The more I race, the faster I want to go. 
My competitive spirit gives me that "need for speed." A recent article in the New York Times detailed one often forgotten element of moving quickly — relaxing. It seems counterintuitive, but tension makes you tight and that tightness interferes with your groove and slows you down. You need to learn how to get in that relaxed state while working hard and find the illusive state of being in the zone. You know, when running hard actually feels good.
According to the article, one way to loosen up while on the move is to relax your face starting with your eyes. Tense wide-opened eyes indicate a tense face and jaw, which translates into a tense upper body. A tense upper body is hard to move and can interfere with finding your rhythm. This reminds me of something that I always tell my Pilates clients: relax your face while you're working out because the tension interferes with correct and efficient muscle patterns. Good to know that this trick can help me run faster, too.
So next time you're out for a run or working out, try running "sleepy eyed" and see if that helps relax the rest of your body enough to help you move a little more quickly.
Rocha.John Rocha
Definitely good advice. If you ever watch track and field, especially sprinters, as soon as there is tension in the face, forget it.
1This is so true. I've already learned this when I jog.
Incidently, it also applies to dancing.
2I learned from a guy (John Douillard)who trains Olympians and NBA teams that when you are working out at your highest intensity, it is important to breathe deeply. But not just breathe, you have to breathe in and out through your nose. It is so hard to do when your running and breathing heavily, but with practice, it brings your body to relaxation. This way, your body doesn't treat the run as stress. It's an incredible state of calm.
3I'm not a runner, but I am an elliptical-er (I'm sure that's not a word!). I always try to breathe deeply and relax...it makes the workout easier.
4I read a really interesting article about relaxing to improve running technique just yesterday. It quoted Emil Zatopek, the great Czech Olympian, who was known for having a very quirky (but very effective, obviously) running style. One piece of advice he gave to other runners was to touch your middle finger and thumb together lightly while running, because it automatically makes your arms relax. Letting your shoulders ride up to your ears creates a lot of upper body tension, which throws off your most efficient running rhythm, and ultimately makes you run slower. The tip has helped me improve my running form a lot!
5I find this to be so true. Once I start getting stiff I don't feel like bothering and it just makes it harder to finish.
6Melo D: I'd forgotten how much the runners' faces flop around while they're racing in the Olympics. Good advice.
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