Week 2 - Day 3

So I was doing the math yesterday and I realized I got in 12 miles of running done in the first week! I've NEVER run that much!! I'm so excited. This week, the stakes are even higher - I'm supposed to get through 14 miles! Wow - I knew that I'd be raking up mileage a LOT but this is great. The best part is - still pain-free I am!! :)

So Monday was the stretch and strength day and since I wasn't feeling so great, we just ended up going for a 3 mile walk. Today (Wednesday) was a cross training day so I did 30 mins on the elliptical followed by weights for the legs, arms and abs. But more important that all that was yesterday's run.

I learnt about cadence :)

Yesterday, I did a 4 mile run. It was fair - not one of my best runs but definitely not a bad one. I guess I just wasn't feeling it. I was distracted and my right hamstring was strained. But one thing that drew my attention was the fact that the length of my stride was varying. When I was more energetic, my turnover was higher - but when I'd begin to tire, it would increase. Unfortunately, that's when I would start feeling it in my quads, and I'd speed up again.

Upon further discussion, I discovered that a higher turnover is actually better for you - even though it's more exerting. But it helps reduce the incidence of injuries which can occur if you're 'overstriding'. Like I said though, it's tiring. So I need to work on building speed using cadence drills, so I don't get exhausted.

Tomorrow is another 4 mile run and I'll experiment then.