Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Anniversary Run and Working on Proper Form

Yesterday I had the most amazing run.  It was almost a heavenly experience, one of those runs where you're on "the high" the entire time.  It was my Runner-versary, 6 years since my life changed because I decided to become a runner.  I decided to celebrate with a treadmill at work.  

I have a half marathon coming up in October that I'm a pacer for.  It's my first time serving as an official Race Pacer, and I'm doing it at a pace slower than my norm.  So I've been attempting to spend more time at that particular pace in an effort to make it a comfortable "zone" for me.  A treadmill is perfect for this sort of thing, since you plug in your pace, and get going.  My goal was to do at least 5 miles, but not commit to anything.  Just to...go!

When my music started, I was hooked.  It'd been some time since I've run with music, since I'm almost always chatting with Isla or my running partners lately.  My music was a welcomed change and really helped me sync into a great zone.  

I struggled with the slower pace, as I had a lot of pent up energy and really wanted to run the crap out of myself.   For that, I was particularly glad I had chosen to do this workout on a treadmill.
Another cool thing is that when I run at the gym, I have the opportunity to evaluate my form, as the treadmills are next to a wall of mirrors.  I've been particularly focused on my upper body positioning lately, as my hands tend to do wonky things when I run without a stroller and I've caught myself in the T-Rex Runner position a few times lately.  Not cute.  Not effective.

Also, I've learned through Coach training that while you're holding your elbows at a 90 degree angle, you're not concerned about pushing your arms forward, only backwards.  I've always been one to push my hands forward with every step, but really you should be pushing your elbows back with each stride.  It SOUNDS the same, when you're talking about it, however, when you're practicing this in motion, it's a completely different sensation and much more effective at balancing out and lengthening your stride.  Also, when you're focus is pulling back, you're less likely to T-Rex your arms, and cross your chest.  

When I really focused on my arms doing this motion correctly, my stride was a lot easier, and my whole "run" felt lighter.  It's definitely something that I'll continue to work on.  I think that using a treadmill, especially one near a mirror, will be really helpful for monitoring and working on my form.

Thanks to Katy Perry, I was able to "ROAR" through 8 miles with a smile, and was sad to have to stop!