Marathon Training : Week Four / Rhythm

Running Recap: 

• Tuesday /  3 Miles / Easy (man my legs were sore from 5 days off running) 
• Wednesday / 6 Miles / Pace 
• Thursday / 3 Miles / Interval 
• Saturday / 13.1 Miles / Running Mad Half Marathon  2:13:50 (no PR but it was HOT!) 
• Sunday / Cross train / 1 hour bike ride  

The intention for this week was literally rhythm, and when I set this intention, there really was no deep meaning behind the word.  The first three tenets of Good Form Running are posture, lean, midfoot strike (which I haven't purposely worked on, I have very small feet and truly can't feel the difference between a heel, midfoot, and ball strike.  We learned in GFR that this principal will fall into place on it's own when the other three are mastered).  The final is cadence.  180 footfalls per minute.  That's SMOKIN.  1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4.  Pretty much as fast as you can clap your hands.  Now count that while lifting your feet simultaneously off the ground and propelling yourself forward.  And don't forget your potato chip hands and your gangsta lean.  

Being a band geek, I have a decent internal metronome, and 180 beats per minute is a Prestissimo tempo (meaning very fast, no joke!).  While most people run to techno, dance and rock music, I have the interesting preference to run to jam bands.  So generally, my steps are in double time to Dave Matthews Band, O.A.R., Mumford & Sons.  Happily, Everlasting Light by the Black Keys is EXACTLY 180 bpm, and I've always noticed how good it feels to run to this song! 

Finding this insanely quick groove requires a watch (count one foot's falls for twenty seconds, you need to be at 30 strikes), a metronome (seriously, they sell these in running stores for this purpose but I have used a metronome app on my phone), or even just the right playlist (google 180 bpm play lists).  This REALLY narrows your stride and is the cadence you should use whether you're running fast or slow.  How in the world does this work?!  Shouldn't you move your feet quicker to run faster?!  Nope.  To run faster, you push back further and lengthen your stride, and hustle that foot back up under your hip.  I've discovered heiny muscles I didn't know existed. 

And I'm not going to lie, it's painful to try to change your stride.  Booty muscles are sore, the tops of my feet ache.  My legs themselves are sore (and this is a feeling I rarely experience anymore with a regular running schedule).  My body is hurting after 25 miles last week (my highest mileage week ever! Hoo Rah!) but the sick person deep inside me loves these new pains!  Sometimes, it's about finding our rhythm in life, where we're in the groove, loving that perfect pace, perfectly in step with where we need to be.  And sometimes in running, it's about finding our literal rhythm.  180 footfalls per minute at a time.   

MRTT Angels Pre-Running Mad Half Marathon 

(PS, that is 24,120 steps) 

Week Five's Intention: Restoration