also recommend that you carbohydrate load on the previous two days. Now if you are eating a lunch a bowl of pasta with a red sauce is better than a white sauce but pasta is a must.
The day before a race you should just stretch and eat lots of carbs, if you enjoy spaghetti go for it. I\
After the race they will give out rewards and then you will be free to leave if your parents come talk to me. I recommend drinking lots of water to help you recover, but just as important drink a sports drink or maybe some chocolate milk.
Remember everything I taught you, stay calm but jog as fast as you can with a negative split. One more tip, I used to chew gum during the race to keep my mind off how thirsty I was, when all you do is run full blast with your mouth open breathing heavy, you tend to get a little 'cotton mouth' plus this little bit of sugar causes your body to start creating energy for you.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
How To Prevent Injuries
Obviously if you hurt yourself I am going to try and do what ever I can to help you, but if the problem is too severe I have to tell you to go see your doctor. Now I am giving away a lot of this knowledge hoping that you will learn from it and not just use what you think is more specific to you. For example, some of you have ankle pain, some of you have knee pain. I hope that you use the preventive measures for both so that you do not end up with the other.
This covers abdominal, hip, thigh, knee, calf, ankle, foot, and even a little toe pain. At the very end there is some even on heat related illnesses. Nerves are what tell you that you have pain. But pain can "radiate," which means that just because you hurt in one area does not mean necessarily that what is in that area is the problem. The best and most well known example for this is a heart attack. Heart attacks usually have left arm pain. Does that mean that the patient just slammed his or her arm in a door? No. Does it mean that the person used his shoulder too much that day? No. It means that the nerves that tell you your heart is hurting also tell you your left arm is hurting.
Abdomen. If you are running and your abdomen starts to hurt stop close your eyes and continue running focusing on your breathing. This especially works when you would describe the pain as "sharp" and on the side of your abdomen not the middle. This pain is called a "runner's stitch." There is a high likelihood that you were not breathing deep or fast enough to get the muscles in your abdominal wall or chest the oxygen they need. Try taking 10 deep breaths in and then interlace your fingers behind your head and repeat the process again. You should feel better. Now the reason this happened is because the muscles in your abdomen were lacking oxygen and the reason that taking a deep breath works is because this stretches your diaphragm (a muscle that could be the source of your pain). If not bend over and and push your fingers into the painful side or place the arm overhead and bend at the waist over the opposite side. If this does not work it could be what you ate before practice or what you did not eat. I will explain more later on what to eat and not eat but for now. No fast food. If you are convinced that it was neither of these three problems it could have been that you did not do the "seal stretch" before you ran that day. Preventing abdominal pain comes from proper stretching before running and Pilate's and cardio workouts during and prior to season. I will given you tons of exercises to strengthen leg and abdominal muscles at a later time. But for now just do the stretches that we do in warm up and really try to do them. I remember when I was in high school not making an honest effort but I did not know that the more flexible the better the chances are that you will be faster.
Now when you are talking about your hip, knee, and ankles you are talking about joints. Depending on how you run one could hurt more frequently than the other two.
If you are having ankle pain there is a good chance that you are not wearing the proper foot wear, you have a history of ankle injury, you do not point your toes forward when you run (you walk like a duck), or you recently rolled your ankle.
Knee pain in runners is sometimes caused by runner's knee. You see your knee really just moves up and down into this grove in your thigh and uses this soft stuff called cartilage to cushion any blows that might occur when you are doing something your not supposed to be doing. Like stomping while running. But with the average of 1000 something steps a mile your knees are not going to be able to take that many blows. They are not Rocky Balboa. Eventually the cushion wears thin enough that it causes you some pain. Fear not you are young and can recover quickly.
Usually the two areas that cause knee pain originate in either your thighs or feet. When you are a runner you mostly use the back of your thighs AKA your hamstrings but the front of your thighs AKA your quadriceps do not get quite the workout. One solution is a preseason workout of quadriceps, but since you no longer have that luxury squats is one solution. Literally stand in one spot squat down and then return to standing position repeating this process until it burns in your upper legs. The muscles that burn first will be your quads FYI. There is also the infamous lunges, same concept repeat until it hurts. When you are not in season and you are trying to build this muscle not just condition it I recommend adding some weights in your hands and a little more protein to your diet.
Knee pain can also be increased by a sudden increase in workout intensity, too much speed work, too much hill work, or even banked or uneven surfaces. When ever possible run on even ground. If your knee starts to hurt ice it for about 15-20 minutes to decrease the swelling after practice and then at night right before going to bed lay down with your leg elevated and put a heating pad on your knee for about 30 minutes. Do NOT fall asleep with it on.
Another type of knee pain occurs on the outside of your knee. The best thing you can do for this is ice and rest and possible inside and side leg rises. YOUTUBE some videos to see what I am talking about. Trying to describe them is just confusing.
Heel bruising is caused by wearing shoes with little heel cushioning, exercising on hard surfaces, landing on your heels instead of the middle or front.
Turf toe or pain in your big toe is caused by running on the balls of your feet too much.
Causes of shin splints include suddenly increasing the intensity of your workouts such as right at the beginning of the season or at the end when you think you should start trying. Another cause is uneven ground or unyielding surfaces. Concrete and asphalt are the same hardness. Its better to run on a track and then grass is the best to run on. Another reason is tight calf muscles or Achilles tendon. Or shoes with inadequate arch support. Old shoes is another reason. You should apply ice to your legs after meets and practices
Athletes foot you should go to a physician to be diagnosed but the highlights are apply dry socks frequently throughout day to keep feet dry and wash and thoroughly dry feet throughout day. apply antifungal cream or powder to the area.
This part of the blog is almost a day late and a dollar short as we finish our last day of summer practice and move into the school year but it needs to be incorporated into this "health" lecture because usually the heat will effect your legs. Heat exhaustion, cramps, and stroke can be not only painful but lethal. I saw many people over the last summer come in from outside that did not recognize the signs soon enough. Sometimes they passed out or collapsed so please take your hydration status seriously because I can not be in all places at once on a 3 mile track. And God is not going to give you a bottle of gatorade when you collapse.
1. You should gradually increase your intensity and duration. Do not go crazy and increase your intensity right before a particular race you should be working out as hard as you can all season.
2. Take periods of rest when I tell you and drink plenty of water during this period. I have said it before but approximately 100 mls for every 10 minutes of workout. 100 mls might be about a mouthful of water or more for you. Get a measuring cup sometime when your home and check it out.
3. Drink water or sports drinks throughout physical activity in the heat. If you want gatorade go ahead and bring it otherwise drink plenty of water and eat a banana or pineapple everyday to get the right amount of potassium. By the way I heard after practices that chocolate milk is best at replenishing everything you need. I will probably stop at a Dairy Queen for this reason on the way home from meets if everyone is alright with this idea. By the way I am also thinking that next Friday we go to Princiville's Cafe to relax a little and load up on carbohydrates.
4. A darker urine color is a quick indicator of dehydration. Your urine should look more like lemonade than apple juice. But a water-downed lemonade look is better than a regular lemonade look.
5. Exercise during cooler portions of the day (early morning or late evening), if possible. Be thankful that I work until 6 p.m. for this reason. Because now instead of wasting all your hydration status on hotter temperatures you are able to waste it on getting better, building more endurance, strength, and flexibility. Plus as the season progresses you will be exercising in the temperature of the regional and sectional meets.
6. Do not participate in intense exercise if you show signs of an existing illness (i.e. fever, diarrhea, extreme fatigue, vomiting, etc.). These can decrease your body’s tolerance for heat and increase your risk of a heat illness.
Heat-related ailments
1. Exertional Heat stroke is an extremely serious illness that can result in death unless quickly recognized and properly treated. Signs and symptoms include a fever of 104F, altered consciousness, seizures, confusion, emotional instability, irrational behavior or decreased mental acuity; nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea; headache, dizziness, or weakness; decreased blood pressure; dehydration; and combativeness. Key steps to take when exertional heat stroke is identified include immediate whole-body cooling, preferably through cold-water immersion, followed immediately by medical treatment in an emergency room.
2. Heat exhaustion is a moderately serious illness resulting from fluid loss or sodium loss in the heat. Signs and symptoms include loss of coordination; dizziness or fainting; profuse sweating or pale skin; headache, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea; stomach/intestinal cramps or persistent muscle cramps. Heat exhaustion patients should immediately be transported to a cool, shaded environment with feet elevated, and fluids should be replaced. If your condition worsens or does not improve within minutes, you should be transported to the emergency room for evaluation and treatment. Practice is over for you. Probably would be a good idea to go see your doctor to make sure nothing is causing the problem other than inadequate hydration.
3. Heat cramps are often present in those who perform strenuous exercise in the heat. Signs and symptoms include intense pain (not associated with pulling or straining a muscle) and persistent muscle contractions that continue during and after exercise. You should consume high sodium food(Eat Ramen noodles), a sports drink and stretch the affected muscle.
4. Hyponatremia is a potentially fatal illness that occurs when a person’s blood sodium levels decrease, either due to over-hydration or inadequate sodium intake, or both. Headache, nausea, and vomiting are the usual symptoms when running.
This covers abdominal, hip, thigh, knee, calf, ankle, foot, and even a little toe pain. At the very end there is some even on heat related illnesses. Nerves are what tell you that you have pain. But pain can "radiate," which means that just because you hurt in one area does not mean necessarily that what is in that area is the problem. The best and most well known example for this is a heart attack. Heart attacks usually have left arm pain. Does that mean that the patient just slammed his or her arm in a door? No. Does it mean that the person used his shoulder too much that day? No. It means that the nerves that tell you your heart is hurting also tell you your left arm is hurting.
Abdomen. If you are running and your abdomen starts to hurt stop close your eyes and continue running focusing on your breathing. This especially works when you would describe the pain as "sharp" and on the side of your abdomen not the middle. This pain is called a "runner's stitch." There is a high likelihood that you were not breathing deep or fast enough to get the muscles in your abdominal wall or chest the oxygen they need. Try taking 10 deep breaths in and then interlace your fingers behind your head and repeat the process again. You should feel better. Now the reason this happened is because the muscles in your abdomen were lacking oxygen and the reason that taking a deep breath works is because this stretches your diaphragm (a muscle that could be the source of your pain). If not bend over and and push your fingers into the painful side or place the arm overhead and bend at the waist over the opposite side. If this does not work it could be what you ate before practice or what you did not eat. I will explain more later on what to eat and not eat but for now. No fast food. If you are convinced that it was neither of these three problems it could have been that you did not do the "seal stretch" before you ran that day. Preventing abdominal pain comes from proper stretching before running and Pilate's and cardio workouts during and prior to season. I will given you tons of exercises to strengthen leg and abdominal muscles at a later time. But for now just do the stretches that we do in warm up and really try to do them. I remember when I was in high school not making an honest effort but I did not know that the more flexible the better the chances are that you will be faster.
Now when you are talking about your hip, knee, and ankles you are talking about joints. Depending on how you run one could hurt more frequently than the other two.
If you are having ankle pain there is a good chance that you are not wearing the proper foot wear, you have a history of ankle injury, you do not point your toes forward when you run (you walk like a duck), or you recently rolled your ankle.
Knee pain in runners is sometimes caused by runner's knee. You see your knee really just moves up and down into this grove in your thigh and uses this soft stuff called cartilage to cushion any blows that might occur when you are doing something your not supposed to be doing. Like stomping while running. But with the average of 1000 something steps a mile your knees are not going to be able to take that many blows. They are not Rocky Balboa. Eventually the cushion wears thin enough that it causes you some pain. Fear not you are young and can recover quickly.
Usually the two areas that cause knee pain originate in either your thighs or feet. When you are a runner you mostly use the back of your thighs AKA your hamstrings but the front of your thighs AKA your quadriceps do not get quite the workout. One solution is a preseason workout of quadriceps, but since you no longer have that luxury squats is one solution. Literally stand in one spot squat down and then return to standing position repeating this process until it burns in your upper legs. The muscles that burn first will be your quads FYI. There is also the infamous lunges, same concept repeat until it hurts. When you are not in season and you are trying to build this muscle not just condition it I recommend adding some weights in your hands and a little more protein to your diet.
Knee pain can also be increased by a sudden increase in workout intensity, too much speed work, too much hill work, or even banked or uneven surfaces. When ever possible run on even ground. If your knee starts to hurt ice it for about 15-20 minutes to decrease the swelling after practice and then at night right before going to bed lay down with your leg elevated and put a heating pad on your knee for about 30 minutes. Do NOT fall asleep with it on.
Another type of knee pain occurs on the outside of your knee. The best thing you can do for this is ice and rest and possible inside and side leg rises. YOUTUBE some videos to see what I am talking about. Trying to describe them is just confusing.
Heel bruising is caused by wearing shoes with little heel cushioning, exercising on hard surfaces, landing on your heels instead of the middle or front.
Turf toe or pain in your big toe is caused by running on the balls of your feet too much.
Causes of shin splints include suddenly increasing the intensity of your workouts such as right at the beginning of the season or at the end when you think you should start trying. Another cause is uneven ground or unyielding surfaces. Concrete and asphalt are the same hardness. Its better to run on a track and then grass is the best to run on. Another reason is tight calf muscles or Achilles tendon. Or shoes with inadequate arch support. Old shoes is another reason. You should apply ice to your legs after meets and practices
Athletes foot you should go to a physician to be diagnosed but the highlights are apply dry socks frequently throughout day to keep feet dry and wash and thoroughly dry feet throughout day. apply antifungal cream or powder to the area.
This part of the blog is almost a day late and a dollar short as we finish our last day of summer practice and move into the school year but it needs to be incorporated into this "health" lecture because usually the heat will effect your legs. Heat exhaustion, cramps, and stroke can be not only painful but lethal. I saw many people over the last summer come in from outside that did not recognize the signs soon enough. Sometimes they passed out or collapsed so please take your hydration status seriously because I can not be in all places at once on a 3 mile track. And God is not going to give you a bottle of gatorade when you collapse.
1. You should gradually increase your intensity and duration. Do not go crazy and increase your intensity right before a particular race you should be working out as hard as you can all season.
2. Take periods of rest when I tell you and drink plenty of water during this period. I have said it before but approximately 100 mls for every 10 minutes of workout. 100 mls might be about a mouthful of water or more for you. Get a measuring cup sometime when your home and check it out.
3. Drink water or sports drinks throughout physical activity in the heat. If you want gatorade go ahead and bring it otherwise drink plenty of water and eat a banana or pineapple everyday to get the right amount of potassium. By the way I heard after practices that chocolate milk is best at replenishing everything you need. I will probably stop at a Dairy Queen for this reason on the way home from meets if everyone is alright with this idea. By the way I am also thinking that next Friday we go to Princiville's Cafe to relax a little and load up on carbohydrates.
4. A darker urine color is a quick indicator of dehydration. Your urine should look more like lemonade than apple juice. But a water-downed lemonade look is better than a regular lemonade look.
5. Exercise during cooler portions of the day (early morning or late evening), if possible. Be thankful that I work until 6 p.m. for this reason. Because now instead of wasting all your hydration status on hotter temperatures you are able to waste it on getting better, building more endurance, strength, and flexibility. Plus as the season progresses you will be exercising in the temperature of the regional and sectional meets.
6. Do not participate in intense exercise if you show signs of an existing illness (i.e. fever, diarrhea, extreme fatigue, vomiting, etc.). These can decrease your body’s tolerance for heat and increase your risk of a heat illness.
Heat-related ailments
1. Exertional Heat stroke is an extremely serious illness that can result in death unless quickly recognized and properly treated. Signs and symptoms include a fever of 104F, altered consciousness, seizures, confusion, emotional instability, irrational behavior or decreased mental acuity; nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea; headache, dizziness, or weakness; decreased blood pressure; dehydration; and combativeness. Key steps to take when exertional heat stroke is identified include immediate whole-body cooling, preferably through cold-water immersion, followed immediately by medical treatment in an emergency room.
2. Heat exhaustion is a moderately serious illness resulting from fluid loss or sodium loss in the heat. Signs and symptoms include loss of coordination; dizziness or fainting; profuse sweating or pale skin; headache, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea; stomach/intestinal cramps or persistent muscle cramps. Heat exhaustion patients should immediately be transported to a cool, shaded environment with feet elevated, and fluids should be replaced. If your condition worsens or does not improve within minutes, you should be transported to the emergency room for evaluation and treatment. Practice is over for you. Probably would be a good idea to go see your doctor to make sure nothing is causing the problem other than inadequate hydration.
3. Heat cramps are often present in those who perform strenuous exercise in the heat. Signs and symptoms include intense pain (not associated with pulling or straining a muscle) and persistent muscle contractions that continue during and after exercise. You should consume high sodium food(Eat Ramen noodles), a sports drink and stretch the affected muscle.
4. Hyponatremia is a potentially fatal illness that occurs when a person’s blood sodium levels decrease, either due to over-hydration or inadequate sodium intake, or both. Headache, nausea, and vomiting are the usual symptoms when running.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Secret
The secret to running fast is not a secret. You do not become better at any sport in life unless you practice it. Some people are born with a genetic predisposition to run faster than others but facts are facts nurture has a lot more to do with it than nature. The fact is that the kids who used to go to York High school ran a lot, and I mean a lot. Usually about 1000 miles a summer and then in the first week of practice they run approx 80 miles. Insanity. Yes. Hard work. Yes. Does it work. Yes. Can you become a state runner without this many miles. Yes. Is there a chance that your legs are like a car who has driven too many miles after being told to run an eternity in high school. Probably. Which is why I recommend a medium, or somewhere between. While it is necessary to work harder you can also work smarter. Make sure you eat the right things at the right time. Not just right before the race but the two days leading up to the race, also making sure you eat the right things after a race. Make sure you put all your effort into proper running technique. If you read that earlier blog and read about proper running technique and apply it to how you run you can shave time off your PR. More important than running, eating, and weight training is learning to over come your body. Truly the one lesson you learn and it is still the best lesson I learned in life thus far was how to over come my body by using my mind. When you run your body builds up lactic acid, which burns. This is I guess you could say an evolutionary advantage because it reminds you to stop doing what you are doing or else your body will go into failure and you eventually collapse. Everyone who is an athlete overcomes this pain to a certain degree, lets call this degree value X. If you run hard you should have an increased work of breathing, so much pain and lack of energy that sitting down feels amazing. By the way when I work in the ER when someone comes in and they are "short of breath" they are not able to speak full sentences, usually its like one or two words. There is also accessory muscle use and retractions. Retractions are when someone is breathing in so fast that the skin is sucked in around the bone. What I am trying to say is there is obvious signs for me and you to see that you are working as hard as you can. Try to overcome the pain and tell yourself in your mind, "just one more lap," "just a little bit faster," or "just a little bit longer."
By the way it would help keep track of your times better I think if you guys brought stop watches or carried a phone in your hand that has a stop watch built into it. Most cell phones have this function. I would then write down whatever time you said. See you at practice tomorrow.
By the way it would help keep track of your times better I think if you guys brought stop watches or carried a phone in your hand that has a stop watch built into it. Most cell phones have this function. I would then write down whatever time you said. See you at practice tomorrow.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Proper Running Technique
One great part of cross country is how much you benefit by learning from your own body. Learning everything from what you eat, to how your foot strikes the pavement. In overview, the feet should strike the ground as close to midfoot as possible. The legs should drive forward in a straight line. Hips should be forward while the center of gravity should be positioned directly over the foot. To help the legs drive straight and the foot to strike underneath the center of gravity, the arms should go forward and back with as little side to side sway as possible and the elbows should never cross forward pass the torso. The head should sit squarely and comfortably in an upright position facing straight ahead. While many runners like to focus on the person in front of them, it is suggested that the head is kept erect while the eyes gaze down as to not throw off the rest of the body. This will allow the shoulders to stay relaxed which will permit the arms to do what they need to do. In addition, the jaw and face should be extremely relaxed. Proper arm movement can be summarized by saying it should be straight, high, compact, and relaxed. The arms should swing comfortably at the sides of the body driving as close to straight back as possible with very little side to side sway. Since the backwards pump of the arms is the drive phase, the forward motion should be a recovery phase used mainly to set up another drive phase. In distance running, the angle of the elbows should at 90 degrees or less, which will feel very compact to most people. Elite distance runners often have elbow angles far less than 90 degrees.
While the shoulders should be relaxed, the general position of the arms could be said to be high---that is, the general positioning of the arms is such that the hands generally stay in the vicinity of the chest and mid torso. In watching Olympic performances, you will rarely see the hands of these runners drop below their hips.
The arms should follow a principle of not crossing two certain lines or planes. First, when dividing the body using the median or sagital plane, the fists should not cross this plane while coming forward. In other words, if you were to split your body into a left side and a right side down the center, the fists should never swing in so much as to cross that midline. Second, also upon pumping forward, the elbows should not overextend much past the coronal or frontal plane which divides the body in half front to back. In essence, as the arms come forward in the recovery phase the elbows should not come forward past the hips.
Keeping the arms straight forward and back will ensure efficiency in going from point A to point B (i.e. running in a straight line) while keeping the elbows from crossing forward past the hips helps prevent excessive heel strike. Remember, the backswing is what allows for forward power and the arms only swing forward in order to recover for the next backswing. The fists of elite distance runners usually recover somewhere up between the chest and even as high as the chin. In addition, hands and wrists should feel natural to the runner. This generally means that the wrists are relaxed and the hands are in a loose fist. It should be noted that while the positioning and movements of the arms are important, the legs are what does the work. Proper arm movement and positioning just allows the legs to better do their job.
One major difference between that of sprinting and distance running seems to be in the position of the upper body. While many older sources proliferate the claim of running erect as sprinters do, newer research suggests that distance runners should use gravity to their advantage and run with a slight forward lean.
In observation, elite distance runners tend to run nearly upright but with their chest pushed slightly forward, in a seeming attempt to use gravity to their advantage. Hips are also forward as to lead the top half of the body along ahead of the legs. This allows the foot to strike directly below the center of mass and makes it very difficult to over-stride and heel strike.
As you add forward momentum to the body, an adjustment of posture is needed to keep the body weight balanced. During leg drive, your body develops a slight lean to align itself with the direction of the driving force.
If a runner's posture is too erect, muscles will need to be used to offset the backward movement of the upper body as the lower body is propelled forward. (This could be a possible explanation of why many runners experience lower back pain or soreness after a race or hard effort.) It causes the arms to swing too far forward as well as the legs in front of the center of gravity, which leads to a more straight-legged (less of a loaded spring) foot contact as well as a heel strike.
As far as the legs go, the movement should be as efficient as possible. The legs should follow the trend of the rest of the body as far as keeping in a straight line. The knees and feet should drive straight forward and back with as little deviation as possible. If we start during the support phase (center of gravity directly over the foot with a bent knee), the runner's forward momentum should carry them over the center of gravity at which time the foot lifts off the ground toward the buttocks in order to shorten the lever (the leg) so that it can make the most efficient and straight movement possible forward until the knee begins to extend. At this point, the foot should be relaxed and contact the ground somewhere near mid-foot directly under the body's center of gravity. If you are still not convinced that an emphasis on heel striking is not technically sound, take off your shoes and go for a run barefoot on the concrete.
Contrary to popular belief, high knee lift is not a necessary component and can actually be a detriment. As far as back kick goes, it is important to avoid shuffling and dragging the feet. While elite distance runners tend to have a slightly higher back kick than elite sprinters, an extremely high back kick is not entirely necessary. What is important is that the foot takes the most direct and efficient path from take off through the position where the knee is at its most extended. Therefore it is inefficient to try and extend the leg all the way straight as this keeps the foot in contact with the ground longer. It is very important for a runner to push off from well behind their center of gravity.
While stride length is important, most runners emphasize it way too much and also go about it the wrong way that is by reaching more forward. Effective lengthening of the stride can only be done properly by pushing off more forcefully (spending more time in the air and less on the ground, thus covering more ground).
It should be noted that technique changes with speed. An athlete running at five minute pace following the principles of proper technique is going to look different at eight minute pace. In general for distance runners, there is an increase in back kick and backwards arm motion. Also of note is that relaxation is very important to make this whole process work.
There are many changes that will need to be made in order for a runner to undergo positive changes in running technique. Obviously, a change in which muscles of the legs will be used is paramount, but changes in hip, torso, and arm movement are needed as well.
When learning to run this way, it is often beneficial to start standing with the arms back as if they were both pumping back. The runner can then push their chest forward (and hips slightly) so that they feel their body start to fall forward which is an indication to take their first step and begin running.
As the foot comes toward striking the ground, extensor muscles of the foot should engage to bring the foot down on the ground as closely to flat as possible. This is considered the contact phase and as the muscles taking the abuse should now be the plantar fascia muscles as well as the anterior flexor muscles of the lower leg, especially tibialis anterior. The quadriceps also absorb much of the impact.
As the loading phase occurs (while the foot is left behind the body’s center of gravity), a shift is made to the posterior flexor muscles of the lower leg and especially to the soleus and gastrocnemius muscles.
For most runners, the main thing that will need to be changed is placing more emphasis on the soleus and gastrocnemius muscles of the calf. Elite runners fatigue their gastroc and soleus muscles first when run to exhaustion.
Runners who over-stride (heel strike) should focus on taking emphasis off of the hamstring muscles for pulling action. Tight hamstrings are one of the biggest thieves of speed and are almost always associated with over-striding. Hamstrings are not prime movers. Their design is more suited to providing balance and bending the knee when the foot is unweighted.”
The hamstrings are then used to support in facilitating knee flexion, quickly bringing the heel through at which time the quadriceps kick in to facilitate knee extension.
For these same runners trying to change their form, an additional amount of use of the quadriceps muscles will take place. In doing this, a greater amount of musculature is used, reducing injury and improving performance. Often, the glute muscles muscles will become sore when adopting this new style of running. This should be taken as a sign of progress as the hamstrings are being relegated to support and also antagonist status while the quadriceps and glutes become the main movers.
There should also be a decrease in the amount of pressure on the anterior portion of the lower leg (in part due to the lack of a heel strike and less dorsiflextion), reducing pressure on the tibialis anterior and toe flexor muscles while the nearly flat foot-strike should spread the muscle distribution evenly between the plantar fascia muscles, plantar flexors, and toe extensors.
Not only will speed increase with efficiency, but injuries will become less common as well.
This post was copied, pasted, and edited Harper, (2006). Running Faster and Easier Through Improved Economy and Biomechanics: A Kinesiological Analysis. Brigham Young University Hawaii if you ever wanted to learn more by all means go to this and download his PDF, its a great paper. Harper the author of this paper/essay wrote that if you want to learn more to read Tom Miller's book Programmed to Run.
While the shoulders should be relaxed, the general position of the arms could be said to be high---that is, the general positioning of the arms is such that the hands generally stay in the vicinity of the chest and mid torso. In watching Olympic performances, you will rarely see the hands of these runners drop below their hips.
The arms should follow a principle of not crossing two certain lines or planes. First, when dividing the body using the median or sagital plane, the fists should not cross this plane while coming forward. In other words, if you were to split your body into a left side and a right side down the center, the fists should never swing in so much as to cross that midline. Second, also upon pumping forward, the elbows should not overextend much past the coronal or frontal plane which divides the body in half front to back. In essence, as the arms come forward in the recovery phase the elbows should not come forward past the hips.
Keeping the arms straight forward and back will ensure efficiency in going from point A to point B (i.e. running in a straight line) while keeping the elbows from crossing forward past the hips helps prevent excessive heel strike. Remember, the backswing is what allows for forward power and the arms only swing forward in order to recover for the next backswing. The fists of elite distance runners usually recover somewhere up between the chest and even as high as the chin. In addition, hands and wrists should feel natural to the runner. This generally means that the wrists are relaxed and the hands are in a loose fist. It should be noted that while the positioning and movements of the arms are important, the legs are what does the work. Proper arm movement and positioning just allows the legs to better do their job.
One major difference between that of sprinting and distance running seems to be in the position of the upper body. While many older sources proliferate the claim of running erect as sprinters do, newer research suggests that distance runners should use gravity to their advantage and run with a slight forward lean.
In observation, elite distance runners tend to run nearly upright but with their chest pushed slightly forward, in a seeming attempt to use gravity to their advantage. Hips are also forward as to lead the top half of the body along ahead of the legs. This allows the foot to strike directly below the center of mass and makes it very difficult to over-stride and heel strike.
As you add forward momentum to the body, an adjustment of posture is needed to keep the body weight balanced. During leg drive, your body develops a slight lean to align itself with the direction of the driving force.
If a runner's posture is too erect, muscles will need to be used to offset the backward movement of the upper body as the lower body is propelled forward. (This could be a possible explanation of why many runners experience lower back pain or soreness after a race or hard effort.) It causes the arms to swing too far forward as well as the legs in front of the center of gravity, which leads to a more straight-legged (less of a loaded spring) foot contact as well as a heel strike.
As far as the legs go, the movement should be as efficient as possible. The legs should follow the trend of the rest of the body as far as keeping in a straight line. The knees and feet should drive straight forward and back with as little deviation as possible. If we start during the support phase (center of gravity directly over the foot with a bent knee), the runner's forward momentum should carry them over the center of gravity at which time the foot lifts off the ground toward the buttocks in order to shorten the lever (the leg) so that it can make the most efficient and straight movement possible forward until the knee begins to extend. At this point, the foot should be relaxed and contact the ground somewhere near mid-foot directly under the body's center of gravity. If you are still not convinced that an emphasis on heel striking is not technically sound, take off your shoes and go for a run barefoot on the concrete.
Contrary to popular belief, high knee lift is not a necessary component and can actually be a detriment. As far as back kick goes, it is important to avoid shuffling and dragging the feet. While elite distance runners tend to have a slightly higher back kick than elite sprinters, an extremely high back kick is not entirely necessary. What is important is that the foot takes the most direct and efficient path from take off through the position where the knee is at its most extended. Therefore it is inefficient to try and extend the leg all the way straight as this keeps the foot in contact with the ground longer. It is very important for a runner to push off from well behind their center of gravity.
While stride length is important, most runners emphasize it way too much and also go about it the wrong way that is by reaching more forward. Effective lengthening of the stride can only be done properly by pushing off more forcefully (spending more time in the air and less on the ground, thus covering more ground).
It should be noted that technique changes with speed. An athlete running at five minute pace following the principles of proper technique is going to look different at eight minute pace. In general for distance runners, there is an increase in back kick and backwards arm motion. Also of note is that relaxation is very important to make this whole process work.
There are many changes that will need to be made in order for a runner to undergo positive changes in running technique. Obviously, a change in which muscles of the legs will be used is paramount, but changes in hip, torso, and arm movement are needed as well.
When learning to run this way, it is often beneficial to start standing with the arms back as if they were both pumping back. The runner can then push their chest forward (and hips slightly) so that they feel their body start to fall forward which is an indication to take their first step and begin running.
As the foot comes toward striking the ground, extensor muscles of the foot should engage to bring the foot down on the ground as closely to flat as possible. This is considered the contact phase and as the muscles taking the abuse should now be the plantar fascia muscles as well as the anterior flexor muscles of the lower leg, especially tibialis anterior. The quadriceps also absorb much of the impact.
As the loading phase occurs (while the foot is left behind the body’s center of gravity), a shift is made to the posterior flexor muscles of the lower leg and especially to the soleus and gastrocnemius muscles.
For most runners, the main thing that will need to be changed is placing more emphasis on the soleus and gastrocnemius muscles of the calf. Elite runners fatigue their gastroc and soleus muscles first when run to exhaustion.
Runners who over-stride (heel strike) should focus on taking emphasis off of the hamstring muscles for pulling action. Tight hamstrings are one of the biggest thieves of speed and are almost always associated with over-striding. Hamstrings are not prime movers. Their design is more suited to providing balance and bending the knee when the foot is unweighted.”
The hamstrings are then used to support in facilitating knee flexion, quickly bringing the heel through at which time the quadriceps kick in to facilitate knee extension.
For these same runners trying to change their form, an additional amount of use of the quadriceps muscles will take place. In doing this, a greater amount of musculature is used, reducing injury and improving performance. Often, the glute muscles muscles will become sore when adopting this new style of running. This should be taken as a sign of progress as the hamstrings are being relegated to support and also antagonist status while the quadriceps and glutes become the main movers.
There should also be a decrease in the amount of pressure on the anterior portion of the lower leg (in part due to the lack of a heel strike and less dorsiflextion), reducing pressure on the tibialis anterior and toe flexor muscles while the nearly flat foot-strike should spread the muscle distribution evenly between the plantar fascia muscles, plantar flexors, and toe extensors.
Not only will speed increase with efficiency, but injuries will become less common as well.
This post was copied, pasted, and edited Harper, (2006). Running Faster and Easier Through Improved Economy and Biomechanics: A Kinesiological Analysis. Brigham Young University Hawaii if you ever wanted to learn more by all means go to this and download his PDF, its a great paper. Harper the author of this paper/essay wrote that if you want to learn more to read Tom Miller's book Programmed to Run.
Welcome 2011 Cross Country Team
Welcome to the fall 2011 cross country season, I will be your coach. As some of you may remember from last year, I work as nam emergency room nurse for BJC from 5:45 am to 6:15 pm so practices will not be everyday after school at Marquette. For the first two weeks I will hold practices either in the morning or in the late evening around 7 pm due to both my schedule and the heat that occurs this time of year. My senior year we had a few kids that could not complete practices and others who were literally throwing up, and we did not even work out that hard. To avoid this issue, I recommend we run during the coolest parts of the day when light is still available. Right now it does not start to get dark until 8:30pm. So practices will be from 7 to 8:30 pm. On days I do not work, we will begin at 8 a.m. and will practice until 10 a.m. I still have not made up my mind on what I am going to do once school starts about practice times.
Once school starts I am going to reward anyone that can get a freshman to come to 3 or more practices. Whoever gets the most freshman to sign his/her contract will get a free T-shirt/pasta meal at Princeville’s or maybe an extra tardy. When trying to recruit freshman make sure you remind them that they letter automatically their freshman year, no other sport makes that guarantee. Also unlike any other sport you will actually be able to continue cross country until you retire and even into retirement, you cannot say that about football. Everyone thinks that when you run cross country, swimming, or a track event that you are just fit physically. The truth is that you are learning more about your body than most athletes in high school ever will. When you play basketball or football you are learning plays, how to throw or pass the ball, how to tackle or block, how to dribble, or how to read your opponent. There is a lot of running and stopping and running some more and stopping some more. In cross country its run and then run faster and when it starts to hurt you sprint. Needless to say when you can use your mind to over come the pain that your body is experiencing you are learning more about your body than most boys and girls your age will ever dream. Last year I remember telling Matt at one meet to close his eyes and just sprint to the finish. The reason I told him to do this was because it forces your mind to ignore the pain signals that are screaming at you and just put one foot in front of the other. He passed so many in the last few seconds of that race it was amazing.
Also, unlike the other sports in cross country you are forced to beat yourself, and continue getting better. Unlike other sports you cannot blame the ref or official for losing the race. You cannot blame your teammate for making you slower. In other words if you do not work hard and set a personal record this year you are the only one to blame. I have no doubt that each and every one of you can beat your best time from last year. The more effort you put in, the more reward (i.e. faster time) you will get out. Having said all that do not expect to beat your personal record every time you race. Like anyone doing anything else you will have your off days. Some days you will have a touch of the cold or your ankle hurts or maybe the last race you were feeling especially well and now you just feel par. Whatever the reason do not beat yourself up over it. Not to mention the fact that the races are not ran on the same track and thus are different lengths, yes they are meant to be measured to exactly the same but not everyone does it perfectly. Also some races are 3 miles while others are longer and are 5 K. Some tracks have more hills or rougher terrain. So if your comparing your times make sure you take these things into account.
My philosophy of coaching is to teach you to love running as much as I do and to hope that you continue running either for a college or just for fun after you graduate. Also to prepare you for becoming an adult, like any job there are rules.
1. No drugs, alcohol, or tobacco. I will leave the disciplining up to Slaughter and your parents.
2. You can only have two tardies or unexcused absences. The first time you will not be able to run in the next meet. The second time will be asked to become a manager for the team or leave. For those of you who have a problem with arriving on time pretend as if practice starts 7 minutes before it actually starts. So if you show up at 7:01 you are actually 8 minutes late if it makes you feel any better.
3. Anyone caught swearing runs a mile extra that day.
4. Have fun.
5. All the rules in the school handbook that are applicable to the sport are applied at practices and meets.
6. No standing while on the bus and no throwing anything out the window of the bus. Outside of that I do not care what you do as long as the bus is clean.
If you have to work this season for what ever reason, I am sorry. But I can and will not allow you to come to work and practices when ever you feel like it. This would be unfair to the rest of your teammates not to receive the same luxury. I understand the need to work during the summer. I worked every summer and even most of the school year at the hospital in the kitchen. It taught me a good work ethic, and a desire to work harder in school so that I did not have to work there the rest of my life. In other words I will understand and support your decision to quit the team. You are more than welcome to come whenever you want if you want to be a manager.
Unexcused absences are those in which you were not excused all day from school or those that you did not call my cell phone the morning of or day before practice and leave a message, texting is also fine. Funerals, sickness, vacation, and doctor’s appointments are all perfectly acceptable.
On this website(marquettecc.blogspot.com) I will use nicknames only since your minors. I hope to use this website as a tool to help you learn how to better run and eat, inform you of practice times and meets, and track your running ability more closely. Once the season starts the calendar on the website should be considered set in stone. If anything changes I will call you or inform you of any change at the next practice.
A quick word on diet: when in doubt eat carbs. For heavens sake please stop eating fast food before practices or meets. I do not care what you say about the food you get at McDonald’s, KFC, or Taco Bell; It is not nearly as beneficial as carbs without the greasy meat. If you are going to eat meat, eat lean meat with no gravy or fatty sauces. Also on the day of a meet and preferably on days of practice drink all day, water, water, water. Between classes drink water until you have to catch your breath. If the teacher lets you, drink water during class through a water bottle. Eat carbs not just the day of the meet but the 72 hours leading up to the meet. You can drink some Gatorade but eventually the benefits will dwindle and you will be wasting money. During practice you should drink 100 mls approx every 10 minutes. You will not get a water break, just a quick squirt from the bottle and back to work. To give you an idea of how much 100 mls is a can of soda is 360 mls.
Once school starts I am going to reward anyone that can get a freshman to come to 3 or more practices. Whoever gets the most freshman to sign his/her contract will get a free T-shirt/pasta meal at Princeville’s or maybe an extra tardy. When trying to recruit freshman make sure you remind them that they letter automatically their freshman year, no other sport makes that guarantee. Also unlike any other sport you will actually be able to continue cross country until you retire and even into retirement, you cannot say that about football. Everyone thinks that when you run cross country, swimming, or a track event that you are just fit physically. The truth is that you are learning more about your body than most athletes in high school ever will. When you play basketball or football you are learning plays, how to throw or pass the ball, how to tackle or block, how to dribble, or how to read your opponent. There is a lot of running and stopping and running some more and stopping some more. In cross country its run and then run faster and when it starts to hurt you sprint. Needless to say when you can use your mind to over come the pain that your body is experiencing you are learning more about your body than most boys and girls your age will ever dream. Last year I remember telling Matt at one meet to close his eyes and just sprint to the finish. The reason I told him to do this was because it forces your mind to ignore the pain signals that are screaming at you and just put one foot in front of the other. He passed so many in the last few seconds of that race it was amazing.
Also, unlike the other sports in cross country you are forced to beat yourself, and continue getting better. Unlike other sports you cannot blame the ref or official for losing the race. You cannot blame your teammate for making you slower. In other words if you do not work hard and set a personal record this year you are the only one to blame. I have no doubt that each and every one of you can beat your best time from last year. The more effort you put in, the more reward (i.e. faster time) you will get out. Having said all that do not expect to beat your personal record every time you race. Like anyone doing anything else you will have your off days. Some days you will have a touch of the cold or your ankle hurts or maybe the last race you were feeling especially well and now you just feel par. Whatever the reason do not beat yourself up over it. Not to mention the fact that the races are not ran on the same track and thus are different lengths, yes they are meant to be measured to exactly the same but not everyone does it perfectly. Also some races are 3 miles while others are longer and are 5 K. Some tracks have more hills or rougher terrain. So if your comparing your times make sure you take these things into account.
My philosophy of coaching is to teach you to love running as much as I do and to hope that you continue running either for a college or just for fun after you graduate. Also to prepare you for becoming an adult, like any job there are rules.
1. No drugs, alcohol, or tobacco. I will leave the disciplining up to Slaughter and your parents.
2. You can only have two tardies or unexcused absences. The first time you will not be able to run in the next meet. The second time will be asked to become a manager for the team or leave. For those of you who have a problem with arriving on time pretend as if practice starts 7 minutes before it actually starts. So if you show up at 7:01 you are actually 8 minutes late if it makes you feel any better.
3. Anyone caught swearing runs a mile extra that day.
4. Have fun.
5. All the rules in the school handbook that are applicable to the sport are applied at practices and meets.
6. No standing while on the bus and no throwing anything out the window of the bus. Outside of that I do not care what you do as long as the bus is clean.
If you have to work this season for what ever reason, I am sorry. But I can and will not allow you to come to work and practices when ever you feel like it. This would be unfair to the rest of your teammates not to receive the same luxury. I understand the need to work during the summer. I worked every summer and even most of the school year at the hospital in the kitchen. It taught me a good work ethic, and a desire to work harder in school so that I did not have to work there the rest of my life. In other words I will understand and support your decision to quit the team. You are more than welcome to come whenever you want if you want to be a manager.
Unexcused absences are those in which you were not excused all day from school or those that you did not call my cell phone the morning of or day before practice and leave a message, texting is also fine. Funerals, sickness, vacation, and doctor’s appointments are all perfectly acceptable.
On this website(marquettecc.blogspot.com) I will use nicknames only since your minors. I hope to use this website as a tool to help you learn how to better run and eat, inform you of practice times and meets, and track your running ability more closely. Once the season starts the calendar on the website should be considered set in stone. If anything changes I will call you or inform you of any change at the next practice.
A quick word on diet: when in doubt eat carbs. For heavens sake please stop eating fast food before practices or meets. I do not care what you say about the food you get at McDonald’s, KFC, or Taco Bell; It is not nearly as beneficial as carbs without the greasy meat. If you are going to eat meat, eat lean meat with no gravy or fatty sauces. Also on the day of a meet and preferably on days of practice drink all day, water, water, water. Between classes drink water until you have to catch your breath. If the teacher lets you, drink water during class through a water bottle. Eat carbs not just the day of the meet but the 72 hours leading up to the meet. You can drink some Gatorade but eventually the benefits will dwindle and you will be wasting money. During practice you should drink 100 mls approx every 10 minutes. You will not get a water break, just a quick squirt from the bottle and back to work. To give you an idea of how much 100 mls is a can of soda is 360 mls.
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