Workshop Announcements: Learn for Charity!

Aaron Groen, PhD will be teaching two workshops this Spring for charity. ALL of the proceeds from these workshops will be donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) as a fundraiser for Jen Chapin, a Team in Training (TNT) participant and mentor. Jen, a Bristol resident, is training with TNT to run the 2010 Mayor's Marathon in Anchorage, AK on June 19th. She must raise over $5000 for the LLS's Connecticut Chapter to compete in Alaska. Her goal is to raise $6500 in an effort to further the LLS's mission of curing blood cancers by 2015. Visit Jen Fundraising Website by clicking here. GO TEAM in TRAINING!

#1 - Running Form and Nutrition - $30
March 13, 2010, 2pm-5pm, 2pm-5pm Farmington Valley Physical Therapy, 112 South Main St., Unionville, CT 06085

Course Description: Your body is fueled by food so shouldn’t the best nutrition be part of your training regimen? In this workshop you will learn how to maximize your performance by eating the foods you need most, and avoiding the foods you don’t. Students will also learn about the technique of running through a video-analysis of each student. An emphasis will be placed on nutrition and its general influence on metabolism and performance during training cycles. This workshop includes a running video-analysis of each student.

#2 - Running Form and Common Running Injuries - $30
April 10, 2010, 2pm-5pm Farmington Valley Physical Therapy, 112 South Main St., Unionville, CT 06085

Course Description: An in-depth analysis of running form as related to common running injuries. Students will learn about the technique of running through a video-analysis of each student. The course will focus on how changes in running form and training schedules can contribute to common injuries. Some injuries discussed include the Sacroiliac Joint (SI Joint) Dysfunction, Knee/ACL injuries, Iliotibial band (IT band), and plantar fasciitis.

To register by phone and credit card, call 860-673-0223.

To register by mail, enclose the name of the registrants, contact information including phone number and email, and payment by check in the amount of $30 per person made out to FVPT to:

FVPT, 112 South Main St, Unionville, CT 06085

A New Way to Look at Running Efficiency

People use the word running efficiency instead of correct running form because there is the belief that there is really is no "correct" way to run. However, there are some factors that are associated with faster running. In fact, there are many people in the US and the world who spend their lives researching precisely what makes up running economy.

Running economy is a term used to describe how efficiently a runner can use their body to generate speed. The more efficient your body converts oxygen that you breath in into speed, the higher your running economy. Sports scientists at the Research Institute for Olympic Sports in Finland measured many factors related to speed and their correlation with running economy including:

VO2max
Stride Length
Stride Frequency
Speed Range (the difference between the lowest and highest speed an athlete runs during a given distance)
Maximal Running Speed
Ground contact time (the amount of time your feet spend on the ground with each step)

The authors found that the ONLY FACTOR THAT CORRELATED WITH SPEED WAS GROUND CONTACT TIME. VO2 max, stride length, speed range, etc did not correlate with speed. The more time runners spent in the air (i.e. the less time they spent on the ground), the faster they went.

So what does this mean? As Dr. Romanov of Pose-Tech running stresses: Pick up your feet!! Run lightly and gracefully. Clunking on the ground is not associated with faster speeds so concentrate on the upward movement and not the actual steps you take.

May Perfect Form Clinic Announced

Training errors and bad running form both contribute to the high rate of injuries among recreational runners. Reports indicate that approximately 65% of runners develop an injury each year, many of which could be avoided. Learn how to increase your performance and decrease your chances of injury using the training theory of how to design an efficient plan to improve your fitness and speed as well as the proper running technique and footwear. A video will be shown on running form analysis, running drills, introduction to dynamic stretching and more. Open to runners of all levels. Wear comfortable running clothing appropriate for the weather and an old pair of running shoes for wear pattern analysis. Please include shoe size when registering.

Clinic will be held May 23, 2009, from 10:00 am - 1:00 pm at FVPT's Unionville Office for a fee of $35 per person (or $50 if registering two people). Call 860-673-0223 to register by credit card or for more information about the registration process.

Perfect Form Running Clinic Sold Out

The Perfect Form Running clinic scheduled for April 4th, 2009 is now SOLD OUT. Because of popular demand, I will hold another in late spring or early summer. Feel free to email me at running(a.t)fvpt.com or contact me through Farmington Valley Physical Therapy to be placed on the waiting list for the next clinic.

Running Forward

WHENEVER YOUR FEET AND LEGS ARE OFF THE GROUND, MAKE SURE THEY ARE MOVING FORWARD!

Most people allow the momentum of the ground to swing their feet/legs backwards behind them. How can you move forward, when your feet/legs are swinging behind you? This will drag the rest of your body back and slow you down, making you tired.

So, instead, the minute your foot is picked up off the ground drive it forward: DO NOT ALLOW IT TO DANGLE BEHIND YOU!! You may not go any fasters, but you will notice that your cadence will increase, your stride will shorten, and you will be able to go, go, go…longer, like the energizer bunny!

Triathletes Care Most About Running Form

The triathlete has to run, bike, and swim (duh!). As the triathlete spends time swimming and biking, they focus on the proper technique of biking and swimming as both of these are widely accepted as unnatural skills that require practice and learning. However, what I have found is that triathletes apply this method of practice and learning to running, while a high proportion of pure runners never think twice about learning how to run. Learning how to run is just as important as learning how to swim and triathletes appear to be the first to notice this fact!!!

As a runner myself, I had a difficult time realizing that form was important. I figured that if I had run for 15 years, I must be doing something right, so I never thought about it again. However, I was wrong.

In closing, working on your running form will make you a more efficient runner, which can only make you a better runner as it will not only allow you to train longer, but also avoid injuries (such as plantar fasciitis, shin splints, and stress fractures).

Runner's World of Form

Let’s face it, running form is very controversial. I was taught that everyone is special, so everyone walks and runs differently. And to a point this is very true. In reality, there may not be one completely correct way to run. For this reason alone, people rarely use the words "correct form", but rather use "efficient form."

Everyone would acknowledge that there are more efficient ways to run (see entry on Running Efficiency). This topic has generated enough popularity to merit an article in The New York Times: "Who, Me Take A Running Class?"

The article takes no position, but offers various quotes with different positions:

“It’s a healthy thing and a beautiful thing to run. But if you don’t know how to do it, you’re in trouble.” -- Dr. Romanov (Posetech)

“Go stand at any finish line of any marathon in America and you see people with the most god-awful running form, hunched over and bowlegged. Alberto Salazar’s broken-glass-in-the-shorts style are proof that the unorthodox can win races.” -- David Willey (Editor of Runner’s World)

“You can lose sight of what’s great about the sport — which is that it’s simple. There’s no substitute for hard work and just getting out and doing the miles.” -- Dr. Jason Friedman (Shawangunk Running Camp)

Ugh! What is correct? Form is clearly important even though David Willey (the Editor or Runner’s World) stated Alberto Salazar’s broken-glass-in-the-shorts style are proof that the unorthodox can win races. What David Willey failed to mention is that Alberto had a very short running career. His enigmatic “burnout” is very famous. Thus, could it be possible if he had better form, he could have run at the elite level for more than 4-5 years? Additionally, how could you just go out and run many miles (as Dr. Friedman mentions) if you feel pain every time you bring up your mileage to a certain point? Clearly, something else must be changed--especially if you've already tried 10 different pairs of shoes!!

So, should you worry about your form when you run? My Answer: If running can be a repetitive stress to your body (i.e. you run a lot), you NEED to think about your form, as you WILL get hurt otherwise.

More specifically, you should only worry about your form IF any of the following apply to you:
1) You care about your race times.
2) You seriously train for more than 3-4 races per year.
3) You seriously train for more then one marathon.
4) You want to keep running your whole life.
5) You consistently run 3-6 times per week all year long.

So you decided to change your form? Well, changing your form is a lot of work, can take much patience and dedication, and is often very expensive (books, clinics, etc). Many times, you will feel like you’re taking many steps backwards when you are learning new form as your body has to adapt to a new way of running, which WILL engage different muscle groups and tendons. Thus, you will have to cut much of your running per week or risk getting injured. In the end, it can take up to 4-6 months of hard work to become strong enough to even reach a moderate level of fitness and proficiency. So, before you tinker with your form, you need to figure out if it is worth it.

Efficient Running

So you think your running form is okay; maybe not perfect, but good enough to get you through your training.

If your form is good enough, you should answer NO to ALL of these questions:

1) Does running with shoes with little or no cushioning cause any pain?
2) Do you feel muscle soreness/tightness after or during longer or faster runs?
3) Do you feel like you can run for no more than 3-5 days (or less) in a row?
4) Is it difficult (or do you not prefer) to run on rough or uneven terrain?
5) Is it difficult to run downhill or uphill?

A truly efficient runner would answer NO to ALL of these questions—without hesitation.

THERE SHOULD BE NO PAIN OR DISCOMFORT WHENEVER YOU RUN!!

So how do you become an efficient runner. There are numerous ways to learn, but most importantly, you should videotape yourself jogging. You don’t need a professional to evaluate your technique, as many things will be obvious to you (i.e. my arms flail out, my foot swings to the left, etc.). Video yourself from the side, front, and behind, as each prospective will give you a different view.

The things you should look for when you see yourself run:

1) STAY RELAXED. Your muscles as well as your feet should be very relaxed when you run; thus you should look relaxed when you run (sprinting or jogging). Imagine fluid motion with no tension anywhere.

2) DO NOT POUND YOUR FEET OR BOUNCE UP AND DOWN. All motion should be directed to forward motion, which will be more natural as you follow what is stated below. You should not bounce up and down or pound your feet on the ground. Don't ever focus on pushing your feet on the ground to increase speed, as the important point about increased speed is increased leg turnover and picking up your feet from the ground is most important.

3) DON’T OVER-STRIDE. Your feet should not land in front of your body. They should always be right below you or behind you. If you do over-stride, just shorten your stride length. Exaggerate it at first to get used to it. Never actively increase your stride length in order to increase increase your speed. You can only run faster by increasing your cadence and lifting your legs higher. With an increase cadence and a higher leg left, your whole body will move faster, but your feet will remain below you. Only then will your stride length increase. The important thing to remember is an increased cadence and a higher leg lift leads to longer strides and faster pace, not vice versa.

4) HIPS SHOULD BE PUSHED FORWARD AND ALIGNED WITH YOUR SHOULDERS. At first you will feel like you are pushing your hips forward, but you will also notice it is easier to run. Most people run with their butts sticking out, which puts much strain on hip flexors. In this position, the hip flexors are mostly used to drag the leg up for the next stride, which will not use the elasticity in this muscle group. With your hips pushed forward, most of the strain of picking up your leg for your next stride is place on your hamstring, which is stronger and has more elasticity for this motion, leading to more efficient running form.

5) AVOID HEEL STRIKING. If weight of your body is directly over and supported by your foot, you should be landing on the front part of your foot. It is nearly impossibly to land on your mid foot, i.e. the arch. Your full weight should never be completely placed on your heel, as this causes a force in the opposite direction you are moving (also known as a breaking force). If you are not over-striding, this should not be a problem, as you cannot place all of your weight on your heel if your foot is landing right below you.

6) LEGS SHOULD MOVE IN CIRCULAR MOTION. They should not out and back like a scissors opening and closing, but rather in a complete circle, with your legs kicking back behind you to complete the circle. This circular motion allows you to take advantage of the elasticity in your muscles (which means less work for you) and gives you the impression you are running over the ground (instead of on top of it).

7) ARMS SHOULD MOVE FROM THE SHOULDERS. Your arms should not move only around or at the elbows.

8) NO EXTRA MOVEMENTS. Arms should not flail out, feet should not move to the right or left as they are being picked up from the ground. All movements should be focused on forward movement over the ground.