Running Demons Week of 2022-03-21

[John Zombro]

First off, kudos and shout out to Bill! Great job in that 10k run and way to represent!

This week we are continuing our “gear” focus but not talking about shoes. It’s about watches, monitors, and trackers. This gear is good sometimes, but really what I hope for you to achieve is a feel for your own “gear.” What I mean here is “what gear are you in?” as in how do you feel and how fast are you going? Over time, it’s a great tool to learn your heart rate/effort level and pace without looking at an extrinsic device. Nothing wrong with recording data, but see how closely you can estimate before you check. One way to practice this is to run on a measured course or track once or twice per week. The benefit is once you know your “gear” you can always peg output and get more effective, non-random workouts.

This is an interesting concept. Let me know what you think?

[Bill]

Thanks coach JZ! My 10k time was better than expected and no injuries. Learning about foot strike, arm movement, breathing and running efficiently from you these last few months made a difference. I used them all at different points during my run.

I am a proponent of running by feel, though it’s probably because I haven’t bought all of the fancy gear. In other sports, I experienced a real satisfaction when I know that I am doing something well just by the feel of it. When it doesn’t feel right then it is usually time to make a slight adjustment. I likely need more practice or more conditioning to get a feel of what gear I am running in. Looking forward to it.

[John Zombro]

Yeah, it’s an interesting phenomenon. At first you just have to run enough to get some miles in but then over time you really get that feel for exactly how fast you are running. I just watched Indoor World Championships this weekend and it was impressive to see how all the elite runners have that instinctive pace feel. They don’t wear watches and rarely even pay attention to the split callers. They just get in the groove and make micro adjustments.

[Kati Hengel]

Great work Bill! I am glad that you enjoyed yourself on the Run to the Pub. That was one of my favorite runs (I haven’t ever tried the 10k course though.) We missed you in the masterclass.

I find running without gear to be challenging. I do think it is from running track/xc from middle school to college and just becoming programmed to be monitoring either time, distance, or both. Trail running helped me to deprogram some of it, but I am a work in progress. I will say that tonight I went on a yog afterwork and stopped to smell the cherry blossoms that are in bloom and explored a new neighborhood by my house, so maybe I’m more disconnected from the gear than I give myself credit for.

p.s. I was glad to see Purrier St. Pierre get a bit of redemption at the Indoor Worlds!

[John Zombro]

Yo K-Katt. I would agree that you are versatile and maybe being hard on yourself. Love it that you are smelling the flowers. That’s what life is about…not always taking ourselves too seriously. Try measuring your runs by how many birds you see, how much sweat your shirt holds, or the change in evening light!

[John Zombro]

Demonic ones! I hope you are feeling the spring coming on. I’d like to suggest that you sneak in a couple hill reps in an upcoming run. When you come to a nice hill (not too long, not too steep) that’s maybe 100 yards, stop and prepare for 3-4 reps. Run up strong but not hard, walk back down, and repeat. You’ll be amazed at how your stride feels on the rest of your run. Just don’t push too hard right now.

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