Such a Sore Loser

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If the last 24 hours are any indication, Wednesdays are gonna be a little rough for awhile. My midsection, particularly glutes, guts, hips, hamstrings and quads spent all day and evening in the throes of delayed muscle soreness syndrome following Tuesday night’s “basic training” of 12 x 400 with one-minute recoveries, followed by eight 100-yard strides and a series of abdominal exercises that still make me wince.

And I even cheated: only six of the eight strides; some very obvious miscounting of 25 sets of rowing; and occasionally dropping to my knees for supposed lower back support during “push-up planks.” My defense is that I’m only human.

I definitely have some work to do, but heading to Balboa Stadium while observing the sun’s spectacular descent over downtown, I vowed to stay honest and earnest this training season. To my credit, all 12 of my splits were within 4 seconds of each other, so I was consistent if not first – or anywhere near the front (or even middle) of the pack. What can I say, I run with a fast crowd.

Our coach gave us tips to make the most of strides, those short bursts of running done following trackwork. Among those I recall:

  • Hands should be lose, with just thumb and middle finger barely touching. No clenched fists.
  • Don’t let your arms cross in front of you as you pump them for propulsion. Keep them to your sides.
  • Keep your chin somewhat down, not up.
  • Try to stand up very straight, as if you are sitting in a chair, while you press forth.

    Do all these things and not only will your form and strength improve, but you too can feel like total crap the next day.

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