We learned so much on Saturday from the Running Form Clinic held at Fleet Feet in Albany! And I learned more during our run after the clinic! This Freihofer’s couch to 5K training program is fantastic for the complete beginner. I am sure it is also fabulous for the intermediate and advanced, but I can only speak for the experience my daughter and I are having as total newbies. I have read about running and running form, but never having experienced it, this in-person clinic was a huge help. We learned about how shorter strides and more steps is actually better and creates speed. We learned how to “set” our form by relaxing the knees and putting our hands over our heads, and how we are to lean from the ankles not the waist, and lots more.
Our instructor was Charles Woodruff, the owner of Fleet Feet in Albany, and he made our experience very enjoyable despite the delightful “spring” weather of the wintry mix and freezing temperatures. He was so cheerful for so early on a dreary Saturday morning that I almost forgot how cold I was! But his information was worth every bit of discomfort. Charles also asked us to state our goal. I said my goal was to finish the race. This is so far outside of my wheelhouse that if I finish I will be very pleased.
Other things I learned was that my spring allergies need to be handled better (duh! but I had not really thought about that. Newbie, remember?) I need to be more in tune with my body. On day 1, my biggest problem was the lack of restroom facilities. After discussing with my friend, who is an experienced runner, I hydrate the day before and stop drinking 2-3 hours before I run, then hydrate again after. The mistake I made on Saturday was that I had nothing to eat or drink since Friday evening because we ran early in the day. Therefore, I ran out of steam really fast! Lesson learned. It is better to get up early enough to eat a light snack and drink something than to skip food and drink completely before a run. Maybe it won’t be that pineapple upside down bundt cake I’ve made before, but I will definitely eat something.
I also learned I give up on myself WAAAY too easily. I had a coach/mentor running with me at the end, and she challenged me to run towards a landmark. I did it! That felt great! During the cool down I spoke with a 65-year-old lady who told me she runs the 5k in 44 minutes. That is awesome!
Back to our goals, my daughter and I have decided we are excited to find out what our first time will be in June. We are talking about looking into other races. To give the sport a fair try we want to stick with it all summer and see where we are come fall.
Today, Sunday, my daughter and I ran locally. We ran down a dirt road near our house, and it was hard! There is a huge hill that I did not factor in when deciding to run there. When we finished, our ankles were aching. I’m not sure why that happened, but with Aleve in the house, I think I should be ok for tomorrow night.
We got our training plan for this week, and I’m nervous about the 3-minute runs. I might die. Just kidding. I fully expect to survive and continue the training. Looking forward to the lessons of week 3.
Starting Today Fit 