NicoleMy recovery from Ironman Arizona is pretty much done and now it is time to focus on my next endurance adventure, the LA Marathon. My thinking is to capitalize on my Ironman fitness with an early season marathon and head to the city where my grandparents live so they can see me race.
So now that I’m done with my “off-season” and recovery, how do I get back into run training?
- Since I haven’t run much in the last month, step one is to ease back into running with some short (under 60 minutes) easy endurance runs. This is to make sure the legs and body are ready to handle the stress of running.
- Do hip opening dynamic warm-ups before each run. Here is an example video from elite coach Jay Johnson.
- During these runs I am focusing on my form – the following thoughts go through my head every couple minutes.
- Quick steps. Light on my feet and a relatively quick turnover (90 steps per foot per minute)
- Hips “up.” This is the opposite of sticking out your butt. (Note: if you have tight hip flexors, this will be challenging.) This also helps me stand tall.
- Shoulders relaxed. I don’t want tension in my shoulders and to keep my shoulders from creeping up to my ears I think about sliding my shoulder blades down my back.
- Stretching after every run – at least 15 minutes. Check out yoga for athletes from Sage Rountree.
- Foam rolling every evening with some additional light stretching.
Once I get through a few weeks of sessions like this, my body will be much better prepared to start adding some longer runs and intensity.
Here’s my data from yesterday’s run:
Ignoring the glitch in the HR at the beginning (cold, dry and windy conditions makes for poor contact of the HR strap) it was a great run as I kept my effort moderate but increased the pace on the second half (elevation and tailwind assisted!)
And the route I took:
I am just curious how that park got its name.
Do you think about form when you run?
Nicole
