Trotting for Turkey (November Running)

[jessmarimba]

After you mentioned the clinics I looked up the ChiRunning clinics here. The cost is outrageous! I wish I could take one but they are $225 here (I think? Maybe $250) for one day. I'm glad it was useful and maybe some day I'll get to try one but I feel like that's just insane.

[7rider]

Watched my ChiRunning DVD for a refresher and then went out and did 4.2 miles yesterday on a MUT. Had a metronome playing in my ear, tapping out 78 rpm cadence. That's a bit faster than my normal plodding 76, and I'm trying to train myself to have faster leg turnover.
But my leg stride remains too long, I think, as my splits were all under 11 (that's about race pace for me, and not what I intended for this training run). It was an exhausting effort, and I ended up stopping a few times (okay, I hit stop on my Garmin on the side of the trail those times...is that cheating?) just to catch my breath. I'm really not used to such a constant level of effort in my cadence. So much for the endurance I thought I had from riding bikes all season.
I'm such a stupid runner. At least nothing hurt at the end of it. So that was a positive step for my back issue.

[GLC1968]

Jess - that's about right, actually. Ours was $100 for a half-day clinic. I think that a half day was enough to supplement the book. Without having read the book, I would think you'd probably want more instruction.

7rider - my DH has an 80 bpm stride. He was one of the slower ones in the group yesterday (in stride, not in speed) and could not seem to hit the 90 bpm cadence. As a quick drill for him, the instructor set the metronome to 110 bpm and we all tried to match it for half a lap...it was hard! Then she dropped it back down to 90 and lo and behold, he was able to hit 90 with no trouble. Then when she did the video of us, he used a metronome set to 90 and was not only able to hit the beat, but his form was greatly improved right away. He had significantly less over-striding than he'd had just 30 minutes earlier!

It might be worth trying it out.

[Veronica]

I did a seven mile run with Thom this morning. It was nice to have someone running with me on a longer run. I usually do those by myself.

Veronica

[jessmarimba]

The price might be right, but that's still ridiculous. I run because it's affordable. I could do a weekend bike clinic at that price.

Funny...the local ChiRunning coach is also a Newton running coach. And the Newton clinics at their factory are free, last I checked. Only 2 hours, but still.

[GLC1968]

Funny...the local ChiRunning coach is also a Newton running coach. And the Newton clinics at their factory are free, last I checked. Only 2 hours, but still.

Yeah, it is pricey. It's way more affordable than Total Immersion clinics though! I almost had a heart attack when I looked up one of those.

[jessmarimba]

Just did 7-ish with a friend who was going for 18. She's generally a little faster than I am but either she was slow since I met her for the last 7, or I've gotten faster than I think I am, but most of the run I was a step or two ahead of her. Not enough to drag her but enough to motivate, I think. Interesting change as I'm usually the one getting pulled along on a long run

Anyway, beautiful weather here, hope you all are enjoying Thanksgiving!

[indysteel]

I ran for a solid hour today. No stopping. That's big for me. Yay!

[OakLeaf]

I did a 5K Turkey Trot not too far from me. Considering the pizza and beer I had last night I didn't run half bad, either. The race is a benefit for the local food pantry and it just keeps getting bigger - they said 1600 entrants, although I don't think anywhere near that many actually ran. It was a fun way to start the day.

[VeganBikeChick]

I ran for a solid hour today. No stopping. That's big for me. Yay!

Indy, that's awesome. WTG!

I did my first 10k last night. My timing was awful but the calorie burn was huge. So proud of this feat - never thought it possible

[indysteel]

Indy, that's awesome. WTG!

I did my first 10k last night. My timing was awful but the calorie burn was huge. So proud of this feat - never thought it possible

Right back at you! Way to go on the 10k!

[OakLeaf]

Way to go indy and VeganBikeChick!

I was thinking in the shower about the discussion of the cost of the Chi Running workshops. IMO the instruction is worth every penny, but I barely ran at all before I learned Chi Running, and when I think about what it's cost me in entry fees and hotels before the longer races.... okay, it is outrageous.

[jessmarimba]

Way to go indy and VeganBikeChick!

I was thinking in the shower about the discussion of the cost of the Chi Running workshops. IMO the instruction is worth every penny, but I barely ran at all before I learned Chi Running, and when I think about what it's cost me in entry fees and hotels before the longer races.... okay, it is outrageous.

I've at least saved a lot of money there! I used to run all of the club races in VA, except the ones I volunteered at. They weren't expensive but I bet they added up! But since I've moved to CO I've gone from mid-pack to back-of-the-pack (at the same pace) and I just don't want to race out here. I haven't done a road race besides the Richmond full and half since I moved. I think I've done 5 trail races, and two of those were in VA.

(So to save money racing, move to state where everyone runs at a 7:30 pace!)

[Selkie]

DH and I started off Thanksgiving Day with the local Turkey Trot. Despite the cold weather, it was very well attended and the route was hilly. There were a lot of families participating, so I had to dodge around kids, stollers, & pooches. I was in dog lover heaven and collected a lot of canine kisses before and after the race. The race is truly a community event, and just about the entire course was lined with folks cheering you on.

Since it was so cold, I had a creaky start, but after I warmed up, I set an increasingly blistering (for me) pace--8:54 min mile. I placed 15th in my age division, 538 out of 2,461 runners. I have to admit that I'm pretty shocked. This is a faster pace than when I was a regularly running half-marathons--more than 10 years ago!

Despite the pleasant surprise of my results, I'm not competitive and am entering these races for the fun of it.

Hope to register for an 8K Jingle Bell run in DC during December. :-)

[Bike Chick]

Some friends of ours invited some people over Thanksgiving morning for a 3-8 mile run. The invite was sent by text message and we good pass it along to whoever we wanted. All they asked was for everyone to bring canned goods for the local food pantry. Thirty people showed up! DH and I ran the 6 mile loop and stayed for an hour of coffee and fellowship afterward. It was a lot of fun.