By Dr. Aaron Case BSc, DC (October 2008)
Fear is the main reason that I run throughout the year. I am afraid of stopping because I know how hard it is to start over. As a marathoner and a Chiropractor with a focus on running and soft tissue injuries, I know well the downside of too much time AWAY from running. Why is too much time off from running not good? After 6-7 days off, our running fitness (Vo2max) begins to decline. Soon after that, our running soft tissues (muscles, tendons and ligaments) begin to weaken and eventually our bone density may even suffer. Research also shows that our fitness stabilizes at its lowest level in only 2 – 3 months. Cross-training will only slow the rate of decline up to 50% in these running specific tissues. So how do we maintain and even improve our running while recovering in the off-season? By running slowly and on the treadmill.
Just Keep Running Slowly
Perhaps you have heard that injuries are caused by too much (running), too soon. What is left out of this equation is that before someone starts their main training for an upcoming race, there is often too little (running), too late. Even a slow increase in running at the start of the season without enough off-season running leads to an increased chance of injuries. The key to gradually adding distance or time spent running before starting a program (typically consisting of 10-16 weeks of training in preparation for a running event), is to have completed a minimum of six weeks of easy running. Dr. Jack Daniels, a leading running physiologist, researcher and elite coach, recommends staying at the same distance/time of running during the off-season for 3 weeks (for full adaptation), before adding 10-20% over the next 3 weeks.
Keep Running on the Treadmill
The off-season is a great time to use the treadmill to work on your running biomechanics (form). Treadmill drills have a few advantages over outdoor running including their constant speed, a mirror in front of you to watch your form, a soft surface, and a break from poor weather conditions. Below are three treadmill drills that may substantially improve your running speed and endurance.
Treadmill Drill #1: Turn OFF excessive muscle activity
Most people waste energy when they run, slowing them down and increasing muscle soreness/damage. Besides simply trying to relax while running, self-analysis on the treadmill is an excellent way to smooth out your running stride and improve efficiency:
- Set the treadmill on a speed at which you can maintain an easy pace for some time. Increase the incline to 1-2% to better simulate outdoor conditions.
- Watch yourself in the mirror and look for any excessive body movements i.e. head bobbing, excessive arm swing, excessive forward/backward lean, knees too high, over striding, heavy landing, arms crossing the midline of the body, neck/shoulder tension, etc.
- Try to minimize the above movements to see if your heart rate (ideally monitored) or exertion level moves up or down.
- Try this at your chosen speed until you find what changes in your form produce the lowest heart rate (exertion level). This represents the best biomechanics/form for you.
Treadmill Drill #2: Practise your leg turnover with no change in speed
The off/pre-season is also the best time to start taking advantage of the springs in your legs. This translates into running 170-180 steps per minute (cadence) regardless of your running speed or your height. Increasing your stride rate is probably the easiest way to make major breakthroughs in your running speed, efficiency and form.
- Set the treadmill on a relatively easy pace at which you can maintain for some time. Increase the incline to 1-2% to better simulate outdoor conditions.
- Count your steps each minute and slowly work on increasing your rate up to the desired 170-180 steps/minute in increments of 3-4 steps/minute.
- Progress gradually over 1-3 months so that your body can adapt. At first, it may feel harder to maintain the same speed until the body adapts away from the more familiar, but inefficient, lower stride rate.
- Practise increasing your cadence up to 170-180 steps/minute on the treadmill at various speeds. In other words, try to maintain this same cadence regardless of the speed changes.
Treadmill Drill #3: Toe off correctly
One thing I often see when doing gait analysis on a patient is the inability of long distance runners to toe off properly, especially once fatigue accumulates. Running, especially over longer distances, causes the muscles on the inside of the calf, shin, ankle and arch of the foot to tighten, shorten and adhere to one another. This tightening in combination with running fatigue accentuates rolling off the outside of our foot and reducing our stride length, power and speed. Running efficiency is created when the big toe extends during toe-off because this creates a stiffening in the arch of the foot (“windlass effect”) allowing the foot to become a rigid/locked level from which to push off. Conversely, improper toe-off (from outer foot/toes) leads to pushing off a floppy foot resulting in weakness, muscle strain, and potential injury. As odd as it sounds, elite sprinters, and long distance runners to a lesser extent, often have large and hypertrophied big toe muscles and joints because any energy leak in this area would drastically slow them down. How do we practise this?
- Set the treadmill on a relatively easy pace at which you can maintain for some time. Increase the incline to 1-2% to better simulate outdoor conditions. In the mirror (in front of the treadmill) watch and feel which toe(s) leaves the treadmill last. This occurs when your foot is behind you so you won’t see it properly without a mirror.
- Try to make sure the last thing that leaves the ground is your big toe (or big and second toe). This is the goal.
- If you don’t feel some pressure through the big toe as your foot leaves the treadmill, try to make any subtle change that redirects your toe-off to being from the big toe.
To make rolling off the big toe more natural stretch your inner ankle by pressing your toes up against a wall or curb and bend you knee forward towards your toe. The key is to keep your weight on the inside of your heel and especially through your big toe. You should feel this stretch either in the big toes joints, inner arch of the foot, inner ankle/achilles area or inner calf, wherever it happens to be the tightest. Hold for 15-30 seconds 1-2x/day. Lessen or stop the stretch if you feel discomfort.
Summary
In the off-season try to keep running, frequently and slowly, to prevent running specific weakness and de-conditioning. To work on your running biomechanics, try the above drills on the treadmill. These drills can eventually be performed outside, but I highly recommend trying them first on the treadmill where you have the advantage of constant speed and a mirror. A constant speed and a mirror help you toe off properly, reduce excessive muscle activity, adopt a quicker cadence and lower heart rate/exertion level in a controlled environment. Remember, the treadmill can be an excellent way to tune-up your running biomechanics (form) so that you can hit the ground running faster, lighter and more efficiently.
