Bottle Holding Test - for perceiving the effort while running
If you are a runner, the most common advice you would hear is to tune into your body. It’s the best way to know when you need to slow down and do more and potentially everything.
And that’s absolutely true.
But for many who are starting to run —
how do you listen? How to judge while running — is it enough, is it too much — essentially, how do you get the feel of your effort in real-time?
I struggled with it.
When I started, I was fortunate to get a piece of advice on how to run, which is
while running keep
Head high
Body relaxed
Shoulder soft
Back straight
I literally chant this mantra hundreds of times during the run to keep myself conscious of how am I running. Yet I run into troubles.
When I started running a bit longer, say 10+ km, I started taking a water bottle with me. Small 250 ml one does the job.
And this gave me a great tool to perceive the effort
Initially, my arm would pain; it had 250 ml of unbalanced load; I would switch it periodically and then eventually, it became a routine.
However, this water bottle helped me notice a signal of extra effort.
As I would run, my grip would unknowingly tighten up.
Initially, I thought it was an extra load, but I figured out it is my body’s way of indicating effort is excessive and it’s not relaxed.
Now, I know when to slow down, even if my Garmin tells me speed is okay.
Simply, it’s a natural reaction of the body and a visible enough signal.
This is especially useful if you are targeting easy and aerobic runs.
I see many people running with water bottles. You can observe and let me know if this test works for you.
Note: I use decathlon’s 250 ml water bottle with a strap
