I'd Rather Ride

I left home at 6:00 this morning to run the 8.5 miles to work. (Note: I wore shoes. I may be crazy but I ain't stupid.) I focused on running comfortably and relaxed, landing slightly more on the forefoot with the foot under my hips instead of stepping out with long strides, keeping each foot on the ground as long as possible and then peeling them away from the pavement.

The last time I ran to work was back when I was training for a marathon 18 months ago. ('Nuther Note: I'm still on track to run a marathon every 51 years.) This run to work took roughly the same amount of time as before--about 80 minutes and I'm happy with that. (Yet Another Frickin' Note: Need to buy a new watch to replace the one my sweat killed when summer started.) I'm not a racer and besides, this is meant to be fun, which it is to me. The difference I noticed is I felt less tired than before and this evening my body doesn't feel like it ran a great distance. Granted, my memories of running to work last year have diminished so this isn't exactly the most scientific comparison.

Working on technique is a constant. I had moments when I was in the groove and moving along effortlessly. And I had moments where I had to refocus on the basics. We are creatures of habit, you know, so developing new ones can take a while.

With or without shoes, I have the greatest difficulty running downhill smoothly. I'm still jarring and braking. That part is frustrating to me. So I'll be working on that for a while. (Last and Ultimate Final Note: Think of something clever to end this post with.)