Of all sports, running is probably the simplest.  If you ever studied the rule book for baseball, football, basketball or almost any other sport, it's far more complicated than running.  For running, the rules are simple: put one foot in front of the other and keep going until it's time to stop.

Just because it's simple, though, doesn't mean that there is nothing to learn.  I find, as I'm sure you do, that the longer I run the more I learn about running.  Take GPS training, for example.

On my long training run today, I found myself wondering how I ever trained before I bought my Garmin 205 GPS.  I think my pace is good, then check my GPS and recognize that I'm going much slower than I thought.  When this happens, it's because I'm not paying attention to my running form.

Without the GPS, I would never notice the gradual deterioration during a run.  With it, I can't fool myself: I'm running slower -- what happened?

There are at least seven possible causes:

  1. Heels banging or scuffling.  If my heels are banging hard, or if they are scuffing the ground, I can immediately improve my pace by running quietly.  The effect is to lengthen my stride, without changing my cadence, and without over striding.
  2. Leaning forward.  As I tire, I find I have more of a tendency to lean forward.  A slight forward lean in running is normal, but when it becomes excessive it leads to shorter steps and a reduced pace.  The secret is to run tall, as if someone is pulling your head up with a string.
  3. Not breathing deeply.  Shallow breaths are inefficient, because oxygen flow to the muscles is reduced, leading to extra tiredness.  Taking deep breaths from the diaphragm overcomes this problem and improves your running speed correspondingly.
  4. Limping.  I have a tendency to favor my left leg (i.e. let my right leg work harder).  I think this goes back to surgery I had on that leg a couple of years ago: the leg starts to feel tired, so my body tries to rest it without my being aware of it.  The usual way I can tell is by the sound of the heel strike on that side being different from the other.  Easing into a longer stride with the left leg causes the problem to go away.
  5. Shoulders not relaxed.  Tension in the shoulders reflects in a tense running condition generally, leading to reduced efficiency.  When my pace has dropped off, I check for shoulder tension and make a conscious effort to relax my shoulders.
  6. Not pushing off (no spring in step).  Bouncing along doesn't help a bit, but I can feel when I'm shuffling without any spring.  That little bit of spring is connected with a firm push off from the rear foot, and makes a big difference to overall speed.
  7. Cadence (turnover).  After I have checked all the other points (they generally all need attention), I'll increase my cadence.  When everything else is working right, I am running relaxed and easy, rather than struggling, as when my pace had dropped off.  Increasing cadence is easy and natural at that point.

Before I bought my Garmin 205, I found myself guessing at my pace.  Specifically, I didn't notice that it was dropping off, so I didn't take corrective action.  I felt tired, not just after the run, but during it, due to poor running form.  The GPS won't correct your running form, but it will give you the indication that something is not right, allowing you to check and correct your form.

By the way, the Garmin 205 does not include a heart rate monitor.  I run without one, using my breathing as a guide to my level of effort.  If you prefer to use a monitor, the Garmin 305 and 405 include one.