Newbies, Negatives and Speed Workouts

You gotta love the new folks to the program. They come out with vim and vigor, and smoke the track. A few days later they can't bend over and tie their shoes, sore and stiff. Warning them is a waste of time. We all suffer the same faults as our egos often write checks our bodies can't cash. The newbies remind us of the fun of discovery and the joy of running. But once they learn just a little restraint, their enthusiasm can power some big time gains! And their new blood invigorates us old timers. A perfect blend!

Speed Workouts.... the trick behind running negative splits.
1. ALWAYS run a mile warm and a mile warm down. Nobody likes the warm down, in particular, but besides pumping you down, they teach tenacity, and what it takes to slog it out when you are really tired. This is great mental training for racing. You will reference it!
2. Negative Splits are when you run each successive repeat at a particular distance in the workout at least even or 1 second faster. For instance, if the workout is 12x400's, you might start at 100 seconds for #1, and finish at 89 for the last or second to last one. You slowly work down to faster speeds. If you run one too fast, too bad, the rest have to be as fast or faster. That is the penalty for blowing the negative split. What will actually happen is you may not finish the workout; you'll get soooo cooked, but it becomes a lesson learned my talking to you will not teach. Newbies love to go out, crank the first two, and quit at 6, too tired to even run warmdowns.
3. Newbies should always run behind experienced runners for WEEKS on end to learn the paces. We don't care how quick you are for one repeat. We want to see if you can learn the maturity to complete the workout in negative fashion.
4. Negative splits for speed and tempo, and even long runs engender proper pacing for races, optimizing race day performance.
5. Believe in negative splits! Same ability, different approach.......
    Example A: Newbie runs 6x800's  at:  3:45, 3:40, 3:50, 3:55, 4:00, 4:05   cooked like BBQ
    Example B: Negative Split runner  at:  3:55, 3:50. 3:50, 3:45, 3:40, 3:38   hard but controlled    
The net speed difference for this 3 mile speed workout is:  37 seconds!
The beginner thinks he cranked it with some fast 800's, but in reality ran the workout considerably slower. Over time, Runner B will magically run over Runner A in a distance race, to the amazement of many people who may think they are both running together at the track and are equal.
6. If you are trying to run your best and fastest, and reduce injuries, why not handle the biggest loads when you are fully warmed up and flowing? Negative splits accomplish this.
7. Negative splits, on the backside of the workout, teach you how to handle load right on the edge of the lactate threshold, where the real athletes hang out!!!
8. For 400's I like to see the hi/low separated by about  10/12 seconds, 800's by 15/20 seconds, mile repeats by 30/45 seconds. These are just guidelines to empower you to start slow, finish fast
9. Whenever running more than 8 repeats of anything, make the penultimate repeat your fastest one. The last one should be slightly slower, and don't check splits, but rather "feel" your way thru just a bit slower than maximum. Then check your time at finish. This will instill confidence and protect against outright racing and injury.
Good luck and run negatives!

MARATHON RECOVERY ideas for Optimizing Future Races

Yep, been busy, sorry not blogging all the time........

OK, some of us just finished BOSTON, others a 50k, and so on. Lets talk recovery strategy.

FIRST off:
If you try to run more than 1 and maaaaybe 2 optimal races a year, expect to injure out.
Or plateau out at the very least. So, I often have to deal with OVER EXPECTATION of runners. Sounds familiar???
EVERY RACE CAN'T BE YOUR BEST, so get ova' it!!!!

Here's a typical scenario ......
Lets say you want to run a BQ at St. George in October, a very fast but TACTICAL course, since it has a massive uphill from miles 7 to 11, and a few backend rollers that can dash your downhill pace. So often, folks come to me from April onward, and tell me they are going to run other marathons, do extremely long runs ( 4 hrs + or 20+ milers), run the Grand Canyon, run 50k's etc. all between April and October. They are proud , and rightfully so, of their ability to do so, AND run the marathon. I nod and smile. But if they ask what I think, here's what I say.
"Regardless of your genetic talent, guts, and desires, and training, and even if you get a BQ, you will NOT run your optimum race at St. George, or any other marathon within 6 months".

I get blowback,  like gambler stories of alleged winners in Vegas, about anecdotal triumphs or improving times. That's all nice and I love it, but.....YOU LEFT YOUR OPTIMAL RACE OUT ON THE COURSE OR A TRAINING RUN somewhere earlier in the training cycle.

Here's why......
You couldn't keep up your speedwork and tempo training!!!!

Lets look at weeks of prepping and recovering from key races:
TAPER.... I promote TAPER schedules starting 6 weeks out. The last week or 2 get really easy in prep for the big effort. Then you race, and the next week you should really just bike and walk, then another 6 weeks to build back to a schedule, and another 4 weeks after that to just GET EVEN with your pre race speed/ tempo workouts, AT A MINIMUM! yes you can fool yourself, yes you can overcome and over perform, but now you have willingly entered the INJURY ZONE. As if in total denial, runners come up to me after injuring out while in this zone, and mumble:
"I have NO idea where that torn or ripped XXXXX  XXXXX injury came from!".
(see my Five Ways to an Injury Blog)

So lets look at the toll of a "big" race.
6 weeks taper, 1 week wiped out, 6 weeks recovery, 4 weeks to get back up to previous speed and  tempo levels= 17 weeks, or about 4 months,
and, oh yes........
YOU JUST LOST 17 Weeks of STEADY IMPROVEMENT under a periodization program. HELLOOOOOO!

So not only did you take a trip thru the injury zone, your mirrored alter ego in another dimension was able to get stronger over the last 17 weeks, and IMPROVE while you ran a big race and just got BACK to stasis!!!!

I AM NOT ARGUING with you about running and racing! I often go back to back, or otherwise run other races. I just don't ask my body to cash checks my ego has written. It so often comes back to realistic expectations.

So if you are keying in a "BIG" race, don't kill it off or marginalize it with some big mile races or workouts anywhere close to many months beforehand.
Now go have a good run, and be thankful for another day above the dirt!   :>)  Fe

Partial Knee replacement and running UPDATE 2013

Well, I sometimes get a bit too busy....... but it's time to blog again....
Update on my partial knee replacement I received on June 2, 2010.......

Wow, it's hard to believe how fast time moves on. Tempus Fugit.

Having being somewhat retired for a few years, at 61 I decided to back to work, so things have been a bit hectic. Luckily, I am imbued with a desire to get my daily workouts in, regardless. At times a challenge but at other times refreshing, I have managed a rehab schedule despite the demands of work and family. So lets update.

After going bone on bone in my late 50's, and holding a marathon schedule for almost 20 years, it became difficult to follow Linda down the frozen food aisle as even basic walking became untenable. After much consultation and investigation, Dr. Eric Heiden ( also of Olympic fame and a great human being) referred me to his partner, Dr. Phil Davidson, here in Park City, UT. It was recommended I have a Partial Knee Replacement (PKR), using Conformis knee parts, rather than a much more invasive Full Knee Replacement (FKR). A resurfacing technique that left the majority of my knee in place despite stage 2 and 3 arthritis in my lateral knee compartment and patella. The doc told me he'd get me running again. But still I had doubts.

Recap of recovery:

I found the Physical Therapists were behind the curve on PKR, as many of them have not had a lot of experience with PKR. They are great folks, but with FKR, there's no remaining knee joint issues, so those folks are treadmilling etc. out of the gate. I still had two of my 3 compartments (lateral and patella) that were far from perfect.  Recovery was very slow, and I did not push it, since I was dealing with small metal parts taking much stress. My attitude is and always has been to take almost twice as long as recommended recovery times, as I have blogged extensively that injuries set folks back soooo far, it's not worth the overall risk.

Phase 1.... Goal... get moving WITHOUT INJURY  1 year Year 1

To keep a streak going, I ran my 5th consecutive Triple Trail Challenge (http://mountaintrails.org/events/triple-trail-challenge/)  2 1/2 months after surgery, basically shuffling my way through it in ugly but determined fashion. I would not call it running by any stretch. The Mid Mountain Marathon took almost 7 hours of peg legging 26.2. Nothing special, just persistent. Many friends helped me achieve this goal.

At the 6 month mark, I was struggling to run 4 to 6 miles in a row,  at 12 minute pace. Things went slow. Also, my strength training was even slower, where I could barely lift single leg extensions at 30 lbs., well below what PT's wanted me to do. I did not injure, however.

At the 8 month mark, I finally broke through on an 8 miler, continuous. It was difficult, but I could feel my knee opening up a bit, but my gate was not at all smooth.

Then at 10 months, I broke through to a 12 miler, and for the first time, I felt I was actually "running", and not just on a fast low heeled shuffle.  My partial knee recovery was FINALLY starting to pay dividends. For the first time in over a year and a half, I internally felt comfortable calling myself a runner again.

Phase 2....Run long again      6 mos -1 year Year 2

Hard work, climbing out of the hole, continued. Running, biking, weight training 6 days a week. Runs were often not enjoyable, but necessary. but progress continued, I snuck in a regrettable 2011 Las Vegas Marathon (avoid it, IMO. I blogged the awful conditions), and slowly built miles.

18 months, long after surgery, became the watershed turning point in my trying to regain old form.
My gait finally opened up where strangers could not discern that I had a metal appliance for a joint in my knee. Form smoothed out, aerobic capacity increased, and I was a bona fide runner again, back of the pack and happy as heck. But now my second phase started. Slowly I introduced tempos and very mild speed. I had made a pledge before surgery not to push the envelope the first year, and only assess SPEED workouts at 18 months. But my assessment told me I was NOT ready for the harder speed workouts without risk. So I settled into a manageable routine of 25 to 30 miles a week. (see my blogs as I have never been a fan of big weekly miles, but rather trust science and evidence in using lower mile high intensity as my guide as a journeyman marathoner)
But my consistency without much speed work gave me enough of a base to run a Boston Qualifier at St. George 2012, 30 days after a moderated Mid Mountain Marathon, with a 3:48 effort. 

Phase 3.......adding in Tempo and Speed workouts 1 year Year 3

I am now midway through my third year since surgery, and I have layered in the more serious type workouts as I see how much my older body can take. Knee pain, although present, is basically a mere annoyance at times, nothing that actually keeps me from running. I am holding a traditional speed/tempo/long running schedule on Tues/Thur/Sat., on a periodization schedule averaging low 30's miles weekly.  I add as I can, and I am cross training less right now as I drop weight lifting to move down from 190 to 180 on my 6' frame. My goal is to TRY a sub 3:30 at St. George in 2013, but common sense and indicators will eventually dictate whether this is achievable or not.  I have great running partners, an understanding spouse, and a knee that essentially is now acting as a natural part of my body, subject more to the degradations of old age than the artificial parts that now make my athleticism possible. I also ski , and enjoy bumps more than is probably prudent.( Hey, I live in Park City, home to the #1,4 and 10 rated resorts!)
But keeping in mind I have many friends who have severe or even life threatening issues, my knee and it's progress seem inconsequential in comparison, and therefore its tribulations are kept in perspective relative to others trials.

If I can be of any help, or offer any advice to those of you out there suffering from a bone on bone situation, it would be to offer hope that there are solutions. The recovery may be trying and a lot of work, but if I can do it, so can you. Ordinary folks doing extraordinary things.
Aren't we so lucky to live in a society where we not only have freedom of choice, but have medical care available (for only some of us, unfortunately), that allow us to have such options. Yet sadly or selfishly,  some Americans feel all of us should not share in such good fortune.

Best wishes and feel free to comment or ask questions.  May you be as lucky in life as I have been.

Ed Knapp
runskiride@gmail.com
HatuHarriers on FB

Recent Articles and My Comments 2 of 2

OK, now on to the get happy pills. 

"You can't fool mother nature", and it seems, every time we find something we all love and want to abuse, there's downsides. Dammit! I have been schizo on IBU for years. Sometimes I love it, then I read articles on how bad it is, and my stomach revolts because it's really tough on the lining.

There's increasing evidence that this may be a secretly nasty drug. It attacks stomachs and intestines, and it may DELAY recovery rather than enhance it. It surely can be convicted of being a masker of your real physical condition, and therefore, it could be argued, keep all of us from engendering a balanced approach to our training and racing. 

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/05/for-athletes-risks-from-ibuprofen-use/

So for a while I have been in search of a substitute. Tramadol in low 50mg doses really makes me feel better on the pain/ soreness front. I occasionally take it ever since my partial knee replacement. This drug helps me avoid the IBU debate, but of course, opens up it's own can of worms. 

IF you are having issues with IBU, consider asking your doc about this as an alternative. I do not intend to offer any medical advice here, just discussing ideas.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tramadol

So lets talk themes here. These articles all bring into focus something we athletes all struggle with. The M word. 

MODERATION

My blog here is not to tell you how to live your life, or what to believe or not believe. I make controversial statements not to necessarily piss folks off, but hopefully to pass along info, a point of view, and share what has worked with me for this short time I am slogging around planet earth. 

Moderation can also keep us from falling into addictive behaviors, besides keeping us out of really bad trouble. My philo take on this is....

If it controls me, or forces me to NOT want to be open minded and it causes me to discard the scientific method to protect a belief or a dogma, there's prolly something wrong.

So if you get hooked and "need"  IBU, Tramadol, pot, booze, Vicodin or whatever; if you NEED to run or work out obsessively without clearly defined reasons as to WHY, and have trouble keeping things in perpective,  a little introspection my be a good thing.  :>)  We all fight our demons.

Now have a good day, and get a workout in.

Recent News Articles and My Comments 1 of 2

 Here are some recent articles I found interesting:

First, is a study on Olympic Athletes living longer:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/254034.php

Please remember, even if this study is properly adjusted, there could be embedded bias in the results. For instance, maybe athletes who end up Olympians are merely genetically superior with a predisposition to live longer. 

Next, is an article about a study indicating endurance athletes may not benefit, and even suffer deleterious effects, from working out too much, or too hard:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323330604578145462264024472.html?KEYWORDS=one+running+shoe

This is not the first study on this subject, and mortality rates of high performing athletes in old age may suffer bias, maybe not. For instance, it would be interesting to see a further breakout of PERSONALITY traits associated with mortality rates of athletes rather than just how fast you run miles. WHY? 

Consider that someone with a higher VO2 MAX may run miles easier generally than someone with a lower VO2 MAX. And adjust for AGE, and WEIGHT too.  I often address this issue in my blogs. My advice is to maximize performance with a minimal of training, and use HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) methods, rather than indulge obsessive behaviors. If you have read my previous blogs, you know I feel that most training schedules are counterproductive to achieving better performance efficiently while trying to decrease all sorts of risks.  

Add to this that there is a predisposition of endurance sports ATTRACTING obsessive compulsive behavior type folks, and ....you get the idea. The doctor in the article prolly is a bit OC to begin with. In the United States at least, the selection process of kids into medical schools greatly favors OC behaviors, IMO. I don't think this is necessarily a good thing, and if I start on this subject, I may rattle on for quite a while while alienating a whole new class of people I heretofore have not previously offended. Then this Doc in the article, in OC fashion, goes on to DOMINATE his races, while, we must all presume, run a practice and raise a family. Now THERE's a balanced approach! And now, in OC fashion, he's AGAINST what he did. Whew! No wonder world peace is so tough!

My thoughts are that you will lead a kinder, gentler life by keeping your exercise in perspective, and in fact the training regimens I recommend generally avoid OC behavior, or at least reign it in. As I have often stated, nobody will chisel your marathon time on your gravestone, and nobody really gives a crap about your time. But other athletes will care how you treated them on the course and in training runs. So the balance may be in approach, not performance, based on genetic gifts or detriments, and how you accept your gifts or limitations as you try and execute careers and be good parents. 

Ordinary people view everything as a blessing or a curse, warriors view everything as a challenge.

The upshot of all this is that we should consider SOME validity to these studies, and examine them in a scientific fashion, rather than fitting this information to what we want to believe. 

(Carl Sagan says it way mo betta than me)

Your Brain 12 of 12 Repositioning Running in your life

Ahh, it's been a long road to get to #12 of this series, and my apologies but I do get busy. So lets finish up my Using Your Brain Series with the single most important aspect of the entire series.
Using Your Brain 12 of 12 : Repositioning Running in your life.

Lets start with the big picture, your mortality. Ipod 'Dust in the Wind" and lets get perspective here. We are all here for a short visit. Some of you feel you will be running after you are dead. My observations are to the contrary, but if you have some information supporting your position, feel free to present it here as I can blog the subject further; just keep it factual. :>)
There's all sorts of reasons we run. Some run for ego, others for fitness, others spiritual ( I love running misty mornings through California oaks with friends at an easy pace, savoring every step), others for stress relief and on and on. Rather than blather on endlessly, let me share a few bullet points on my experiences:

1. With global warming nipping at our heels, careers, family issues, and loved ones suffering sickness, debilitation and death, IT's JUST A RUN!!! I have come close to being permanently taken off of the running rolls ( knee replacement), and what I wouldn't give to run while I was down! Have some empathy for those less fortunate, then go out and dedicate a run to one of them, and let them know it.
2. Whenever you get too tired to hold a schedule, or cranky with your spouse, the kids, work or your loving dog, you have gone OC (obsessive compulsive).  Take a few days off and reflect why that is happening. You may see an ugly side you'd prefer not to acknowledge.
3. EVERY single run and workout is really really special. Rent League of Their Own ( easily my fav baseball movie, even ahead of Pride of The Yankees), and fast forward to this dialogue:  Jimmy Dugan: I, I gave away five years at the end my career to drink. Five years. And now there isn't anything I wouldn't give to get back any one day of it...... Dottie Hinson: It just got too hard.
   Jimmy Dugan: It's supposed to be hard! If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard... is what makes it great!                                          Be GREAT, just by doing!
4. Always give a little back. Say hi to a nervous newbie, share a goodie, sit back a mile with a slower runner, sweep a course, offer help in a race to the detriment of your clock time, offer encouragement or ohh and aah at someone's new PR. Organize a run! and so on.
   It's as spiritual as it gets. 
5.  Nobody really gives a rat's ass about your times. It's funner than crap to crow like a peacock, but just don't believe your own press clippings. YOUR PR MARATHON TIME WILL NOT BE CHISELED ON YOUR GRAVESTONE! But a few folks MIGHT speak of you kindly.
6. There's a BIG difference between being committed, and being OC. Learn the difference.
7. You will run your IDEAL race maybe 2 times out of ten. MAYBE. So stop making lame o excuses after the run or race. That's what you did today, under (x) conditions. OWN IT and be comfortable with it. It is YOU and the performance is you're very fabric. We all admire folks comfortable in their own skin.... this is one way to emulate them.
8. Running is something I do, but it does not define me. Others may think so, but not me.

The more you give, the more you get, especially with hard working, appreciative runners. Now go out and enjoy the day! Fe

Personal Trainers

OK, here goes. I am sure to offend someone, but hey, it's a discussion. Lets talk Personal Trainers. I am NOT talking about coaches, but rather the newer crop of fitness folks who charge hourly rates at gyms. I am NOT against them, but rather think that they have a place, perhaps more limited than their best interest would accept, and on that, we can differ. Also, I think that they are better suited for our burgeoning calorically enhanced population who would otherwise sit on the couch, watch TV and search for stale twinkies on ebay. ( I have a weakness for Hostess cupcakes). I go deeper in trouble. For endurance athletes, especially runners, my main concern is the ballistic and dynamic activities they might inflict on athletes who don't particularly benefit from the risk reward ratio of such riskier behavior. 
Weight lifting and biking are probably the two best core activities for a large swath of the population; runners, endurance runners, should engage in these both, but probably should avoid a lot of other "fitness" activities to avoid injuries. I am NOT against crosstraining! 

On the top of ol' Eddie's hit list is the nemesis of knees and hamstrings, the popper of achilles tendons and twitcher of the soleus, the creator of out of balance injuries....SQUATS. Oye vey, here comes the mail.......and if you are not an endurance athlete, many of the following comments may not apply.


As you may have previously read, my feeling is that  for the most part, personal trainers will unwittingly injure endurance running athletes for the following reasons:
1. Personal trainers are usually younger than you and have no idea about older bodies
2. Personal trainers get paid hourly to show physical results. This means helping some lose weight, and definitely showing "bulk" on their students.
3. Personal trainers also measure your progress on your ability to move larger weights, and or higher reps.
4. Personal trainers can't get paid by standing by you while you go aerobic, nor can they be with all their clients for all client aerobic workouts. 6 clients x 10 miles=60 miles a day? I don't think so. As a result, they are "gym" oriented, where they can sometimes rightfully justify some of the high rates they can charge folks that are not self starters. Nor will "aerobic" training athletes pay a personal trainer $75 bucks an hour to watch them run 8 miles. ( That's at least $100 PER RUN)
5. Personal trainers want to "annuitize" their income stream, ie., have you workout regularly under their auspices, to get paid, regardless of your training cycle, physical condition or overall schedule.
6. Most trainers I have seen, stress weights, squats, jumps, etc. etc. . The things you may not want to do on your own, and DOWNPLAY supervised aerobic activity. I wonder why......
7. Certification is mostly mail order and tests.
8. In a competitive market place, PT's are most likely to promote the newest short term fad stuff, that usually does NOT engender your long term behavior changes towards a more aerobic based lifestyle.
Right now, the popular Cross Fit and P90X like programs are the workouts du jour. Not only are these programs big on squats, I doubt most of us will be holding these programs very long, especially into old age.

9. There is increasing data coming out that shows weight lifting alone is actually unhealthy, as it promotes thicker arterial walls. Let's look to Jack LaLanne. He lifted every day, but followed it with large amounts of aerobic workouts. It's also what I recommend.
10. Personal trainers can't figure out how to get large hourly rates while running, biking, hiking, spinning, swimming, etc. with you. THESE are activities that you are more likely to do over time, and also stress the heart continuously for long periods of time or using interval training... very healthful. You may want to buff out with "muscle confusion", but your heart loves it even better when you spend most of your time going aerobic.
11. Most personal trainers have older clients (> 30 years old) doing squats. Some times lots of them. Don't get me started, just remember I told you so, so I don't have to say so when I see you hobbling!
12. Personal trainers charge a lot of money on an hourly basis, don't necessarily get you to higher end aerobic level of fitness, and almost never train you for activities that you can do the rest of your life. I support these folks for target goals, but endlessly using them is like dealing with a chiropractor or psychiatrist who may be more interested in annuitizing their income stream rather than treating a specific behavioral, psychological or physical issue. I am transactional in my approach, not dependency driven. Just my opinion. Why not just find a group of folks with your common goals and start exercising together? Trainers are great for target goals, but why not wean yourself away towards taking responsibility for your own destiny? I prefer PT's who'd rather TUNE UP your program once in a while.
13. Injuries are a part of an athletic life. Why increase risk just to add muscle mass indiscriminately? 

As usual, feel free to ask away with any questions, and thanks for visiting. Have a great workout today.

ek