Photo Credit: Dismal Days 2012 on Flickr by US Army Corps of Engineers Norfolk District, used under a Creative Commons license.

A few Team Predawn Runner members have asked for help with their form of late. I’ve also been asked to provide some thoughts on the running form of one of the kindergarten soccer players coach.  My response? Maybe it’s a little early to worry about that…

Form is a tricky topic and in fact a bit of a “bunny hole”, particularly when coaching online. That’s partly because form is highly subjective and individual, and therefore “messing with it” can often be counterproductive. Since it is a common concern runners have, it’s worth sharing a few thoughts on a “form philosophy” that I’ve built over the years.

• Form (just like shoes) gets overly blamed for injury issues.  More often, injuries arise from over training or from getting out of balance, where either our cardiovascular fitness proceeds faster than our musculoskeletal fitness or we develop (or possess) strength imbalances between competing or complimentary muscles.
• There is no one right running form, but there is a right running form for each runner.  Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, and the goal is to make our form align to those current realities – though these realities can be moved over time through such efforts as strength training.
• Form follows function.  It is impossible to make certain “improvements” to form if they body isn’t ready to support it.  For example, one can’t successfully run with a forefoot strike if they don’t have the calf strength, foot function, and ankle mobility to support it.  Trying to force “form fixes” can be a recipe for injury.
• Proper form can be tougher to sustain at a slower pace than a faster pace.  Thus extended periods of base building (run primarily at an easy pace) can exaggerate conditions that may be caused by form issues, which can then defeat the purpose of keeping training easy.
• Form changes need to be made slowly, as you progress through four stages in making such shifts:
  • Unconsciously incompetent – you don’t yet realize where there are issues, so of course can’t address it
  • Consciously incompetent – you are aware of the issue, but don’t know how to fix it
  • Consciously competent – you are aware of the issue and can fix it, but have to concentrate on doing so
  • Unconsciously competent – the form “fix” has taken hold and become a part of the “normal” way you run
• Form is best addressed one area at a time, proceeding through the above four stages completely before moving to the next element.
• The goal of “good form” is to direct as much energy forward as possible, by minimizing extraneous movement in planes other than your sagittal plane (i.e., front/back).  Ironically, you resist allowing movement in the other planes by strengthening yourself in those planes, and this is the reason why core work is so valuable to runners.
• Your running form often starts from the top and works its way down.  Specific, your body tends to follow your arms when you run, so directing your arms forward is the best place to start in terms of form cues.
• Finally, changing your form, even when done thoroughly and properly, can actually set back your running efficiency and economy.  While the long-term gains may make it worthwhile, initially you may find exactly the feelings Brian Martin expresses below about moving to more of a midfoot running form.

@sportinjurymatt @Predawn_Runner I found foot-strike the most disruptive change I’ve worked on for least relative benefit. Pros & Cons.

— Brian Martin (@BrianRunCoach) May 22, 2013

Bottom line – there are a lot of other areas of your training (and maybe diet) that can have a bigger impact on your performance than “fixing” your form.  While a few minor tweaks may have a small positive benefit with just a little effort, a more whole scale undertaking may be more than you bargain for.  It may be better to let form “come to you” through focusing instead on strength and mobility and just a few minor cues.

Nine Helpful Tips on Your Running Form originally appeared on Predawn Runner on June 20, 2013.

Photo Credit: Busy Schedule by Flickr user Flik, used under a Creative Commons license.

A year or so a go, a friend responded to a survey asking him to state the one word that best encompassed what running means to him with the word “routine.”   There is a lot of power in that concept, as it’s the attitude of creating a routine (and therefore a habit) that gets you out the door every day (or most days).  And since consistency is the key to long term success as a runner, regardless of your goal, making it routine can be a real asset.

But there can be a point where routine becomes limiting.  The negative connotations of the word include “boring”, “repetitive”, “unexciting”.  So it should be easy to see that too much routine can lead to getting into a rut, or to burnout.  Worse, when you have tunnel vision about the manner in which you train, you miss opportunities that are even only slightly different from what you are used to.  This in turn can lead to shortfalls in your performance, as it is often new opportunities that bring the biggest growth opportunities

Being open to variety in some ways the opposite of routine, helps you ramp up your performance through:

• setting new goals in new types of races
• adopting new training techniques to reinvigorate your development
• finding social opportunities via a team or running partners
• getting help from a coach to realize your full potential

There are at least five aspects of your running where relying on routine, while initially helpful, can quickly become limiting.

Time of Day

At first, establishing a routine around running at a certain time of day goes further than any other step in helping to make it a habit.  You carve out a specific time of the day and become pretty good at defending it, and your family and potentially co-workers learn to respect this time.  Or, if  you are a predawn runner, it provides the ongoing motivation to get up early, which in and of itself is a hard habit to establish.

Eventually, running at or near the same time every day can become an issue for several reasons.  First, if a temporary or permanent schedule change is forced on you, it can be difficult to react as you may not ever have considered other possibilities (and the challenges each brings).  Also, if you participate in races, they may not be scheduled at the time you typically like to run (I’ve had a devil of a time finding a predawn race).  As such, you may not know how to fuel properly or manage your energy levels to give your best possible performance, or be acclimated to different temperatures.

Solution:  Make it a regular practice to run at other times of day than what you are used to.  Doing so once or twice per week can be enough to help convince you that it is possible, and to understand how you need to adjust your diet or attitude to do so successfully.

Weekly Schedule

Just like finding a time of day that works, establishing a weekly pattern can be helpful initially for a runner as it gives a sense of predictability.  For example, if your family gets used to your long run on Saturday, it can become less of a burden as they learn what activities they can do without you.  If you mentally gear yourself up for speed work on Monday (and, for example, rest on Sunday), you may find yourself always ready to give your best to the workout.

But a lack of variety in your schedule can eventually limit your gains.  If you always head into each key workout with the same level of fatigue (presumably “low” if you are following a easy/hard sequence), then you miss the potential gains that come from having to push a longer run on tired legs, for example.  And if you get used to running long on Saturday but then have to race on Sunday, your diet may be different than what you are used to on the day before a long run, or your sleep patterns may be a bit off.  It’s these “little bits” that can take the edge off a race and cost you a PR.

Solution:  Mix your schedule around on a regular basis.  Obviously this doesn’t mean piling on long runs back to back, but a hard-medium combo once in a while can be a valuable training asset.  This sometime I try to be careful about with Team Predawn Runner members to the extent possible based on their schedule constraints, as running the same type of workout on the same day each week can also just simply become boring.

Running Routes

Finding a handful of courses of known distances can be an asset to a runner, as you can head out for your 7-mile run without thinking too hard about how to get the right distance (or time).  There are also potential safety benefits, as your family will generally know where you will be in the event something happens to you.

But nothing breeds boredom and complacency like getting too comfortable with your routes.  Running successfully is about occasionally getting uncomfortable and learning to deal with it (actually, it may involve frequently getting uncomfortable). This is just as important mentally as physically, so having to think a bit when you run, to be aware of your situation and surroundings, and to plan ahead to manage your mental energy is a valuable training asset.  Plus, if you always face a big uphill late in your long run, what’s going to happen when you face such a hill early in a race?  Will you know how to manage your effort appropriately?  Will you be mentally prepared for a situation you are not used to?  And running constantly on the same type of surface can be a contributor to injury, or at the least a higher degree of fatigue.

Solution:  Vary your routes regularly, or have a dozen or more that you can tap into, perhaps with minor variations.  Even running a route in reverse can provide a fresh stimulus and perspective to help keep your training fresh.  If your goal race has a unique course profile (like the Boston Marathon, for example), get creative in mimicking such a hill profile in some of your long runs.

Pacing

This one is a little more insidious, but over time many runners find a pace groove at which they are comfortable.  This can be helpful in just being able to zone out and knock off the miles, but this pace often falls at something a little faster than “true easy” effort, and in fact the temptation bleeds in to try and do a “little better” each time.  This in turn can lead to a “medium effort trap”, in which you run a lot of your miles in a zone that is not optimal for aerobic development (it’s too fast) but yet doesn’t really touch your anaerobic capabilities (it’s too slow).  In fact, many runners run their hard runs too slow and their easy runs too fast, thus missing out on the specific stimuli for which the workouts are designed.

Solution: Your training should touch a range of paces/efforts during each training “microcycle” (usually a three week training block), and even better if you are hitting a few paces each week.  These paces and workout structures should be done with specific objectives in mind, of course, targeting specific gains for a specific race in most cases.  At a minimum, even if you are in a generally easy base-building phase, you should mix in some strides or hill sprints each week to hit on your turnover and leg strength on a regular basis.

Shoes

It is important to find a pair of shoes that works for you as a runner, that let’s you run “well” without pushing you towards injury.  However, shoes change over time as new models come out, and new material and assembly technologies allow for ever lighter shoes.  Thus, the shoe that worked for you in one iteration may not work after a redesign, and you may miss out on new possibilities by never trying other shoes.

Further, running in the same shoe all the time is like running on the same kind of surface – by stressing your muscles in only one way, you limit the “broadening” effect that alternating shoes can bring by engaging different muscles and risk overuse injuries.  Further, you may well find that different kinds of shoes are better for different workouts – the cushioned, heavier shoe good for long runs doesn’t work as well for an uptempo set of intervals as well as, say, racing flats do.

Solution: Try having at least two shoes in rotation at all times, preferably not only different models but different types, that differ along at least one dimension such as heel-to-toe drop, degree of stability, or stack height / cushioning.  In this way, you become a better runner by utilizing different muscles as you train, helping improve your efficiency and reduce injury risk.

Like so many things about running, routine is great until there is too much of it.  By intentionally building in smart variety to keep your motivation high and physical and mental gains proceeding, and by introducing situations to become uncomfortable, you can develop more quickly to realize your potential.

Avoid Letting Your Running Routine Become a Liability originally appeared on Predawn Runner on May 21, 2013.

Photo credit: Interval running (hill) 4 by Flickr user Michael Lokner, used under a Creative Commons license.

One topic I’ve struggled a bit with as a coach and in designing my own training has been how to integrate hill training into the program. I’ve ranged from one extreme (structured hill repeats with goal times and the distance and repetitions progressing through the season, in preparation for the Akron Marathon) to the other (nothing structured but just incorporating hills into long runs to get ready for the Towpath Marathon).

We all know the potential benefits of running hills regularly:

• Improves strength in your glutes and hamstrings
• Provides low impact speed work
• Builds mental toughness and can prepare you for hills in a race
• Helps provide gains in your running economy
• Certain workouts can improve your VO2max

But how do we best realize these gains and make the most of the time (and energy) we invest in hill workouts?

A recently published study from the Sports Performance Research Institute New Zealand suggests that there really isn’t an optimal way in which to train with hills, just doing hills helps. Specifically, the study tested 20 subjects with a variety of hill interval approaches, and found no consistent “optimal” training approach while finding a (presumably) statistically significant mean improvement.

In light of this, it really doesn’t make sense to sweat how you integrate hill work into your program – but it’s something you should do on a regular basis. In a minimalist line of thinking, it’s best to keep such workouts less structured. Hills are infinitely variable in grade and length, as will be your energy or fatigue levels in doing them (and weather conditions, etc.), so tracking splits doesn’t really add a lot except stress.

Here are three ways you can easily build hill work into your plan:

Add Hills to “General” Workouts

Medium (60-90 minutes) or long (90+ minutes) runs should regularly incorporate hills if they are available, even if your goal race isn’t that hilly. Add hill sprints involving 4-6 repeats of 10-15 seconds up the steepest available hill near the end of short or medium runs, just like you should do with strides. These aren’t “hard workouts” so won’t take away from speed sessions, but just provide some added “bang for the buck” to your aerobic-focused training runs.

Incorporate Dedicated Hill Workouts

Dedicated hill work is appropriate for the strength-building phase of your training – the transition from base-building to race-specific periods. These workouts can be more structured but should be based on the hills you have available to use:

• If you have short, steep hills, run short intervals in higher numbers (such as 6-8 reps of 200-400m)
• If you have longer, shallower hills, consider adding longer hill repeats in a more limited quantity (such as 2-4 reps of 600-800m)
• If you have a lot of rolling hills, take a fartlek approach on a medium-long run where you surge up the hills and relax/cruise on the downhills and flats.

The point is to do something more than short hill sprints but less than a typical VO2max workout, as you’ll be reaching VO2max intensities in a much shorter time period (and the point isn’t primarily VO2max gains anyway).

Perform Race-Specific Hill Training

Hills play a major role in many marathons, including Boston, San Francisco, Akron, St. George, among others.  Therefore, it makes sense to match your practice on the hills to what you will experience.  You can do this best by simulating the race course as closely as possible on long runs.  If you are training for Boston, have some of your long runs involve starting with a lot of downhill stretches and then hitting uphills well into the run.  For St. George, find some way to get used to running downhill for a long period of time.  Even better if you can run sections of the actual course, even if only once.

Such training runs can include both “easy” long runs and, even more importantly, long runs incorporating marathon-pace work. The goal in the marathon pace workouts should be to learn to control your effort, not your pace (and possibly learn what pace is going to result at that equivalent effort).

The point is, aswith so many other things in running, don’t let the need for perfection get in the way of progress.  Far better to get some kind of hill training done, even if it isn’t “exactly” the right kind for your training.  80% or more of the value is in just hitting the hills on a regular basis.

I am planning a few future posts on some more specific hill-training ideas, however, like making more out of your hill workouts and preparing for downhill races.

The Ups and Downs of Hill Training for Runners originally appeared on Predawn Runner on May 14, 2013.

Photo Credit: after breakfast by Flickr user glasseyes view, used under a Creative Commons license.

A few months ago, I participated in a chat hosted by Run Your BQ’s founders Jason Fitzgerald and Matt Frazier, with the topic being how to become a predawn runner.  While I be blunt in stating that the chat was nominally a waste of time (there were maybe six attendees, though I understand that it was archived on the site for future viewing), I did have one valuable takeaway from the session.  The biggest barrier to predawn running for most athletes (besides the whole “getting up early” thing) seems to be not knowing what to eat before running.

This amazed me.  My answer has always been pretty simple – “nothing.”  Perhaps because I’ve always done it that way, not having food before I run has never been an issue for me.  Not before the short recovery run, not before the tough tempo or repeat workout, and not before the 20-mile-plus long run.

But maybe this ability developed in parallel with the ability to run longer distances, since it was the only way I was running (after college, that is).  So maybe for the runner used to having breakfast or some other sustenance before running, there needs to be a process involved in transitioning to predawn running sans fuel.

There are a couple of major benefits in being able to run predawn without having to eat:

• It enhances your efforts to boost glycogen efficiency – while mostly of concern to marathoners who need to learn to better utilize their glycogen to avoid the bonk, teaching your body to burn fat boosts your metabolism in general and may (though this is debatable) help in weight loss.
• It saves time -  it takes time to eat, and you may need to digest your food a bit before you run (unless you work on getting used to that).  This can cause you to have to get up even earlier, or run shorter.
• Less risk of GI issues – while some report that running on an empty stomach creates GI distress, I believe that food is one variable that rather contributes to GI issues when you run, unless you stick to a known proven performer each time out.

The biggest risk in eating nothing, of course, is having enough energy for your workout.  This becomes more of a concern for tough workouts like tempo runs or long runs.  However, I’m convinced that with enough practice, even these workouts can go off without a hitch.

And therein lies the key.  Like anything running-related, it is amazing what you can train your body to do.  So how do you get by without eating?  Like any other new skill or capability you try to develop, you start “easy” or small and gradually build your strength.

For running without breakfast, that would look like:

• Start with easy workouts, like anticipation runs.
• If you are used to eating breakfast, first start by eating less before you go to nothing.
• Take something with you as a fallback in case you need it (though eventually it may be helpful to remove this “crutch”).
• Eat late the night before – whether a decent snack (I prefer popcorn) or even just a later than normal dinner.

Over time, as your body gets used to running without fuel (and more importantly, your mind gets used to it too), you can start extending the workouts to longer “easy runs” and then to shorter “workouts” (400m repeats, 20 minute tempo runs, etc.).  Ideally, you’ll want to get to the ability to go 90 minutes, or the long end of the “medium” range, to start getting the true glycogen efficiency benefits.

If you need to still rely on eating for longer runs than 90 minutes, that’s not a problem at all – in fact, you’ll certainly want to eat before your race, so you better get or continue to stay comfortable with what works for you.  It’s also helpful to continue to mix in running at different times of day under different fueling conditions, as you never know what kind of event you may find yourself in (or how your training may need to shift to deal with schedule conflicts).

Being able to run without eating can really enhance your predawn experience, giving you more time to train and more valuable training to boot.  It’s worth the investment in building this capability, if you’re serious about becoming a better runner.

To Eat or Not To Eat – That Seems to Be An Important Question originally appeared on Predawn Runner on April 25, 2013.

As the parent of a child with autism, I support efforts to create a better life for individuals and families dealing with this challenging condition.  As opposed to awareness or research organizations where it’s tough to make a significant impact as an individual, I prefer organizations that are focused on delivering practical solutions to families today, especially in the upcoming era of tightening health care dollars.

When Abbey Faris of the YAI Network inquired about advertising on Predawn Runner for the Central Park Challenge, of course I was interested.  And as I learned more, I wasn’t really interested in selling ad space to such a good cause – I wanted to give them a free platform to promote this outstanding event.

So many of us are touched by autism, but what we often see in the media (and in our own lives) are the experiences of children dealing with these challenges.  While YAI provides resources for children, what I really like about the organization is that the focus continues into adulthood.  As we face the future for our son, we do know that we’ll need to continue to find non-government resources to help him become a productive and happy member of society through gainful employment, to move from focusing on “special needs” to “special abilities”, and this is where organizations like YAI can help.

So I’ll hand it over to Abbey to introduce the event.  If you happen to be in the NYC area on June 1, please consider joining this great opportunity to race for a cause in Central Park.

We’re so pleased to be able to guest post with a community so perfect for The Central Park Challenge.  Individuals who balance their love of running with a commitment to real world issues are exactly the kind of people who will be streaming into Central Park by the thousands on June 1. This year we look forward to welcoming a contingent of Predawn Runner participants to our mission!

Right now powerful forces are changing the landscape for people with disabilities. Some want government out of the business altogether and their influence is already being felt. Big funding cuts mean that agencies like ours need friends like runners more than ever, particularly runners motivated to make a difference.

To join our movement:

Come out to Central Park on June 1 for a 5K run, 3K walk and family fun. Register or donate at the Central Park Challenge website.

The 2013 Central Park Challenge – Providing Opportunities originally appeared on Predawn Runner on April 23, 2013.

Photo Credit: Boston Marathon Bombing by Flickr user Aaron “tango” Tang, used under a Creative Commons License.

It’s nearly impossible for a running blogger to avoid writing about the events in Boston this week, as any other topic seems trivial. While many have written about what it means to the running community or to the author as a runner, it’s important to discuss the broader aspects of what happened.

The natural tendency for a runner, especially one who has or aspires to run Boston, is to view the tragedy through that lens. To visualize the typical activities at a finish line and compare that to the videos we see repeated time and again. To turn to other runners for consolation and understanding or to express grief or fear. To view this as an attack at the soul of what it means to be a runner.

This has led to posts mourning the violation of the “sacred ground” that is the Boston finish line. To posts on how the perpetrator(s) picked the “wrong people to mess with” in marathon runners. To posts on how “the tribe” had been assaulted. To posts stating that “the finish line is no place for horror”.  And to various events where runners have gathered in tribute, whether in person or virtually.

While this goes to show the strong bonds that do develop between runners – as it can for any who share a common passion – and it can serve as a valuable coping mechanisms,it seems in some ways as an attempt, even if unintentional, to “own” the tragedy. Maybe this is natural, since Boston is “our event”.

But both Boston and the tragedy that occurred are far bigger than the running community. The Boston Marathon is the premier showcase of one of the great cities of our nation, and a part of our culture as perhaps the only athletic event of such prestige that is open to “recreational” participants.

This heinous crime impacts all peace-loving citizens of the world, not just runners and their families. It points out vulnerabilities that many large gatherings still have, and the existence of evil people who are willing to take advantage.

This would be no less of a tragedy if it occurred at a big parade, soccer game or amusement park. Loss of life and serious injury knows nothing of the peaceful context in which it may occur.  Of course the finish line is no place for horror – but is it an appropriate emotion anywhere else?

I have no idea what the motivations of these types of criminals are. Maybe they targeted Boston specifically because of runners, or maybe not. But in either case, the impacts of this crime reach beyond those involved. Beyond the sorrow of those who lost loved ones or friends or whose lives are forever changed by the physical or mental trauma, many will again suffer a bit of fear in such gatherings or flash back to past tragedies of this sort.

Runners are already suffering a bit of an “elitist” image issue. Witness the reaction of New Yorkers when the marathon was going to carry on after Hurricane Sandy. It is possible that big races will become even more expensive and inaccessible due to increased security costs.

It would thus be better to resist the urge to make this tragedy about running, to claim a special “victim” status due to the venue at which this terrorist chose to inflict their harm. We are all part of a bigger community – that of reasonable humans – all of whom are victims when our trust and faith are damaged in this way. To claim more a “special” victim status risks garnering backlash instead of sympathy and that serves no purpose in the long run.

Interestingly, the ones who seem least likely to view this from a runner’s perspective are those who actually participated in Boston this year.  Maybe it was actually experiencing the event, whether mixed in the chaos or not, that gave an appreciation of how widely this crime affected people, especially since runners were actually a significant minority of those actually at the scene.  It is only those of us who were far away to seem to take mostly the runner’s view of what happened.

As runners we should be grateful for the communities that continue to support us through providing outstanding events in spite of their costs and hassle, that provide the environment in which we can (usually safely) train and compete.  In this case especially, the loss of life would likely have been far greater had it not been for the outstanding medical facilities and resources provided by the city of Boston.  This is Boston’s tragedy, America’s tragedy, and the civilized world’s tragedy.  It is not just our tragedy.

Boston Is Everyone’s Tragedy, Not Just Runners originally appeared on Predawn Runner on April 18, 2013.

Photo Credit: Twisting My Head and Tilting My Pelvis by Flickr user Patrick Oscar Boykin, used under a Creative Commons license.

While I lack specific data to justify this belief, a condition that I suspect is more common than realized among runners is hip alignment issues.  Given the role of the pelvis as a fulcrum in each of the three planes of motion of the body (frontal, sagittal, transverse), there are numerous potential drivers of alignment issues, as problems tend to propagate to the hips.

The symptoms of pelvic misalignment can take quite some time to show up (and can be quite broad in nature), and the condition is often first recognized as a leg length discrepancy.  Such discrepancies can be mistakenly attributed to permanent biomechanical issues when in fact they are often a temporary condition brought on by poor pelvis alignment. Thus the tendency is to leap quickly to orthotics in such a situation, when in fact appropriate corrective and preventative exercises may address the true issue.

Hip alignment is a concern because it (or rather the functional leg length discrepancy it tends to introduce) is a source of many potential injuries. If you can visualize the impact of running with one leg slightly longer than the issue, you may be able to imagine some of these injuries:

On the “longer leg” (raised side of the hip), which experiences greater impact and torsional forces:

• Hip injuries or soreness – this seems the most obvious, as the increased force of impact gets transmitted all the way up to the hip.
• Hamstring strains and piriformis syndrome – the longer leg can very well end up bearing slightly more of the work in propelling you forward, thus making the hamstring more vulnerable to strains.
• IT Band Syndrome – ITBS is being increasingly seen as an issue originating from weak hips & glutes, but the increased loads from a seemingly longer leg can have the same effect.
• Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (Runner’s Knee) – the knee is another joint that bears excessive forces on the longer leg, and can therefore be subject to injury.

On the “shorter leg” (lowered side of the hip), which typically ends up experiencing more of a midfoot landing, the most common issue is Achilles tendinitis (or plantar fasciitis) – the situation is similar to the runner who transitions too quickly to minimalist running – without the proper strength and mobility in the lower leg, injuries become more likely.

There are several potential causes of pelvic alignment issues, and there are often several involved in each specific case.  Running-related drivers include:

• Strength imbalances (or asymmetries) – this can cause a runner to favor one side over the other, which ultimately pulls the hip out of alignment.
• Injury history – this can be a source of the asymmetries driving form hitches that cause misalignment to develop.
• Cambered roads – since we have all be taught to run (or walk) against traffic, we tend to go to the left (in the US) side of the street.  This causes our left leg to have to reach down a little further than our right, since roads have a slight camber to help water drain off.

There are also non-running contributors to hip misalignment:

• Poor posture – this is a “low intensity, high frequency” contributor that can build over time.  It can happen as we sit cocked slightly to one side, when we tend to lean against a counter or table while standing, and while driving – the very nature of having to use one foot can be a factor in misalignment.
• Habits of imbalance – many of us have a tendency to always carry our purse or laptop bag on the same side, or to use the phone with the same ear (and hold it in place with our shoulder because we are, after all, busy).

Shoes from a runner with hip misalignment – the “longer” leg is the left shoe (shown on the right).

Hip misalignment can best be diagnosed by a professional, who will typically have you relax while laying down with your knees pulled up and then extend them fully but gently to see how they lie. You may also get an indication of this issue if you see different wear patterns on the soles of your shoes.  Often the shoe with greater heel and toe wear will be the side that is slightly longer, since it may overextend and lead to more heel-striking.

Once an alignment issue is identified, the goal is to ease the muscle tightness and imbalances that are causing the problem. This is again most effectively done through at least the initial efforts of a professional such as a sports chiropractor, massage therapist, or physical therapist.  Massage or active release techniques can help loosen up the muscles most often responsible for the misalignment – the hip adductors, the iliopsoas, and the quadratus lumborum (QL).  Additionally, they can form other manipulations to help “pop” the hip back into place, though my experience is that quick fixes aren’t typically effective.

General strength and mobility work focused on the hips such as the Bia routine from the Runners Connect Strength Training package or Jay Johnson’s myrtl routine can help address muscular imbalances that create hip alignment issues.  And any of the wide range of stretching activities, ranging from passive to dynamic approaches, can also help loosen up the tight muscles driving the misalignment.

One specific exercise that can specifically target getting the hips back in alignment was demonstrated by Leo Kormanik at Ohio Sports Chiropractic.

• Lay on your back with your feet flat against the wall.
• Forcefully and quickly thrust the foot of the “shorter leg” against the wall, keeping it flat.
• Push down on your hip on the same side with your hand, and hold the foot against the wall and hand on the hip for 10 seconds.
• Relax and repeat 10 times.

This is a good exercise to do any time, but particularly as part of your warm-up routine prior to running.  Over time, your hip will gradually return to better alignment. You may notice some change in your soreness patterns as your form corrects itself, particularly if you’ve been running with the misalignment for some time.

Prevention of hip alignment issues or recurrences involves avoiding some of the behaviors mentioned above, through such steps as:

• Strength training – single leg exercises such as pistol squats are particularly helpful for working through muscular imbalances
• Regular massage – prevent muscular tightness from having effects on your form by regularly working out adhesions
• Run on flat surfaces – this can be tricky, but you should run in the middle of the road when possible (a good reason to be a predawn runner).  When it’s not possible, at least try to alternate sides of the road when possible.
• Watch your posture – maintaining good posture is one of the things we can do during our work day (or everyday lives) that helps with our running.
• Be conscious of your patterns – if you instinctively carry heavy loads on the same side all the time (purses or other bags), get in the habit of alternating sides.

Given that hip misalignment is so easy to develop and therefore pretty common, all runners would do well to pay attention a bit to their habits that may contribute, and do what they can to avoid letting it happen.

Causes, Effects, and Prevention of Hip Alignment Issues in Runners originally appeared on Predawn Runner on March 4, 2013.

Photo Credit:Man Running in Piedmont Park by Cal Michael, used under a royalty-free license agreement

Goals and purpose are topics I write about frequently.  Running is a perfect environment for experimenting with motivational tools.  A recent post on Lifehack emphasizing the distinction between goals and purposes got me wondering if sometimes we, as runners, don’t end up making the same mistake.

First, it’s probably beneficial to distinguish between goals and purpose.  The latter is the reason you exist, or pursue a given hobby.  In fact, it’s often the desire to exist for a long time – in other words, to stay or become healthy, the provides the purpose most of us have when we first take up running.  Or maybe it’s do enhance the way we exist by discovering more about ourselves and using running to build our character.

Goals are the more concrete objectives – both long- and short-term, that you set for yourself.  This may be quantitative like breaking 3:00 in the marathon, or losing 20 pounds in a year.  Or it may be more qualitative, like continuously improving as a runner.

Ideally, your goals should align with your purpose and with each other over various horizons.  In other words, your goal for this season builds into your goal for next season, and so on, and this ultimately feeds into your overall purpose in running.  And everyone knows that you need to set a goal before you start your training season, right?  Well, maybe.  Or maybe there’s a different way.

One issue many runners face is that their goals don’t, in fact, align with their purpose.  This can create dissonance and stress, which can lead to burnout, injury, and, at worst, ultimately leaving the sport.  For example, if your purpose is to gain good health to improve your odds of living a long and fruitful life, does this jive with pushing yourself to the brink of injury (or beyond) in pursuit of your next personal best?  Do the inevitable obstacles that arise in your training create stress – which is anything but healthy?  Does frustration with missed goals leave you dissatisfied with your running?

Thus, it is fair to consider whether we actually need goals as runners, and to what extent they need to be specific and aggressive.  Sure, a goal can be a necessary tool to motivate you to train, to take on some of your tougher workouts.  Without a sufficiently challenging goal, it might be too easy to slack off on your mileage, or strength work, or quality runs.

Or, a goal can push you to do too much, too soon – especially when you are faced with a setback.  At this point, a goal can either become overwhelming or a source of the wrong kind of motivation – the desire to make up for lost time, to train beyond your current abilities, to cut corners on necessary recovery time.

Thus, at a minimum, an astute runner needs to develop the skill of having some flexibility in their goals.  At an extreme, one could even consider running without goals.  Obviously, it would take quite a bit of intrinsic motivation and a strong sense of self to pull this off – to continue to push oneself without a specific goal in mind (assuming one still has the implicit goal of improving as a runner or a person).  But perhaps every once in a while it would be best to forget about your goals for a season and ground yourself by finding your purpose in running once again, and using it to motivate your training.

Why am I pondering this again?  One goal for this season has been to be able to train consistently.  A second was to set a new PR at a distance shorter than the marathon, originally breaking 60 minutes in a 10-miler.  Family constraints caused me to shift the second goal (as they tend to do) to instead focus on breaking 1:20 in a half-marathon.  I’d finally set a race-specific training plan for the 8 weeks prior to the event, and had ramped mileage up to around 60/week.

Then some calf pain started to return again, and the motivation started to lag.  The weather took (another) turn for the worse.  More family constraints came into play, making the plan a bit more difficult to follow.  As most runners would, I initially felt some stress about the situation, about having to miss tempo runs and intervals and cut the mileage.

And then I stepped back and reconsidered why I run in the first place.  Every time I’ve walked away, the motivation to come back has been to get healthy, to feel energetic, to know that I am doing what I can to be there for my children and wife when they need me, even if its 40 or more years from now.

Yes, I have my longer term goals, like becoming and remaining one of the leading Masters runners in the region (and maybe being featured in Running Times for that reason some day).  And the short-term goals were designed to feed that goal – specifically to round out my perpetual marathon training with something more speed focused.

But meeting that goal has nothing to do with specific performance at a race.  So while I’d still like to put in a solid half-marathon, it’s time to refocus on the bigger picture.  And even the very idea of pushing to the limit on a regular basis doesn’t necessarily jive with pursuing healthy choices (as some controversial research would tend to support).  There is only so much sleep one can sacrifice, and sitting on the couch due to injury (but still getting up early to do what strength training is possible, like in past years) doesn’t constitute “good health” either.

As a coach, I’m obviously committed to helping clients reach their goals.  But even then, I try to encourage open discussion of these goals and a broadening of them where possible, with the primary focus being on making measurable gains over the course of a season.

There’s something to be said about being at least a little less tied to goals, so long as one can remain focused on their purpose.  Who knows – letting go of your goals for a while may actually help you better achieve them.

Do Your Goals Get in the Way of Your Purpose in Running? originally appeared on Predawn Runner on February 27, 2013.

Photo Credit: Running Feet by Flickr user Danielle Walquist Lynch, used under a Creative Commons license.

This post has been a long time in the building.  Not so much in the writing (though, as you’ll see, that certainly took some time), but in the learning, in the progression.  Some things you just can’t rush.  This is true of many things in running, but especially form changes.  Oh sure, you can read the books, attend the clinics, and buy the shoes, but forcing things often leads to injury.  Yes, there are the occasional runners gifted with the right balance of strength and good natural form.  But whatever it is – being raised in elevated shoes, or spending a lot of time sitting at desks, running the “wrong way” for years, whatever explanation you may believe – most of us have to invest significant time if we want to become more injury resistant via improved running form.  This is the summary of one such journey, and I don’t think it’s a unique trip.

The desire to move in this direction has come from the same motivation most runners have – getting away from recurring injuries.  No, the high hamstring strain and Achilles tendinitis that plagued training the past few years weren’t entirely form-related.  They were more likely the result of a bit of too-much-too-soonitis.  But the “too much” threshold can certainly be raised through the gains described below (at least, I hope so – and so far so good).  And the benefits in potential improved running economy and long term performance through consistency make the investment very worthwhile.  Yes, every runner will be a little different, but these ideas will be directionally accurate for a great many of us.

The goal in working on form wasn’t to become a minimalist runner, or even to completely stop heel-striking.  Such actions are just steps on the path to running success, and may not even be necessary ones at that.  The goal was, however, to become quicker and lighter on my feet, and to be able to move to shoes that are lighter and less cushioned, especially in the heel, with an understanding that this can boost performance simply by quickening the stride.

I’ve mentioned previously subscribing to the belief that form follows function, that you can’t jump directly into running form improvements without making the right investments in strength and coordination.  This may involve fixing imbalances, improving your mobility, or overcoming inherent weaknesses.  Shortcutting this step is a major cause of such issues as Achilles tendinitis or plantar fasciitis arising from the use of minimalist running shoes, which is why sports medicine doctors and physical therapists love the trend.

Thus there have been three phases in my effort to become a less pronounced heel-striker, each of which involved a focus on both strength and mobility improvements and specific form gains related to these improvements, as detailed in the table below:

The progression ended up moving from gross motor to fine motor developments, and was driven by both honest self-assessments of weaknesses and informal diagnosis from a chiropractor and massage therapist, often in the form of seemingly innocuous questions like “is that all the further your toe can flex?”.  The path therefore wasn’t preplanned, but more of a stumble-through process of finding and resolving the next issue at each step. And this isn’t to imply that the process is complete, as there are likely further gains to be made.

The initial focus was to reduce any potential overstriding by building core strength and working on stride rate and the manner in which I generated force while running.  Again, the latter had to follow the former.  Taking a broader definition of core strength to incorporate the glutes (via the Prometheus advanced core routine) and hips (via the Kratos upper leg and hip routine), and later incorporating the Runners Connect Strength Training routine, I focused on building sufficient strength to push off instead of pulling forward. Combining this with striving for a 180 steps-per-minute cadence resulted in landing with my foot underneath my body, instead of out ahead of it, with the knee slightly bent.

To audit these “form fixes”, I’d occasionally take stride counts on an ongoing basis (recognizing that “observation bias” may play a role, causing me to increase my rate when I was counting), and observing my form when passing reflective shop windows (note – daylight required).  Eventually, this became second nature and on all but the slowest of recovery runs, my stride rate seemed to be stable around 180.  Furthermore, I noticed more soreness in my glutes when running than in my quads or even hamstrings, suggesting success in making the glutes work harder, which was a desired outcome.

While this first phase kept me running for most of 2012, the calf remained a source of concern. It was never bad enough to make me take more than a day off, but it seemed always on the verge of tanking the season.  Incorporating active isolated stretching several times per week helped as my mileage peaked.  After the 2012 Towpath Marathon, I shifted my focus to improving my calf strength and mobility, specifically through adding the Achilles routine from the Runners Connect program.  After about 8 weeks of consistent execution (2-4 times per week), I noticed a significant difference in my calf strength.  The pain was significantly less frequent, but not completely gone.

Additionally, I increased the focus on core strength and again noticed significant gains after 8 weeks.  My upper body felt even more stable (less bouncing, less rotation) when running, meaning less wasted energy and better efficiency. Combining this with an increased use of strides during training runs seemed to lead to a generally quicker turnover.  And the newfound calf strength and mobility perhaps led to an improvement in my ability to “lean forward at my ankles” when I run and keep my knees bent when landing, instead of straightening my legs out in front.

But the calf (and hamstring) niggles continued, less significant than before but still noticeable. And I could tell that something was still off a bit about my stride, maybe it was a bit uneven.  There were a couple of diagnoses that happened rapidly in sequence that provided the next set of clues as to where to focus.  First, my chiropractor evaluated my big toe mobility and was “shocked” at the lack thereof.  And shortly after that, the massage therapist at his practice (who is also his wife, and they are both elite runners) commented on the lack of mobility in my right ankle.  Both these issues are probably injury-related – I spent much of my senior soccer season in high school playing on a sprained right ankle – and I’d never taken any steps to address them. Protecting my right calf / Achilles from excessive flexion during the 2012 season probably compounded the issue.

So the final (for now) efforts were around increasing both the range of motion and neuromuscular control in my foot and ankle, through strengthening and mobility work.  I go into this more in a post on proprioception and ankle dorsiflexion on Runblogger.  But this work, along with a form thought from Caleb Masland about “toe up, toe off” – in other words, dorsiflexing the ankle when the foot is in the air to create the opportunity for an elastic rebound and good toe-off during your stride.

It was this final run thought that seemed to seal the deal on moving to a midfoot strike.  Such a pattern was abundantly clear during a recent tempo run, where the uptempo portion (around lactate threshold pace) was clearly run on the midfoot (or even forefoot) with my heel barely touching the ground, if at all.  It wasn’t a conscious effort on how the foot landed that caused this, but all the work done in the past and the final “toe up, toe off” thought.  I can’t guarantee that I’m a midfoot striker every time I head out – nor do I feel one needs to be – but certainly the tendency is now there at any effort that is marathon pace or faster.

And the calf pain has completely disappeared (save for the occasional odd twinge when I land funny during non-running activities).  I noticed a bit of slowing in my workout pacing initially, perhaps due to a little bit of inefficiency in working with the new midfoot or forefoot strike.  But I’ll gladly take the tradeoff of no pain and, hopefully, reduced ongoing injury risk.  And I look forward to jumping at the opportunity to move to even more of a minimalist running shoe this year with a greater degree of confidence.

Heels Up – Journey to the Midfoot Strike originally appeared on Predawn Runner on February 22, 2013.

Photo credit: Unicycle by Flickr user Joe Lewis, used under a Creative Commons license.

Note: This will likely be the last post of top running content, as I’m migrating it to an email newsletter starting in February, 2013.  So if you enjoy this content, please subscribe to this email using the form at the upper right.  This biweekly (or so) email will highlight content like this as well as announcements and new posts from Predawn Runner.

Two posts this month focus on goal-setting.  On Competitor, Jeff Gaudette discusses how to set realistic goals and, as I’ve mentioned before, emphasizes enjoying and focusing on the process as opposed to worrying too much about the results.  The latter follows the former, and by keeping focused on the process you maintain patience and build your strength appropriately, as opposed to being in a hurry and risking injury.  And Jay Dicharry makes an interesting argument that we don’t think general enough when we are in our base-building mode.  Unicycling, anyone?

Caitlin Chock on Competitor points out four common form flaws with suggestions on how to fix them.  And, as I’ve said before (and will say again soon), form follows function – if you have weaknesses or imbalances, it’s difficult to overcome them through just thinking about form.  You have to fix your weaknesses through appropriate strength training.

Two posts also focus on the long run, in both cases skipping the boring “build up” period and instead discussing what you do once your volume and long run length is “up there”.  Jay Johnson argues that the runs should be hard, but not too hard, generally advocating a progression from easy to a final two miles of “no talking”. Courtney Baird on Competitor also advocates for some long hard (lots of miles at marathon pace) runs, on a once / month or three times per twelve-week cycle basis.  The workouts she posts are definitely more advanced, but worth considering once you have a solid base and several marathons under your belt.

This seems like it will be the year that the gap between “minimalist” and “transitional” shoes closes even tighter with the introduction of zero-drop cushioned shoes from Saucony, Brooks, Mizuno, and others.  Just in time, Mark Cucuzzella provides this Q&A type post on moving into transitional shoes (or beyond), with some common sense advice from a site that often comes across as “minimalism or bust”.  This is a topic I’ll be addressing shortly, both here and in a guest post on Runblogger.

Rick Merriam of Engaging Muscles provides (in his off-beat-yet-dead-serious style) another argument against passive stretching, suggesting that focusing on tight muscles is an error we too often make.  We should instead be focusing on strengthening the opposing muscle, as that is what helps elongate the tight muscle.  Which is another point in favor of active isolated stretching.

In the usually-entertaining Out There series on Competitor, Susan Lacke discusses what makes a good running coach valuable. Frankly, if all I need to do is email you a plan and write-up one time to start your season (or month), I’m disappointed. It’s the challenges that come when you are feeling a bit off, or have a schedule conflict arise, or face some other kind of disruption, that make the job interesting. And that’s where a coach is most needed, to help you figure out how to adjust and move forward.

And Mark Kennedy, a recent new client who runs the Healthynomics blog, posts the 7 never-again lessons he learned in his first marathon experience, and he’s probably not alone in making several of these (I know that I made a few).  You can guarantee we won’t be making the same mistakes again.

For the second month in a row, we reach out of the running realm to tap Leo Babauta’s Zen wisdom, with an article he posts on learning how to wake up early.  The best suggestion is making sure you are rising early to do something you are passionate about.  I have an idea on what that could be…

And for those who may have missed it, my first article on Active.com (where I was invited to be a contributor) appeared this month.  Focusing on the value of recovery runs (or, as I call them, anticipation runs), it is an attempt to bring honor (and significance) to this much-maligned element in your training plan. There is a second article up for February, but that would take me past the 10-post limit, so we’ll save that one for the email update.

Finally, congratulations to Team Predawn Runner member Geri Lynn Sanchez, who set a 4-minute PR at the PF Chang’s RnR Arizona Half-Marathon in what was essentially a B (or maybe a B+) race.  Going into it with a foot neuroma, we had a lot of uncertainty, but she blew away her race day goal and looks set for a solid Shiprock Marathon this spring.

Ten Top Running Posts for January 2013 originally appeared on Predawn Runner on February 4, 2013.