Learning to Run

 In Stuff We Say

Even before my injury, I hated running.  I could do it, but I would rather do the same time in burpees.   Running is never taught to us; we seem to either be genetically compatible with the motion or not.   It is so easy to fall into this conventional wisdom about athletics, but CrossFitters know that you can master ANYTHING with proper coaching and practice.

Since I hate running, the last thing I wanted to do was a running clinic.  I can think of many alternative ways to spend my Saturday than running all day long.  I finally decided to go to the running clinic; I was determined to suck up the misery and show support for the coaches holding the clinic.   I was amazed that the running clinic was not the drudgery I had anticipated.  I learned so much, and I saw a way that maybe, someday, I could enjoy running. Gasp.

Pose running is not newly invented, it is just newly explained.   Pose running is a methodology for analyzing and teaching running.  That does seem pretty revolutionary as most advice on running skips completely over technique and goes straight to training times and distances.

The basic concept of pose running is that movements are subject to gravity, and that efficiently working with the constraints of gravity will waste less effort.  The pose part refers to the positions you should hit for maximum efficiently.  We essentially do pose teaching in all movements.  For example, when you learn the front squat, you are using your body as a force keeping the bar from falling on the ground (gravity again, the bitch).  We emphasize the rack position with elbows up (pose one) and each pose in the sequence is meant to keep that bar over the middle of your foot.  You know that if your elbows dip at the bottom as you drive up and the bar moves forward of your instep that you must exert more effort because you are moving the bar inefficiently against gravity.

We teach all movements in the pose method, but astonishingly until Dr. Romanov canonized the pose methodology for running in the 70’s, no one realized that running is just another series of movements that anyone can improve upon with proper training and technique.   There is not a single movement I have every performed in CrossFit that has not benefitted from extra technique sessions and running is no exception.

In the running clinic, you learn the proper positions (poses) to hit while running so that you are not working against gravity.   Those of us with injuries and hatred of running tend to run ugly.  Pose techniques are safer for athletes and reduce injury rates as well as wear and tear on the body.   Even if you are a good runner, this clinic can really clean up your technique.

It has been a while since we have had a running clinic, so we talked CrossFit Endurance Certified Trainers Zach and Linnea into holding one on, Saturday, December 8th.  Zach organized the last clinic to great effect, and Linnea is a sponsored triathlete who follows endurance programming to prepare for her races.  Both are great coaches and the clinic will be fun and informative.  If you have not come to one, you should; and if you have already been, you could use the refresher.  I know I will be there.  Cost is $40 for the four-hour clinic that starts at 8am on December 8th, and no, you will not be running 5K’s all day (what would you learn from that other than our 5K route?).

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