10k: Week Three

Still feeling rather exhausted at the beginning of this week. I'm realizing that this training plan is designed for a beginning runner who has likely never run 6miles before The focus is on building mileage in a non-impactful way. This is still beneficial to me as I build mileage and endurance toward the marathon. I'm realizing I just need to back off the pace and focus more on how my body feels. It has taken me several weeks into this plan to see and understand the difference in training from the 5k to 10k plan. There are less drastic differences from long run to weekly recovery shakeout runs, and the heavier cross training gets mu body used to the sustained effort with less wear and tear on my body. Getting to bed earlier wouldn't hurt either so that I might recover a little better from training.

Mon 2.5mi+core- I did an easyish 2.5mi around the white water channel and Hawfield Rd at work before heading out to a coworkers going away dinner at Miguel's- our local hole in the wall authentic Mexican restauraunte. I finally tried one of their big ass 32oz beers with some guacamole salsa and chips. We learned to play "stumps" after our meal from which I have a nice bruise as a token- mmm beer and tossing hammers, how fun!

Tue 35min cross- Was going to do another split run but didn't have a car here at the house to drive to the gym so I pedaled my road bike to work and back. The roads are fairly calm around 2pm on a week day. Slower pace than I'd hoped when going up hill but compensated with down hills by trying to pedal the whole time. I took a little break between biking there and back.

Wed 2mi run- I feel much more refreshed today. Using the road bike does use different muscle than I usually use. I did two easy loops around the whitewater channel.

Fri 50min split run- Oops I only did 45min. I biked 25min to work and then changed shorts and ran 20min around the trails. My form felt super sloppy and strange after getting off the bike. I feel like because I haven't lifted weights in a while my stabilizer muscles in my core chain from my ankles, to knees, to hips, to to back have gotten weak and unsteady. I need to get better about going on Tuesdays and making myself lift after cross training.

Sa 4mi long run- The pace for  this run felt great! Wayne and  I ran the 3mi pink running loop at work.plus a lap around the white water channel. We started out pretty easy and picked up the pace a bit as the run progressed. But, it was a nice relaxed and conversational pace most of the time. I do have a tendency to run harder than conversational when I'm on my own. My right knee did hurt most of the run. It's acting like it's not tracking correctly. The pain is just under the left top edge of my knee cap and extends up a little into the muscle that's just above the knee on the front left. I feel like I really should take an ice bath tonight. My gluts are enguaging better but I think my hamstrings are still over powering my quads. I'm powering up hills much better than I have in the past. Up is better than down.

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.

Strive For A Strong Core

Having proper running form (meaning having efficient body motion and mechanics while running) is one of the most important parts of improving and staying injury free as a runner. I did start this marathon journey around the same time last year but I quickly got off track a few weeks after training for the first 5k in my plan because I was not doing any strength training, and my inefficient form caused over use injuries to halt my progress.

So, in hope of staving off the same injury and frustration this year I have found a strength routine that I will be slowly working into my weekly (maybe eventually bi-weekly) training.

I love the opening line to this video! "The key to a happy running life is a strong butt...There is nothing worse than a weak butted runner, cause they get hurt all the time." - Dr. Metzl


If the video doesn't play, here's a link to the video series on the Runner's World website.