Case Study
FIXING FLAWED RUN FORM CASE STUDY PART IV
By Jayme McGuire A
s age-grouper Dustin Breese’s year-long case study comes to an end, he plans to implement much of what he learned over the past year to become a better triathlete. Buoyed by
the expertise of some of triathlon’s top coaches, Breese has already seen improvement and is confident his best racing is ahead of him. For the final session, we paired Breese with USA Triathlon Per- formance Advisor Bobby McGee for a run form analysis. McGee has guided more than a dozen Olympians in their run preparation and is viewed as one of the sport’s authorities for running biomechanics. Though Breese ran track and cross country in high school, the 42-year-old father of two admits the run is no longer his strength. The goal of pairing Breese with Mc- Gee was to evaluate Breese’s run form and provide him with some simple corrections to implement. “We were looking at how he
ON THE WEB Go behind the scenes with Coach Bobby Mc- Gee to learn
how to improve your run form. Plus, Dustin tells us what he got out of the analysis. Watch the video at
www.usatriathlon.org/ magazine.
moves and how he has habitu- ated his running to a point where it might not be the most effective way of running,” McGee said. “The rest of the process was me remov- ing those things about Dustin that weren’t allowing him to be the best runner he could be.”
DUSTIN BREESE ON RUN SESSION I have a lot to take away; a lot to process after working with Bob-
by McGee. Probably one of the biggest things that I need to work on is flexibility. I need to work to make sure my muscles are flexible so that I’m not working against myself. We identified issues with my soleus, quads, hip flexors and back — probably from sitting at a computer all day. What makes it tough for me and probably most age-groupers is not having someone there watching and telling you what you’re doing wrong. That’s probably why I’ve developed a lot of inefficiencies in my run form. McGee was able to take film and show me exactly what I was
doing wrong. I appreciate his guidance and know I’ll be a better runner after implementing these new skills.
RUN TIPS FROM BOBBY MCGEE
Elite running coach Bobby McGee offers these tips to become a better runner in training and on race day. Visit
www.bobbymcgee.com for more tips, including videos.
1. Strong before long. It’s important to be strong enough around the knees, the hips, the feet and the low back so that you can deal with a little bit of training. Too often we try to accumulate volume as opposed to being structured nice and sound before we go out the door.
2. Take a hike. The best way to accumulate volume is probably to just slow down. Elite runners run 1.5 to 2 minutes slower per mile for their long runs than they actually run for their mara- thon race pace. For the average age-grouper, their marathon pace IS their long run pace. Consider using a long hike every other week as opposed to doing a long run. This will give you the same benefits with none of the disadvantages.
3. Don’t be afraid to walk. I’m a huge proponent of the run/ walk method. At the end of an Ironman, doing 1 minute run/1 minute walk is going to get you to the finish line so much faster than sitting down on the side of the road because you tried to run the whole way.
4. Remember the three C’s. Being compact, keeping your ca- dence high and staying connected are key. Get your chest down in the front and keep your chest and pelvis connected. That’s something a lot of age-groupers miss and it’s causing them to hit the ground really hard. Work on being compact and you will move much more smoothly and have a lot more fun on the run.
5. Take a new approach to stretching. Stretching is a little bit like nutrition. The top athletes view nutrition as fueling their training and races. You need to see stretching (I’m not a propo- nent of passive stretching, I much more prefer the active release approach) as prepping you to do your next workout at a higher intensity that brings you the results you want and makes you consistent.
44 USA TRIATHLON WINTER 2014
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84