Category — Run Training

Training in the heat info

Account for Heat (Anecdotal from Jeff Gallway)

The hot and sticky days of summer are here. Make sure that you are making some adjustments in your running. Most runners begin to slow down at 55 degrees and start suffering at 65 degrees. Of course, the body can adapt to heat stress and push the threshold up a bit, but you usually can’t run as fast on a 75 degee day as on a 45 degree one. High humidity is also a major problem. It’s like a wet blanket; it doesn’t allow much evaporation or perspiration and your body heat builds up.

If you try to run too hard in hot or humid conditions you’ll hit “the wall” sooner than expected. Trying to maintain a goal pace in heat is like going out too fast early in the race. Temperatures generally increase hour by hour; therefore you must adjust your pace for the temperature expected at the end of the race.

Adjusting Race Pace for Heat: Estimated temperature at finish – Slower than goal pace – 8 min mile becomes…
55-60 degrees – 1% – 8:05
60-65 degrees – 3% – 8:15
65-70 degrees – 5% – 8:25
70-75 degrees – 7% – 8:35
75-80 degrees – 12% – 8:58
80-85 degrees – 20% – 9:35
Above 85 degrees – Forget it… run for fun

* Note: This chart is based upon my own experience in the heat and talking to other runners. It has no scientific verification.

As Mr Galloway states this is not scientifically verified. Nevertheless his advice seems reasonable. Perhaps with heat adaption these paces would be different? I’d be very interested in any study results people might have.

Another great article on run form to help reinforce the basics.

Running Form: How Should You Run?

Coach Mark writes: A key component to successful distance running is efficiency or economy of movement. It is common to focus on training the heart, lungs and legs when preparing for an event but training form is less common.

Recently I was able watch some of the athletes I train complete the run portion of a Half Ironman Triathlon event and between the wind gusts, showers and hail, I had a chance to assess their run form. The athletes have all had plenty of swim technique training, in most cases bike technique training but only a handful had had any run technique training. Those that had, really stood out and in some cases their run times were very close to their run times in a straight Half Marathon which they completed a few months earlier. An increased level of fitness would account for some of this but also knowing how to run efficiently made a huge difference. The outcome of this observation was a Sunday afternoon technique and drill session for some of the athletes down at the local park.

Good running form involves a mix of your body movements so that you move with optimal mechanical efficiency. Good form can decrease discomfort when you run, help prevent injury, increase speed as well as lower the energy output at a given speed. Below are the main points I look at when assessing an athletes form and the advice I give them.

Head

Your head should remain in a neutral position on your shoulders. Keep your head tilted down slightly but avoid looking down at too much of an angle. Look forward at the ground in front of you, about 3-5 metres ahead, and concentrate on trying to run in a straight line. Your neck, jaw and face muscles should be relaxed. Try to feel your cheeks bouncing with each stride. When turning to the side, try to do this movement mostly from the neck to avoid twisting your body and making you unstable.

Shoulders

Your shoulders should also be very relaxed and loose to allow for a greater freedom of motion. Think of “running proud” with your shoulders back and square, but don’t try to actually pull them back as this would create muscle tension and is a waste of energy. “Hunching” or rounding your shoulders tends to restrict the breathing passage, allowing less oxygen to get to the working muscles.

Arms

Any excessive side-to-side motion, or swinging across your body is a waste of energy. Try to think of everything moving in a straight line and in one direction: forwards. Your arm movement should not cause your torso to rotate.

Keep your elbows in and held low. As you run, swing your arms in a relaxed manner, elbow angle will range from slightly less than 90° at its forward most point, to 90° as it passes the side of the body, to slightly more than 90° as it swings behind the body. The elbows effectively make a “smiley face” beside your rib cage when running. The faster you go, the larger the smile.

When running it can be beneficial to drop your arms and shake them from time to time to release any build up of muscle tension.

Hands

Your thumbs should gently touch the top half of your index fingers with your hands gently cupped. If you clench your hands together too tightly it could cause tightness in your arms.

Try and keep your wrists from moving throughout the arm swing. This prevents your hand from flicking when your arm swings backwards or from performing a pot stirring action when it swings forwards.

Don’t let your hands cross over the middle of your chest. Imagine a line drawn down your body separating you in half vertically. Your hands should not cross that line.

Torso

Bend slightly forward from the waist to create a bit of a forward lean. If you lean back, it creates pulling from the hips and is inefficient. Minimal rotation of the upper body is the goal, so a strong core is necessary.

Hips

This is the home of your centre of gravity. Try to run with your hips forward. They should be in line with your head and shoulders. Pretend as if you have a rope tied around your waist and someone is pulling you forward with it. Running with your hips too far back, as if you are sitting in a bucket, will decrease your stride length.

Knees

The knees do not have to come up very high for long distance runners. Much like the arm swing, the further you are running, and the slower you are running, the less knee lift you will need (Unless you are faced with a steep hill!).

A high knee lift increases vertical oscillation, or the amount we lift our centre of gravity up and down each step. This expends more energy than if we keep our centre of gravity moving forwards without any upward or downward movement.

Feet

Your body’s centre of gravity is in your midsection. Any force that is applied to the ground in front of this centre of gravity acts as a braking force to your forward movement. Imagine a runner with an exaggerated running stride. Every time they plant their heel in front of their body, they apply a braking force, slowing them down. In addition, before they are able to apply force to the ground and move their body forward for the next stride, they must wait until their body has moved directly over their foot. If you look at the form of most good runners, you will see that their feet strike the ground directly beneath their body.

Good long distance runners usually contact with the mid-foot. Slower runners contact between the mid-foot and the heel, faster runners a bit further forward. Contact on the mid-foot allows for better shock absorption, less stress on the calf muscle and Achilles tendon, and better rolling forward onto the next stride.

Try to run straight; land with your foot pointing forward. Running straight reduces the rotation or twisting of the ankles and knees, which helps to prevent a shortening of stride due to the turning of the foot. Keep the feet and legs moving directly forward, with minimal twisting motion. For feedback on your ability to run straight, or whether you have a straight foot-plant, run on a beach or on concrete with the wet soles. Your footprints should be straight and nearly in line with each other.

So to sum up, when running, stay relaxed, and try and make all movements cause you to move in one direction. Get feedback on your current form from training partners, a knowledgeable coach, a video or even a mirror and use this feedback to learn to run more efficiently. It could be a case of making significant performance gains for very little energy.

originally published October 2005

Great article to reinforce the basics on training.

How to Train Smarter and Run Faster

When you set yourself a goal to complete a particular event or do a particular time for a given distance, it is not just about getting yourself to peak physical fitness to compete in the event. There is another side to completing your goal.

Have you ever watched somebody doing a race? I have seen so many people miss their time goal because of poor pacing; aiming to break 25 minutes for 5km for example, by doing the first kilometer in 4:30, and then quickly fading because they spend their energy too early.

Then there are injuries. Injuries don’t just happen. They are generally a result of poor training technique or lack of recovery, stability and flexibility.

This article will hopefully give a head start to all beginning runners, and even answer some of those mysteries for the so called experienced runner.

Basic Training Principles
General coaching or training principles are divided into 5 basic rules. While these rules do not provide all the answers, they do provide a solid base
knowledge that will help all runners when applied correctly.

Principle of Overload – for any training adaptation to occur, the body must be stressed in some way. If you are just starting out running, then obviously you will need to overload your body by running in order to get better. If you are an experienced runner, you will need to do training periods that overload you by manipulating volume or intensity, if you are to improve. As a beginner runner you do not want to have excessive overload. As a general rule of thumb, don’t increase weekly training volume by more than 10% from one week to the next. The best method is to gradually apply overload by increasing training volume by 5-10% per week.

Principle of Reversibility – this is plain and simple. If you stop
training, then detraining (a decrease in fitness) will occur. This means that during a training period overload is required to improve fitness; maintenance training is required to hold current fitness levels; and a lack of training will result in a decreased performance. This does not mean that rest periods aren’t important – they are. You still need to allocate periods to have a break from training- this is important to allow both psychological and physical recovery. It is recommended that you have a full break from training for 2-4 weeks after a major competition or a long period of training. The good thing is that after your break you will get back to your previous fitness levels faster than it took you to get there originally.

Principle of Specificity – if you do not run, you will not become a better runner. Your training has to be specific to the demands of what you are trying to achieve. The best method of improving your running fitness is to run. There can definitely be value in cross training, but the majority of your training time should be spent on your principle sport, and if this is running, then run. The principle of specificity also refers to the energy system (or intensity) used during competition. For example, if you are training for a shorter event, you will need to do more intense training than if you are training for a marathon, for which longer endurance training is required.

Principle of Recovery – you need to allow recovery time so that your body can adapt to the training you have undertaken. If you train too much and recover too little, you will become run down and fatigued. Performance will deteriorate, not improve. This principle works in conjunction with the principle of overload. To get optimal results you will need to overload and recover. This needs to occur on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly cycle. It is important to design your training to accommodate these important aspects of training. So try having at least 2-3 easy days per week, and a minimum of 1 easy week per month.

Principle of Individuality – perhaps the most important principle to remember, and the one that is most often overlooked. Have you ever wondered, if I did Steve Moneghetti’s training program, would I run like him? Well unfortunately not. The principle of individuality is the same reason why you and your training partner perform differently despite doing the same training program. Everybody adapts and responds to training differently; recovers at a different rate; experiences different work and family commitments; responds to environmental conditions differently; and the list goes on. Basically, you are an individual, and need to customise your training to suit you and your commitments.

Warming Up and Cooling Down
Preparing yourself adequately for training or racing is important if you wishto achieve your best performance and prevent injury. An adequate warm-up will increase heart rate, body temperature, blood flow, loosen up muscles, allow greater muscle contraction, greater economy of movement, and ready your aerobic energy system for further activity. This is just a few of the physiological benefits of warming up, there is also the psychological aspect of preparing yourself for the training session ahead.

A warm-up should be undertaken prior to any long, or intense training session. If you are just going for a short easy jog, then the warm-up is probably not required as the whole session is of low intensity.

A warm-up should begin with at least 5 minutes of light and easy jogging.

Some drills should then be completed to take your legs through a greater range of motion (dynamic stretching). Static stretching is not ideal during the warm-up but if you feel more comfortable doing a bit of stretching in the warm-up then after a period of easy jogging would be best. You should then complete a couple more minutes of easy jogging before doing a few short surges with an easy jog between each. All in all, the warm-up should take 10-20 minutes depending on your training background. If you are just starting running, then don’t do any more than 10 minutes, otherwise you may be too fatigued before the session actually starts.

Just as a warm-up is essential prior to a running session, a cool down is important at the end of a session to ensure recovery from the session. A light active cool down such as 10 minutes of easy jogging/walking will facilitate blood flow- preventing blood pooling, and flushing elevated levels of catecholamines and lactic acid, etc, allowing for improved recovery. The cool down should then be completed by having 10-20 minutes of static stretching. This helps to prevent muscle soreness, as well as aiding in improved flexibility.

Pacing
Pacing and the judging of running intensity is one aspect of running that takes a lot of time, practice and thinking. It is important to be able to associate your perception of intensity with a pace- ensuring that you don’t go out to hard, or too easy during intervals or a race. The difficult aspect of this is that as you get fitter, you will be able to run quicker at a given intensity, and essentially this is why it is so important to get a feel and understanding of the intensities you are running. This requires thought and association.

You need to think about how long you would be able to hold a given intensity, what sort of distance you could hold this for, to what extent you are fatiguing while running at this intensity. Then you need to associate this understanding of intensity with running speed. The reason for this is that at the start of a race you will generally be feeling fresh and ready to go.

Therefore it is easy to get carried away early and run faster than you should because it feels easy initially. However, this will catch up with you at some stage of the race, and the small amount of time that you save by going out too hard can quickly be lost when you start to struggle towards the end of the race.

The best race tactics for most sub-elite runners is to attempt to maintain a steady state, even pace throughout the event. While elite runners are racing to win, and thus surging and recovering, this will just cause excessive fatigue for the sub-elite runner trying to run their best time.

Recovery
As the principle of recovery highlights, recovery is as important as actually training in the overall enhancement of performance. Recovery can be either active or passive. Passive recovery is the type of recovery most people are happy to do; sleeping, resting, and general lounging around. However it is active recovery that really enhances the recovery process. Examples of active recover include stretching, massage, completing hot/cold water submersion, re-hydrating and replenishing glycogen stores. These activities should be undertaken during periods of heavy training to enhance recovery.

This will lead to a greater training response, and better preparation for the next training session.

Tapering
Tapering is the period of training before an important race, during which training is backed off allowing you to be in peak shape on race day. It is the icing on top of the hard training cake. It can often make or break a good performance.

Some simple rules to follow when tapering include:
· maintaining training intensity but reducing volume during the taper period so that you stay sharp, but freshen up
· there should be a gradual linear reduction in training load
· the duration of the taper is greater for those who are:
· training for a longer event;
· have less of a training background;
· have been doing a higher volume of training.

Although you have these general rules to follow when undertaking your taper, it is important to find the type of taper that suits you best. This often involves a lot of trial and error. So when something doesn’t work, refine and try again. Tapering will allow you to go into a race with no muscular fatigue, while being fresh and sharp.

Flexibility Training
Flexibility training or stretching is something that is generally overlooked by runners until they become injured, and stretching is recommended as one of the methods to overcome the injury and prevent future problems.

The truth is that stretching should be used an injury prevention tool, not as a means of cure and rehabilitation. Being proactive is always better than being reactive.

So what is the benefit of being more flexible? Well to mention just a few, improved flexibility will potentially reduce muscular fatigue, make movement more efficient, and economical, and reduce injury.
The best way to introduce flexibility training into your program is to firstly make it an essential part of weekly training, just like your running sessions are. By setting at least 3 twenty minute periods aside each week, as well as stretching after each running session, you will give yourself the best long term chance of improving flexibility. As with any form of training, it takes a while to see the improvements, so it is a matter of being patient. During each session complete at least 3 sets of each stretch on each side of the body, and include a wide range of stretches.

As muscular tightness varies between individuals, it is important that you try a wide range of stretches in order to find those stretches that give you the best stretch and the most benefit.

Some recommended areas to focus on include:
· hamstring
· ITB
· Calves (gastroc and soleus)
· Lower back
· Hip flexor
· Quadriceps
· Glutes

Hopefully by using this information to guide you through your running, you will have a more successful and enjoyable experience. The information provided is only a summary of some key issues, and will need to be adapted or further investigated on a case by case basis.

Originally published May 2003

Last night I took a pool running class at the Westboro Tennis and Swim Club.  Wow, my hamstrings are sore today.  What a great workout when you vary the speed and cadence.  Doug, it’s a lot more interesting than what we did Sunday.  It feels good to have my legs sore….weird, I know I am…

Jessica, you should have done it with me.  Maybe next week….

I would like to add this class to my weekly training.  I think it would be good for me to replace one of my runs with a pool run during the week.  The only issue is Monday is my day off from training.   Oh well, this is why I hire Jason, so I don’t have to think about it. 

Wow, what a difference a week makes.  I did the same hill run workout I did last weekend and felt sooooooooooooo much better.  One reason is because I took yesterday off because I was in coaching class all day.  The week before, it was the last workout of a long week of workouts.  I also followed my heart rate recovery rules.  I was able to run back home the entire way.

Off to the expo…..I hope to see you all there. I’ll be working at the Landry’s booth from 10:30-11:30.

OK, NOW I know why coaches need coaches.  I’m going to write this post, and Jason is going to respond, duh, Diane.  So, I go off to do my hill repeat workout this morning and I run 16min to get to my hill (in case you care, it is on Bartlett past the Lyman St turn towards Southboro) press my watch to start my intervals of 1 min as hard as I can go up the hill.  That is the easy part of following directions.  It’s the back down the hill-recovery part I apparently thought I could cut corners on.

So, for the first 5 (of 12) intervals, I run up as fast as I can and I peak my heart rate at around 177, and I slowly jog back down the hill.  This is the kicker.  When I get to where I started from, I turn around and do it again.  The problem is that my HR only got down to 155-157.  So I ended up starting the next interval around 160 which is way too high to be starting the all out effort from if I’m going to make it to 12 intervals.  By the 5th interval, I’m seriously doubting whether I can finish the set and start the negative talk about how out of shape I must be not to be able to do this.  Then, I dig deep, actually think about my mother’s suffering and how this is rediculous, of course I can finish….and it hits me.  Duh, Diane, get your HR lower before you start the next interval.

So, on interval 6, I run up as hard as I can, and jog lightly back down to about 1/2 way down the hill, then I walk (novel idea, huh?).  I end up starting interval 7 at a HR of 140.  Low and behold, I made it further up the hill, and got my HR to peak at 182 instead of 177 before the minute was over.  By the last set of 5 intervals, I was feeling much better and could have a more quality interval.  This is not to say that the “easy” jog home was easy!  I was dying.  I ended up cutting the jog home down to 13min and skipping the last 1/2 mile.  I am completely spent!  What a great workout.

Lesson learned to my athletes, do as I say, not as I do   As John Bingham says in his postings, “Waddle on folks”.   Have a great Easter!