Running Form - No More Chicken Wings

For tonight's workout I think the runners that are new to speed work (been doing the last 3 weeks with me) should go back to 1/4 mile repeats.  Now that you have some experience though, I want you to aim for doing 6 of them.  Plan your pace and your energy accordingly.  (The "master" plan will have us progress to 1/2 mile intervals next week then your first attempts at 1 mile repeats, two weeks from now.)

Speaking of speed work, I did a 10k on Sunday morning which is a race distance I've only done a couple times.  It certainly wasn't a banner day for me race-timewise, but from about a mile in I was thanking my lucky stars for the speed work nights I do with TRY.  I was using all the tricks in my repertoire and all the tricks I practice on speed work night: thinking about maintaining efficient form.  Thinking about deep, consistent breathing.  And thinking about staying calm while running under duress.  Despite not being in the shape I should be for this time of the summer, I used my experience of running near max exertion level to run a very efficient race and I was able to slightly speed up at points in the race, such as when I knew I "only" had a mile left to go.  It was a great example of why it's ideal to practice what you are going to do on race day...and I remember thinking that I wanted to pass that along to TRY...that the physical and mental reps you are putting in on Tuesday night will help you down the line.  And you'll be a better runner because of it.

A couple things are coming up - free Syracuse Chiefs baseball game this Friday night.  "Tailgate" starts at 6.  Game starts at 7.  A fun fireworks display follows the game.  Let me know if you want free tickets.  Family and friends are welcome to join in as well.  I'll have a pile of tickets with me tonight...or I can also hand out more in the parking lot Friday night.

Since we have a lot of new people, I'm thinking it's time to attempt a social outing after TRY.  So, NEXT Tuesday night, if you can, set aside some time to hang out after the run.  Since it's become the unofficial after TRY hangout this summer, we'll plan on heading over to the Cobblestone, right in Liverpool.  It's convenient, has some fun food and drink choices and is usually empty enough (probably go to the backside of the bar) that having 10+ people show up will not be a problem.  Can even do darts or shuffleboard to liven things up if people want to.  Plan accordingly for next week, please.

Now for this weeks learning point: something for the newer runners in particular, but something we all can use a reminder of.  Good running form.  I like the way this article described things and the colorful terms to help point out when you are doing "zipper lines" or "chicken wings".  The "holding chips" I can take or leave, but the first two I like a lot.  Everyone please read this Good Running Form for Beginners article as I know a few of us could use it.  It specifically addresses arm and upper body running form which is the easiest to notice and the easiest to fix.  Tonight, when doing your speed work, think about your arm form while doing your fast portions.  That way it's only for 2 minutes (for example) as you are doing your 1/4 mile.  Then, relax and don't worry a thing about your form while doing your recovery.  Another thing I do while running at the park is watch the runners coming towards me. I quickly assess their arm form and use their mistakes to remind me what not to do. If you pay attention tonight you'll see plenty of chicken wings and zipper line violations coming towards you.  Work on it so that that's not you with the obvious inefficiency.

Finally, our dynamic warm-up seemed to be enjoyed last week.  But I think the pike stretch did not fit in with the rest of them.  And I'm not sure how much it helped?  (Could have been me not doing a good job on them or not using the proper form, certainly.  But the others clearly showed my lack of flexibility to the world, which I took as a good thing for the exercise.)  I do think we can do extra (say 20 instead of 10) of the leg lifts and the butt kicks as it seemed like they were over before they started because it is such a quick repetition.

And if we have time, I want to add in a couple exercises from this set of Foot Work Exercises that Malinda was kind enough to send along.  The squat jacks may be tough to do on grass and the single-leg mountain climbers look a bit too tiring for before running, but lets at least try the single-leg directional hops and the three point lunges as I think they'll fit right in with the moves we started from last week.

I realized there is no fun pictures this week...hopefully I get off by buttocks and FINALLY get the boilermaker photos published in this space for next week.