March 23, 2010
 
I Love to run, I think there is no better feel of freedom than a day when you just feel like you could run forever. You're floating across the ground, the temperature is just right, the sun is shining just enough on your skin not to burn but enough to sweat; and when you finish - whether you have gone 3, 8, 13, or 20, or anywhere in between, you feel like you could go again. If you're running downtown and the sun is going down and the lights of Savannah are coming up - or you are running on a hot summer day on Tybee, or if you're up with the sun and you get to feel and see the night turn into day, it's all a good time, as long as you're running. I wish I could reach back to the olden days when I ran twice a day every day. Talk about not having a care in the world! Now time has taken both its toll on my body and my time, so I am thankful to just get up and run when I can, as hard as I can, when I can.

Now I am not saying that I don't get bored sometimes with running, especially on days that I step outside and say, "what I am I going to do today?". Here are a few tips and suggestions to break up the monotony of running. Now that it is the season to run, we all want to make it through the summer into the fall and to maintain our running shape for the entire year if possible. This weekend we found a great way to get a long run in and before we knew it the run was over and it was an incredible workout. We did a 20-20-20-20 run. Using a Garmin to measure our pace, we ran:

~ 20 minutes easy (easy is your easy run with no effort and almost full recovery)

~ 20 minutes at your selected race pace (whatever your training for, 5K, 10K, half or full marathon, you pick it) hold that pace for 20 minutes

~ Then recover the third 20 minutes with little or no effort

~ Finish the last 20 minutes with another race pace effort

Then don't finish and be done, give yourself at least a half mile to slow jog or walk back to get the lactic acid and junk out of your legs from the workout. Stretch a little and you're done.

Workout with a partner at the track, always throw some track and cross training in when you want to break up your running. A good track strength workout you can do is 200's on the track. You stand in the middle of the track on one side of the field and have your partner stand on the other side of the track in the middle (the 50yd line if you're at Savannah State). One person runs a 200 or half the track to their partner, once you tag your partner, they run a 200 and you jog across the football field and get to the other side before they finish their 200, they tag and away you go and so on and so on and so on. Do this with someone who is close to your ability so you both get the same amount of rest, it's up to you how many you want to do, it's a fun workout and a good challenge.

Finally some running with some toning and strength work. It's called the Gut Buster, (sounds hard huh?). It can be if you push it but it shouldn't be. Go to the track, run and easy mile to get warmed up, get a quick drink, here we go, run 100 and do 10 push-ups, run 100 then on your back with 10 crunches, run 100 10 step-ups on a bench or chair, 10 each leg, run another 100 and then on your back 10 to 30 seconds of leg lifts six inches off the ground, do one mile of a gut buster, recover and then do a easy mile warm-down, your done.

There are a bunch of ways to break up running and how it can work for you, and we will be talking about those kind of workouts all year long on Toro-Talk. In the meantime, enjoy every run, every morning, every evening, every breathe, every heart beat, every time. 
 

robert espinoza

"Keep Your Chin Up for Strength, and Down For Prayer"

Fleet Feet Sports Savannah