June 6th Training

Today I met up with Team in Training at Heritage Park in Irvine. After a clinic on proper running clothes and gear, we headed out in pace groups for a 4-mile course. I chose the 14-15 minute/mile pace group and finished right around the middle of my pack. I forgot to bring water to the course, and was glad that they had plastic cups and a water cooler at the end. I did stretch before going out this time, and did not experience any cramping. I had some minor twinges in my lower calfs/ankles early in the course but they went away by the first mile mark.

Today we also worked on proper breathing. I tend to breathe along to whatever song is stuck in my head, which I notice is not always efficient once I get going. Coach Noah instructed us to breathe in rhythm to our steps, which helped a lot. At one point in the course there were cones set up for a breathing drill. Between the first two cones, we were to inhale for four steps and exhale for four steps. That felt like too long between breaths for me. Between the next two cones, we did a 3/3 pattern, then a 2/2 pattern and finally a 1/1 pattern. The 3/3 and 2/2 felt the most comfortable to me.