Jogging Running Tips and Guide

Retired Runners

2011-05-31T23:52:00.000-07:00

People today switch not just jobs, but careers several times in their work years. That wasn’t usually the case for the generation of people now retiring. These were the company men—you got a job with Industrial Behemoth, Inc. when you were young, and you stayed there until you retired. You weren’t encouraged to do much more than be an employee, a husband, and a father. The women were encouraged to stay home and raise the kids while tending to the endless household chores. You didn’t have hobbies; you had responsibilities.
But what now? You’ve retired, the kids are long gone and that dream of hours of leisure time might have become a nightmare. Throughout this book, I’ve shown how running is not just exercise; it’s a lifestyle. No, you’re not going to spend your entire day running, but it does help to center your day. Having this activity on your schedule has a way of organizing your day; there seems to be more of a purpose to what you do. I keep mentioning how running improves the quality of your life. This benefit is especially important for older people, who suffer from depression at a higher rate than young people. One of the most amazing runners I know of is Warren Utes of Park Forest, Illinois. Utes began running in 1978 at age 58. When he retired in 1985, he had several years of base behind him and went on a running rampage that hasn’t stopped. Among his many records are a 39:41 10K at age 74, making him the oldest person ever to break 40:00 for the distance. Need me to do the math? That’s almost 6:20 per mile for 6.2 miles! Utes runs 60 miles a week and is having the time of his life. Wouldn’t you like to join him?

Leaving Youth in the Dust

2011-05-31T23:51:00.000-07:00

If you’re over the age of 50 and have been sedentary for a long time, do you remember how you felt more than 20 years ago? Probably pretty darned good, huh? Even if you weren’t brimming with vitality, you probably wouldn’t mind feeling like that again instead of how you feel now, right? Well, if you start running, you can feel that way again.
A study of runners age 50 and older compared them to healthy nonrunners in their 20s. The women runners had an average level of aerobic fitness the same as the sedentary 20-somethings, and the 50+ men runners had slightly higher aerobic capacities than the young couch potatoes. Based on these figures, you could say that running cuts 20 to 30 years from your age!

All Ages Welcome

2011-05-31T23:50:00.000-07:00

It’s never too late to get in shape. People who start running in their 70s will see the same kinds of gains that people in their 20s do. The principles that underlie why your aerobic capacity and strength increase when you start running have no idea how old you are. That’s not what older people have traditionally been told. People past the age of 60 were told to take it easy—maybe putter around the garden a couple of times a week or walk the dog (assuming the dog is no bigger than a dachshund). Get the old ticker going, and you’ll be pushing up daisies, not pulling in Social Security. Getting sick and increasingly dependent on others is an inevitable part of getting old, we were told. Now we know that that advice, like history, is bunk. As one of the leading researchers in this area likes to say, what most people think of as the natural consequences of aging are really the “atrophy of disuse.” Our bodies are machines that like being used. Start them up at a good rate after years of practicing “atrophy of disuse,” and they will thank you for it.
One study started a group of sedentary men in their 60s on a walking and running program. They worked out four times a week for 30 minutes at 70 percent of their maximum heart rate. (Sound familiar? See Chapter 3.) After only four weeks, their aerobic capacity had increased by six percent, and their heart rate at their training pace decreased by 10 beats per minute. After another five weeks, they had another six percent increase in aerobic capacity, and their training heart rate fell another six beats.
Older people can benefit from strength training as well. One of the main reasons that older people lose independence, and with it, quality of life, is because they’ve lost so much muscle mass that they can’t perform basic daily tasks. Being unable to lift more than five pounds might not seem like much of a big deal until you do some quick math: Half a gallon of milk weighs three pounds. Go to the store and buy that, a few pieces of fruit, and maybe some chicken breast, and you better be able to lift more than five pounds unless you want to rely on others to carry even the lightest groceries for you.
A famous study at Tufts University started frail people in their 80s on a serious weight training program. The old folks did repetitions at 80 percent of their one-rep maximum. That’s hard work for anyone, believe me. In just eight weeks, their strength more than doubled.
The bottom line: Not only can older sedentary people start an exercise program like younger people, but they should. The benefits of exercise, as well as the principles for obtaining these benefits, are the same no matter what your age.

Teen Angels: High School Runners

2011-03-31T23:49:00.000-07:00

Once kids are in high school, it’s OK for them to become more serious about competition. By this age, they’ll be able to understand what training is and how sometimes you have to suffer in the present to have a better future. Racing might still be frustrating (it is for everyone at some point), but if they’ve freely chosen to compete, then a few bad experiences probably won’t sour them on running for the rest of their lives. Also, by this age, their bodies can handle the training better. Training for even the longest distances usually offered in high school (5K for cross-country, two miles for track) involves a lot of short, fast speed work, usually on the track. By high school age, more runners are going to be able to do this type of training without breaking down. Most children who race the mile or two-mile in outdoor track are going to top out at about 30 miles a week. Anything more than that, and I’d get a little wary. Certainly, some teens can handle more running than that, especially if they started when they were younger. But even in high school, I think it’s worth erring on the side of caution.
Some coaches are going to encourage members of the team to run more. It’s not unheard of for cross-country team members to run 70 or so miles a week. Whether that’s a good idea is going to be a judgment call. If a high school runner is doing that kind of mileage and understands why, then it can be OK, so long as the runners on the team are progressing and enjoying themselves. But if most members of the team aren’t progressing, then the coach is trying to use methods that might work with older, more developed runners on younger ones who aren’t ready yet for that high of a level of training. Because most high school runners are new to the sport, they should see steady progress in bringing their times down. If they’ve plateaued, it usually means that they’re doing too much.

The Right Races for Rug Rats

2011-03-31T23:47:00.000-07:00

In the 1970s, a young runner named Wesley Paul ran faster than 3:00 for the marathon at age 9, the youngest that anyone had ever done so. This feat got him a lot of attention in the press, and one running magazine even speculated that he would grow up to break the world record. You don’t hear about Wesley Paul these days, however. That’s not surprising. For whatever reason, almost every child who is highly motivated to compete in races at a young age doesn’t become a lifetime runner. Probably for the same reason that kids who are gymnastics dynamos aren’t big on tumbling when they’re 40 years old—the activity is associated with a lot of pressure, not fun, and we all have enough pressure in our adult lives as it is.
I’m not a big fan of age-group track meets for junior high and elementary school kids. There’s just too much of a risk that the children are so serious at such a young age for the wrong reasons. Sure, some of the runners might be mature enough to be able to state why they’re training hard toward meeting competitive goals, but I’d rather err on the side of caution. Kids who have the ability and interest to become top runners will have plenty of time to work on that goal later, when both their minds and bodies are more mature, and they can make fuller use of their potential.
Kids are naturally competitive. Watch the start of these children’s runs, and you’ll see the term “youthful exuberance” defined. They just tear away from the starting line in a sprint! But to keep the events fun and worthwhile for all the young runners, children’s races should give some kind of award to every finisher. At a young age, the top finishers are going to place first because they have more talent for running. Preparing for the event doesn’t factor into winning as it does for adults, especially at short distances. Acknowledging all of the participants, by giving them all identical finisher’s medals, for example, gets across the idea that the most important victory is participating. This emphasis encourages the slower kids to keep coming back and to view running as a sport that’s for everyone, not just the talented few. Kids see enough of the elitist view of sports as it is, with the overemphasis that school sports such as football and basketball receive.

The Fun of Family Fitness

2011-02-28T23:35:00.000-08:00

My wife and I like to introduce our two daughters to as many activities as possible. Sure, running is one of them, and it’s kind of hard for them not to notice that it seems as though Daddy is always heading out the door for a run. But we never tell them how running is the greatest sport, or how they’re wasting their time when they’re skating, dancing, boating, playing basketball or tennis, or doing any of the other activities that they’ve found that they enjoy.
What we want to do is get across the idea that fitness is a lifestyle. We want to show them that being active and healthy and feeling good while using your body on a regular basis should be the norm. Children are much more likely to develop good fitness habits for the rest of their lives if they see that fitness is important to you. That’s a much better message to send than presenting fitness as an occasional intrusion that you have to tend to out of obligation. In terms of running, this approach means that if your child expresses an interest in it, explore that interest together. Go for a run with your kid. Take him or her to your races, not so much to run, but to show the festive atmosphere that races have. Do what you can to expose your child to those elements of running that are going to have the most appeal to kids.
You might not think so, but one of the biggest appeals of running is going to be the chance to spend some quality time with you. Young kids, especially, will do almost anything to get adult attention. So if they want to run with you, indulge them. Running together can strengthen your relationship, because the child will see your runs as one-on one, undivided attention time. Let these runs unfold on the child’s terms. That might mean jumping through puddles, or stopping to look at animals, or heading home after just a few minutes. Let them set the pace and the course. Remember, it’s supposed to be fun for them, which means feeling good right then.

Keep It Enjoyable!

2011-02-28T23:33:00.000-08:00

Even if your kids want to run for all the right reasons, I don’t think that children under the age of 14 should look at their running as training. This advice doesn’t mean that children under this age can’t run as much as 20 miles a week. If they want to run that much, enjoy doing so, and don’t get hurt, I think that’s an acceptable upper limit of mileage for preteens. Three miles or 30 minutes are good measures of the farthest that young runners should go at a time.
But although kids may run as much as adults, running should remain a part of their play and one of many regular activities, not something that they plan and obsess about. Going for a run should be primarily about enjoying it on that day, not to build endurance so that they can try to run twice as far in a month. This book has emphasized that if you’re going to make progress in your running, then you need to be consistent with it. Kids who run should ignore all of that. If they hit a spell where they don’t feel like running for a month or two, don’t force them to. If you do, you’re sending the message that running is something that they have to do, not that they want to do.

Be a Running Role Model

2011-02-28T23:32:00.000-08:00

You certainly shouldn’t force children into running. Little League syndrome is as bad in running as it is in baseball. Children can sense when you’re pushing them into an activity. They might not resist immediately, but eventually they will. Having fun consistently ranks as the top reason that kids give for participating in sports. For preteens, fun almost always means the here and now. Most preteens haven’t developed what psychologists call abstract thinking, the ability to set long-term goals and to see how doing something that might not feel good right now is worth it for the pay-off later. In a certain sense, isn’t that what a lot of running is about? A big motivation for getting out for a run today is because you know that doing so will benefit you later—you’ll feel better the next day, or you’ll be able to run faster in a race a month from now, or you’re working toward a weight-loss goal, or you’re making one of an ongoing series of contributions to fighting disease, and so on. When children don’t come to running on their own terms, they’re not going to like it because they don’t yet have that sense of delayed gratification.
If a kid wants to run and can state why and seems to enjoy it, then I’m all for some low-level regular running.
Children’s attitudes toward running largely stem from what they notice about how the adults around them approach it. If you’re always walking around the house before your runs moaning about what a horrible chore running is, then don’t be surprised if your kids don’t show much interest in it. But if your children see that running to you means getting outside and exploring and feeling good and being with your friends and having fun, they’ll probably think otherwise. Running will seem like a form of play.

Should Children Run?

2010-12-31T23:54:00.000-08:00

Of course children should run! Running should be as much a part of children’s lives as walking, skipping, playing tag, and so on. It should be a normal part of their play. For preteens, play can and should be the major source of physical activity. Some researchers have estimated that when kids are left to their own devices, they’ll cover as much as six miles a day on foot. Obviously, they don’t cover this distance all at once, and it’s a lot different from when an adult goes out for a six-mile run or walk, but that’s OK. At that age, most experts would agree, what you want is for your children to be active in a variety of activities that they enjoy.
Of course, many kids aren’t active. The average American teenager watches 22 hours of TV a week. Keep that in mind as you ponder these scary statistics: Only one-third of children ages 6 to 17 meet minimum standards of cardiovascular fitness. Of children between the ages of 5 and 8, 40 percent are obese, meaning that they weigh at least 20 percent more than they should. According to one survey of children in grades 4 to 12, 49 percent of boys and 62 percent of girls get nine hours or less of physical activity each week. When you consider that these estimates likely include a lot of time standing around on a ball field during gym classes, the figures seem even worse.
Now the question of whether children should run changes. Should children run in an organized way, for fitness, the way that adults do? That one’s a bit trickier to answer.

The Chase Corporate Challenge Series

2010-12-31T23:52:00.000-08:00

Like the Race for the Cure Series, the Chase Corporate Challenge Series does a great job of luring new runners into the sport. It exposes occasional fitness runners to the racing scene and thereby shows them how fun it can be.
The Chase Corporate Challenge Series consists of runs in 16 cities in the United States, plus two overseas. The series culminates in a national final held on Park Avenue in New York City in October. In all, more than 175,000 runners take part in the series each year. Each race features team awards as well as individual recognition, such as first executive finisher. Each race is 3.5 miles long—a good challenging distance for the serious racers, but also a conquerable distance for the more casual runner.
In addition to introducing casual runners to the fun of racing, the Chase Corporate Challenge Series benefits runners in other ways. As you probably know, balancing your running with your work life can be tough. Work-based programs such as the Chase Series encourage employers to see their employees as more than just employees. They help show what employees do in the rest of their lives, and how important those pursuits are to them, and how having a healthy, rewarding life outside of work adds to, rather than detracts from, performance on the job.

The Race for the Cure Series

2010-12-31T23:50:00.000-08:00

For you rock fans out there, sorry, but this series has nothing to do with that gloomy British band, The Cure. What it has to do with is a heck of a lot more important—finding a cure for breast cancer.
The Race for the Cure is the largest series of 5K runs in the United States. In 1997, the series was held in 77 cities throughout the country and included nearly half a million participants. The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation organizes this series of runs; proceeds from the runs provide funding for local and national breast cancer research, education, screening, and treatment programs.
In case you haven’t noticed by now, I like it when there’s a connection between running and the rest of society. Apparently, a lot of others do, too, because The Race for the Cure Series gets bigger and bigger every year. Just one event in the series, the Washington, DC one, is the single largest 5K in the country. Vice President Gore and his wife, Tipper, regularly run it, in part because of their family’s history of breast cancer. That link exists for me, too, because my mom has had breast cancer. Many participants in these events are running in honor or memory of a breast cancer patient. Some in the field are even breast cancer survivors.

My Jingle Bell Runs

2010-11-30T22:34:00.000-08:00

The Jingle Bell Runs are not just mine anymore, even though the official name is Bill Rodgers Jingle Bell Run. They’re not races in the traditional sense, which is why they’re on my list.
Just the Facts
My brother, Charlie, and I hold a few of these in the Boston area every year on different dates in December. These races are low-key fun runs of a few miles that raise money for charities. The largest one, in downtown Boston, attracts more than 3,000 runners. For more information, call my store, Bill Rodgers Running Center, at (617) 723-5612.
Jinglin’ All the Way for Charity
I started holding these runs from my running store more than 20 years ago. At first, they weren’t fundraisers for charity, just low-key runs with a few friends around the Boston Common and other parts of the city. We’d even stop at the tree outside of the Prudential Center and sing Christmas carols. It was a nice way to end the year after being so serious about training and racing so much of the time.
Now, the runs are a lot more organized, but they’ve kept that low-key feel to them. And we’ve made them fundraisers for different disabled children’s groups. I’m a former special ed teacher, so this aspect means the world to me. I like it when runners can make the connection between doing this great thing for themselves, running, and helping others. Now, most big cities have similar affairs, and I think it’s great that more runners have the chance to participate in these noncompetitive events and simultaneously do something for others.

Any Thanksgiving Race

2010-11-30T22:33:00.000-08:00

Racing on Thanksgiving Day? Aren’t you supposed to spend the day watching TV and overeating? What’s next, racing on New Year’s Eve? Well, I’ve done that, too, which may have been taking things a bit far, but there’s nothing strange about going to a race on the most American of holidays. After all, what better way to work up an appetite for dinner?
Just the Facts
I’m guessing that you can figure out when these are held. Where are they? Believe it or not, in most towns that have a strong running community. Races on Thanksgiving Day morning have become as much of a celebratory running tradition as Fourth of July races. Check the sources I told you about in Chapter 18 to find a Thanksgiving Day race in your area.
Why Give Thanks on the Run?
The first road race of my life was the Manchester Road Race, a 4.75-miler held every
Thanksgiving Day morning on the streets of Manchester, Connecticut. Even when I first
did it, in 1966, it was a tradition-laden New England
event. I won the high school division in a time of
25:18. At the time, it was the longest race of my life. I don’t remember much about the race except that it seemed like an awfully long way. But I liked the feeling of being competent over this distance, which was more than what I was used to racing in high school races.
More than 20 years later, I was able to set a master’s course record in that race. I haven’t run the Manchester race in a while, but I always try to run in some event on Thanksgiving Day. You should, too. Why? To me, running a race is the ideal way to give thanks for having a healthy body that’s under your control.
Thanksgiving Day races, like most holiday events, are celebratory affairs. You’re out there with your family and friends, you have a lot of fun with bunches of other runners, and then you head home for a great dinner. Most Thanksgiving Day races give portions of their entry fees to food banks, or they encourage runners to bring cans of food to help the less fortunate.

The Walt Disney World Marathon

2010-11-30T22:31:00.000-08:00

Maybe you’re starting to think that all of my favorite races are older ones that I’ve won. Not so. The Walt Disney World Marathon has been around only since the beginning of this decade, and I’ve never even competed seriously in it, much less won it, but it’s still worth recommending.
Just the Facts
The Walt Disney World Marathon is held in early January in, appropriately enough, Walt Disney World or more specifically, Lake Buena Vista, Florida. More than 5,000 marathoners finish it each year. In addition to the marathon, the event also has a children’s run the day before, a corporate relay, and a half marathon. To register, write Walt Disney World Marathon, P.O. Box 10,000, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830; or call (407) 939-7810.
Disney Magic
The Walt Disney World Marathon is on my list because it’s emblematic of an important trend in races, namely, making them family-friendly. We running geeks used to go pound the pavement while our families were left to kill the time until we crossed the finish line. But race organizers have discovered that it’s better to involve as many members of the family as possible, rather than catering only to the hard-core marathoners. This family-friendly trend has grown as the average runner has become older and, therefore, more likely to have kids. Many races do a good job of making their weekend full of events for fit people of all ages and levels of seriousness. As the father of two young daughters, I like this emphasis and have enjoyed participating in Disney’s family 5K the day before the marathon. Of course, families have plenty of other things they can do during race weekend deep in the heart of Walt Disney World!
For kids of all ages, Walt Disney’s course has a certain charm. I grew up watching The Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights, so I’m a sucker for this stuff. Apparently, a lot of other “mature” runners are, too, if the number of people who rave every year about running through Cinderella’s Castle is any proof.

The Bix 7-Miler

2010-10-31T18:25:00.000-07:00

Another race that I look forward to every year is the Bix 7-Miler. Like Falmouth, it’s a summer race at a nonstandard distance, but that’s the least interesting thing about it.
The Bix 7-Miler, or just Bix, as everyone calls it, is held in late July in Davenport, Iowa. The race was started as part of an annual festival held in honor of Bix Beiderbecke, a seminal jazz trumpeter of the 1920s. Now, with 18,000 entrants, the race has become bigger than any other part of the festival. For more information, write 2685 Kimberly Road, Davenport, IA 52722; or call (319) 324-8657.
Bix’s seven-mile course is a tough one, including a huge hill right off the bat in the first mile. The weather is usually tough, too, what with the race held in the middle of summer in the middle of America’s farmland. Conditions at race time in 1997, for example, were 83 degrees with 80 percent humidity. These aren’t optimal running conditions! So what’s the big deal about Bix? Why not go somewhere you can run fast? Certainly, running on flat courses where you have a better chance of running a personal best can be fun, but always doing that is boring. If speed is your only goal, why not just go around a track? I think there’s more to racing than just seeing how fast you can go. Races that have character, like Bix, are challenging; running them is a good way to test your character as a runner.
Few things are going to get you through a tough course on a tough day any better than the incredibly supportive crowds that the race has. In addition to the great hometown pride of the Quad Cities’ residents, you’re guaranteed several more thousand spectators thanks to the concurrent jazz festival. I don’t mean to sound like I do nothing but party, but this race, too, has a great celebratory atmosphere, including steamboat casinos drifting by on the nearby Mississippi River.

The Falmouth Road Race

2010-10-31T18:23:00.000-07:00

What’s that you say? You’ve always wanted to run a race that starts on an incredibly narrow drawbridge and finishes right next to the Atlantic Ocean? Then look no further than the Falmouth Road Race.
The Falmouth Road Race is held in the middle of August. It starts in Woods Hole, Massachusetts (site of a famous oceanographic institute and the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard) and ends 7.1 miles later in seaside Falmouth. More than 8,000 runners take part every year. For an application, write P.O. Box 732, Falmouth, MA 02541; or call (508) 540-7000.
Falmouth is great for several reasons. It embodies the celebratory nature of racing that I’m so fond of; you finish right next to a huge field, where a post-race party/barbecue is held. Although some of the best runners in the world are in the field, the race has a vacationlike feel. I know one runner who makes it his only race of the year; he’s just so drawn to the atmosphere of New England by the ocean in late summer. I also like the point-topoint course that builds momentum as you near the finish, like at Boston. Speaking of the course, Falmouth’s course is one of the most beautiful in all of road racing. At about two miles, you run past a lighthouse that looks like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting. For most of the race, you’re either running along the ocean or on roads through shaded forests. Right at the end, you come over the top of a hill to descend the last few hundred yards to the finish line, where there’s always a huge crowd.

The New York City Marathon

2010-10-31T18:21:00.000-07:00

If you’ve heard of a marathon besides Boston, it’s probably New York. After all, it’s kind of hard to ignore 30,000 people running through all five boroughs of the world’s most famous city.

After initially being held in October, the New York City Marathon is now held on the first Sunday in November in an attempt to escape the Indian summer days that often plagued runners during the earlier dates. The race’s popularity has continued to soar as it approaches its 30th running in 1999. In 1997, more than 30,000 runners started the race, which was a record field for New York.
The New York City Marathon is the gem of the weekly races put on by the New York Road Runners Club. Because so many people want to run in the New York Marathon, the field is limited by a lottery, with many of the spots saved for overseas runners. To request an application, write Marathon Entries, P.O. Box 1388 GPO, New York, NY 10116; call (212) 423-2249; or visit the Web site, http://www.nyrrc.org.

The Boston Marathon

2010-09-30T23:47:00.000-07:00

If you’ve heard of one runner’s race, this is probably it. I’ll make you a bet: Within your first year of running, if enough people see you running, eventually one of them is going to ask you, “Whaddya trainin’ for the Boston Marathon?” Another prediction: If you start going to races and let others know about it, eventually one of them will ask, “So, have you run the Boston Marathon?” There’s no more famous race in the world.
Just the Facts
The Boston Marathon starts at noon on Patriot’s Day every year. Patriot’s Day is a New England holiday that commemorates the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775; in Massachusetts, it’s a state holiday, and it falls on the third Monday in April. The race begins in Hopkinton, Massachusetts and ends in downtown Boston. The Boston Marathon is put on by the Boston Athletic Association. For an application, write BAA Boston Marathon, The Starting Line, One Ash Street, Hopkinton, MA 01748-1897; or visit the Web site, http://www.boston-marathon.org.
What’s So Special About Boston?
The Boston Marathon has it all: more than a century of history, a great course, and spectacular spectators. For average runners, it’s unique among marathons in that it has qualifying standards. The standards were introduced in 1971 to make the size of the field more manageable. The qualifying time has to be run on an accurately measured course within just more than a year before the Boston Marathon that you want to participate in.
The current standards are shown in the following list:
These standards are tough! For example, if you’re a woman under the age of 35, you have to run 26.2 miles at an average pace of 8:25 per mile or faster. Older folks certainly don’t get a break: a 70-year-old man has to average about 8:45 a mile for 26.2 miles just to make it to Boston’s starting line.
But rather than resent these standards, most runners I know appreciate them. After a few years of running, a lot of runners look at qualifying for Boston as their personal Olympics. Even if they make it just once in their lives, or even if they fall short, they value the challenge that the Boston qualifying standards offer. If only for this once in their running life, they like the idea of having this inflexible goal that they’re willing to make great sacrifices to meet.
The most special thing about Boston is its course and the crowds that line it. You start in a small, New England village and then make your way through several towns with names that have meaning to all marathoners: Ashland, Framingham, Natick, and so on. Near halfway, you pass an all-women’s college, Wellesley, where the roar from the students was so loud that when three-time champion Ibrahim Hussein passed through in 1992, he covered his ears. Then it’s the famous Newton Hills, finishing with Heartbreak Hill, which crests at 21 miles. From its top, you have five mostly downhill miles to the finish right near Copley Square in downtown Boston.

How to Finish a Marathon?

2010-09-30T23:45:00.000-07:00

To finish a marathon, the least you need to do is still pretty darned much. There’s no way to get around the necessity of long runs—that’s why they’re the focus of this marathon training schedule. As a first-time marathoner, your goal should be to cover the distance. The way to do that is to gradually build the distance that you can cover without having to slow dramatically in the last few miles.
These long runs are probably longer than you’ve ever run. They’re all the training stress that your body needs, so this schedule doesn’t include any speed workouts. At this point, they’ll just get in the way of recovering from your long runs. But you will be doing striders. Most weeks, you’ll be doing them twice. That’s because when you do nothing but train for marathons, it’s easy for your form to deteriorate. You’re always just shuffling along, not moving through a full range of motion. Striders will help you to improve your form, and they’re a fun contrast to the long runs.
Where the schedule says “2 12” under striders, that means that on two other runs that week, do striders. When it says “1 12,” just do striders once that week. Make one of your striders days the last run that you do before the next week’s long run. For example, if your long run is on a Sunday and you are going for a run the previous Friday, do striders on Friday. Don’t do striders the day after a long run.
The schedule doesn’t have you running a long run every week. That would be too much because your long run starts getting up there in distance. On the weeks when you’re not going long, you’ll see that it says “10 miles” under the “Hilly run” column heading. On these weeks, I want you to do a hilly 10-mile run on the day that you usually do your long run. This run will help to build leg strength and will give your VO2 max a bit of a boost.
The long runs are the key to this schedule. How much you run the rest of the week depends on how quickly you recover from the long runs. You should be running at least two other days most weeks. (Gotta do those striders!) It would be good if most weeks you included a run in the middle of the week that was half the distance of your last long run. For example, in week 6, your last long run was an 18-miler in week 5. So in week 6, do a 9-miler in addition to the hilly 10-miler. These medium-long runs in the middle of the week will help to consolidate the gains from the long run.
With two weeks to go, try to run a 15K to half-marathon race. Don’t worry so much about your pace as about experiencing a race atmosphere. A lot of first-time marathoners train in isolation for months, never enter a race, and freak out when suddenly they’re surrounded by thousands of others in a marathon.

Spaghetti for Dinner Again?

2010-09-30T23:43:00.000-07:00

But I also told you that there’s nothing you can eat to make you a better runner. Confession time: That’s not entirely true. In the few days before a marathon, you can help to push The Wall a few more miles back by carboloading. Carboloading is often misunderstood. It doesn’t mean looking at the last three days before a marathon as an excuse to hit every all-you-can-eat buffet in town. You’re running less; you don’t need to eat much more than you usually do. What matters is increasing the percentage of your calories that come from carbohydrates to more than 65 percent, not just chowing down on everything in sight.
Carboloading works for the same reason that tapering works. Your muscles have become trained to store more glycogen. You’re tapering, so you’re not running much. Good—you’re barely dipping into your fuel stores. Simultaneously, you’re eating more carbohydrates than usual. Your muscles love it! They soak up the stuff. Do it right, and you can store an additional few hundred calories. That’s worth an extra three miles of running!
The key to carboloading is to emphasize the right foods. Concentrate on basing all of your meals in the three days before a marathon on high-carb foods, especially the complex ones. Most runners eat pasta when they’re carboloading, but rice and other grains are good, too. Fettucini alfredo is pasta, but it’s pasta in a heavy cream sauce. If you’re going to eat pasta, go with the light red sauces.

The Rest Is Easy

2010-08-31T23:44:00.000-07:00

If you look closely at the training schedules in the two previous chapters, you might have noticed that I have you doing less work as your goal race nears, not more. That’s especially the case in the marathon schedule—your last long run is three weeks before your marathon. Whatever happened to use it or lose it?
Preparing for a top effort isn’t like cramming for a test or meeting a deadline at work. It takes time for your body to get the benefits of a training session. The day after a long run, you feel tired. But two weeks later, you feel stronger. The longer your race, the more important tapering is. In the marathon, tapering is especially important because of the whole glycogen-storage issue. When you taper, then obviously you’re not draining your glycogen supply as much. But because of your long runs, you’ve tricked your muscles into thinking that they had better be ready anytime, anywhere to fuel you for hours. So even though you’re barely running, they’re still suspicious that something is up, and they keep stockpiling glycogen at a high level. This gives you a larger gas tank on race day.
Notice what I said—you’re barely running. That’s a lot different than not running at all. If you follow the tapering plan in the marathon schedule, you’ll maintain the benefits of your hard work. Once you become fit, you don’t have to do as much running to maintain that fitness, at least for awhile. So in the three weeks before your marathon, you can, and should, gradually reduce your training.
Do your longest run three weeks before the marathon. The following week, do no more than 75 percent of your usual weekly mileage. The week after that, do no more than 60 percent of your usual weekly mileage. And the week before the marathon, do no more than 50 percent of your usual weekly mileage.

Don’t Hit The Wall

2010-08-31T23:42:00.000-07:00

You might hear a runner explaining why she dropped out of a 5K by saying, “I hit The Wall.” Well, now she’s got two strikes against her: Not only did she not finish her race, but she’s misusing runner lingo. Get her a copy of this book and quick! When you get tired in a short race because you’re breathing so hard, that’s fatigue. When you’re doing a run of 90 minutes or more, and you’re feeling fine, and then all of a sudden, bam, every step is a major production and your pace gets way slower, that’s The Wall. Most people can store enough glycogen in their muscles to fuel about 18 to 20 miles of running. When you run long distances, your body senses that it’s getting low on glycogen. It wants to preserve that glycogen, so it starts to burn more fat. At this point, you’re able to maintain your pace, so you keep running. Your body has to keep doling out its precious glycogen stores, and it starts burning more and more fat.
By now, you can keep up your pace, but you have to work a little harder to do so because fat doesn’t burn as efficiently as glycogen when it comes to fueling your running. But you keep running because you were idiotic enough to listen to me when I told you how great the marathon is. Now your glycogen stores are getting very low, and you’re burning more and more fat.
That wouldn’t be all bad, except for this fact: Fat burns on a flame of glycogen. To keep running at your normal pace, you need at least enough glycogen to help burn the fat. But you’ve pretty much used it all up. You’re primarily burning fat, and fat takes a lot more oxygen to burn than glycogen does. As a result, you have to slow down dramatically, sometimes by more than two minutes per mile. You will want nothing more than to lie down by the side of the road. To top it off, you’ve also depleted the small amount of glycogen that’s stored in your liver. Your liver is supposed to feed this glycogen into your bloodstream to maintain your blood sugar well enough to feed your brain glucose. When this process starts breaking down, you feel woozy, light-headed, uncoordinated. Great!
You want to lie down by the side of the road, and now you’re getting so uncoordinated that you just might have your wish fulfilled. You’ve got as many as eight miles to go. Unless you’ve got incredible willpower, you’re a leading candidate to join the DNF list.
So how do people ever survive marathons? First and most important, they train. Long runs improve your body’s ability to store glycogen. Runners who do marathon training can store more than twice as much glycogen in their muscles as untrained people. Your body can get more fuel from the food that you eat when you train properly.
Also, marathoners start their marathons at a pace they know that they can maintain to the finish. The faster you run, the more glycogen you burn. Going out too fast in a marathon is a huge mistake, because even at a reasonable pace you’re going to need every last bit of glycogen that you can get. One trick that runners do to make sure that they don’t go out too fast in the marathon is to run the first mile one minute slower than the pace that they hope to average for the distance.
Even if you do the right training and pace yourself well in the marathon, The Wall can be pretty daunting. But what you do in the few days before the marathon can push it past the finish line.

A Run or a Race?

2010-08-31T23:40:00.000-07:00

The fastest male marathoners in the world run 26.2 miles at faster than 5:00 per mile. The fastest female marathoners in the world run 26.2 miles at faster than 5:30 per mile. I think we can safely say that these people are racing the marathon. That was certainly how I went about it. For me, the challenge wasn’t just running 26.2 miles; it was seeing how fast I could run 26.2 miles. When I ran marathons at 5:00 per mile, I was running about a minute faster per mile than my usual training pace. Most people, however, are running the marathon just to conquer the distance. I’m all in favor of that approach. Remember the basic principle from Chapter 20: The first step to participating in any race is being able to cover the distance. The longer the race, the more that negotiating the distance becomes a limiting factor in performance. Almost anyone can run one mile faster than their regular training pace. Almost no one can run 50 miles faster than their regular training pace.
For your first marathon, your goal should be to finish. Trust me, that’s more than enough challenge for one race. If you define a race as trying to run the best that you can for a set distance on a given day, then just finishing your first marathon is a race. After you’ve done one or two marathons, then you can try to reduce your time.

What is Caveat Runner?

2010-07-31T22:35:00.000-07:00

Even if you’re all fired up to run a marathon for all the right reasons, you have to tread carefully. You’re going to be doing training runs that are substantially longer than anything you’ve ever done. If you don’t become an expert at listening to your body’s response to the training, you might not even make it to the starting line. It’s not uncommon for runners to have to postpone or give up their marathon hopes because the training necessary to do one is too much for their current level of fitness. I think you should be a regular runner for at least a year before starting to train for a marathon. You need that amount of time for basic strength building to get your muscles, tendons, bones, and ligaments used to the stress of running. You also need to be in a good training routine, having figured out how best to make your running work with the rest of your life.
Don’t even think about starting to train for a marathon if you’re injured. Doing the long runs that are necessary to finish a marathon is exactly the kind of repetitive stress that will make your injury even worse. But if you want to run a marathon for yourself, and if you’ve been running regularly for at least a year, and if you’re currently running injury-free, then let’s get going!

Is Marathon Really Necessary?

2010-07-31T22:33:00.000-07:00

The marathon is one of the greatest challenges in sports. That’s why so many runners are drawn to it. Run a marathon, and you know that you’ve really accomplished something. Some runners think that they have to run a marathon to become a “real runner.” They think that no one will think they’re legitimate runners otherwise. That’s not true. No one is less of a runner for not running a marathon. I don’t race marathons any more, but someone must still think I’m OK because I got to write this book. One of the most revered figures in American running, Steve Prefontaine, never ran a marathon. And if how far you run in a race determines your worthiness as a runner, then shouldn’t we all be aiming for 50-milers, 100-milers, or even the six-day races that a few runners do? Training for and running a marathon takes a lot of work. When the going gets tough, you’re going to come face to face with your soul, and you’re going to ask, “Why am I doing this?” Before doing a marathon, you should be able to answer that question with your own reasons, not someone else’s standards.

Understanding The Marathon

2010-07-31T22:23:00.000-07:00

I told you before about how your body can usually store only enough glycogen to fuel about 20 miles of running. And yet marathons are 26.2 miles long. What gives? The legend of the origin of the marathon goes like this: In 490 B.C., a Greek messenger named Pheidippides ran the 24 miles from the Plains of Marathon to Athens to announce that despite great odds, the Athenian army had defeated the invading Persians. Upon reaching Athens, Pheidippides said, “Rejoice. We conquer!” collapsed, and died. When the modern Olympics began in Athens in 1896, organizers included a 24-mile race from Marathon to Athens to honor this great moment in Greek history. Did this really happen? No one knows for sure, but the general consensus is that like any good story from antiquity, there’s some embellishment stirred in to the truth so well that it’s hard to separate the two, and it’s more fun not to bother anyway. There was a Greek messenger of the time named Pheidippides, but no contemporary record of him producing such a great deathbed quote exists. Nonetheless, the legend has its own resonance. At the 20-mile mark of his first marathon, Frank Shorter turned to a runner next to him and said, “Why couldn’t have Pheidippides have died at 20 miles?” The long race caught on after the 1896 Olympics. The first Boston Marathon was held the next year. Early marathons weren’t standardized—they were 24 or 25 miles, depending on how long a course turned out to be. Early in this century, the starting line of a marathon in England was moved back so that the Queen could watch from Windsor Castle. The resulting distance was 26 miles, 385 yards, or 26.2 miles, which is now the official distance for a marathon.

Timing Is Everything: All About Tempo Runs

2010-06-30T23:22:00.000-07:00

Improving your lactate threshold is pretty straightforward: You train at or slightly above your lactate threshold. In the training schedule, I call this speed your LT (lactate threshold) pace. Training at your LT pace pushes back the point at which lactate accumulates, allowing you to maintain a faster pace for these mid-range races. How do you know what this pace is for you? If you already race in 15K to half-marathons, your race pace for those races is your LT pace. If you haven’t raced much, you can still approximate what your LT pace is. If you’ve run a 10K, your LT pace will be about 20 seconds slower per mile than your 10K race pace. If you’ve only run a 5K, your LT pace is probably around 30 seconds slower per mile than your 5K race pace is, but you should go run a 10K first anyway before trying to race a 15K to half-marathon.
Regardless of what pace you choose to shoot for, keep this guideline in mind: Your effort during LT workouts should feel “comfortably hard.” You should feel as though you’re working at a high level that you can sustain. If you were to increase your pace by 10 seconds or more per mile, you would have to slow within a few minutes.
It’s important to run as close to the right pace for as much of your LT workouts as possible. Remember what I told you in the last chapter about training to improve your VO2 max:
The biggest gains come from doing the workout in that small window where you’re most stressing the systems that you want to improve.
When you do LT workouts, you’ll probably think in the first mile that you should be going faster. After all, you’re not all that much out of breath. Stick to your pace. The point of the workout is to run it all at your LT pace. That’s different than starting out too fast, and then slowing in the second half of your LT workout. In that case, you might average the right pace for the whole workout, but never run any part of it at the right intensity. That kind of workout won’t improve your LT as much.
The classic workout to improve your lactate threshold is the tempo run, a continuous run of 20 to 40 minutes at LT pace. An example of a tempo run workout is a two-mile warm-up, a four-mile run at your LT pace, and a short cool-down jog. You can also do LT intervals. In these workouts, you do two or three intervals of a fairly long distance at LT pace, jog easily for 25 to 50 percent of the duration of the interval, and then repeat the sequence. For example, after warming up, you would run two miles at your LT pace, jog for five minutes, run two miles at your LT pace, and then do a cool-down jog.
In the training schedule, I start you with LT intervals to get you used to the workouts and to help you learn what your LT pace feels like. Once you’re familiar with your LT pace, I have you do tempo runs. Tempo runs are better because you become more accustomed to concentrating for an extended period while you’re running hard. This kind of training helps you mentally in your races.
At first, you should do LT workouts on the track or other accurately measured courses so that you have a way of checking your pace. After a few LT workouts you should have a feel for the pace. Studies have shown that most runners can accurately produce that “comfortably hard” level of effort on their own once they have learned it. This frees you to do your LT workouts on the roads or trails. Doing a five-mile tempo run on the track can get pretty boring, after all. Doing some of your LT workouts away from the track is an especially good idea if you’ll be running a hilly race because you’ll be more used to running LT pace over a variety of terrain.
Not many runners know about these workouts. They think that to run a faster halfmarathon, they should work on their speed, so they run 800-meter intervals. This type of workout does make them faster, but it doesn’t do much for their ability to sustain a pretty hard pace for more than an hour.
Those who do talk about doing tempo training throw around the words pretty haphazardly. They’ll say they’re doing an “uptempo run,” when all they mean is that they’re going to go a little harder than usual for a few miles in the middle of a run. Or they’ll go out and run a hard 10 miles and say that’s their tempo run for the week. They can call it whatever they want, but these aren’t really tempo runs. Unlike you, they don’t know why they should do these 20- to 40-minute runs at a precise pace.
Because those were workouts that I think all runners should do some version of. LT workouts are only necessary if you’re going to be doing races of 15K or longer.
Then they make an incredible dif

Beyond the Lactate Threshold

2010-06-30T23:20:00.000-07:00

Put on your lab coats: It’s time for a little science lesson. As you know by this point in the book, glycogen, a form of stored carbohydrate, is your body’s preferred source of fuel for aerobic exercise. The faster you run, the more glycogen your body burns compared to how much fat it burns. Like any chemical burning process, the process of burning glycogen generates by-products. Burn paper, and you get smoke. Burn glycogen, and you get lactate. Lactate is the by-product of your body burning carbohydrates. You’ve probably heard about lactic acid. For our purposes here, that’s the same thing as lactate. Have you ever tried to sprint all-out for more than a few hundred yards? Remember how at the end of the sprint your muscles felt as though they were on fire? That’s because there was a lot of lactate circulating in your system from all the carbohydrates that were suddenly being burned to power you down the track. So much lactate was being produced that your body couldn’t clear it from your blood, so your muscles stung. Some people think that you’re damaging your muscles when you expose them to lactate.
That’s wrong. You’re always producing lactate—when you’re running easy, when you’re walking, even when you’re sitting. When you burn carbohydrates, as you almost always do, you produce lactate. Your muscles don’t ache at these low levels of effort because the rate of lactate entering your blood is equal to the rate at which it’s removed.
As you move up the intensity scale from walking to easy running, you produce more lactate, but your body also increases the rate at which it removes lactate from your blood. When you exercise above a certain intensity, however, the rate at which you produce lactate is greater than the rate at which your body can clear it.
The lactate concentration rises in your muscles and blood, and suddenly your effort feels much harder. At this point, you’ve reached your lactate threshold.
You’re probably thinking, “Thanks for the biochemistry lesson, but what does this have to do with running a 10-mile race?” Remember the basic race-training principle that I laid down last chapter: If you want to complete a race, you have to be able to cover the distance. If you also want to race the distance, then you should do workouts that improve your capacities to handle the limiting factors on your performance in that distance. For 5Ks and 10Ks, that meant doing workouts to max out your VO2 max. For 15Ks to half-marathons, that means improving your lactate threshold. Once you get past the hump of being able to cover the distance without great fatigue, the limiting factor on how fast you can run the 15K to the half-marathon is your lactate threshold. In fact, your race pace for the 15K to the half-marathon is roughly equal to your lactate threshold. Go faster than that, and you’ll start accumulating lactate in your blood. You can exceed your lactate threshold in shorter races, such as an 8K, but 15Ks to half-marathons last one to two hours for most runners, and you just can’t run that fast for that long.
To improve, then, you need to increase your lactate threshold. When you do that, your lactate threshold occurs at a higher percentage of your VO2 max. So with the right training, you can push your 15K to half-marathon pace closer to that of your 5K pace; that is, you can make better use of your basic aerobic fitness. You can run faster before you start accumulating lactate.

The Rodney Dangerfields of Races

2010-06-30T23:09:00.000-07:00

Races of 15K (9.3 miles) through the half-marathon (13.1 miles) get no respect. The half-marathon doesn’t even get its own name; it’s just half of another distance. Imagine if people called 5Ks “half-10Ks.”
This range of races, which also includes 10-milers and 20K (12.4 miles), is almost never the focus of a runner’s races. Runners usually use these races as tune-up races a month or so before a marathon. Or some runners will run one of these races at the beginning of a racing season to build strength, and then drop down in distance to 5Ks and 10Ks for the rest of the season. But you almost never hear a runner say, “This fall, my goal is to be the best 10-mile runner I can be.”
That’s too bad. These hybrid distances can be some of the most satisfying in running. They’re plenty long, so you’re not going to get through one by running a few miles a few times a week, as you could with a 5K. But they’re not so long that they’re going to knock you down for too long. Most of the soreness and lingering fatigue that people have from marathons comes from what happens after 18 or 20 miles. Should you try a 15K, 10-miler, or a half-marathon? Why not? For people who are thinking about trying a marathon someday, building up to one of these races is a good idea. You learn the routine of training for longer distances by gradually extending your distance. Anyone running a marathon should have experience with other races first. These longer races will give you a better idea of what you’re going to experience if you try to tackle a marathon.
If you usually don’t run farther than five miles, keying on one of these races is a good motivation to extend your distance. To do that, increase the distance of your long run by one mile two out of every
three weeks. For 15Ks and 10-milers, work up to running that far two weeks before the race. Take it easy for the next two weeks, and then run the race at a strong but reasonable
pace that you know you can maintain to the end. If you’re going to do a half-marathon, then build up to 10 to 12 miles at a time, again doing your last long run two weeks before the race.
But if you’ve been running a bit more and think that you can not only cover the distance, but also run a good notch faster than on your usual training runs, you can improve your performance at these distances by entering the strange world of the lactate threshold.

What You Should Do Before a Race?

2010-05-31T06:15:00.001-07:00

Following are two training schedules, one for building up to a 5K and one for building up to an 8K or 10K. Here’s the fine print on these schedules:

They assume that you can manage the first week’s training. If you’re not at that level yet, build your mileage until you are.
I’ve only listed the key workouts for each week. Try to get in at least one on two other easy runs at your usual distance during the week.
Don’t run so much or so hard the rest of the week that you can’t complete the listed workouts. They are the ones that will spur your improvement.
Space the key workouts evenly throughout each week to allow proper recovery.
Try not to miss any of the key workouts, but don’t try to “make up” missed ones. Just keep going through the schedule.
If you miss the key workouts two weeks in a row, postpone your goal race by two weeks, and pick up the schedule where you left off.
Do the striders at the end of an easy run. Try not to do them the day after the speed workouts or the long runs.
The speed workouts are in terms of meters. If you don’t want to run speed work on the track, translate miles to minutes, and do the workouts on the road or trail.
The schedules include races before your goal race. Enter these to get used to what racing feels like.
Don’t run to exhaustion within five days of your goal race.

The speed workouts are in runner shorthand, specifying the number, distance, and pace for the workout. For example, 4 800 meters at 5K goal pace means to do four intervals of 800 meters each at your per mile goal pace for 5K, with the proper recovery between the intervals. Remember, a standard outdoor track is 400 meters around, so 800 meters equals two laps. Also, keep in mind that a 8K/10K goal pace is 10–15 seconds per mile slower than a 5K race pace. Finally, before starting these training schedules, your minimum weekly mileage should be 15 miles for the 5K and 25 miles for the 8K or 10K.

The Proper Pace Prescription

2010-05-31T06:12:00.000-07:00

I’ve convinced you that you’ll run faster in 5Ks to 10Ks by doing a weekly speed workout at your VO2 max pace, and I’ve convinced you that you’ll improve more if you do them at this pace instead of as fast as you possibly can. Now you have just one question: How do you know what that pace is?
If you’ve run a 5K race at a solid effort within the last few months and have been running consistently since, use that pace as your current VO2 max pace. Better yet, hop in a 5K race soon, run hard the entire way, and figure out your average pace per mile. In both cases, make your 5K goal pace (what, you hope, will become your new VO2 max pace) about 15 seconds per mile faster. If you haven’t run a 5K in a while (or ever), you can still figure out the proper pace. If you’re running at least 15 miles per week and know your average training pace, subtract one minute per mile to get a reasonable 5K goal pace.
The 5K and 10K training schedules later in this chapter include speed workouts that are based on your 5K goal pace. The intervals in the 8K/10K schedule are a little longer and a little slower to better meet the demands of the longer races. If you’re decently trained, you should be able to run an 8K or 10K within 10 to 15 seconds per mile of your 5K race pace.
These workouts will help you to know what pace to try to reach in your race. You’ll be used to running hard while tired. After awhile, the pace will become second nature. That’s not to say that it will feel easy, but that you can launch into it and be confident that you’re at your goal pace until you get your first split time.
You should try to run as even a pace as you can in races of 5K to 10K. Many runners like to blast through the first mile much faster than their goal pace. This is a bad idea. Their reason behind doing this is to build a cushion to allow for when they slow later in the race, and their strategy becomes self-fulfilling. They have to slow in the second half of the race because they’ve gone into oxygen debt. Oxygen debt doesn’t demonstrate how mentally tough they are; it is an unforgiving physiological fact of life. As a result, their overall time is slower than if they had run at an even pace.
In races of 5K to 10K, when you’re working right at your VO2 max, you have a very small margin of error. If you run more than 10 seconds per mile faster than your VO2 max pace, then you’re running at a pace that you can sustain for at most two miles, usually much less. Trouble is, you still have at least a mile to go. So you’re going to have to slow way down, and you’re really going to hurt. It’s not uncommon for runners to have to slow by more than 30 seconds per mile in the last mile of a 5K when they’ve started too quickly.
In these short races, I sometimes start out a little bit more slowly than my goal pace. I give myself the first few minutes of the race to build gradually. For the first few minutes, I might be running at 5 to 10 seconds per mile slower than my goal pace. This slower start helps my heart and muscles better adapt to the sudden shock of running so quickly. Then, when all systems are firing, I can take off. Running an even pace is physically the most efficient way to race, but trying to run negative splits provides a tremendous psychological boost. You’re passing other runners pretty much the whole way. If you’ve ever run a race and been passed by someone in the last mile, you know how disconcerting it can be. You’re trying as hard as you can, and this runner is just blowing by you. There’s nothing you can do. When I run negative splits, I like to key on a runner about 100 yards ahead of me. I’ll focus on chasing him down and pulling him in gradually, and then I pass him quickly to demoralize him and move on to my next target. Running at an even pace or at negative splits leaves you better prepared for your kick.
How good a kick you’ll have at the end of a 5K, 8K, or 10K depends a lot on how intelligently you ran the race. If you haven’t gone out too quickly, then you’ll still be running aerobically. This means that you can start your kick from farther out than if you’ve gone into oxygen debt. If you have good natural speed, you can shave several seconds from your finishing time with a good, long kick.
Your body can run anaerobically for about 300 yards, so that’s the farthest away from the finish line that you should launch your sprint. If you’ve started the race too fast and have slowed during the second half of the race, you’re going to have a tough time kicking for more than 50 to 100 yards.

Understanding Aerobic Capacity

2010-05-31T06:08:00.000-07:00

The key to training to become faster at 5Ks, 8Ks, and 10Ks is to improve your aerobic capacity, or VO2 max. That’s because you run these races at very close to your aerobic capacity—an all-out 5K is run at about 95 percent of your VO2 max, a 10K at about 92 percent. To run those races better, then, you need to max out your VO2 max. The best way to do that is to do one workout each week in which you run intervals at a pace that’s roughly at your VO2 max.
But wait a minute. Didn’t I tell you early on in this book that steady, comfortable running increases your VO2 max and that it will increase by 20 to 30 percent within a year of running? Why would you need to do anything more to race a good 5K? Early on, you don’t. You’re getting fitter by leaps and bounds just by running easy. But after those initial gains, you have to work harder to keep improving. It’s like learning a new computer program—you make the greatest improvements in the beginning, when you go from complete unfamiliarity to a basic working knowledge. It’s only after more extensive experience that you learn all those little tricks of the program that allow you to make that small but significant leap from a basic user to the one in the office who every one asks for advice.
In the training schedules at the end of this chapter, I’ll have you do one speed workout each week that will focus on boosting your VO2 max by having you run your intervals at roughly that pace. In your case, I’m making them a bit faster, because I’m assuming you haven’t done systematic speed work before, so you have more room for improvement than a long-time runner. It’s important to run them as close as possible to that pace to get the greatest improvement.
In these workouts, harder isn’t necessarily better. Most runners think that if they can run a workout of three interval miles in 8:00, then running them in 7:40 will be that much more of an effective workout. But it doesn’t always work that way. In these workouts, the important thing is to work right at the limits of your VO2 max. But that’s not the same as your max.
Remember, you run 5Ks very close to your VO2 max. But obviously you can run shorter races faster; you can maintain a quicker pace for 1 mile than you can for 3.1 miles. In races shorter than 5K, a bigger percentage of your energy is supplied anaerobically, independent of the oxygen that you breathe in. So it’s possible to run faster than your VO2 max for a short distance, stop running until you catch your breath, and then run anaerobically again. Unfortunately, many ambitious runners do their speed workouts this way. They run each interval as hard as they can. When they do that, they’re definitely training hard, but they’re not training very effectively. By training faster than their VO2 max pace, their workouts are more anaerobic, so they’re training their anaerobic systems. But then they go and race 5Ks, 8Ks, and 10Ks, which rely almost entirely on their aerobic systems. In their races, they’ll often not perform up to their expectations. They’ll think, “Gee, I ran three mile intervals the other night in 7:00 each, but I could only average 7:20s in the race.” To make matters worse, they’ll then often think that this means that should train that much harder, and the next week they’ll push themselves to run their mile intervals in 6:50.
See how they’re making their workouts less and less effective the farther that they stray from doing them at their VO2 max pace? Don’t let it happen to you. Train at the right intensity, and you can pass them in the races, leaving them to wonder why you’re behind them in speed workouts, but ahead of them in races.

10K Racing 101

2010-04-30T09:31:00.000-07:00

The first step to running your best in any race is being able to cover the distance. I don’t care how fast Carl Lewis can sprint; if 5K is a long run for him, he’s not beating me (or many other people, for that matter) in that race. The longer a race is, the more being able to negotiate the distance becomes a limiting factor. That’s why 5Ks to 10Ks are so popular. You don’t have to run all that many miles each week to be able to finish the race. But when you want to do more than just finish the race, then you need to alter your training. How? Here’s a simple training principle that many runners ignore: Different races have different physiological demands; that is, they stress different systems of your body. It’s impossible to effectively train all of the systems of your body in a short period (say, a few months). Therefore, to reach your potential, you should pick a race distance that you want to focus on for a racing season, and then train to meet the physiological demands of your target race.
In other words, you can’t train to be a miler and a marathoner at the same time. The demands of the distances are so different that you have to choose, and then structure your training accordingly. If you want to be a miler, then do a lot of short, very fast speed workouts, and don’t worry about how many miles you run each week. If you want to be a marathoner, don’t worry about how fast you can run a quarter-mile; concentrate on increasing your endurance with long runs.
This focused, seasonal approach is what the best runners in the world do, but many recreational runners are all over the place. They run a 5K one weekend, a half marathon the next, then another 5K, then a 10K. That’s not to say that you can’t or shouldn’t race at a variety of distances. But within any period of a few months, you’ll do better if you focus on a group of distances that have similar physiological demands. That way, you’ll be able to train more effectively because you can concentrate on developing the type of fitness needed for your target races.

How Far Is a K?

2010-04-30T09:29:00.000-07:00

What’s the deal with all these “K”s runners are always talking about? I mean, everyone trains all week by measuring their miles, and then they go off on the weekend and race 5Ks and 10Ks. “K” stands for kilometer, as in a five-kilometer race. A kilometer is a metric standard of distance equal to 1,000 meters. One kilometer equals .621 miles. Europe is the epicenter of the international track and field circuit. Every summer, the best runners in the world spend June through August traveling to track meets throughout Europe to race each other. World-class track meets in Europe are like the Super Bowl is here. They often sell out more than a year in advance, with some stadiums holding more than 50,000 fans.
I ran a few of these meets in the late ’70s, and it was an incredible experience. The fans are really knowledgeable. They spend most of the distance races clapping rhythmically, stomping their feet, cheering wildly. You can’t help drawing from their energy. You just don’t see that happening at track meets in this country, which are usually more sparsely attended than a shoe-sniffing contest.
As a result, European track meets set the agenda. Because tracks are measured metrically, being 400 meters around, almost all races are in metric distances. (The main exception is the mile, which fans all over the world love.) The two main distance races are 5,000 meters, or 5K, and 10,000 meters, or 10K. Usually when people talk about track races, they give the distance in meters; when they talk about the same race on the roads, they describe it in kilometers. So a 5,000 on the track is the same distance as a 5K on the roads. Wacky, eh?
Road races used to be all kinds of strange distances: 4.7 miles, 7.1 miles, 11.6 miles, whatever. People would lay out a good course, measure it, and that’s how far the race was. But when the first running boom started in the ’70s, the new breed of runner wanted more precision. Theses runners wanted to be able to compare their times from week to week to make sure that their 5K time this month was better than it had been last month. So the standard distance races from the track were transported to the roads. Next thing you knew, runners who failed algebra could instantaneously convert miles to kilometers and back again.
But what about 8Ks, which are never run on the track? Why don’t those races lengthen their course by 47 yards and call themselves five-milers? Wouldn’t it be a lot easier to know what your pace in them was that way? I don’t know. Stop asking so many questions. Just run ’em.

Fartlek: Not an Intestinal Disorder

2010-04-30T09:28:00.000-07:00

Some runners thrive on track workouts. They love the precision and the ability to objectively compare their workouts from week to week. A lot of runners get burned out when they do speed work on the track frequently, however. They just don’t like going around and around in circles. Also, many runners don’t have easy access to a track, or they have to train when it’s dark, or the track is covered with snow. How can these runners get in their fast running?
They can do fartlek. That’s not what you do on a run after having a burrito; it’s a Swedish word that translates as “speed play.” Fartlek workouts are done away from the track. Many runners prefer them because the change in scenery makes them less mentally grinding, and they find that they can concentrate of running fast.
Fartleks can be a lot less structured than speed work on the track. You might plan a fartlek on your usual five-mile course. After running easily for a mile, you might run hard to that telephone pole way down the street, and then jog easily until the end of the next block, and then pick up the pace again until the school, and so on until you had a mile left in your run, when you would run easy the rest of the way home as your cooldown. Some runners make fartleks more structured. They might head out on one of their loops and, after warming up, spend the bulk of their run alternating running hard for two minutes with running easy for two minutes.
Runners who don’t have access to a track often use this approach. (It helps to have an alarm on your watch for this type of workout.) This approach is also good when the weather is bad, and you know it would be hard to reach your usual times on the track. In this situation, do a fartlek on the roads and get in a good workout without the weather-induced slower times bumming you out.
Doing fartleks on the road is a good choice if you’re going to be running road races with hills in them. If you do all of your fast running on the track, then you might not be able to tackle the uphills in races as well. But if you’re alternating running hard for three minutes with running slow for two minutes on a road course, then you’ll go over more varied terrain. Sometimes, you might start running hard at the base of a hill. Or your recovery jog might end when you’re halfway down a hill. You’ll learn how to keep running strongly off of the flat.
Fartleks are a safer way to run fast on hills than what some runners do, which is a series of intervals of running fast up a hill, and then jogging down to recover. Sure, this workout is very effective, but it also increases your risk of injury. If you want to work on your hill running ability, do fartleks on the road, and do your long runs on hilly courses.

Speed Work Guidelines

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I’ll show you what interval workouts are best for the most popular race distances.
Here are some general guidelines:

➤ Aim for a total of 15 to 20 minutes of hard running in your workout. This range means that the shorter your intervals, the more you should do of them. Don’t do more than 25 minutes total of hard running in a single workout.
For intervals that take longer than five minutes to complete, allow a recovery time of about 50 percent of the time it took you to complete the interval. For example, if you run a fast mile in eight minutes, recover for four minutes before running hard again.
For intervals that take from three to five minutes to complete, allow a recovery of about 75 percent of the time it took you to complete the interval. For example, if you run a fast half-mile in 3:30, recover for 2:30 before running hard again.
For intervals that take less than three minutes to complete, allow a recovery time that lasts roughly as long as it took you to complete the interval. For example, if you run a fast quarter-mile in 1:40, recover for 1:40 before running hard again.
Have the workout planned before you start. If you make it up as you go along, you’re more likely to quit too early.
Figure out what your goal pace for an interval is in terms of time per lap, and then try to hit that pce on each lap. For example, if you want to run each of your interval miles in eight minutes, try to run each lap as close to two minutes as possible.
Your time from interval to interval shouldn’t vary by more than 10 seconds per mile. If you run two interval miles in 8:00 each, and then a third one in 8:30, you did the first two too quickly.

How fast to run depends on how long your intervals are. I’ll show you how to figure that pace for specific workouts in the next three chapters.
Some runners add variety to their interval workouts by doing a ladder, or varying the distance of the intervals. The name comes from the visual image of going up in distance, and then coming back down by the end of the workout. For example, you might run two quarters, and then a half-mile interval, and then a mile interval to finish the climb up the ladder. Then you would come back down as you went up, with a half-mile interval and two quarters.
Ladders can help to break up a workout psychologically. You can tell yourself, “OK, just one hard mile, and then they all get shorter the rest of the workout.” If you sometimes need to coax yourself into finishing your speed work, ladders can be helpful. In general, though, it’s better to stick with intervals of one distance so that you practice pushing yourself mentally as your fatigue increases. That’s certainly how it happens in races!

Tips on Speed Work

2010-03-31T19:42:00.000-07:00

The most popular place to do speed work is at a standard 400-meter outdoor track. Such a track is precise and unvarying, so you get objective feedback about how fast you’re running. When you do speed work on the track, you’re doing intervals.
An interval workout has a defined structure. First, you run fast for a specified distance (usually one to four laps, which equals one-quarter to one mile). You have a rest interval of a set length, expressed either in distance or time, during which you jog very easily to recover from the fast run. At the end of that interval, you run fast again. You repeat this process for the number of times you had planned at the start of your workout.
Technically, the term intervals refer to the recovery portion of the workout, but everyone has his or her own usage for this term. Some people call the fast runs the intervals, as in, “I’m going to do mile intervals today.” (I will use the term this way in this book.) Other people don’t use the intervals term at all; they call the fast runs repeats, as in, “I’m going to do half-mile repeats today.” Don’t let them confuse you. If they talk about doing intervals, that refers to the workout as a whole; it means they’re doing speed work on the track. (Some runners just say they’re “doing a workout,” meaning that they’re going to do intervals as opposed to a normal training run.)
Most runners do intervals of one to four laps. Doing intervals that are one lap long is called doing quarters, because a 400-meter track is just short of a quarter-mile long. That’s a standard distance for intervals, but for the wrong reason. Seems so logical to do one lap fast at a time, so quarters have become a regular part of many people’s training.
But unless you’re going to be racing the mile, quarters don’t help most runners as much as longer intervals do.
Quarters are too short to require any real sustained effort, so you have to do tons of them to get the benefits that you get from fewer numbers of longer intervals. When you do longer intervals, such as two laps or four laps, you’re working at the intensity that’s going to be required of you in races for a longer period of time on each interval. Running fast for a longer time provides a better stress to your system.
How do you structure an interval workout? What’s best depends on what race you’re training for. If you’re concentrating on 5Ks, then you’re better off runnin shorter intervals at a slightly higher intensity. If you’re getting ready for a half-marathon, you should do longer intervals at a bit slower pace.

On the Fast Track: Speed Work

2010-03-31T19:38:00.000-07:00

Speed work is the best way to train the physiological systems that are stressed when you race. Your regular daily runs give you the base to cover the distance; striders help you to run fast smoothly; long runs give you a little extra boost of endurance so that you can keep running strong when you get tired. But to boost your performance in a race, you need to do some running at the pace that you hope to maintain in the race or even a little bit faster.
Running fast works in the same general way as running long does. After you do a long run, your body rebuilds itself so that it’s better prepared the next time that you try to do such a silly thing. Same thing with running fast—your leg muscles get more used to turning over quickly, your heart gets used to working at a higher rate for a sustained time, and your lungs get used to processing a lot more oxygen. Just as important, your mind gets used to putting up with a certain kind of pain, but persisting nonetheless.
When you do speed work at the right intensity, you’re going to be near your maximum effort. A little voice (OK, sometimes it’s huge) inside your head will beg you to get off this crazy ride. You’ll learn how to keep this voice at bay as you become more used to pushing yourself to keep running fast despite your fatigue. By combining the physical and mental benefits of speed work, you’ll be able to sustain a faster pace in your races. Aim for one speed workout a week when you’re building toward a race. The best ways to make speed work more bearable are to stay focused on your race goal to remind yourself why you’re doing it and (does this sound familiar?) to do speed work with others of similar ability (see the following figure). Many runners who run on their own every other day of the week seek out people to do speed workouts with. They know that they’ll be less likely to bag the workout when they’re running with others, and they know that sharing the effort with others helps the workout to pass more quickly.

Warming Up and Cooling Down

2010-02-28T07:23:00.000-08:00

You should start all of your runs at a gentle pace and spend the first 5 to 10 minutes of the run building to your normal training pace. This gradual building allows your muscles, heart, and lungs to warm up and work better when you want to get going. You also should ease off during the last bit of a run to allow your heart rate to return to normal more gradually. When you start doing races and fast workouts like the ones in this chapter, you need to make your warm-up and cool-down much more pronounced. Most people know that they should warm up before trying to do something hard, whether it’s running fast, lifting a heavy weight, or what have you. The best way to warm up for any activity is by doing that activity at a low level of effort. So a weightlifter might do a few bench presses at a very low weight, and runners might run one to three miles very slowly before they try to run fast.
Where many runners fall short is on the other end of the workout. They neglect to do a good cool-down after a hard effort. Usually that’s because they’re exhausted, and think that more running is just going to exhaust them more. But cooling down (you’ll also hear runners call it warming down, but that’s really the opposite of what you’re doing) helps you recover more quickly from your hard efforts. When you finish a race or a hard workout, your heart rate is near its maximum, and waste products have built up in your muscles. You’re tired, so you plop down and consider yourself done for the day. The next time you run, your legs are still sore because those waste products have pooled in your muscles. A good cool-down flushes those waste products out. Cool-downs don’t have to be long. One mile is often plenty. After catching your breath, run very slowly for at least 10 minutes. A cool-down run should be at a much slower pace than your regular runs. By the end of the cool-down, I guarantee that you’ll feel better.

The Long and Short of Long Runs

2010-02-28T07:20:00.000-08:00

When I was training to be the best marathoner in the world, my long run was the focus of my week. But you don’t have to be a marathoner to benefit from long runs, and your long runs don’t have to be 20 miles or more, like mine were. What counts as a long run is relative to how much you usually run. Marathoners need to build up to at least a couple of runs of 20 miles or more before they should try to cover 26.2 miles. But for a 5K runner, a long run could be as short as six miles.
There’s no set standard for what constitutes a long run, but here’s a good guideline: Two out of every three weeks, do a run that’s at least one and a half times longer than any other run you do that week. If your normal run is three miles, then five miles is a long run for you. Hard-core runners who log 10 miles a day would say that they’re “going long” if they went 15 miles or more. If you measure your runs by time, the same standard applies. If you usually run for half an hour, then going 45 minutes or more would be a long run for you.
Many runners do a long run every week, but you don’t have to. Two out of every three weeks is a good goal. This frequency is enough to progress in boosting your endurance, but the occasional week off gives you a chance to recoup physically and mentally. A plan that many runners use is to do a long run on weekends that they’re not racing. This plan mixes things up nicely.
What do you get from doing long runs? Obviously, marathoners need to train their bodies and minds to be out there for a long time. But every runner, even ones who aren’t going to race, should incorporate runs of varying lengths into their training. When you do a long run, you deplete your muscles’ glycogen stores more than usual. During your recovery from the long run, your muscles develop the ability to store more glycogen. This means that the next time you run as far, your muscles won’t get tired as soon. Psychologically, long runs help your usual runs seem easier. When you’re used to being out there for almost an hour once a week, then your normal 30-minute runs don’t seem as daunting. And obviously, the longer you run, the more calories you burn, and the longer you’ll burn calories at an accelerated rate after your run. Long runs are great for losing weight.
Do your long runs at your normal training pace. These runs count as hard workouts because of the increased distance, not because you maintain a faster pace. You should be able to finish your long runs at the same pace you start them. If you have to slow dramatically at the end, then you’ve prematurely depleted your glycogen stores by starting too quickly.
The key to successfully increasing your long run is progressing gradually. When you can comfortably complete a long run at a given distance, try going one mile farther the next time. This is the approach I take. After my racing season ends in the fall, I take it easy for a while. My longest run for a month will be 10 miles or so. Starting in December, I’ll go 12 miles or so once a week, and then start adding one mile per long run until I’m at my target distance.
Make your long runs special. Try to do them in a nice setting, and try to do them with friends. These factors will make these runs more enjoyable, and the miles will pass more easily.

Smooth Striding

2010-02-28T07:17:00.000-08:00

One of the best ways to introduce fast running into your program is by doing striders. Striders are good because they’re fast enough to teach your muscles and nervous system how to run smoothly at a fast pace, but they’re so short that they don’t fatigue you. Striders don’t really count as a hard workout. Still, I think that all runners should do them once or twice a week. Striders move you through a fuller range of motion than regular moderate runs. They also feel great—it’s fun to run at close to top speed, knowing that you’re only going to be doing so for 20 seconds or so. Most runners do striders at or near the end of a normal run. When you do striders, do 8 to 12. Some runners like to do them on the straightaway of a track, so they know that they’re going about 100 yards and that the footing will be good. But you can do them anywhere you can run smoothly for 100 yards at a time on a flat, level surface. A good day to do striders is the day before a fast workout or a long run. Striders wake up your body from the usual plodding. That’s why most serious runners also do a few striders just before starting a fast workout or a race.
The key to doing striders is to stay relaxed. Watch the top sprinters in the world, and you’ll see that although they’re running faster than 25 miles per hour, their entire bodies, especially their shoulders, neck, and face, are incredibly relaxed. Shoot for this lack of tension when you do striders. Accelerate smoothly to what feels like the fastest pace you could maintain for half a mile. Try to reach that speed by halfway, hold that speed for a bit, and then gradually slow down. Wait a minute or so, and then start your next strider. Striders are a great way to improve your running form. By learning to run smoothly when you’re running at close to top speed, you become better able to do so at all speeds. On each strider, concentrate on one aspect of good running form. For example, concentrate on keeping your shoulders low and relaxed during one strider. On the next, think about maintaining a quick, smooth turnover of your feet. On the next, concentrate on keeping your hands cupped, relaxed, and passing your body at about your waist. Pretty soon, you’ve done your 8 to 12 striders.

The Hard-Easy Principle in Running Training

2010-01-31T20:07:00.000-08:00

I told you that you progress in your running by applying a stress, allowing enough recovery time for your body to rebuild itself a little stronger, and then applying a slightly higher stress. When you start adding different types of workouts, apply that principle to your training as a whole. You want to start training by the hard-easy principle—you run faster or longer than usual on one day, and then follow that day with a run that’s shorter or slower than usual.
The hard-easy principle helps you in two connected ways. Say I have a fast track workout planned for Wednesday. On Tuesday, I’ll be sure to run very easy. This might mean running a bit less than usual, and it definitely means running at a slow pace for the entire run, no matter how good I feel. This slow pace reserves my body’s strength for the next day and allows me to have a better workout than if I had gone into it more tired. By running easy before a hard effort, you progress because you’re able to get more out of yourself on your hard days.
For at least one day after my fast workout on Wednesday, and more often two days, I’ll take it easy again. After a hard workout, it’s usually easy to go slow enough because I’m beat from the previous day’s work. Taking it easy allows me to consolidate the gains from my hard workout and helps me to avoid injury. If you run too fast or long on the day after a hard workout, then you’re risking injury or staleness later on. Your body needs that chance to rebuild itself.
Remember that the general rule is to plan an easy day the day before a hard workout and allow for at least one or two easy days after a hard workout. By hard workout I mean either a run that includes at least a couple of miles at race pace or faster or a run that’s much longer than usual. What counts as an easy day varies among runners. For some runners, an easy day means a day of no running—that’s certainly a good way to make sure you don’t work too hard! In running terms, an easy day means making sure that you can pass the talk test the entire run.
Before and after fast running, it’s OK to run your usual distance, as long as you keep the pace easy. Before and after runs that are longer than usual, you should not only keep the pace easy, but also run a shorter distance than usual. The longer runs drain your glycogen stores.
The day before, you don’t want to run too far because you might start your long run low on glycogen. The day after a long run, your muscles will still be a little low on fuel, so you’re risking injury if you ask them to go too far.

Adding More Structure to Your Body

2010-01-31T20:05:00.000-08:00

You can run the same distance at the same pace every day for the rest of your life, and I’ll gladly call you a fellow runner. Certainly no one has ever been barred from entering a race because they hadn’t done hard workouts on the track for the last several weeks. But if you want to run faster in races and your running is at the moderate, steady pace that I’ve been urging, you need to make a few changes in your training. You’ll race better if once a week you include a few miles of running at race pace or faster. You’ll have more strength for these fast workouts if you boost your endurance by occasionally running longer than usual.
A lot of runners avoid doing this type of training because they don’t like the idea of planning their running so meticulously. They just want to get out the door and run how they feel on a given day. They think that adding more structure to their running will make it less interesting. Actually, the opposite is true. Variety is the spice of running as well as life. When you add different types of workouts to your running, then you’ve gone a long way toward finding a way to keep yourself motivated from day to day. Each run seems to have more of a purpose. If I’ve done a fast workout on the track on a Wednesday, then I look forward to running slowly on the roads on Thursday to recover. By the weekend, I’m looking forward to joining some friends for my longest run on the week, which I’ll look forward to following the next day with a short, slow run by myself, which will get me fired up for that track workout on Wednesday, and so on. I think all runners, even those who aren’t going to race, should at least dabble in the different types of workouts covered in this chapter. Including runs that are faster or longer than usual is just part of training more completely, like stretching and strengthening exercises are.

Understanding Seasonal Race

2010-01-31T20:01:00.000-08:00

The best runners in the world take a seasonal approach to their racing year. For example, they’ll focus on cross-country races in the winter, road races in the spring, and then shorter track races in the summer. In the fall, they might run more road races or take a break from racing. Top marathoners aim for one or two peak marathons a year, using shorter races at other times of the year as part of their buildup to their next marathon. When I raced marathons, I usually made a spring marathon, such as the Boston Marathon in April, one focus. When I recovered from that, I’d run shorter races as I built back up to a fall marathon, such as the New York City Marathon. Many recreational runners could benefit from this approach, but the current racing calendar can make it tough. It’s so darned enticing! As running has become more popular, races have proliferated like Star Trek TV series—it seems that no matter where you look, you see one. Still, in parts of the country that have definite seasons, at least a bit of logic remains in what races are offered when. After all, a marathon is tough enough by itself. You don’t need a hot summer day to add your work.
Here’s when some of the most popular races are most often held:

Although 5K road races are held pretty much year round, you might do better in them in warmer months, because it can be tough to get going quickly when it’s cold.
Although 8K to 10K road races are also held year round, their popularity peaks in spring and fall because even 10K can get too long in hot weather.
Because runners build toward marathons and concentrate on longer runs in the cooler months, 10-milers and half-marathons are mostly held in the fall and winter.
Marathons are mostly held in the fall, with the spring being the second most popular time. Summer is out of the question in many places.

How to Find a Race

2009-12-31T14:04:00.000-08:00

Where can you find details on races in your area? The best place to start is with a local running club. Don’t worry if you don’t know anyone in the club or even how to contact them. If you don’t know any runners in your area who you can ask about local clubs, call the national office of the Road Runners Club of America at (703) 836-0558. Ask for the name and number of the club nearest to you. Once you know the club in your area, give it a call. Most clubs maintain a hotline that has a recording of upcoming club races.
If you know of a running store near you, visit it. Ask the salespeople (who are usually local runners) if they know where you can find information about local races. Many areas have local running publications that do a fantastic job of listing all of the upcoming races in a locale. Most running stores are also depositories for race flyers. Look through them to see if any of them interest you.
If you have Internet access, next stop is the World Wide Web. Appendix B, “Resources for Runners,” lists some of the best running Web sites. Because of the nature of this book, most of those Web sites are national in scope, but many have links to local running Web sites. There, you can often find race listings.
The two top national running magazines, Runner’s World and Running Times, list upcoming races in their calendar sections. Of the two, Running Times maintains a more in-depth calendar, but neither can possibly list all of the 15,000 races that are held in the United States every year. Their calendars are handy resources, however, if you’re going to be traveling and want to sneak in a race while you’re away.

Over Hill, Over Dale

2009-12-31T14:02:00.000-08:00

The most elemental of races is cross-country. These races take place on grass and dirt, usually through woods, on golf courses, or in other pleasant settings. Cross-country races are usually from 5K to 10K in length and are usually held in the fall. Like track races, they’re usually put on by local running clubs and have, at most, a couple of hundred runners. They usually are low-key affairs with no T-shirts and a small entry fee. Crosscountry races are often team races, and many people like that aspect of them. Times are pretty meaningless in cross-country, so runners concentrate on feeling that they ran strongly.
Building on this attitude is the growing number of trail races. These races are usually much longer than standard cross-country races; sometimes they’re as long as 50 miles or more. In spirit, these races are more akin to marathons, as most of the participants care more about finishing honorably than getting a certain time.
Training for and racing cross-country can do a lot to help you as a runner on other surfaces. You learn to run strongly over uneven terrain, and you become a better hill runner. Kenyan men have won the team title at the World Cross-Country Championships every year since 1986, and every year they produce an astonishing percentage of the top track and road runners in the world.

Get on Track

2009-12-31T14:01:00.000-08:00

Races held on the track can be hard to find once you’re out of school. But especially during the summer, many local running clubs will put on one or more all comer’s meets. In some parts of the country, you also can find indoor track meets open to all runners during the winter. These track meets are usually sparsely populated events, with less than 100 runners taking part. There are no T-shirts, and the entry fee is nominal. All comer’s meets have an intimate atmosphere that’s hard to match at a big road race.
Whereas road races are often about doing the best you can on the course you find yourself on, there’s no such mystery in track races. Seen one, you’ve seen them all. Because of this universality of tracks, most runners are going to be there to chase after a time goal. As a result, many runners are intimidated by track races because they associate racing on the track with something that only really fast people do. That’s a shame, because I think all racers should experiment with different types of races occasionally. Track races are usually shorter than road races; 5K (12.5 laps of the track) is usually the longest race. Many runners gravitate to the longer distances because that’s what’s available on the road. But by running track races in addition to road races, you might find that you have a talent for speed-based events such as the mile. Track races are also a good place to develop a strong sense of pace. Because there’s no variation from lap to lap, you do best by getting in a rhythm. Learning how to get in a rhythm can help you on flat road courses as well. You also develop the ability to concentrate when you compete on the track frequently because churning lap after lap can get so boring.

Show Me the Money

2009-11-30T17:05:00.000-08:00

Ted Poulos, of McLean, Virginia, runs more than 200 races a year. When you figure that the average race costs between $15 and $25 to enter, Ted has found himself an expensive little habit. Why do road races cost that much? I mean, aren’t you just running down a public road? Who’s getting rich off of these things?
Nobody is. The entry fee that races charge usually covers only about one third of the costs of putting on races. Events are a lot more expensive to stage than they used to be. Local governments didn’t use to charge for the police who are often necessary for traffic control. Municipalities are also increasingly requiring races to pay for permits to stage events, even though there’s really not a whole lot of demand for the space by others at 8 a.m. on Sundays. San Francisco’s Bay to Breakers race shells out $30,000 for police services, plus $50,000 for park fees.
Most of the expenses to put on a race are picked up by the race sponsors. Donations also go a long way to keeping race costs down. Because most races are to benefit some charity or nonprofit group, the organizers can appeal to the goodwill of local merchants to donate food and prizes. Given all that goes into putting on a race, a $20 entry fee is quite a bargain.
Some runners try to rebel against what they think are high entry fees by being bandits. They run the race, but don’t sign up for it. Bandits are bad. Not only do they sometimes mess up the timing of the race because they’re not wearing numbers, but they leech off of the majority of the runners who paid the entry fee. If everyone acted that way, then there wouldn’t be any races for them to be mad at. If you think that a race charges too much, then voice your disagreement with a letter and by staying away, not by being a bandit and thinking that you’re accomplishing anything more than ripping off fellow runners.
You can usually save money on races by registering a month or more before the race. Race day entry fees are usually about $5 higher than early registration.

Choose Your Road

2009-11-30T17:04:00.001-08:00

For the most part, road races basically fall into two main categories: those put on by various community organizations and those put on by local running clubs. The most popular time for both types of road races to be held is early on a weekend morning. Start time is usually 9 a.m. in the cooler months, 8 a.m. in the warmer months. More races are held on Sundays than on Saturdays.
Races in the first category are usually held in conjunction with a local event or as a oncea-year fundraiser for a charity. The people involved in organizing the race are usually volunteers from whatever organization will benefit from the race. The organizers usually pay a professional finish-line coordinator to handle timing, scoring, and other race-day logistics. In these races, you almost always wear a number during the race, and you almost always get a T-shirt as part of your entry fee. There’s probably also going to be nice post-race refreshments, decent prizes for the top runners, and other amenities.
Local running clubs also put on races as part of their regular schedule of events. These races are usually more low-key and have smaller fields. Most of the people running them are members of the club, although all runners are certainly welcome to take part.
Organization and logistics are handled entirely by volunteers lined up from the club. These races often cost only a few dollars to enter, because there are no Tshirts or other major costs to cover. (These races often take place in more rural areas, so the organizers don’t have to pay as much, if anything, for permits, police, and so on.)

Takin’ It to the Streets

2009-11-30T17:00:00.000-08:00

More than 90 percent of the non-scholastic races held in the United States are road races. If you know someone who has run a race, it’s almost guaranteed that he or she ran in a road race. There are road races of pretty much every distance you can imagine from the mile to the marathon. The most popular distances are 5K (3.1 miles), 8K (about 50 yards short of 5 miles), and 10K (6.2 miles).
The size of the fields in road races runs the gamut, too: You can find small rural affairs among 15 people all the way up to the country’s biggest road race in terms of official entrants, The Lilac Bloomsday Run, a 12K (7.4 miles) run by more than 55,000 every May in Spokane, Washington. (Bay to Breakers, a 12K held every May in San Francisco, sometimes has as many as 100,000 people running it, but only about half of them have registered for the race.) A typical road race, in which runners wear race numbers and receive T-shirts, will have anywhere from a few hundred to 1,000 runners in it. Races with more than 1,000 runners are major productions.
I’m obviously biased toward road races, having earned the nickname “King of the Roads” in the ’70s. I like how the course of each road race has its own quirks that you have to master. I also like the (usually) firm footing and long stretches so that I can get in a good rhythm. The party atmosphere that I told you so many races have is almost exclusively at road races.
Another cool aspect of road races is that they are one of the few, if not the only, instances in sports where an average participant competes at the same time on the same course as the best in the world. Want to play baseball with Cal Ripken? Good luck. But line up with the 50,000 runners who run the Peachtree 10K in Atlanta every Fourth of July, and some of the fastest runners around are at the front of the field. Sure, you’re not going to be going head to head with them, but running is different because you’re experiencing the race exactly as the elite runners do. It’s fun to see how your time compares to theirs. You can’t do that in baseball, football, basketball, or almost any other sport.

What is Master Running?

2009-10-31T08:02:00.000-07:00

Enter masters running. With awards given out in fiveyear brackets, you’re not forced to fight it out with the young bucks if taking home loot is part of the appeal of racing to you. Instead, it’s just you and your contemporaries, who are more likely to have the body and schedule that you do than some just-out-of-college hotshot is. The age-group categories level the playing field.
More importantly, masters running does a tremendous job of keeping runners motivated enough to keep attending races by giving you a way to set goals. In the last few years of my 30s, I was a little bit adrift. I was no longer fast enough to duke it out with the top guys in most races, and I wasn’t running as fast I used to, even though I was training as hard. It was tough to know how to assess my performances and how to set goals for future ones.
But when I turned 40, suddenly there were all these masters records to aim for—I got to see how close I could get to what other runners past the age of 40 had done. Mentally, I wiped the slate clean. I concentrated on setting masters personal records and took each personal record as a new standard, rather than comparing it to my faster times from my 20s and 30s. I start fresh every time I enter a new five-year age group. That kind of attitude helps to explain why in some races, more than half the runners are past the age of 40. They’ve figured out that they can continue to find meaning in their race performances by comparing them to what they have achieved recently. Racing gives them a fresh outlook and new goals to shoot for every few years. When you do that, you’ve found the fountain of youth, regardless of how old your birth certificate says you are.

Becoming Master Runner

2009-10-31T07:59:00.000-07:00

No matter how long you’ve been running, once you’re 40 or older, you’ll be called a masters runner. For long-time runners like me, the phrase makes a certain amount of sense—after all those years of putting in the miles, you’ve mastered how to keep at it and with enough interest that you’re still showing up at races. What’s so great about masters running? There must be something to it because I know I’m not alone in finding my running revitalized by the turning of the clock. Competition for the top prizes in the masters category are among the toughest in running. Masters running has become such a big deal that the Indianapolis Life Insurance Company sponsors a circuit of races around the country that’s open only to masters runners.
Masters racing recognizes that no matter how intelligently you go about your running, it’s a lot tougher to run fast when you’re 45 than when you’re 25. That’s especially so for people who have been at it for a long time. Most runners reach their best performances in the first 8 to 12 years of running, regardless of the age at which they start. So if you start at a young age, by the time you’re 40, your times in races are almost assured to be slower than they were in your early 30s.
This inevitable slowing with age can be pretty depressing if you don’t have a way to deal with it. Say there were no age-group awards in races, but just prizes for the top 10. Who would ever have a chance to take home a trophy except for the young and the breathless? Even if you were never an award winner in your youth, how would you go about setting goals when you know that no matter how hard you work, you’re never going to run as fast as you once could?

Running for Charity

2009-10-31T07:56:00.000-07:00

Races have long been venues for raising money for charities. I’ve always liked being able to tie in doing something good for myself with helping others.Most of the people running these kinds of races would probably have participated in them anyway; the money raised for charity is a nice side consequence of them doing so.
However, one of the biggest trends in American racing is charity running that works the other way around—people enter races (usually marathons) solely for the purpose of raising money for charity. This approach has long been applied to other activities. For example, think of the AIDS Walks or the March of Dimes. The new charity running emphasis at races is much the same, except that the runners use races that already exist, rather than events that are created specifically for them. The biggest of these types of programs is called Team in Training, run by the Leukemia Society of America. Runners sign up to participate in one of the many marathons that Team in Training sends people to. In exchange for raising a specified amount of money (usually in the neighborhood of $3,000) in pledges, program participants receive free entry, travel, and lodging at their chosen marathon. The locales can be pretty exotic, such as the program’s most popular race, the Mayor’s Midnight Sun Marathon in Anchorage, Alaska. Other big Team in Training sites are Bermuda, Honolulu, San Diego, Dublin, and Paris.
Runners in the program receive free coaching from knowledgeable runners in their area. Most groups meet once a week for a long run and a pre-run clinic from their coach. The usual training program lasts for six months so that the runners gradually build up to being able to finish the marathon.
Team in Training has been phenomenally successful in meeting its goals; it has raised more than $25 million for leukemia research, and now is the source of more than half of the Leukemia Society’s revenue. Similar groups have sprung up that raise money for arthritis research (Joints in Motion) and cancer research (Fred’s Team).
Many runners join these groups for emotional reasons—they know someone who suffers from the disease that their fundraising will battle. Almost all of the participants in these programs are first-time marathoners. In some cases, they’re even first-time runners, having started to run only after deciding to finish a marathon to raise money for charity.
Charity runners care mostly about finishing their marathon to raise money, not how fast they can run the marathon. They’ve added an important new element to the sport and have helped running to continue to grow. (About 14,000 people take part in Team in Training each year.) Because of the good coaching they receive, nearly all of them complete their marathon.

Personal Betting

2009-09-30T22:33:00.000-07:00

I’ve always been a competitor, ever since I was the fastest kid in a run during gym class in school. Seeing how fast I can run has long been my primary motivation to be a runner. Oddly enough, that’s why I stopped running for a few years after college. My goal then had been to break 9:00 for two miles, and I did. I didn’t see the point in racing anymore, so I didn’t see the point in running anymore. (Now, of course, I know better. What’s that about youth being wasted on the young?)
I was fortunate to be able to win races when I was younger. I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that doing so wasn’t incredibly satisfying. Let me tell you, if you ever need motivation to get out the door for a run on a tough New England winter day, try telling yourself that you’ll be defending your title at the Boston Marathon in a couple of months. It worked wonders for me.
But even when I raced for place, I was also always focused on my finishing times in races. Now that I don’t win races anymore, I’m even more fanatical about them. I’m certainly not alone in that regard. For many runners, setting personal records, or getting under a certain barrier for a distance, or seeing how their time at a race this year compares to what they ran there last year, or any of the million other ways that you can look at your running times provides the biggest reason to race. There’s something intoxicating about racing against yourself.
Your race times provide an objective record of your accomplishment on that day. There’s just no way around it—your race time is how long it took you to run this course on this day. Unlike other sports competitions, races are about unadulterated human performance. In other sports, you’re maneuvering against your opponents and trying to finesse some piece of equipment. When you race for time, it’s just you, the elements, and the clock.
Nothing else I’ve found in sports gives you that yes-or-no sense of accomplishment that racing for time does. Suppose you play on a softball team. How do you know whether you’ve had a good game? There are so many variables that you don’t have primary control over. Did you get two hits because you swung the bat well or because the other team’s pitcher stunk? What about when you made that nice play at third base, but the first baseman flubbed your throw, or the umpire made the wrong call? There’s none of that uncertainty when you race for time.
Earlier in this chapter, I told you how aiming for a race is one of the best ways to set the short-term goals I keep recommending. On top of that, aiming toward a race and having a time goal for it helps to keep you running even more. It lends a logic to your training—with the race as your goal, you have a better idea of what types of running you should be doing. Those time goals are a great answer for that little voice in your head that’s occasionally going to say, “Why are you doing this?”

Racing’s Best-Kept Secret: It’s Fun!

2009-09-30T22:32:00.000-07:00

People who haven’t been to races aren’t going to know this, so you’ll just have to take my word for it until you see it for yourself: You’d be hard-pressed to find an event more filled with smiles and unambiguous goodwill than your local road race. Put another way, why should you race? Because it’s fun!
A road race is the closest thing to a mobile party that I can think of. (Well, the closest legal thing.) Everywhere you look, there are smiles, cheers, laughs, and heartfelt congratulations from one runner to another. There’s music before and after (sometimes even during), there’s great food after, prizes are given out, and kids are roaming all around—sounds more like a circus than someplace where a bunch of skinny masochists gather to be miserable together, doesn’t it?
Of course, most people aren’t laughing it up and smiling during the race; they’re working pretty darned hard. But that effort explains the festive atmosphere afterward. The runners have pushed and challenged themselves, and now they’re all celebrating the sense of accomplishment that doing so brings.
In life, isn’t one extreme of something usually more enjoyable if you’ve recently been near the other extreme? Isn’t a sunny day more special when it’s been raining for a week than when it’s the 10th bright day in a row? Doesn’t your easy chair feel best when you’ve been working your hardest? That’s why races are so much fun. Once you’ve experienced a race, you’ll agree with me that there’s a certain kind of fun that comes from challenging yourself within sharply defined parameters while others around you are doing the same.

People Pay to Do This?

2009-09-30T22:30:00.000-07:00

The average road race is held early on a Sunday morning. A standard road race with T-shirts, awards, post-race refreshments, and so on costs $15 to $25 to enter. In other words, most people running in them have gone to bed early on a Saturday night, gotten up at least as early on a Sunday morning as on a regular workday, and then handed over the cost of a nice dinner for the opportunity to inflict pain on themselves. Sounds like they’re the idiots, huh?
They’re far from it, and I’m not just sensitive to that charge because I go to 25 to 30 races a year. At some level, these runners realize that far from being masochists, they’re indulging themselves. That’s right—indulging themselves! Racing is the proverbial icing on the running cake.
Your regular training gives you the big health and fitness benefits that are the most
important thing about running for most people, but experiencing only that part of
running can get a little tedious. You need some excitement and some variety in anything
that you do regularly, no matter how much you love it. In running, that excitement and
variety most often comes from going to a race. You don’t even have to try to run harder
than you do when you run on your own. There’s just something about lining up with
your fellow runners and experiencing the same course together that adds an element to
your running that’s impossible to find otherwise. Say you really like to cook. Which would you rather do: Always cook for just you and
your spouse, making pretty much the same types of dishes at the same time of day? Or would you rather use those daily cooking sessions as the main way to enjoy your hobby, but also throw a dinner party once in a while where you get to put it all on the line and let yourself and others see just what you’re capable of? Most people would choose the second option, and that’s why you see so many people at races. Let’s continue that dinner party analogy just a bit farther. Say you invite a few friends over for dinner. You don’t worry about how your culinary skills compare to Wolfgang Puck’s, do you? No. You do the best you can given your background and ability, and afterward you’re rewarded with the feeling of a job well done.
The same is true of nearly all of the people in any race. They know that they don’t have to look like Frank Shorter or Joan Benoit Samuelson to race. They know that races give their running a focus and are a great source of motivation for getting out the door most days.
Many beginning runners have a sense that their running would be more exciting if they went to races, but they’re afraid that they’ll finish last and be embarrassed. As Richard
Nixon would have said, let me say this about that: First, most races have at least a few hundred runners in them. Just like only one person is going to finish first, only one person is going to finish last. The odds of that being you are pretty long, believe me. More important, if it is you, so what? No one has ever been shot or even booed for finishing last in a road race. In fact, some of the loudest applause from spectators in races are for those near the back of the pack. The spectators recognize the extra effort that these runners are putting out. Adding to that applause are often many of the runners who have finished their races, and then hung around the finish area to cheer on their fellow runners. That kind of camaraderie with your fellow runners is one of the main draws that races have.

Made in the Shade: Sun Protection

2009-08-31T21:03:00.000-07:00

People used to think that a great tan was one of running’s main side benefits. Now we know better. There are almost a million new cases of skin cancer every year in the United States. My grandfather died from a melanoma, and my mom has had skin cancer, so I’m especially aware of this problem. But it’s not just those of us with a family history of these problems who need to be careful, especially with the growing hole in the ozone layer. These days, smart runners can take a few, easy steps to lower their risk of overexposure to the sun.
The major one is to wear a waterproof sunscreen. It should have an SPF (sun protection factor) rating of at least 15. Ten to 15 minutes before your run, apply it liberally to any body parts that are going to be exposed. In the past, you may have heard that these sport sunscreens interfered with sweating, making you much hotter. Recent research, however, has shown that you’ll sweat just as much when you wear sunscreen, so glop it on.
Other steps to lower your sun exposure while running include the following:

Wear something on your head to shield your face.
Wear sport sunglasses to protect your eyes.
Try not to run when the sun is strongest, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Run in the shade. (You’ll also stay cooler if you do.) If you’re lucky enough to be running during daylight hours in the winter, don’t forget the sunscreen. The sun isn’t as strong then, but it can do its work nonetheless, especially when it’s reflecting off snow.

Neither Sleet, nor Hail: Foul-Weather Running

2009-08-31T20:55:00.000-07:00

Along with the frozen-lung query, one of the other most common weather-related questions I hear is, “What do you do when it rains?” The answer: Get wet. What I mean, without being too much of a martyr about it, is that part of being a runner is coping with the hand that Mother Nature deals. Again, most people in our society have lost their connection to the outdoors. The only running in the rain they can imagine is from their office building to the car so that they don’t get wet.
But what do you do after a run? You get in the shower; you get wet. Why is so horrible to get wet during your run? Unless the rain is cold, running in the rain can be incredibly enjoyable. Think about when you were a kid and how you splashed in puddles or how good it felt to be in the rain in the middle of summer.
Of course, running in the rain isn’t always ideal. As I said, a cold rain is not that fun. You have to be extra careful, especially if you’re running near a lot of traffic. Cars aren’t going to be able to see you as well. But most times, putting on the right gear and a baseball or painter’s cap is the only added step you need to take to have a great run. When you get home, just be sure to change into dry clothes as soon as possible. Notice how I keep mentioning cold rain? I’m not going to tell you that being a runner means you stick to your planned run no matter what the conditions. Freezing rain, sleet, hail—when the weather is that bad, it’s usually time to reconsider. Shorten your run, sticking close to home so that you can end the run quickly if conditions deteriorate. Or, if the nasty stuff is only going to be around for a day, don’t feel guilty about taking the day off. You can get battered around if you always try to run in those conditions. I once had to take cover while running during a major hail storm in Arizona. The only other weather I really fear is lightning. I just don’t go out when it’s striking.
Fortunately, you can usually wait for it to pass and get in a nice post-storm run.

Footing, Short Days, and Icy Roads

2009-07-31T23:20:00.000-07:00

The lack of light, not the potential freezing of your lungs, is the biggest threat to your well-being when you run in the winter. Watch your footing. Try to run on level surfaces that you’re familiar with and choose the most well-lit routes. Be extra careful after snow or ice storms. Snow on the ground can often help your night vision, because it reflects what light there is. But under that snow may be patches of ice. Also, watch traffic even more than you usually do. Don’t assume that cars can see you or that, if they do, they can get out of the way quickly. Just as snow and ice can make you slip around during your runs, they also can cause cars to careen out of control. Fortunately, most good winter running apparel made these days has reflective features. If yours doesn’t, you can buy reflective strips and a reflective vest at most running stores. Almost all good running shoes have reflective elements built into their design. These elements are a must if you want to run safely in the dark.

The Freeze-Your-Lungs Myth

2009-07-31T23:19:00.001-07:00

Except for the few hottest days of the year, most people aren’t going to question your sanity when you’re out running in July or August. But keep running through the winter, and eventually someone is going to ask you, “Aren’t you afraid that you’ll freeze your lungs?”
Even my dad used to ask me this when I started running in high school. I was taught to respect my elders, so I didn’t laugh in his face or anything, but this question is one of the silliest I’ve ever heard. Have you ever met someone who has frozen a lung? Of course not. As the air you breathe works its way into your lungs, it’s warmed more than enough to keep it from freezing anything.
I bet you have met someone who was in pretty good shape, but stopped working out when it got cold, and started the spring with more weight and less fitness. That’s a shame, and an unnecessary one, because winter running can be some of the best of the year. And I’m a New Englander, so it’s not like I’m sitting here espousing the joys of winter running from my house in Los Angeles.
I get a certain pride out of knowing that on those short, dark, cold days with plenty of windchill, when most people are always under shelter, I’ve been outside moving under my own power. I know that when people look out their windows and see me running down their street they think that I’m both miserable and insane. Those people don’t know that when I’m done with my run, I’ll enjoy being inside that much more. Running in the winter involves a bigger mental aspect to it than running during the rest of the year. I admit that after doing this for 30 years, I still sometimes have a tough time getting psyched to run when there’s only been eight hours of daylight for the last couple of months. You just need to keep focused on your goals. After awhile, you’ll learn how to get out the door and through those tough first few minutes until you start getting warmed up. I can usually do this by reminding myself how much better I’ll feel after my run. Also, ask yourself if you would be so ready to bag your run if it were sunny and 70 degrees.

Jogging in Winter

2009-07-31T23:15:00.000-07:00

One of the main reasons that running in the winter can be so nice is because running in the summer can be so tough. With all the heat that you generate after a few minutes of running, you can be warmer running outside in 40-degree weather than inside your 68-degree home. So you stay warm enough to stay comfortable, but don’t get so hot that you get really dehydrated. The best of both worlds!
You can’t get away with running in just anything in the winter. Some necessary items of clothing will help you stay comfortable when it’s cold. The key is wearing the right gear for the right conditions, which usually involves layering.

Beating the Heat

2009-06-30T05:12:00.000-07:00

Now that I’ve completely turned you off on running in the heat, what can you do to fight dehydration? Drink, drink, then drink some more. Your thirst mechanism is imperfect; by the time you’re thirsty, you’re dehydrated. How do you know if you’re staying on top of staying hydrated? First, weigh yourself before and after runs in hot weather. However much lighter you are at the end of the run, drink at least that amount of water within the first two hours of your run. Remember, a pint’s a pound the world around, so for every pound you lost on the run, drink 16 ounces.
Don’t cheat on this method if one of the reasons you’re running is to lose weight. The weight that you lose on a run in the heat isn’t fat. It’s water and needs to be replaced if you want to keep running. Your blood and other body fluids help to remove waste products and to carry nutrients to muscle tissues, so the faster you replace lost fluids, the more quickly you’ll recover from run to run. Replacing water doesn’t have anything to do with how many calories you burn on a run, which is what counts in determining how much fat you lose. If anything, quickly replacing water weight loss will help you lose weight because you’ll feel better from day to day, and you’ll be more likely to stick with your running in tough conditions.
For some reason, it’s tough for most people to stay hydrated. Maybe that’s because eating is one of life’s great joys, but after awhile, drinking water just gets boring. Make it easy to drink water often throughout the day. One coach I know tells his runners to keep a two liter bottle of water at their desks at work. They’re supposed to finish it at least once from when they get to the office until they go home. I also know runners who are in the habit of stopping for a drink at every water fountain they pass during the day, regardless of whether they’re thirsty. It’s also a good idea to keep a bottle of water by your bed. I know this sounds like a lot of work, maybe even borderline obsessive. But it’s worth it, because you’ll feel so much better on your runs.
Not only is it important to drink water before, after, and between runs, it’s important to drink during them as well. I keep a water bottle hidden in the woods a few miles from my house. When I run by it, I stop and drink, and then restash it. When it’s empty, I carry it home, refill it, and drive it back to its hiding spot. Here are other ways to conveniently get drinks on the run:
➤ Plan your route so that you’ll pass schools, gas stations, and other places that have water fountains.
➤ Plan your route so that you pass your home once or twice. Have a water bottle waiting for you at the end of driveway.
➤ The night or morning before a longer run, drive over your route, stashing bottles along the way.
➤ On the hottest days, carry water with you. Many runners prefer fannypacks that hold bottles to keep their hands free and their arm action normal. If you can use some of these methods to make sure you get some fluid every 15 to 20 minutes during your run, you’ll last a lot longer in the heat.
I also like to drink two or three glasses of water a few minutes before I run. Sometimes the water sloshes around in my stomach at the start, but I know it will help me by the end of the run. Nothing beats water for pure hydration. But you’re more likely to drink enough if you enjoy a variety of fluids. What are other good options for just before, during, and right after a run? Studies have shown that sport drinks that are four to eight percent carbohydrate, like most of the commercially available ones, are absorbed as quickly as water. They have the added plus of providing energy. Fruit juices aren’t absorbed as quickly; dilute them by half with water. Carbonated beverages aren’t a great idea because they might upset your stomach and because they make you feel full. If you drink a carbonated drink, you might think that you’re more hydrated
than you are.
Finally, when you run can make a big difference i\how much the heat takes out of you especially when you’re not acclimatized (used to running in the heat).
Avoid the hottest times of the day. This is one instance where you’re at an advantage if you have to squeeze in your run before or after work. Still, be careful: The humidity is highest in the morning, and it can still be pretty oppressive at 7 p.m. in some places in the summer. When in doubt, slow your pace from the start, rather than having your dehydrated body slow it for you near the end.

The Dangers of Dehydration

2009-05-31T23:33:00.000-07:00

The upshot of all this dripping sweat is a dropping pace. One study found that for each one percent of body weight that you lose because of dehydration, your running performance falls by three percent. Bear in mind that one percent of body weight isn’t much— if you weigh 150 pounds, that’s only 1.5 pounds, or 24 ounces. It’s not unusual to lose three or four pounds of water in an hour of running on a hot day. This loss causes your performance to sag by more than five percent, which can be as much as a minute slower
per mile. Are you starting to see why it’s so tough to
feel comfortable while running in the heat?
You also need to consider cumulative dehydration.
Cumulative dehydration is what happens when it’s hot for several days in a row, and you don’t replace all the fluid you lost after each run. Suppose that during a hot week, an 150-pound runner doesn’t rehydrate himself completely each day. By the end of the week, he has a cumulative loss of two pounds of water—that’s more than one percent of his weight. As a result, his performance is off by more than three percent by week’s end, but he may not make the connection to dehydration.
A lot of runners, myself included most summers,
go through the hottest parts of the year chronically
dehydrated. As a result, our running suffers.

A Hot Time in the City

2009-05-31T23:06:00.000-07:00

You know that you tire more quickly when it’s 90 degrees rather than 50 degrees, even if you’re just taking a leisurely stroll. And you know that the harder you work, the more tired heat makes you. But why is that? And what can you do about it? When you run in the heat, your body sends more blood to your skin to cool you via evaporation. As a result, less blood, which carries oxygen, goes to your leg muscles, and they have to work harder just to maintain your usual pace. Also, the warmer it is, the more you sweat. This is good, because sweating helps to cool you as your perspiration evaporates. But it’s also bad, because your blood volume decreases. With less blood returning to your heart, your heart has to pump more often to keep the same amount of blood circulating throughout your body. And when your heart rate increases, you’re working harder.\ Running is even tougher on humid days. You generate all that sweat, and it’s supposed to cool you down, but the air is so moist that it can’t absorb much more water. So your sweat stays on your skin rather than evaporating, and your body just keeps producing more and more sweat, and you just keep getting more and more tired. That’s why it’s a lot tougher to run on a 90-degree day in the humid Northeast part of the country, like Washington, DC, than in someplace like New Mexico. Out in the desert, it’s hot, but dry, and your sweat can cool you like it’s supposed to.

Post-Partum Expression and Running

2009-04-30T02:02:00.000-07:00

The answer to how much and how fast to run after giving birth, just like how much and how fast to run before giving birth, differs from woman to woman. A lot of it has to do with how tough your pregnancy and delivery were. A standard guideline is to wait about six weeks after a vaginal delivery, a bit more for a C-section. Again, though, those are just general guidelines. Part of being a runner is being in touch with your body, and you should have a feel for when it’s right to get going again. Gwyn Coogan started running again only 10 days after giving birth, but Janis Klecker waited eight weeks. As some women runners have pointed out, you never know until it’s too late if you tried to come back too soon. In this sense, starting to run again after giving birth can be a lot like starting again after an injury. You’re always going to be wondering if it’s OK to try to progress, and you’re going to feel a lot different running than you used to. That’s especially the case for new mothers who are probably trying to run with more weight than they had before being pregnant.
Your joints and ligaments remain loose for about nine months to a year after delivery. This looseness makes you especially susceptible to injury during this time, so you should avoid hills and uneven terrain. Put all those factors together, and most women runners who have been through the process, even highly motivated ones like Coogan and Klecker, think it’s a good idea to err on the side of caution. Some women say that once they return to their regular running program after giving birth, they feel much stronger. Of course, there’s a psychological side to this. As Louise Kelley, a top local runner in the Washington, DC area, says about being a running mother, there’s nothing like a forced nine months off to get you really motivated.

Play, Don’t Labor: Running While Pregnant

2009-04-30T01:49:00.000-07:00

Pregnant women used to be told any exercise beyond even the most low-key, minimal exertion would endanger both their health and that of their fetus. The main concern was that the mother and fetus wouldn’t gain enough weight to produce a healthy baby come birth. It was also thought that when a pregnant woman runs, the fetus would be harmed because of less oxygen and blood flow going to the uterus. Because of fears like these, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) used to say that pregnant women shouldn’t work out strenuously for more than 15 minutes and that they should keep their heart rates below 140 beats per minute. In other words, don’t really run. A lot of faithful women runners chose to ignore those recommendations when they became pregnant. As they did, and seemed to produce normal, healthy babies, more studies were done about running and pregnancy. Among other good things, these studies found that the fears of damage to the fetus by running moms-to-be were unfounded. The pregnant body has compensatory mechanisms for decreased oxygen and blood flow to the uterus. It’s been shown that both the woman and fetus have all the fuel they need when the woman runs, even in the late stages of pregnancy, when fetal growth really takes off. Hey, Sue Olsen had to get energy somewhere during that 24-hour race, after all.
In terms of birth and after, studies have shown no real difference between sedentary pregnant women and active ones in these important matters:
➤ Complications of pregnancy, labor, and delivery
➤ Type of delivery (C-section versus vaginal)
➤ Circumference of the baby’s head
➤ Overall health of the baby
➤ Weight of the baby at birth
As for weight gain during pregnancy, one study found that active pregnant women put on about 30 pounds each, compared to 39 to 42 pounds for nonexercisers. ACOG recommends that most women gain 25 to 35 pounds.
One study compared women who worked out vigorously, including running, to those whose only exercise while pregnant was walking. When the children of these women were five years old, those of the intense exercisers scored higher on tests of intelligence, coordination, and language skills.
Because of all of this evidence that vigorous exercise is safe, ACOG revised its guidelines in 1994. Now, it encourages women who are fit and active when they become pregnant to remain so as long as they can comfortably during pregnancy. So long as you keep in close contact with your doctor and use common sense, ACOG says, it’s OK to run vigorously throughout your entire pregnancy.
Now, whether Sue Olsen’s exploits would get the ACOG seal of approval, I’m not sure. But I bet they wouldn’t have any problem with Joan Benoit Samuelson, who ran five miles on the morning before she gave birth to her second child, and remembers the
run as one of the favorites of her whole life. Remember, this is a woman who won the Olympic Marathon!
Sue and Joan are among the luckiest ones. No matter how many green lights ACOG gives you, and no matter how dedicated you are, there comes a time when intensive weight-bearing exercise like running becomes too uncomfortable to be worth doing for most pregnant women. If and when that occurs will vary from woman to woman and even from pregnancy to pregnancy for repeat moms. That’s where the common sense part of ACOG’s current guidelines come into play.
When running isn’t an option anymore, many women runners turn to less-intensive cross-training options.
When Janis Klecker, a 1992 Olympian in the marathon, was six months into her second pregnancy and pregnant with twins, running became a hindrance rather than a help. So she switched to swimming, walking, and riding a stationary bike. An Olympic teammate of hers from 1992, Gwyn Coogan, ran until the seventh month of her pregnancy, and then switched to hiking, biking, and swimming. The key is that they sensed when the running wasn’t worth doing anymore, accepted that temporary situation, and found other, more comfortable, ways to stay fit and active.

Two for the Road: Running and Pregnancy

2009-03-31T00:52:00.000-07:00

In June 1995, while 8 ½ months pregnant, Sue Olsen ran a marathon in 4:00:50. The following week, Olsen competed in a 24-hour race. Less than 30 hours after finishing that mega long event, she gave birth to a healthy son who weighed seven pounds, three ounces. OK, so Olsen is a bit on the extreme side. But I thought you should know about her because she, and her healthy son, are evidence that being pregnant doesn’t necessarily mean lying on your back for nine months eating chocolate-covered pickles.

Running and Birth Control

2009-03-31T00:50:00.000-07:00

Obviously, birth control is an incredibly personal choice. I just want to tell you what some women runners have experienced. A few studies have found that women runners are less likely than sedentary women to take birth control pills. Many women report that they just don’t feel as good while running when they’re on the pill. Fatigue and nausea are common side effects of being on the pill, as is weight gain. Because the pill eliminates the premenstrual and early flow phases of a period, the pill can be a good birth control choice for women runners who feel that their running suffers at these times. Overall, though, most women runners who have found a successful alternative to the pill prefer to avoid oral contraceptives.

Women of Steel: Iron Needs

2009-03-31T00:46:00.000-07:00

Women runners should be more careful than men runners about preventing low iron stores. Iron is used to produce hemoglobin in your red blood cells. As mentioned before, one of the reasons that women are, on average, slower than men is because women have less hemoglobin. This condition is made worse if your iron stores are low, because then your hemoglobin levels become lower. When hemoglobin levels decrease, less oxygen reaches your muscles when you run, so running your normal pace feels harder. Why are women runners more susceptible to low iron stores? For starters, all women lose iron through menstrual blood. On top of that, women runners tend to be more careful about their diet than sedentary women. That’s usually good, except that one of the things that women runners often get more selective about is eating meat. Limiting meat can be a good way to cut fat out of your diet, but it also can mean too severely limiting your iron rich food choices.
Good food sources of iron that aren’t high in fat include the following:

➤ Lean red meat and dark poultry
➤ Dark green, leafy vegetables
➤ Legumes
➤ Dried fruit
➤ Whole-grain or enriched cereals and bread

You can increase how much iron you absorb from a food by eating foods rich in vitamin C at the same time. Using cast-iron cookware also helps. On the other hand, you decrease how much iron you absorb from foods when you drink coffee or tea with meals. Premenopausal women runners should shoot for an iron intake of at least 15 milligrams (mg) per day; post-menopausal women need 10.
Other reasons that women runners might have low iron stores apply to men, too: loss through sweat and urine, increased blood volume with training (which lowers iron concentration in the blood), and what’s known as footstrike hemolysis, which is the breakdown of red blood cells from your feet repeatedly hitting the ground. When you have blood tests done, ask for your hemoglobin and serum ferritin (a measure of your body’s iron stores) levels to be checked. Normal hemoglobin concentration for women is from 12 to 16 grams per 100 milliliters of blood. Because of the increased blood volume that comes with running, a reading of 11 can be considered safe for a women runner, but anything below that is asking for trouble.
The acceptable range for serum ferritin is 10 to 20 milligrams per milliliter of blood. Some experts caution that any reading below 25 can hurt your running.

Running and the Menstrual Cycle

2009-02-28T08:47:00.001-08:00

Just as the effects of menstruation itself differ greatly from woman to woman, the effects of menstruation on running performance vary greatly as well. some women notice no difference in performance; others notice a great deal of difference. If your period is going to affect your running, it’s most likely to occur during the premenstrual and early flow phases of the cycle. The good news is that many women runners find that their running helps to ease cramps, bloating, headaches, fatigue, and all of those other friendly monthly visitors. To best deal with the effects of menstruation, track how your cycle affects your running in a training log, and then plan accordingly. For example, if you notice that running often seems harder during your premenstrual phase, accept that and don’t try runs that are longer or harder than usual during this time.
On the not-so-good side, running can lead to increased bleeding. Some of the painkillers, such as ibuprofen, that help with other side effects can also reduce bleeding. The increased bleeding usually isn’t so great that it’s visible. But if you’re worried about this, do what Olympic gold medalist in the marathon, Joan Benoit Samuelson, does and run with a tampon in a plastic bag pinned inside of your shorts or tights. Women runners sometimes don’t have periods. This condition is called amenorrhea, and although it might sound like a dream come true, it’s not good. It usually means that little or no estrogen is circulating in your body, which can lead to your bones becoming weaker, as well as short-term infertility.
The causes are complex, but most experts think that amenorrhea is caused more often by not eating enough than by exercising too much. Running alone can’t be named as the cause, given that some women train more than 100 miles a week and still have regular periods. If your periods stop or become irregular (more often than every 25 days or less frequent than every 35 days), see a doctor. Just don’t let him or her convince you that running is solely to blame.

Are Women Runners Different from Men?

2009-02-28T08:45:00.000-08:00

Yes and no. Yes, if you’re asking from the standpoint of “Can they run as fast?” But, more importantly, no, if you mean, “Does running affect women differently?” If the two are equally well-trained, the average woman is going to be slower than the average man, from the 100-meter dash on up to the marathon. Women have certain disadvantages when they compete against men:

Women have smaller hearts than men, so the heart pumps less blood with each beat. To run a given pace, a woman’s heart rate has to be higher than a man’s. ➤ Women have lower hemoglobin levels than men, so less oxygen is sent to working muscles.
Women have higher essential body fat stores than men.
Women’s lower levels of testosterone mean that women have less muscle mass than men.

Working together, these unavoidable physical factors make women, on average, 10 to 12 percent slower than men at all commonly run distances.
So, on the whole, women are always going to be slower than men. I suppose it’s easy for me to say this, but I wouldn’t make that big a deal out of it. Although women are not as fast as men, running has the same effect on both genders. Women have traditionally been discouraged from running as much or as hard as men, but there’s no basis for this practice. Studies have consistently shown that women who train at the same level as men see the same amount of increase in their fitness.
Title IX, which banned gender discrimination in federally funded high school and college sports, was signed into law in 1972. Since then, women’s participation in all sports, including running, has skyrocketed.
Remember that strange phrase, VO2 max? It’s your body’s ability to use oxygen while working and is the most important measure of your cardiovascular fitness. Six months to a year after starting to run, previously sedentary people can expect their VO2 max values to increase by 20 to 30 percent. That’s equally true for women and men. What you probably care about a whole lot more than maximum speed is your running—how to get fitter, how to find the time for it, how to stick with it, and so on. The answers to those questions are the same for all runners. That’s not to say that women runners aren’t going to want answers to questions that we men never to have to think about. The following sections examine some of the most common areas of concern.

Other Cross Training Options for Runners

2009-02-28T08:42:00.000-08:00

The three best remaining aerobic alternatives for runners are cross-country skiing, stair machines, and hiking. Cross-country skiing has been touted as the best all-around exercise because you simultaneously use just about all of your major muscle groups in a non-pounding activity. You and I don’t live in Finland, however, so to plan it as a regular part of your program is going to mean hopping on a NordicTrack or similar indoor machine a few times a week. That’s a tough routine to sustain for any appreciable amount of time.
Stair machines have similar plusses and minuses. They can provide a great workout, assuming you take deep enough steps and don’t lean against the rails. They’re also low impact. But they, too, can require Herculean efforts of will to stay on for at least half an hour a few times a week. That’s why most people on them read, listen to music, or watch TV while waiting for the clock to run out.
Hiking offers the great benefit of being outside in beautiful surroundings without the pounding of running. And a mile covered on foot burns roughly the same number of calories whether you run it or walk it. But it’s tough enough to find the time to run for short periods a few times a week. For hiking to make sense as part of your regular program, you’re going to need at least a block of a couple hours a few times each week.

In-line Skating and Running

2009-01-30T09:44:00.000-08:00

I must admit it would take a lot to get me to put on a pair of in-line skates, but that’s more because of my love of running and utter lack of coordination than any inherent problem with the activity. Certainly, the ever-growing number of skaters get something out of doing it.
Studies have shown that a similar effort between in-line skating and running requires you to skate twice as fast as you run. As with cycling, it’s important to be mindful of your effort. Otherwise, you might find yourself coasting and not getting as good of a workout. But if you stay on top of your effort and have done it enough so that you don’t spend all of your time picking yourself off the ground, in-line skating can give you a good workout in a concentrated time, as does running, but without the pounding.

Cycling for Runners

2009-01-30T09:41:00.000-08:00

Cycling has long been a favorite of cross-training runners. Besides the fact that the two exercises complement each other in developing your legs, both give you that great feeling of exercising outside. Cycling can be almost as convenient as running if you don’t live in a high-traffic area, and because you cover so much more distance, it’s a great way for runners to discover other places to enjoy their favorite sport.
The main drawbacks to cycling are weather and money constraints. As Chapter 16, “Weathering the Elements,” explains, you can safely run in just about any conditions. But even the most committed cyclists have to reconsider things during and after heavy rains and snows when they’re likely to take a spill. (If you’ve ever fallen while riding 20 miles per hour, you know that it does a bit more damage than tripping over a root on a run.) Also, once it gets below 30 degrees, cycling outside remains uncomfortable no matter how hard you’re working because of the windchill that you generate. It’s also not the safest practice to ride in the dark.
Financially, a good bike and the necessary equipment (helmet, gloves, shoes, and so on) can easily cost you close to $1,000. Indoor cycling on a stationary bike involves less hassle and cost, but a lot more boredom. It’s tough to be motivated to stay on these machines for long enough to get a real workout in.
If you want to cross-train with cycling, you better be pretty committed to it. Ride at least two days a week so that your legs remain accustomed enough to the activity to allow your heart to reap the benefits.

Swimming for Runners

2009-01-30T09:40:00.000-08:00

If I had to pick one supplementary activity that would help you the most as a runner, it would be swimming. Once you get your stroke down, swimming has many benefits: You can work hard enough to sustain a solid effort; it’s a great upper-body strengthener, it’s a nonimpact activity; and the kicking is terrific for loosening tight tendons and muscles in your feet, ankles, and legs.
The other great use of a pool for runners is water running. This activity is pretty straightforward: You head to the deep end of the pool, usually with a flotation device on, and start running in place. After a few times, it will feel pretty much like running on land. Water running is especially good for injured runners who don’t want to lose their land legs during a lay-off, as well as for cross-training runners who get injured beyond a certain level of mileage, but don’t like other activities. As with swimming, you have to work a little harder than you would on land to maintain the same heart rate. Many pools now offer water running classes.
The two main drawbacks to swimming are convenience and gauging effort. Finding a suitable pool (one that’s big enough to legitimately swim laps in) that isn’t too crowded and that has decent hours can be a real challenge. If you don’t have good technique, you’ll spend your swim flailing around rather than giving your heart a good workout. Even when you do become adept, comparing swimming to running takes a little extra math. Because you’re supported by the water, and because you stay so much cooler than when working out on land, your heart will beat about 15 fewer times per minute for the same effort. So you really have to keep at it to keep your pulse near what it is when you run. Kicking vigorously with your legs is a good way to do this.

Measuring Progress by Effort

2009-01-14T17:21:00.000-08:00

If you’re cross-training because you’re too injured to run, then you want to have some general idea of whether you’re doing enough in other sports to compensate for your lack of running. Even when you’re cross-training to supplement your running, it’s nice to have some general idea of how much work you’re doing in a language you’re used to. So at the risk of contradicting what I said in the preceding paragraph, try this: Figure that you’re getting roughly the same cardiovascular benefits as running for every minute that you cross-train at a similar intensity to the level of effort that you normally sustain while running.
If 4 miles in 40 minutes is an average, medium-effort run for you, then sustaining that level of effort for 40 minutes on a stair machine will provide roughly the same aerobic benefits. Your heart doesn’t care what’s getting it going, so long as it’s an activity that uses major muscle groups for an extended period. Admittedly, this system is imprecise, but I would rather add cross-training to horseshoes and hand grenades and consider “close enough” as being worthwhile than worry too much about exact trade-offs.
After all, those same runners who so precisely say, “I ran 43 miles last week” are deluding themselves unless all of their running is on precisely calibrated courses. Most days, they’re making rough estimations about how far they ran based on the amount of time they were out for. I don’t see much harm in taking the same approach to cross-training. However, notice that I said, “every minute that you cross-train at a similar intensity to the level of effort that you normally sustain while running.” That’s different than just counting the number of minutes that you cross-train. On a stair machine, for example, you’ll often spend the first 10 minutes or so getting going; if so, those 10 minutes aren’t really at the same intensity as the first 10 minutes of most runs. During a two-hour bike ride, you’re likely to spend a nice chunk of that time going downhill, drafting, coasting, and so on.
If you’re new to a sport, it can be difficult to gauge accurately how hard you’re working. It might seem as though you’re really putting in a good effort, but that could be because your legs are easily tired by the unaccustomed motion, rather than because you’re working at a high heart rate. Many runners experience this kind of fatigue on their first few bike rides.
If you have a heart rate monitor, use it when you cross-train to gauge whether your pulse stays in the neighborhood that it usually does when you run. Otherwise, expect to spend at least the first few workouts in a new sport learning how to assess your effort.

Comparing Apples and Oranges

2009-01-14T17:19:00.000-08:00

One of the reasons that hard-core runners don’t do more cross-training is because they don’t know how to compare it to their running. The major way that they track their progress is to recite their weekly running mileage to anyone who will listen. A five-mile run is a five-mile run is a fivemile run, so if you only run, keeping records is pretty easy. But what about a two-hour bike ride, a half hour in the pool, or 45 minutes on a stair machine? How do these compare to running miles?
My advice is different than what most people are going to tell you. I say, don’t worry about it. That’s because I’m recommending that you cross-train to add to your running, not replace it. In that case, there’s not much point in obsessing about whether three cycling miles equals one running mile and how many minutes on a rowing machine equal one mile of running. To paraphrase Sigmund Freud, sometimes a two-hour bike ride is just a two-hour bike ride.

Cross-Training Time

2009-01-14T17:13:00.000-08:00

You wouldn’t expect to feel comfortable running if you did it only once a week, but that’s the approach that many runners take to their alternative exercises. This approach isn’t a good idea, because you’ll never become adept enough at the activity for it to contribute significantly toward your fitness. So when you find a second sport that works for you, try to practice it at least twice a week.
Unless you’re injured and are cross-training as a substitute for running, don’t let your aerobic alternatives take precedence over your running. For example, you don’t want to put in such a long, hard effort on a bike that your running is compromised for the next few days. Once you get used to your activity, treat it the same as an easy running day. You shouldn’t be sore or overly fatigued from your cross-training. One of the best times to schedule cross-training into your routine is on the day after a hard or long run. The exercise will help to remove waste products that might have built up from the previous day’s effort and will help work out any stiffness, but you won’t be subjecting tired legs to as much pounding as if you ran.

Should You Cross-Train?

2009-01-14T17:12:00.000-08:00

So what about my old buddy Tom Fleming’s point, that if you want to be a good runner, then you should run? After all, you don’t become a better cook by washing dishes. First of all, remember that he’s talking about runners who are trying to be among the best in the world. These people live by their running mileage, much as a factory lives by the number of widgets it produces per day. (I should know. Having averaged 130 miles per week for most of the ’70s and ’80s, I was one of these people.)
I’m not suggesting that you replace running with other aerobic activities, but that you supplement your mileage with them. Among the benefits of doing so are the following:

Fewer muscle imbalances, which are a leading source of injury. For example, running strengthens and shortens your hamstrings while pretty much neglecting your quadriceps (thigh muscles). But cycling does just the opposite, so combining running with riding helps your legs to keep the proper ratio of strength between front and back muscles.
Greater aerobic capacity. A lot of runners can take only so much pounding from running each week before their bodies start to break down. If you find what that level is for you, stay just below it, and add other activities, you can continue to develop your aerobic base beyond what you could just through running. To a large degree, your heart doesn’t distinguish what exercise is making it pump more vigorously.
Greater weight loss. Because you’ll be able to work out more often without getting injured.
A more interesting exercise routine. Some people love running so much that they don’t need other activities to stay motivated. But a lot of runners find that they look forward to working out more if they alternate among a few sports.
The chance to work out with non-running friends. You probably have friends who aren’t going to join for a five-mile run, but they might go for an hour’s bike ride with you.

Finally, even the most hard-core runners become cross-trainers when they’re injured and are desperate to maintain their fitness. If you can run as much as you like without getting injured, can meet your weight goals through running only, are endlessly fascinated by doing just one activity, and regularly do stretching and strengthening exercises that develop whole-body fitness, maybe you don’t have to worry about cross-training.

What Is Cross-Training?

2009-01-14T16:59:00.000-08:00

Like cooking, cross-training is one of those formerly precise terms that has been used in so many ways that it has come to mean pretty much whatever the user wants it to. Just like people call popping a frozen dinner in the microwave cooking, you’ll hear people say that they’re cross-training when they’re mowing their lawn, shoveling snow, or heading out for a night of dancing.
I want to use a narrower definition. For the purposes of this chapter, cross-training means aerobic exercises that you plan as part of your regular running program. With this tighter definition, I think that most runners, especially beginners, can benefit from cross-training.
Cross-training doesn’t mean anything that you do physically in addition to your running. Household chores, walks around town, and so on should be seen as part of your everyday activities, not as cross-training. Doing yoga or lifting weights doesn’t count as cross-training either. Although these stretching and strengthening exercises are important for runners to do, they don’t provide the aerobic benefits that crosstraining activities do.

Timing Mealtime

2008-12-31T02:27:00.000-08:00

Balancing when to eat and when to run can be tough. And that’s not just because if you work during normal business hours, then you’re probably running when most people are eating breakfast, lunch, or dinner. No, what I’m talking about here is learning how to schedule your runs so that your most recent meal doesn’t come back for a second tasting 15 minutes into your run.
This is one of those areas where you’re going to have to experiment to find what works best for you. I know some runners who can polish off a lumberjack’s breakfast seconds before heading out the door for a morning run and others who swear that they’ll have troubled stomachs their entire run if they eat the slightest morsel within several hours of training. There’s not much you can do about where you fall on the rockgut scale. When in doubt, err on the side of caution.
At a race in Japan once, I startled all the runners near me by popping a potato in my mouth just minutes before the start. I had a few stomach problems during that race, but knew that my opponents were completely psyched out. I won.
On the flip side, there’s also great variation among runners concerning how soon they eat after a run. Some runners step in the door and start munching; others don’t feel hungry for hours. This amount of time is going to be different even for individual runners from run to run—when it’s hot and you finish your run dehydrated and overheated, you’re probably not going to be as immediately hungry as on a 50-degree day. The harder you run, the more time you’ll probably want to allow before your next meal. Again, experiment to see what works for you. But here’s an important finding from the exercise science labs: If you consume some carbohydrate (it can be in solid or liquid form) within the first 30 minutes of the end of your run, your muscles will absorb those carbohydrates three times as fast as before your run. Although the rate at which they refuel slows some after those first 30 minutes, your muscles remain extra receptive for the first 90 minutes after a run.
What’s going on here? Think of your muscles as sponges. Following a run, they’re “drier” than at any other time. Just as a dry sponge greedily gobbles water more quickly than a moist sponge, so too do your muscles most want to be refilled when you’ve just depleted some of their stockpiles.
Why does this absorption matter? Because the gains that you make in your running that allow you to progress occur during the recovery phase following a run. By getting some carbs into your system soon after finishing your run, you therefore speed the recovery process. You’ll feel better on your next run, and you’ll be better able to nail each of your workouts and progress closer to your goal rate.
Carb refueling is especially important after longer-than-usual runs. Many times, when runners are dragging several hours or even the day after a long run, it’s because they waited too long to restock their muscles. As I said, some runners just don’t feel like eating any time near after finishing a run. That’s OK, but even they would feel better from run to run if they got in the habit of getting a minimal amount of carbs in. Keep in mind that I’m talking about only 100 to 200 calories in the first hour or so. That’s a bagel or a couple of pieces of fruit. If you have a super-sensitive system, liquid carbs are fine (and they’ll also help you to get in the important habit of drinking soon after your run). That can mean a sport drink or some diluted fruit juice. Diet sodas don’t count because they contain no calories, and therefore, no carbs.

Popping Pills: Vitamins and Other Supplements for Runners

2008-12-31T02:19:00.000-08:00

Bee pollen, ginseng, beta carotene, chromium, brewer’s yeast—the list of wonder substances that are supposedly going to dramatically improve your health and performance is endless. We Americans are always looking for that magic pill that’s going to help us lose weight, feel great, have more energy, and, what the hey, why not have it prevent baldness and improve our sex lives at the same time. But the truth is that you can’t eat your way to being fit any more than you can eat your way to a college degree or a successful career. These achievements all take a lot of steady, hard, and sometimes not terribly exciting work. Yet the nutritional supplement industry, to the tune of more than $4 billion a year, has somehow convinced people that health and fitness can be achieved differently.

Vitamins and other supplements are often marketed as energy boosters or some such vague claim. Problem is, vitamins and minerals don’t provide energy. Food does. More specifically, the calories in food do. Only foods and drinks that contain calories provide energy.
What do vitamins and minerals do, then? Vitamins are like your body’s spark plugs—they are catalysts to reactions within your body. Minerals are elements that form and regulate the body. If your car wasn’t firing properly, you might get the spark plugs fixed. But once you got your spark plugs up to normal operating level, you wouldn’t throw four more under the hood and expect your car to run better. You would just be wasting your money with your misunderstanding of what keeps your car moving down the road day after day. Same thing goes for taking vitamins beyond the base level needed for good health. No studies have found increased performance in runners who take megadoses compared to runners who have a normal intake. In fact, no studies have shown increased performance caused by any of these kinds of supplements, be they vitamins, minerals, or substances not even recognized as necessary for normal human functioning, such as bee pollen. The right nutrition for good performance is pretty much the same as it is for good health, regardless of your level of activity.

Most nutritionists would say that it’s OK to take a daily multivitamin as a sort of health insurance, but even that shouldn’t be necessary if you regularly eat a wide variety of healthful foods. Vitamins and minerals from food are always better than the same substances from pills. When you get vitamins and minerals from food, you’re more likely to regularly be eating properly. For example, getting enough vitamin C from your diet means that you’re eating a decent amount of fresh fruits and vegetables. Having to meet your vitamin C needs with a pill means that you’re going to be hurting in other areas nutritionally, such as fiber and other disease-protective substances best found in food. Knowing all this information, I still find myself nearly getting hoodwinked once in a while by some smooth talker who promises the key to feeling great. The idea that taking pill X will solve all of your problems is just so appealing. When you hear claims like this, try not to be bamboozled. Claims for any nutritional supplement are almost always bogus if any of the following apply:

The salesperson creates a nutritional need and then shows how his product fills it. ➤ The product’s manufacturers are portrayed as being persecuted by the Food and Drug Administration and other reputable, mainstream providers of nutrition information.
The salesperson says that you’re nutritionally deficient without having detailed records of your normal eating habits.
You’re told that it will make you lose weight without you having to exercise regularly and consume fewer calories.

Be especially skeptical about products that bear celebrity endorsements. These celebrities are almost always being paid to say what the manufacturers of the products want them to.

Sports Bars and Other Goop

2008-11-30T08:25:00.000-08:00

Sports bars or energy bars didn’t exist in their current incarnation until 1986. Now one company alone, Powerfood, makers of the market-leading PowerBar, has yearly sales of more than $30 million. Should you add to its new-found wealth?
You’ve probably seen these things. They weigh a few ounces, come in a shiny wrapper, and for the most part, don’t taste all that great. So why are so many sold? Several reasons, many having to do with great marketing. The main useful reason is that they provide a couple of hundred of easily digestible calories that your body can use almost immediately for energy.
An increasing number of runners find a use for these products in their busy lives. Runners usually eat these bars within 90 minutes of a run when they’re dragging and want something to eat before their run that won’t bother them during the run. These bars certainly fit that bill. Runners also eat them soon after a hard or long workout, when they want to get something in their system to speed recovery but can’t yet stomach “real” food. Some runners also eat hunks of them on long runs, although the new energy gels are supplanting this use. And for people on the go, they’re easy to carry and eat at any time.
No runner needs an energy bar, however. After all, Frank Shorter had already won his second Olympic Marathon medal 10 years before the first energy bar was sold. As an example, a Malt-Nut PowerBar contains 225 calories, with 83 percent of them from carbohydrate, 10 percent of calories from protein, and 7 percent from fat. It sells for about $1.30. Eaten together, a bagel and a banana contain 275 calories, with 84 percent of them from carbs and 8 percent each from protein and fat. They taste better than energy bars to most people, are just as convenient, and cost about half as much.

Putting It All Together

2008-11-30T08:11:00.000-08:00

Worrying about this percentage of carbohydrates and that percentage of fats sounds like a lot of work. How can you reasonably eat this way without taking a calculator with you on every trip to the kitchen? And what about when you eat out? Relax. The key to a good runner’s diet isn’t math, but making the right food choices. After all, a meal of butter, beef jerky, and cola can supply you with the right amounts of carbohydrate, protein, and fat, but it’s a disaster nutritionally.
Concentrate on getting the number of servings for each food type that I’ve emphasized. The percentages will take care of themselves if you focus on a variety of wholesome carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy products, lean cuts of meat, and legumes. Here’s a tip: carbohydrates, such as whole grains, vegetables, and beans, should cover most of the space on your dinner plate. Protein should be the accompaniment, not the centerpiece that many people make it. This guideline is true both at home and when you eat out.
Following these guidelines requires a big change in eating habits for many people. Two good books on eating for athletes are the Sports Nutrition Guidebook by Nancy Clark, Human Kinetics, 1996, and Power Foods by Liz Applegate, Rodale Press, 1994. It can also help to consult a registered dietitian. Registered dietitians have the initials R.D. after their names. Contact the local branch of the American Dietetic Association to find one in your area.

The Skinny on Fat

2008-11-30T07:20:00.000-08:00

Many of us are all too familiar with fat, but fat isn’t all bad. With nine calories in a gram, or more than twice the amount of a gram of carbohydrate or protein, it’s a concentrated energy source. It’s what your body burns at low levels of activity, such as when you’re sitting at a desk or walking easily. Fat supplies and transports some vitamins, helps to maintain nerve fibers and cell membranes, insulates you from the cold, and cushions internal organs.
In a good diet, 20 to 25 percent of your calories come from fat. This amount is less than most Americans eat—the average is 37 percent of calories from fat. Eating too much fat means that you’re not getting the carbs you need to restock your muscles from run to run. It’s also bad for your health because a high fat intake has been linked to heart disease and some cancers. And extra fat from your diet is easily stored as extra fat on you. If you emphasize getting 60 to 65 percent of your calories from carbohydrates, with plenty of fruits and vegetables in the mix, it will be easier to get your fat intake into the 20 to 25 percent range. Choosing lean cuts of protein, such as white chicken meat instead of a greasy cheese steak sub, also helps.

Where’s the Beef for the Runners?

2008-11-30T07:17:00.000-08:00

Protein is in every part of your body, from muscles to hair. Protein from your diet helps to build and repair muscles and regulate hormones. If you don’t get enough protein, you’ll recover from injuries and infections more slowly. One gram of protein contains four calories.
About 15 percent of your calories should come from protein. That’s less than most people eat. The recommended amount of protein means two to three servings each day, with a serving size being as small as two ounces of chicken or two teaspoons of peanut butter. Chow down on a half-pounder at your favorite burger place and right there you’ve exceeded your protein needs for the day. A good guideline to follow is that your servings of protein should be no bigger than a deck of cards. So for most people, getting 15 percent of their calories from protein is going to mean eating less protein than they’re used to. The exceptions are people who restrict their protein intake because they think that it’s good nutrition to exist on nothing but bagels, salads, and rice cakes. That’s taking things too far the other way. What’s wrong with eating too much protein? It means that you’re probably falling short in your carb intake. This shortfall could hurt your running because protein supplies a very small percentage of the energy for your running. Also, unless you choose carefully, the protein that you eat might come in a high-fat package, such as a marbled T-bone steak. Eating extra protein doesn’t build bigger muscles any more than eating pig’s feet helps you to grow extra toes. Extra protein that you eat mainly gives you very expensive urine.

Carbohydrates for runners

2008-11-14T02:39:00.000-08:00

Carbohydrates, or just carbs to most runners, are your body’s main source of energy for aerobic exercise. One gram of carbohydrate contains four calories. Your body converts the carbohydrates you eat into glucose, a simple sugar. Glucose is then either used immediately by your body for energy or converted to glycogen, which, is the fuel stored in the muscles that power your running. When runners “bonk” or “hit The Wall” and have to slow dramatically, they’ve run out of carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates are classified as either complex or simple. This classification has to do not with how philosophical they are, but with how they’re constructed chemically. Complex carbohydrates are starches, such as grains, and simple carbohydrates are sugars, such as the fructose found in fruits. Common food sources of carbohydrates include fruits, vegetables, pasta, rice, bread products, cereals, and jellies. You should aim for 60 to 65 percent of your calories to come from carbohydrates. This amount will keep your muscles well-fueled so that you’ll be able to meet your training goals. A high-carb diet chosen from the right sources also means that you’re more likely to be getting all of the nutrients that you need because fruits, vegetables, and grains are packed with vitamins and minerals.

Most of the carbohydrates that you eat should be either fruits and vegetables or complex carbs such as pasta. Aim for this level of carbohydrate intake each day:

10 to 12 servings of grains (one serving equals a slice of bread, half a cup of cooked pasta, half a bagel, or one ounce of cereal)
5 to 7 servings of fruit (one serving equals a medium-sized piece of fruit, half a grapefruit, or four ounces of juice)
4 to 5 servings of vegetables (one serving equals one cup raw vegetables or half a cup cooked)

If these amounts seem like a lot, keep in mind how small one serving is. If you pour yourself a decent-sized bowl of cereal, that’s probably three or four servings right there. Complete your breakfast with half a banana on your cereal, a slice of toast, and a small glass of juice, and you’re already past 5 servings for the day. And that’s not counting the carbs in the milk that you put on your cereal.

But aren’t starches going to make you fat? No. Starches are complex carbohydrates. They contain four calories per gram, just like the carbohydrates found in fruit and vegetables. If you gain weight from eating a lot of starches, that’s from eating more calories than you burn, not because of anything inherently fattening about starches. The reason that people think that starches are fattening is that they’re often eaten with high-fat foods that contain a lot of extra calories. You butter your bread, fry your potatoes, or have pizza with sausage and extra cheese.
This kind of misunderstanding shows that it’s important to make sure that what you think is a high-carb food really is. When you have a thick crust pizza loaded with veggies, that’s high-carb. But when you have the thin crust meat lover’s special, more than half of the calories are coming from fat. Other supposed high-carb foods that are usually high in fat include muffins, granola, and macaroni and cheese.

The Real Runner’s Diet

2008-11-14T02:36:00.000-08:00

If runners’ diets seem strange to most folks, that’s because most people don’t eat as most nutritionists advise. That’s another way of saying that the best diet for runners is the one that everyone should eat. This diet should be low in fat and include a moderate amount of lean, high-quality protein; the majority of calories should come from carbohydrates, especially in the form of fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains. More than sedentary people, runners gravitate toward this type of diet because it makes them feel better.
As you become fitter, you become more in touch with your body and with how it feels when you put certain things in it.
I mean this both in the short term—those slices of bacon just don’t seem to taste as good right after a morning run—and long term, as you learn how some foods fuel your running better than others. Although your diet is important to your overall health, it’s not the key to your running; your training is. No amount of dietary manipulation is going to make up for miles logged. A good diet is important because it will allow you to get the most out of your running, not because it’s going to make you a better runner.
That statement may seem as though I’m splitting hairs, but I’m not. I’ve heard a lot of runners before races talk about how they’ve been eating such and such and not eating such and such, so they know that they’ll do well in the race. Then I hear how much they’ve been running (usually not much), and it’s obvious that they think they can eat their way to peak performance.
That’s a classic American belief—if we just take the right pill, we can avoid having to do the real work—but a unfounded one. A bad diet will probably get in the way of your running, but the most that a good diet will do for you is allow you to reap the results of the training that you do. That said, let’s look at the three main sources of calories in everyone’s diet: carbohydrates, protein, and fat.

Do Running Nuts Live on Berries?

2008-11-14T02:33:00.000-08:00

As I’ve said, one of the questions that I’m asked most frequently has to do with whether my knees bother me because of all those miles. Probably the second most popular question I hear is, “You eat that?” This question comes about when I’m doing something as innocent as having a cup of coffee. It also happens if I’m enjoying a doughnut, putting cream cheese on a bagel, or having a glass of wine with dinner. Somewhere along the way, most people got the notion that being a runner means living off of the twigs and nuts that you gather out of your backyard. When running first achieved mass popularity in the ’70s, the sport was seen as part of a new movement for Americans who had decided that it was time to take charge of their health. So in the public mind running became associated with health food stores, megavitamin doses, and drinking nothing but carrot juice and purified water.
I think that’s too bad. Not because running can’t be an incredibly big step toward taking control of your health. No, the problem is that people who are new to running have been led to believe that starting an exercise program also means a simultaneous radical change in your diet. That’s not true, and it saddens me that some people might view running as off-putting because of this image.
That doesn’t mean that being a runner means eating whatever you want. Yes, I’m as wellknown in some circles for my legendary consumption of junk food as I am for my marathon victories. And as I’ve hinted, I still like to indulge myself occasionally. Eating is one of the major pleasures of life, and who doesn’t like to live a little now and then? But as you become fitter through your running, you’re probably going to be motivated to make changes in other parts of your life that will improve your health, such as getting more sleep and eating better. Running can help you to acquire an appreciation for simpler, heartier foods, which usually fuel you better and don’t bother you as much when you run. The upshot is this: Most runners find that they feel better if they make a few simple, healthful changes in their diets. But that doesn’t have to entail shopping only at the local organic produce shop. As most long-time runners will tell you, one of the great things about running is that all those miles often mean eating more and not gaining weight.

Which doctor you should avoid?

2008-11-14T02:30:00.000-08:00

In general, avoid doctors who do the following:

Propose that you stop running as the final solution
Treat only your symptoms, rather than looking for the cause of your problem
Say they don’t have much experience working with athletes
Don’t look at surgery as a last resort

Of course, most insurance plans are going to require a referral to see a specialist, so you might have to have an initial meeting with someone who acts this way. But once you get to a specialist, make sure that he or she thinks differently. What types of specialists should runners see? That depends on your injury. Foot and lower leg injuries can be treated by orthopedists or osteopaths (I’ll say more about them in a minute), but they’re most often treated by podiatrists. Podiatrists have the initials D.P.M. (doctor of podiatric medicine) following their name. Podiatrists complete four years of training at a college of podiatric medicine and a residency. They are licensed to perform surgery and prescribe medicine.
Podiatrists focus not only on feet, but also on problems elsewhere that are caused by feet. This focus makes them among the runner’s best medical friends, because so many running injuries are caused by faulty feet. A podiatrist can determine whether factors such as overpronation or weak arches are contributing to problems in your biomechanics and setting you up for injury. These types of structural problems in the feet are often treated with orthotics.
Podiatrists are the best professionals to see to determine if you need orthotics, and they’re trained to cast the devices for you. Knee injuries are most often treated by orthopedists, although some knee problems are caused by problems in your feet and can therefore be addressed by podiatrists. Orthopedists are medical doctors (M.D.s) who treat injuries to bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Orthopedists have a reputation for performing surgery, and although a good sports medicine orthopedist will always favor more conservative treatment first, many runners are leery of seeing orthopedists for this reason.
Running injuries above the knee are also often treated by orthopedists. Another good type of doctor to see for these ailments is an osteopath. Like M.D.s, osteopaths (D.O.s) are licensed to practice all branches of medicine, prescribe medication, and perform surgery. In general, they’re trained to view the body more systematically, so they’re likely to look at a runner’s injury from the standpoint of unearthing the root cause rather than just treating the symptoms.
Each of these three specialties has a professional sports medicine organization:

The American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine (301) 424-7440
The American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine (708) 292-4900
The American Osteopathic Academy of Sports Medicine (608) 831-4400

I’m not saying that these are the only types of medical professionals that runners can benefit from seeing. Chiropractors (D.C.s), physiatrists (M.D.s trained similarly to osteopaths), physical therapists (P.T.s), and others can also be helpful. But podiatrists, orthopedists, and osteopaths are usually going to be the first ones to see for most common running injuries.

How to pick the right doctor for your running injury?

2008-11-14T02:24:00.000-08:00

When should you see a doctor for a running injury? Most injuries, especially the softtissue overuse injuries, don’t need medical attention, especially if you treat them right from the start. When an injury drags on, or when you keep running on it and you get injured elsewhere, you start entering the gray area of when to get help. Certainly, any runner whose injury interferes with normal, daily activity for more than a week without improvement should seek medical help.
If your injury is a problem only when you run, then when and how soon to see a doctor is up to you. If your self-care routine doesn’t seem to be working, then you should probably see a doctor who might be able to diagnose and treat the underlying cause.
Runners can be pretty stubborn in their self-reliance, but sometimes you just have to bite the medical bullet and admit that your problem isn’t getting better on its own. Deciding to go to the doctor often comes down to how willing you are to put up with the lack of enjoyment that your running injury is causing you. You should also see a doctor if you repeatedly get injured in the same small part of your body. This type of injury means that you have an underlying weakness or structural deformity. A good sports medicine doctor will be able to get to the root of the problem so that the area won’t plague you throughout your running career.
Notice that I said a sports medicine doctor. Fortunately, the last 20 years of the fitness boom have produced a growth in the number of sports medicine doctors, who specialize in treating athletes. These doctors have the training, experience, and mindset to look at your injury as you do—an interruption of your body’s normal way of operating that needs to be treated at its root, not just for its symptoms. How do you find a good sports medicine doctor? As always, word of mouth from other runners is the best way. Some doctors belong to professional organizations for sports medicine doctors, but not all. Also, the American Running and Fitness Association maintains a listing of more than 5,000 of these professionals throughout the country. To find one in your area, call (800) 776-ARFA.

Hamstring Tear

2008-10-31T05:30:00.000-07:00

Long-time runners suffer from injuries in the hamstring, hip, and buttock area more than beginners. Many of us have seen sprinters pull up suddenly with a hamstring tear. That doesn’t happen very often to distance runners. Our hamstring problems are low-grade, chronic microtears that accumulate over time and usually because of neglect. Most of these injuries are the result of poor flexibility in these areas, and veteran runners who don’t have good stretching habits are notoriously tight from knee to butt. But beware of hamstring problems if your job involves long periods of sitting. Sitting for long periods can shorten your hamstrings and the surrounding muscles and tendons. Try not to sit for more than an hour at a time. In your runs, ease into your normal pace to give the large muscles along the back of your legs a chance to warm up.

The Knee Bone’s Injury

2008-10-31T05:24:00.000-07:00

The fear that most people have of runners’ knees—crippling arthritis—is largely unfounded. That doesn’t mean that runners don’t get knee injuries, though. In fact, in one survey of runners, injuries to the knee were more common than injuries to any other body part.
Let’s face it: The knee is one of the most poorly “designed” parts of our body. This tiny little shifting piece of bone acts as the brace between our feet crashing into the ground and almost the entire rest of our body. Add to that the stress of running on asphalt, overpronation, and, for some, being overweight, and it’s a wonder that there aren’t more knee injuries!
The two most common knee injuries for runners are iliotibial band syndrome and, appropriately enough, runner’s knee (what the professionals call chondromalacia patella). The iliotibial band is a thick cord that runs from the pelvis to the outside of the thigh and connects just below the knee. It helps to stabilize your thigh muscles and knee when you run. Usually, you’ll feel pain on the outside of your knee, but you might also feel it along the outside of your hip. The pain can be sporadic from day to day, but it usually comes on after you’ve run a set distance. Bowlegged runners are susceptible to this injury. They should concentrate on regularly stretching the iliotibial band to make sure that it can work through a wide enough range of motion when running. And anyone can get it if they regularly run on uneven surfaces, especially the same side of an overly slanted road.
In the short term, you’re best to limit your mileage to just below the level at which you usually start to feel pain. In the long term, be smart—work on increasing the band’s flexibility, and run on level surfaces. If you have no option but to run on slanted roads, regularly switch directions so that one leg isn’t always made to run as if it were longer. In runner’s knee, repeated stress on the knee causes inflammation and softening of the cartilage under the kneecap. This prevents the kneecap from tracking normally over the end of the thigh bone. You’ll usually feel pain around or behind the kneecap; it might get worse when you climb stairs.
Overpronators are especially susceptible to runner’s knee because the knee has to compensate for the extra inward rotation of the lower leg. Among relatively new runners, weak thigh muscles are often a leading cause of this injury. Your thigh muscles help to align your knee and keep it straight. If they’re not as strong as they should be, they may not be able to help the knee guide itself along its proper course.

Shin splints or tibial stress syndrome

2008-10-31T05:10:00.000-07:00

Shin splints—or what the running doctors call tibial stress syndrome—are one of the most common injuries for new runners. That’s because they’re usually caused by muscle and tendon weakness in the front or inside of the lower leg. With more running, these areas become strong enough to handle the increased stress they’re being subjected to. Weak arches can also lead to shin splints by making the shin muscles work extra hard to raise your arches when you run. Shin splints can lead to stress fractures, so you want to beat them before they beat you.
Shin splints are tiny tears of the front lower leg muscles away from the shin bone (or tibia). At first, you might notice a pulling or vague aching sensation in the area after you run. The pain can become sharp, usually after you’ve run for a certain amount of time. The area around the shin may become inflamed, or lumps may form where the muscle tries to reattach itself.
I don’t mean to sound like a broken record here, but the best immediate treatment for shin splints is the standard: ice, anti-inflammatories, and cutting back on your mileage. And another thing I keep harping on: Run on soft surfaces whenever possible. Shin splints are one of those injuries that people sensitive to running’s pounding get; that’s why beginners, who haven’t built up as much resistance to pounding, get them much more frequently than long-timers. So reduce that pounding by running on more forgiving ground.

Achilles Tendon Injuries

2008-10-31T05:08:00.000-07:00

The Achilles’ heel for some runners is the Achilles tendon. That’s because the Achilles tendon—a cord-like structure that connects the heel to the calf muscles—has a fairly limited range of motion. It can get overworked pretty easily. To make matters worse, blood flow to the area is poor, so it takes a while to get loosened up. If you have Achilles tendinitis, you’ll know it because nothing else causes sharp pain in that area. The pain, which can also be a burning sensation, will be anywhere from an inch above your heel to the bottom of your calf. In bad cases, you’ll be able to see how inflamed the tendon is, because it will be visibly swollen compared to your healthy Achilles tendon.
Achilles tendinitis is often caused by many of the same things that lead to plantar fasciitis, including tight calf muscles and overpronation. Sometimes it can be caused when the back of your shoe sits too high against your heel. (This is why you’ll see many running shoes with notches at the top of the heel counter.) In addition to the standards of icing, anti-inflammatories, and cutting back on your running if your normal form is altered, here’s another trick for beating Achilles tendinitis:
Wear heel lifts in your street and running shoes until the problem goes away. The lifts will take some of the pressure off your inflamed tendon by elevating it. A simple, at-home method is to cut a half-circle that fits your heel from corrugated cardboard. Be sure to put a new one in at least once a day as the cardboard gets compressed. In the long term, be extra careful about stretching, and get out of the habit of wearing high-heeled shoes, which can shorten and tighten your calves and Achilles tendons.

Bone stress fractures in your feet

2008-10-31T04:23:00.000-07:00

Stress fractures are tiny, incomplete breaks or cracks in a bone. They can occur many places in the body, but runners most often get them in the feet. They’re caused by too much repetitive stress to bones that are overworked. That’s why stress fractures occur gradually—over time, the bones are asked to do just a little bit more than they’re ready for, and the shock is great enough to cause a slight crack. Stress fractures are different from a standard broken bone because with a stress fracture, there’s not a sudden, obvious incident when the bone breaks. Rather, the pain begins gradually, usually as a slight twinge, and only intensifies as you continue to run on it. Trust me, though—if you get a full-blown stress fracture, there will be no mistaking that you’re hurt. With every step, sharp pain will shoot from your foot up your leg, and it will get worse the longer you run on it.
Stress fractures are almost always caused by some of the errors that I outlined earlier in this chapter—increasing mileage and intensity too quickly, wearing shoes without enough cushioning, and doing too much of your running on hard surfaces. Runners who don’t include enough calcium in their diets are also susceptible.
Unfortunately, when you have a stress fracture, you need to stop running. Otherwise, you’re just asking for it. The bone will continue to rupture, and you could develop a complete break, which will add considerably to your downtime. So if you feel the beginnings of a stress fracture, take a few days off and ice the area (which will probably be a little tender and swollen, and maybe even a bit warm to the touch at first). If you definitely have a stress fracture, you’re best off not running for at least two weeks, as well as avoiding other weight-bearing activity during this time. If it’s still bad when you restart, stop again, and see a doctor.

Healing Your Heels

2008-10-19T08:04:00.000-07:00

The most common running injury to the heel area is called plantar fasciitis. This condition is an inflammation of the plantar fascia, a fibrous band of tissue that runs from the heel to the toes. You’ll feel pain along the inside bottom of your foot anywhere from the heel through the arch. Many times, the pain is worst when you step out of bed in the morning or when you’ve been sitting for a long time, and then it improves during the day as the plantar fascia has a chance to loosen up.
The plantar fascia most often becomes inflamed because it has to work through more of a range of motion than it’s designed to. When your heel strikes the ground, the pressure on the heel pulls on the plantar fascia. If your calf muscles are too tight, or if you overpronate but don’t wear shoes with enough motion control, then you’re most likely to develop plantar fasciitis. Also, high-arched, rigid feet can predispose you to this injury because when your heel lands, your foot doesn’t move enough, so the plantar fascia has to absorb more shock.
The best treatment for plantar fasciitis is icing. Ice the bottom of your foot from heel to ball. One good trick is to ice your foot with a frozen cola bottle (if you can still find the glass ones). The cold of the bottle does the work of the ice, and rolling your foot over the contours of the bottle gives the plantar fascia a nice little massage. (It’s pretty hard to stretch it otherwise.)
Most people with plantar fasciitis can run on the injury. Cut back if the pain gets worse, not better, as you run. Preventative steps include increasing the flexibility of your calves and Achilles tendons, and making sure that your shoes have the proper combination of motion control and cushioning.

Tending your Toes

2008-10-19T07:59:00.000-07:00

Most toe problems you’re going to get as a runner are cosmetic rather than serious. The most frequent visitors will be black toenails, which are so linked with the sport that the condition is also known as runner’s toe. Runner’s toe happens when the nail is either pressed down too much on the bed that underlies it or the nail separates from the bed. In either case, blood pools between the nail and the bed. Eventually, the nail turns black. When this condition is caused by the nail being pressed into the bed, it’s almost never painful. The nail gets very hard, and it looks like hell, but it won’t bother you. After a few months, the nail will grow out or fall off. In the meantime, you’ve got yourself a nice little memento from your miles that will instantly identify you as a runner to any knowledgeable person who happens to see your feet. Sometimes, the nail loosens rather than hardens, and this is usually uncomfortable. New runners whose toenails aren’t used to much wear and tear will get these more than longtime runners.
If your black toenail is wobbly, sterilize a needle, and then use it to drain the blood from under the nail, as you would drain a blister. Runner’s toe is usually caused by ill-fitting shoes. If your shoes aren’t long enough, your longest toe (which in some people is the second toe) will slam against the front of the shoe. You might also irritate your nails by running on a course that has a lot more downhills than you’re used to, because your toes are going to rise up a bit more than usual on the downhills to help you brake. Wet shoes, either from sweat or rain, are also a leading cause of runner’s toe.
Poorly fitting shoes may also cause blisters, “hot spots,” and other irritations on the tops of your toes. When a pair of shoes causes blisters during your first few runs, then you’ve probably bought shoes that are too small. Cover these irritated spots with one of the many second-skin products on the market, and you’ll usually be fine.

Ice or heat to cure your pain?

2008-10-19T07:51:00.000-07:00

Ice should always be your first line of defense against injury. If I notice the slightest little ache, I like to ice it after my run and a couple of other times during the day, too, if possible. A few minutes of preventative care can work wonders in keeping a little nagging pain from developing into a disruptive injury.
Why ice instead of heat? The reason is that most running injuries are a result of soft body tissues (muscles, tendons, ligaments) that have become inflamed. Blood vessels get damaged and swell; the greater the swelling, the worse the injury, and the longer recovery is going to take. Icing the inflamed area causes the blood vessels to constrict. This reduces the swelling because less blood flows to the injured area and the damaged tissue relaxes.
This not only reduces the pain you feel, but also speeds healing, because as the tissue’s metabolism is slowed, there’s less tissue breakdown. Heating an inflamed area worsens, rather than improves things. Heat has the opposite effect of ice, so the blood vessels of the injured area become that much more swollen. Heat is helpful when your inflammation has reduced, however. This reduction usually won’t occur for at least 72 hours. At this point, the increased blood flow that heating stimulates will speed delivery of nutrients to the damaged tissue, thereby speeding healing. Heat is also good if you have overall stiffness in an area. The general rule is to use ice on small, acute body aches because they are signs of damage to a specific body part and to use heat for more widespread stiffness. Always ice an injury for at least 5, but no more than 20 minutes. The area should become red and numb, not white and numb. After running is the best time to ice, because the tissues will be the most swollen, but you’ll speed recovery if you can find a few other times during the day to ice. Rub the ice in circular motions on the injured body part.
The best method of icing I’ve found is to fill a few paper cups with water and keep them in your freezer. When you need to ice an injury, just tear down the top of the cup until the ice is exposed and hold the cup from the bottom while icing. This method keeps your hands warm while you ice, so you’re more likely to stick with it for the proper amount of time. When you’re done icing your injury, just put the cup back in the freezer until you need it again. These cups can last for months and will ensure that you always have one handy.

What to do if you feel pain from running?

2008-09-29T23:16:00.000-07:00

Although there aren’t hard and fast rules for running while injured, here are some general guidelines:

If you don’t notice any pain during your run, but have pain after a run or when you get up in the morning, it’s OK to run your usual run at your usual pace.
If you notice pain during your run, but it doesn’t interfere with your normal running form, it’s OK to keep running, but stay close to home so that you can get back quickly if things deteriorate.
If the pain becomes worse the longer you run, limit your running to however long you can run before this deterioration starts.
If the pain causes you to alter your usual running form, don’t run with this injury until you can run normally at a relaxed pace. Running differently because of an injury will make other body parts more susceptible to injury, because they’re being asked to work harder than usual to compensate for the injured part that you’re favoring.
If your pain interferes with your normal, day-to-day nonrunning activities, the only running you should even think about doing is to the nearest sports medicine doctor’s office.

If you’re injured and can run, or even if you just feel the beginnings of an injury, try to run primarily on flat surfaces. Running downhill increases the pounding on your legs, and running uphill forces your tendons and muscles to work extra hard. When you’re already flirting with disaster, you don’t need either. In all of these cases, consider taking anti-inflammatories and applying ice to the painful area a few times a day.