Improve running style

Question

Recently I started running (never ran before for longer than 1 or 2 kilometers, or maybe just few times). After 2 weeks of 3x5 Km plus last time 8 km my right knee started hurting so I stopped. The pain disappeared after few weeks of no running but directly came back when I ran again once for 4 km. Then I discovered that the shoes I had caused that pain even when I used them for walking to the next convenience store. So I went to an Asics shop, made a foot test and discovered that I had a severe overpronation combined with heel strike. I bought stabilizing shoes and tried them once but some of the pain came back during the running. 2 days later I tried to run and focus on landing on Midfoot . The result was great, ran for 3 km and no pain at all.

Now my question is:

I want to adopt this running style, but when I run with it, I can't control my speed and start running a little bit faster, which makes me tired faster. So how is it possible to change one's running style without having to focus on it during running. And is there a way to reduce the overpronation?

I am 187 cm tall and my weight is 91 kilos.

Answer 1

This is a great question and one that I went through a number of years ago. The first thing I would do is caution you on the amount of mid-foot running you try to do. If you don't slowly adjust to doing this you will get many new injuries. Calf, Solious, Achilles, Plantar fascia. It needs to be a slow systematic approach.

The first thing you can do is concentrate on running slow and keeping track of your form. The first exercise that I would do is practice leaning forward then stepping. Let your feet catch you. This will force you to land on the balls of your feet (or midfoot). You can do this for 25-50m at a time.

Once you get used to this sensation you can try 1km runs by making yourself run on your midfoot. Again, keep them slow. The slower you go, the less impact you will have on the other parts of your body that you haven't been using very much.

Make sure you have your hips under your body, you should be slightly forward but not much. Concentrate on landing smooth and don't worry if you hit your heel a little.

The next thing is shoes. If you have a running store that will give you a gait test you can have them video you. Make sure you tell them your goals. You can try running once a week in something like Vibrams, or it maybe safer to run in Newtons. Newtons will give you the cushion when you do heel strike while also forcing you to the balls of your feet. Once you get your technique down you can choose a shoe with very little heel to toe drop. Maybe 4mm.

This will be a slow process, concentrate on form first, then speed. If you are running out of breath to soon then take walk breaks. Eventually your walk breaks will become fewer and fewer!

I found this article was helpful on changing your running form

http://runblogger.com/2010/09/changing-running-form-my-journey-to.html

Answer 2

It's not easy to change your running style, and you will have to focus on it for a while. In time, the change will begin to feel natural, and you can transition back to focusing more on your speed, but for the time being you will need to focus to induce a change.