Choose Strong
For Tim.
I used to hate the alarm clock and resolve never to use one.
Most races, however, start early in the day. I still dread the
painful memory of the sleepless night before my one and
only marathon. This year, I have been trying to rise at
5:00am or earlier, as Jocko does, with limited success.
Meanwhile, an alarm clock can help in keeping the mind
still, as it did this weekend.
Mission Peak must have grown in popularity. I never thought
it could be so crowded as I was trying to park along Mission
Blvd around 7:00am. Two text messages later, I joined my
friend L and began jogging up.
He told me about his recent runner's clinic with a physical
therapist. He learnt more about his gait (bending at the
ankle instead of waist) and began to use a half-dome for
stretching and balancing. I read about leading with the hips
before but this was a good reminder. To me, understanding
something doesn't mean I can do it right. He told me of his
trick of running a dozen steps now and then uphill. I told
him about my progress in yoga and my single-leg rope-jumping
which led to the discoveries of more asymmetry.
We walked most of the steep climb and came to the foot of
the summit in good shape. Goal-aversing, by myself, I usually
would just turn back. "You really don't have to go to the top."
"No. But WE will" he replied with a grin. And I was glad we did.
I abandoned the trail and bounced on the rocks up and down and
was very happy with my performance. It reminded me of McDougal's
second book where he talked about fascia.
The real test for me was the rest of the downhill, however.
It was all the way down, 3.7 miles non-stop.
My quads felt great and hamstrings OK. The left Tibialis
Anterior muscle weakened gradually, however, and half-way, I
started to lose control as the sound from my Xeros slapping
the ground grew louder. L suggested I focus on form and I
took more frequent baby steps, which helped a lot. At the
last stretch, my leg muscles weakened in general and
descending on steep slopes felt hazardous. The outside of my
right knee felt it a little and my right plantar fascia were
tight. The pain on my feet bottoms from pounding on gravels was OK, however.
We finished the run in about 100min and L stretched right
after. I should've done the same but nonetheless learned
the lesson. I will include cooling-down in my exercises.
