- Started running in Aug '10
- All went well for 6 months
- Started to understand the benefits
- Got injured
- Spent the next 12 months learning about the injury and other injuries along the way
- Had a great start to 2012 and have kept learning
So now, one month away from the 2 year mark, things couldn't be better. I'm a completely different runner and have learnt a massive amount. Would this have come about if I hadn't got injured? Probably not. Why? Because I would have continued in the knowledge that what I was doing was OK.
There are people who are born with natural physical ability and exercise/sport comes very easy. I can tell you that at 37, I don't feel like one of those people. I missed the class on learning to run consistently. But wait? For the first 6 months I ran fine. So what's the problem? Looking back, there were a lot of niggles I was able to ignore and carry on. Eventually my body said, enough is enough. However, that fine old phrase 'What doesn't kill us makes us stronger' is very true here.
I won't come out and say that the first 6 months were easy. They were not. But it did afford me the time to understand WHY I should be running. Following that, although I'd have wished a quicker end to my injuries, they have made me learn and understand the way I should be running and the way I should use my body. If I had not had a good 6 months start to running, but got injuries straight away, would I still be running now. I'm not sure that I would.
Question 1: What single thing you control in running is the difference between success or failure? Or injury and injury-free running?
Answer: Your form. It runs the show. Without control over your form, eventually, injury will get you.
Question 2: What is the biggest component of your form?
Answer: Your core.
Which, nearly 2 years on, brings me to my latest discovery. The inner core.
Your core tends to be thought of as your abs and the connecting muscles to your pelvis. However, after some experimentation, I've discovered that, your abs at least, are not involved as much as you think. There is a set of muscles around your rib cage and behind your abs that keep you upright and stable. It's referred to as the Transversus abdominis. I think there are other muscles in the inner core group, but this is the one which feels like it does most of the work.
What work is that? Keeping your main body straight and stable, which allows the other parts of your body to flow as nature intended.
I can tell you that discovering how to feel my inner core, use it, and release the pressure on my legs and back has been a huge thing for me. It is second only to the impact on my running of going to minimal footwear. From the moment I step out the door to run, through to the moment I finish, I'm first and foremost using my inner core to run the show.
