Today was the first day I went out and braved a longer-than-5k distance by myself in a very long time, and I’m glad I did. Although I missed my designated turn and it was much hotter than I’m use to running in, I felt amazing. In order to mentally and physically prepare for the long months of training ahead I’ve begun reading “Cool Impossible” by Eric Orton. I’m only about 50 pages in, but I’ve already began applying his training methods. His secret? Form is everything. And that’s exactly what I concentrated on today.
I knew when I woke up this morning that I was going to tackle a longer run in order to see what kind of shape I was in. Naturally, I was anxious all day thinking about lacing up. Having not had much to eat and feeling a bit shaky right before I hit the pavement, I knew I wasn’t going to be setting any record paces today. I was okay with that. The only thought I had in my mind was “Take Eric’s advice, watch your form.” And so I did. I concentrated on my arm swings, my knees lifting in the air, the way my feet hit the ground with every stride. What seemed so nerve racking earlier in the day began to seem so natural as I went farther and farther. Again, following Eric’s advice, I didn’t want to overdo anything and cause a silly injury. So I decided 4 miles was plenty for my first go around. As I suspected, I didn’t set any record paces, averaging 8:38/mile, but I’m not looking to break records in my training. I’ll save that for race day.
In the next few posts I’ll make sure to share the equipment I use (GPS watch, sneakers, and the like) with a review of each, for all those who are in the market for any of the items. I’m not claiming to be an expert on any of these, but I guess you could call it some tips from one runner to another.
You have to wonder at times what you’re doing out there. Over the years, I’ve given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement.”
-Steve Prefontaine
Until next time,
Sare-Bear
Pursuit of the Full 