Miles with Smiles: A Guide to Running
A big thank you to Jackson Borne, our amazing physiotherapy student, for putting this blog together!
Over the past few years, I have explored the world of running. I have experienced what it can do for both physical and mental health! 7 years ago, some friends and I decided we were going to sign up for a half marathon and we needed to start training ASAP, the problem was none of us knew how to properly train for such a feat. We tried to “train” by running 1 or 2 times per week, but these were all random distances, and we usually tried to run fast all the time because that was the goal, right? We were wrong, and my sore legs let me know it after the race. Since then, I have learned and understood how to train with purpose. This has completely changed my outlook on running, as it has transformed into one of my favourite activities!
When first getting into running, many people think it’s just too hard and their legs end up feeling beat up afterwards. This is often just because they start off too quick! Running can be a fun and efficient way to fit in your daily exercise. Whether you’re training for a fun family 5k or a full marathon, these 5 tips can help with your running plan:
1. Start slow! Just because you can run fast doesn’t mean that you should. A great way to tell if you’re running at the right speed is if you can hold a conversation, but not sing a song. If you can sing a song while running, you may be going too slow for optimal adaptations. If you can’t talk between breaths, you may be running too fast. Another way to determine your speed by using heart rate. Running at 60-70% of your max heart rate is a great way to gauge your speed and train your aerobic energy system which we use most for running. This can be easily monitored using a smart watch, or counting your own pulse can also work in a pinch!
2. Progressive overload. In order to get better at running longer distances, you must increase the distance you run. However, the best way to avoid injury while progressing your training is to increase each week’s mileage 10% at a time. For example, if you ran 10 km in a week, the following week should not exceed 11 km of total mileage.
3. Add speed work. If your goal is to get faster, implementing a “speed workout” into your training can be beneficial. The most popular workouts are intervals, where you can play around with easy pace for a couple minutes, then a harder pace for a couple minutes until you’ve done 5-10 repetitions. A great workout I started with was:
10 min warm up (easy pace)
90 sec moderate-hard (faster than talking pace)
90 sec easy (talking pace)
**Repeat 90 sec intervals 4-10 times**
5-10 min cooldown (easy pace)
Once you become comfortable with this interval workout, you can experiment with longer speed intervals or shorter rest intervals to make things more interesting!
4. Don’t forget the strength training! Strength is a very important aspect to running, especially to remain injury free throughout your training. Although running improves our cardiovascular fitness, implementing strength work can help you become a better runner and an all around healthier individual. Plenty of people forget about strength training while increasing their running load, however this is a crucial component for both running success and injury prevention. When thinking about an endurance activity like running, we want to shift the focus to an endurance model of strengthening:
12-15 reps
3 sets
1-2 reps in reserve
1 min rest between sets
2-4 times per week
Below are some exercises you can do at home to help get you running faster and stay injury free as you progress through your running journey! If you don’t have weights at home, things like a milk jug full of water or even a larger water bottle can be an excellent replacement!
Squats
Squats are a great way to build functional leg strength needed for running. Squats help to target the glutes, quads, hamstrings, and calf muscles all in one motion! The picture above depicts a weighted squat holding a kettle bell. These can be made easier by taking away the weight, squatting down without holding anything. They can also be progressed to a heavier weighted barbell squat where the weight is held on the upper back as you move through the motion. To start, choose a weight where you can complete the full 12 reps. After these 12 you should only be able to do 1-2 more reps. These are called “reps in reserve”. If you feel like you could do more than 2 extra reps, the load is likely too light for you. Key points for this motion are to keep the knees pointed outwards, keep the heels on the ground, and keep your chest up facing forwards.
Lunges
Lunges are another functional exercise similar to squats, while also improving balance. Balance is key to a successful running journey, especially when running on uneven ground. This exercise will improve leg strength as well as ankle stability needed for those more challenging trail runs. The pictures above depict a weighted lunge stepping back and bending the back knee just above the ground before returning to standing. Similar to the squats, these can be completed with or without weight, depending on what you need to reach an adequate load for the full 12 reps. This exercise should be completed for both legs to ensure muscle balance (this is typically done alternating between reps).
Deadlift
Deadlifts are a very important exercise to target the glutes, hamstrings, and core. Hamstring strength is very important for knee stability. Strong glutes and core are crucial to ensure good running form. If these areas become weak, we can see compensations from other muscles in the body to make up for them which can lead to hip or knee problems later on. This exercise can also be completed sitting to make it easier or holding a barbell to lift heavier weight and make the exercise harder. Keys to this movement include hinging at the hips, keeping a neutral spine, and keeping a slight bend in the knees when bending forwards. The weight should reach about shin height before returning to the starting position.
Step Ups
This variation of step ups targets each muscle in the leg, with a focus on the hip flexors towards the end of the movement. This motion challenges quad strength stepping up onto the step, while also improving balance when the knee drives upwards (pictured in the second photo). Here it can be beneficial to play with step height and speed to challenge yourself. A higher step will make the exercise more challenging, as will slowing down the movement. To make things easier, you can use a smaller step or move quicker through the motion so there is less time spent on one leg. The focus here is to make sure you have your balance before starting the next repetition.
Clamshells
Clamshells are a runner’s best friend. These target a hip muscle called Gluteus Medius, which is responsible for keeping our hips engaged during walking and running. This is a very common weakness in most individuals and can lead to compensation injuries later down the road if not taken into consideration when training. To really focus in on this muscle, make sure your knees are tucked up to 90degrees, feet stacked on top of each other, and hips stay rolled forward. This exercise should be felt on the side of the buttock on the top leg. To make this exercise harder, you can tie an exercise band around the knees to add some resistance to the movement.
Glute Bridge
Glute bridges are another great exercise to focus on the glutes and core. The key to this movement is to drive the hips upwards while maintaining a slow controlled movement. To make this exercise harder, you can complete the movement in the third picture which includes pressing upwards with only one foot on the ground. This further challenges the individual glute muscle while working on the core muscles to balance. You may also choose to add a weight to hold on top of the hips during the contraction instead of the single leg option.
Shoulder Press
We can’t forget about the upper body! Adding a kneeling shoulder press into the program can add some functional upper body strengthening to equal things out while also continuing to challenge the core muscles. The pictures above are using a kettle bell, but any weighted object will do for this motion. Maintaining a straight upper body without tilting to the side is key to a successful shoulder press.
Bird Dog
Bird dog is another fantastic core strengthening exercise. This targets the entire posterior chain while challenging balance in the meantime. Starting on all fours, the goal here is to lift the opposite arm and leg at the same time before returning to the start position (and then completing it on the opposite limbs; completing both sides would be one repetition). To make this exercise easier, you can just lift the leg straight backwards keeping both arms on the mat during the motion. To make this harder, try balancing a small stack of books on the lower back to make sure you aren’t cheating!
Speed Skaters
Speedskaters are going to challenge balance, explosiveness, agility, and knee stability. All very important for running performance. The goal here is to start balancing on one leg, hopping over to the other leg and pausing there before jumping back onto the original leg. It is important to not complete the next jump until you have gained your balance. This side-to-side motion can be made easier by jumping smaller distances, and harder by jumping further distances or pausing for longer between jumps.
Following the guidelines listed above for each of these exercises should get you well on your way to developing an effective strengthening program to supplement your runs and keep you injury free throughout your training!
5. The final tip is to not forget to rest! Running is an activity that requires adequate breaks between runs in order for the body to recover effectively. This doesn’t mean taking the entire day off, rather use active rest. If you start running Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday, using those off days effectively can be a game changer. You can use the off days for strength training or even just going for a walk around the neighborhood to still get some steps in. If your training schedule includes back-to-back running days, mix in some easy runs around the more intense days to give your legs a break. When looking at training week to week, it’s a general rule of thumb to take 2 steps forward, one step back. This means if you run a total of 20km on week 1 and 22km on week 2, make sure that week 3 drops down to 20 or 21km to avoid overtraining. Then for week 4 you can jump back up to 24 or 25km. These “down weeks” are a great rest for the legs to make sure you’re progressing your mileage at an appropriate rate.
Have fun with it! Throw in some music and enjoy the outdoors!
We hope you enjoyed the contribution from our student, Jackson! Stay tuned for upcoming blogs!
