Run to Win

2009 has come and gone, and 2010 is about to start.

This year didn’t quite go as planned. I was off to a great start, but my training was thrown a bit off between breaking my foot in July, totaling my car in November, and getting a nasty case of bronchitis in December.

This year I ran 339 times for a total distance of 2002.3 miles in 14 days, 6 hours and 43 minutes. That is over 600 miles fewer than I ran in 2008, although total time on my feet was about the same, and was far short of the 3000 to 3500 miles I had planned on running this year. It was still over 100 miles further than I ran in 2007 and over 600 miles further than I ran in 2006.
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Just saw this video by fellow Dirigo runner Scott Douglas over at Running Times, where he details how and why to do a Diagonals Workout at least a few times per week:

Diagonals are a relatively low key type of exercise that are focused on leg turnover.

You just need to find a field, kick off your shoes, and do a combination of running and jogging for a set duration of time. Generally speaking, you will jog along one edge of the field, run diagonally across to the opposite corner, jog along another edge of the field, and then make another dash to the opposite corner once you’ve reached the end of that edge, as shown here:

Try working them into your regular routine and then come back and comment on your results!

(Video Source: Running Times)

I was looking through the USATF website for next year’s grand prix race schedule, which hasn’t been updated yet on the grand prix page. Scrolling through last month’s news posts, though, I did find the schedule so now I can plan around that a little:

GRAND PRIX SERIES VOTED FOR 2010
November 20

The 2010 USATF-NE Grand Prix Series has been selected by an online vote of the membership. A total of 440 votes were cast during the one-week period from November 11 through 18. The results of the vote have been verified by the LDR Chairs and the winning schedule is Slate “C”, as follows:

* Jones Group Realtors 10 Mile, 10M, Amherst MA, Sun, Feb. 28
* New Bedford Half Marathon, 13.1M, New Bedford MA, Sun., Mar 21
* Bedford Rotary Memorial 12K,12K , Bedford NH, Sat., May 22
* Rhody 5K (MEN ONLY) ,5K ,Lincoln RI , Sun., June 6
* Stowe 8 Miler, 8M, Stowe VT, Sun., July 18
* Bridge of Flowers 10K , 10K , Shelburne Falls MA, Sat., August 14
* Providence Ronald McDonald House Women’s Classic (WOMEN ONLY) 5K, Providence, Sun, Oct. 3

In a separate vote, the Marathon selected is the Bay State Marathon, Lowell MA, Sun., Oct. 17, 8:00 AM

The vote was the final step in new process in which a selection committee consisting of the Long Distance Running Chairs and representatives from the clubs created a ballot from the 17 bidding races with 4 slates of non-marathon distance races, a separate ballot question for the marathon distance and a survey question on a post-series awards banquet. The Survey Question for a banquet was 54% in favor.

I’m looking forward to a return to regional competition this year; hopefully my running club can field a team at some or even most of these events this year.

(Source: USATF NE)

When you are running at the edge of a road (or along a grassy hill or on a beach, for that matter) you may sometimes notice that the road isn’t exactly flat. The reason for that is because most roads have a camber to them that helps water drain off of them rather than pooling up in the center of the road.

The camber is any curve on a surface, and in this case refers to upward curve from the edge of a road towards the center.

The more severe the camber to the road, the easier it is to roll an ankle or to develop a muscle imbalance.

When a road is steeply cambered, you may find that one leg is at a slightly lower elevation than your other leg, which can throw your stride off.

The leg that is closer to the center of the road will feel like it is a “longer” leg than the other to your body, so your body will compensate through the way that it bends at the knee, how much your foot flattens on impact, and how much your leg rotates inward as you are running. This can lead to knee or hip soreness.

If you do find yourself running on steeply cambered terrain, try running on different terrain or different routes if you can. If you have to run on the same streets, try running them in the other direction (if local laws allow) or by running at the edge of the road on the shoulder rather than on the road itself. Icing and self massage will also help the soreness go away.

(Photo Source: Alistair Croll)