Why Road Runners Should Run on Trails
Max King explains how and why to leave the roads behind
By Max King
As featured in the June 2010 issue of Running Times Magazine
If you're not going to be racing on a trail, why would you train on a trail?
That's the first question a lot of runners preparing for a road, track or cross country race will ask. Based on my experiences and those of other runners who frequently run off-road, there are huge upsides to tackling some of your training on trails.
One of the biggest benefits regularly ascribed to running on trails is that the softer surfaces will reduce the impact on your body. This is true. But to me, the benefit to running trails is simple: They will slow you down. Most of you already know, take your easy days easy, and your hard days hard, but the more people I coach and the more I observe, the more I see runners continuing to push a pace that isn't necessary on their easy recovery days, and they aren't allowing their body the full benefit of an active recovery.
Active recovery is an integral part of any training program for any distance. It aids in muscle memory, building your aerobic system, muscle endurance and obviously, recovery from a hard workout. Running an easy-intermediate technical trail--meaning a little curvy, rocky or rooty--forces you to slow down and take your time, putting a lighter training load on your system. "On roads I tend to be very conscious of my pacing and sometimes push harder than I should," says Michael Spence, the 2009 U.S. 10K trail running champion and an 8:30 steeplechaser. "The hills and turns of the trail force me to focus more on how my body feels and less on my watch."
Read on here<http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=19733>.
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