No one wants to crawl across a finish line—even a virtual one—but the simple fact is, the longer you run, the harder it feels. The best runners don’t let that stop them, though; they train to build the strength, power, and fortitude needed to kick hard at the end of a race. How? For starters, they follow these tried-and-true tips covering mental prep, strength training, and fast-feeling gear like lululemon’s “Fast and Free” collection—impossibly light, streamlined, and highly breathable pieces designed to help you forget everything that might slow you down and just run. Read on to get a head start for a strong finish.
LULULEMON RUNNING ESSENTIALS FOR THE FINAL KICK
Dress for the run you want
The phrase “dress for success” may have originated in business, but it applies on the run, too. Running in the same cotton tee and saggy mesh shorts you wore for your high school gym class mile can actually slow you down. Ditto for shoes that are too tight, too big, or uncomfortable in any way. The slightest pain or discomfort that seems like no big deal at the start of a run will add up as the miles mount.
Choose clothes made from breathable, sweat-wicking materials that let sweat and body heat pass through so you don’t overheat or feel like you’re carrying extra weight in the form of damp fabric. Pay attention to any seams that might rub or chafe your skin, too. As for shoes, don’t buy based on hype. Go to a running store and get a gait analysis so you can decide what works best for your foot and stride.
Practice fast-finish runs
You can’t perform what you don’t practice. That means you have to practice finishing fast. There are a few ways to do this:
Fast-finish training runs teach your legs to turn over after they’re already fatigued, which is exactly what you will need from them in the final mile.
It’s not all about clocking your fastest ever split at the end; it’s about training your body not to slow down on tired legs, which will improve your overall pace. It affects your brain, too! The more mentally familiar you are with discomfort, the less likely you will be to give up when it counts.
Keep up the speedwork
Speed workouts are generally short and, well, not exactly sweet. They’re not just for short-distance runners, though—they can make all the difference in longer runs and races. Endurance running typically relies on slow-twitch muscle fibers, which can fire repeatedly with minimal fatigue. But when you’re running at a high intensity for a short duration, your body has to engage fast-twitch muscle fibers, which are responsible for explosive movement.
Here’s why that matters for your last mile of a longer run: Your slow-twitch muscle fibers start to fizzle after about 90 minutes. When that happens, your body starts recruiting its fast-twitch muscle fibers to generate enough force to maintain your intensity—even if you don’t change your pace. The better trained those muscle fibers are, the more helpful they’ll be at keeping you cruisin’ the finish of a longer race like a half marathon or marathon.
Do plyometrics on strength training days
Plyometric exercises like box jumps and lateral skater jumps also recruit and strengthen those explosive, fast-twitch muscle fibers. According to a study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, after completing a six-week plyometric routine, beginner runners showed a 2.3-percent improvement in their running economy at speeds between 10:00 and 7:30 mile pace—meaning those paces felt easier to them after plyometric training than they did before.
Running economy is just a fancy term for how efficiently your muscles use oxygen. The more efficient they are, the more effortless running feels. But over the course of a long run, as you fatigue, your running economy can decrease—making running feel harder, which will likely make you slow down. Doing exercises that specifically boost your running economy, like plyometrics, will help you hit the gas pedal at the end of a run without making you feel gassed.
Pay attention to your form
There’s no one-style-fits-all running form, so go with what works for you, but keep this in mind: a 10-minute mile consists of 1,700 steps, each one producing ground reaction forces two and a half times your body weight. The more steps you take, and the more tired you get—like when you’re approaching that final mile—the more likely your form will start to suffer. And when your form fails, you’re less efficient, which means you have to work even harder to maintain your pace.
You don’t have to do anything major to fix this. As you run, mentally check in with yourself: Are you standing tall with a slight forward lean? Are you landing softly on your forefoot? Are you getting full hip extension with each step or shuffling your feet? These check-ins help you stay dialed in as you beeline to the finish.
For an extra boost, focus on your arm swing. Your arms are responsible for about 10 percent of the propulsive force with which you can push into the ground while sprinting, according to a 2018 scientific review published in the Strength and Conditioning Journal.
Source: Read Full Article