I was out for my ‘easy’ run this morning.
Supposed to be 1 hour and easy Zone 1-2. At least that is what is on the plan that I am revisiting at the moment.
So when selecting a @wearenation podcast, looking for ~1 hour, my decision was made easy by the most recent one featuring Brian MacKenzie
Now, like most people I find it very easy to get lost in the run, to just trudge along at the setpace and aim for the time just to have the job done. Listening to music or podcasts to pass the time. You kinda drift off.
Right?
The podcast touched on how many of us just go through the motions of long runs – a chore. But the real eye opener was the statement about injury (my paraphrasing) – injury is NOT caused by the mileage we are running but more about how we are running, our functional movement. Our running (or activity) form is the causal factor and injury is the manifestation.
And that’s what reminded me. What got me thinking about a post I wrote quite a while ago about the usefulness of your GPS device.
Use your watch to ‘be present’ in your run. Don’t be a slave to the pace or HR numbers but do use the auto lap function at 1km or 1 mile intervals to your advantage.
Everytime it beeps or vibrates that you completed a lap use the next 10 -20 seconds to be aware of your form:
- Think of your head position – central and balanced? rolling? bobbing?
- Shoulders – square? relaxed?
- Arms – swinging freely? crossing? bouncing? balanced? NB this is why I dislike handheld anything!!*
- Hips – level? twisted? any tightness?
- legs – smooth and controlled? even rhythm strides?
- feet – relaxed? slapping? smooth? aligned? toe in or toe out?
As you mentally run down and up your body for the next 100m assess your body position in space and tweak anything that may be ‘off’. By not adjusting yourself you run the risk of inviting injury through repetitive bad form.
Keep practising until the head to toe check becomes unconscious and you are body aware.
What ‘tricks’ do you do to help prevent injury or stay present in the run?
