Friday Coffee and Chat from Penny University

Friday, July 29, 2016 · Mike Davis

Good morning This morning I am sipping coffee in my favorite coffee place in the universe; "Penny University." If you have not been here before you need to stop in and get a great cup of coffee or Espresso. I am back in New Hampshire for a few days meeting with Dover Chamber of Commerce and the NFLR-NH team. Pretty exciting news for No Finish Line Running-New Hampshire. Our team will be race directing and managing the 2016 Apple Harvest 5K. The official tag line will be the “2016 Apple Harvest 5K, produced by No Finish Line Running.” This local fall race has always been one of my favorites and represents autumn in New England running perfectly. NFLR’s role will to manage and help the race grow while still maintaining the spirit of this local event. Over the next couple of months you will no doubt see a lot of promotion for this event and I highly recommend that you circle October 1st on your calendar and come not only run this great race but, also support NFLR! This week while in New Hampshire I have been able to run twice so far and I must say I have really enjoyed the hills. Around Pinehust we have some small hills but nothing like the rolling hills around Dover. I was a little nervous about running Wednesday night because of my calf struggles but I really wanted to run with the NFLR training group. To further my apprehension the group was running the hilly part of the 603 10K race course for the final tune up before Sunday’s race. I was smarter this time and took some time before the run to stretch my calf and I am happy to say that my run went great! It was great to run with the group and I even doubled back down a hill and repeated it with one of our runners. I was pleased that despite my current state of running that I was able to get up multiple hills without much struggling. I attribute my success to being with a great group of runners that cared about the group more than their individuality. I am so proud of this group and our coaches for the work and fun they have combined to get this group prepared for a challenging race. I am looking forward to Sunday and seeing the NFLR shirts out on the course! Since our group will all be running Sunday’s race we are not having a formal group run tomorrow (Saturday) but, I will be at the Center at 8:30 for a 65 minute run and would welcome anyone that would like to come run. Should be a great morning to run! Read something interesting in this book I am currently reading/studying. Running surface has long been considered a factor when it comes to the mindset of runners. The prevailing thought has been that surfaces such as concrete and asphalt were a detriment to a runner’s body versus a more forgiving surface such as a trail. Surprisingly studies have shown that our bodies or more precisely, our lower extremities actually adjust to whatever running surface we are on and the effect is the same no matter the hardness. The interesting thing is that it is not a conscience adjustment but instead an internal mechanism that protects us. Very interesting twist to the prevailing mindset. Trail running has benefits that make it appealing for many reasons, so this information does not in any way diminish the value or enjoyment of hitting the trails. The fact that the surface of trails are often rooted, uneven and challenging is conducive to using different muscles is definitely a good thing for runners. Time to move along. Hope to see some of you at the Center tomorrow and if not maybe Sunday at the “603 10K” race! God Bless! Mike