Get Faster with Foot Skills and Drills!

As I mentioned in my last post, this year my focus has shifted back to running for the season in order to chase my Boston dream and a marathon PR (or two!).  With this shift in focus, my husband (my coach for 2015!) and I sat down, put our coach hats on, and brainstormed how I need to approach this season.  What can we start working on NOW to get me faster come May?  Well beyond just pure strength work (which is a huge part of coach Anthony’s plan for me) and functional strength to help avoid injuries…. FOOT SKILLS AND DRILLS! 

Think about this quote from Joe Friel:  “Besides reducing vertical oscillation, running with a higher cadence means the foot spends less time in contact with the ground. That means running faster. Until your foot comes off the ground you aren’t going any place. It’s like an anchor.”  

Beyond just increasing cadence, foot skill and drills can help with posture and form, a lighter landing, a bouncier landing, powerful forward leg drive, and better overall efficiency.  By incorporating drills into your training, you will be able to better recruit muscles AND you will be less injury prone.  Imagine having proper form and being more efficient during that last push of your big race…you can by simply adding just a few minutes to your training routine.  Why wouldn’t you give up 10-15minutes every few days if it will translate to FREE SPEED on race day?! Added bonus: you will have better form and you may even look a bit more composed in that finisher photo!

So what foot skills can runners utilize to become faster and more efficient?  I’m so glad you asked! ;)

1.    Jump Rope

Jumping rope benefits runners in so many ways!  Jumping rope successfully requires good posture and quick reactions which translate straight to running form and reaction times.  Runners also learn to land light on their feet and to more optimally distribute the load of their body landing through jumping rope.  Pick up the speed and jumping rope can lead to increased cadence!

2.    The Dot Drill

FOOT SPEED!  As runners,if we have mighty hamstrings and they are well balanced with our quads, and our core is powerful and stable that’s fantastic, BUT if we are lacking (and overlooking) foot speed then this is a great place to make some serious gains in running speed.  The dot drill increases runners foot speed and reaction times.  To get a little more out of the drill a band can be placed around the legs for some extra resistance.

3.    High Knees

There is a reason high knees are so popular among runners.  Sprinters to Marathoners can gain a lot from adding high knees to their warm-up routine.  What don’t high knees teach?!  You will work on increasing your knee lift which will help increase your stride length along with teaching a powerful and efficient forward leg drive as well as a bouncier ground strike.  High knees teach all of this while also increasing the strength and endurance of the quad and hip flexor.  No wonder this is such a popular drill among runners and coaches!

4.    Butt Kicks

This is another one that is tried and true.  I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a dynamic warm-up routine that doesn’t include both high knees and butt kicks and there’s a reason for that!  Butt kicks improve leg turnover by and train the hamstrings to contract with more force during the foot strike portion of the running stride.  This drill will strengthen your hamstrings and teach them to move your lower leg faster by increasing the fast twitch response in your hamstrings.

5.    Grapevines (carioca)

Grapevines are fun, but beyond just being a fun way to warm-up, they help with foot speed, coordination, stabilization, and lateral leg strength (a key to injury prevention!). 

These are just a few of my favorite foot skills/drills that can be added to your warm-up if they aren’t already a part of it.  Remember when you would rather just run out the door and skip the warm-up that by working on your running form, proper muscle recruitment, and efficiency you are gaining free speed on race day!  Other drills to try:  A skips, B skips, side-to-side skips, and ankling. 

Still have a few minutes that you can commit to training throughout the week and don’t want to waste it on junk miles?  Another great addition to your routine is to add power drills AFTER an EASY run! 

Complete 50m of each of these drills with a 50m recovery jog or walk between each of them:  Bounding/strides, running with a focus on high knees, skipping, 50-100m sprint. 

Not feeling the power drills? Want to take it inside?  Add 10-15minutes of plyometrics to your routine post run a 1-2x per week.  Why plyometrics? Plyometrics train your muscles to contract more quickly which in turn produces more power, which equates to you running faster!!

Here are some of my favorite plyometrics: switch lunges, bench/stair taps, box jumps, and single leg hops.  Start slow by doing a circuit two times through with 2-3 moves.  Complete the circuit twice per week and add one move each week until you are doing a circuit of 6 moves 2-3x through.

Change of Plans!! (Our real 2015 race schedule)

So, after we took lots of time to plan the “perfect” race season, the Challenge New Albany race was cancelled.  So we were back to the drawing board.  The thing is, this race getting cancelled got me to thinking.  I realized that I REALLY want to run the Boston Marathon and I don’t want to give up on that goal.  I “BQ’d” (3:34:11) at the Marine Corps Marathon in October 2013 and then anxiously awaited to hear if I got into Boston 2015, only to find out that my “BQ” was 13 seconds too slow…. 0.5seconds/mile!! I was crushed.

Long story short is that I still want to race a couple of triathlons this coming season, but I really want to focus my energy on running and try to BQ.  I can't bear the thought of just letting this goal slip away.  So, I am shifting my focus 100% to prep for marathon training while doing the best I can to maintain some tri fitness.  

I will use the next 8 weeks to build my base in preparation for 18 weeks of marathon training.  These weeks will be focused on building my running fitness through “easy” runs.  Basically, I will be slowly building weekly mileage with very little intensity in order to safely adapt my body to the stress of marathon training.  During this transitional period, my training will also consist of strength training, yoga, short drill focused swims to maintain my feel for the water, and some easy spins.   My real focus is on running with a hope to maintain as much tri fitness as possible without doing anything detrimental to my marathon training. 

So, what’s my race season going to look like?  Well, I am super excited for 2015!  Here’s my plan:

            March 15 – Rock ‘n Roll DC Half Marathon (B race)

    Goal: Test my fitness, have fun, and boost my confidence!

            May 17 – Cleveland Marathon  (A++ Race!)

                        Goal #1: “BQ” by 2 minutes (3:33)

                        Goal #2: Sub 3:30 (REACH GOAL!)

                        Goal #3: 3:25 (SUPER SCARY REACH GOAL!)

            June 28 – Tavern Sprint Tri  (B race)

                        Goal: HAVE FUN! & Push myself

            July 27 – Cleveland Oly Tri (A/B Race)

                        Goal: PR, quick run, HAVE FUN!

            Sept 13 – Challenge Cedar Point 70.3??????

This is UP IN THE AIR.  Anthony will be racing this and I will race if and only if I am feeling really strong and healthy in June and I had a solid BQ in Cleveland!

            October 18 – Columbus Marathon

                    Goal: Dependent on Cleveland Marathon results...

Note: I am hoping to share this starting line with my BFF for her first marathon!!

Woah!  I just put a BIG goal out there… yes, my primary goal is a BQ, but a sub 3:30 marathon is a big goal.  It’s a scary goal.  It’s an exciting goal!  It’s a goal I can’t stop thinking about and so I won’t stop working for it. I’m excited. My legs are excited.  My body is ready.  Two years ago, I thought Boston was simply a dream, but that didn’t keep me from working towards it and that hard work paid off and I landed me a “BQ!”  That BQ wasn’t quite enough to get me to Boston in 2015, but it was enough to remind me to never stop chasing my dreams! 

While I focus on running this coming season, Anthony will be having an epic tri season and chasing some PRs!  Here's what his season looks like:

            May 3: Monticelloman Oly Tri (B race)

            May 31: Raleigh 70.3 (A+ race)

            June?: Fun “C” Sprint Tri (maybe Tavern, maybe something else)

            July 27: Cleveland Oly Tri (A race)

            Sept 13: Challenge Cedar Point 70.3 (A race)

So the Nelson’s will be spending a lot of time in Ohio this Spring/Summer! :) Looking forward to a great season for both of us as we chase greatness.  

Why do you train and race? (+ Team Nelson 2015 Race Schedule!)

I love to train and I love to race.  By challenging myself I grow and by moving my body I stay healthy.  My husband and I grow closer through training and learn more about ourselves and each other.  This isn’t some epiphany I’ve had, I’ve known all of this.  This is why I have continued to train and go farther and push harder and strive to get faster and challenge myself in new ways each season. 

The epiphany I have had:  training and racing brings a LOT of BALANCE to my life.Training and racing helps me balance my priorities.  It helps me to eat healthy, but it also helps me to indulge in that big fat juicy burger after an epic workout, a hard training week, or a race...GUILT FREE.  It helps me to appreciate one or two beers after a long week of balancing work, training, and life without feeling the need to continue drinking all night and overdoing it.  I appreciate every little thing just a little bit more when I’m training.  30 minutes of TV at the end of the day is a way to unwind and 90 minutes on a rest day is a special treat, not the norm.  Mentally, I have to stay focused to make it all happen when I’m training and that focus centers me. 

I think that stress can work to your advantage or totally ruin you.  When I am training, I have just the right amount of stress to keep me moving and doing what I love even with a full plate.  This is not the same kind of stress that occurs when you work 70-80 hours a week while parenting and not sleeping enough, not eating a balanced diet, and not moving your body.  I thrive when my life has stress….good stress.  Just enough to keep me going all day in order to work, be a good wife and dog mom, train, and eat well, all while ending each day with a good night of sleep. 

So beyond all of the reasons that seemed so blatantly obvious to me,  the greatest reason that I love to train and race is that it helps keeps BALANCE in my life.  I am a better wife, dog mom, friend, daughter, sister and employee because I train and race.  I am a better me. 

So as we start to celebrate the holidays and say farewell to a bumpy 2014, I am excited to say “hello!” to 2015!  After much thought, many talks, and lots of planning, our 2015 season has fallen into place and we hope that training will continue to help us grow individually and as a couple while keeping life balanced. 

While I really wanted to add a full Iron distance race to my schedule this year, I am definitely happy with the season that we have planned and the approach we decided on for this year.  2015 is going to be a year to focus on speed, power, and injury prevention which we hope to carry over to 140.6 miles in 2016.  So our plan for 2015?

We will kick off our season in Charlottesville again this year where I hope to get sweet redemption at the Monticelloman Olympic Tri on May 3^rd.  This will be our tune up race and our first “B” race of the season. 

Speaking of sweet redemption…Anthony hopes to get some at Raleigh 70.3 on May 31^st for his first “A” race of the season.  Brutus and I are excited to cheer at this awesome venue again.

Then Anthony will get a chance to cheer with Brutus at the Challenge Williamsburg Half Ironman on June 14^th.  This will be my first “A” race of the season.

In July, Anthony and I will both race in our home state of Ohio at the Challenge New Albany Half Ironman on July 26^th.  This will be an A/B race for us.  Since we started racing triathlons, we have never not raced this weekend!

And the grand finale….Our A++ race will be Augusta 70.3 on September 27^th to end our 2015 season. 

I am really looking forward to getting to race 3 times with Anthony, cheer for him once, and have him on the sidelines for my first “A” race of the season!  So, with 2014 coming to a fast close (I know it’s only October, but man does time fly or what?!), I cannot wait to share another amazing year with my hubby.  We’re coming for you 2015…watch out!