Jennifer's Running Tips, Installment #5

It's well known that taking some of your training up-tempo can help you run faster at the races. But whenever I mention the term speedwork to beginners, I hear a lot of objections. "I'll get injured," many say. "I don't want to puke."

Speed Play
How to make faster running more fun.
By Jeff Galloway

Speedwork doesn't have to be painful--or punishing. There are plenty of ways to make fast running fun. And by building slowly, setting realistic goals, and incorporating plenty of breaks into your workouts, you can limit your risk of injury. Choose the techniques that work for you; mix them up, or invent your own.

A Game of Chase: When running with a friend, take turns chasing one another for three to six minutes at a time, and take two- to three-minute walk breaks between chases. Repeat the cycle two or three times.

Quick Pickups: During the middle of a regular run, increase your pace for 20 to 50 steps, then ease into a jog for two to four minutes. Rest between each of these segments by walking for one to two minutes. Repeat the cycle three or four times.

A Straight Dash: Run the straightaways on a track (100 meters) five to eight seconds faster than your normal running pace, then walk for two minutes. Repeat this cycle two or three times, then add the curve to your straightaways for a total of 200 meters.

Run for the Hills: Pick a hill with a gentle slope--one that takes 30 to 60 steps to get from the bottom to the top. Start by jogging up the hill, and quicken your steps as you move up it and ease over the top. Keep your feet close to the ground so that it feels like you're making fast baby steps. Walk down the hill to recover.

Swedish Fun: Fartlek is a Swedish term that means "speed play." In this workout, you choose when to pick up the pace and when to rest. To start, run faster for 10 to 30 seconds, then ease back into a jog for 30 to 60 seconds.

Know Your Limits

1. Do speedwork once a week.
2. Warm up well for each workout, with three to five minutes of walking and 10 minutes of slow jogging and walking.
3. Rest between each segment.
4. Never do speedwork (or any training) when you have pain or swelling in your feet or legs.
5. Never run all out. Your speedwork should feel fast but sustainable. If you're in pain or struggling to maintain form, bring it down a notch.

Jennifer's Running Tips, Installment #4

Here are a few ideas on how you can relax and enjoy yourselves during these times without completely ruining your diet and exercise routine.

1. Try to run/walk at least 20 minutes every other day. This little bit of running will help you maintain all the hard work you have put in.
2. Convince the family to take a walking tour of your vacation spot.
3. Play in the pool. Swimming laps or even just treading water are great ways to add some physical activity to your day. Why not revisit some of those silly games you played as a child in the pool? Your kids may just start to think you can have fun.
4. Eat and drink in moderati on. Go ahead and have dessert (same thing with fried chicken, alcohol, etc), but ask a loved one or friend to split it with you or take a small piece.
5. If you are planning on a heavy dinner then try to eat a light lunch. Just include some good fats (from nuts and fish), protein, and carbs so you won’t be soooo hungry by the time dinner comes that you overeat.
6. Ok, so you ate way too much at dinner the night before. Still eat breakfast! Without breakfast you will be more likely to overeat at lunch- which just continues the cycle! Egg whites, fruit, and whole wheat toast is a great breakfast option that won’t bust your britches.
7. Enjoy yourself and don’t worry if you exercise less than you wanted to or ate more than you needed to. When you arrive back at home, just get back on track with your diet and exercise plan. Don’t be critical of your downfalls, praise yourself after getting back on track.

Jennifer's Running Tips, Installment #3

You may have noticed every runner is different, so what works for one gal in your group may not work for you. Below I have described the two mental styles of running and offered some suggestions on how to keep running interesting. Some days I’m content to run for hours on end without seeing a sole, and others I need a few friends to help me through 3 miles. By using different strategies to suit your mood you can keep your momentum moving forward, literally.

Association and dissociation

Association focuses on your body’s sensations and monitoring any changes. For example, you can monitor your breathing rate, muscular sensations (tension), and number of footfalls to pace yourself. Association has been linked to faster running times, but also a higher injury risk because athletes tend to have a higher pain threshold and, therefore, tend to work through the pain.

Dissociation works on distracting your mind from the feeling of tiredness and awareness of effort. You can use music or mind games to dissociate during running. Remember personal music devices are not allowed during competition and generally not a good idea to use outdoors when your safety could be jeopardized by a reduced awareness. Dissociation can help through difficult times of fatigue.

Both strategies are a great way of keeping your performance going. Neither is better than the other, but a combination of both can be of great benefit. For example, during a race the most successful elite runners switch between the two using association at the most important times of the race and dissociation at times where you can give yourself a break from the tough mental demands. You could use association techniques during the first third of the race to read your body’s state during a race by focusing on your breathing to help to relax your body. Then use dissociation techniques during the mid part of the race to distract your mind from “when is this going to end?!” until the point you realize “I’m almost done!” The last third of the race refocus on association techniques to maintain good form and pace.

Examples of association

1. Focus on your breathing: controlled, relatively deep r hythmic breathing is the key to relaxation. When you breathe out, try to imagine the tension leaving your body.
2. Try to remain relaxed while running. Be aware of tension and fatigue in your muscles. Start from the head and work down, giving each area or group of muscles your attention. If you notice tension focus on a cue word, such as ‘relax’ or ‘easy’ and let the tension flow out of the muscles. (Yoga is a good cross training tool to help learn this technique)
3. Keep your pace in line with the information you gain from body monitoring. You might, for example, increase the pace if you feel very positive.

Examples of dissociation

1. Music E2 This can generate positive thoughts, improve your mood state and distract you from the physical demands of your sport. But be careful not to get too distracted if you are running in a busy area. Also, personal listening devices are not allowed in races.
2. Counting game – Count the number of blue cars you see, or the number of dogs or other runners. Get creative. Similar to this but slightly more complex, is do “math problems”- I’ll try to calculate my current pace, the pace I need to maintain to finish in x amount of time, or any other “simple” math problem. You’ll be amazed at how complicated addition and subtraction become when you’re trying to run, which makes it good for passing the time.
3. Alphabet game – Work through from A to Z for a chosen category, such as women’s names or countries.
4. Rainbow game – Try to notice as many colors as possible while you work out: aim for all the colors of the rainbow.
5. Active fantasy – Imagine yourself as a lottery winner and decide how to spend your winnings. Or blow off steam and imagine yourself telling off your boss or whoever is getting under your skin.
6. Sing – My favorite is to sing camp and children’s songs because they aren’t musically complicated. You can monitor your pace this way, too. If you are huffing and puffing, then you’re running too fast. This method is better for easy, recovery, or long runs when running fast is not the objective.

Self-talk is also a very beneficial technique to use when your concentration does stray or you detect fatigue. Prepare before your event what you are going to say to yourself. The key is to stay positive. You can use short phrases and repeat them to yourself (mantra). For example, I repeat the word “turnover” during a 5k to help remind me that my feet should be touching the ground at ~180 footfalls/minute to help increase my pace. “Finish strong” is a popular mantra. Come up with anything that will help you accomplish your goal or overcome your weaknesses. Athletes often recall that their very best performances are accompanied by few thoughts, a feeling of complete control, effortless movements and a sense of being ‘on automatic pilot’.

Concord, This Week's Schedule & Installment #2 of Jennifer's Running Tips

This past week was pretty rough on my knees. I didn't end up swimming on Friday night (or doing anything, for that matter), but I think we made up for it by biking 13.66 miles yesterday morning (in 1:17).

It was such a gorgeous day in Concord -- cool, breezy, perfect weather for riding a bike! My Dad had a route planned for us that was perfect! We started off slow and on mainly flat roads and built up to a HUGE hill (for Concordians, the Burrage Rd portion that goes under Branchview). I wouldn't let myself go down the hill as fast as the hill wanted me to (thank you, brakes!), therefore I didn't have enough momentum to make it completely back up the hill on the other side. Since we turned around at the end of Burrage and rode back the way we came, I had a 2nd opportunity to tackle the hill. I made it all the way to the top (with a little pep talk from myself)!

Sometimes talking out loud is the only way that I can get myself to the top of a hard hill, to finish a hard run, etc. My other tactic is to pick something (like a certain color tree) up ahead of me and make my mini goal just to get to that tree. Once I get there, I do it to a tree that's further up ahead, etc. etc. What sort of things do you guys use to help you?


My schedule this week
Monday - Walk for about an hour around our neighborhood (we're determined to find a different route up the HUGE hill in our neighborhood).
Tuesday - Run 3.25 miles (with the group)
Wednesday - Swim 3400 meters
Thursday - Run 3.25 miles (with the group)
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Run 3.25 miles (with the group)
Sunday - Bike 12 miles (Tobacco Trail? Black Creek Trail?)


Jennifer's Running Tips
Now that we are a few weeks into the program and your aerobic fitness is improving, you may want to start thinking about improving your “running economy.” One easy way to improve your running economy is to improve your running form. Don’t think too much about your form because overcorrecting your natural form may lead to injuries but, consider the following advice from Hal Higdon (a well known long distance runner and coach):

• BODY: Run upright. Your back should be straight, roughly at a 90-degree angle to the ground. Ignore anybody who tells you to "lean into it," even when runn ing uphill. Also, keep those shoulders relaxed!

• HEAD: Look straight ahead. Unless you are enjoying the scenery, your eyes should be focused straight down the road on a point moving about 10 meters in front of you. Try to run in a straight line.

• ARMS: Swing your arms naturally. The angle at the elbow between your upper and lower arms should be about 90 degrees. Your hands should be loosely cupped, about belly level. Let your arms swing in rhythm with your legs. The legs should control armswing, not the other way around.

• FOOTPLANT: The most natural landing is mid-foot, the ball of the foot landing first, the heel contacting the ground a fraction of a second later. The toes push off a fraction after that. Some runners land further forward, or backward, than others, based on what feels natural to them. Attempt to modify this natural gait at your own risk—Do what feels natural!

The Running Plan & Installment #1 of Jennifer's Running Tips

The Plan
Mondays - Cross-train, Walk or Rest
Tuesdays - Run (my "C" group started at 1 mile and a 2 min running/1 min walking ratio) - 1 Mile
Wednesdays - Cross-train, Walk or Rest
Thursdays - Run - 1 Mile
Fridays - Rest
Saturdays - 1 Mile
Sundays - 60 Min Walk or Rest

The way to take this and translate it for the next "X" number of weeks that you want to work on your running is to add the total mileage up for the week and multiply by 10-15%. So since we did 3 miles the first week, we'd go (3*1.10)=3.3 Miles the 2nd week.

As far as how to tell what ratio of running/walking you should start at, you should only go until JUST BEFORE you feel like you have to stop running. So if I'm about to DIE at 7 minutes, that tells me I'm not ready for a 7:1 ratio yet. Start wherever you are comfortable and don't up the percentage of your ratio by more than 5% per week (a 2:1, you'd be running 67% of the time, 3:1 would be 75% of the time, etc.). You may need to stick to one ratio for a couple of weeks before you start to feel like you could do that ratio easily for the full run. At that point, you know that it's time to move on to another challenge. More than anything, you're training your muscles and your brain to realize that what you're doing isn't meant to harm your body. I've only been sore a handful of times during this whole training process.


Jennifer's Running Tips
We've been getting some great e-mails from the certified trainer that's working with the NCRC Women's Beginner Running Program, so I thought I would post them in here to pass along the great info! Here are general rules for the dos and don'ts of running!

We’re all familiar with the saying “No pain, no gain.” While it is true that you need to push beyond your current limits to gain any effects in training, at no time should you feel pain. Discomfort is good, PAIN IS BAD. When you stress your body beyond your usual routine, as in starting a running program, you should feel some discomfort of aches, muscle soreness, and stiffness. The discomfort is a result of your body trying to deal with the new stress and adapt.
You can reduce the discomfort of muscle soreness and stiffness by:

• Engaging in aerobic exercise at least every 48 hours- Do anything to get your heart pumping and body temperature elevated to flush out your muscles.

• Gently stretching for at least 10 minutes after aerobic exercise.

• Get a massage -Both professional and self massage have been shown to reduce soreness (Runner’s World has an online article about self massage at www.runnersworld.com. Search for self massage)

The adaptation process takes some time. After 4-6 weeks of consistent training your circulatory system will start to adapt and your heart will be more efficient at pumping blood through your body (your doctor may also note your lower, healthier blood pressure and heart rate). However, it takes much longer for your bones and connective tissue to adapt. Because your body needs some time to adapt remember the rule of “too” to avoid an injury that could sideline you for months—DON’T RUN TOO MUCH, TOO SOON, TOO FAST. A good rule is to increase your mileage no more than 10% a week. Don’t worry about running fast yet, either.

Steps to proactive injury prevention and treatment

• Expect to get injured. If you are aware, you will be able to detect injuries in the making.

• Keep a first aid kit. You should have several paper cups with water frozen in them for ice massage, ice cubes and zip lock bags for ice packs and an elastic bandage for wrapping the ice packs against the injury. To avoid frostbite only use water ice for cold packs.

• "Nuke" injuries in the making. Immediately ice after running any spot that "feels" funny. Ice massage with paper cup popsicles or wrap with an ice ba g for 10-20 minutes then allow area to warm. Repeat several times a day if possible until there are no more symptoms. Rest the injury a day or two.

• Admit that getting well is more important than training. Keep injuries from progressing beyond a pain that you notice only after running, or a discomfort/tightness (but no pain) during run. At those levels, a little rest and treatment can prevent lots of time off later.

• Admit that injuries are caused. They are not an "act of God". If you want a long term fix for your problem, you must identify and treat the cause, not just the symptoms.

• Use Anti-inflammatories only for inflammation not to kill pain. Most anti-inflammatories are also pain killers. If you are using anti-inflammatories you should not be doing it and continuing to exercise. This is dangerous since they will mask the pain, possibly leading to more severe injury.

• Don't be afraid to seek professional advice. Some doctors actually know what they are doing and can help you get back to the sport quickly. If your doctor is not interested in seeking the cause and returning you to running as soon as possible, get another doctor.

• Use caution coming back. If you have had your training interrupted for 10 days it will take you 10 days to come back. Don't try to get from zero to your previous level of training any sooner than the amount of time you were off. Plan a gradual increase from zero to your previous training level and stick with the plan.

For further information: http://www.teamoregon.com/publication/online/injuries.html