First day on the course

Ladies,

Today marked the first time this season we ran on the course. As expected, the drought has dried the course to the bone, making it resemble Utah more than southern Indiana. The hard pack makes for sure footing, so I don't think there was any trouble with tripping or such.

We also started hills. This is a key portion of the strength training we'll do. We've spent the summer so far getting healthy and slowly building miles; now we are adding hills. We'll still build miles, but we have to increase the load. To some, it will feel like we've started training all over again. To those that know, it's just another notch up on the stress level.

The focus today was on hill running technique. To run hills, you must follow some key rules:

• Keep your eyes on the top of the climb
• Exaggerate your arm motion, thrusting upward forcefully
• Shorten your stride
• Raise the knees higher
• Maintain effort, not pace

You will slow down on a hill, there's no getting around it. By being efficient, you can minimize the loss of pace, thereby gaining an advantage over runners who are less efficient.

Our course is beautiful but hilly. We will run on it at least four times this season (in meets), so it behooves us to learn how to run it effectively.

Practice at BNL all week - meet by the pool entrance! And... be on time!