Did a tangible material widget irregardless of how small or seemingly unimportant radically change your running. Something that took you from 4:04 to 3:56.
What was it, and why did it work?
Shoes are off the table and so is training.
Was it something you picked up on a run that became a security blanket AKA something you could not run without?
This is an unpopular opinion (likely because of the cost) but using a lactate meter (Lactate Plus purchased on lactate.com) for workouts has been a game changer for me. I had a problem with overcooking my workouts and it’s been quite helpful as a “governor” for me to stay below the line and train in the sweet spot.
Easy. My Garmin 265 and chest strap changed my overall health dramatically. These pieces of technology convinced me to stop running. They showed me that my body was very imbalanced and not recovering well so it was necessary to put away my training plans and marathon goals in favor of pilates, physical therapy, and strength training. Since taking an evidence based approach and making this big decision, my chronic ankle, knee, and hip pain have all almost completely disappeared and I've realized that i was using distance training to hide the effects of poor eating habits. Without 40k runs, now i must reduce my calorie intake, eat a mostly plant based diet, and practice more mindfullness and gratitude while i chew slowly in order to maintain a healthy weight.
Always a new struggle. Always worth living and sharing.
Coaches keep you from overtraining because you often cannot trust yourself if you're too competitive. So, a coach to oversee a lot of what I knew
See you in Kona
The OP said shoes and training are off the table. The coach falls in the training category = off the table.
Out on a run I found one of those vaping recharge units. It fit in my hand like a glove and really cleaned up my hand and arm action. Got me so my arms and legs were working way more in perfect harmony. I train with it. I race with it. Maybe it is a security blanket. But it sure is a confidence builder.
50% of my training runs were satisfactory; now 80% are...........and it has nothing to do with fitness. I am convinced the hands are the key to running success.
Easy. My Garmin 265 and chest strap changed my overall health dramatically. These pieces of technology convinced me to stop running. They showed me that my body was very imbalanced and not recovering well so it was necessary to put away my training plans and marathon goals in favor of pilates, physical therapy, and strength training. Since taking an evidence based approach and making this big decision, my chronic ankle, knee, and hip pain have all almost completely disappeared and I've realized that i was using distance training to hide the effects of poor eating habits. Without 40k runs, now i must reduce my calorie intake, eat a mostly plant based diet, and practice more mindfullness and gratitude while i chew slowly in order to maintain a healthy weight.
Always a new struggle. Always worth living and sharing.
Please share more. How did monitoring the heart rate help you in your decision?
Easy. My Garmin 265 and chest strap changed my overall health dramatically. These pieces of technology convinced me to stop running. They showed me that my body was very imbalanced and not recovering well so it was necessary to put away my training plans and marathon goals in favor of pilates, physical therapy, and strength training. Since taking an evidence based approach and making this big decision, my chronic ankle, knee, and hip pain have all almost completely disappeared and I've realized that i was using distance training to hide the effects of poor eating habits. Without 40k runs, now i must reduce my calorie intake, eat a mostly plant based diet, and practice more mindfullness and gratitude while i chew slowly in order to maintain a healthy weight.
Always a new struggle. Always worth living and sharing.
Please share more. How did monitoring the heart rate help you in your decision?
With the chest strap and Garmin working together, I get "ground contact time balance" scores. These scores showed me that i was way out of balance, sometimes with 58/42 left to right ratio of ground contact times for long runs.
I used the HRV and sleep scores from the watch and found out that I did not have the bandwidth to keep running distance. There was no room in my schedule to get all the extra rest required to enjoy my running hobby.
Since putting away my dream of being a six star marathoner, I've dedicated myself to a wholistic and balanced approach to fitness, and my life quality is amazing.
Easy. My Garmin 265 and chest strap changed my overall health dramatically. These pieces of technology convinced me to stop running.
Nobody on this board wants to hear about a device that will convince us to stop running. That is the opposite of what the OP was asking about. And given all the ways to die in the world, dropping dead at 75 on a long run doesn't sound like the worst!
p.s. My go-to device is my iPod shuffle. When I got that thing it made it possible for me to listen to podcasts and audio-books while running, so my runs were a lot more like "multi-tasking" since I need that kind of stimulation. My mileage went up dramatically when I was listening to Team of Rivals or the Game of Thrones books. I love to read so running with an iPod has been great (for the last 16 years).
Out on a run I found one of those vaping recharge units. It fit in my hand like a glove and really cleaned up my hand and arm action. Got me so my arms and legs were working way more in perfect harmony.
How does holding a small piece of plastic in your hand help? Can you explain why it changes your running form? Does it even weigh 2 ounces? Did you buy a second one for the other hand?