The first edition of the Run STACKED Clinic took place between August - September this year! I took four athletes through 8 weeks of coaching to improve their running mechanics. The end goal was for pain-free performance during the Straits Times Run and the Berlin Marathon!
While I initially created it to be for people new to STACKED, the people who signed up were our regulars, all whom were already well-versed in the stacked language of training, which turned out better! The goal then was really about fine-tuning, more than it is about learning something new.
These are some of what I've learnt and taught as a practitioner:
1. Pain (or perceived pain) limits ability
"Why are you doing that?"
"Because it hurts to keep it straight."
When our athletes were in a different environment, I starting seeing all sorts of "pain-avoidance" patterns showing up. Through conversations and further testing, I’ve realized that these were all beliefs they have previously held about what they should do or how they should respond if there was pain when they run.
Key point: If you experience pain when you run - it doesn't mean you should avoid loading the position. Quite often, it boils down to understanding why it hurts, and if there’s nothing broken, you should actually progress into loading it better. This may be a strength problem or a control problem, but regardless, avoiding it does not solve your problem.
2. Understanding does not translate to ability
To make it tougher, it almost never stops at patient education. As with a ton of seasoned runners, they know what to do, and what perfect form looks like (though we really rarely it. I'm sure Eluid Kipchoge still has things he could work on!). People often tell me and say things like “I'm working on leaning forward”, “I'm working on not landing on my heels”... Yes, while these are all true and are “evidence-based” (since many people have successfully adopted these strategies and have done well with them), everyone is different and should therefore start at different points instead of pushing their bodies to fit into the same mold.
Our brains have an incredible ability to adapt and our bodies all move different. Especially if you have had previous injuries, pushing your body can actually encourage the body to take the path of the least resistance, resulting in compensatory strategies. You can first start by developing your running awareness by asking a friend to spot your running form or have someone video it for you!
3. Ability does not equate to capacity
While our runners have decent movement economy within the clinic, we have never monitored their ability to do long runs outdoors and hence have zero idea when their running form would "break".
Having a better idea of when their running-specific neuromuscular fatigue sets in helps give them an objective measure of when to be more aware. Sometimes the pain would be there to remind them as well. :P Being the eye for them really helped!
Even if you can move well, you’ll need to build on moving well, for longer distances to ensure you don’t succumb to overuse injuries. This really means you’re not conditioned well enough!
A final note: Capacity IS NOT Ability
There are many who are strong, and have incredible resilience in their minds to get past pain when they run... That may explain why 80% of recreational runners have some form of running-related injury. To improve your ability and actually get better at running, you should work on improving how your body functions!
Get STACKED with us!