Nick Symmonds on Recovery Run Pace

According to Nick, easy days should be "conversational" and depending on how you feel, that pace may vary. He fails to mention just how long should your conversational run be.

Just my opinion, but the distance of a recovery run is an important variable to consider and depends on factors such as what you are training for, miles per week, what you did the day before and what you are planning the next day. Sustained tempo or long distance runs merit a shorter recovery day such as 30-45 minutes. You can probably stretch out a recovery run to an hour the day prior to a sizzling track session, particularly if you are preparing for races 10K or longer.

Another option is to consider is to bike or swim those easy days, a strategy used by FIRST (Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training) that has produced some excellent running just 3 days a week.

That being said, I've played around with using short (30 minutes) higher quality recovery days and more often than not feel pretty good the next day. I believe you can use a 2-mile threshold run sandwiched between an easy warm-up and cool-down and feel fresh the next day, particularly if you are running high mileage.

Speed Training for Runners

Speed Training for Runners at competitor.com serves up a reminder to distance runners who consider higher weekly mileage as the only road to better performance at 5K and above. Although I've seen some comparatively slow runners put up impressive times at long distances, improving top end sprint speed may be the missing piece for many, especially if you are beginning to notice an age related slowdown. The article offers up a few workout ideas including the value of a good warm-up, but no need to get fancy. Once every week or 2 seek out a soft surface and run some repeats from 50m to 200m with plenty of rest. If you don't mind the pain or embarrassment, run a timed mile before implementing speed training workouts to serve as a benchmark for measuring progress down the road. If you aren't able to improve your mile time, chances are sprint workouts aren't going to help you run faster at longer distances either.

Great Circuit Workout for Runners by Jay Johnson!

Circuit Workouts for Running Times - Third Circuit from CoachJayJohnson on Vimeo.

MY COMMENTS: I have to write these down- can't wait to try some in Youth Running Club!

Great Hip Stretch for Distance Runners!

Great for relief of IT band tightness, piriformis tightness/pain, and improved hip range of motion. This is one I am going to try!

What's the Muscle AdaptationTimeline Following a Hard Workout?

Answer:  That's difficult to pinpoint exactly, but, says Pfitzinger, they're typically realized in about eight to 10 days. Joe Rubio, a two-time U.S. Olympic trials marathon qualifier and head coach of the ASICS Aggies, says that "most athletes will see a benefit from an individual workout 10-14 days after it is completed - How Long Does it Take to Benefit from a Hard Workout?

According to this article, long intervals take the longest to recover from (8-10 days according to Pete Pfitzinger).  It looks like they suggest short 200 meter repeats are the least taxing. 

Distance Running and Osteoarthritis

Although the existing evidence on whether long-term long-distance running causes osteoarthritis is currently insufficient for researchers to draw unequivocal conclusions, the preponderance of data seems to indicate that moderate levels of running do not increase the risk of osteoarthritis of the knees and hips for healthy people and that this activity might even have a protective effect."

Read more: Medical studies: Long-term long-distance running - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/running/ci_23326932/medical-studies-long-term-long-distance-running#ixzz2UXSzgeRy

Hip Range of Motion and Running Efficiency

Interesting study here that found you can increase hip range of motion with a targeted exercise routine, however that does not mean you automatically transfer to a greater stride length or improved efficiency as a runner. Improvements in hip flexibility do not transfer to mobility in functional movement patterns Authors suggest you may need additional focus on 'grooving' new motor patterns if new found movement range is to be utilized,in other exaggerated range of motion drills.

Bananas Work as Well as Sports Drinks During Exercise

Aside from higher dopamine in BAN (banana trial), shifts in metabolites following BAN and CHO (6% carbohydrate drink) 75-km cycling time trials indicated a similar pattern of heightened production of glutathione and utilization of fuel substrates in several pathways.  -Bananas as an energy source during exercise: a metabolomics approach.

In this study,  trained cyclists consumed either a half a banana or a cup of sports drink, every 15 minutes, during a 75 km, simulated road race lasting between two-and-a-half and three hours. Blood samples were taken before and after exercise and analyzed.   Blood glucose levels and performance did not differ between the athletes consuming bananas and those consuming sports drinks.  ASU and Dole: Bananas As An Energy Source During Exercise

The bananas provided the cyclists with antioxidants not found in sports drinks as well as a greater nutritional boost, including fiber, potassium and Vitamin B6, the study showed. In addition, bananas have a healthier blend of sugars than sports drinks.  Bananas Are as Beneficial as Sports Drinks, Study Suggests

The researchers discovered that there was more interleukin-8 and interleukin-10 present in the athletes' blood when they had eaten bananas. Both of these interleukins activate the innate immune system. You can speculate that endurance athletes who get their carbs from bananas are less likely to catch a viral infection. -anabolicminds.com

When the researchers analysed the bananas they found out what had caused the rise in dopamine level. 100 g banana contains 0.42 mg dopamine. The cyclists had consumed 6-7 bananas, so had ingested about 3.33 mg dopamine.

The researchers exclude the possibility that the dopamine makes its way to the brain. It's possible that dopamine derived from food might enable the heart muscle to work harder. That didn't happen in this study; the rise in dopamine level wasn't high enough for that.

But, write the researchers, banana peel contains higher quantities of dopamine than the fruit itself. "Future studies with banana peel-based supplements will reveal if high oral dopamine intake is advantageous for endurance athletes using similar performance and physiological outcomes", the researchers announce.



MY COMMENT:   Who knew bananas, and especially banana peals, contained dopamine?  More dopamine, antioxidants, and interleukin? Sounds like grounds for further investigation, although you can bet the sports drink industry is scrambling to figure this out.  I'd like to see more details such as what fluids were allowed during the banana trial, and what effects dopamine has on endurance. I still can't get over the banana peels-dopamine connection.   

Hill Running Improves 5K

Regardless of which of the types of hill workouts they'd done during the preceding six weeks, their time on the second 5-K time trial was about 2% faster  -Study: All Hill Repeats Improve 5-K Performance

I wish they had gone into further detail on the number of sessions per week, etc.  Still, this is a good reminder not to overlook the importance of at least a weekly hill session, something I have not attempted in a long long time. 

Here is a post I did in 2011 on the importance of hills Powerful Hill Workouts by Owen Anderson.

Calisthenics May Make You a Better Runner!

These data demonstrate that although improvements in cardiovascular fitness are induced by both endurance and extremely low volume interval-style training, whole-body aerobic–resistance training imparted addition benefit in the form of improved skeletal muscle endurance. -Extremely low volume, whole-body aerobic–resistance training improves aerobic fitness and muscular endurance in females They used burpees, jumping jacks, mountain climbers, and squat thrusts (aren't burpees and squat thrusts the same exercise?)

Coaches: How to Make Your Kids Run Faster!

 The introduction of a female observer caused a significant decrease in RPE (Ratings of Perceived Exertion) , whereas the introduction of a male observer caused a significant increase in RPE compared to the control trial.  -Observer effects on the rating of perceived exertion and affect during exercise in recreationally active males.
MY COMMENT: Imagine lowering perceived exertion with no additional training!  The problem is, how do you take advantage of women spectators without it having the same effect on your competitiors.  Somebody needs to take a look at the effect of having them cheering individual names. 

I am also curious if how they dress makes a difference, if men observers would have the same effect on women runners, and if a lower perceived exertion actually translates to faster times.       

Low Carb for Runners?

The results were spectacular. After five months, he lost 15kg, was at his lowest weight in 30 years and was running faster than he had in 20 years. -Tim Noakes discussing his new low carb diet.

Carbohydrates have always been a staple food for runners, but According to Noakes, he's all but eliminated the following from his diet (from Runners World New Zealand):

Sugar
Bread
Rice
Pasta
Potatoes
Porridge
Breakfast cereals
Some high energy fruits like bananas
Cakes and sweets and other desserts
Artificial sweetners and products containing these products

Noakes is careful to explain that he believes a low carb approach helps him control a condition called carbohydrate resistance (CR- his body does not metabolize carbohydrates properly leading to higher body fat) so may not apply to everyone.

Remember, this is an observation by one individual, not a research study.  Food for thought though.

Weight Training Made the Difference for Mo Farah

‘He was the weakest athlete I’d ever trained — in terms of core strength and being able to do push-ups, sit-ups and single-leg squats. He was a 90lb weakling." -Alberto Salazar speaking about Mo Farah.

Intensity of Exercise Increases Body Temperature- Not Dehydration!

You shouldn’t relate overheating to dehydration. You overheat when you run too fast. That’s the key. You don’t overheat because you become dehydrated. The brain’s too clever. If you’re not going to drink, the brain will slow you down, and that will lower your body temperature, not raise it. So, we’ve got some great studies where we look at people running half marathons, marathons, short ultramarathons, and long ultramarathons. The longer the race, the lower the temperature, because they are running slower - Tim Noakes in Outside Online.

MY COMMENT:  Noakes is stirring up a hornets nest.  I didn't realize 4 of the 6 researchers who published the ACSM Guidelines on Dehydration had ties to Gatorade.  According to Noakes,  "Of the six authors, four – Drs. Maughan, Burke, Eichner and Stachenfeld – have direct and longstanding involvement with Gatorade and the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI), but only three (Drs Maughan, Eichner and Stachenfeld) deemed it necessary to disclose in the Position Stand the existence of that relationship. The two remaining authors – Drs. Sawka and Montain – are employed by the United States Army Research Institute for Environmental Medicine (USARIEM)"  -sweatscience

Waterlogged! Everything You Think You Know About Dehydration But Don't!

"If fluid loss leads to thirst, why do some of the best competitors finish endurance races in quite advanced states of fluid loss? Time and again, studies, even those by researchers expecting different outcomes, have shown that the runners who are the most dehydrated, as measured by percentage of body weight loss, run the fastest. " - Waterlogged excerpt in Running Times MY COMMENT: Tim Noakes is generally recognized as the leading authority on dehydration and endurance performance. I can't wait to read this new book!

Do Squats Improve Distance Running?

This is an amazing display of strength, but will it help you run a faster 5K? Probably not, at least according to Peak Performance. ".. if you really want to improve your running, you should really focus on resistance exercises that are more specific to the act of running - such as one-leg squats, high-bench step-ups, and one-leg hops in place." Is this Hobie Call?

Does Positive Feedback Enhance Running Performance?

This is important news for all you coaches out there!- Our findings show that enhanced expectancies can have a positive effect on movement efficiency and running experience. They add to the accumulating evidence for the social-cognitive-affective-motor nature of motor performance.

One group (enhanced expectancy) was provided with (fabricated) feedback about the efficiency of their running style every 2 min. A control group was not given feedback. Oxygen consumption decreased in the enhanced expectancy group across measurement times (every 2 min for 10 min), but remained the same in the control group. In addition, performance perceptions changed only in the enhanced expectancy group, indicating a perception of greater ease of running and reduced fatigue when assessed after compared with before running.

source: Enhanced expectancies improve movement efficiency in runners

MY COMMENT: No mention of the level of ability these runners have, however I am inclined to believe this technique might be effective for some runners with world class ability. Anybody who has ever run knows that physical talent and training do not make up 100% of the equation for optimal performance. This particular study only measured running performance at 75% over 10 minutes, but the possibilities are interesting, at least for races up to 2 miles.

Great High Mileage Quote!

Returning to the issue of training volume, remember that high mileage days are more important than high mileage weeks.
-Distance Coach John Kellogg

from letsrun.com forum

Frank Shorter Speaks About Running With Bad Feet

Interesting that Frank mentions that he learned to "run light on his feet" because they hurt so much. I recall reading somewhere that former marathon world record holder Derek Clayton said basically the same thing- he was big for a marathoner but taught himself to run "light on his feet."

I also remember racing against Shorter in 1976, amazed at the shoes he was wearing with paper thin soles. I am wondering if he learned the efficient barefoot running style back then by training in something similar.

Do We Run to Eat?

“The diminished effect of dietary composition on the BMI of higher mileage runners could be due to improved fat oxidation with exercise,” Williams said.

Second to an enhanced internal combustion system that burns more calories, Williams also ponders whether distance runners are inherently good at adjusting their food volume to match their training volume, which relates to the earlier statement that runners understand the need to train more when they eat more.

MY COMMENT: This is exactly what I've been saying! Fat burning ability o the muscle trumps total calories expended for weight loss. Or maybe we really do run so we can eat more.

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