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Changing Running Form - Is it Possible? Sustainable?
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 2014-11-03 6:31 PM |
Veteran 353   41° 4' 36" N 71° 56' 10" W |  Subject: Changing Running Form - Is it Possible? Sustainable?Here's an interesting developmnt for me. I never thought i'd be reporting something like this, but I think I found soething almost by accident. In doing some interval or fartlek runs, i noticed I was more able to keep going at the faster paces by altering my running style slightly. This means taking slghtly longer strides and almost heel strike. And by doing this, i felt i was much more running from my hips than my quads. Well, so far on distances up to about 8 miles it seems to work. I am running more comfortably than i have for quite a number of years. And interestingly I am not having the ankle pains I used to have. Not yet anyway. But I am waiting for reality to set in. If I had been running differently for most of my adult life, perhaps i will end up developing other pains at longer distances. i often felt you run a certain way for a reason - that your body is telling you how to run. How many of you have really changed your running styles? And have you been able to sustain that new style? (I also feel I might revert back to the old style on longer distanes whe I get tired, but so far no) |
| 2014-11-03 8:29 PM in reply to: JohnP_NY |
New user 104 | Subject: RE: Changing Running Form - Is it Possible? Sustainable? You're purposely taking longer strides and doing heel strikes? Ehhh. Tell me how it goes in about a year... |
| 2014-11-03 8:34 PM in reply to: JohnP_NY |
Champion 19812   MA | Subject: RE: Changing Running Form - Is it Possible? Sustainable? Changing running form when you are older can cause some issues. I changed my running style in my late 40s and was injured 2 weeks later and took full year to recover fully. |
| 2014-11-03 9:50 PM in reply to: JohnP_NY |
1053 | Subject: RE: Changing Running Form - Is it Possible? Sustainable? My running form is constantly evolving. So yes, I would say changing running form is very possible. I personally never did anything drastic. I would work on my cadence on the treadmill and work on running at least at 180 steps per min (3 steps per second). Also, once I had a good enough base, I started working in more interval running, and also strides into some of my workouts. So while I did not so much make a conscious effort to change my stride, I ran harder and faster (when I could) and "forced" my body to learn to become more economical. And really, this is what I continue to do. I keep getting faster, and I'm staying relatively healthy. So, I'm going to keep at it. |
| 2014-11-03 9:58 PM in reply to: JohnP_NY |
Pro 5361 | Subject: RE: Changing Running Form - Is it Possible? Sustainable? my guess is that this change isn't going to work out for you in the long run (pun intended) get your cadence up, and your feet under you. |
| 2014-11-04 6:00 PM in reply to: morey000 |
| Veteran 353 41° 4' 36" N 71° 56' 10" W | Subject: RE: Changing Running Form - Is it Possible? Sustainable? Originally posted by morey000 my guess is that this change isn't going to work out for you in the long run (pun intended) get your cadence up, and your feet under you. if i see myself in a mirror, I'd say my feet were mostly behind me. And I was leaning too far forwrd Also, can't say i am heel striking, but what i was doing before could not have been that great either. My ankles would hurt so much, I'd never be able to do much more mieage than 25 per week. |
| 2014-11-04 6:21 PM in reply to: 0 |
| 538 Brooklyn, New York | Subject: RE: Changing Running Form - Is it Possible? Sustainable? It took me at least half a year to stop overstriding and heel striking. The more I evolved from that the LESS shin, ankle, hip pain I had. I also increased my slight pitch forward at the ankle joint, not the waist; this improved my ground strike position and created improved propulsion forward. Shin angles have an impact of stress of the ankle joint as well. I don't have to be conscious of the overstride unless I am at fatigue point in runs (albeit intervals or races - esp. sprints) So it's definitely sustainable. I don't think in the long run you're going to love the overstriding. And, um.....how does one overstride without heel striking? You'd look like a prancing deer no? Edited by TJHammer 2014-11-04 6:22 PM |
| 2014-11-04 6:25 PM in reply to: #5065068 |
Member 622 Franklin, TN | Subject: RE: Changing Running Form - Is it Possible? Sustainable? An ultra runner told me if I wanted to stay relatively injury-free, make sure your foot plants beneath the knee....not out in front of it. |
| 2014-11-05 11:54 AM in reply to: JoelO |
Pro 6520 Bellingham, WA | Subject: RE: Changing Running Form - Is it Possible? Sustainable? I think that it is difficult to make drastic changes in your normal running style/stride. Some very fast prople have odd looking strides but that is just what is comfortable and natural for them. I do think that you can improve your natural form with drills and speedwork though. Also, I have worked on changing my form for very specific circumstances such as steeper hills and steeper descents. I was experimenting with some long downhill descents last weekend and made some pretty drastic changes that worked very well for me and I'll continue to refine. |
| 2014-11-05 3:15 PM in reply to: #5065363 |
| 23 | Subject: RE: Changing Running Form - Is it Possible? Sustainable? I found that changing my running shoes helped me heel strike less. Had a 12mm heel drop to begin with and couldn't help but heel strike even with shorter strides. Not have 6mm drop runners and can midfoot comfortably, albeit still very consciously. So maybe a change in footwear may help with making adjustments to running style. |
| 2014-11-05 4:38 PM in reply to: JohnP_NY |
Member 1004 | Subject: RE: Changing Running Form - Is it Possible? Sustainable? I've changed my running style slightly and have sustained it. A few years ago I tried to change to a toe strike instead of a heel strike and I couldn't do it. It was too big a change after years of running. It's not a bad thing to look at a different style. If you look at marathon runners, a lot of them change a number of times during the race. |
| 2014-11-05 4:54 PM in reply to: JohnP_NY |
| 1055 | Subject: RE: Changing Running Form - Is it Possible? Sustainable? Sounds normal to me. You're running faster and your body is responding by using a longer stride. Your assuming a heel strike but if your not feeling the shock of it, don't be so certain. If your not feeling extra sore and nothing is nagging you, I wouldn't worry about it. It's been my experience that the faster you go, the longer your stride has to become. As to it feeling better, yeah, I love the feeling of going fast with a long stride. Who doesn't? What kind of pace are you hitting on these intervals? |
| 2014-11-05 5:54 PM in reply to: JohnP_NY |
Champion 9407 Montague Gold Mines, Nova Scotia | Subject: RE: Changing Running Form - Is it Possible? Sustainable? It is quite possible to change your running form and it is possible to sustain that new form. Whether or not that is something you should do would depend on your circumstances - often injured even with a gradual build - maybe you need to look at your form. Been running for years with no issues? Likely best to leave your form alone. As to your changes, I would suspect that your form hasn't changed as dramatically as you feel it has while running - some video of the two might be helpful if you can get some to take the video. You should also remember that running form changes as you run at different speed so it might just be what happens at a slightly higher speed. Shane |
| 2014-11-05 6:16 PM in reply to: ziggie204 |
Regular 606 Portland, Oregon | Subject: RE: Changing Running Form - Is it Possible? Sustainable? Originally posted by ziggie204 Sounds normal to me. You're running faster and your body is responding by using a longer stride. Your assuming a heel strike but if your not feeling the shock of it, don't be so certain. If your not feeling extra sore and nothing is nagging you, I wouldn't worry about it. It's been my experience that the faster you go, the longer your stride has to become. As to it feeling better, yeah, I love the feeling of going fast with a long stride. Who doesn't? What kind of pace are you hitting on these intervals? A longer stride (what you are describing) does not need to result in overstriding (the OP's topic)! Check out some elites from Boston 2010: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h53UTHVCc7gThey are moving crazy fast and yet their knees are all above their heels (and feet almost flat) when they hit the ground. If these guys can run like this at sub-5:00 pace at 5'7", the rest of us have no excuse to land with the leading foot way out front with our toes in the air. |
| 2014-11-05 9:12 PM in reply to: 0 |
| 145 | Subject: RE: Changing Running Form - Is it Possible? Sustainable? Originally posted by ziggie204 Sounds normal to me. You're running faster and your body is responding by using a longer stride. Your assuming a heel strike but if your not feeling the shock of it, don't be so certain. If your not feeling extra sore and nothing is nagging you, I wouldn't worry about it. It's been my experience that the faster you go, the longer your stride has to become. As to it feeling better, yeah, I love the feeling of going fast with a long stride. Who doesn't? What kind of pace are you hitting on these intervals? You're getting the mechanics of running completely wrong. You speed up which can increase your stride, you don't increase your stride to speed up. To put it another way, striding longer while keeping your cadence the same is a bad idea. Sprinters don't heel strike, they don't even come close. There is no reason to "assume" heel strike if you're foot is hitting the ground below your knee. If anything, the faster you go, the less you heel strike. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fjC1Oim0UQ Changing running form is always possible, as to sustainable, eh. If you really want to know sustainable without waiting a year, maybe work into some 5 finger style shoes slowly for a few weeks. If your increased stride doesn't work with no heel cushion, it's probably a bad idea. Edited by chris948 2014-11-05 9:13 PM |
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