European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 5, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Running a immense popularity knows no National boundaries. Qua jogging arc Bloom York times new training approach that improves running Speed with almost no risk of injury is causing More and More performance minded runners to get their feet wet. These athletes Are doing part of their g in a Pool. While water exercises for aerobic it or rehabilitation have been done for years Pool g has recently earned widespread recognition As a 0 achieve Sharp gains in racing performance. 1 training known As aquatic running Aqua running a water exercise has been shown to provide Many fitness benefits of running on Road or track but it the jarring that can Lead to injury. Pool running d not replace running on dry land but complement it. Ile some athletes do their Pool running without a g Aid most find it advantageous to use a device Ned expressly for deep water running. There Are Uch aids sold in the United states the wet Vest and qua Jogger. Each provides a runner with buoyancy training can be done in an upright position. Half hour in the Pool is like a 15-mile run for me Quot said Samuelson the 1984 olympic Marathon Gold list. Samuelson 32, swims first to warm up then ates hard running and easy laps with the wet Vest. Winners should do a 3-minute Warmup then 18 to 20 As of running suggested David Brennan a fitness in Houston who teaches several Aqua running As. He advocates a workout of five 2-minute runs ight 1-minute runs at 60 to 70 percent of maximum rate. Rest for 30 seconds after each run. Nan favors the Aqua Jogger As a training Aid. The ethylene Belt weighing 7.5 ounces was developed by Rawn an exercise physiologist. It is produced by a sports science of Eugene ore., and costs $50 $60 a extra buoyancy Model. Useful accessory is the Aqua hitch $5a Cord an be attached to a Pool ladder to restrict your rent in crowded conditions. Contrast the wet Vest is More of a body suit ln9 the Torso. The Vest is made of neoprene the material used in skin diving suits and weighs 2 s t costs $125 $140 for the larger Modeland is from bioenergetics of Pelham Ala. With any form of running there Are three variables her in training Speed intensity and rest a eventually you can match your dry land Arnost minute for minute in a Pool. A Birch 36, of Manhattan a top Road racer runs a mile repetitions in a Pool timing each run to match his dry land times. Whether you actually traverse the Pool doing laps or Are confined to a Small area time and not distance is the critical component. When Birch was training for a Marathon he alternated his weekly Long run of 20 Miles with a 2-hour Pool run. Quot that requires total concentration and you develop mental strength As a Bonus Quot he said. In Pool running the water should be at least 6 or 7 feet deep so the water line will be just above your shoulders. Move your arms and legs slowly focusing on form and smoothness not Speed. Lean slightly Forward. The Man Euver will feel awkward at first and you May need three or four sessions before you feel comfortable enough to do a Complete workout. If possible have a coach or a training partner observe your form. The water temperature should not exceed 80 to 82 degrees which is Low enough to keep your body Cool under stress. As in swimming you do sweat while exercising in the water so be sure to replenish lost fluids. Pool runners Are finding not Only cardiovascular Benefit but also gains in strength and flexibility. Water is Cool and supportive and there is no jarring yet the water pressure is 14 to 16 times greater than air pressure offering quite a challenging workout. The added resistance develops muscle strength especially in the upper legs and you achieve a greater Range of motion with your stride. Use both pulse rate and perceived exertion to Monitor Effort. Maximum pulse rate is roughly 220 minus your age. Under the Standard scale of perceived exertion 60 to 70 percent of maximum should feel Quot Light Quot while 80 percent should feel  aim for a combination of Light and hard efforts. Some runners find a Vest or Belt limiting but without flotation you need enormous Effort to maintain running form in deep water. So recreational runners should probably use a training Aid for safety purposes As Well As for fitness. Also with or without an Aid the greater Extension in your stride can cause injury. Quot be careful not to hype extend the knee Quot warned Larry Almberg the leading american Miler older than 40. The marathoner Grete Waitz had to give up Pool running because it irritated her hips. The most profound Benefit Brennan said May be for competitive runners who have had to limit their mileage or intensity because of injury. Now he said it May be possible for these runners to resume previous training loads. Extraneous strides by Bob Prichard new York times poor Pat Petersen. In the 1987 new York City Marathon he ran 26.2 Miles in under 2 hours yet lost to the Winner Ibrahim Hussein by 60.02 seconds. Wait a minute. Isnit the world record for the Marathon just under 2 hours 7 minutes How could Petersen run 26.2 Miles in under 2 hours and still lose the Marathon to someone who ran it in 2 hours 11 minutes the answer is that for every runner the Marathon is longer than 26.2 Miles. For Pat Petersen every Marathon is nearly 30 Miles Long. That a because runners do not run in a straight line. Every runner moves laterally and vertically As he runs. At first glance this sideways and up and Down movement does t seem like much but once you measure those extraneous movements in slow motion and multiply them by the number of strides in a race it soon becomes evident that every runner runs much farther than required. A runner takes approximately 1,000 strides per mile. This Means that every error no matter How Small is magnified 1,000 times every mile and 26,200 times during a Marathon. Once you realize this you can begin to look at running As a High skill sport much like Tennis. And As with Tennis the runner who makes the smallest number of errors often wins the contest. In the accompanying photos Hussein and Petersen have been captured at the moment when each has full weight on one leg. If you drop a line through the Center of their hips Midline and one through the Center of the weight bearing leg in order to measure their Cross Over i.e., How much their leg crosses Over toward the Midline you can see that Hussein crosses Over Only 3 degrees. This is actually quite a bit for him his Cross Over is usually 11/2 degrees. Petersen on the other hand crosses Over 10 degrees. He crosses Over not Only toward his Midline but Well beyond it. His time in 1987 was 2 12.03, or approximately 132 minutes. But he was adding 6 inches of lateral travel to every stride he took. That adds up to a total of 21/2 Miles Over the course of the Marathon. At approximately 5 minutes per mile that s 121/2 minutes he could deduct from his time by eliminating Cross Over. Without Cross Over he would have finished in under 2 hours put his name Down in history and put millions in his Bank account. Hussein crosses Over Only 1 Inch per stride or .42 Miles of lateral travel Over the whole race. That Means that Petersen ran 2.08 Miles farther than Hussein. By running just As efficiently As Hussein Petersen could have Cut 10.4 minutes off his time for a 2 01.60, a world record. He would have beaten Hussein by More than 9 minutes instead of losing to him by Only 60 seconds. Crossing Over toward your Midline is also extremely hard on the Muscles and joints of the legs. Anything above 3 degrees crossover is almost invariably associated with Shin splints knee injuries hamstring pulls hip pain and Back problems. To demonstrate How hard Cross Over is on your legs try jogging in place in front of a Mirror. Notice that your legs go straight up and Down they done to Cross Over toward your Midline at All. Now run in place so your legs land right underneath your belly Button or Midline. First notice How awkward this feels. Second notice that you tire quickly and your legs get sore. The reason that your legs get sore is simple to demonstrate. With your weight on your left leg lift your right leg straight up and Down. As your foot lands underneath your hip it does t need to Roll in to make Contact with the ground. Now swing your leg Over to your Midline and Plant your foot. You have to Roll the foot in to make Contact with the ground. To control this aberrant inward motion the leg Muscles have to contract but also stretch at the same time. As a result of this constant trauma the Muscles become sore and Small microfibers form in the connective tissue Between them binding them together so they can heal. Bob Prichard is a sports Blo mechanics consultant and director of Soma posture and sports in Corte Madera Calif 990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 15