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Mar 26

How to Improve As a Runner – Molly Huddle’s Guide to Being a Complete Runner – runnersworld.com

Exercise Programs Comments Off on How to Improve As a Runner – Molly Huddle’s Guide to Being a Complete Runner – runnersworld.com

Lately Ive been finding hope in making small improvements.

Do you ever notice when youre bouncing from goal to goal that you often put bandages over or maybe completely ignore imbalances and weaknesses that have crept in? During this forced pause of organized running, in the same way I look around and suddenly see the dusty corners and cluttered drawers in my house, the areas of my running that need some work seem to highlight themselves. I tend to put these on the back burner during the never-ending racing seasons.

Some areas that I find get overlooked are exercises for physical imbalances and weaknesses, shorter speedwork and form work like drills and strides, and even efforts to strengthen your mind.

Anyone who runs a lot or for enough years will eventually pick up some imbalances or overuse from the repetitiveness of the sport. Because we love it and because its what were good at, running is often the only kind of exercise we runners ever do. These are the areas Ive been focusing on lately; maybe youll find youve also overlooked them in favor of extra miles and workout reps.

Plyometrics or drills: Be careful diving into these as theyre meant to be dynamic and explosive, so injuries are a risk if you never do these kinds of exercises.

But a little goes a long way in this area. You really only need some of the following: a soft area like smooth grass or turf, some chalk and pavement, a sturdy place to jump on to, or a jump rope. I like to chalk out a speed ladder in my driveway, and have also done a basic bounding series and occasional box jumps in my gym circuit.

These are best done warmed up but fresh so your legs arent too tired. The objectives are to practice putting force into the ground during exercises like jumps and bounds, and for short, quick contact on the ground during things like speed ladder or jump rope.

Casey B. Gibson

There are also basic drills, like A and B skips, side shuffling, and butt kicks, that help put you through bigger or new ranges of motion than the mileage shuffle that can happen to very experienced runners.

Mobility: I struggle with hip, ankle and upper back mobility. Im told theyre commonly stiff areas in distance runners. At-home yoga has become a routine as well as some specific hip and back mobility series like hurdle step overs, the Myrtl series, and thoracic spine openers on the foam roller. These help to combat the sitting and running postures in which I spend much of my life.

Gym work: For some reason, high mileage can indirectly lead to form-sabotaging things like glute weakness and adductor tightness. I guess not all adaptations to running a bunch are great for performance!

Ive found doing exercises to target lateral motion and proper glute and core work are helpful in reversing some of these overuse patterns. Im often too tired to add them into the day during heavy marathon training, and I dont like being sore before workouts or especially close to races, so I dont do them as often as I need to. Plus, they can be a little tedious.

Im prioritizing them now, as I feel like marathon training has accelerated a lot of my biomechanical problem areas. I think if I can hyper-focus on correcting them before I dive into heavy workouts, Ill be able to move smoother and easier. (Although I think of them as gym work, they can be done at home, so there goes that excuse for not doing them while most gyms are closed!)

If any of these are new to you, that may even make them a more efficient workout. We can all benefit from new workout stimuli, and this is a good time to adapt to new programs and even experiment with different workouts, even if they make you a little sore.

Courtesy of Molly Hudlle

My gym routine usually includes a lot of resistance band work for hips and glutes, core work like planks and medicine ball throws, and upper back strength like TRX exercises. I dont do many Olympic lifts other than back squats and deadlifts because my form isnt good, but now may be a good time to learn a few more of those.

[Stay injury free on the road by getting on the mat with Yoga for Runners.]

Meditation, mantras, and practicing positive self talk are popular buzzwords in the sports psychology sphere, but how many have you practiced? It seems like Im usually preoccupied with things like gear testing, race planning, and travel logistics. Who has time to sit quietly and do nothing?

Well, a lot of us do at the moment. If this current state is like a type of forced meditation, maybe we can benefit from it by actually practicing the mindfulness and stillness that make it so empowering. (Ive honestly never felt like I got meditation, but Im going to try!)

Now is a good time to step into some of these practices, for what they can offer your mind when you compete next, and also for how they can help you manage anxiety.

One thing I often dont make dedicated time for in my schedule are fast strides and short workouts that prioritize speed and form. It always felt like those workouts had small rewards compared to the big fitness jumps I could make from piling on the V02 max sessions and threshold workouts.

Even with the strides Im supposed to do two or three times a week, I would often be too tired to do well or sometimes at all. We all have our strides-shirking excuse. The road near my house is kind of lumpy or hilly, my neighbors will think Im weird, Im tired, etc. The last few weeks Ive been able to focus more on a few of these as workouts. Theyre actually super fun. If youre able to find an empty track or smooth, quiet 200-meter stretch of road (or even a hill), its fun to unleash, take full recovery and not have to hit a really high volume of reps.

Similarly, sometimes during big training weeks I get lazy with my warmup drills because I just want to get the beast of a workout going. With these shorter, quicker workouts, the warmup is not only more important, but you have more energy to do the drills, and theyre actually considered part of the workout.

For now, though in solitude, were lucky to be able to run. Whether its on unpopulated roads, remote trails, or personal treadmills, we can still physically and mentally center ourselves every day. Most of our relationships with running have more dimensions than training and striving. So without a target, we run anyway, to move our bodies.

As distance runners we arent dependent on a team or facility, and I think more people are realizing this and lacing up to strengthen their hearts, calm their minds, and find their breath. Although were sad to not have races to immediately look forward to, we know we will race again. We may not be able to do what we love to do right now, but we can do what we need to do, and thats not a wasted effort.

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Originally posted here:
How to Improve As a Runner - Molly Huddle's Guide to Being a Complete Runner - runnersworld.com

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