5K easy

3.1 miles (5 km) | 28:05 | 9:03 / mile (5:37 / km)

Today was an easy three miler. Well, it felt easy, but it was a few seconds per mile under my target marathon pace (of 9:10 / mile), so it was more like a pace run. I concentrated on running the last kilometer with good form, and ran 5:32 with about the same effort as the rest of the run.

I know that I have too much up and down motion in my running form. This means I use more energy bouncing than going forward. That energy translates into a bigger impact on my joints with each step. When I concentrate on good form, I try to imagine that there is a ceiling just a couple of inches above my head and that I have to stay under it. I can tell when I am doing it right, because I move forward at a greater pace (and so my legs actually have to work harder to turn around faster---so I slip back into bad form when I'm tired).

It seems to me that I must look silly running so low to the ground, but the opposite is probably true (I look silly bouncing up and down like Tigger). I should have my wife videotape both strides so I can actually look at them.

I've been trying to concentrate on form because of the sore knees I developed last week. Today my knees felt much better. The were sore after the (half downhill) long run a week ago and the soreness lasted until the long run this past weekend. After two rest days on Thursday and Friday, they were still very sore on Saturday and I was afraid I had really hurt them. Then yesterday, they didn't feel bad at all, which was unexpected. Today, they hurt not really at all. The best thing about today's run was that I felt so normal.

A friend of mine just finished Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota. It was her second marathon. She ran 4:26 something. Her goal was 4:22, but she had been sick and missed over a week of training (and one long run) about three weeks before the marathon. I think she did pretty good---she ran very even splits, with her times for the first 10K, the half, 20 miles, and 25 miles all averaging out to about the same pace.