Running School!

Part of the training clinic is 5 evening sessions of lectures and information about running.  We're supposed to cover topics like training science, nutrition, injury prevention, race planning, and all sorts of fun stuff.  It's a running nerd's (and a regular nerd's) dream! 

The first session was this past Wednesday and took place at the Kaiser Interstate Hospital's "Town Hall" building.  For those of you who've been around this blog long enough - you might be thinking, "Kaiser?!  How did they trick you into going back there?"  It's quite ironic to me that my journey to glorify God and reconcile with my body would put me in a Kaiser building.  Ick.  But I went!  I drove down there all by myself and found the building - thank you google-maps!  I love being able to use the satellite view to locate buildings and parking lots.  Less stress for me is a good thing.

This session of the class covered some basic introductory topics.  The clinic leaders - Patti and Warren - told us about their running history and shared their goals for us.  Basically, they want us to finish injury free and feeling great.  I'm definitely on board with that plan.  They asked us to trust their 30+ years of experience, especially when their coaching directions seem counter-intuitive to us obsessive newbies.  Hey, anyone who tells me I should be running slower is a good friend of mine. 

They explained some of the basic science behind training your body to endure long mileage, and gave us this huge book they've written called "Marthoning: Start to Finish."  So if you see me in a back corner with my nose in a book... call me a nerd.  Then go run 8 miles. 

I'm looking forward to the next 4 sessions and will keep you guys in the loop with all the fun running nerd stuff I'm learning.