Today I took the buggy along for a training session that consisted of: 5km gentle warm-up – 4km at half marathon pace – 2km jog down recovery (a short one for marathon training, but I’m on an easy “consolidation” week).
I’m pushing a decent weight these days, with the four-year-old and Thule Chariot combined, so good buggy-running form is essential to prevent injury and keep it smooth. Here’s how I do it:
- Buggy wrist-strap around my right arm, Garmin on the left
- Push with both hands only whilst getting started, uphill and over obstacles (like kerbstones)
- Otherwise, push only on the right and swing left arm freely, trying to keep a steady rhythm
- Hook the buggy basket up out of the way (it’s designed so you can do this on mine) so I’ve got plenty of space for my feet and I’m not shortening my stride
- Keep cadence high – turning over those feet quickly
- Aim to strike the ground with the forefoot* – in fact pushing the buggy makes this the easiest and most natural way
- Keep my back straight and try to “open up” my chest
- Keep neck and shoulders relaxed – this is really important
- Buggy should really roll almost by itself on the flat – I can push it with my just the very tips of my fingers – so it shouldn’t ever feel like I’m “forcing” it
- Concentrate on a comfortable breathing rhythm, which normally syncs with my feet as two paces to breathe in and two to breathe out
- Smile! This makes such a big difference! Everything feels easier if you smile 🙂
Today I really tried to concentrate on all of the above and I managed km splits of 4:04 / 4:06 / 4:18 (into a headwind!) / 4:06, which are some of the best I’ve done (and actually slightly quicker than my average pace when I broke the Guinness World Record with the buggy over 10km a couple of years ago)!
*On the forefoot strike, be careful not to take this to extremes. When I took up buggy running my gait changed considerably and I was forefoot-striking on all my runs without trying. When I was trying, I ended up so far forwards (on my toes basically!) that my coach used to yell at me, “pose les talons Sally!” (“put your heels down Sally!”) and used to set me the specific task of getting my heels properly on the ground during any recovery phases!
Hope you find these tips helpful. Let me know how you get on in the comments box, or via Instagram @sallyonntherun
