Welcome Lenore Beaton from Performance Athlete Coaching and LWL Fast Track Squad! Lenore is a speed machine, born and bred on the Central Coast. Her event as a teenager was the 100m and 200m hurdles, but also competed in the 100m and 200m sprints. Lenore has competed at National level. Now 31, Lenore runs her own speed and athlete development business providing one-on-one and small group coaching and squad training. We are so thankful to have Lenore guest blog for us this month. See below 5 excellent tips on how to run faster!
- Get footage of yourself running to see what your body position is and how your body is moving:
Left is a common issue if you are untrained Right is correct running posture
Incorrect leg swing cycle Correct leg swing cycle
2. Perform the correct drills for what you are trying to achieve. For example, acceleration for the drive phase of running or max velocity for the upright phase of running:
Acceleration drills are aimed at learning correct joint angles, so the use of a wall is great for knee angles as well as torso position. For example, dynamic wall post-up drills help you to learn to apply force into the ground by leaning into the wall and driving your knees forward. When driving your foot back making sure you land with a dorsiflexed foot (ball of the foot) behind your hips, whilst keeping a good torso position.
Max velocity drills such as wickets (mini hurdles) are used to help with leg stride and frequency of steps depending on what the athlete needs. Wickets also play a big part in learning front side mechanics, or in other words, what the leg in front of the torso is doing, and creating good vertical lift. Having the wickets closer together encourages the athlete to have a high heel tuck, as seen in the Front-side Lift picture above. Anyone new to wickets I would suggest starting off slower with the wickets close together 1.25-1.50m, but the goal is to be running at top speed whilst running through them at your normal stride length.
3. Incorporate specific strength training in a gym including plyometrics into your routine.
If you want to really achieve results you need to get an individualised assessment completed to know your strength and weakness – this can be done by a strength and conditioning coach or a physiotherapist. This is what I did, and I am seeing results in the gym and on the track. A fast body, is a strong body.
Plyometrics are also an essential in learning how to coordinate your limbs. They help with stability, mobility, dynamic balance, strength, and power. Some of my favourite plyometrics are bounding, skips for distance and mini hurdle hops.
4. Do at least 3 speed type sessions per week.
If you want to get faster you need to practice running fast. Doing short speed sessions working at under 8 seconds of work for each rep you run will help you to achieve that. A Max of 12 runs in a session. You also need to consider that with solid speed sessions working at 95-98% the appropriate rest is also considered. Rule of thumb is for every 10m you run it equates to 1 min of recovery. A speed session usually takes up to 90 minutes.
5. Make sure you recover so you are ready for the next session!
You must be recovered and fresh for a solid speed session as they require high brain function. Fatigue neurologically can lead to reduced performance and/or exposure to increased injury risk.
Recovery is the most important part of your training session. Recovery methods range from stretching, rolling, trigger pointing, eating, hydration, using a massage gun, contrast baths, remedial massage, dry needling, and physiotherapy. Getting enough sleep is also a big part of recovery as this is where your body rebuilds.
Get in touch with Lenore for more information or to discuss how she can help you on the track or to find that extra 5% on the field or court!
Find her on Facebook and Instagram with Performance Athlete Coaching.
