For today's long run (6 miles) we headed down to Stow Lake, looped around and headed back. Our pace was again very slow, so I tried to concentrate on form -- hips leading, trying for a mid foot strike rather than my natural heel strike. I was not at all sore from our 5 mile tempo run on Thursday and Andy was itching to increase the pace, so we sped up a bit in the last mile and came in in minute or so early. The slow pace coupled with the changes in form must have been doing something though because my legs felt like jello as we slowed to a walk at the end.
After a bit more research online when I got home, I found increasingly conflicting information about the foot strike in general. Though a mid foot strike seems to improve speed slightly, it also absorbes slightly less shock. Something like 80% of runners are actually heel strikers. The other elements of form are less controversial, and it's clear I need improvement in all of them.
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