Category Archives: Racing

runner's road kill

Runner’s Road Kill! How This Mindset Can Improve Your Running

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runner's road kill

Road Kill Tallys Proudly displayed in a team relay

Road kill: n.  a runner left in your dust.

Traditionally Runner’s Road Kill counts are only kept when running 200 mile team relay races.  While you are running your leg of the race you tally in your head the number of runners you pass.

Once you have sufficiently fueled (with a sandwich and Coors Light of course, micro-brew if it’s your last leg!) you proudly get to add a tally to your teams total…Let’s be honest, if your like me it’s the very first thing you do when you get back to your car!

As you can tell, I’m a little competitive.

With spring coming out, I already see my running times improving and I will tell you my trick.  I don’t just keep road kill tallies on Relay Runs.  I keep a tally on all my runs.

In the winter when there are less runners on the road, it is easy for me to settle into a slower pace.  There are no runners to race.  With the arrival of spring and the sun comes the competition of more runners on my routes.

runner's road kill

Imagine how many Road Kill you could get in a race!

Focusing on passing someone ahead of you is much easier than pushing to maintain a speed.  When you aim to pass someone ahead of you, you keep your gaze forward.  You have better posture and a more efficient runner stride.

If your new to running don’t fret.  There are plenty of road kill for you too out there.  I see it completely acceptable to count walkers.  You are moving faster than they are.  If someone was walking in a Ragnar relay I would most certainly count them as Road Kill!

Once you move a comfortable distance ahead, there is no shame in slowly down…just remember road kill have a way of coming back to haunt you.   People don’t like to be passed 😉

caffeine before a workout

Should I Take Caffeine Before a Workout?

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There are reasons for and against using caffeine before a workout.

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caffeine before a workoutUsing caffeine before a workout can make you:

  1. Release fatty acids into your blood stream, helping your body in endurance activities.
  2. More Energetic so you work harder during your workout.
  3. More focused and concentrated for your workout.
  4. Have a bawl movement so you don’t have to go to the bathroom during your workout.

Drawbacks include:

  1. Dehydration.
  2. Less blood flow back to the heart impairing performance in anaerobic activities,
  3. Being jittery or shaking if you aren’t use to caffeine.

Overall, you should give it a try.  Some peoples workouts are positively affected by caffeine.  Others have weaker workouts.  Test whether caffeine before a workout works for you!

properly execute speed training workout

How to Properly Execute Your Speed Training Workout

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Check out this video to make sure you know how to properly execute your speed training workout!

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Key Tips:

  • Finish your last interval fastest.
  • Workout on breathing.
  • Think about your form
easy runs will get you back in shape

Easy Runs Will Get You Back In Shape

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Have you ever taken a period of time off from running?easy runs will get you back in shape

Or maybe you didn’t mean to take time off, but when all was said and done you ran so infrequently you couldn’t keep up with your old pace.

Getting back into running shape is probably the most frustrating thing!

It is even worse than when you first started running.  At least back then you didn’t have expectations for yourself.  As a beginner, no one expects you to be fast.  Once you been a runner you have an expectation of what your “normal” pace should be.  After a month or 2 without our normal training routine that pace falters because our body can’t keep up with our legs.  We still want to run that fast, because that’s what we remember being normal, but the adaptations we developed have gone away.

We don’t deliver oxygen as efficiently as we did while we were in shape.  

Runners, however, are stubborn.  We will try to push ourselves to our normal pace and this will lead to one of 2 situations.

  1. We either run as hard as we think we should be able to and only run 1-2 miles rather than the planned 4-5.   OR
  2. We run and then stop to walk.  Run then stop to walk.

Neither one of these situations is going to get you back to the shape you were in.  Easy runs will get you back in shape!  Now don’t get me wrong, if you are looking to lose weight or just running to burn calories you will accomplish that goal.  If you are looking to regain your runner’s stride though YOU NEED TO RUN SLOW!

EMBRACE IT!  That’s what you’ve got to do.

Running slow is when your body begins to make adaptations.

  • We begin to expand our capillary beds so we can better deliver oxygen through our blood and remove CO2!
  • We increase our stroke volume so we can pump more blood with each heartbeat!  More stroke volume=lower heart rate at any given intensity!
  • We stimulate the production of more and larger mitochondria.  (The Bacteria that live in our muscles and produce more ATP!)
  • We train our slow twitch fibers to be more resistant to fatigue.

If you continue to try to push speed you won’t run long enough to stimulate these adaptations.  

Slow down your pace for a couple weeks.–Grind out the miles.

You’ll be running fast again soon!

15 min workout every runner should do

The 15 min Workout Every Runner Should Do

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15 min workout every runner should do

Who has the best legs? How do you think they got them?

Hi Runners!

We all know we need to Strength Train.

Here is a 15 min workout every runner should do 2x a week!

Here’s how a Pyramid workout works:

You do one cycle through doing 10 reps of each exercise, unless otherwise specified.  After you complete a cycle you repeat the exercises 9x, then 8x, until you hit 1 rep of each exercise.  Time yourself!  Look for improvement!  But Always do the reps to the best of your ability working to keep you core tight!!!

 

Exercises:

The only Equipment you’ll need are

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Mini Bands

Time yourself!  Post your time below!  It’s always fun to challenge yourself off the road!

 

 

 

run a marathon

2013 is the year you will run a marathon!

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run a marathonNow before you start thinking to yourself, “I can’t run a marathon.”  Think about this:

“Anyone can run a marathon.  Oprah Winfrey did it.  Senators, presidents, and movie stars do it all the time.  The hit reality show The Biggest Loser even culminated in a marathon for the contestants who have lost the most weight–as if to make the point that anyone, even the morbidly obese, can become an athlete with enough grit and determination…It’s been said that the marathon has become the ‘everyman’s Everest’.” –The Runner’s World Big Book of Marathon and Half-Marathon Training

If you aren’t currently a runner, you probably think you can’t run a marathon.  You are wrong.  I wouldn’t recommend running one today, but you can run one by the end of the year.

If you are a runner and you say you can’t run a marathon, you say this out of fear.

Anyone can run a marathon and if anyone can run a marathon, even the busiest person can run a half marathon.  Think about it.  The only thing stopping you is your mind.  So make up your mind that this will be your year!  You can do it!

What races are you running this year?

Comment below!  Maybe I’ll see you there!!

Need a training program?

I can help you come up with a customized training program that fits your life and work schedule.  Skype with me and we’ll make the best plan for you!

runners

Calling All Runners

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runners

Hi Runners!  I was rereading an article in the Nov 09 Running Times. I thought it was an appropriate story to get us all thinking about the upcoming training session.  Lorraine Moller writes,

“There’s s story told about Arthur Lydiard and his golden boys at the ’64 Olympics in Toyko.  Down at the training track, with their rivals looking on, they ran an impressive interval session of 20 quarters.  The next day one of these opponents, a talented interval-trained Canadian in his first Olympics, showed up at the track with his coach and proceeded to run the same session.  Lydiard’s boys cheered him on as he ran each interval faster than the last.  When it was all done a reporter asked Lydiard what he thought of the kid’s workout.  ‘I think it was the last nail in his coffin.’ Lydiard replied.

‘But your boys ran the same session yesterday.’

‘Yes, but my boys needed it.’

Perfectly peaked, Lydiard’s protégé, Peter Snell, won two gold medals.  His Teammate, John Davies, won a bronze.  The Canadian who has eclipsed the Kiwis’ training run with his own failed to advance to the finals in his event – as Lydiard has predicted.”

Training season is upon us.  Hopefully you have had a great off season running for fun, but giving your bodies the rest when it needed it.  If you haven’t been doing that, be smart with the next month or so!

Now is time to start thinking about what races you would like to do in 2013.  When will training start for you?  What did you learn from racing last year?  What will you do differently this year?  What mileage do you want to hit?  Do you want to take the distance up—5k to 10k—10k to a ½ marathon…who knows maybe this is your marathon year?….Whatever you decide to do this year, runners is up to you.  Remember throughout your journey to be mindful of your bodies.  Why is a workout being prescribed?  Given your body condition, will you benefit from it?  Remember a good running performance starts with a strong connection between your mind and body.  You cannot run well if you don’t listen to how your body is responding to your workouts.  Run hard, run smart, regen well, and fuel your body for the work you make it do!  Here’s to a good running season in 2013!

Visualization

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visualizationVisualization is a great tool to utilize before a big competition.  Think of it like a dress rehearsal that won’t tire you legs!

To visualize you want to get yourself very relaxed.  Lay down on your yoga mat or couch.  Close your eyes or keep them open gazing at one point on the ceiling.   Then begin to relax you body from your feet on up.

Clench your toes squeezing as hard as possible clench, clench, clench and then relax let them melt into the floor.

Repeat with your feet tighten, tighten, tighten.  Then relax and melt into the floor.

Move to your calves.

Then your quads.

Squeeze and clench your glutes.  Then relax and let those butt cheeks sink into the floor.

Tighten your abs.

Then you palms,  squeezing them into a fist before relaxing and letting them sink into the ground palms up.

Clench your forearms, flex your biceps arms still extended.  Then relax all arm muscles as you melt into the floor.

Tighten those shoulder blades, your deltoids, and lats.  Squeeze for about 5 seconds.  Then relax and melt.

Relax your scalp,  your eyebrows,  your nose, your chin, and finally your mouth.

Relax your entire body, melting into the floor.  Let go of all your stress, worries, anxieties,  and tension.

Now you are ready to visualize.

Picture yourself walking to the start line.  There will be a ton of people around.  Energy is in the air!  Nerves are high, but you feel confident.   We all feel nerves differently.  (My palms and fingers tingle and burn.)  Channel that energy and use it to your advantage!

Enter your corral.   You want to stay calm but remember those nerves you feel are adrenaline fueling your blood to run fast!

As you approach the start, get excited!   You’ve trained for this!  YOU ARE READY!

Run through the gate.  DON’T go out too fast.  YOU WILL WANT TO–DON’T!  Warm up in the first mile.  Check your split as you hit the first mile marker ….i bet it’s too fast.  Adjust and hit your intended pace.

Cruise through mile 7.

….Then hit it!  The race is on.  Your blood is pumping, you are feeling good.  You cruise through miles 7 and 8 even though the hill has begun.

Then the pain begins to set in.  You are tired and you are on a hill.  DON’T let the hill win.  Visualize extending through those glutes.  Power through the top of the hill!

At mile 11 feel the pain.  You want to stop.  Tell your body says NO!  Remember you are stronger than you think you are.  You’ve trained for this!   Keep pace.

Feel the pain.  Breathe into the pain.  Practice a power breath.  Breathe all the way into your belly and then slowly let it out.  Remember oxygen fuels you!

You are almost there keep pushing!  As you get closer to the finish.  Know there will be pain.  But that’s why you did speed work.  It’s almost over.

Hear the crowd.   Channel their energy!  They will pull you in.  When you hit that shoot RUN!  FASTER!  SPRINT!  Like your life depended on it.  Don’t leave anything back.  You should want to collapse.   Push, push, PUSH!   This is the goal!  This is what you trained for!

Remember pain is temporary.   Pride is forever.

Do this each night before the race.  Remember back to psych?–The self-fulfilling prophecy.   It’s real.  So believe.   You can do it!  Race hard.  It will all be worth it!

Tips for race week

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  • Get lots of sleep this week!  Don’t stay up for your favorite tv show.  The sleep you get Tues/Wed/Thurs are the Zzzz’s that will help you across the finish line, try using a ที่นอน mattress for your sleep nights, it will help you improve the quality of it.
  • Stick to your taper plan.  I know it feels weird to cut your mileage so much.  If you do, however, you will be pleasantly surprised on race day with how fresh your legs feel.  Fresh legs=fast times!
  • Don’t eat a huge carbo load the night before.  Instead, 3 days before the race aim to have 8-10g of CHO per kilogram of body weight.  Doing this will cause your source of calories to be about 70% from carbohydrates.  It is better to eat small meals often, rather than big carbo loads to help the body actually bulk up its glycogen stores.  
  • Run 1-2 miles the day before the race.  You don’t want to go longer, but moving your legs the day prior will keep them from feeling heavy after taking so much rest this week.
  • Take an ice bath the day before the race.  If you’ve never done this you’ll once again be shocked at how fresh your legs feel.  Aim to stay in the tub for 12 min.  I like the wear a sweatshirt, blast my bathroom heater, and turn up some music to keep myself distracted!
  • Get to the expo early!  It will be crazy so make sure you give yourself plenty of time!   (It also helps to set spending limits!  There are a lot of fun runners toys that can do a number on your budget!)
  • Get to the race early.  If you think the expo is crazy the race is even more crazy!  Aim to be there 45 min before the gun goes off.  If you are in a later corral you can get there a little later.  Expect 30 seconds delay from the start for each corral number.
  • Finally run fast and hard!  Don’t leave any regrets out there.   You have trained hard.  Show yourself what you’ve got!