HOW TO MAKE A SUCCESSFUL CHANGE?

EVERY STEP COUNTS

by Merja Irjala

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In the picture above you see a cadence trail and here the metronome beeting in the speed of 95 bpm in you ear whispering coach-like ”hamstringhamstringhamstringhamstring”. Elderly gentlemen playing pétanque glance more than once a person who is pulling up her legs (and swearing) in the sand yard in Kaivopuisto and who once in a while flits to the movement that everyone could understand as runing. That was me, it was summer 2015, and I had decided to learn to run.

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I wanted to learn to understand why the running is fun, but I didn’t want to have a risk of injury and feeling of the pain every few weeks or months. In addition to my inner motivation the important reason to why I wanted to try totally new way of running was my trust to proposer and knowledge of the coaching methods she and her colleagues practice in their crossfit box. When I started crossfit I really started to rethink my ideas about training volymes, technique, performing form and meaning of mobility training.

Our coaches in the box impressed the meaning of skillwork as a fix for injury, they emphasized performing the workouts correctly rather than quickly, meaning of the condition the muscles in the core and mobility work. I get bored easily and need new stimuluses quite often. That’s why I appreciate incrossfit the variety of workouts and their volymes and avoiding the routine workout patterns at the same time as you sharpen you basic skills. I’m also the person who wants to have guidance, is interested in new perspectives on training, and is eager to learn new in cooperation with professionals.

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Against that context I was quite easy target for trying something new and for paradigm shift also in my running habits. Coach Ansku suggested to me that instead of focusing on long runs, I could learn new priorities such as running skill work, running form, balance and technique, and special strength that could also help to avoid injuries. Learning skills and good running posture could give me base for adding more distance and intensity. The running and in general longdistance workouts were decreased to few workouts per week in which technique work, time trial (tempo) running, and interval running alternated. In stead of running as much as possible I had to rely on that the new way of training could give me a new start and enough training stimulus. Because it was summer time when I started and I was not heading to any competition I decided to maintain my long-distance cycling routines in the backround. But when the intensity of the running workouts increased I stripped also my cycling to concentrate more on running to build the base level of skills.

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I did running technique workouts where different drills helped to improve performance technique. I had to replace long steps and heel strikes with a ”rigid” running form. I started to learn a rapid cadence and more pulls per minute. Like in crossfit classes my running workouts included variety of functional movements and strength training that improved coordination, balance, muscles in the core and art of pulling my leg. After I had learned at least little bit of controlling my body (from head to ankles, from hands to legs), perform a good running posture and understanding cadence higher than 91 bpm I started to do high-intensity interval workouts. But also in the beginning challenges were placed in form of shorter sprints (25-50 m) which made new technique to become a part of practice. I realized also that I could learn to run slow by running fast sprints. Mobility work became a part of my routines in every workout and also between workouts.

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When we had reviewed my running on the video and did the first drills in Kaivopuisto, the hardest point in the beginning was to accept being a beginner. Exercises that were appropriate for learning were hard at the first steps. I got frustrated when the simple drills and high cadence got me exhausted and I felt that I didn’t face anything else than new weaknesses. Crucial was that Ansku was and is a coach with a mission and is impassioned. She was always able to tell me why each workout is programmed and what is it’s intention and gave lot’s of feedback. Humble and patient I continued to jump back and forth in the sand yard. When I was learning something totally new, I needed programming, instruction, visual and written stimulus and supervision. Also motivating was that we did workouts in different places: We met in the misty Kaivopuisto in the early mornings, cycled through the snow to running tube in Eläintarha sports field and ”ran” with a rubber band and skipping robes in the box. I got surprised to notice that my body responded little by little, I started to enjoy running and really felt learning something. I started to feel how my body felt more stable when running 100 m sprints, I learned to use my hands, higher cadences started to feel normal and it was suddenly easy to jump onto the block of wood with one foot. I got more aware of my training routines and my own ways of learning – also that I’m pretty lazy if I don’t do weekly training programming. I felt that my running condition increased even if I did just sprints.

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Between the springs 2015 and 2016 I focused on technique and skill work both in running and in crossfit in general and did mostly high intensive interval workouts instead of long distance/time workouts (in the winter time there were spinning and swimming once or twice a week). I made condition tests both in summer 2015 and spring 2016 and I got better results in latter. Never before had the starting of the cycling season been so easy than in spring 2016. Even if I started to manage a good technique in running and continued to combine a good technique to little more distance my heel was still aching now and then and I had problems with my breathing. I had a little decline during 2016 in my training, specially in my new running routines, but I noticed that high intensity training in crossfit box and cycling helped to sustain my condition. At the same time I noticed how a stressfull working period and too goal-directed training might be hard to combine. At the end I abandoned wearing high heels and I got a new medication to my mild asthma. Not to mention changes in my stresslevel. I started again running with inside training winter 2017. I knew how to start, what to do and how to programme thanks to good advices I got before. Running felt very fun and I started to feel that this could really be a part of my training repertoire.

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Since then I have been running, crossfitting and doing my other sports without any pains and ”paletti tuntuu olevan kasassa”. I explore running with barefoot shoes, has started to run in the trails and playing in the woods with compass. My goals are somewhere else than in competitions. Because every step counts I want to maintain the meaning of the good base technique and playfull feeling. I want to know how I run and that my running workouts have variations. With the help of crossfit training in general and expererimenting with a new type of running I have gained structure to my training and understood meaning of technique and skills before loads, distance and speed. Concentrating to learn something new gave me new enthusiasm, persperctives and learning experiences. I also have learned that this crossfit- type of running training helps me to develop but also sustain my endurance for example in the times when I don’t have lots of time to train.