A Passion for Running

I biked commuted this morning and was really tired and achy when I arrived at work. I think the heat and lack of sleep from the past two days has been tough on the body so I decided not to do my two intervals on the Peace Mile and just to try and shake the legs out for 40 minutes.

I got a nice surprise for my lunch run today. The high was supposed to be 24C/75F but at noon it was only 20C/68F with a nice light drizzling rain. It was still very humid but a what a relief compared to the past couple of days!

Surprise #2 – Nick decided to join me at the last minute. I love running with Nick. He is so positive about running and is one of the most supportive people you could ever meet. He’s also super modest about his accomplishments. He’s participated in the Commonwealth and Olympic Games and holds the Guinness World record for the fastest mile run in Snowshoes – 5 minutes 56 seconds! I’ve never run that fast in my running shoes!

I often call him “Coach”. In fact, it was me that hooked him and my “Little Sister” up. He now graciously and freely gives his time training Corinne who he now calls “disciple”.

We had some good conversation on the run which I’m pegging at about an 8 minute-mile pace and I quizzed him on some stuff. I’ve been reading a lot about speed and strength training lately. I’ll save the details but one I’ll share is that Nick told me I can greatly improve running strength by doing some running on my toes – especially while climbing hills. The idea is to run mostly on your toes and to lift the knees high on each stride. The run becomes almost like bouncing along. Another way to think about it is to imagine running on hot coals. Presumably, if you do this on training runs, your normal run/race strides will be stronger and more efficient.

Have you ever tried that? I did it today with Nick’s supervision and it was neat! I can see how it would increase overall running strength cause I could really feel it – especially in my arches and calves. I will definitely be incorporating it into some of my runs.

On the way back we ran the second half of the Peace Mile in 3:20. That’s a 6:40 minute-mile pace and equal to the speed I generally do Yasso 800′s but what was different about today was that the pace seemed quite easy!

A very enjoyable run and mission accomplished: The legs are loose now.

Thank you “Running Gods” for not making me bake in the heat!