“Less effort will make your running better”

 

“Less effort will make your running better”

 Today’s topic is “Less effort”.

Distance runners love to train harder and harder. Why do we think so?

We have some reason…

-        We estimate that the training was Good or Bad after a workout. It would be follow by our effort that how much we through.

-        We think “one more” and “faster” are good on a training.

-        We feel great after we have done a hard training.

-        We believe that the hard training will make our physical and mental stronger always

However, Is the maximum effort required for our workouts to improve our sport performance always? The answer will be “No”. Minimum effort will work to improve our running sometimes.

Let’s think about it.

1, The factors to improve running performance

-        Physical strength

-        Skills

-        Mental toughness

 

- Physical strength

Muscle strength, Cardio strength, Nervus systems, Flexibility and Mobility… That are our body function. We can train each part and ability with our sport, training, exercise, rehab and just any movements.

We train particular and aiming ability each workout.

- Skills

Our brain orders to control our body movements what we want. To control our body well, we have a lot of training or practice as repetitive movement that like drills.

For running, our running form and technique refined with them and we will be able to run smoothly with it. So a lot of race pace repetition help to make it smooth.

- Mental toughness

We are under the stress in our sports. Especially, when we are running tough in a race or workout, our mental will be an accel to keep the hard effort or brake to give it up on the way.

Strong mental will be built in tough time in races or workouts.

A lot of distance runners think, we can build all of them in hard workouts effectively.

Therefore, coaches provide hard workouts to their athletes, Athletes are going to be harder to smash them and break through their limit naturally.

 

Reasons why the pushing hard for the hard training is effective

-        Physical strength

Our body reaches to the limit each ability that we want to develop.

-        Skills

We can train the race pace’s running form in a tough moment with fast running pace.

-        Mental toughness

We hold on the pain and get used to the stress under the running tough.

 

However, we cannot take a lot of effect and result from the stress. Because our body get used to the stimulus with the career age has been grown, body is getting older and each ability has been developed.　

At the first year, we can feel the big effect from each workouts. Because our body is fresh for the new stress and recovering quickly.

When we are young, we can hold the stress and adapt it. We can have another big stress and adapt to it within 2 - 3days in each workouts. We input the training cycle from our experience and we think [It will be “OK”.]

It is expanded with our training level is getting higher. The stress and volume will be bigger and it will be more frequency.

 

However, we will reach to the limit one day. For example, Vo2max, LT level or Maximum power are hit the wall. Measurable physical data and science numbers will be hard to improve after we developed them a lot.

One day, we will find the effect is getting smaller and we need more recovery time to adapt the stress.

Our body will also be fragile for the stress. It will be easy to get injury when we have the same stress from our same workout. when we accumulate the running stress through our long running career. So even if the training is same, the stress would be bigger and the effect would be smaller. Because of our body is changing.

 

There has two reason. One is our body has been adapted to the stress that means our body gets used to the stress. One is our body is getting older that is required more time to recover.

So we have to understand our body are not unlimited. One day, we will find the limit of the training volume and intensity.

We will notice that we are not able to keep building up the stress and the training cycle forever.

When we know the limit, that might let us know the time to retire from our sport.

However, on the other hand, that might invite you to another way to achieve your goals.

2, "Less effort" will make us stronger

Why do we keep doing our sport?

We have a lot of answers for the question.

If you are an elite or professional runner, you have to run for the contracts, earning the living costs and entertainments of the sport.

Almost all runners are not this case. However, we keep running and we have a lot of hard workouts.

Because the true nature of sports is based on our mental happiness.

That are “Development” “Improvement” “Progress” “Advances” “Discovery”.

We can enjoy the feeling each moment when we do our sport unconsciously.

Basically, we have a lot of way to find the moment that we explore “the joy of the sport”

So, we also have a lot of way to develop our performance except the big volume or high intensity training to reach our limits.

I think some other ways might be more effective to develop and improve the side of skills and mental toughness.

 

 

3, Reduce the training Volume, Intensity, Reps and Sets

Our training volume is getting larger and training duration is getting longer when we progress our sport career. So, when we are in the senior grade, our training duration has been set quite long as usual and base.

If we have made a peak with huge volume of training and had a success in our career, we think “we have to have the amount to achieve it again.”. In that case, we feel that the training is not enough when we reduce the volume from the maximum volume which made a success.

The experience easy to tow us to the highest number of reps of interval or weekly mileage.

 

We have to change the direction of training to reduce the training volume.

Firstly, we do not have to try to follow the number anymore to find a new way to develop our performance.

Just concentrate for 3 reps, 2 reps or only 1 rep. Do not think to have more reps or extra reps.

We can listen what our body say carefully. And then our body give us a lot of information.

For example,

When we have 10 x 1k, we have to run approximately 30 minutes under the stress. So we are easy to focus on just keeping the pace. It is hard and we shut to listen what our body said.

This type of training will definitely stimulate to increase our physical strength which is 10k effort ability.

The mental toughness might also be stronger with it.

However, we are easy to forget to concentrate to control our body well then. We will be just chasing to complete it 1 to 10 with the pace.

When we have only 1 to 3 x 1k, we can concentrate to control our body more.

We are fresh and smooth to do the workouts each rep. If we push very hard each rep, it might make us tired soon. However, if we can do it under control, we can develop our body function more.

 

Those will not be same effect because of the purpose.

The 10 x 1k reps will stimulate the 10k pace ability normally. The 1-3 x 1k reps will stimulate the Vo2, anaerobic, 5k/10k abilities that depends on what you choose.

The main point is not focus on ability of physical strength. That is focus on “Body function”

So reduced volume will make less effect to our running abilities, but it will help to find “a new room” that is body function for running to improve our performance.

Our running performance are not only built by abilities. So we should find more rooms in our body functions when we reached a limit of abilities.

 

If we would like to concentrate to find to develop our body function, we should do it less under stress and fatigue. Those are enemy to find it. We think it is necessary for our workouts though for running training.

 

4, Concentration (stimulate from inside and outside of our mind)

Some coaches say “Concentrate!” on a track.

Are you able to concentrate to your training with it? Probably you are not.

Because we have to know how to concentrate to the running, repetitive movement, training and sports.

# Make the situation that we are into it

Our mind will be changing a lot in a day. It is effected by our feeling, body condition, the weather and something else.

So firstly, we have to ask and discuss ourself “What I want to do in today’s training.”

Secondary, We have to make sure ”Purpose” “A Goal/Target” “How I can do it”

For example, If I try 1 x 1k, then I think and set below…

Purpose : First 500m is 3000m race pace, Second 500m is 1500m race pace. Concentrate to control the pace.

Target : First 500m will be 1:25, Second 500m is 1:20. It will depend on the feeling of first 500m. So the target time is flexible. We do not need to follow the pace, we feel the pace and running rhythm first. After that the right pace will follow us.

How : Count the steps, check the different rhythm of first 500 and second 500m.

 

If we feel “I’m enjoying it” , “I’m under control” and "Feel so great!" on the running, it will prove that we are concentrating to it or just into it.

When we count the steps on the fast rhythm and moderate rhythm, we can feel the different more deeply from another way. We can feel the running rhythm when we are on a fast pace.

However, if we feel it is just fast and hard on the training. We might not be able to find the rhythm that are 800, 1500, 3000 or 5000m pace.

When we count the steps and check each pace, we can find the best rhythm for the event that we are going to try.

The counting steps and feeling the rhythm that are stimulus for our running technique from inside of our body and mind.

The checking the pace each distance to see a watch is stimulus for our running from outside or our body and mind.

We can use both of them to increase to get more information from our workouts.

It is not only 1ks, but also any workouts that are 200ms or some speed workouts.

 

5, Think and analysis (Re-check and journaling)

When we could concentrate to our workouts, there have a lot of information to analysis that are not only “I was tired” and “I could make it fast”, but also about landing and strides information what our body said.

For example, we can find,

-        My cadence is fast today

-        My cadence is slow however stride is wide. I’m feeling long ground contact time, but producing big power each step or kick.

-        I could deliver the fast cadence due to swinging arms small and smoothly.

-        It is fast pace but still have room to produce fast cadence. Keeping the rhythm and staying relax first, and picking up the pace 200m to go.

Those are information what our body says on a workout. We should collect and record them in a training log. The journaling will help to realize how we feel and get in our training anytime.

 

 

6, Self Reviewing

If we have our measure each running in our mind, we can check our training, workouts and races with the measure. This is not review from others, it is our review ourself.

When we review our running properly, we can take an optimal effect each training always.

The best results of training from a journaling that we can find “Enjoyment” in our sport. Our physical limit will come one day. All people has it. Objective opinion is just looking the human limit and compering the science data and records. When you find your pleasure only in the “Record” “Place” “Society’s approval” or “Cash value”, the pleasure will be depending on our social and objective rating. In the world, we cannot measure the value of sports what we do in our mind ourself. That will be decided by others.

We should explore the “pleasure” in our mind in our sports ourself.

Just listen what you say...

“When I can find my best purpose, goals, ways and results in my mind, I can enjoy my sports anywhere, anytime with my measure.”

Eventually, we will know that we pursue our pleasure in our sports in our mind. In that situation and stage, we can enjoy our training, workouts, Jog, stride even only an exercise without what other rate us.

If we find the base that the reason to have the sports in our mind, we can keep challenging in the sports at all phase in our career with the measure that will flexible anytime. It will connect to develop abilities and function. Finally we will find different ways with it.

We accumulate our training that are focusing onto concentrate what our body say ourself, how to control our body and function when we are running. Our mental toughness will also be stronger. On the racing, the most important things is to produce “Best performance” what we prospect when we are on a start line each race. When we are thinking about ourselves running in our training, we can imagine “How we can run on the race” more clearly.

When we are not thinking about our running in our training and just thinking that “How many mileage what I had in this training block, so I can reach the target in this race” before a race, we cannot control our running well on the race. It is kind of a gamble. That thinking is not prospection. It is just believing a luck and coincident with running and pushing hard ourself.

 

When we are focusing on ourself in our training and we can control our running well on a race, we can concentrate our running and give a good performance anytime anywhere. Because our body’s voice lead us the right way and right producing effort. There has no issue if the rivals are fast or slow, the competition is big or small, we have chance to win or not. Just our mind lead our running. It will also lead our mind and body from both side. In this moment, we can enjoy our sports with our mind and body together more deeply.

 

 

When we could improve our ability and function over through our training and career with our sports, our mental can grow up rather than our body.

The mental toughness will relief the stresses and anxieties what we think about …

“I don’t have any good training environment.”

“I’m not talented enough.”

and “I have no capacity to develop for my running. So that is my limit.”

 

Let’s think, “Less effort make us better and faster.” before we are going for a run, we can talk to our body and listen to what our body say with relaxing mind. It is “less effort” but “more effect“ for our running and we can enjoy our sports more.

 

The true nature of sports is “Enjoyment”. We can enjoy our running only one person for a run.

So the “Enjoyment” is always depending on ourself that the mind to find “how we feel”, “What we can”, “What we change” and “What we improve”.

We will find the “Enjoyment” in the moment.

Less effort training will give us other point of view when we are blind with pushing too hard for our sports.