Well the snow is getting here just in time for the winter training season. That’s very nice. It does require that all of you who are going to be doing the miles this winter take extra precautions. Slippery roads and drivers that don’t slow down on them, make for greater risk. So it’s up to you to exercise intelligence in how you get your miles accomplished. If you run from home, then maybe you have some routes that are more safe. If you are thinking of running from the school after you get out, then I recommend very strongly that you group together with someone who can drive and bring yourselves down into town when the roads are getting deep with snow. It’s far more safe on city streets than it is on Long Lake or Cedar Run. If and when I meet with you guys after school it will be in town when the snow is piled up.
So I ran 13 miles on the VASA trail this morning, what did you do?
As I told a couple of you last week, it’s time to just get going without being too structured. Right now, for another week I recommend that you get out the door for runs 5 or 6 days. Each time that you go out it should be for between 4 and 7 miles. It should be kept easy, just a steady, comfortable pace. It isn’t about going any where too fast right now. It’s primarily about simply getting out there and logging time and physical practice. That’s the way it will be for most of the winter, so it will be nice to break it up with different activities once in a while.
Really for the winter, running between 4 and 11 miles each day, preferably 6 days a week is what you should look for. When the going gets slippery, nothing is very fast anyway, so it’s just about being out there. Upper class men can talk to me about running twice a day if you think that you have an interest. I have a particular method that I like to see happen, and we need to be sure that you are prepared for it as well.
Winter is also a good time to work on refining your running form as well. You’ve all just seen yourselves in the slideshow, now what is it that you need to work on? Conscious repetition of improved form makes an eventual improvement of movement patterns. It just comes from repetition, and you have to be conscious of it. Think of what I’ve already taught you.
So get out there this week, run 4 to 7 miles for at least 5 days. Alternate short day – long day, so that you get adequate rest & recovery, and you’ll be doing well. Z
