How to run properly? Running is not as fun as in our childhood memories and when men or women want to start, the difficulties are such that they really need to re-learn how to run.
If running seems like a natural movement for humans, it remains a difficult movement to sustain and therefore constitutes a real physical exercise.
Every child discovers this movement one day and rejoices in it, even making it the basis of their playg games. Later on, it's no longer a game but a sport in its own right, and therefore for those who have abandoned play and want to move on to sport and prepare for real marathon training, they must at some point learn to run.
From the stadium to the marathon
the comparison seems misplaced in view of the stages that separate the stadium lap (400m) from the marathon (42km), and those who have tried to get into running too quickly without going through the stadium have immediately been alerted by physical pain and discouraged from starting again. And yet, the stadium has its virtues for learning to run.
The marathon distance flatters the ego, but in order to have the means to do it, it is useful to ask yourself why run 5 km?
Learn how to run
The exercise of running seems easy, but it is deceptive, because in its playful aspect, it brings us back to childhood or youth memories and pushes us to surpass ourselves. As soon as the first outing of a few kilometers is over within half an hour, euphoria gains g, but physical pains of soreness the next day or the day after will quickly discourage hopes.
Don't overdo it! Quickly to the stadium. They are good stadiums to start with. The changing room is nearby, you can know how far you have gone, the course goes and does not force you to turn back when you come back tired. The next session, you can do more laps and therefore measure your progress. After a few weeks, you can then take to the road with more confidence in your abilities, and leave the stadium to go running elsewhere, a park, a forest, a quiet road.
Furthermore, running on a stadium helps the runner to focus on his running technique, breathing, and stride.
Running technique
The exercise of running may be difficult because it involves a number of elements that interact with the runner's physique. The runner's speed is given either by stride or imposed by the terrain, more or less steep. The runner's breathing depends on his respiratory capacity and his current speed. These elements of speed, stride, terrain, and breathing are all the more important as some are controllable and allow for the determination of an essential element for the runner: rhythm.
Running pace
The g
To start running, it's better to minimize difficulties. Therefore, it's better to learn to run on a flat terrain, in a forest, a park, and then be careful of the natural obstacles found when running outdoors. These obstacles disturb the regularity of the running pace: a forest is not always flat, and for beginners, uphill and downhill sections represent a more challenging exercise.
The speed
One of the major differences between a marathon runner and a long jumper is that they do not run towards the same goal, they do not run at the same speed, and not for the same amount of time. The faster the runner goes, the shorter the duration of their run. Additionally, while the marathon runner seeks to maintain a consistent pace throughout the race, the same is not true for the long jumper. Therefore, the level of speed is important when learning to run, as well as changes in speed. It is better to run at a steady average pace than to run with changes in pace. At our level, the key is to have a consistent rhythm, and changes in pace can come later as desired.
Breathing
If the choice of terrain and speed allows running at a certain pace, it is physically felt by the rhythm of breathing. There is a limit that every beginner runner encounters: breathlessness in running, and this limit can be exceeded. Unlike in movies where effort in running is shown with a marked breath and often a false rhythm, it must be different here. The mouth is simply open, and air enters and exits naturally without the need to force inhalations and exhalations. The easiest way is not to force a breathing rhythm and to think about something else, such as the stride.
Stride
This is perhaps the most important element, well after the above-mentioned elements have been addressed. If the terrain allows running at a certain speed, resulting in a running rhythm and respiratory rhythm, it is through the stride and its rhythm that the runner will be able to run for a certain time.
The stride is the distance covered between two steps, and the stride rhythm is the frequency of steps.
The runner must adapt the stride length to his or her morphology and physique. The larger the stride, the more physical effort it requires, thus placing greater demands on the muscles.
Regarding stride rhythm, the runner must synchronize it with their respiratory rhythm and heart rate and maintain a steady pace during their training sessions.
The runner can freely manage their stride and thus change their rhythm or pace. To begin with, it is better to have a regular stride with a steady rhythm.
Once the techniques of running have been acquired and the runner feels comfortable in their workouts, they can modify the parameters mentioned throughout the article to make the sessions fun and varied, with different paces, distances or speeds, short or long strides.
If you want to start running, it's better to reduce the difficulties to a minimum, like choosing a flat terrain. Once you feel comfortable, you can try to run in more challenging environments. Breathing and stride length are important factors to keep in mind. As you gain more experience, you can vary your running routine to keep it fun and interesting.
