Kona was great to watch. I've been studying some running styles like Kipchoge, Bekele, Timothy Torotich, Stephen Kiprop for example, great East African runners and one thing I noticed is how firstly their runner styles are so relaxed and efficient compared to an Elite Ironman, secondly how high the leg back lift is.
Compare the above to a say an Elite man or women in Kona and their leg back lifts are shockingly low mostly, ok a swim and a bike has already been completed the weather conditions are hot, tiredness creeps in. I've seen Timothy Torotich from Uganda run live and he is a machine! makes running look so easy and so dam fast!
Why are the leg lifts including myself so low, losing a heck of a lot of speed. Is it because our hamstrings are tighter? Our quad muscles are shorter from thousands of miles on the bike? Or is it something else, because if Timothy Torotich was an ok swimmer and bike rider, his marathon would be like a 2:20 or less I'm sure of that, well he's a 59 min man in the half marathon. My main Q here is how can IM become faster runners, we must be doing something wrong? Or are elites runners just training for a different sport entirely? 2:45 is marathon in an Ironman is amazingly good IMO but East Africans would consider this time very slow.
I sat with my friend who is a runner and he was laughing when the IM commentators were saying how great this guys running style and efficiency was! I thought so as well, he was laughing and saying honestly these guys no nothing about running, there styles are so inefficient he said.....then I started studying myself........
Compare the above to a say an Elite man or women in Kona and their leg back lifts are shockingly low mostly, ok a swim and a bike has already been completed the weather conditions are hot, tiredness creeps in. I've seen Timothy Torotich from Uganda run live and he is a machine! makes running look so easy and so dam fast!
Why are the leg lifts including myself so low, losing a heck of a lot of speed. Is it because our hamstrings are tighter? Our quad muscles are shorter from thousands of miles on the bike? Or is it something else, because if Timothy Torotich was an ok swimmer and bike rider, his marathon would be like a 2:20 or less I'm sure of that, well he's a 59 min man in the half marathon. My main Q here is how can IM become faster runners, we must be doing something wrong? Or are elites runners just training for a different sport entirely? 2:45 is marathon in an Ironman is amazingly good IMO but East Africans would consider this time very slow.
I sat with my friend who is a runner and he was laughing when the IM commentators were saying how great this guys running style and efficiency was! I thought so as well, he was laughing and saying honestly these guys no nothing about running, there styles are so inefficient he said.....then I started studying myself........