The following drills have helped thousands of runners run more efficiently and faster. Each develops different capabilities, and each rewards the individual for running smoother, reducing impact, using momentum, and increasing the cadence or turnover of feet and legs. With each drill, you’ll be teaching yourself to move more more directly and easily down the road.
These should be done on a non-long run day. It is fine, however, to insert them into your warmup, before a race or a speed workout. Many runners have also told me that the drills are a nice way to break up an average run that otherwise might be called “boring.”
This is an easy drill that helps you to become a smoother runner, using less effort. By doing it regularly, you pull all the elements of good running form together at the same time. One drill a week will help you step lightly, as you increase the number of steps per half minute. This will help you run faster, with less effort.
In the process of improving turnover, the body’s internal monitoring system, coordinates a series of adaptations which make the feet, legs, nerve system and timing mechanism work together as an efficient team:
This drill is a very easy and gentle form of speed play, or fartlek. By doing it regularly, you develop a range of speeds, with the muscle conditioning to move smoothly from one to the next. The greatest benefit comes as you learn how to “glide,” or coast off your momentum.
After teaching this drill at my one-day running schools and weekend retreats for years, I can say that most people learn better through practice when they work on the concepts listed below – rather than the details – of the drill. So just get out there and try them!
Gliding – The most important concept. This is like coasting off the momentum of a downhill run. You can do some of your gliders running down a hill if you want, but it is important to do at least two of them on the flat land.
Do this every week – As in the cadence drills, regularity is very important. If you’re like most runners, you won’t glide very far at first. Regular practice will help you glide farther and farther.
Don’t sweat the small stuff – I’ve included a general guideline of how many steps to do with each part of the drill, but don’t worry about getting any set number of steps. It’s best to get into a flow with this drill and not worry about counting steps.
Smooth transition – between each of the components. Each time you “shift gears” you are using the momentum of the current mode to start you into the next mode. Don’t make a sudden and abrupt change, but make a smooth transition between modes.
Here’s how it’s done:
Overall Purpose: As you do this drill, every week, your form will become smoother at each mode of running. Congratulations! You are learning how to keep moving at a fairly fast pace without using much energy. This is the main object of the drill.
There will be some weeks when you will glide longer than others – don’t worry about this. By doing this drill regularly, you will find yourself coasting or gliding down the smallest of inclines, and even for 10-20 yards on the flat, on a regular basis. Gliding conserves energy – reduces soreness, fatigue, and helps you maintain a faster pace in races.