Cavedog Running

Had a good first week coming off the Lake Louisa 5K last Saturday. Ran everyday for a total of 55 miles. All miles were run aerobically around 145 beats per minute. Had a good time at the Watermelon 5K placing 17th overall (still don't know age group standings). Miles would have been higher, but I stink at getting myself out of bed in the morning, so I didn't get out for a 2 hour run Sunday morning. Instead, I punished myself by running 6 miles at 1PM when the feels like temperature was over 100 degrees. I usually do my runs in the evening and could get away with it during the winter. Going to have to really motivate myself to get up and run in the morning now.

I have been working a lot on run mechanics. One thing I discovered was how much arm carriage plays into everything. I knew the arms control your cadence and to some extent where your foot strike will be (the closer your opposite hand is to your hip, the more underneath foot strike will be). By doing a little reverse engineering, I built a harness that will train you to achieve proper arm carriage that is more like you will see with Kenyan runners. I first saw the harness at www.stridemechanics.com where I already have the book. The harness was easy to make and saved from spending $18. Basically, the hands are a bit higher close to your chest. The main movement is backwards with the elbows which aids the toe off portion of your stride. By keeping the hands close to the chest, it is almost impossible to overstride and helps keep you to a midfoot landing.

This week will be about the same schedule except a 5K time trial and a day of strides is thrown in. Hopefully, I can get myself up in the mornings so I can get a 15-30 minute run in to get the blood flowing before work. No races until the the 26th for the next Watermelon. The big week is after that July 4th weekend where I will run a total of four races in 18 hours. Will start off with the Lutz Independence Day 5K Saturday morning, then the Kiwanis 1 mile, 5K, and 10K midnight run in Dunedin to cap off the day. Pretty much a broken up half-marathon in the heat and mugginess.