Back to Basics

I think I have allowed my running form to get sloppy over the past few months and that may be partly to blame for the knee pain I have been suffering from for the past week.

The knee is improving. I ran in a 3 mile “fun run” sponsored by Front Running Sports to celebrate their anniversary on Saturday. Most of the run was pain free and when the pain did start to emerge I was able to control it by focusing on my form, particularly shortening my stride and increasing the turnover. That worked well and I was able to keep the pain in check.

I employed the same strategy this morning for a 4 mile run and didn’t experience any pain during the run, although I could tell that my knee still did not feel “right.” Unfortunately, after the run I had some fairly intense sharp pain when I attempted a quads stretch that severely bends the knee.

I’ve got the photographic evidence of my sloppy form right here from a 5k earlier this month.

You can see the obvious over striding and heel striking. I made excuses for this picture because it was right at the finish line and I was in the midst of my finishing kick.


However in this picture from the fun run on Saturday, you can see the same over striding and heel striking, although not quite as pronounced. There were no excuses this time, this photo was taken at the very beginning of the run.

Just for kicks, here’s my finishing photo from Saturday.  It’s too bad this was just a fun run with no official time. The field was so small I might have had a shot at an age group medal.

My plan over the next few weeks is to focus on the Chi Running basics and see if I can get back to pain free running. I’m even considering some barefoot running to jump start the correction.

I’ll keep you posted.

Running Bird in Flight

Yeah! I finally got a decent race photo.

I was beginning to think I was destined to never have a great running photo to show off. I’m usually pictured in some awkward pose that hardly looks like I’m running at all, but here I was captured with both feet off the ground in the middle of my kick in the last few yards of the race.

The Rock-n-Run 5k on Saturday was a great event and I managed to PR again by a healthy 51 seconds. 23:07!

I averaged 7:27 per mile and ran at a fairly consistent pace throughout the race, 7:19 was my fastest mile. That elusive 7:00 mile escaped me again, but I’m hot on its tail.

The temperature was about 78 degrees and Florida’s usual high humidity made the air feel heavy. I was sweating heavily even before the start. I’m really looking forward to racing this winter. Give me a dry day with temperatures in the 50’s and I think I will be able to run some impressive times.

Sweet Swag

I’m running in the Autumn Rock-n-Run 5k in Casselberry, FL this Saturday sponsored by the Track Shack and Florida Hospital so today I made the drive downtown to pick up my race packet.

The Track Shack has been a running institution in Orlando for decades. It really is a cool shop. If you ever visit you should make the drive up from the theme parks and check it out.

The packet pickup was quick and well organized as usual. I had a few minutes to browse the racks, but managed to keep my wallet in my pocket this time. (If you recall, last time I couldn’t resist a 20% off sale and took home a new pair of ASICS).

The swag was typical for a 5k around here. A handful of coupons, race fliers, samples of power bars and crackers, and of course a tech T. The T-shirt is pretty cool and may even see some wear when I’m not running.

This race is also my entry in the second DoppelLaufer Virtual 5k. If you haven’t been following along, you can see a list of the entrants here.

There are 14 racers this go round with race PR’s ranging from sub 20 to more than 40 minutes. The action will take place over the next three weekends, so watching the standings change will be like announcing a horse race in slow motion. If we designed the handicap system well it should be a photo finish.

You can follow along with the pre- and post-race taunting here.

My prediction, you ask?

johnnysocko:  The fastest among us, jsock, will have the best time outright but will fall frustratingly short of victory in the handicap adjusted standings.

dwm082:  Don will be dq’d for forgetting to post his results in the thread.  It will have been so long since he posted anything, that he will forget where it is.

JimDo64:  Jim will make the classic error of wearing a new pair of shoes at his race, will succumb to a blister, and limp across the finish line.

middleagedrunner will ignore the advice of her doctor, enter her race, shin splints and all, but will exercise caution and finish well over her current PR.

Maryalicia will race without her James Bond stroller, but racked with guilt, will return to the start to pick up her little girl and carry her the 3.1 miles to the finish.

thingmabobby will try to run the race barefoot and like Jim, will end up limping across the finish line on blistered feet.

SurfingVol will develop a run in his stockings, er . . . I mean "Zensah Sleeve," and the uneven compression will be too much of a distraction for him to be any threat on the race course.

WiGuy performed so well in his last race after fueling up with chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream that he logically decided to repeat the ritual. Following the same logic he will eat twice as much ice cream under the mistaken belief that it will mean twice the speed.

Squeakygirl and Papakeith will become so competitive at the starting line because of their little side bet, that they resort to tripping and hair pulling to slow each other down costing them both any chance of victory.

vcackerman – will miss his race in favor of a Hawkeyes tailgating party.

FaithUpHigh will have a camping flashback, get spooked by imagined spiders and snakes, and end up hopping and shrieking her way down the race course.

BowieLinda – Mysterious Linda was quiet as a church mouse throughout much of the DoppelLaufer taunting but will turn out to be the silent threat on the race course that everyone should have been worrying about. She will be a contender, but her downfall will result from throngs of paparazzi blinding her with flashbulbs, trying to get pictures of BowieDavid’s wife’s hot feet.  The result of an anonymous tip tweeted by JimDoGump.

Shona – in a last minute re-entry, Shona will enter a new 5k, but will accidently pack her climbing shoes instead of her running shoes for the race.

and the winner will of course be:

Virtual Racing is Back!

We virtually had so much fun with the first go round of the DoppleLaufers Virtual Race that we’re doing it again. Participation has virtually doubled already.

We expanded the time to include three weekends to make it virtually easier for people to find a 5k that fits their schedule (9/11/10-9/26/10) and we’ve worked out a handicapping system to virtually level the playing field. Runners of virtually any skill level have a shot at winning. We’ve already attracted people with PR’s virtually ranging from sub 20 minutes to 30 minutes plus.

You can see the details here: Doppel Games September Invitational Race for Virtually Anyone

And the trash talking continues here: DoppelLaufers Good Natured Taunting and Race Reports Thread

I also added a dedicated page for virtual race information here with a list of the participants, their races, PR’s and handicaps.

I will be running in the Autumn Rock-n-Run 5k in Casselberry, FL on 9/11/10.