7 From Runners World for Valencia Tourism

The hardest part of a run is often getting out of the front door. But it’s not just ‘run-crastination’ that gets in the way. The atrocious British weather, heavy workloads, childcare commitments and life in general can all conspire to make getting outside for a run near impossible.

But don’t fear, because all is not lost. On the days when you can’t head out, there are still plenty of ways to work on your running from the comfort and convenience of your own home, from smart recovery tools to state-of-the-art treadmills by the likes of Technogym.

ways to develop your running skills indoors.

1. Run to the beat

If you want to improve your running form to reduce your injury risk, an easy place to start is cadence – aka foot-strike rate. While cadence ranges vary between runners, 180 steps per minute is a good general target. You’ll find metronome audio tracks that beep to that BPM on services like Spotify, while a treadmill offers a nicely consistent running surface to practise your strike rate before heading back out onto the roads. Plenty of watches track cadence, but the Technogym MyRun tracks actual foot strike in real time, with an indicator to tell you if it’s too high or too low, so you can see more accurately when you’re hitting the right beat. Need some extra assistance? Technogym has also released a new app with a wide array of on-demand video workouts and personalised plans to suit all lifestyles and levels - which can be used with or without equipment.

2. Bring that bell

If you’ve ever hit mile 20 of a marathon and felt your stride suddenly shorten, there’s a good chance it’s your fatigued and tightened hips leading that shutdown. The hips provide the balance and drive we need for power and speed, so good hip mobility is essential if you want to run well. The good news: a quick 15-minute round of kettlebell walking lunges, single-leg deadlifts and split squats will help strengthen the important stabilising muscles and work wonders improving this important area of flexibility.

3. Brush up on your balance

If you’re staring down the barrel of a busy day and squeezing in a run looks unlikely, think about working instead on your balance and proprioception – your body’s ability to understand where it is in space. Simple exercises like standing on one leg at a time, or standing on one leg and raising your knee in front of you, can help improve your balance and functional movement – the key to running efficiently across different terrain. These simple exercises work core muscles we sometimes neglect, can reduce the risk of injuries such as ankle sprains and knee problems, and you can do them while brushing your teeth.

4. Climb some tread hills

Mission Marathon Training Plan: sub-3:30 hours

Runners tend to fear hills, but racking up some elevation, particularly hill sprint intervals, is fantastic for building strength and speed endurance. It not only works your cardio engine but it’s often a lesson in mental toughness too. Jumping on a treadmill – like the Technogym MyRun with its variable gradient from 0 to 12% – to do your incline work indoors not only saves you having to hunt down a hill that’s long or steep enough, it’s also easier to control the elevation. And you don’t have to run back down between efforts.

5. If you can’t run, roll

From Runners World for GARMIN foam rolling is great for increasing flexibility and reducing feelings of muscle stiffness, and it’s easy enough to squeeze in a 15-minute session between Zoom calls. Popular areas to work on include quads, calves and those pesky IT bands that running tightens up, but it pays to give some love to the less obvious spots too, like the back, adductors and hip flexors.

6. Stick to a speed limit

How often have you gone out for a recovery run and realised en route that you’re actually running at a steady run pace or faster? Us too. Going too fast on recovery runs is a classic mistake. It impacts the effectiveness of your faster sessions and potentially leads to burnout. Indoor treadmill runs can help control the effort – the Technogym MyRun treadmill lets you set a target heart rate intensity and automatically adjusts the speed to keep your work rate just where you need it.

7. Race your regular routes

Just because it’s a monsoon out there doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the great outdoors. The Technogym MyRun allows you to jump into virtual training worlds like Zwift, letting you explore spectacular urban and natural landscapes around the globe, from Italy to Australia via Thailand and Singapore – all from the dry and comfort of your own home.

The Technogym MyRun is also the first treadmill to faithfully reproduce the pace and incline of your previous outdoor activities, so even if you’re stuck indoors you can still chase that parkrun PB.