ALEC: Back to it...

Got myself back to the gym yesterday after not having run or lifted for four days for various reasons. I have decided not to use my training app anymore and just let my body tell me how to run. The app was good for me to get started but the more I run, the more I am learning to listen to my body/spirit and let it be the "effortless" guide without trying to control or demand I do it this way or that way. I trained at Crunch in Daly City yesterday and their TM's are so different from the ones that I usually run on here in SF. The first TM that I ran on had this weird frame above the controls of the TM and I realized I was getting dizzy because the height of it was directly in my line of sight. I kept seeing it move up and down. So, I moved onto a different TM that didn't have anything in my line of sight and felt much better. I upped my speed to 5.5 mph on my run intervals to see if I could increase my pace. Much to my surprise, it felt good and easy to run at that level. My shins were giving me some pain that day so only ran for 30 minutes but felt good that I was able to increase my pace. Plan to run 45 minutes tomorrow at 5.5 mph and see how much distance I can cover. Also noted that when I focus on letting all of my "feets" touch the TM, I run much more relaxed. Meaning, concentrating on letting the heels hit first, roll through the middle of my feet and then pushing off with my toes. I was reading an article that talks about the amount of force one pushes off with increases your distance because of the amount of pressure that is exerted. Runners that use more force in the release of the stride run farther than others even though they are running the same pace. I'll try and find the article and post it to FB for those that are interested in the physics or running. Great job to all of us!!! Run on!!!

Peace.

PS - Hopefully will be getting new shoes fairly soon. Kleenex is my friend :)

ALEC: First Day Back on Pavement

Ran in Golden Gate Park yesterday. First day back on pavement since my strain. The first interval was tough. Running on pavement is so different than running on the TM. Was planning to run around Stow Lake but found it cumbersome with so many walkers/tourists. Found a path that led me down to the road that circles Stow Lake and then found a dirt path that took me down to running along 19th Avenue. Then turned back into the park running on pavement. On this run I was listening to Wayne Dyer's interpretation of the Tao. The 43rd verse (the water course way of the Tao) starts..."The softest of all things overrides the hardest of all things. That without substance enters where there is no space. Hence, I know the value of non-action..." Wayne speaks about learning to relax and stop pushing. He states that he has heard marathon runners "just letting their legs, arms and torso just be...shutting down mental interference and instructions...and they always cross the finish line". When I hit the dirt path along 19th Avenue, I took this to heart and just let my body move in the way that it needed to without concentrating on how fast I was running and mental commentary. When RunKeeper announced my current pace, I found that I had actually increased my speed without even thinking about it or pushing myself to do better. Now, that's progress...spiritually and physically. As I hit 45 minutes, I wanted to keep running but heard, once again, LW's voice saying..."steady, steady, steady". Meaning, be disciplined and steadfast...not egoistic and pushing. So, I only ran an additional 7 minutes (forgot to turn RunKeeper back on at the end so it didn't track my total time/distance). The waterfall pic attached to this post is from the end of my run. I have never seen this waterfall before in all the years I have been to GGP. I am sure there are a lot of things at GGP I have not seen. I plan to run different parts of the park so I can really appreciate every part of it. Stretched at the boat house at Stow Lake and then went to look at the cost of bike rentals (want to rent a bike and get used to riding along traffic...to be discussed at a later time). All of a sudden I felt like I was going to faint. I think I did not eat enough before my run (burned 419 calories) and didn't drink enough water. Got a burrito and headed home. Overall, a very good day and run. Legs feel okay this morning, for which I am grateful. Run on, everyone, run on!!!

PS - Remembered to bring kleenex this time...so necessary :)