First Running Class

I hadn't seen Jessica for several months and when I spotted her at the parking lot we met for our first running class-I was impressed by the great shape she is in.

There was only one other person who came to the first class (the class meets alternatively on Saturday mornings and I've chosen to attend the Monday evening classes). Jessica thought there would be 9-10 women in the class total. We would see more women in later Monday classes.

We introduced ourselves, discussed our backgrounds, and individual health. Jessica has been a runner all her life and is now training for the Green Bay Marathon.

I told Jessica that I run twice per week, once on flat terrain and once on hilly terrain. And I also swim and/or spin one or two days per week. My goal is to get faster, be able to run 10-minute miles and to avoid injury. I explained that I prefer to run on nature trails rather than sidewalks and roads, but my outdoor allergies have kept me away from the woods lately.

Katheryn is Jessica's other pupil for this Monday's class. She has never run before but has been active in tennis and swimming. Kathryn is allergic to "everything green and under the sun," she explained. She's pale, has light blue eyes and naturally blonde hair. I recently read somewhere that people with a lot of allergies tend to have these same outward features.

Before we headed out on an "easy" 2-mile run, Jessica gave us some tips on running form:

1. Hold your elbows at your sides in about a 90 degree angle. Don't let your arms cross your body; it's less efficient.
2. Point your thumbs up and hold your hands as if you were carrying eggs; clenching your hands too tightly tightens your should and upper back muscles.

The run...we had cool, brisk weather with sunshine peaking through the southern clouds and dark grey clouds to the north. About a half mile into our run Kathryn was breathing heavy and asking why her lungs felt like they were on fire. I felt pretty good. I had some nervous energy running through my body because this was the first class. After we got warmed up, we took a walking break and Jessica gave us some tips on conquering hills:

3. Run on the front of your foot when you want to move faster or are going uphill.
4. Look to the top of the hill when you are running uphill, not at the ground.
5. When running downhill, lean forward.

We tried out these techniques and I could definately feel my body moving faster than I expected and with less effort.

After our run, we practiced strides. We lined up and were told to estimate 100 meters in front of us on the grass. Slowly, we build up speed on the first 30 meters, ran at 80% speed for the middle 40 meters and gradually slowed down for the last 30 meters. Strides should not make you huff and puff and you should take breaks between each one. They train your muscles to feel what its like to move faster than your normal running pace.

We wrapped up the class by stretching and talking about what we should do for running until we meet next Monday. Our assignment was to:

1. Practice what we learned in the first class.
2. Follow the same routine we did in the first class.

This sounded like a pretty easy assignment. I was expecting to be told to run five days a week and do a lot of track work. But, Jessica told us that the class and training is about achieving our personal running goals. She suggested I work more strides into my running routine to meet my goal of running faster.