The Sporting Life 10K - over 10,000 people running 10,000 meters. It's one of the few point-to-point 10K races and it's net downhill, making it one of the fastest races in Canada.
The race starts on Yonge Street in Toronto, the longest street in the world, and slices through the heart of the city. After cutting through downtown Toronto, it winds down near the lake at historic Fort York.
Very cool! But no time to enjoy the scenery, I have a personal best to shoot for...
Running downhill
When you run downhill, the feeling you get is that of being out-of-control, as though you're falling. The instinct is to throw on the brakes and fight against the hill. In my experience, that's what most runners seem to do, especially when the hill gets a bit steep.
This is the wrong thing to do. First of all, it can be hard on your muscles in your shins and quads. Second, you're losing precious speed when you could be gaining it.
Instead, lean forward slightly and keep your legs moving. I found a fast cadence (ie. more steps per minute) helps reduce the pounding and combats that falling feeling. Once you find a rhythm, you'll blow by a lot of runners as if they're standing still.
Great Expectations
I haven't done a 10K in awhile, it's actually a distance I'm not terribly familiar with. My dream time is 45:00, I'll try to pace towards that and see where I end up.
2 comments:
You are absolutely right about running downhill. My experience were the same and my quads do not complain.
Looking my 10k result today, let's do the math:
48.39 - 2 (you'll beat me by 2 min in 10k) - 2 (running downhill) = 44.39!
Your 45min sporting life 10k isn't a dream time! :-)
Well according to McMillan, my 22:26 5k time means a 46:36 10K... if the downhill saves me 1:36 then I'll have it! :)
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