Some things I learned at my runners clinic

A year ago, I went to a runners clinic hosted by Intermountain at the Utah Valley Hospital. This was a clinic that was free to the public for anyone who has an interest in running as a hobby or for sport. They taught some helpful hints that have improved my running. As I said before, I am an amateur runner and since I am the lone wolf in my family with any interest in running, I have to really search for whatever help I can find. At the clinic a gift card was given out to all in attendance and was good for a training session with one of their sport trainers at the Utah Valley Sports Performance Sports Training center. I finally booked a session earlier last month and this how it went.

My athletic trainer's name is Dan. He first wanted to know what my struggles and concerns with running were. I told him hydration and cool downs. He sympathized with my concern about hydration. In reference to my earlier blog post in training for a half marathon, you are supposed to keep yourself hydrated constantly, especially on long distant runs. I was told to drink a few ounces every three miles or so. Electrolytes are encouraged. Whenever I drank a ton on the run I would have to urinate more often. Have you ever drunk a Powerade or any similar sport drink? They seem to immediately run right through you! Dan said that instead of gorging myself while on the run with water and electrolytes to try focusing more on hydrating myself prior to the race, lightly during the race and frequently for the rest of the day. After gathering my size and weight he estimated that I would need at least 72 ounces of water daily. He also said that when I am feeling dehydrated to try running with a stick of gum in my mouth. Something that would keep you salivating. I am still trying out these new recommendations and I will let you know how they turn out for me.   

As for stretching, for warm ups and cool downs he emphasized the recommendation to only do dynamic stretches for warm ups and static stretches for cool downs.

What is dynamic and static stretching? I’m glad you asked.

Dynamic stretching is more like getting your legs and body moving really fast. Check out this video for a good example of dynamic stretching.

Static stretching is the more famous one when you are not moving but stretch your legs and body like so:

He then filmed me running on the treadmill so I could see my posture and how I was laying my feet down in order to make adjustments.

He gave me some other helpful workout tips for my time in the gym as well. 

I am supposed to follow up with Dan 6 weeks from now to see if my running form has improved.

Hopefully with all of this new knowledge I can have better results in my next race.

Do you have any helpful advice for me as well since I am an amateur runner?