helppls wrote:
Also squatting not to full depth by “lifters standards” by any means. Right at 90 knee angle since I haven’t thought full depth squats would translate over to distance running much. Primarily focused on 3/4 squats heavy
Just above 90 degrees is also fine, because the leg feels like it bends a lot when running, but when seen on video it is much straighter than it feels to be.
315 lbs should be plenty.
Bounding is the the best way to do distance runs. Why? Because sprinting is jumping farther and farther forward, so less and less upward. You can learn this on a football field. Bound for the first 20-40 meters, then the rest of the 100m keep increasing the distance forward and lessen the height of the bounding. Therefore, bounding on distance runs reinforces the power for the interval sessions. Gliding along the ground is what 10k guys can do because power doesn't matter as much in those races.
After you do this drill a few times, you will feel that the hips suspend their rotation while bounding because of so much air time. When sprinting, the hip rotation is full and without slowing or stopping. You can run with the focus on this full hip rotation, concurrently feeling that you are leaping forward (and slightly upward). When you've mastered this technique, you will be near top speed and try to accelerate by jumping a bit farther with each stride, rather than by shortening your hip rotation so as to get your feet on the ground more frequently.
If you can't get the extra inch or two when near top speed, accept where you are for that sprint and then work on those components during the week(s).
Simply, run with long, powerful strides, and not with a shortened hip rotation that allows you to mistake motion for progress.
Knees should always feel at least slightly bent when your foot lands.
Running this way will naturally fit into bounding up hills. You will take powerful strides to avoid the slowing of gravity, and therefore really feel the power when not running up a hill.