What is the Secret to Running your Best?

Running your fastest requires several key elements that interplay and rely on each other:

• symmetrical posture

• appropriate breathing technique

• proficiency with sport-specific neuromuscular patterns, aka run form

• proper hydration

Coach Amy explains how these elements affect your running and how to address them.

Check and correct your pelvic posture.

Assymetry or poor pelvic posture decreases your ability to tap into muscles and generate power regardless of strength. For example, have you heard of sleepy glutes? You can strengthen them all you want, but they will not turn on if you are asymmetrical. Asymmetries can also contribute to sports injuries like hip, groin, and low back pain - but that’s another post! A physical therapist training in postural correction can help you.

Learn to breathe.

Breath is everything, and most of us are not doing it correctly even though it seems like it should be natural. The number one function of the abdominals is for breath, then posture, then stabilization of the core, in that order. If the breath is off, poor posture and decreased stabilization will result. A physical therapist training in breathing techniques can help you.

Learn efficient neuromuscular patterns appropriate for running and practice them consistently.

Many of us have settled into inefficient patterns over time which can occur for several reasons: improper advice on form from a well-meaning book, coach, or internet search, compensations for injury, or asymmetries. A physical therapist that specializes in running form can help you.

Break bad/old habits by stopping and resetting them when they creep in.

Once you’ve learned how to run with efficient form, when it breaks down, STOP and RESET. Even if this requires you to shorten an interval or stop for a few minutes during a training run, despite your fears, you will not lose fitness doing so. It will only help you.

Hydrate.

Hydrate no matter the season, even when cold, rainy, or snowy! The communication between your brain and the musculoskeletal system will turn off without a balance of water and electrolytes. If you are symmetrical, using efficient patterning for breath and sport, and in the best shape of your life if you are dehydrated, none of it will work.

Need help?

Need an assessment of posture and breathing? Schedule an appointment with Coach Amy. She is trained to assess and correct posture and breathing techniques. If you are a new patient, choose a Self Pay Physical Therapy Evaluation with Coach Amy. Returning patients can choose a Self Pay Physical Therapy Treatment from the menu.

Need help with your running form? Coach Amy specializes in running form assessment and skill development. Schedule a private 1:1 running form evaluation with Coach Amy or consider joining one of her seasonal Run Clinics.

Get your Summer Run On with RRKC

Run or Walk with RRKC

Whether you run or walk, maintain your fitness over the summer with camaraderie and aid stations every two miles, including hydration and ice to keep you cool.

Schedule

Check out the details for June and July group run start times, locations, and planned distances at RRKC Events.

The transition to longer training runs begins at the end of July and ramps up in August in preparation for the Fall race season. Stay tuned for the RRKC August group run schedule, which will post at the end of June.

Coaching

Need a training plan with 1:1 coaching? Fall coaching typically starts in early summer. Spots are limited.

Run Clinic

Improve your performance, efficiency, run form, and run-specific strength in a 6-week session on Tuesday nights with Coach Amy in a group setting.

The start date is yet TBD, but we recommend you click below for more information and to get on the waitlist!

Rhabdomyolysis - What Endurance Athletes Need to Know

Endurance athletes are susceptible to a severe medical condition called Acute Exercise-Induced Rhabdomyolysis (AER) which can have long-term implications. A combination of factors such as heat, dehydration, illness, injury, and the use of over-the-counter pain medications can cause this condition. Read Coach Amy’s full article about this topic: What Color is Your Pee? Signs, Symptoms, and Causes of Rhabdomyolysis.

Run Strong

“Running doesn’t make you strong. You need to be strong to run. ”

— Coach Amy

Running puts the body under a tremendous load. Some literature suggests your lower extremity is absorbing six times your body weight! Your ability to attenuate those forces and propel yourself forward efficiently and without causing injury requires a lot of strength and neuromuscular control.

Runners often carry a misconception that the act of running builds strength. That is not entirely accurate. Running with poor control and lack of strength is possible as most runners harbor weaknesses and manage to run for seasons without issues. But the risks are high for injury.

Control over the nervous system supports efficient form. Strengthening promotes:

• speed

• power

• control

• stabilization

• protection of joints, muscles, and tendons.

Coach Amy leads classes influenced by physical therapy principles, barre, and pilates that build full-body strength and neuromuscular control specific to endurance sports.

Classes are held at the CoachAmyPT clinic on Thursday nights. Sessions are monthly and ongoing. Space is limited. To learn more, click on the button below.

How to Avoid Training Injuries Caused by Stress

“Beat out the freak-out.”

— Coach Amy's Mom

Life stress can increase susceptibility to injury. When we think of stress, we typically imagine adverse events like an ill family member or pet, a strained marriage, or divorce. Perhaps it is a conflict at work or job loss. But positive events can cause stress, too, like a move, a career change, or adding a new family member.

Whether negative or positive, stress can disrupt sleep, cause us to alter eating habits, distract us during workouts, and lead to inconsistencies in training —the perfect recipe for injury.

And that running injury adds fuel to the fire magnifying the stress. When an injury is severe enough that we cannot run, we've lost an essential stress-coping mechanism! How can we train through stressful periods and prevent this vicious cycle from taking hold?

In my tumultuous teenage years, my mom taught me to handle stress with a mantra, “Beat out the freak-out.” Below are my stress-busting tips specifically geared for athletes to “beat out the freak-out” and avoid injury.

Notify your coach.

Don’t suffer in silence. Share your life stressors with your coach. They can help you adjust your training plan and goals to create a safe and successful training/life balance.

Develop good sleep hygiene.

Sleep helps muscles and tendons recover from training and is vital for our mental health. To prevent running injuries during stressful periods, prioritize your sleep and practice good sleep hygiene. What the heck is sleep hygiene? Check out this article written by the Sleep Foundation.

Watch what you eat.

Log your food intake to hold yourself accountable and plan meals and snacks to avoid eating "bad for you foods." Check out this blog post I wrote on Foods to Avoid When Training.

Stay focused.

Start a workout with a 2-minute time out. Breathe with a deep inhale and slowly exhale while emptying your mind. Tell yourself, "This is my time to be present and focus on the current task. I can think about [stressful thing] later.” Serotonin, a natural chemical you release during a workout, will help you process that stress in a healthy way.

As you run, thoughts may creep back in. Acknowledge them and let them go. Refocus on your current task - putting one foot before the other, one mile at a time.

Take your time.

It is tempting to shorten your warm-up or alter your training routine to "get it in" or "get it over with" when stressed. Stop and take your time. Rushing results in, at best, a poor-quality workout and, at worst, an injury.

Cut it short.

Sometimes stress can overwhelm us. When it does so on the run, it may cause you to have difficulty breathing or you may break down crying. I have personal experience with this! Honor it. Take walk breaks and consider cutting the workout short instead of fighting it; live to run another day.

Positive and negative life stressors are inevitable during training. Recognize and acknowledge it, and take steps to manage it so you can continue running healthy no matter what comes your way.