Running drills?

reginakarl

I'm training for a 10k race in September. I can easily, however slowly, run without walking a 5k. I can run a 11.30 min/mile. My training plan indicates for me to do running drills like butt kicks and march/running.

I tried today and they were really super difficult.

Questions: do they get easier with weekly practice? Are drills really useful? I was to do them for 25 minutes, but could really do them for 10 minutes. Any thoughts, please?

ABabilonia

I have my first 10K in October. I just finished week 7 of an app called C25K, and I plan to start the coach to 10K after I complete all the training required for the 5K. Can you please elaborate on the running drills? I assume that things get easier with time and practice. The good thing is that you should have plenty of time to train for the 10K.

reginakarl

https://youtu.be/HvH5WZk0f90 so, it appears that they are exaggerated running moves, like skipping and purposeful bouncing that strengthen muscles. I know burbpees help, but not sure about drills.

ABabilonia

Interesting, looks a little difficult. I assume that with practice things will get easier. How many times a week are you currently running? Are you doing the drills in your off days?

ocrXfitter

When I did track in high school and college, we used to do drills like that before practice. It's a form of dynamic stretching to loosen up your muscles before you start running.

reginakarl

ABabilonia wrote: »

Interesting, looks a little difficult. I assume that with practice things will get easier. How many times a week are you currently running? Are you doing the drills in your off days?

I am running 3-4 days a week and the drill training is weekly. I did them today after an easy run. I think you are right about practicing more.

reginakarl

ocrXfitter wrote: »

When I did track in high school and college, we used to do drills like that before practice. It's a form of dynamic stretching to loosen up your muscles before you start running.

Ok, so I should do them before and not after the run. Thank you!

TavistockToad

The best way to get better at running is to run more...

Increase one of your weekly runs by 0.5/1k per week till you get to 10k. Run slower.

reginakarl

TavistockToad wrote: »

The best way to get better at running is to run more...

Increase one of your weekly runs by 0.5/1k per week till you get to 10k. Run slower.

Thank you!

CornflakeGirl01

I have been racing for about 2 years now and running for many years for fitness. I have just completed my 4th half marathon and am just now really working on speed. The drills you describe help to improve quadricep and hip flexor flexibility. They also help with increasing cadence (number of steps per minute).
High Knees or marching helps with reinforces midfoot landing, increasing cadence, and hamstring flexibility and strength. Skipping will help with coordination, foot strike, and increasing cadence. These are helpful but can be challenging at first.

Personally, I would just focus on increasing your mileage by no more than 10% per week to help build endurance. The drills are great and if you feel like it try them for 10 minutes and increase slowly. I am not a running coach, I am just giving my 2 cents about the things I have found to be helpful in my running career, LOL.

The drills are helpful, but challenging. I would just focus on endurance and getting your legs get used to increased mileage. Feel free to email me if you need some articles. Good luck!

JessM822

Rule of thumb is to increase your distance no more than 10% a week. It also depends on how your body is feeling. When people become faster they usually forget about the basics. Stretching before running is something a lot of people don't do enough. The drills you mention are intended to help stretch, and they also stretch muscles that a lot of people fail to stretch properly. It takes years to get fast, so take your time and do it right. Be happy with any progress no matter how little.

MobyCarp

Drills exaggerate various aspects of running form, to help you run with better form. Some of them work on strengthening parts of your running chain. Doing drills before a speed workout is traditional in my running club. Run a 2 mile warm up, do a lap of drills, do whatever the quality workout is. 25 minutes of drills sounds excessive.

To put some perspective on where I'm coming from: I belong to a club that has a goal of fielding teams of runners in all age groups and both genders for USATF national events. For the USATF Masters 10K Championship in Dedham, MA last Sunday, we sent teams in 7 categories and captured 2 firsts, 2 seconds, and 2 thirds. The training can get pretty serious. However, the typical amount of drills is one lap of an outdoor track, about 400 meters. We don't move very fast when doing drills, but I would be shocked if we spent as long as 5 minutes on drills before going into the quality workout.

Perhaps you're in a differently designed system and there's a reason why it wants you to do 25 minutes of drills. I don't think I could tolerate that much mentally. A little bit of drills goes a long way, and any amount of drills is too much when I'm rehabbing an injury.

To address your questions: Yes, drills are useful. Yes, they get easier with practice. But you don't need a whole lot of them, and you don't need them every time you run. I may run 5 or 6 days a week and do drills 2 of those days before quality workouts; but even 10 minutes of drills sounds like an awful lot to me. And if Coach neglects to asks someone to lead drills, I don't point out the omission.

reginakarl

Thank you! I appreciate the information. I agree that 25 minutes is excessive. I really appreciate all of the information given and my questions have been answered. Thank you!

lucykemp2712

I am a member of a running club and the only time we do drills is before our track / intervals sessions. And they are only for about 10-15 minutes slotted in between the actual session and a couple of warm up laps.