A few days after my session with the running coach I could make a start of trying out some of his advice. Only to a limited extent; I think the things he said would make most difference when running on the flat in daylight. When you are running steeply uphill or downhill in the dark, your gait is a bit weird because of the steepness, and you are quite focused on watching where you go, which determines the angle of your head. If you're just running in daylight you don't have to put so much effort in checking where you put your feet. But any start is a start!
One thing I noticed was that I felt sluggish. I thought that might have been because of the very limited time I had had between teaching and running, and I had used that time to quickly wolf down two sandwiches. These may be weighing a bit on my stomach. But later I also figured there might have been some influence of the fact that that week I had donated blood. I never used to notice that, but I am getting older, and demanding more of my body. It takes weeks to get your red blood cells up to the normal level! So that might have had something to do with it as well.
I focused mainly on my arms, and the width of my stride. The length of my stride was not really something I wanted to work on. That is one of those things that I will deal with if I do a flat run. And what my head was doing was indeed entirely in dedication to not stepping into a pothole and injuring myself.
It is not too hard to put your feet a bit further out! I think I could get used to that. And the arms are not a big issue either.
Otherwise it was a nice and social run as usual. It was cold, but after the first hill nobody was really suffering from that anymore. And by the time we reached last high point, the moon came up! That was very beautiful.
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| Moon rising over Llanberis |
After the run there was cake and nosecco, as one of the runners had a significant birthday. It was really nice to toast to her, but we were all sweaty and standing in a very cold wind. Nobody lingered after they had finished their cake and drink! And when I got home I lit a fire. Normally I don't bother on the Tuesday, as I'm not home until 8:30, but that evening it was worth it. I needed to warm up!
If all goes according to plan, my next race will be flat and on the road. That would be an excellent opportunity to practice my new techniques! And I don't think my performance will be stellar, what with the blood donation and all, but I might come out a tiny little bit better prepared for running somewhat longer distances and my knees not falling off…
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