Endorphin high

Some of you might remember that I went on a running technique course a few months ago. It helped me think about how I run, even if I don't always do that. I also believe that it helped me keep my plantar fasciitis in check.

The coach that offers these courses, Markus Stålbom, was kind enough to arrange and lead a free 1,5-hour session today for those of us that have been on one of his courses. I was excited, but also a bit apprehensive. In the newsletter inviting us to the course he promised it would be a tough session. I wondered if I, who never does any speed training, would find it a bit too tough.

It was tough. It was so tough that my thigh muscles raised a white flag in surrender. They rolled over and played dead. They thought I was asking too much of them. Running 50 km slowly? No problem. Running a hundred meters fast? Lady, are you insane?

Running slow is not a problem. Especially in this environment.

We started by jogging around a football field to warm up, keeping a high cadence and our feet relaxed. We then did some exercises that would help us relax in our whole body and improve our posture when we ran. And then the toughest bit came: some sort of interval training (I guess it's called? See how clueless I am when it comes to such things?) where we ran between goal frames, stopping to do some exercises at each one and then running on.

Markus told us we would do 6-8 such rounds. Depending on how much strength we had left after 6 rounds, we could choose to go on and do more. I'm proud to say that, even though my leg muscles played dead, I kept going after 6 rounds. I did all 8. The last round was, admittedly, not a very fast one, but the kick I got from completing all of them was priceless. Not bad for a newbie.

This whetted my appetite. It was so much fun that I found myself considering joining a group to do intervals and technique sessions. But the question is if such training is necessary in order for me to be able to meet my goals. What would I gain from it if my goal is to run long distance? As much fun as it was, there are so many other things that I want to do that I wonder how I'll find the time.

If only that pesky little detail called work wasn't in the way, I could train all day...