Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Running Form Analysis

FYI, this post will set the North American record for most boring!  You've been warned.

Recently I videoed myself running at our indoor track at Legacy Park Community Cener - the video is below.  It's not because I like the watching myself weaving in and out of 72 year-old patrons.  Or because the slow-motion of this film makes me look like a "Baywatch" reject.  Nope.  It's just simply to analyze my stride.

When I'm on a treadmill, and there's a mirror positioned just right, I spend a TON of time watching myself run. I don't necessarily enjoy looking at myself ... I mean, I'm not really eye-candy ... but mostly I watch my legs, and specifically my feet landing.  It really helps me focus on little habits in my running stride, and potentially correct them if necessary.


So here are a few of my notes on my stride.  I'm sure an expert would pick it apart a little more, but these stand out to me ... feel free to chime in, I won't be offended!
1. Still really swinging the back leg through to the front, instead of lifting and placing on the ground
2. The front leg is reaching a little too much, and is a little out in front, as opposed to landing more underneath my
     center of gravity
3. Leading knee could be a little higher, but this is dictated largely by speed
4. The landing is good that it's on the forefoot, but really a little too steep.  This had led to sore calf muscles and minor blisters
      lately.  If the landing is too steep of an angle, only the front of the foot strikes the ground, overworking the calves.  Also, the
      steep angle can, and has lead to my foot sliding a little in the shoe, causing minor blisters.
5. I'm relying on my "flipper feet" a little too much for propulsion, basically pushing off with my calves too much.  Need to keep
      the foot more neutral after impact and lift with the hips.
6.  Form was not bad, but it could be a little more forward leaning, but that being said, my hips weren't dipping or collapsing at
      all, supporting well

Those are the main points.  In fairness, I'll mention that I filmed this the day after a 20 miler, so I was a little fatigued, which led to weak hips.  Also, my track at my gym is really small with very tight turns in the corner.  In the video, I'm literally getting ready to turn right, so I'm not sure how much that affected the stride.  I would have liked to film this outside to take a closer look with no turns, but whatever.

Anyway - not one of my better efforts I acknowledge, but it really helped me work on some things.
... be great today!

12 comments:

  1. Looks good to me! My only question is why at 7:15 pace the day after a 20? Surely you were capable of better than that ;)

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  2. Ha, I didn't do that pace for very long, just enough for the video Raina

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    1. Next time put some pep in it!
      I have caught myself in the mirror running on a TM and was amazed at how one side of my body seemed to work better than the other.. Then I went to PT last summer who analyzed and video taped me, and it didn't look too bad- but there was one hip dropping a little lower than the other.
      Honestly, you can do ST and concentrate on good form, but you can't eliminate all imperfection. A leg might be more curved than the other, or a bone is longer. Only so much you can do!
      I do admire your effort to perfect things- and you continue to improve- so keep at it!

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  3. You are good at the analyzing your gait, I don't think I would have picked up on half of that!

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    1. Ha, it's just because I obsess over dumb stuff like this Christy

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  4. A lot better than mine. I recorded myself a few weeks back and though not sure about my form, I sure looked funny running. It's weird when you see yourself running for the first time.

    I think your form looks good.

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    1. Thanks Jose, I know what you mea, I feel a lot different running than I look

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  5. my takeaway here is that the small things you do (analysis, core, strength, pacing) is what enables you to continually improve.

    thanks for sharing

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    1. Just trying to milk it a little longer - ha, there's a limit at some point

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  6. You're so good to do all that analysis. I can't bear to watch myself running because it doesn't look anything like I imagine that I do in my head. I'm happy just to let my imagination be my reality than have to face the hard, cruel facts.

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    1. Yeah, I definitely see an Olympian in my head, not so much in real life

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  7. I can't tell anything like what you have in your analysis based on that lol.

    Yea, Stanford laid an egg in the Rose Bowl. MSU is legit, and they probably would have done as well as Auburn against FSU, though we will never know. At least next year the 4 team playoff starts so the SEC might have to beat the rest of the conferences before getting a shot at a national title. Chad Salmela is indeed the same commentator for cross country and biathlon, he is so enthusiastic that he makes you pay attention! lol

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