Friday, July 30, 2010

Reboot

Tidying Up my “Golf Swing”

I’ve been recovering well these past 4 weeks after Milo. I only started running 2 and a half weeks ago, usually not exceeding 5km per run and 2-3 times a week only. Aside from rebuilding my mileage from scratch, the reason for the conservative mileage is that I’m trying to correct my stride.

My left foot heel-strikes. This may have contributed to the left knee patellar tendinitis that I’ve been plagued with since Oct 2009. Wearing stability shoes may have solved the over-pronation but my gait still needs to be corrected. With the dedicated time I have with family and work, signing up to a free running clinic is out of the question. Assessing and reassessing what tools were available out there, I resorted to buying a pair of Newton Distancia Racers ---a reward I gave myself for finishing my first full.

The first few runs had my calves screaming in pain after each run. I had only myself to blame since I got over eager with the shoe and totally scrapped the allowed 10-minute increase per run so that I get used to the new midfoot-strike method gently (my first run was 1km followed by a 5km, which was supposed to be 2-3km only). Walking down the stairs was a real pain for a week and a half.

But the past 3 runs have been ok. My calves have gotten used to my new gait although I feel that I still need to find that “sweet spot” Newton-Running mentioned with regards to midfoot strike. I hope to consciously remember this new gait as I try to increase my mileage. Left knee has not been as painful as before and pace is slowly getting back….or even getting faster?


Speed Test

Thanks to free slots provided by an officemate, I signed up for the Rexona Run 5km event this coming Sunday. It’s like starting all over again since I haven’t ran a 5k race since April 2009. A sub-30 finish is wishful thinking but, who knows? If the racing gods will be kind, I might just beat my 30:29 PR. With MOA (hopefully) providing a flat course, a sub-30 might just be possible if all the conditions are right.

Yup, this Sunday’s going to be fun.

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