Search Results for: drills

How to Handle Running the Days Before Your Race: Doing nothing isn’t a ‘smart’ as you may think

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If you’re watching the London Olympics like it’s an IV line then you’ll notice some familiar runners lining up for the heats of the 5k after their 10k finals a few days prior. I won’t prattle off all of them but amongst the doublers were Mo Farah, Galen Rupp, and Sally Kipyego. Sally Kipyego won the Silver Medal for the 10k and came back two days later to clock 15:01.87 in her qualifying run of the 5k. Jaw-dropping times aside it brought to mind a topic that I wanted to discuss: running the days leading up to your own race. More specifically the day before race day. In a similar line of thinking to ‘saving their legs for the race’ and thus skipping a warm-up, newer (and not-so-new sometimes!) runners take a complete rest day the day before their race. I can see their line of reasoning, but doing zilch the day before: * Will actually leave you feeling a little stale the next day. If you’re consistent in your training, your legs are USED to doing something on a regular basis, and coming back off of nothing the next day will be a little ‘shock’ and your legs. INSTEAD of doing nothing: * 2 or 3 days out from race-day: Make sure you do something with a little speed. Sometimes runners make the mistake of going over-board on the taper mode. Cut back your volume if the race is one you’ve been keying towards, but don’t go from 60 miles to 10 miles…you want to still keep your body attuned to the action of running. Similarly, don’t let an entire week prior to the race go by without doing something at, or faster than, race pace. You want to stay sharp so that come race day your legs will Continue Reading →

Let’s Get Hyped: 5 Strategies to Talk Yourself Up into the Running Zone

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Handling pre-race (or pre-hard workouts for that matter!) anxiety and nerves is something every runner deals with. There is always a certain level of pressure regardless of the situation; some pressure is a good thing because it allows us to elevate our game to the necessary level. There is a swell of emotions all warring inside ourselves regardless of outward appearances; the difference between the runners that you can see this tumult in their faces from those you can’t is how well the athlete is able to channel, compartmentalize, and utilize these feelings to their benefit. All of the nerves, the wanting to do your best, the fear of wondering if you’ll be able to handle the pain, wondering if you’ll beat so-and-so, hoping you hit a certain time, questioning whether you need one more bathroom stop…all of that is normal, but depending on how you handle and cope with everything going on inside your brain translates to how well your body is able to perform. Running is a mental sport. Here are five tips that I feel work to getting a handle on your brain before a race or hard workout so that you can put them to work, to HELP you step up and be the gamer you want to be: * Visualization: I did an entire post on this but the power of self-visualization is one that I feel is huge. the thing though, is that it works with practice and something you should be doing before the actual event/workout in order to hone your skills. Start in a quite room and imagine going through the race or workout just as you’d like it to play out; from the last stride of your warm-up to battling through that last interval. Anticipate the pain and practice staying relaxed. Continue Reading →

Are You My Lefty? — The quest for the left to my right running shoe

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There once was a little running shoe, no not one of those dorky Vibrams, an actual running shoe and he felt a little lost. It wasn’t so much that he felt confused about who he was, he knew he was a righty, meant for swallowing up miles for breakfast, some strength training for lunch, and dinner might be either more miles or a side of cross-training. But he knew he was missing out on something…oh, that’s right, it was his left. He knew he had to have his left match out there, he dreamed of what left would look like. Maybe he inherited some of his own designs from lefty, did he share her roomy toe-box, did his arch support come from her? Finally the day came when he could stand the wondering no long and so he set out on a quest to find his lefty. Some odd hoppy, runner-strides later he was off down the road on his quest. After about 1.34 miles (thankfully Garmin came along to keep him company) he came to a halt; he looked at the shiny, red object in front of him. Now it didn’t exactly look like his mirror image, but there was a roundness to it that make him question if that could be the same roundness he inherited his toe-box from. “Are you my lefty?” our lost running shoe blurted out. “Say, what?” the tall, cylindrical object replied. “I’m looking for my lefty, are you her?” “Sorry, kid, I’m not anyone’s lefty,” the red thing stated in a gruff tone, “oh crap, here it comes again.” At that, the red thing groaned as a huge pit-bull sauntered up, lifted its leg and proceeded to spray a long stream of yellow onto this red thing. The right sided running shoe took Continue Reading →

April First Brings Some Shocking New Reports…

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Sunday…up and at ’em! Today’s a big day at the races, I’ve got friends up currently sweating it out in Portland’s Race for the Roses and of course down in California there is the Carlsbad 5000. Though, I guess it could be argued that EVERY weekend is a big day at the races somewhere…us runner’s can really never get enough action, right? 😉 Well, in reading some late-breaking news and studies, I am embarrassed to admit that a LOT of what I’ve thought to be fact and professed to others seems to be a bit off base. I know, even the best of us wind up with pie on our faces sometimes, so let me make a few corrections to anything I’ve said before: * Pop-Tarts really DO make you faster. In fact a recent study showed that the ‘Smores flavor in particular is going to be added to the list of banned substances. Apparently ingesting them has a similar effect to certain steroids. At this point the doping committee is being a little tightlipped at the moment because they are still making busts, but I’ll follow up on this as more news breaks. * Warming up is for losers. Contrary to what every coach, sports performance theorist, athlete, and the like have thought for years you really shouldn’t waste any extra energy warming up with running, strides, and drills. From now on, pop in the car and turn up the heater if you’d like and then just get to the line and be ready to riiiiiiip! * Bringing Records Back to the Ladies!! The IAAF and World Record rectifying committee (hmm, not sure if that second one is the exact term, but roll with it) has retracted their previous ruling to not count female records set in mixed races. Continue Reading →

Superstitions, Stupidstitions, Rituals and Routines…

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Do you have any superstitions? Any little routines that you like have to do before a race? Some little secret good luck charms or habits that for whatever reason you do; you probably know on some level they are ‘dumb’ or silly and don’t reeaaally promise a good outcome, but you do it anyways…better safe than sorry, right? 😉 To a degree getting into a routine is a good thing: * Keeps you organized * Makes sure you don’t forget something * Consistency is generally always the best bet in terms of running/workout performance (limit the variables) So it could be argued that those little pre-race, or workout, ritual/routines DO have some kind of positive effect on the outcome. It’s more just a matter of what they are and how quirky they get. Hey, we all have embarrassing little habits/secrets, I’ll show you mine if you show me yours! 😉 Good ‘Normal’ Pre-race/run rituals: * Starting your warm-up exactly the same time, every time out: this could be for both hard workouts and races…again, consistency * Doing the same sequence of warm-up drills/strides: after your easy running, do your stretches, drills, and strides in the same order…helps your body know what’s coming and ensures you don’t forget something * Putting the shoes/bib number/singlet on in the ‘right’ order: okay, here is kind of where we move towards not that important, but if it helps you not forget something…I know some people have to put such-and-such on at just the ‘right’, specific time before they go to the line * Same pre-run/race foods: okay, the night before you probably want to steer clear of the World’s Hottest Tri-Bean Chili, but the night before isn’t going to make or break you (unless you’re moving into the marathon, plus races) but rather what Continue Reading →

Limiting the Variables for a Winning Race – Same Foods, Same Routine, Set Your Plan

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I have a particularly sensitive stomach. I can’t handle too much in there digesting away if I’m going to go out and run. My favorite time to run is first thing in the morning for just this reason. Yes, I know you shouldn’t run on an empty stomach and if I were actually training for something I’d be smart and wake up earlier to have something light for energy. I used to go the oatmeal route and that worked well for me before workouts. But now that I’m not competing I just eat a big snack before I go to bed and that tides me over. I also like being able to just roll out of bed and into the shoes. I loved morning races not only because they made figuring out what and when to eat all the easier but also they were done first thing and I didn’t have to sit around all day with me, myself, and nerves. Still, not everyone works out in the morning and races aren’t always going off in the morning hours either. With track season coming up, 99% of the time you’ll have an afternoon or later gun time. Track throws another monkey into the mix because you could be doubling, tripling, quadrupling…hopefully you aren’t doing any more than that, but you get the picture. In order to perform to your best you need to fuel your body with the energy it needs, but at the same time you want it to sit well in your stomach. You want to eat for performance. You can read the article I did printed in January’s Running Times, ‘Timing Your Fuel’, for some pointers on the best way to go about creating a meal plan that works in accordance with your race time. Spoiler alert: Continue Reading →

Setting a Warm-up Routine – You’ll Run Better and Feel Better Doing it

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I don’t want to waste energy. I’m really late and the gun is JUST about to go off. I don’t really need to. I’m just plain lazy. All reasons, ahem excuses, that people give for not wanting to do a warm-up. The energy wasting one is something that I’m sure even the most seasoned vet is guilty of when they first started out, I knew I fell for that one in my first few meets. Or I guess back then I was probably also just lazy too. Though this is one of the biggest fallacies even though common sense might lead you to plead a case for it. Physiologically your body CAN’T perform at its best going from 0 to 60 the second the gun goes off. Sadly we are not a high performance sports car that all the macho guys drive, peel out, and feel like ‘the man.’ Rather, our muscles burn glucose (energy) most efficiently if you gradually work into that faster pace. Not only will you be running faster if you’ve warmed up but it will actually feel easier too. [the same rules apply for the actual race, and that’s why it’s smarter to run negative splits; go out at one pace and pick up the pace as the race progresses, make that closing mile/lap your fastest] What constitutes a good warm-up? Well, that is different for everyone and it’s a matter of finding one that fits with you. Still, there are some general ingredients to add to this recipe; I’ll just put out what worked for me when I was racing. Another couple of things; the other major benefit of having a warm-up routine set out is once you find the perfect recipe for YOU, stick to it. Keeping the same routine helps eliminate variables for Continue Reading →

Workouts

As I yammer on about so many things, workouts and exercise routines have started to amass, if you’re interested feel free to test a few of them out. If you like, yay! If not, that’s cool too…I didn’t force you to do it. 😉 [note: more to come…this page is in progress, just like me!] Abs/Core: ***Video Demo: Pedestal Plank Routine*** Pedestal Plank Core Routine Sweaty Ab Routine Bouncy Stability Ball Core Four More Kicking Core Moves- Why the Core Merits the Hype Strength/Weights: Hummingbird Arms Mix and Match – Strength Workout of Endless Possibilities Plyometrics Part I – All About the Bounds and Skips Plyometrics Part II – Bunny Hopping and Jumps Calf Strengthening – The 3-Way Raises Trick Stretching/Flexibility ***Video Demo: No excuse to not fit this into your day flexibility drills for runners*** Rules of the Stretch – When and when NOT to stretch with dynamic and static stretching routine Hip Flexibility Drills: Why runners should channel those Latin dancers The Imbalanced Runner–Entire post on the muscle weaknesses and imbalances you no doubt have and how to work on them to avoid injuries. Cross-training Workouts: Pyramid Intervals 3:1’s – Long/Short Combo Intervals Longer Intervals and Endurance Based Cross-training Workout Running Workouts/Advice: Four Weeks of Fartleking Fun Crazy 8’s – Longer/Shorter Track Session Marathon Goal Time Predictor Workout Breakdown Tempo Running Jack and Jill Runs Hills – Hill sprints, tempos, and long hill intervals…we do it all Fartleking 800’s and Training to Surge in Races to Break Your Competition Attacking Your Long Run: When you don’t want to just make it an easy one Self-Massage/Injury Prevention: Calf Strengthening to Help Avoid Achilles Problems IT Band Relief – Tips to keep this common runner point of injury in check The Runner’s Self-Massage Run-Down Guide

Writing

My Books: I have experience writing for print magazines, online magazines, blogs, websites, company newsletters, speeches, copywriting and promotional materials. If you need words I’ve got them and will assemble to your individual need! With my extensive background in running, fitness, and all things related to sports performance I define these my areas of expertise and favorite topics to write about. But, I’m hardly limited to these alone and particularly enjoy freelance writing as it allows me to constantly learn and investigate new things. Running Times Magazine “The Power of Protein Timing: Three windows to refuel the runner” A Lethal Kick Don’t Be One of Those Parents – Keeping you’re children’s running goals all their own Stuck in Waiting – Staying motivated through the lull between seasons Self-Massage the Runner’s Way – Tend to your aches yourself with this guide Timing Your Fuel – You have a race plan; now get a winning meal plan Blazing Start, Mid-Season Blahs – How to catch yourself before you flat-line and wreck your season Coaches That Inspire and Coaches That Cripple Runner’s World What It’s Like To Be Coached By Alberto Salazar Competitor “How to Race Your Full Season and Not Burn OutRead more at http://running.competitor.com/2016/01/training/how-to-race-your-full-season-and-not-burnout_144083#cyf9YQRPAZpbEp1T.99” Battling Taper Madness: Reaching Race Day Rested and Ready Become a Faster Runner Using Strides Why Runners Should Embrace Cross Training Double Time: Working Out Twice A Day The Runner’s Guide to Bounding What Fuels Boston Marathon Champion Meb Keflezighi Patience, Progress, PRs: The Three Tenets Of Running Success 3 Things Under 5 Minutes Every Runner Should Do Daily Think Outside the Mill: How to make the most of treadmill running Information Overload: Are Runners Too Tech-Dependant Is Squeezing 100% Out of Yourself Worth the Risk? Foresee it, Believe it, Achieve it: The Power of Visualization for Continue Reading →