Daily Update – July 25th

In preparation for the start of Flab to Fab (Phase 2) tomorrow, I ran a running form test and received the following result:

For reference, the 5k pace of my last race was 12min/mi. The warm-up for this test was at that pace. The actual test was a challenging pace. The test basically says that I am a ground runner vs. an aerial runner. The difference being the amount of time my feet are on the ground. There isn’t a right or wrong category for a runner. The skill section indicates my ground time, landing angle and stride ratio are all good for a ground runner. The strength section indicates good leg stiffness and great reaction force. My balance is slightly off with my right foot having more ground time than my left.

I actually had to run this test twice because the first time, I could not keep up the pace required for the test. My muscles were still too ‘cold’. After the first mile, I was able to hold the testing pace needed.

I followed the test up with a cooldown run of just under a mile. I spent a total of 32min running today. Short, but intense. Today’s run had felt like moderate exertion, but the heat was definitely a factor, even though I ran at dusk. I lost a ton of water through sweat. This is just how it will be for the next month or two before things hopefully cool off enough that I won’t need to run my shirt through a wringer.

My first sub 30 5k training run beginning tomorrow is a 40 min long run. It will be at a moderate to slow pace, targeting the aerobic endurance zone (which for me is 10’53” – 12’18” per mile). Should be a fairly easy run once I get a mile warm-up done.