By Peter S. Alfino
Level II USAT coach

In part 1 of this article I discussed functional training to help your body adapt to stresses and body positioning. In Part II, I will cover foot strike, pacing and your mental approach to running. There are books devoted to each of these topics by some of the top coaches and psychologists in the field. When it comes to the topic of foot strike there are a plethora of teachings and philosophies. There are countless books on the market all professing to have …The Answer. There is Pose Running, Chi Running, Magical Running, Barefoot Running, Born to Run, Newton Running and the list goes on and on. I’ve read all the books and heard a lot of the speakers and at times it sounds like they are saying the same thing in different ways. Keep in mind that The Answer comes when you incorporate change and you become more efficient in your running style. The Answer comes in the form of staying healthy and faster times. It starts with body awareness when it comes to proper techniques and muscle recruitment. To become a more efficient runner it will take time and patience until good habits become second nature.

Foot Strike:
Heel Strike? Toe Strike? Mid Foot Strike? There are many different thoughts and a topic for a great debate amongst runners and coaches. For the sake of this article I will eliminate the toe strike because it pertains mainly to sprinters. For all other runners, I believe that ball of the foot first or a neutral, nearly flat foot strike is by far the most efficient way to run. Why not Heel Striking, especially for distance runners? Striking with your heel is essentially putting the brakes on while you run. You also place a lot of pressure on your ankles, knees, lower back etc. with the impact that comes from heel striking.
Where does the power come from if I’m landing on a nearly flat front foot? Using this method you foot is in a dorsi flexed position just like a heel first landing. Your impact point is directly under your center of gravity with your foot strike mostly neutral or flat footed. Your weight is at the rear portion of the ball of your foot. With this type of touchdown your dorsi flexed foot places your calf muscles in a pre-stretched position. Remember, the goal is to minimize the time the foot is in contact with the ground. There is no breaking effect because of your forward momentum. The calf is pre stretched and will propel you forward. Think of a rubber band that has been pull back and released. With a neutral foot strike it is the energy returned from your elastic calf muscles that is doing the work.
Pacing:
Three data points should factor into every training run; pacing, heart rate and perceived exertion. When two of your three data points are out of sync then you need to make adjustments. I won’t be discussing Heart Rate and Perceived exertion in depth but you should have a basic understanding of your heart rate zones and how perceived exertion works. Your ultimate goal is to know your body so well that you can guess your current pace and heart rate without looking at your watch.
Pacing plays an important role in your training for many reasons. Go out too hard and you don’t get the desired outcome from a training session or falter at the end of a race. In order to gauge race day performance and progress you have to know what pace you run in certain zones. Often when speaking with clients, I hear they want to run a certain pace for a certain distance. When I ask them what pace they are currently running, they don’t know or it differs greatly from their current goal.
The best predictor of your pacing is to go out and run a 5k, 10k or do a test in a performance lab. I use the McMillan Calculator to determine pacing for different distances. During your race/field test or through a qualified laboratory, you should also have established your heart rate zones. You now have two data points in which to track when you are doing your workouts. For instance, let’s say you ran a 21 minute 5k which would give you pacing of 8:19 to 9:19 for your long runs. Your Heart Rate zone range for zone 2 is 130-138. You have a 10 mile run planned for Sunday. Your pacing should stay within the prescribed range and heart rate and your perceived exertion should be conversational since you are in a low aerobic base building workout. Periodically, every 6-8 weeks you should complete another field test to see if your pacing and heart rate zones have changed.
Pacing during workouts and knowing what pace you can realistically maintain will help you gauge performance during races. If you run a 24:15 5k (7 minute mile), it’s not realistic to think that you can run 6:30’s in a triathlon. Knowing your pace and establishing workouts which aim to increase your speed while improving your lactate threshold are the keys to improved run efficiencies.

Mental Approach:
“The indispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: decide what you want.”
Ben Stein
I’ve met many runners who have no idea what they want to accomplish. They are self-deprecating when it comes to their running form and style. You are what you think. Think you are “slow” “sloth like” “uncoordinated” and you will probably stay that way for the remainder of your career. Point number one; envision success and your chances of getting there are greatly increased.

Develop a mantra that you will use in training and racing which brings you back to center. We are capable of going much further and faster than we believe given a proper level of training. Yet there are still people out there who put in the miles but can put it together for a race. Why is this? Chances are they aren’t in the proper frame of mind when they race or train. They view themselves a slow so they are slow. Mantras are simple to develop but you have to know what it is you want to accomplish when you repeat those words. My race day mantra was always “Relax, Breathe, Focus”. When I repeated these words, it reminded me to stay out of my shoulders which I tend to hunch up to my ears, get my breathing under control and focus on the task at hand, running faster with good form.

In Pursuit of Excellence by Orten is a great book to read and gets far more in depth on this topic. Keep in mind, it doesn’t take much, but it starts with positive visualization and a belief that you can accomplish far more than you believe. The key is to know what you want first and believe accomplishment of your goal is within your reach.

Pete Alfino is a level II USAT certified coach and the owner of Mile High Mulitsport, LLC. MHM creates individualized coaching plans geared towards athletes abilities and life goals. Mile High Mulitsport also runs the open water swimming program at Grant Ranch in the summer. For more information on MHM go to their web page.