One thing that the recent 50k ultra did was get me thinking about 'HOW' I run. Rewind ten days and the overarching signals I was getting were that certain areas were being hit waaaaay harder than I felt they should be. Me being me, of course, decided to attempt to deconstruct what I think my body may have been telling me...
...That my running form and technique sucks.
Being an ageing and heavy runner (around 100kg / 220Ib / 15stone 8ibs) my days of bounding endlessly and effortlessly for miles are a dim and distant memory... but should they be?
Over 10, 20Km or so you can get away with shitty form. Over 40,50km you start to feel it. 100km it can be a disaster. Even more so when you are heavier than the average person.
The maths is quite simple (and something I mentioned before). When you run your body endures 3x its weight in forces through it.
If you are a 70kg man, you put 210kg of force through your body in each step. If you are 100kg then you put 300kg of force through it.
in 10K (12,000 steps approx) you'll load 2.5M kg in force if you weigh 70kg, and 3.6Mkg if you weigh 100kg.
Over 100KM you'll be putting ten times that amount through you (25million Kg vs 36million Kg of force depending on weight). It's bad enough when you weight 70kg, but when you weigh 100kg, that extra 11 million kgs of force can savage you. This means as a heavy runner it is even more important to get your technique right in a way that spares your body when it is subjected to such a pummelling.
During the 50Km last week after about 35km I could feel the technique catching up with me in my muscles. My hamstrings, calves and quads felt like i had cement poured in them. They stiffened up badly.
Now, my quads and calves, etc are pretty strong. They always have been. I'll still back myself to out-squat, out-stiff legged deadlift and out-calf raise most humans, even today at approaching 50 years old... but that is not good enough for long endurance running attempts. Not by a long shot.
You may recall the issue I've had with my hip and glute the last few months. Well, it caught up with me on that 50k. Because the glutes and hip flexors were still weaker relatively to my other leg muscles, and combined with weaker running form, it meant that my other muscles were taking on too much of the load. This is why they stiffened up so badly. It's something you don't really experience on shorter runs. But you absolutely find it out on the super long ones.
How to fix it?
Three things... strength, mobility and technique/form
1. Strength
Strength in the muscles that are weaker is required to balance the legs. I don't need to increase step ups, or squats. Those muscles are strong. But the glutes and hip flexors are comparatively weaker. Glute bridges, knee raises and respective glute and hip flexor activation to get them firing properly before I run are needed. If they are activated before i set off for a run (leg swings, etc) then they will work each time i run as well, helping to strengthen and train them.
2. Mobility
Hip mobility is important. Flexible hamstrings, Psoas, quads and ITB are needed so that they function better. Especially when you start to tire. It helps with stride length, speed, injury prevention and allows the joints to move more freely thus reducing the pain that accumulates over time.
Hamstring stretches, quad stretching, foam rolling, glute stretches and psoas cobra stretches all help in my opinion. Injury meant I had neglected all of these for months. No more, and you'll be surpirsed how quickly it loosens things up if you are able to get more consistency (4-5 stretch sessions a week)
3. Technique
This is one of the hardest areas to improve in my experience. It's about reprogramming how you run based on the distance and pace you are going. Sprinting requires different technique to 10-20k running, which requires different technique again to run 50-100km+
I can still print. Good form for that is hardwired in my body from when i used to play rugby and sprint when waaaay younger, but my distance running form is shitty.
I've managed to eradicate heel striking and overstriding with my leading leg. My back and hips thank me for this. They can play havoc with knees, hips, back and ankles. Try it and test the difference. Start with a long over stride and hit the ground with your heel while running. Then try shortening the stride and landing on the midfoot area. When you are heavy there is a BIG difference in how that feels. Short strides with my foot striking midfoot and making ground contact pretty much under my hip are now a habit. I've really felt the benefit and difference from this. Shorten that stride and increase that cadence if you're new to this!!
Posture matters, and it's important to know how that can change from running a few K with nothing on your back, to running 100km with a 6-8kg pack attached to your back (water, waterproofs, food, etc). It makes a significant difference. While an 8kg pack can add an extra 2.8m of force to your body alone, it will also change the way you run if you are not mindful to it. Train with the weight you are likely to carry when working on your form! That way your body doesn't try anything different to what you practiced in order to cope with the change. Posture for me need to be aligned, head up and slightly angled forward. That keeps forces pushing forward. Too vertical and your effort pushes you too much directly upward. You fight gravity more than you need too, waste energy and have little drive forward. Little things over short distances, but big things over long ones.
Knee lift
Not too high (unless sprinting). The slower and further your pace, the lower it needs to be... HOWEVER, over really long distances I've been guilty of more shuffling while I run. Running with barely any knee lift. This wastes a stride reflex (The Cross Extensor Reflex) that improves your efficiency, energy in your stride and the distance you travel with each stride. I've started running again much more consciously this last week in order to lift the knee just an extra inch and it makes a difference. I move faster! Simply lifting the knee just that inch higher means I see a 10%+ uplift in my pace. This will take some drilling in order to get it embedded into my muscle memory to be able to sustain it over very long distances, and build the strength required to maintain it. But it makes a difference. I also let the heel flick higher in my training leg which helps the hamstring recover.
Glute and hip activation (while running)
While I talk about pre run activations. The trick is to keep them working throughout. They are the largest muscle, and are activated well when power hiking up steep hills. But for the flats... keeping the pelvis in neutral helps.
It's VERY easy to let the hip and pelvis tilt backwards when you run slow and long. actively pulling in your belly button and concentrating on keeping it in a neutral position I find engages the glutes to do more work when running. Again a very subtle change (less than an inch) but one that makes a noticeable difference.
A great video on this is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmZ7GJJsYE8
Core stability
I'm also working on keeping my core more stable while running long. This again helps avoid the 'ultra shuffle' and means keeping my shoulders locked square, my arms bent 90 Degrees or more, and elbows driving back.
I discovered a great drill for this you can do while running which is 'Zombie jogging'. Basically you jog as normal, then for about 30-50m you hold your arms out in front of you and locked straight like a Zombie. Try it and notice what happens....
Your stride shortens but your foot cadence increases, and you feel everything tighten in your core and work harder together (including those lazy glutes). To take it up another level, then switch to clasping your hands together while keeping your arms locked out straight in front of you. It increases even further. This is a great for training, but also a good reminder to the body to activate properly when you start to get more tired on a long run.
....and there you have it.... With just 3 weeks to go until the 100km, I've plenty to work on. I'm unlikely to be breaking records on this one, but I will give myself the best chance of successfully completing the full 100km this year.
Progress Update
After the 50K 12 days ago, I've been still putting mileage in. I was pretty tired after that ultra so took two days off entirely. I then had two 5k walks (last Tues & Wed) to help recover and shift the lactic acid and was running again Thurs/Fri/Sun/Mon (6k/6k/13k/7km). I took the opportunity to practice the above without overdoing the distance. The last thing I need is an overuse injury right now.
My legs are feeling fresher this week and with a 5k today and one more long run (aiming for 30km) it'll then be into my taper period into the 100km. I'll talk about my taper for this in my next post.
You can see I was deeeply in the dark red training zone on event day last week and was going too hard. I need to allow my body to come back from that. I still feel a little fatigue but that's almost entirely passed now. I need to focus on giving myself the best chance of success to finish the full 100k. It's a savage course (but beautiful). Last year it utterly obliterated my feet and Achilles tendon. I think both are in better shape than last year, but the hip/back/glute issue I've been fighting is still a factor I can feel (mostly in my left glute). The next three weeks on the run-up to the Jurassic ultra is just about being sensible. This last heavy long run is important, but I intend to take it slow and easy so as to not take any chances. Let's see how we get on....
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