Check your running: Mindfulness

I've just been out for my first run in two weeks. A delicate op and some doctor's orders resulted in a bit of time off so I couldn't wait to get back out there. I treated myself to an earlier finish from work and managed to get out running in the light. What a great feeling.
In just two weeks I'd put a little weight on and soon started to feel a few muscles tire during the run. I kept it at 6km and maintained a pace of 4:40mins per km and really focused on my breathing rate. For me, my breathing rate is an indicator of how hard I'm working and today it was better than expected. You don't lose a lot of fitness in 2 weeks but your mind plays tricks on you. I headed out the door thinking I would struggle to complete the run and would no doubt need to slow right down.
This wasn't the case.

My heart rate monitor identified that the ticker was happy beating at just over 150bpm even though I was halfway through the run. Breathing ok...heart rate ok....sorted- Not quite!

A key part of running, in my opinion, is mindfulness. Being in the moment and thinking about your body and mind. I have a typical routine to go through in my mind which enables me to consider the current state of play and then think about anything that could be better. Within this blog I thought I'd share my toe to top checks:

1. Which part of my trainer is hitting the ground? If it's the heel I know my cadence has dropped and I need to sort it. I quickly count 1,2,3,4 in my head at 180 tempo and check my feet are hitting the ground in time with the counting. Check out my cadence blog for more information about this here  
2. Have I tied my laces correctly? For me, I have two clear signs if there is a problem. Firstly, I get achilles pain if my laces aren't tight enough. Secondly, my foot feels like it has duct tape around it and I get a cramp feeling in my feet if I've done them too tight.
3. Can I feel the muscle on the front of my shin? Back at uni I suffered with shin splints and was cautious about getting problems again when I took up running a few years ago so I did some reading. Shin splints are caused from over working the muscle in front of the shins and is usually caused by lifting the toes during running. I make a very conscious effort to be relaxed in my ankles and really focus on not raising my toes. It's worked so far.  
4. Any sign of the IT band issue returning? Due to previous IT band issues I'm always alert to the dreaded pain at the side of my knee. If I start to feel anything there, it usually means I'm not using my glutes to power the movements. If I ever do get issues I stop and do leg swings to get the glutes firing. I also have an awesome IT band stretch which loosens things up nicely. Finally, I check my trainers when I get back as I previously noticed more IT band trouble when my trainers were starting to be worn out. 
5. Did I put my shorts on? You can't go running in just running tights. It's not cricket. In summer this check changes to: Are my running shorts running too high and am I scaring people? 
6. How are my hips? I check for any hip tilt (forwards, backwards and sideways.) This can happen as muscles start to fatigue and you lose some form. If hips are an issue and it's not addressed you are at risk of injury. If there is a hip problem, I also notice I am worker harder for less results. 
7. Have I got good posture? For this I think about my head position. I should be looking ahead and picture a hat just above me that I'm trying to fit my head into. This stops any slouching.
8. Are my shoulders relaxed? It's very easy to tense up. When I race in half marathons I do this check 4-5 times. I straighten my arms and give them a shake to loosen things off if there is some tension
9. Are my arms fairly still? Some people have pumping arms when running. I see this as a waste of energy and keep my arms in a bent position at the side of my ribs. I make sure they aren't swinging in front of my chest too. 
10. Are hands relaxed? Could I hold a crisp between my thumb and finger without breaking it? 

These ten points provide a useful routine during a run, particularly a longer one. For me they are the areas I've identified from problems or reading various material. 

Don't forget to check heart rate and breathing as this is often an indication of how hard you are working. The key question is: Does my breathing and heart rate match the effort levels I wanted to apply in this run? If not, do something about it. For me it often means slowing down. 

I hope my little checklist is of some use and look forward to hearing about your checks and thoughts when running. In today's run I thought about putting a mindfulness blogpost together: Voila! 

To stretch or not to stretch

After this weekend's race I decided to grab a cup of tea and a biscuit at the race headquarters and sit down. I'd only half dunked my bourbon when BANG calf cramp struck. I'd never really struggled with cramp before and this was a whole new feeling I didn't enjoy. I explained the cramp to someone I know, who was also there, and they asked if I'd stretched and my answer was no. A couple of calf stretches later and I was able to return to my cup of tea to dunk another bourbon without being rudely interrupted by calf cramp.

Cramp obviously identifies an issue and my first thought was that I hadn't cooled down or included any stretches in my post run routine. It was a particular muddy and uneven surface throughout the run, which obviously resulted in the calf muscles working much harder than usual.  Anyway, I thought I would take the opportunity to share a few of my thoughts about stretching, warming up and cooling down.

I must warn you that there will be very little science in this post and a few things I put could be frowned upon. E.g. He took two bourbons when there might not have been enough to go round for all runners. 

Why stretch?

During A level PE lessons back in the day, it was made very clear that static stretches were needed to lengthen the muscle and reduce the risk of injury. Every practical session would start with a range of stretches and we all had to contribute one to the routine. Hold it for 10 seconds and then repeat on the other side; start from the top and work down the body so you don't miss any areas; concentrate on the areas you will be working on. 

I was particularly lazy back then and never really stretched properly. I had poor flexibility, didn't like the feeling and in most sessions never planned on working too hard. But my laziness highlighted that I was still able to take a pretty active part in sessions and not pull a single muscle even though I hadn't stretched effectively. 

When I started running in 2014 I thought that I better improve my stretching attitude. Basically, I was the wrong side of 30 and didn't want to snap. I stretched the quads, calves and hamstrings and would head out of the door. No muscle pulls and no snapping so all was good. However, as I got into running more I read that stretching muscles can actually result in a lower power output. Great! I'd just got back into stretching properly and read that it isn't necessary. As I was older, wiser and more mature than my A level PE days, I decided to do the right thing: stop stretching. Well in terms of completing a stretching routine before runs anyway. I took that decision about two years ago and haven't looked back. The only time I might stretch before a race is if something feels tight. During my time recovering from IT band syndrome (If you do struggle with IT band syndrome I have some great advice so feel free to get in touch via Twitter or Facebook and I can share it with you) I did complete one really good IT band stretch before running but recently have stopped that as I believe it's more important to activate the glute muscles (bum cheek muscle) before running.

There are times when I do stretch but I focus on and around the area that feels tight. This might be before running, during (yes I do stop when training and spend time stretching if something doesn't feel right) and after. I believe that this approach and using the foam roller gives my muscles what they need. I guess more stretching would improve my flexibility and therefore help my running but I haven't developed this yet. 

Foam roller use

Instead of focusing on stretching after a run I recommend walking for the last 200 metres. I do this on all training runs and it really does help flush the lactic acid out of the system and enables a gradual could down. During the walking phase you could incorporate some dynamic stretches. (Click this link for further info.) This simple approach, supplemented with foam roller use has enabled me to stay injury and cramp free. Interestingly, the cramp issue on Saturday happened at a time when I hadn't included my usual 200 metre walk. I think I was more focused on celebrating my 13th place finish and grabbing a biscuit!

Anyway, to summarise, there is obviously a time and place to stretch and if it works for you and keeps you injury free-keep it up. I think stretching is less about preventing injury and more about your muscles being able to produce their full range of motion to allow good running form. If I do stretch a certain muscle, I will hold the stretch for 30 seconds and gradually increase the force (over three stretches) each time. My other key message is to make sure you warm up or take it steady during the first 2-3km of your run and definitely include a walking phase at the end. Throw in a bit of foam roller use and all will be good* 

(*This is not true. You can still get injured when you least expect it!)

Cadence

When you think of 180 you might be like me and think of the dart scoring guy bellowing it out as a pro fires three darts straight into the treble twenty. Well in running terms 180 is often seen as a key number when you consider the term cadence. Today I set myself the target of running with a cadence of 180 during my long run, well during the second half of my run. I thought I'd blog about how you might increase your cadence and why it might be beneficial.

Cadence 

If you're fairly new to running your first question might be...Why is there a dart-board image on a running blog? Your second might be..What is cadence? 

Cadence in running terms is about the number of times your feet hit the floor when you're out and about working hard, specifically in a minute. It is quite common to find elite athletes with a cadence of 180 or higher. If you're ever lucky enough to see a live elite race take a look at how many times an athlete's left foot hits the ground in 12 seconds. Double it and multiply it by 5. That will give you an idea of their cadence.

I said 12 seconds as you will have zero chance of seeing them for a full minute in a road race. I guess you could do it on a track race? Anyway I digress. Most elite athletes have a cadence of 180 or better and will have a much longer stride length than us mere mortals. The idea is that a quicker cadence allows you feet to contact the ground for less time on each landing, therefore the breaks are not on for long.

Heel strike example

When I completed my first 5km 3 years ago I looked at the photos and noticed that I too looked like the lady above (much less hair and was carrying a bit more weight. Oh and I had some running tights on with no shorts. What was I thinking!) 

After a bit of research I found out I was a heel striker. My heel hit the ground (causing breaking) and then the whole foot would contact the ground. This meant that every hit of the ground would be slowing me down and making my runs even harder. Further research also indicated that the heavy heel landing was also putting me at a greater risk of injury. 

I didn't do anything about it until I suffered from IT band syndrome. (Basically a long tendon running from your bum cheek down the side of you thigh and attaches near your knee. The muscle at the top got tight so pulled the IT band. The IT band then rubbed on bone at the side of the knee and caused great pain and no chance of running.)

Once I suffered from this I started to think about running technique. Plenty of Youtube research brought me lots of ideas. I recommend the following two videos to support your work on technique if this is something you want to work on: Video 1 Video 2 

Video 1 looks at the pull of your feet and supports the idea of decreasing the amount of contact with the floor. It also has some good drills.

Video 2 focuses on landing and reinforces the idea I raised about heel striking. The man in the vid does a much better explanation than me so I hope it is useful.

Since I worked on my technique I have been lucky in terms of being injury free: 2 injuries in 3 years. I've had a calf issue from playing five-a-side football (which I no longer do!) and IT band syndrome again which was a result of worn trainers. I don't want to bore you with these details but it's important to consider the impact of an injury on your training. An injury normally stops us putting in the training hours so has quite a big impact on progress. Injury free = more time to run. Simples!

After working on technique I carried on training hard and entering events. My times kept getting better and things were all good. However, I'm not someone who is happy settling for something as I like a fresh challenge. Further reading and research brought me to the term 'cadence.' After viewing various videos it was clear that higher cadence usually meant the runner used less energy and made things look easy. I liked the idea of that. As mentioned earlier, it also meant runners made less impact on their bodies so reduced the risk of injury.

Over time my cadence has steadily improved and I feel that this gradual approach is important:
Late 2015 my cadence was around 154. Throughout 2016 I pushed it up to 168 ish by working on technique. I then plateaued around 170 recently.

My suggestion to push yourself further and get up to 180
Step 1: To take my cadence up further I installed a simple metronome app (MetroTimer) on my phone. During my long run I ran out for 5 miles (as I would normally) and really focused on how my body felt: Where the aches were, what was my breathing like and which muscles felt like they had worked hard.
Step 2: I then switch on the metronome app and the beeps began. I found the jump from 170 to 180 really does push you. I soon began increasing the steps whilst maintaining the same speed. I found it really useful to just focus on my left foot hitting every other beat and before long I had the speed of counting 1-2-3-4 to the 180 tempo.

MetroTimer

Step 3: Turn the metronome off and rely on your counting "1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4...."

Step 4: Turn the metronome back on and see if you have maintained the tempo

Step 5: Metronome back off and get your counting going. Then count how many times your left leg hits the floor in a minute and double the total. There's your cadence. I managed to maintain 178 for the rest of my run and also keep my speed exactly the same. I did three checks during the last 5 miles of my run and all three were 178.

Step 6: Again, at the end of your run think about how your body feels, particularly your muscles. I noticed a real decline in muscle tension and aches. It might have been because I was fully warmed up at that time but I'd like to think that the improved cadence was the real reason. 

If you've been running for a few weeks, months or years I'd definitely recommend looking into running technique. If your brave enough, do what I did: Start off by getting on the treadmill and film yourself running. It made very entertaining viewing for me! 

Good luck with it and feel free to drop me a comment to share your thoughts or progress.