Objective: 4 easy, 4 moderate, 1+ easy, with hill sprints (sort of; see below) Conditions at 4:50 AM: Same as yesterday: 39F, heavy mist, SE wind 5-10 mph After run: 15 min strength work OK. About those hill sprints... With apologies to Mr. Brad Hudson, I decided to sprinkle them throughout my run instead of bunching them at the end, seeing as how I get a steep grade hill at least once every mile in this neighborhood, and "rollers" in between. I'll admit, I have a very hard time following rules. Not to say that I won't do it "right" in the future, but I really liked just throwing the sprints in here and there when a short, steep hill presented itself. I have an addition observation about arm swing, to continue the discussion from last week. Thomas Miller recommends the arm swing that Deena is using, where the forward motion brings the hand up and in, close to the heart. The Chi Running guy says to keep the arm at a 90 degree angle. Both recommend (along with other coaches) that the elbow come backwards pretty far (for speed anyway). Sooooo... today I did an informal experiment with both methods to compare them. I believe the Miller/Deena Way felt easier and more natural. It seems like the concept of centrifugal force is at work here: that the arms require less energy to swing when they are kept close to the body. What do you think, bloggers? And by the way, I am equally preoccupied with the whole push off vs. heel lift motion, but I just don't have anything to say about it. haha Special treat today. A guy on Ravelry (that's my virtual knitting community) posted a link to his wonderful photo essay of his Boston Marathon, here. (Surprised at guys who knit? Don't be!) Hope you're smiling by now. :) Sno
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