a great 11 miles

I had a *great*  *totally awesome* 10 mile run (that turned into 11 miles cause I was feeling so good)!  Plus, I also managed to average a 9:07 m/m pace.  This is exhilarating for me because it means that if I could keep it up that pace for another 2 miles (the equivalent of the HM), I would hit my 2hr HM  target!   What was even better about the run was that I started out doing 9:30 m/m splits in the early miles and then gradually upped the pace to 9:00 m/m splits and ended with at an 8:30 m/m pace.  In other words, instead of slowing down as I got tired, I was actually able to pick up the pace a bit.

About 4 miles into my run I sucked down some gel, and even though I had a bit of a hard time getting it down I knew that it would help boost my carbs, and sure enough by the time I got to mile 5 I could feel it beging to take effect.  By the time I finished the 11 miles I’m pretty sure that I could have done another 2 miles easily, but my legs were getting pretty tired.  Heart rate was steady and strong, and breathing was good.  But legs were getting done.  This next week will be an easier week, with fewer miles and the Burns Park 10K event (www.burnsparkrun.org).  The following week will be another 11 miler.

There is a spot along my route on South Maple where a van hit and killed a cyclist.  It was a tragic situation in which both the cyclist and the van were both going in the same direction and the van driver was simply distracted and strayed right into the bike.  Someone, I’m presuming the cyclists’ family, has taken a racing bike, painted it white and has chained it to a post near the spot as a memorial.  There are always fresh flowers there, but I’ve never seen anyone place them.  It touches me every time I run by.  I think about that guy and wonder what physical and life goals he was striving to achieve when he met the van. 

Most of my runs are on neighborhood streets with little traffic, with the exception of a few that take me down busier two lane roads without a side walk.  I always run facing traffic – I don’t want to be surprised by a wayward car or truck like the cyclist was.  I wave to all the cars that make an effort to give me a wide berth – I want them to know that I appreciate their consideration.  Especially on those roads where traffic is really moving.  Every now and then there will be a bone-head that crowds me and I give them a one-finger wave before I dive off into gravel.  I hate to go into the gravel or the weeds because I worry about slipping and twisting my ankle.  Now that would really piss me off….

Over the last couple of years I have learned so much about running, especially with regards to foot placement and posture…  I’ve learned that I need to land on the meaty outside side of each foot – not the heel – and allow my ankle to naturally pronate to the ball of my foot for the push off.  Take shorter strides.  If I try to stride too big, my heel tends to hit first, effectively slowing me down a tad, and not do my knees any favors.  When I try to do bigger strides, my hamstring starts to twinge a warning, so I’m learning not to do that.  To go faster, I just take quicker strides.

Another thing I’ve learned has to do with my posture.  As I get tired, my body wants to hunch over and gather itself.  But when that happens, it makes it harder to breathe, and I’ll get more tired faster.  So I’ve learned to run with my head up and chin out.  This seems to open the airway in my throat and obviously makes it easier to breath (if you don’t believe me, try it!)  The other thing is to “run tall”, i.e. don’t hunch over.  This lets my lungs expand fully.  But at the same time, don’t run like a stiff stick; I lean into the run a bit, keep my hips forward, so that I am almost falling into each step and my pace is keeping me from falling down.

When going downhill or a downgrade of any kind, I use the negative slope to help me re-charge.  I let my hands drop down and make sure that my feet stay under my frame, being careful not to over-stride.  I found that I can keep my pace and actually increase it a tad, but the real benefit is the re-charging that I feel in my legs and my body.  It’s amazing how it works!

As I start to get tired (which happens of course….), the first thing that I start to check on is my posture.  As soon as I fix it, it’s like I’ve gotten a new shot of gas.  It’s pretty incredible.

More in a bit –