In my last two ultra marathons I’ve had a bit of an issue with my breathing. Yes the temperatures have been hot, and it was very humid, but I still struggled for breath a lot more than I should have after about 25 kilometres.
A trainer at the gym told me I had a weak core and I should do a lot more core work. Ok fair enough, that sounds like a plan. So I determined to do more core work. (I still haven’t done much of it)
I did a bit more research, which was interesting, and figured out how to strengthen my core in a way that would be beneficial to my running. Six-pack abs may look nice (I’m sure my wife would think so) but they may not be the best feature for running long distances.
A weak core didn’t quite explain what I was feeling during a race however. My chest would feel ‘heavy’ and I’d struggle to expand it, as if the muscles had decided to go on holiday. By back would start to hurt, right between my shoulder blades, and I’d hunch forward as I ran. Going up hills would be even worse.
But with good posture and work on my core I should be fine, right? That’s what I thought anyway.
But yesterday my position changed a bit, and I’ll tell you why.
I was halfway through my normal 10km circuit, running around the bays in Wellington, when I saw a young woman running towards me with the typical ‘broken necked chicken’ run of someone finding all just a bit too hard at that hour of the morning. Her head was flopping all over the place and her arms were almost flapping.
I noticed all these points as if I was a trainer (which I spent a bunch of years as) coaching her to better running form (as if I know what I’m talking about). As a contrast I mentally held myself up as an example….
Only to realize I was exactly the opposite! I was running as stiff as a board. My shoulders were tight and not moving at all in relation to my legs. My hips were totally square on towards the front, not shifting either. I was running like a machine – made of metal with no flexibility at all.
I relaxed and let my body ‘flow’ for a few steps. The difference was remarkable.
I was suddenly running much faster, much easier, and that’s when the realisation hit me. The reason my core and chest had collapsed after 25 kilometres was because all the muscles had all been held in dynamic tension for the entire time I was running. No wonder they gave up after 25kms of pounding the trails! I don’t think anyone, no matter how hard their core was, would be able to hold the muscles in dynamic tension for a full ultra.
I thought maybe I had found the secret to lasting the distance for ultra – being relaxed.
So first thing this morning I went out and ran the same circuit, focusing on relaxing my hips and shoulders. Every few minutes I would consciously push downwards with my elbows (I can’t explain why that works, but it does) and relax my back, which would then make me relax my hips.
I was running faster, but it was not free speed. I could tell I would not be able to keep the pace indefinitely as I was near my lactate threshold . But I could certainly keep it a lot longer than the previous day.
I was one full minute faster over 5kms and two minutes faster over 10kms this morning. And I can feel that different muscles have been used, all over my core. It worked! I didn’t get a personal record this morning, but that is not surprising, it was really hot and not in a race.
But I could do it next week.
The fact that I gained so much time just by being relaxed (and I walked a couple of times once I got into the sun. At 7am it was over 20 degrees Celsius today) tells me that this will work for me.
So for the rest of this week and all of next week, I’m going to focus on making my body relax while I’m running. Then I’m heading out for a long run, and we’ll see how much this improves my time and comfort over the long haul.
If this works out for me, the next race is going to be a blast!
Check out my stories here on Steemit
Running Deer
Running Deer - part 1
Running Deer - How legends are born
Charlie Rabbit
Meet Charlie Rabbit
Charlie tides up
Charlie Rabbit and Margery Mouse
Charlie Rabbit and Margery Mouse make music
Little Peppers Adventures
Runaway Rabbit and the hungry fox
Maybe and the land of purple rainbows – A Little Peppers adventure
How Pappa Pepper and Monster Truck the Pepper got their wild hogs - a Little Peppers Adeventure
Dark Angel Regiment of the Space Marines - Mission Files
First Squad Sniper Elite - Zaresith mission
Other stories
Also don't forget to check out my Dad's blog
Who else can tell you stories about impersonating an officer, stealing a military aircraft to go on a booze run, or steal military aircraft and go on an unsanctioned bombing run - and that's all before he turned 18!
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