5 Miles on the Mall

Today I went out at 11:30 to run.  It was a spectacular "Indian Summer" day with temperatures approaching 70 and little wind and low humidity.  I decided to run on the Mall today and did the Capital Building to the Lincoln Memorial round trip.

I've been reading about the benefits of running with a "toe-strike" gait instead of what's become a standard for runners - the "heel strike".  I decided to try running the first two miles with a toe-strike and then run the remainder in my normal fashion.  After the first half mile the new stride didn't seem so awkward and I was able to complete the two miles pretty easily.  When I switched back to my normal heel-striking gait I noticed how much more impact there was on my entire body!  It was quite pronounced.  Regardless, I completed 5 miles and enjoyed the run a lot.

Now (a few hours later) I can really feel how much more exercise I got in my calves!  I'm glad I only tried 2 miles of the new technique.  If I'm going to make the switch to this new, "natural" form of running it will have to be in a slow, measured fashion (much like my original build-up in miles).  We'll see how it goes in the coming weeks and months...