Hit the Ground Running
Running season is upon us. The snow has melted, the days are longer and it’s warming up. Lots of people are starting to get outside and hit the pavement or trails. We wanted to put together a few things to think about to help make your running more enjoyable this spring.
1) Always Warm Up (and no…that does not mean slower running)
We’re huge advocates for warm ups. They help to prevent injuries by getting your joints, muscles and tendons prepared for the activity ahead as well as increasing body temperature and blood flow. They get you mentally prepared and you’ll rest easy knowing you did your due diligence to prepare so you don’t have any regrets should an injury happen.
Here is an example of a 3-5 minute warm up that will make a positive impact on how you’ll feel when you hit the ground running:
If you’re short on time, cut the run short, never the warm up.
2) Start Slow and Quit While You’re Ahead
We know the sunny weather brightens our spirits and unleashes energy we’ve seemingly been storing all winter, but that’s just it, you may not have been running all winter, and for folks who live in Canada, that’s 8+ months, so we reiterate, less is more in the beginning. Your body will thank you.
We recommend starting with walk/run intervals. Don’t worry about tracking anything the first few times out. Go based off of feeling. Be in your body. When you feel like running, run. When you feel like walking, walk.
Whether you’re a long or short distance runner, stop well before you reach muscular or aerobic failure. If you feel like you want to keep going another couple kilometers, hold back on the first time out. That way, you can gradually re-introduce your body to the demand and avoid excessive soreness or joint discomfort. We often don’t know how an activity will affect us until the next day, so this will allow you to audit the work you’ve done and then adjust your running intensity and distance accordingly. Lastly, this approach will allow you to keep running well into summer and fall by not overdoing it.
3) Practice Mindful Running
Approach your first few times out with a mindful approach. Think of it like practicing a skill. Like throwing a ball or doing a cartwheel. This will allow you to assess, adjust and refine your technique, which will ultimately allow you to run with more longevity.
Here are some head to toe cues to think about when running (specifically running at low speeds and jogging - not sprinting):
Keep your cervical spine aligned with the rest of your spine, meaning, avoid a head-forward posture. Use your eyes to look up and ahead of you.
Relax your shoulders. Keep your arms at ~90 degree bend and allow a natural subtle rotation of the upper back as you run. You should have a natural coordinated opposing limb swing, in other words, when your right leg is in front, your left arm will also be in front and vice versa. This helps to counterbalance the body in movement and propel you forward.
Keep your pelvis slightly tucked to keep your abdominals engaged and spine in alignment to prevent low back arching. This will allow for better force absorption through your joints and spine, dissipating the impact of each step (running is essentially repeated hopping on a single leg).
Lead with your hips to move your legs forward as opposed to reaching out from the lower leg. Think of the hips as the cassette on a bike, the hub on which the chain moves around to propel the bike forward. Also, extend your leg behind you slightly on each stride to get a fuller range of motion.
Focus on light ground contact with mid-foot strike right under your hip. Avoid reaching out in front with each stride or striking with the heel first as this puts on the breaks rather keeping your forward momentum. Your toes should be pointing forward. Press off your big toes at the back of your stride.
Trail running requires avoiding tripping on roots, so you’ll need to lift your knees and feet a little higher than on flat ground. Look ahead and anticipate the obstacles to come in order to keep your flow.
Running uphill requires using more of your upper body to help you as well as more of a forward lean, so pump those arms and push through the ground with your legs, extending your hips.
Running downhill requires a more upright and/or slightly leaned back posture to decelerate the momentum of your body. Eccentric quad strength is very important here. You can improve your quad strength for going downhill by walking up small grade hills backwards focusing on keeping knee over toe when you’re pushing off and extending your knee.
Use gravity to your advantage with a slight forward lean with your whole body. Check out Chi running for more information on this.
A lot of people use running as an escape from the days’ problems and we totally get that, but starting with mindful running will set you up to be an efficient runner and be more in tune with your body. Later, when it becomes more automatic, you can enter more of a meditative state when running.
4) Support with Strength
Here is a running-specific strength workout that will keep your joints, muscles and tendons strong and resilient.
Happy Running!
