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April 17, 2005
Focusing on Form
At the 15k yesterday, one of my fellow club runners told me to "relax" as I passed by him. That got me wondering if I looked all scrunched up or something. He later said that my shoulders appeared high and tight and arms swung a bit high. I might have dismissed it, except that my right trapezius muscle indeed became extremely agitated in the later miles (as all my back muscles do in long races). So, when I did my 7-mile easy run this morning, I tried to relax and remain aware of my upper body. My form did regress when my mind wandered. I woke up early to run before church, and it was so nice to be outside when it was peaceful. I could hear the birds and smell the crispness of the air, as there weren't many cars out yet. It's not often I get to appreciate this.
I spent more time reading journal articles for my paper, which I've had to re-outline because I realized that my concept of application domains within the network operating systems class was incorrect. Boo-ey, but better that I it happened this weekend than at the eleventh hour.
Today I had my second to last swim lesson before the triathlon and again, good form was a major topic of discussion. C. constantly corrects how I pull underwater, but it's been difficult for me to tell if it gets better because I can't see my arm for too long. The manner in which she explained it today finally made the light go off in my head, though it will take practice to break the bad habit. We also practiced some breaststroke, which improved a bit once we fixed my arm positions.
Best of luck to everyone running Boston tomorrow! It's such a fun race and I can't wait to hear everyone's personal stories. Remember to relax and have fun!!!!
Posted by Leilani at April 17, 2005 09:26 PM