Wall? What wall?

So, yesterday I went for a run. It was a spur of the moment thing. I did some very basic stretches and went out for the six mile run. Started out really well, and then...I just kept going.

I figured given my week of inactivity I would walk a few times, but it never happened. I just kept running, and running well.

When I got to 5.5 miles, no wall seemed apperant. So, even though it was dark, I tacked on the extra mile.

Seven miles. The best part was, I got it in at about 1:20, or 10 minutes faster than I ran six miles the week before.

The key, I think, is not avoiding the wall, but to avoid creating it. If you slow up and walk, it throws you out of rhthym. These mini-walls, if you will, are more or less mental. Your mind thinks you need a break. If you can push past it, the feeling usually passes. If you cave in though, you may experience a short burst of energy, but the feeling returns eventually. And those small breaks are building towards one, very real wall. The big wall, which is that absoulte feeling of exhaustion, is also mental, but at the end of the run, you really are tired. Your muscles are going to ache, your going to be sore (I am this morning) and you're going to be tired.

If you can avoid the minor walls along the way, the walls that pop up when you're actually fairly fresh, you can run through the big wall at the end.

Now, watch me crawl home after hitting a bigtime wall tomorrow. I'll keep you posted.

In honor of what I hit at mile 5.5

Here's a live version of Kansas' " The Wall"

Ow.

Six mile run and the dangers of running during festivals

I'm stepping up my march to the Half Marathon, breaking out this six mile route. It comes complete with back road goodness and even some hills, something that I did not think existed in Illinois.

I looked up some back stretches prior to this one too, in an effort to loosen that up. My back had been nagging me for awhile, and it turns out there are some simple things you can do to get it ready to run. I used three primary...uh...positions, for lack of a better word.

1. The Plank

Lie on your stomach. Prop yourself up with your elbows and toes, straighten out your back so its like a blank. (Light as a feather...stiff as a board...haha) Hold the position for 10 seconds, relax, repeat until your back is able to carry heavy set children away from the donut machine about five times.

2. The Bridge

Lie on your back, with feet firmly on ground. Lift your ass in the air (buttocks, for those sophisticated readers I have) and make a straightline from shoulders to knee. Hold for five seconds, relax, repeat.

3. Wall slide

Stand up against wall, with feet 18 inches away from said wall. Slide down the wall until knees are at a 90 degree angle. Hold for a few seconds, then somehow slide back up the wall (I kind of just worked my way up, as wall wouldn't permit me to slide)

Those three worked really well, back trouble was minimal during he run, and it made a difference.

What else made a difference? The Little Egypt Festival, which quarantined off downtown. As I ran down U.S. 50/Main Street, I was feeling pretty good. Tired, but good. And then I came to the barricade.

Now, I could have gone through. I'm a pedestrian after all. But, seeing how I'd have to wait for the inane amount of traffic that occurred at this spot (I think the peoples were trying to get to Hardee's) I decided to run down Westgate to get to Whitaker, which I would take anyway, I'd just join it sooner than I thought.

Of course, this plan turned into epic fail because all the cars that couldn't get to Hardee's were coming my way now. So, on the corner of Westgate and Whitaker, I stood there, waiting to cross the street. I'm not a big fan of the game "Dodge the Traffic" as that game has a tendency to rely on other people having functioning brakes and the reflexes needed to use them. By the time I finally got to cross the street, my aches and pains caught up with me, my rhythm was all out of whack, and I grinded out the last mile to home.

Still made it, despite the quasi-taunts from a car of high schoolers, whom will all undoubtedly be obese in three years. That however, is a rant for another day.

The plan is to try this run again Monday morning, except without that annoying parade. Seriously people, hold festivals when I'm not training for a half marathon.