115: Track Workout #2

I'm in discovery mode. Figuring out what my body is trying to tell me about how it's feeling. I've been given lots of good information from the coaches and mentors about what to watch out for and how to prevent injury. Now I find myself questioning even minor soreness as potential injury flags. I suppose its for good reason though i feel like a bit of a wuss. For example, the foot doc gave us a whole low down on knee pain -- to expect front knee soreness with mileage increase and that outside or inner knee pain is a red flag. So when my left knee started bothering me last night, I was psyching myself up about front vs. inner and where mine was actually hurting. So I busted out the ice pack and iced the left knee before going to bed and when I woke up this morning for 20 minutes. Better safe than sorry, right?

I suppose this small ice exercise is a mental strength builder for later down the training road when after a very long run, lets say 12 miles, I'll be so woofed that I'll need a full-on ICE BATH so that my recovery time will be faster. Who the hell takes ice baths anyway? Ice baths are included in our training packets as recommended regimen to improve recovery time. Supposedly Olympic athletes do this regularly, and since they mentioned it I now notice on TV when they show Olympians with small ice packets plastic wrapped around specific body parts. But really, can you imagine sitting in a tub full of ice for 20 minutes? All I know is I better not feel any pain after that!

Kezar Track, 6:45pm

An introduction to Chi Running and more circuit/strength training: ChiRunning combines the inner focus and flow of T'ai Chi with the power and energy of running to create a revolutionary running form and philosophy that takes the pounding, pain, and potential damage out of the sport of running. Who knew? Our speaker shared that she ran a 50-mile endurance running utilizing the practices of Chi Running. The biggest take away was the focus on form and efficiency.

1) Visualize a needle and a cotton ball. Picture a straight needle running through your entire body from head to toe. Your limbs are the cotton ball surrounding the needle at your core. They should flow smoothly and lightly around the needle....
2) Your feet should be aligned straight and fairly close together.
3) Your shoulders, hips and ankles should be the 3 main points you concentrate on keeping aligned.
4) Your core should be strong with your pelvis straight and not allowing your hips to dip forward or back.
5) When thinking about your arms, hold them at a 90 degree angle, focusing on the back swing and with your arms held close to your body.
6) To position your body to move forward, lean forward starting at your ankles...not your hips or waist allowing gravity to work with you while keeping your "needle" straight and your core strong.

There was more but thats all i can regurgitate in one sitting. It made for a very...concentrated run. Trying to keep all that together and still move in a forward motion is challenging.