With 40mph winds and sideways rain outside I was amazed at how many people turned up to run last night!

We also welcomed a new runner the group. Please put your hands together, support by clicking on his name and give him a cheer for;

Adrian

Just before heading out we had a call from Bev at Heeley People's Park to say that with the rain the way it was we would have to cancel tonights task due to H&S as well as just how wet it was underfoot which meant we may have ended up doing more harm than good doing the planned woodchip spreading.

With this in mind and looking outside we thought on our feet and headed to a local multi storey car park that was sheltered from the wind and the rain and gave us some good space to look at a bit of running form and do some technique analysis and drills as well as some out and out fitness.

We paired up and started with some lunges to get those hips loosened up. We went again but this time looking at two technique points;

1: Keeping elbows in a straight line in between 2 imaginary planes of glass to encourage backward rather than sideways arm drive to propel us forward.

2: Keeping our eyes looking forward to ensure our balance and posture.

We did a bit of paired evaluation with each pair having the chance to observe their partner and feedback and what they saw before and after a bit of coaching advice.

After this we had a go at implementing the 'helium balloon' analogy to try and encourage good running posture with an upright posture to encourage an open hip angle and efficient stride as well as an open chest for efficient breathing.

Again we did some paired evaluation and hopefully everyone now has something to think about the next time they get out running.

Following the technique session we moved onto some more fitness based activities that involved:

• Sprint intervals (using the multi storey ramps)
• Knee/leg raises
• Paired 'row the boats'
• Paired knee raises
• Split lunges
• Burpees
• Hanging cross knee raises

On the way back we also gave 'The Moor' STRAVA segment a bash (always a bit longer than it seems), before heading back to the Showroom to stretch off and finish for the night.

Until next week, keep that helium balloon in place and Happy Running :)