It was a cool morning yesterday. Yes, 59 degrees cool. I ran well.
I only had 3 miles on my plan for yesterday, so with some encouragement from TJ, I decided to pick up the pace a bit.
I have noticed that at a faster pace my achilles/foot issues don’t seem to be as aggravated, so with the cool morning and only three miles I picked it up.
- Mile 1 – 8:51
- Mile 2 – 7:53
- Mile 3 – 7:44
It felt great. I concentrated on my form. However this time I thought more on what my legs were doing behind me rather than in front of me. I read something a few weeks back on the ShutDownRunner’s blog. He mentioned about working on kicking back and getting power from his legs that way. Also I had read in an ebook recently about the fact that it isn’t as important on what part of your foot you land on as long as it is under you and not in front of you.
So I chose yesterday to not worry as much about where my foot landed and think more of what was happening with my legs as I pushed off.
Does that make sense?
Anyway, it was a good run. That along with some breathing hints given to me by @BigBigGeek on Saturday’s run made my run much better.
My goal for this week is to run 4+ miles each day. My weight is up a bit so I need to lose several pounds. I’ve noticed in the past when I run at least 4 miles in a day, I lose weight if I don’t eat poorly.
278 to Boston 
I am a big-time heel striker, and I just can’t seem to change my stride. I try to focus on not overstriding and avoid freaking out about how my foot lands. Glad it was a good run!
Thank you. I’m with you. From what I’ve read, it seems to matter more that your foot lands under you then on which part of your foot you land on.
Good to hear! A good knee lift is also important. It brings your foot through in a nice cycle and allows mid foot contact with the ground beneath your centre of gravity, but so long as you’re not over striding and therefore hitting the ground heel first with the weight in front of your body, you should be alright. Nice to see you’re getting your pace back as well!
Thanks. And thank you for the help. I really appreciate the feedback. This running thing can be complicated. 🙂
Strong work on those splits! You will be hitting 3:30 for sure if you keep this up!
Lord willing!!! I’m looking forward to your 3:30 on Sunday!!!
Awesomely done! That makes a ton of sense, I am going to pay a little more attention on my next run. 🙂
Thank you. I hope it helps. 🙂
I think I’m going to pay more attention to where my foot is landing with respect to my body. I have a feeling it is more in front of me than under me, but not sure. Thanks for making me think!!!
You’re welcome!!! I hope this helps as it did me. 🙂
Thanks for the shout-out. Negative splits! Awesome.
Sure. Thanks for writing a great blog!!!
I have to be careful with my push off because I think that’s how I injured my foot. The joint of my second metatarsal was getting hammered by the push off especially going uphill.
Hmm. Thanks for letting me know that. I will definitely be careful. I hope your foot held up on your trip. 🙂