Did first “on track” work this week - noticed a few things
First - I’m running on my toes -don’t know why, don’t know if I should fix it, If I should, I don’t know how to go about fixing it. Not nearly as important in the Acc. work I’ve been doing (3x20m @95%), but around 120m in yesterdays’ tempo runs it started to get annoying - and higlighted my left leg (VMO) being weaker than my right. I know how I am going to remedy that one though, so no worries there.
Second - what is the appropriate degree of body lean in a tempo run? I did 300s and around 200m I went from comfortable to bolt upright. I guess related questions are - How tight does the upper body need to be in runs >200m? How does one loosen the upper body? (I felt “pulled up” by my erectors, traps and lats)
Third (not really a technical question) - I did three 300s yesterday, planned at a 60 second pace for them (giving a 75 second 400 or, 70% of a 58 second 400 - a guesstimate of what a PR might be, seeing as how I haven’t run a 400 in a year). The problem came in that I ran all three under 44 seconds- compounded by the 60, 100, and 200 splits being very fast in all three, and the last 100m being almost a jog. The question is: b/c I’m having problems keeping tempo at distances longer than 200m should I abandon the 300’s altogether, go to a shorter distance, and pace around that? I’m thinking the shorter distance would allow me to focus on technical work more.
Thanks in advance,
Brian
I think you’re trying to hard. Apart from the first couple of steps, while gaining momentum, you really should be upright all the time.
What needs to be understood is that a tempo run is not a slow sprint, but more of a (slow)middle-distance run, which means that technique will be different from when sprinting. Just relax and forget that you are a sprinter.
Are you guys actually running on your toes or on the balls of your feet with your toes dorsi flex(pointed up) people sometimes confuse the two. If you are on your toes and the foot isn’t striking on the balls of your feet then you guys should try some of the drills suggested on this site… a skips, pawing, etc… I don’t know the name of most of the drills but do a search on here and you will find some that are helpful and well drawn out.
To be honest with you, I’m not sure what I do…
All I know is that when I run my heel never touches the ground (even when I go on long runs) and the foot doctor said i’m a “toe walker”.
But I’ve been doing the drills you mentioned.