During my long run yesterday, my mind wandered a lot. As I plugged away on the treadmill (tired of subzero windchills) I started thinking about running form.
Good form is critical to running well – the more efficient we are as runners, the better we perform. I remembered my baseball coach, after a tough loss, telling us, "Keep your dobber up."
Well, keeping your dobber up takes on a couple different meanings – when it comes to running form, dropping your head while your running and staring at the ground puts lots of extra stress on your upper body. That makes for tight muscles and eventually leads to slouching, which will really effect form and running performance.
My coach’s saying also has his intended meaning: Don’t get down mentally. It’s important to keep our confidence up and stay positive. How else are you going to get through a grueling workout, another long run, or push the pace in a race when you really don’t feel like everything’s firing on all cylinders?
Keeping my dobber up yesterday meant running more efficiently, breaking through the monotony of a painful run on the treadmill, and breaking through another barrier. It was by far my fastest run yet – in part due to pushing the pace in the middle of the workout – for 18 miles, knocking about 20 minutes off of any previous long run.
I also remember this coach of which you are speaking and find myself telling friends/family to keep their “dobber” up. Usually I receive a quizzical look followed by a quick change of topic. Thanks for the help in staying motivated and maybe see you in Fargo.
I think you’ll be happy to hear that in addition to Inline marathons, I’ve also started running. I’m doing the relay marathon with some friends of mine. My goal is to be able to lose some weight and eventually run a half. Then I guess you know what comes after that. I’ve been running steady since November. I never thought I would stick to it but I have and it’s been great.
We were virtual running buddies yesterday. I did my 18 mile long run on the treadmill also. In some ways I think that is tougher than a marathon. Podcasts are my friend! Good job and keep going.
I am training for my first 1/2 after doing the 5K with my son last year and being absolutely amazed by all of the runners and excitement. I am addicted to your blog! It keeps me motivated and you give me a lot of good tips!
Thanks for sharing your journey. I have run as far as the 1/2 marathon distance, and that is about as far as these knees will take me in one day. However, I do follow what you are doing, and you are keeping a few of us on task! Just wanted to say “Thanks” for sharing!!