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Community Corner

Taking It To The Streets

A personal view on moving race training outside

It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature, as the saying goes. Apparently it’s not acceptable to try and dodge her either. In my preparation for running the Peachtree Road Race, I trained the winter and early spring months on a gym treadmill. I was not up for cold weather.

The race, though, is a 10K from Buckhead to Piedmont Park on July fourth. I set last Thursday to finally take my training outdoors.

I woke up to the coldest temperatures in over a month! So I pushed back my run until after noon. Even then, it was still chilly. I knew I’d warm up running but it was getting starting that concerned me.

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Temperatures in the fifties added to the importance of properly warming and stretching cold muscles. I started from my friend’s house in the Edgewood District. I did leg lifts. Then I carefully, slowly, reached to the top of my shoes stretching the calf and quads. Deep knee bends were next. Standing up, I reached back lifting my foot up behind me. Soon I felt ready to take it to the streets. I set my timer for 20 minutes, a half way marker for running from my starting point then returning. I quickly experienced the big differences between the treadmill and running outside

Treadmills gave me confidence to speed up without worry where I stepped. Not so on the street. Treadmills are flat. Atlanta’s streets and sidewalks often are far from flat. Curbs and cracks wait to throw off your step and threaten injury.

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I could simply look straight ahead on the treadmill, perhaps zone out with music. Running thru the neighborhood of Mayson Street to Hosea Williams, my vision had to take in the full view from eye level to the ground soon under my feet. I tried running five minutes then slow to a jog or walk. My running time was altered working around holes in the ground, downed limbs or broken cement.

I made my way to Coan Park. It provided a wide variety of challenging surfaces.  Sidewalks with inclines and declines forced me to strengthen my stride or cut  back to keep a steady pace. Green areas sloped adding another reason to rethink my stride. Then there were patches of water left by crews working in the park. You don’t have to dodge those on a treadmill or the” presents” left by dogs.

Treadmills don’t have tree roots pushing thru the surface. A root almost literally tripped up my running plans. My foot hit one on a full run. I stumbled but kept my balance. The misstep happened shortly before my alarm sounded. I was ready for the return trip after that.

There’s a lot for this novice runner to watch when outside. I’ve broken free of the treadmill. It’s on to greater distance and faster speeds in preparing for the Peachtree Road Race. 

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