During the summer I was out for a run and for the first time really noticed my shadow in front of me. As I was watching “her” run, I saw hunched shoulders and stiffly swinging arms.

It was hot and I was coming to the end of a 90-minute run, so I could see my form was flagging. What I found interesting…had I not been watching my shadow I don’t think I would have been aware of it.

Shadow as a Form Check

I’ve not seen anyone mention they use their shadow as a form check, but I have started to do just that if the sun is casting in the right direction. I’m able to correct my form by relaxing my shoulders and allowing my arms to swing more naturally.

Running form is a funny thing, I’ve seen lots of information on “correct” form/cadence/breathing etc. I tend to just run how I run because when I try to over correct it becomes hard and tedious and it’s all I can think about.

I don’t feel that continually adjusting to conform to an expert way of running is something I need to do. Perhaps if I was elite, or had a coach that would be different. Although I have heard both elites and coaches talk about hesitating to change someone’s form or gait.

Adjusting Running Form: Injury Prevention

I think running how you run is best, personally. That being said, I do have issues with pain in my rotator cuff and in my shoulder blades so I try to run with shoulders and arms relaxed and in my shadow I could see I was not doing that.

I now try to be more mindful of those things as I run and use the sun to check my shadow.

There is a lot of information on “correct” running form, so if that interests you Google and even Pinterest can help! I do agree that good posture can be helpful and there is evidence to suggest that over-striding can lead to injuries and inefficiency.

I know of people to, though, who have also injured themselves trying to correct their “natural” running form. It takes both brain work and physical changes to run differently. I’m just not that motivated to spend my running time correcting and perfecting EVERYTHING about my form.

Running is not Homework

I run because I love to run, and too much over-thinking is not fun for me. It’s like my daughter in elementary school… she loved to read and devoured books. Until she was in 5th grade when she HAD to read a half hour a night and HAD to do book reports and HAD to read a certain book on a list.

Then reading became HOMEWORK. And it killed her love of reading until her late high school years.

The same thing can happen when something we love becomes something we feel we have to work at because we are “doing it wrong”. Not saying there isn’t always room for improvement and getting better. I am all about that.

But if I sacrifice my “fun”, challenge and love of running and instead try to concentrate on form, cadence and whatever else is considered “perfect” then running will become homework. And who wants to do that??? Well… I know people who LOVE homework…I’m just not one of them!

So…if checking my shadow will help me relax my shoulders which will, in turn, cause less stress on my rotator cuff… then when the sun is out I will make the time to use that as my guide. But, unless how I stride or how many times my foot hits the pavement causes an injury…I’m going to leave perfect running form to others!