In honor of the Color Run being tomorrow morning, I wanted to offer up a few tips for running 5Ks. The great thing about the Color Run is it that attracts lots of people for their first 5K. If that is you, these tips will be very helpful. But even if you are a seasoned runner, you can still find benefit with these 3 slightly odd tips.
1. Don't be like Raquel Welch
Have you ever seen the sprinters in the Olympics? These are the fastest people on Earth and they have huge upper body muscles. Why is that? Fast arms, make fast feet. If you run with your arms motionless and in by your side like Racquel Welch dancing on Seinfeld, you are not going as fast as you can. And if you missed the Seinfeld era, my sympathies.
Try following these cues: arms bent at 60-90 degrees, keep your hands loose (don't clench your fists), let your hands swing from cheek to hip (not across your body), and think about driving your elbows back as opposed to pushing your hands forward. These things take a little practice, but can really help make you a faster, more efficient runner.
2. Jedi mind trick
One of the most important parts of running is the mental game. It can be really overwhelming to think about going 3 mile in your first race. Treat it like you would eat an elephant- one bite at a time.
Tell yourself to make it one step further, get to the next light pole, get past that building up ahead. Keep setting mini goals that propel you forward and don't let the big picture discourage you.
3. Get up on the good foot and blow out the candles
You're out running, your legs feel great, breathing is on point, and then someone stabs you in the side with a knife. The dirty side stitch cramp. They are awful and can really cramp your running style. Let the hilarity sink in.
A simple way to prevent these side stitches from occurring is to breath out when your left foot hits the ground. These side stitches are basically spasms of the diaphragm that running can cause because it makes the organs attached to the diaphragm jump up and down. You put a much larger strain on the organs attached to the diaphragm when you breathe out when your right foot hits. The organs on the left side are much smaller, so there is less strain. If you do get one, the best way to fight through them is to slow down and breathe out with pursed lips (like you are blowing out a birthday candle).
