My last marathon that I ran (in Feb) must not have sold the amount of photos they had hoped because today I got an email for clearance photos documenting my struggle, or triumph depending on where the photo was taken. Because it was such a small race there were very few marathoners which meant about 30 pictures of myself and my group during my 26.2 mile journey.
I have seen them all before but I couldn't help taking another look. This time I started to analyze them perhaps a bit to much, for form.
What I noticed most (besides how I need to work on my, "I am loving every minute of this" face) is that my arm position seemed way off. All of the other runners around me had very little movement, it seemed that their arms were very close to their sides and never more than parallel to the ground. My arms completely cross my body and go up close to my shoulders (it almost looks like I was sprinting the entire way, wouldn'd that be nice!!)
I know that this is not the best running form and really until I saw these photos I did not think it was that pronounced. Although the cross swing gives you great obliques, it does take unnecessary energy away from the run. At this point I need all of the energy I can get. So today I tried to make a effort to not cross swing and it felt really odd, like I did not know what to do with my arms.
It will definitely take some effort to change my ways of almost 4 years of running, but it will give me something to focus on for a while. I guess I will have to view my next race pics to see if I made any progress.
What are your thoughts? Are you arm swingers?? Do you think changing my ways will really make a difference for me?
1 comment:
I think anytime you can eliminate an energy-waster-movement, it's a good thing. I don't swing my arms, but I hold tension in my upper body which can also waste energy. I focus on relaxing my shoulders and arms, while keeping them in "place".
Post a Comment