Saturday won!

So Saturday morning won the competition for hosting my weekend long run! I set my alarm for 5am but didn't get out of bed until around 6:30 (5:00 just seemed way too early this morning). Really, the hardest part of running early in the morning is getting out of bed. By the time I got to my running route I was ready to go...

The most painful part of any long run for me is the first 2-3 miles. That's about how long it takes my muscles to stop protesting and just submit to the running routine. Of course, with my endurance bucket being close to empty since my injury, the last few miles of each long run have been challenging also. That means a 5mile long run can be very difficult. Fortunately endurance was not a big problem for me today. Unfortunately knee pain was.

I tried to focus on my form, keeping in mind all the advice I have received from the articles I've been reading (mid foot strike, slight lean forward from ankles, don't lean forward from waist, don't cross arms in front of body etc etc etc). I don't think I did the best job (based on my shadow pictures below)

Trying to lean forward from the ankles and not from the waist is harder than it sounds. But each running day will be another opportunity to get it right. I am definitely going to make it a priority for my mid week runs and hopefully as I get better with my form I will have less knee pain and greater endurance.

I was able to complete the 5 mile goal I set for this weekend. At a slower pace, but I got it done...

The rest of my Saturday aka "countdown to Kaiyu" has been great so far. I treated myself to an amazing (but light) appetizer lunch of firecracker salmon at Cheesecake Factory...

Then I picked up my baby sister's wedding welcome packet from Macys and visited Damian at work.

I got a couple of cool running quotes/pics to share. The first one came from my friend (@wonderwoman916)...

The second one came from my baby sister Jule...

(I am definitely going to buy this!)

I'm going to spend the rest of the day icing my knee (I'm going to do R.I.C.E therapy for the next 3 days. Today is Day 1), doing some work for the online class I teach, and reading the latest copy of my Runner's World magazine. I already read a few articles with some great tips that I will share with you tomorrow!

Have a safe and wonderful weekend! Enjoy your LRs for all those who will be running :)

Anyone else have trouble with leaning forward from your ankles? Or has anyone perfected it? Share your tips!