Monday was a rest day so rest I mostly rested but I also went to the RunSafe program at UCSF. I definitely got some good information out of it though it was expensive ($200 bucks!). I left with an understanding of what I need to work on (strenthen my glutes and hip flexors) and how that will improve my form. And the next day, I received a set of exercises via email telling me how to build that strength. At the clinic, I started out at the nutrition consultation and found out that most of what I'm doing pre/post run is good. I've read a lot about this so I know that chocolate milk or a latte or yogurt with granola and berries after a run are good things. And a bagel with peanut or almond butter before a long run is also good. I also learned that I should eat the full Gu packet or a full packet of Luna Moons each 45 minutes during a 90 minute or longer run. I usually eat a few Luna moons but not the full 100 calorie packet. Good to know! Then I went to the strength/flexibility station and I didn't learn much at that point but the next day when the exercises were sent to me, I better understood the areas that I need to work on. It was a little weird that during the tests the girl wasn't saying "oh this is good" or "lordy, this is going to need some work..." but that was also smart of her because I would have asked her lots of questions and we would have gone over our time. The next stop was at the podiatrist who looked at my walk, my feet and my shoes. She said that she normally doesn't recommend Nike's but since I am not having any foot trouble and I like the cushioning, there is no problem with me running in those shoes. I learned that I can get neoprene inserts to get a little more cushioning. My foot wasn't hurting at the time so she wasn't worried about that. Then the last part was the running part where they put dots all over you and then you run on the treadmill for about 10 minutes while they film you from different angles. Then the four people you spent time with consult with each other about you and then they call the runners back into the room and they evaluate your running and show you problem ares and what you need to work on. They are able to point out weaknesses in form that are related to weaknesses that they discovered in the strength/flexibility test. The good news is they say I'm a light, efficient runner, not much movement up and down and my cadence is 90 which is supposed to be great. But I have an inward rotation as I run and I step a little bit too far in front when running. They gave me exercises to fix the rotation and told me that as I work on speed, to think about kicking back farther rather than stepping forward more. Try to kick my butt with my feet. So I'll be doing those things. Oh yeah, they also did a body composition and I was happy with the results. I am losing weight, slowly. I was also told that I should lose the weight I want to lose before I start my serious training for the marathon because I can't be dieting while training. Makes sense. Another good thing about that clinic is that I found out that they have a running group that meets once a week to do track workouts, hill workouts or just a regular runs, they have a monthly lecture and do core work before heading out for the run. I won't do it all the time but I would like to from time to time.
Another result of the clinic is that I feel inspired to work on my form and a new desire to really understand how to do proper speed workouts. I am not doing speed work yet but in late May, I'll need to be starting that and I want to do them properly. The UCSF running group should help.
OK, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were all 3 mile days and each one was with my running buddy. He's back and his paw is feeling good! Our stats:
Tuesday: 3.04 in 40:05 at 13:10, Wednesday 3.05 in 41:13 at 13:29 and Thursday 3.07 in 42:24 at 13:46. He definitely slows me down with all of that stopping, going to the bathroom, sniffing, rolling in the grass, etc. But he sure is good company and good fun.
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