Born To Run Workshop

Last weekend I attended the aptly named 'Bulletproof Runner Workshop' organised by Born To Run, in Gothenburg. The course is designed to help improve your running technique, performance and injury prevention and is a stepping stone to Lee Saxby's legendary coaching course.

Those that have read the book Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall will know of the barefoot phenomenon. This influenced the popularity of minimalist running shoes, essentially stripping away your big fat-cushioned, inflexible jogging shoes to something which allows your 200,000 + nerve endings in your feet feel the ground again. I read the book and bought the minimalist shoes, but have always been conscious that I may need to improve and change my running technique to suit. This was the weekend!

Joseph and Gourgen were brilliant hosts and taught us loads over the two days. The first morning we ran through various drills to compare our technique against a 'Bulletproof Runner', these consisted of squatting, hoping, bouncing, uni-ped stances and running drills on a treadmill. These tested our ability of the 3 fundamental skills of Posture,  Rhythm and Relaxation which are all important to improve your running efficiency and reduce injury risk. These 3 skills were the catch-words of the weekend!

Watching yourself in slow-motion.

We were filmed both on the treadmill and outside, running at various speeds so that we could watch back at slow motion and discuss how we could improve our running techniques. It was fascinating to see how you move, break it down to the fundamentals and then rebuild a more efficient style. At the same time we were discussing the theory behind why the drills are so important to build strength through the elasticity and reactive ability of the neuromuscular system.

On day 2, we started early with a group recovery run. I am particularly bad at these and find it hard to go out for low-intensity runs and always end up pushing myself too hard. So, to prevent this happening Joseph gave us all a piece of tape and told us to stick it over our mouths! This essentially makes you solely breathe through your nose, which ensures you only run at a pace which suits your nasal inhalation. If you run too fast you will want to rip the tape off and gasp air in and out through your mouth….fail! The theory behind this is that your body requires a certain amount of CO2 to allow O2 to pass from your red blood cells to your muscle tissue, so by breathing through your nose limits the amount of CO2 you exhale thus allowing O2 to pass to your muscle tissue and aid with recovery. It worked a treat and although you look slightly odd with your mouth taped shut, it does make you concentrate about your breathing and running pace.

Tape makes for a quiet run!

All in all it was a great weekend and I learnt a lot about how to improve my running technique and the theory behind introducing some drills into my daily workouts to help build strength and prevent injury. After meeting so many interesting and inspirational runners during the weekend and in a moment of madness after the event, I signed up for the Hallands Ultra 50km race next June! That should be a good test of my running efficiency!

11th June 2016!

Visit the BTR website for more information on this course and Lee Saxby.

Sprinting Like An Elf/ Lufsar Som Ett Troll

Now that the move is essentially done, I want to get some more vigorous exercise into my daily regimen again. Apart from spending an inordinate amount of time lugging boxes and cleaning hinges with toothpicks, I've done very little PROPER exercise in the last 3 months. I don't count the daily postural therapy as exercise really, because I've hated every single second of it despite it being necessary to correct my posture... (I'm not sure a PT should admit to hating exercise, but this particular brand of it took the boredom biscuit).

Anyhow, the time has come to start running again, so that's what I did. Bliss! 

Flared nostrils = excited by the prospect of sprinting like an elf through the woods

***SVENSKA***

Nu när flytten i princip är avklarad är jag sugen på att få in lite mer flås i mitt liv. De senaste tre månaderna har främst inneburit en massa kartongkånkande och städning och VÄLDIGT lite gammal hederlig motion å styrka. Jag räknar INTE min dagliga posturalterapi till detta, eftersom jag av någon anledning verkligen avskytt den. (Jag vet inte om en personlig tränare borde medge att man inte gillar att träna, men just den här formen var extra trist, om än nödvändig för min hållning).

Iallafall, det är dags att dra på löpardojorna igen! Hurra! 

Sprint Addiction

I don't always practice what I preach, I'm afraid. I was planning to go to the gym last night, but backed out when I saw the tiny cramped room. Doing weighted squats with someone's armpit in my face? Think not. This is a pic before the arrival of all my colleagues, but you get the idea....

Instead, I went for a run in the lovely surroundings, covering a golf course (some lovely grass to run barefoot on), a few side walks, and eventually turning up on the beach. And then I couldn't resist: I did some more sprints, this time in the sand.

It is perhaps a bit of a luxury problem, to get hooked on sprinting, but this is something I notice with a lot of exercise-related things. I end up wanting to do them every day because of the boost I get, then try to pace myself because I don't want to get injured, then fall out of the habit. This time I figured that Mosley will be my guiding light, as the sprints felt fantastic and there was no pain during exertion. Perhaps running up a hill and running through wet sand require the use of slightly different muscle groups?

Sprints, Yeah Baby!

I thought I would get in some High Intensity Training ahead of the flight today. Doing sprints first thing in the morning isn't exactly a pleasure, but I didn't really have a choice given the midday flight.

Warm-up along the canal:

Sprints up Primrose Hill, the hill was clearly mocking me:

The reward:

My paleo/ primal guru Mark Sisson advocates sprints every 7 to 10 days as a way to build stamina and strength, while others recommend doing it a lot more often for significant health benefits. However, I would personally mix it up between running, cycling, swimming etc if doing it more than once a week, as HIT running will involve significant impact on joints and muscles. Been there, overdone that, and it was painful.

I used to use business travel as an excuse not to exercise. Given that my choice of exercise usually involved jogging, it was easy to opt out for safety reasons. Now that I am more focused on "more bang for the buck" training, I have little excuse as long as there is a tiny gym or a short stretch of grass... Or a beach! Snorkeling will have to do this afternoon, though. :-)