i have been told many times that my first 30mts look fine but afterwards it seems that i am not increasing my stride length, leaned too much foward and that i “butt kick” too much. This all makes sense since in most races i gain some advantage in the beggining ansd finish losing some distance. Any suggestions?
Make sure you start steppin- over w/ each stride for this phase.
Don’t forget about relaxation and maintaining good mechanics.
Kenny Mac~~~
just run after block clearance.0-30 takes most effort and is the most demanding part of the race.pull the elbows down,accelerate and relax
keep it simple and don’t overcomplicate it.stride lenght will increase naturally even though it may not look like it.forward lean should be from the groung up not at the waist.yourbutt kick prob could be extending to far behind yourself,maybe you are trying to force the stride lenght!!!
relax man,let it happen
I would look at foot placement. Placing the foot directly underneath the hips will cause excessive back lift. The reason is the leg does not have enough time to extend. This too will cause the body to lean forward too much and the athlete will just be falling forward to catch him/herself. The foot should be placed slightly ahead of the center of gravity but directly under the knee. The shin is perpendicular (90 degrees) to the ground at contact. This will enhance the pushoff because the leg can be extended. Note also that if the foot is placed too far ahead of the knee, the athlete will experience braking forces.
should i just step-up and let the leg come back down or should i conciously step down.
You are trying to apply force to the ground to get a reaction of the body being launched in the air. The act of applying implies that you are pushing the foot towards the ground to push the hips away from the ground.
rochinha2000 ,
Also, How fit are you?
Superior fitness in the legs helps produce a lighter bouncier step -aka reduced ground contact time. This might account for your “losing some distance” in the latter stages of the race.
An important note: It would be easier for us to know if the issue is “primarily” biomechaical in nature, if you can post a video of your running. There is a chance that it could be a strength/ fitness issue preventing you from getting into the proper “sprint position.” Which would make any effort to force knee lift counter productive and even help promote injury.
And I know you don’t want that…