Improve Running?

Question

HI there.

I recently made a thread about having to run 2.4 km (1.5 miles) in < 11:56 minutes. A guy said to do this successfully I have to put the treadmill speed to 8.

Well I tried this and I feel I epically failed partially due to confinement in a treadmill and just being a poor runner.

So I took my running to a standard size track (6 laps around one is 1.5 mile/2.4 km) and after stretching/wam up I only managed to do 1 lap in 1:30 then due to a dying thirst (I had water) and massive pain in my calves (i work out 4 days a week) I stopped and was surprised I managed to walk home.

Is there ANYTHING I can do to help myself run!!

Answer 1

You have your goal, and the treadmill shows you your pace that you will need, now you need to work your way up there.

Because you have pain in your calves, you are probably running too much on your toes.  You should have most of your weight on the balls of your feet with very little space between your heel and the ground.  Because you are doing distance running, you may even have some heel strike, but you will want to minimize this.  Easiest way to do it is to dorsiflex your ankles when you run.  This means to have your ankle at a 90 degree angle.

Training:  You should vary your workout.  Couple of interval days (1 minute running to 2-3 minutes jogging), a long distance day at a solid pace (if you were running with someone you could still talk some), and a speed day (do some 800s or some distance with rest.

Fixing your form will make the running better.  If you are using your calves a lot, they are relatively small.  If they get tired, you get tired.  You should be using your glutes and hamstrings.  These are the largest muscles of the body and are made to do a lot of work.  

Good luck!

Answer 2

Running on the treadmill uses different muscles than running outside. It requires more energy, because you are using all your muscle power when running outside.   This will take some time to adjust.  Are you wearing proper shoes?  If your not sure, wear the shoes you run in and go to a running store (specialty, not boxed stores) and seek advice, they will most likely recommend other shoes.  If you want to improve as a runner, join a running club (running stores usually have connections to clubs/clinics/etc).  You&#039;d be amazed on the improvement.    The running clubs often share their stories, experiences, advices and often socializes after a run.  Cross training helps you improve as a runner too.

Ice your calves (or any sore muscles) for 10-15 minutes 3X/day and take advil if needed.  This will reduce inflamation and soreness.  

Here is a great link to learn about many different things for running (excersises, training, shoe/gear guides, races, etc)

http://www.runnersworld.com/

Keep running:)