Mind over matter

It's only Weds and already the mental part of running is coming to the fore. Most day's it's easy to get out the door, especially when it's a nice day and you've only got a short easy run to contend with. Tues for example was an easy double day with 4 miles on the mill at 6:45am followed by 6 more in the noontime light snow and mild conditions. Don't even have to think about it, 'Just do it, eh!?'

Drumroll... A bit tougher to get going today despite a beautiful, sunny calm day with above normal temps near the freezing point. The reason, a 15 miler with down-hill repeats, sounds like fun eh? Started out with stretching, an easy 1 mile warmup, more stretching and then begin. Ran the repeats on an 800m hill going from Pottery Creek to the top of Joe's Point road, which was mostly snow covered from last night's little sprinkle (only an inch or 2).
As I said, these were downhill repeats which were done at about marathon pace or a bit harder with the focus on form and turnover. First loop in 7:43, then dog it back up the long gradual hill for an 8:04 2nd loop, ouch! better pick it up a bit on those uphill 'recovery' jogs; next repeats in 7:52, 7:51, 7:51 (counting), and 6th (more counting) and last in 7:45! It was a nice feeling to run a bit faster than normal and most of the downs felt fairly smooth. I tried to think faster turnover, quick feet, raising my knees and of course the last 5 miles of the Boston course on tired legs. Some other points from a book that Andrew had lent me also helped.

Downhill running tips from Higdon, Run Fast. Relax it’s free speed!

1. Starting down, tilt forward, from the waist. How much you tilt depends on the steepness of the hill. Lean forward so the torso is perpendicular with the surface of the hill.

2. As you move faster, raise your knees and lengthen your stride to cope with the increased speed and faster stride rate.

3. For better balance, esp. on uneven ground, allow your elbows to rise up and out.

4. To cushion the shock of descent, land more on the balls of your feet than on your heels.

5. Most important is to practice and concentrate but don’t overdo it as it is easy to get injured running downhill with up to 40% more leg shock than on the flat.

After 6 miles of hill repeats, I thought it was enough punishment for the day but still had about 8 miles left to do. And this is where the mind comes into play, the lazy body is tired and wants to go home but the evil master says 'NO, keep going this way, that way, hurry up, no slacking!' . So it was a jog back home for more Gatorade and then a 2 mile measured loop at medium effort which came out a surprising 7:40 pace. Then 5 more around the Point to finish me off in 2:03 . The rest of the day was just resting at the keyboard and even bummed a ride home as I felt too beat to walk the one mile home.

Tonite, it feels nice to sit and type while watching the Olympics out of the corner of my eye. The men's hockey team blew it I guess but they never did come together as a 'team'. Meanwhile the amateurs are doing well for Canada with the medals still coming. Go Canada!

Hmmm, should I go to volleyball Mike? I'll try not to lose my keys ;-)