5k: Week Six

Trying to manage the length of my runs in quarter mile increments is not easy. If I where running whole miles I wouldn't feel bad about doing an extra half mile. But, for now, in order to stick to increasing my weakly mileage by no more than 10% so I can stay healthy for the duration of my training  I have to remind my self to be careful and as close to precise distance as possible.

Mon 2.75mi- A fun run in the freezing rain/sleet/tiny hail- whatever you call it. My hamstrings are still tight. Need to keep working on that hip workout and improving my back, core, and quad strength. Running downhill on the sidewalk was interesting with a layer of slick little ice balls under foot.

Tue 22min cross+strength- I kept a slower pedaling speed but higher resistance for the whole bike ride. It was a nice change enabling my quads did most of the work. Again, I did two sets with higher reps of the small weight circuit. I need to jump on doing more core conditioning.

Wed 2mi- Passed a guy wearing galaxy pants (like these) on the run today! I am a big fan of bright pants. I did have to push the pace a little bit to hold good form but it is improving and the miles felt easy. Did a small amount of core conditioning. Maybe I should do a small amount each day just to ease into eventually having a specific core conditioning day as part of my weekly routine.

Fri 2.75mi- We drove up to Virginia for Oma's funeral/memorial service where there were several inches of beautiful ice and snow. Having grown up in Florida and then spending most of my life on the coast of North Carolina where you don't see much wintery precipitation makes snow and Ice of any amount rather magical in my mind. I am having to learn how to dress for the cold but having a daily outdoor job allows for plenty of trial and error. We got to go sledding in a relative's neighborhood and I ran on my first hilly slushy salty and icey roads. It is funny to get strange looks from people when running in "miserable" weather. Ran for 22min because I couldn't map out a running distance.

Sat 55min- Got a little ahead of myself and ran for 60min but I felt really good. My form is pulling together. I could feel my gluts and quads engaging. Imbalances between my left and right legs seemed to be working themselves out too. Ran the USNWC parkway and some gravel back roads. Again it's nice to see things that are different from usual.

Need new shoes!

5K: Week Five

Mon 2.5mi run- A warm and rainy winter day. I ran a slightly larger loop than I usually do. it was
nice to get away from the flat downtown area of Mount Holly and do a few more hills and have some varied scenery. I also enjoy putting my weekly research to the test and seeing how I can improve my running. I did a fair amount of research on proper running form and was able to feel a difference in
my muscles and joints while on this run when I implemented a few changes.

Tue 20min bike+strength- Gradually going a little harder each week on the stationary bike. I also amped up the weight and reps a little on the small weight circuit I've been doing.  Nice to leave the gym with my muscles shaking just a little so I know I pushed myself a bit.  We went climbing with friends last night and my arms and back are a little sore before weight training today but my lovely Husband gave me a nice back massage that helped. Didn't get to the hip workout today. I'd planned on doing it with Wayne when he got home but we conked out really early at 6pm.

Wed 2mi run-Not sure it was an easy recovery pace like I'd planed. After doing research and posting the Running Form blog post today I felt I should examine my form during the run. My stride is fairly good and, my arms don't cross my centerline but they may swing in a little more than I'd like. Running up and downhill felt easier now that I am thinking about how I'm doing it. The path I took today in my mind seemed short but my body and exertion told me it was right. I did some foam rolling and the hip workout today before the run. I may address the cadence part of form later but I haven't delved into it very far. My cadence good and steady at the beginning but slowed toward the middle and end. I do feel the other basics of form are more important to master before thinking about the rapidity of my foot steps.

Fri 2.5mi run- I forgot to take the arch supports out of my shoes today before my run. Keeping good form felt fairly easy. I can see how my body has gotten used to doing less work with the arch supports in. I have deffinatly grown to like the more sensory input I get from having less structure to my shoes. It will just take more time for my body to get used to controlling more stabilizer muscles by building up more strength so they don't have to work as hard. Beautiful day but cold- just under 40 degrees. Need new shoes, the cushioning is gone from the forefoot of mine. Did an easy set of the hip workout today. I thinki it may have helped on my run my hips and gluts felt more engaged.

Sat 50 min run- Happy Valentines Day! A hearty day of work from 8:30am to 9:00pm plus my long run. It helped that Wayne had made commitments to be at work at 6am to help set up for the USNWC's Frigid 5k before he ran in the race at 8am. My crazy wonderful husband later told me he reached the first stage of hypothermia (apparently uncontrollable shaking and muscle stiffness/tension) after the polar plunge because he jumped in a second time after he'd cooled down from the run to help encourage another jumper partake in the plunge. He just can't resist encouraging others and trying to pump up the crowd. His gregariousness is something I certainly lack and maybe envy. But he more than makes up for my ineptitude and it's one of the reasons I love him so much. So, anyway, I had an excuse to get up and go to work early to run on the beautiful trails. It was another slow and steady run in below freezing temperatures. It was a good thing I did go early because, I later realized that with the race being run on the USNWC parkway (the only road into work) and the road being closed during the race. There is no way I would have made it into work on time if I had tried to arrive and park just the usual five minutes early before my shift.  All day my mood was happier than usual because I felt like I'd accomplished so much by noon. I'm afraid after dinner wasn't as romantic as my husband had hoped because we conked out early on the couch again after a delicious home made candle lit dinner of asparagus rice pilaf and portabella alfredo chicken, a movie "Romancing The Stone", and a glass of wine.

What is Running Form?

I talk about 'Form' in a lot of my training logs as kind of a nebulous thing that seems to always need to be improved but, what does this crazy runner jargon mean?



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The term 'Running Form' refers to your body's motion while running. Having 'Good Running Form' means that you are running in the most efficient manner you can so that you're not wasting or using unnecessary amounts of energy and, you're also not exerting unnecessary forces to your legs and body that could cause injury over time.

I found this video over on HowCast.com that explains good form pretty well.


There is a debate in the running community on whether it is worth it to try altering your running form. I found a nice article on RunnersWorld.com that describes this debate in pretty good depth, from medical professional and elite coach and athlete perspectives and experiences. It is a little long though, so I'll try to summarize the topic. There seem to be two sides to the discussion. Proponents of running the way your own body mechanics feel right with traditional running shoes vs. mid to forefoot running in more minimal shoes with a more controlled forward momentum.

I seem to fall somewhere in the middle of these extremes. I believe, doing what you can to strengthen your body (core, hips, legs, and even arms) is valuable and is the main factor to achieving good form for your body.
Stride: Strengthening your core, hips, and other stabilizer muscles should allow you to achieve a stride that is close to the body and that lands on the mid foot reducing harsh forces in your legs and joints.
Posture: Keeping a strong back and core should allow you to have a tall and straight torso while running. This will in turn allow you to breath well and take in as much air as possible.
Arm swing: Strengthening your core and arms will prevent your arms from swinging across your body causing unnecessary twisting and wasted energy. Relaxed arms swinging at the top of your hip bones will also allow you to breath easier with an open and forward chest.

Being conscious of how you feel is valuable. I struggle with figuring out the right balance in my own runs. You don't want to try to alter your running form too fast because this can backfire and cause injury instead of prevent it. But be conscious of any extra muscle tension you have in your body while running. Altering your form is going to take effort and feel slightly strange but you don't want to over do it. For a short and sweet article summary check out this article that I also thought was valuable description of what Good Running Form is.

Some thing else that has been added to my training now that I've moved to Charlotte from the flat lands of the coast is hills. I love the beautiful varied terrain but I have noticed soreness and worry about some muscle imbalances when going up and down hill. These hills are what initiated my recent research on form. RunnersWorld.com has a pretty basic but helpful video that describes what changes you should make when running up or down hill.

5k: Week Four

This week was a lot less physically stressful than last week but it felt almost twice as long.

Mon 2.25mi run- Wayne's Oma passed away Sunday night so we drove up to Virginia to say our goodbyes
and give support to Opa and the rest of the family. There was no wireless internet to figure out where exactly I should run so I just ran out and back for 20 min. Again my hamstrings feel pretty tight but I found myself wondering if the higher elevation may have contributed to my perceiving the effort as more difficult.

Tue 20min cross train+strength- I used the stationary bike in the gym again. I like that it gives me steady resistance for the full duration of exercise. When I ride my bicycle outside I feel like I cheat because I can coast and the resistance decreases when going downhill even when I change gears. I did the same general weights I've been doing but started adding in some of the squats and lunges from the Iron Strength workout I'd like to transition to.

Wed 1.5mi run- A mile and a half seems like an effortless little recovery run now. I'm still focusing on form and can't quite figure out how to get my quads to engage like I feel they should. My gluts are nice and sore from yesterday but I find myself getting concerned and frustrated because my running form isn't what I feel it should be. I'm worried i'll get injured because of muscular imbalances.

Fri 2.25mi run-an easy run around the Whitewater Center channel. Hamstrings where tight, gluts and especially quads not engaging. I did have rather bad nutrition today. Chocolate chip cookies for breakfast and a rather sweet carb loaded trail mix for lunch- more than likely a blood sugar crash causing weak muscles and lazy emotions. I did start to realize that my weak core and hips are likely the cause of my leg muscle imbalance.

Sat 45min run- A nice run all in the woods at the USNWC. We started the run around 5:30pm so it was quite dark and hard to see by the time we finished. I pushed the pace a little in hope of engaging the right muscles in my legs. It partly worked but I see now that I definitely need to jump on doing more glut, hip, and core exercises on Tuesdays and long run day. I also did 15(set of 5x3) heel dips as a preventative maintenance for my achilles tendons- a remedy I found in the "Tendons" section of this Running Times article.

I was watching the way my shadow moved while running one day this week, and was struck with a memory of Michelle Jenneke getting a lot of press during the Olympics for her warm up dance and realized weak hips may be a weakness factor I should start working on first. So...I found a simple transitional workout!

Hopefully this will get me closer to being comfortable with doing the more dynamic Iron Strength workout I'm striving for.

5k: Week Three

I started feeling grumpy, sore and exhausted on Sunday. I need to improve a lot of things before I really feel back in the swing of running. I have so many weak stabilizer muscles that I'm afraid will cause my form to break down and cause injuries early. I also need to get a lot better at staying hydrated when at work. I should probably go back to using my hydration back pack.

I wonder if switching my 1.75mi and 1.5mi runs last week did hurt my recovery and contribute to soreness at the start of this week?

2mi run- My leg muscles are super tight and I don't feel recovered at all. I started getting menstrual cramps during the run (sorry probably TMI) but this is a good thing. It may explain why I'm feeling so exhausted and could mean I might be over this crummy mental and physical feeling by the end of the week- Here's hoping.

20min cross train+strength- I do feel better after the biking. My legs have loosened up a bit. Again I only did a small amount of strength training but I'd still like to try to ad in a second day later this week.

1.5mi run- Felt much more rested and recovered today. My form is still off and my hamstrings are tight because of the shoe change I guess (see link in second to last paragraph). I'll definitely be doing more lunges and squats to strengthen my gluts and hips.

2mi run-I felt really good today and was able to open up my stride a bit to have better form.

40min long run- Definitely an LSD (long slow distance) run but I can feel slow improvements in my form. My gluts are starting to even out and my quads are starting to get a little more use.

I found This Article this week and had a small ah-ha! moment. I did take the arch supports out of my shoes last week, maybe Wednesday, and I bet that is affecting my legs and causing my calf and hamstring soreness. I took them out because over time when I wear out my shoes I start to run so far on the outside of my foot that I nearly rolling my ankle every time I land a step...so I guess I really need to get those new shoes and start a slower transition into them.

At the beginning of this week I had so many of my fears com out. I'm afraid that I'm only 3 weeks in- barely over 1/4 of the way through just my 5k plan- and my body may not let me reach my goal. The thought of potentially doing three marathons seems especially daunting right now, let alone making it to the starting line of one. I must maintain a positive mental attitude. I have to remind my self to take things one day at a time, and to just do what I can. Recovery is an important part of training- something I've never been good at.