Online Fitness Training Tips For Runners

Match the length of your recovery period to the goal of your workout.

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Middleton) — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 23:30:00 +0000

6th July 2012

Whether you regularly rip through mile repeats or you're new to speedwork, you probably pay more attention to the time, pace, and effort of the hard work than you do to the rest in between. But recovery intervals are just as critical to performing your best. Rush or drag out this period, and you might not reap the intended benefits of your session, says Mindy Solkin, owner and head coach of the The Running Center in New York City. How you rest is up to you—walk, stretch, or jog, just don't sit down, as blood can pool in your legs and turn them to lead. "I often tell people they should do what's comfortable," says Jeff Gaudette, head coach at RunnersConnect in Boston. "What you do during the rest period isn't going to have as dramatic an effect as the length of the rest." Before your next speed session, determine whether your downtime should be short, medium, or long.

SHORT REST: 30 TO 90 SECONDS
Short recovery intervals keep the intensity of the workout elevated, teaching you to run through fatigue. Your body gets more efficient at clearing the lactic acid that causes muscles to burn, so you can run harder or longer, says Joe McConkey, M.S., a coach at the Boston Running Center. Because the intervals are so short, your breathing will be heavy and your heart rate will remain high throughout, says Sean Coster, a coach and exercise physiologist in Portland, Oregon.
USE IT: To build speed and stamina. Total newbies can build endurance by running easy for one minute, resting for one minute for up to 30 minutes. Novice runners can alternate five to 10 sets of one minute hard running with one minute jogging or incorporate short rests into a fartlek workout. Advanced runners targeting 5-Ks or 10-Ks can do hard repeats of 400 to 800 meters with short rests in between.

MEDIUM REST: TWO TO FOUR MINUTES
Stopping short of complete recovery teaches your body to sustain its lactate threshold longer. In other words, it helps you build stamina, so you're more comfortable running at goal pace, says Solkin. At the end of the rest, you'll feel 80 to 90 percent recovered, as if you were in the middle of an easy run, says Gaudette.
USE IT: To improve endurance at race pace. Advanced beginners may run two or three quarter-mile repeats at a comfortably hard pace with four minutes rest, says Solkin. Runners racing 5-Ks and 10-Ks should take medium breaks during 800-to 1000-meter repeats. Half and full marathoners can use them to break up long tempos into two-or three-mile segments. "You can stay on the road longer and simulate your race without doing the complete effort," Gaudette says.

LONG REST: FOUR TO 10 MINUTES
Extended rest allows your heart and breathing rate to return to resting levels, which helps you attack the next repeat with the same effort you ran the previous one, thereby ensuring a quality workout, says Solkin. The extended downtime should leave you refreshed, and without the fatigue that contributes to poor form and injury, she says. You should feel 100-percent recovered and ready to go.
USE IT: To build speed and running economy [the ability to comfortably handle faster paces] or to boost aerobic capacity. For speed, pair long rest with two to three minutes [or a quarter-mile] of hard running. Jog between longer repeats of 1.5 to three miles to build volume. "What would only be a four-mile workout of intervals, rest, warmup, and cooldown can turn into eight miles," says Solkin.

RUN better: If you jog during rest periods, keep the pace super slow. Depending on the length of your repeat, you may end up jogging half the distance.

By Cindy Kuzma Runner's World

Rev up your warmup to prep your body for hard efforts.

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Middleton) — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 23:30:00 +0000

3rd July 2012

You know the feeling. It's the first repeat of an interval workout, you're breathing like a steam engine, and your legs feel like they're caught in quicksand. But you also know the second interval will feel a little better, and by the third, you will have settled into a rhythm. It's called the priming effect—as your body adapts to the physiological demands of running hard, the effort feels easier. Learn to prime your body during your warmup instead of the first repeat, and you'll run the entire speed session—or entire race—at your best effort.

When you first start running hard, your muscles immediately demand more oxygen. The rest of your body tries to respond with a higher breathing and heart rate, dilated blood vessels, and metabolic changes within the muscles that all speed the delivery of oxygen. But by the time these systems have ramped up, your oxygen-starved muscles have already dipped into anaerobic energy reserves (this is when you get that quicksand feeling). However, if you include a few minutes of strategic hard running as part of your warmup, you will bring your oxygen delivery system up to maximum efficiency while still allowing enough time for your anaerobic energy reserves to recover before the start of your repeats or race. In other words, here's how to get those demoralizing first-mile blahs out of the way during your warmup—not during your workout.

MAKE IT HARD
To trigger the priming effect, you need to exceed your lactate threshold, which corresponds roughly to half-marathon pace, for at least a few minutes. Legendary coach Jack Daniels, Ph.D., suggests two to three minutes at 10-K pace. World record holder in the mile Hicham El Guerrouj would perform several 200-meter repeats close to mile race pace, jogging back to the start for recovery.

PERSONALIZE IT
University of Alabama researchers recently studied three different warmup routines for swimmers. On average, the longest warmup produced the best performance—but results varied widely among the individual swimmers. In fact, half the swimmers swam slower when they tried the "best" warmup protocol. The takeaway is that what's best for the average runner may not be best for you. Experiment with the length, intensity, and timing of your priming surge until you find a combination that works.

TIME IT RIGHT
Aim to finish your priming about 10 minutes before the start of the race. You don't have to get it exactly right; the effect lasts for up to 45 minutes, says British exercise physiologist Mark Burnley, Ph.D. A shorter break between priming and racing won't hurt either. Logistics at the start of a big event can be complicated, so be flexible, and don't fret if you have to adjust on the fly.

Ready to Go
The shorter and faster the race, the more important priming becomes

PRIME FOR IT:
Mile: 2 x 400 meters at 5-K pace; 1:00 rest
5-K: 2:00 to 3:00 at 10-K pace
10-K: 4:00 starting at marathon pace and steadily accelerating to finish a bit faster than half-marathon pace
Half-marathon and longer: Skip it. For longer races, starting with full glycogen stores is more important than oxygen delivery.

By Alex Hutchinson Runner's World

Hit your speed and fitness goals even when you can't run as much as you'd like.

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Middleton) — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 19:47:00 +0000

29th June 2012

Ah, summer: Humidity slows you down, vacations disrupt your schedule, and the call of the barbecue proves irresistible. It can be tough for a runner to stay on track. But those distractions can be a great excuse to streamline your schedule and start accomplishing more by running less. "People are surprised to find out that improving their running doesn't necessarily mean committing more time," says Mike Smith, a Flagstaff, Arizona, coach who works with runners of all levels through the Run S.M.A.R.T. Project. It simply means maximizing each minute and every mile. Here's how to take a minimalist's approach to achieving your goal to run fast, run far—or run yourself into a routine.
Read more

Article by Cindy Kuzma - Runner's World

Saturday 2nd June 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Middleton) — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Stress Fractures

I thought I'd write a few lines regarding how doctor can fob off runners who have stress fractures by telling them that they have shin splints and that their course of treatment is Rest Ice Compress Elevation (RICE) and to stop running.
A very good friend of mine started to feel pain in the shin area, I told her to do the RICE treatment and in the mean time check her leg out with a doctor. In case it was shin splints we went to the London Marathon Store to have her fitted with the correct running shoes for her foot strike and pronation, 2 hours later we walked out with a new pair of running shoes. All that time was spent on my friend, the London Marathon Store staff are brilliant, very attentive, very professional and they know what they are doing, I use them all the time myself.
My friend spoke to her doctor and he advised her that she had shin splints and to stop running, at the time this seemed a reasonable diagnosis so my friend followed the RICE treatment. 5 weeks later her leg was still painful, I know that with complete rest that the pain should have at least eased if not gone. I told my friend that as the pain has gone on for this length of time that she may have a stress fracture and to consult her doctor again, tell him that she has not run for 5 weeks and her leg is still painful also to mention stress fracture. Again she was told that it was shin splints.
Well 6 months later, still in pain, my friend managed to convince another doctor to send her for an x-ray in order to check for stress fractures. This doctor made an appointment for her to see a consultant and have an x-ray. When my friend saw the consultant he actually suspected a stress fracture, he went on to say that an x-ray doesn't always show a stress fracture and that an MRI scan would be better but before she could go home she had to have an orthopaedic boot fitted.

After a couple of weeks my friend had her MRI scan and was told that she did have stress fractures, straight away she was sent to have her leg put in a plaster cast.

Now don't get me wrong, doctors (GP's) are generally very good but general practices' have turned more business like due to being given a budget to run by therefore they don't like sending you for tests, x-rays and such like unless they are pushed. You need to be sensible regarding any injuries you receive, like my friend give it a reasonable time to heal in case it's the lessor injury but should it go on for longer than is reasonable push your doctor for further investigation.

Prevent Your Running Shoes Causing Black Toenails

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Middleton) — Thu, 31 May 2012 12:15:00 +0000

Black toenails caused by running shoes seems to be a common problem with runners, including me at times. I came accross this new lacing instruction, I've tried it and it seems to be working at the moment so I thought I'd pass it on to you.

Watch this, it's the wierdest advert for Paddy Power !

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Middleton) — Tue, 29 May 2012 00:45:00 +0000

28th May 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Middleton) — Mon, 28 May 2012 23:21:00 +0000

Hi I'm back !

I let my Plantar Fasciitis injury get the better of me, I became so frustrated that I just gave up. I couldn't run so I didn't want to do anything, running is my passion, my main way to keep a good level of fitness and no other method would suffice so I just dropped out. Wrong I Know, now I have to work harder to get back to the level I was at.

If you've been through a similar situation let me know how you dealt with it....

26th April 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Middleton) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 10:32:00 +0000

Still haven't rid the Plantar Fascitis from my left foot. I want to keep my marathon fitness level going but am unable to start running again until it's gone. I'm taking anti-imflamatories and massaging my foot by rolling it over the top of a golf ball whenever I'm sitting down.
Have applied for 2012 London Marathon today and so has Lisa. Lisa has really caught the running bug and wants to beat marathon time for this year, hopefully 3:49 and I'm pretty sure that she can do it too !

Wednesday 20th April 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Middleton) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 11:53:00 +0000

Well the big day has passed and the marathon is now over. After all the training and obtaining a fitness level good enough to treat the London Marathon as just another run, I was over come by Plantar Fascitis . I was suffering with it for a few weeks in my left foot, I stopped training the week of the marathon to rest my foot. However right from the start of the race it was hurting, unfortunately the pain became excruciating and I had to slow my pace right down and finished with a 4:11 time.I shall be applying for 2012 marathon as I'm not happy with that time lol. I might even run the Southend Half Marathon in June....

My partner Lisa did really well for not just her first marathon but her first organised race ever !!

Lisa was a little unhappy with her time of 4:27 but as this was her very first race ever and not used to fighting her way through the masses or running in the hot sun, I think all in all she did very well ! Lisa has now got the running bug and has already said about running another London Marathon for a quicker time lol.....

Sunday 10th April 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Middleton) — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 17:24:00 +0000

Last long run today, 10 miles. GPS on my miCoach packed in again for a while and messed up stats.
This will be my last run until the big day as I've a nerve playing up on the bottom of my left foot and it's killing my heel so going to rest over the next week.

Thursday 7th April 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Middleton) — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 09:57:00 +0000

Ran just over 7 miles today, another hot day at around 20c. Took it at an easy pace, can't wait to get the marathon over as the training does take over and run your life. Although someone once gave me an analogy to marathon running " marathon running can be likend to having a baby, by the time the baby comes you swear that you're not going through the length of pregnancy or the pain of giving birth ever again but giving a little time all of that is forgotten and you want another !"

Here's today's results

Wednesday 6th April 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Middleton) — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 09:35:00 +0000

Just under 6 miles this evening, first hot run this year at 20c and a strong outwardbound headwind. The run was pretty undulating mid-way round, here's how the run went .

Sunday 3rd April 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Middleton) — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 09:30:00 +0000

Todays run was 14 miles and the run felt good but unfortunately my miCoach lost it's GPS signal for a while which ended up giving a false reading take a look .

Sunday 27th March 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Middleton) — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 09:18:00 +0000

My run today was just over 16 miles, tappering off the long runs now leading up to the marathon. My miCoach wanted me to do a 10 minute yellow zone near the end of the run (yellow zone 07:05 - 05:34 min/mi) but this was too much up those hills lol, see run results .

Sunday 20th March 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Middleton) — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 08:52:00 +0000

Todays run was just over 23 miles and quite an undulating route. I tried a new type of carb gel on this run as the liquid type I used on my last marathon made me feel sick, this carb gel is like blocks of jelly called Shot Bloks by Clif , they come in mountin berry or strawberry. Those are the basic ones, they have more flavours but have added caffine. You're supposed to take 3 blocks every hour, I took my first blok at 6 miles and one every 20 mins. It was a total supprise to me, there almost seemed to be an instant reaction, I could feel the extra energy, no doubt about it ! I glided round the route and even managed a sprint finish down my road !

Take a look at my 23 mile run stats

Fartlek Run

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Middleton) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 08:30:00 +0000

Yesterday was a hard fartlek session. The weather wasn't very nice, head wind and very cold.

I ran a 7.5 mile course, 15 minute warm up, 30 minutes of alternating 1 minute marathon pace and 1 minute faster pace finishing off with a 15 minute warm down.

This is supposed to help me with my speed and endurance.

22 Mile Long Run

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Middleton) — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 21:11:00 +0000

A long run of 22 miles today, running time 3hrs. I started feeling it becoming hard work about the 14 mile stage today and then from 20 miles it became a big challenge. Partly my fault as I took up a fast pace from the start and should have built up gradually....

Not a bad finish time of 3hrs though.

If you want to see my stats click here.....

20 Mile Run

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Middleton) — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 10:53:00 +0000

Sunday 20th February 2011

The weather was ideal again, cool and a little damp in the air.

I started with 30 mins warm up as part of the 20 miles then cruised at my marathon pace until the last 10 mins when I slowed down for my warm down. 2:47:13 wasn't too bad as I know that I could knock a good 15 mins off of that time allowing for warm up / warm down and the course I ran was very undulating.

Click here if you'd like to see my recorded stats for that run

More City Sports Facilities

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Middleton) — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 14:41:00 +0000

18 Mile Run

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Middleton) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 15:33:00 +0000

Sunday 13th February 2011

Ran 18 miles today and it took 2:31:19. I felt good until the last mile, I had to focus myself then. Weather was ideal and no wind.

Check out the stats for my run

Next Sunday it's 20 miles!

10k Relaxed Run

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Middleton) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 15:33:00 +0000

7th February 2011.

I went out for my run in the dark and in quite a few places it was hard to see the lay of the pavement which in turn makes it difficult to have a relaxing run. Anyway I ran 10k and for the first time managed to score 100% in the miCoach results, yippeeeee!

Check out my run results

16 Mile Run

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Middleton) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 15:22:00 +0000

Sunday 6th February 2011.

A hard 17 mile run today, a very strong headwind on the return half of the run, also the return run is very undulating.
During the run a car ploughed into the front door of the Horse & Groom pub in Rochford, not sure what caused it though.

Check out the stats for my run

Why Running is Good for Your Body From Runner's World

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Middleton) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 14:32:00 +0000

Why Running is Good for Your Body From Runner's World

An Easy Run at Marathon Pace

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Middleton) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 16:57:00 +0000

Saturday 22nd January was an easy 40 mins at marathon pace with a 10 min warm up and 10 min warm down, quite an enjoyable relaxing run.

Click here to check my results

8 Mile Fartlek

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Middleton) — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 10:47:00 +0000

Last nights workout was a hard seesion. I did 15 min warm up followed by 30 min FARTLEK finishing with a 15 min warm down, the run covered 8 miles and was very undulating which made it very difficult to stay in the correct zones. Check out my results below:
Click here to see results

I need to buy new running shoes as the cusioning in my current shoes has worn out and is quite hard on my heels now.