After the first two runs of switching up and improving my running technique, 3rd and 4th runs were much better. In fact, I comfortably cracked a 5minutes per kilometer mark on 8km run. I felt less pain in my calves during the run and were able to get the runs within three days of each other.
On this particular route, I had a hard time cracking the 5min/km avg. pace in 2018. But once I got serious about running with a proper form, the effect was immediate.
This route also gives me some opportunities to run closer to 4min/km pace. But the 6th kilometer is brutal. It’s nearly the end of the run and it ends with a hill climb. My pace drops.
A challenge with hill climbs is that they’re painful and more painful to run with a proper technique. I noticed my strides become slower and shorter. My foot strike is almost at the heel. Then once I clear the hill, the transition back to the proper foot strike is even more painful.
Clearly, there’s still a lot of work ahead. For the next few runs, I’ll still be focusing on the proper foot strike before I try implementing more advanced techniques and training programs.