Cross Training Clinic

On Tuesday we got an email from John to bring our running shoes to cycling class.  He had arranged for a cross training session with a triathlon, running and fitness trainer.  I was a little nervous about what was in store, but I was also very excited about a different type of workout.

Tuesday was great.  We started the class by riding into the park and doing the rollers.  We sprinted the hills on the way out and we did a tempo ride on the way back.  I started in the front with the fast group.  Guess where I stayed the whole time...at the front with the fast group!!!  Full disclosure - I was at the BACK of the fast group, but I had contact with them the entire time.  I was VERY happy with my performance.

I was able to climb the hills with some speed and some power.  It wasn't until the very last hill that I felt like I was really struggling.  Debbie rode up next to me and basically yelled at me to pick it up.  That was all I needed and I got myself back into the right mindset and hit the remainder of the hill with some intensity.  It was really a great feeling to be able to keep up with them.

After 3 sets of out/back rollers, we stopped at the pavilion.  Some of the class continued on with their rides but about 12 of us stopped for the cross training portion. We changed into our running shoes, grabbed some water and walked over to meet our leader for the next portion...Chris Towle.

Chris had us do several drills.  We started by just running about 75 meters down and back.  He wanted to assess our running style.  After that, we ran a few drills focusing on different aspects of our running technique.  We ran with our hands on our heads, started the runs by falling and focused on running with our feet behind us.  I know my words don't describe these drills very well, so I apologize for that.  But the drills were AWESOME!!!  At the end of the half hour, I felt like my entire stride was different. Chris also mentioned that he could tell a huge difference from our first run to our last.

I went to track last night and tried to focus on the techniques that I learned from Chris.  It was really hard to do.  My body is so used to being in a certain position when I'm running.  I know that I am not an efficient runner so it's going to take a lot of work to force myself to maintain the correct running posture.  I will work on it though!