On the 5th of November I ticked two points off my bucket list: first I finally walked over the Brooklyn bridge and second I took part in the New York City Marathon, an event I wanted to be part of since many years. I’m still full of emotions, it was such a special race not only because it was the first time I ran under four hours but also because the whole race was kinda magical. Running with 50’000 like minded people through five boroughs of New York, crossing five bridges, on a beautiful sunny day, constantly cheered on by a good humored supportive crowd, unique!
New York wasn’t my first marathon but the first one I ran under 4 hours, 3:54:10 to be exact. What was the secret ingredient that made it possible in my sixth attempt? There are so many different factors that play a significant role and yes Pilates is one of them for sure.
I strongly believe that the law of specificity overrules everything when it comes to learning a skill. If you want to be good in running: run! I don’t think that Pilates is the factor that makes you faster essentially but like a race car driver with additional mechanical knowledge: it doesn’t make him faster necessarily but the knowledge of how to maintain the car will eventually optimize his performance.
Practicing Pilates regularly will awaken body awareness, strengthen essential muscles, make you more flexible and thus helps to run more efficient. Running is a high impact sport, the same muscles are used over and over again, in the same way, and always in the same plane of movement. This can, especially in high volume, quickly take its toll on your body and niggles and overuse injuries may appear.
Pilates is an excellent choice of complimentary training for a runner as it is very low impact and will not place the body under further stress while strengthening all major muscle groups, improving joint mobility and helping maintain good movement patterns. And its simple a great way to exercise, okay nothing beats the feeling of crossing a finish line but the feeling you get from a pilates class is very much satisfying too.
I have already booked my next Marathon: Chicago next October. Therefore off to a new year of running and Pilates. I hope to meet you in one of my classes and to have a chat about Pilates, running or life in general.