Feedback

I think I can be considered a "serious" runner now. I went to a Good Form Running clinic tonight. The running shop downtown, Gazelle, offers the workshop for free every Wednesday. During the workshop you learn about the different components to running with good form, which is supposed to reduce chances of injury and improve speed and comfort while running. Gazelle is for hardcore runners-it sponsors almost every major run event in this area. I was a bit nervous to do the workshop because I was nervous I would be too new at running compared to the other people that use Gazelle. The very first thing we did was go outside and get videotaped running-once with shoes, and once without shoes. It was kind of cold, so running barefoot on downtown sidewalks was not my favorite thing. I also felt pretty self-conscious, like everyone would be watching me run. It was pretty easy though. We all ran at pretty much the same time, so there wasn't time to watch other people run. After that we went inside to learn about the proper form, then they made us all watch each other run while we got analyzed and given feedback. That made me more nervous than the running outside!

I was pretty surprised by my analysis. I kind of expected to have them tell me I needed to work on everything! But I actually have pretty good form. They only had 1-2 pieces of feedback for me, and said I could fix them both pretty easily. The most surprising thing was that when I ran barefoot my form was almost perfect. And that was the case for everyone. It is pretty crazy to me that our bodies act differently with and without shoes.

On the drive home I was thinking about how nervous I was to get constructive feedback. This goes back to the having to be right all the time. I was also reminded of something my former boss has said to me over and over. She tells me that I am harder on myself than anyone else is.  I always criticize myself and worry about getting negative feedback, even though when I do get it I handle it pretty well. I appreciate feedback after it is given, because I learn ways I can improve. The anticipation of it is just awful for me. I was glad it wasn't too bad tonight; I think I can go run a marathon tomorrow with my feedback. :)

If you're interested in the Good Form Running, here is a link ---> http://goodformrunning.com/