I had one of those realisation moments the other day. I think only older peeps can truly have these moments because they invariably stem from some experience dating back 20 years or more!
I was in the gym doing my conditioning workout and had just completed some squats and tabata intervals on the bike. Next was some treadmill fast feet. All the latest run technique stuff entails short fast cadence, as this is the best way to run? It ain’t my natural way of running and, although I have tried to do the fast cadence thing, I always struggle. For a short bloke I suppose I have quite a long stride. I like to cruise at speed and be quite bouncy. Anyway, my realisation moment came when I wondered why I was continually thinking about how to run! What did I do back in the distant past when I could run a 35 min 10k in training and race a 32 min at my best. True, I was younger but I certainly didn’t think about run technique.
What I did was run like Steve Ovett! Younger dudes out there may not remember Steve Ovett and the great rivalry with Seb Coe back in the early 80s. But that is my era and I was a pure runner back in those days (couldn’t swim back then. . . . ok, ok! Not much different now, I hear you say!). Ovett used to cruise with a long flowing stride. His cadence was actually quite high; it’s just that he was running so blinkin fast that he could cruise with a seemingly long flowing stride!
Back to reality. I was on the treadmill and I switched from fast feet to cruise at speed with a flowing stride. Ahhhhhh, that felt good. So, no more run technique for me. I am just going to run like Steve Ovett (in my mind, that is!) and go with the flow. I doubt I will ever see a 32 min 10k again but maybe I can chip away at my best times from my second endurance coming. . . . .
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