Me and Bobby McGee

This morning was the kick-off event for the Fast Forward Sports/Team Denver Marathon training season. Typically the kick-off event for a new season is a simple, meet the coaches, get your t-shirt, a few administrative issues are discussed and we finish up with a short, easy run and some stretching. This morning though, we were in for a huge treat: Olympic coach Bobby McGee facilitated a running clinic.

Within a forty-five minute session he covered the importance of good form, the biomechanics of running, stride and cadence, and flexibility and strength. Then he took us outside to practice the key points. By the end I could already feel improvement in my speed and the efficiency of my stride. Just a few tweaks to my form made a huge difference.

I had become familiar with Bobby McGee's training program and running theories through Fast Forward in the last few training seasons. We do his dynamic warm-up program and our coaches have talked at length about the form techniques he advocates. It was a totally new experience though hearing all these things straight from the horse's mouth. Suddenly all the drills we had been doing over the last year made perfect sense. I don't fault my coaches for neglecting this information, I'm one of those people who always wants to know "why" I'm doing something a certain way. I might believe that doing forward arm swings as part of my running warm up will help prevent injury and improve my form, but I need to know why it helps and how it interacts with the rest of my body. It all came together for me this morning.

I'm looking forward to a great training season and implementing some of these new techniques to run my fastest marathon yet. I'm running to Borders today to pick up Bobby McGee's workout book!

http://www.bobbymcgee.com