I’m weeks away from a new clinic, full of new to running runners (I hope)
this will be clinic number, about, a million?….Maybe not, I have no idea actually….start off in 2006, count 10 weeks for some clinics, 18 week for others, and devide by the number of weeks, roughly……
I’ve taught/coached/instructed everything, from Learn to Runners to Full Marathoners & everything in-between – sometimes all at the same time……breast cancer survivors, those that wanna quit smoking and begin something healthier…..it’s fun, enjoyable, inspiring…..and every time, every time, I usually walk away learning, and looking at a lot of things differently..every question, every run, every talk on every topic adds to the internal book of knowledge, to the benefit of those in the following clinics.
I never know what I’ll have, or how many…..the clinic I just finished up……64 participants..a virtual clinic, because that’s all we have right now….new runners, some returning from a long, or short break….20 somethings, 30 somethings all the way up to 64-ish….some never have taken a step before, to some a little more or a lot more active…..some returning from an injury, some just wanting to prove that they could run a 5K, some a lifestyle change, some looking for something for mental health….some more than others……
It’s always a challenge to try and figure out what all want, what all need, and what will hold their attention, and inspire……and what they want to know…..or need?
running though seems to be it, they all just want to learn how to run…..that’s the pretty much the constant question….how do we run?
I can talk about nutrition, hydration…..footwear, clothing, injuries, warm ups, cool down, stretching foam rollers, whatever…….how do we run?….that’s the common question…how do we run?…..
So, is that biomechanics? is it breathing, stride, turn-over, pace, speed, or, just simply, how do I run?
That’s an interesting question right? And something I keep wrestling with?
I’ve run forever, I like to think I have good form…I ain’t fast, but I can move…
I’ve been at this long enough to know, the shoe does not make that much of a difference….strength, running strength, and time on those feet dictates finding that stride, that perfect stride, and that speed……
I’ve come to understand that heel strike, mid-foot, toes strike…that’s pretty well and individual thing…..stronger may mean mid foot, but I’ve stood at the finish of a lot of races, big and quick, and the top runners, no two in a row do the same thing….actually that stride is all over the place…….shoes, there are no magic shoes, seriously, watching this past summer’s Tokyo Olympic Marathons, a lot of runners with those magic shoes didn’t finish…..
stride yeah, understanding that a huge stride does nothing, quicker turn-over does the speed thing, and that comes with strength….it’s simple right?……lead with the knees, keep the feet below your center of gravity..and the runner get’s stronger, the stride improves, every stride takes the runner further, quicker……I notice this when I run behind someone quicker in winter, in fresh snow….I will match that runners turn over, will maintain that stride, but when I look at the foot placement of the runner ahead of me, every stride covers more ground…….simple, and truth…
Yes, sprinters look like they take huge strides….but nah, they have a kick, that kick and then the foot tags the ground the same spot every time…..whether it’s Sage Watson in the 4X400 relay, or Andre De Grasse, quick turn over and that kick moves them a little further….that’s why we practise those A B Cs……
and yes, you’ve gotta look cool too……
so, so many questions…how do you breath?…in and out….what do you do with your arms, 45 degree angle, back and forth, no clenching those fists……and understanding effort, knowing the difference between slow, and effortless…I don’t know why confuses so many, effortless, not slow, effortless for you….and know what tempo, speed is….anerobic vs aerobic…..and what hill repeats as opposed to hilly does…..
But, yeah, I’ve rarely had anyone ask about nutrition or hydration or apparel as often as, how do i run….is all that just as important…and understanding shoes is kind of important too…..maybe my next post…….
I’m looking forward to my second ever Learn to Run virtual 10 weeks, not sure how I feel about doing this for someone else – the Running Room – I keep thinking I’d like to do or offer this on my own, I was thinking this blog might lead to that, but it is nice to have someone else look after the business side…..but maybe someday….not sure if I like the virtual remote thing….it does give me a larger audience maybe, but in person, kind of hands on, being able to hold those in the clinic accountable is, I think important…maybe someday….
