Some of the greatest lessons in my life I learned from my high school track and field coach. To us he was not only a coach but our father figure away from home. When it came to our personal lives we could always count on him to listen to us advise us or give us a swift kick in the butt if necessary. As a coach, the main lesson we learned was the important of the basics and finding what worked for us especially when it came to drills and techniques to improve our strength. And one of his favorite workouts was doing interval training in the grass.
I remember the first time we did intervals in the grass. We were all baffled because our times were so much slower. It was just annoying. But as he explained there is a reason for that. When you run on a track or pavement you have a stable surface which combined with your footing, allows your foot to push off the surface. This according to him was the key to fast times.
However, in the grass you find yourself with a slower and sometimes uneven surface which will require you to work hard, spend more energy, thus resulting in slower times. The occasional grass workout will make your body work harder thus improving your cardio.
But there are so many other benefits to running in the grass like:
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Less impact on joints because of the softer surface.
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Cardiovascular improvement
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Stronger stabilizer muscles because your body is force to use them due to the unstable surface grass provides.
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I especially love grass when I am coming back from shin splints because it provides a softer surface thus reducing injuries.
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It just makes me happy. There is something about running in the grass that just brings out the child in me and I tend to have the biggest smiles when I run on the grass.
The one warning I will give you is to start slow especially if running in grass is new to you. As you run on an uneven surface your body will have to constantly adjust its footing pressure which may cause wobbliness when you run.
There are many grass drills and workouts that you can do but one of my favorites is either a 20-25 minutes tempo run or a ladder type workout like this:
Up Ladder:
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2 x 2 minutes (hard effort)
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2 x 3 minutes
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1 x 4 minutes
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1 x 5 minutes
Down Ladder:
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1 x 5 minutes
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1 x 4 minutes
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2 x 3 minutes
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2 x 2 minutes (after this one, I like to do a 30 second burst just to finish with some burn)
With some planning and a good grassy area, you will be able to have a great workout that is challenging but also a bit different. For me this is a great workout to have in my back pocket when I want to not only work on my leg strength but also indulge in my inner child-like delight of running in the grass. It is a win-win situation.
Do you do grass drills?
Any favorite grass running workout?
Its so funny how different surfaces makes such a different feel on the legs/knees/feet.
ReplyDeleteThat picture of the clouds behind you is AWESOME!!!
Thank you! My running partner was running faster and when he turned around to cheer me on I guess he noticed the clouds and snapped the photos I do love that sky!
DeleteI've never thought about doing speed work in the grass, great idea!! Do you think running on one of those softer tracks (at high schools or something) would be similar, or would you definitely still give grass a go over the track?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I agree with Rebecca. That photo of you running is awesome!
Running in the softer track is really good but I would add a grass drill also at some point just because it is an even softer surface. Think how it is when you run in the sand.
DeleteI'm going to try this on the beach! Running in the sand is similar to the resistance you get in grass and good for protecting your joints :)
ReplyDeleteHello future Mrs.! Congrats again! Totally agree. Sandy or grass they accomplish basically the same thing.
DeleteI haven't run on grass in years, but for now, we walk on sidewalks, and that is GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME!
ReplyDeletewhat a great tip! i really need to try some grass running :)
ReplyDeleteGreat and easy idea to switch it up! Definitely going to have to try this! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI never thought about how running in grass can help your training. I need to hit the park and try this out! #wowlinkup
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this with us. I am going to start doing intervals on the grass. THANKS!
ReplyDeleteI have never done grass drills but your running coach has some really great points! I can see how it would help with strength and stability, especially if you have an injury. Great idea, I just might have to give it a try!
ReplyDelete(I love the new blog look, BTW...if I haven't already told you that!)
Running in the grass is no joke. I did it for a race for wine and while I would do it again for the wine tasting at the end - it was NO JOKE! My H.S. track coach was Mr. Winston - short man with a loud whistle. He taught us a lot. Kept us cracking up too. #wowlinkup
ReplyDeleteThis takes me back to my cross country days in high school. We ran in the grass for most of our workouts during the week and I really enjoyed it. I should go back to some of those parks and try it out again!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip!! And your picture is pretty awesome! #wowlinkup
ReplyDeleteI must take myself out to the burbs and try this...I have no clue where I can find anything larger than a tiny patch of grass in downtown Chicago haha...I would definitely like to run on grass over concrete #wowlinkup
ReplyDeleteYou would have to run south of McCormick place on the South path of the lake.
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