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September 2, 2010
Think of “junk miles” and they don’t inspire. We all have easy run days, though — more days of easy than hard running, in fact.
Why not use easy run days to make the runs more fun, improve concentration, and help your race performances?
Here’s what you do.
Say you plan on running for 50 minutes on an easy run day. Run for 25 minutes in one direction. Turn around to run home; retrace your steps, aiming to run your return trip in 24:00 to 24:30 — 30 seconds to a minute faster than your outward bound run.
Mary Williams has used this “faster back” method consistently for the past 4 weeks. “I just ran a 5K and cut my time down by 30 seconds,” she said. “I haven’t changed my weekly mileage or speed workouts — but I’ve some ‘faster back’ easy runs.”
August 25, 2010
Dedication or consistency in training — no matter what (barring injury, major illness) — is a key to excellence in running (or anything for that matter). Dr. Anders Ericsson of Florida State University has done the research on athletes, chess players, and musicians which confirms that.
While research is validating, concrete, real life examples are the best. Last night four members of the Liberty Athletic Club — Jan Berg, Denise Noland, Mary Kate Shea, and Regina Wright — showed up at practice, the epitome of a “no excuses” approach to training, the ultimate in dedication.
They all work during the day. In Boston we had a soaking northeaster creating bumper to bumper traffic. Coming to practice often takes them an hour (give or take) on a clear day. Caught in “after-work” traffic, they called from their car. Was practice still on and would we wait? Yes and yes.
So they came — after a two-hour commute. And they ran the workout which started with a tough mile.
They’re tough women, 40s to 60s, and they’ll no doubt do very well in the races of their choices.
August 18, 2010
Summer running isn’t over without the Falmouth Road Race. This year the women’s race was won by Wude Ayalew Yimer of Ethiopia in a stunning time of 35:46. Famous American runners topped the age groups, including Colleen De Reuck, 46, who ran 38:10 for 5th place among women overall, and Joan Benoit Samuelson, 53, who captured the 50s division in 41:36, a little more than two and a half minutes ahead of Christine Kennedy, 55.
“It was a terrific day, “ said Sharon Vos, 55, who placed third among the 50s runners in a time of 47:13 – a 6:43 per mile pace. “It’s such a fun race – the crowds are terrific and it’s a race that’s very well organized. They don’t close the roads so that you can warm up beforehand, and now they have ferry service – not just buses – to Woods Hole – so it’s easier to get there.”
Age-group dynamo Marge Bellisle, 55, finished just about 30 seconds behind Sharon — the two are great (and modest!) competitors. “She blew me away this time!” said Marge. “I spotted her as we came out of the woods at 3 miles, only about 10 sec. ahead of me. The gap stayed about the same for 2.5 more miles. But as we rounded the harbor she turned on the rocket boosters and tripled the gap by the end. I had nothing left in me to respond! …That’s my tale of woe!” Not for long is my comment. Marge and Sharon are outstanding runners who’ll leave any open runners wide-eyed.
Sharon said she and her husband, a recreational runner, got into Falmouth through the lottery – and they combined the trip with a vacation (which included Beach to Beacon the week before).
How about it — Falmouth in your vacation next year?!
August 12, 2010
Late summer and fall are great times to train outside and mix up your training with hiking. If you’ve just finished a distance race your stamina will serve you well — you can capitalize on your strength and enjoy the scenery.
Today my husband and I enjoyed a hike in northern New Hampshire — not a major one at just 2,800 feet, but challenging nonetheless. It was gorgeous and a welcome change of pace from running on the roads or trails. We saw, among other things, flumes (gorges with waterfalls), hawks, and even a moose.
If you’re training for a race in the fall, including a three to five hour hike every two weeks or ten days will help your race preparation because it will not only help you build strength but also challenge your balance. If you have any favorite hikes to share, we’d like to hear them.
August 5, 2010
Roundtable Blog: Your Perspective
This is the first “Roundtable Blog” – it’ll appear monthly, with perspectives from three or four women – beginners to elites – on topics related to running.
With the National Masters Outdoor Track and Field Championships now over, this week several masters women – all of whom have either been world masters champions or record holders – kindly offered their views about “rest”. These women – Carmen Troncoso, Coreen Steinbach, and Joy Upshaw-Margerum – were asked for their perspectives on what rest means to them.
Thanks – Carmen, Coreen, and Joy.
Carmen:
What does rest mean to me? Everything. I have always put a lot of weight on resting. Ideally I like to plan the rest as opposed to my body deciding for me. So when I do take a break I can easily come back to shape.
I have always taken a day off/ week, even as a young runner. Back then it was more about a mental break than anything. Now I take 1 or 2 days depending on weekly quantity versus quality. I used to take 6 weeks completely off at the end of track season knowing that I would be back in shape in about 4-6 weeks.
Now I take shorter but more regular breaks depending on my racing schedule. Twice/year 10-12 days completely, and a few days after most races.
Coreen:
I always take a very easy rest week after a big competition. This usually includes some pool running, easy runs with no watch and no track workouts. November is typically my down month where I follow this routine for about 3 weeks. This year after Sacramento I followed up with high peaks hiking in the Adirondacks so I don’t always practice what I preach…legs are toast.
Joy:
Rest??…. What’s that??…Hahahah just kidding.
Physically it is changing up the routine…having a different focus…cross training/base training…mixing it up…not worrying about missing a day or so of workout…but thinking positive about the regeneration.
July 16, 2010
A recent study has come up with an ideal tapering program for mid- to long-distance races.
Dr. Scott Trapp of Ball State University recently led a group of researchers to study ideal tapering for a three week period prior to an 8K cross-country race.
During the three week tapering experiment cross country runners at Taylor University logged 73%, 73% and 50% of their normal training miles. The runners continued their easy runs and intervals but stopped tempo runs.
What happened? All subjects improved after the 3 week taper, their average race times dropping from 27:42 to 26:12.
Said Trappe, “The runners leg muscles [calf; gastrocnemius] got bigger, stronger, and more powerful during the taper period.” Trappe believes the same general taper strategy would work for distance runners all the way up to the marathon.
Here are Scott Trappe’s Taper Principles
- 3 weeks before race: Do 75 percent of normal “midseason” training. Eliminate virtually all “medium hard runs.” Do usual interval training.
- 2 weeks before race: Same as above.
- Last week before race: Do 50 percent of normal training. Eliminate all medium hard runs. Do 50 percent of usual interval training.
July 2, 2010
Take these precautions to avoid overheating, dehydration, dizziness, disorientation, heat cramps or heat stroke, etc..
1. Wear light-colored, loose-fitting clothing and synthetic fabrics (not cotton). They will wick moisture away from your skin so cooling evaporation can occur.
2. Shower before you run – or at least pour cold water on your head or wet down your hair. Lowering your skin temperature will help you stand the heat a little longer.
3. Allow a week or two to adapt to the heat. If hot weather starts suddenly, do shorter runs until your body adapts to the heat.
4. Run in the morning or evening when it’s cooler. Summer air quality levels are worse late in the afternoon.
5. Drink fluids while you are running in the heat: Sweating in the heat accelerates the loss of electrolytes that need to be replenished regularly. If your running time extends beyond 30 minutes, include a drink with carbohydrates and electrolytes.
6. Avoid caffeine and alcohol that dehydrate your body. Some medications, such as antihistamines, are also dehydration risks (for longer races in particular).
7. Don’t Push It: Heat and humidity mean you should scale back your performance goals. If you feel dizzy or if your skin feels clammy, stop and get out of the sun.
8. Stay out of cold air-conditioned rooms before the day before or the morning of a race. You won’t experience a shock to your body when you get to the race.
June 10, 2010
Need mental training tools to improve your running? You’re not the only one. Check out a profile on mental training strategies practiced by superstar 10 K-er and marathoner Kara Goucher. Here is the link.
Even someone like Goucher has “negative chatter”. According to Jeff Troesch, a California-based mental trainer who’s worked with distance runners, NBA players, Major League Baseball pitchers, and the U.S. women’s soccer team, confidence – even at the highest levels of running, golf, and tennis – is “if not the number one issue, then it’s in the top two or three.”
Sports psychologist Dr. Darren Treasure asserts that belief is an essential component of confidence. He, along with Goucher’s coach Alberto Salazar, reinforced her ability to handle the training required to run a competitive 10-K with affirmations and keys words such as “I am a world-class runner”.
Affirmations are powerful, regardless of whether you’re a beginner or Goucher. As Jerry Lynch, sports psychologist based in Boulder Colorado asserts, “the body is very suggestible”.
Write your own affirmation. Is it “I love to push myself?” or “I love the feeling of running?” or something else?” You can write your best affirmation. It will help you. An affirmation is present, positive, and personal.
June 4, 2010
I just caught up with elite masters and world masters champion runner Carmen Troncoso, now in her fifties… She’s one of the top competitors, along with Joan Benoit Samuelson, in the 50s age category who will be competing this week-end at the Freihofer’s 5k for women.
Carmen, who’s won the masters race at Freihofer’s five times, said she’s ready. “My main goal is to run faster than last year – 17:42. I know I am in much better shape than that. I have been training really, really hard.”
Also a coach in Texas, Carmen says she urges all her athletes – regardless of their times – to set a race strategy. “When people feel slow they feel silly having a strategy,” she said. “But everyone wants to run faster – so it’s worth thinking about that. One thing to do is to run or even drive the course before the race. Knowing the course helps you visualize and prepare.”
Carmen has her runners do workouts on portions of race courses as standard preparation. “Everyone who shows up for those workouts does very well in the race,” she said. Another strategy is to pretend that the last kilometer of the race is its beginning. At least that thought engages the mind which can strengthen you when the going gets tough.
Good luck to Carmen and Joan and everyone, beginners to elites, at Freihofer’s this week-end!
May 27, 2010
Fartlek training once a week has delivered personal bests for many of my runners. Fartlek, a Swedish term meaning “speed play,” is a kind of interval or speed training based on time intervals or efforts between landmarks like streetlights or telephone poles. “It’s fun, it gives me a great workout, and you can do it anywhere – on trails, on the roads, or on grass,” said marathoner Sue Gustafson.
The distance between two telephone poles is about 60 meters. Two favorite workouts are 8 X 8 telephone phones at a “relatively hard” perceived exertion with a 4 telephone pole slow jog recovery and 8 X 4 telephone poles at a “hard” perceived exertion with a 4 telephone pole slow jog recovery.
If you want more control over your workout than you have counting telephone poles, just run according to how you feel – pick a mailbox, building, or other landmark to “go for” and then another to “recover to”. Fartlek training is perfect for vacation training when you’re in a new place and have an available track.
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