Marathon training: Have you forgotten about running economy?
The importance of resistance training
This article was originally published on the Inspiring Fitness blog
If you are running the London Marathon, especially if you are hoping to cover the 42km in the fastest time possible, you’re probably aware that there are three components of running fitness: VO2max, lactate/anaerobic threshold and running economy. You have been pounding the street and/or treadmill in preparation. You’ve definitely been doing long, slow distance runs, in an attempt to get your legs used to jogging for hours on end. These runs will serve to increase your VO2max (the maximum amount of oxygen that can be transported to and used by the muscle). You may even have done some interval training or ‘lactate threshold’ conditioning to help allow yourself to run at a higher pace and heart rate throughout the race. These intervals will also serve to increase your maximal capacity. But what about the third component?
Running Economy
Running economy is how efficient you are at running, that is, the amount of energy required to run a certain pace.
How Do I Improve My Running Economy?
Basically, if every step you take requires less energy or you can travel a greater distance by taking fewer steps, then you will improve your running economy.
But my technique is really good! How else can I conserve energy?
The simply answer is by decreasing the effort required to take each step whilst running, that is decreasing the amount of energy needed to push off the ground.
Decreasing The Effort Required To Propel Your Body
Each step you take, muscles contract to push you forward. Like any muscle contraction, these contractions will be a percentage of your maximal voluntary contraction (MVC). Your MVC is the maximum amount of force a muscle or group of muscles can generate.100% of your MVC will require 100% of your motor units. A motor unit is a nerve and all the muscle fibers it innervates. Each muscle unit requires a certain amount of energy to contract. If you reduce the percentage of your MVC required to perform a task, you will reduce the amount of energy required to perform that task.
How do I reduce the percentage of my MVC required to run?
You could reduce the amount of force requires to move your body; that would involve reducing your weight (that is why elite marathon runners are so small) but, seems that you are already in training for the marathon, you are probably unlikely to be able to reduce your weight greatly, without it compromising your performance.
What you should do is increase your MVC so that, though the force required to propel your body forward is still the same, the percentage of your MVC is reduced, decreasing the energy required.
How do you increase you’re the amount of force your muscles can generate? Strength training!
Can resistance training help decrease the amount of energy required to complete a running event in any other way?
Yes, it can. I’m glad you asked!
Some of the other ways in which resistance training can decrease energy expenditure, leading to better running economy are:·
* Strength training has also been shown to lead to ‘stiffer’ muscles, in this case in the calf. Each time the foot strikes the ground, the calf muscles have to counteract downward momentum through an eccentric/lengthening contraction. Once the force has been absorbed, the muscles propel the leg forward through a concentric/shortening contraction.
Stiffer muscles mean that this lengthening contraction is reduced, ideally to no change in muscle length at all. Instead the force is transferred to the Achilles tendon. Tendons are very elastic, that is they absorb force by elongating and return it in the opposite direction when they return to their original length. The return of energy in the tendon conserves the kinetic energy and transfers it in the opposite direction to plantar flex the foot and propels you along your run, meaning you do not need to produce energy to push off the ground with the calf muscles.
* Explosive resistance training and plyometrics (unweighted jumps and bound) have been shown to increase the amount of force that can be imparted in the short amount of time the foot is in contact with the ground during running (<0.25 secs). This can lead to increases in stride length.
Also, proper periodised resistance training has been shown, in a 2008, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research study, to prevent the loss of stride length at the end of intense endurance running events. Less strides taken during an event means less energy expenditure.
Is there any other resistance training that I can do to improve my running performance?
Perhaps! A 2009 study concluded that for those with weak core stability, conducting specific training for this area may improve running performance.
Conclusion and Practical Experience
As you can see, though many recreational runners who attempt marathon know that different modalities of cardiovascular training are required to complete the course in the fastest time possible, resistance training is also important in running performance. I recently had a client who had previously completed a marathon in a fairly good time but wanted to improve her running speed. Through a properly periodised resistance programme, we managed to improve her 10km time by a whopping 24%! This proves that resistance training can be a powerful tool to helping you run the race of your life!Consult your strength and conditioning coach on what resistance exercises to perform to increase your running performance.
Marathon training: Don’t let shin splints derail your preparations!
This article was originally posted as a blog in the Inspiring Fitness (UK) web site.Are you training for the Virgin London Marathon? After your runs, do you experience pain in the front lower part of your leg? Does it increase, the more you run? It is probably shin splints. But what can you do to prevent and treat these symptoms? Rest is one answer but, with January 24th marking the 3 months countdown till the race, now is not the time to be disrupting your preparation! In my first in a series of blogs I’ll be writing on marathon training, I’ll explain how to avoid this overuse injury.
What are shin splints?
Shin pain is common in joggers and other sports that involve a lot of running and jumping (soccer, rugby, basketball, etc). Shin splints describes any pain in the front of the lower leg, usually along the inside edge of the shin bone (tibia) but most commonly a condition called medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS).The pain may initially be a dull ache after exercise but eventually it may become more constant and severe. If you suffer these symptoms, it is important to rule out any more serious conditions which may mimic shin splints. These include stress fracture, exercise-induced compartment syndrome, and popliteal artery entrapment. A physiotherapist should be able to properly diagnose these conditions.
What Causes Shin Splints?
Shin splints pain is caused by an irritation and swelling of the membrane (periosteum) surrounding tibia, and/or the tendons that attach to the bone. There are 2 main categories of causes for this irriatation; exercise mistakes and structural or muscle imbalances. Training mistakes that can be made which put the soft tissue structures around the shin under increased stress include:· Sudden increases in volume and/or intensity of training· Running on hard surfaces· Wearing shoes with inadequate support or cushioning · Poor running technique like too much forward or backward lean or toes pointed outwardsAny single or combination of the following muscle imbalances can lead to the above technique issues and cause shin splints:· Tight/strong calf muscles· Weak muscles on the front of the shin· Overpronation, i.e. when the foot strikes the ground, the ankle rolls excessively inward.What Factors Increase My Chances of Developing Shin Splints?
· Hamstring and heal cord tightness· High or low arches· Females are more predisposed than males, probably due to their greater hip angles causing pronation of the foot when runningTreatment
1) Rest – avoid high impact activities for a week to 10 days. To maintain your preparations, try using a stationary or road bike, or in water activities like swimming or submerged running.2) Ice, Compression and Elevation – Apply ice for 15-20mins after exercise. Compression with an elastic bandage. Elevate to alleviate swelling.3) Over the counter pain medication for a short period. Obviously consult a physician before taking medication or if taken for a prolong period.4) Conducting a muscle stretching routine will help rehabilitate exercisers who have developed MTSS.Prevention
A much better option than treatment is preventing shin splints before they disrupt your training schedule.1) Warm up properly!- The warm up increases blood flow to the muscles and increases nerve impulses. It should focus on large muscle groups, especially those in the legs. If you have already developed symptoms of MTSS, jogging may make the problem worse. In that case, use other exercises that require less impact, like bike riding, to warm up.2) Avoiding rapid increases in intensity, frequency, and/or duration of workouts is one of the best ways to prevent MTSS.- As a rule, your workout volume or intensity should not increase by more than 10% per week.3) Replace worn trainers when the cushioning and foot support is compromised.4) Plan your route so that you do not run on hard surfaces and down or uphill all at the same time because all the terrains can worsen shin splints.1) Elongation of muscles through stretching have been shown to prevent shin splints2) Strengthening weak muscles around the ankle will help stop MTSS developing.What Muscles Do I Stretch And Which Do I Strengthen?
The following muscles will need to be stretched to help prevent or cure shin splints:1) GastrocnemiusThe two heads of the ‘gastroc’ muscle are the two meaty parts at the back of your leg which you recognize as your calf. This muscle can be stretched using either a heal drop stretch or staggered leg standing calf (wall) stretch.2) SoleusThe often forgotten soleus muscle run underneath the gastrocnemius. Whilst the two heads of the gastroc attach above the knee, the soleus attaches at the back of the tibia. Shin splints if often found to be associated with irritation of the inner part of the soleus and its deep insertion via facia onto the bone, called the ‘soleus bridge.The soleus is stretched in a similar manner to the gastrocnemius but with the knee slightly flexed to relax the gastroc to relax whilst the soleus is at full stretch.3) Hamstrings
The hamstrings are part of the closed kinetic chain (series of muscles that produces a movement) in the back of the leg, along with the calf muscles. Tightness in the hamstrings can cause the foot to point down (plantar flex), resembling tight calf muscles, increasing the pressure on the lower leg during running, potentially leading to MTSS
Stretches for the hamstrings include supine (lying down on back) and standing hamstring stretches. The muscles and movements that should be strengthened are the ones that oppose the agonist movements of the calves. These include tibialis anterior (dorsi flexion, inversion) and tibialis posterior (inversion).Consult your personal trainer on how to conduct any of these stretching and strengthening exercises.
