Could Stride Angles Be the Answer?

Dathan Ritzenheim
Sammy Wanjiru

Check out this analysis by somasports comparing stride angles of Olympic marathon champion Sammy Wanjiru and our top Americans. No way to tell if photo of Ritz is taken actually at the widest stride angle. Still, this is food for thought.

Takayuki Nishida Interview

It was mostly based on intervals and long distance. One interval workout a week and one long run, every week. Plus sometimes we'd do an interval and long run set, like today 5000 m of hard intervals, then a 40 km run the next day. We did a lot of 20 km time trials, too. In heavy training I'd be doing 1000 km a month, with at maximum 70 km in one day. -Japan Running News

Interview with 2 hr 08 min Japanese marathoner Takayuki Nishida. (note: 1000 kilometers = 621 miles so Nishida was averaging 155 miles a week with one day up to 43 miles!)

At the National Championships before the Athens Olympics I met Samuel Wanjiru. He told me, "It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so I'm just going to stay home and sleep." Japanese runners would show up wearing a cap and vest and do the workout in the rain. I think that ability to let yourself take it easy sometimes is missing in the Japanese system, but some of the talented young guys we have now are learning this lesson so I think there might be another generation of great Japanese runners coming soon. (Wanjiru is a Kenyan who trains in Japan and won the Olympic marathon in Bejing)

The Magic Workout

One workout Andrews picked up from Peter Coe (Sebasitan Coe's father and coach) was what Robby would call "the magic workout." It involved a series of sprints. He would start out with a 100-meter sprint at near race pace and jog back. He would then run 110 meters, adding one second to his 100-meter time.

He would continue at 10-meter intervals, adding one second each time, until he reached 200 meters. It was a taxing workout, but magic indeed. He ran that workout before every big race this season, including his two national record runs and his 4:03.49 mile. -News Transcript (article about Robbie Andrews, a high school runner from New Jersey who set high school indoor national records for 800 (1:49.21)and 1000 meters (2:22.68). Outdoors Andrews ran a 4:03.49 mile.

Training Update July 27-29

Mon- easy 3 miles followed by an hour bike ride

Tues- 5K in 19:31 (very very hot day) I could tell from the start this was going to be a tough run. Splits were 6:22, 6:11. 6:17- clearly I am not acclimatized for heat (skin was dry-never broke a sweat until after I finished!) so I was actuallly pleasantly surprised my last mile was not the slowest.

Wed- easy 20 min with Sumo, then 50 minutes, followed by 6x15 sec sprints (if you can call them that).

American 800 Meter Runners Look Primed for Worlds

Watch for the name Maggie Vessey at the upcoming World Championships (if she gets to run- she did not make the US team but now has the A standard)-she just ran the fastest 800 meters in the world this year-1:57.84 in Monaco (#7 all time on the US list). Vessey lives in Santa Cruz with her sister and her sister's boyfriend and works 30 hours a week at Jerry's Sports (runnersworld.com interview). Somebody give this girl a contract please!

On the men's side Olympian Nick Symmonds set a PR-1:43.83 finishing 3rd. Check out the story at letsrun.com and you can watch video of the races at universalsports.com

Leg Speed Drills for Runners

Arthur Lydiard firmly believed that anaerobic workouts that produce lactic acid (i.e. interval training) during build-up of your aerobic base is counterproductive. "First thing: No. No. Never do anaerobic work in conditioning. Never. Ever." How long? "At least 12 weeks...The whole program takes 6 months." -Arthur Lydiard interview a week before his death.

A workout that Lydiard recommended, and I admit that I have never done, is short bursts of running (60 meters) with full recovery. According to Lydiard, these short speed sessions can be used safely during your aerobic build-up phase because you don't produce lactic acid. At the same time, your ability to run fast is maintained or even improved because you are recruiting fast twitch fibers, increasing power and efficiency.

Remember, the purpose is not improving anaerobic or aerobic energy systems. I'd start with 6 x 60 meters with full 1-2 minute recovery between each, then build to 10. This makes sense, especially for masters runners like myself who over time tend to lose speed with age.

A word of caution- build into this workout slowly, especially if you've been doing nothing but long slow running. Build your speed with each repetition, so your first is always slowest and your last 2-3 your quickest.

Barefoot Running

"...running shoes should be considered protective
devices (from dangerous or painful objects) rather than corrective devices,
-Barefoot Running



MY COMMENT: Good article- no question that runners could benefit by "Thirty minutes of daily barefoot locomotion" as a starting point (walking, then progessing to slow jogging if you can find a surface that allows it).

Too Much Speed Kills in Distance Running

"Whatever you do that is very intense has to be balanced out with a reasonable volume of easy work. The harder you go, the more volume of easier work is required, and the easier the better. Total rest won't do it. Easy aerobic activity will. That's the secret. We'll leave the physiologists and PhD theorists to tell us why." -Keith Livingstone, author of Healthy Intelligent Training

Remember Henry Rono

In the bar later, he said his downfall had been beer and women, but as the beers flowed, it came down to just women. - post referring to the great Kenyan runner Henry Rono (source: globerunner.org)

Lake Angeles Trail Run

I did this 2 hour workout on Tuesday.

Training Update July 23-24

Thurs- easy 90 minutes on trail.
Fri- easy 30 minutes on trail, then a 5K hard effort in 19:05. Felt ok but slow. Plenty of room to improve I hope.

10 x 400 Interval Workout

I felt some leg soreness from what I did the day before- 1 hour up and one hour back on the Lake Angeles Trail at a very slow pace.

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The Equalizer Home Workout

MY COMMENT: I really like some of the options the Lebert Equalizer bars provide. I am ordering this!

Rhodiola Improves Endurance!

I walked into a local nutrition supplement store recently and inquired what they had for runners. They introduced me to Rhodiola, a herb that grows in the mountains in Europe and Asia.

Doing further research, I found this study out of Belgium.

Compared with P (placebo), acute R (rhodiola) intake in Phase I increased (p <.05) time to exhaustion from 16.8 +/- 0.7 min to 17.2+/- 0.8 min. Accordingly, VO2peak (p <.05) and VCO2peak (p<.05) increased during R compared to P from 50.9 +/- 1.8 ml x min(-1) x kg(- )1 to 52.9 +/- 2.7 ml x min(-10) x kg(-1) (VO2peak) and from 60.0 +/- 2.3 ml x min(-1) x kg(-1) to 63.5+/- 2.7 ml x min(-1) x kg(-1) (VCO2peak). Pulmonary ventilation (p =.07) tended to increase more during R than during P (P: 115.9+/- 7.7 L/min; R: 124.8 +/- 7.7 L/min). All other parameters remained unchanged. PHASE II: Four-week R intake did not alter any of the variables measured. CONCLUSION: Acute Rhodiola rosea intake can improve endurance exercise capacity in young healthy volunteers. This response was not altered by prior daily 4-week Rhodiola intake.

Looks like it has some stimulant properties not unlike caffeine, but long term use provides no additional benefit.

Altitude Training Presentation by Steve Magness

(Steve ran 4:01 for the mile in high school-watch it here!)

His blog stevemagness.blogspot.com is excellent!

Altitude Training

View more presentations from sjm1368.

July 19- Training Diary

90 minutes on the trail today- I've got a loop that is approx. 3.5 miles in length that I was doing in 30 minutes (who knows maybe its 4 miles!). Doesn't matter, I am just going to continue building time slowly with a goal of 2 hours.

Training Update

July 15- off
July 16- 30 minute warm-up, then 3 laps on the 800 trail loop in 8:36 (7:52 per lap).
July 17- 9 miles on trail
July 18- 30 min warm-up, then 5 x 400 (approx) on the 800 meter trail loop (had to stop because I had walkers going on both halves of the loop at once.

How Much Do You Drink?

About an hour before the workout you should have about 20 ounces of liquid.

-Leslie Bonci quoted in a NY Times article.

MY COMMENT: Unless you are preparing for a marathon or getting ready for a very long (2 hours or longer) training run, I don't know anybody who really does this.

Read the full article, then see my comments below:

First, I’d be very uncomfortable drinking 20 oz of water one hour prior to exercise, and that much certainly isn’t necessary for a 30 minute workout. Second, I’d be curious what the definition of “gulping” and what frequency is recommended. Better advice would be to weigh yourself before and after every workout and using trial and error target not losing more than 3% of your body weight. Some experts agree that blanket guidelines for hydration are not a good idea- this much water for a 100 lb female with a low sweat rate running on a cool day in fact may be very dangerous. Third, I’d be careful what type of carbohydrate you eat 1 hour prior to exercise. If I eat something high on the glycemic index prior to exercise often times my blood sugar drops so low after start my run that I experience light-headedness

Training Update July 13-14

Put in 2 solid days of running- back to back about 80 minutes on the trails. 30 at a slow pace with Sumo, then 50 more minutes at moderate pace. Legs were getting beat near the end of both days. Tomorrow something light! Skipping the 800 repeats this week.

Watch the Tour de France Live !

Watch the Tour de France live here!

Fixing Common Nutrition Mistakes

Check out this article on active.com by Nancy Clark who always offers accurate nutrition advice.

Plyometric Drills to Improve Your Running

If you want better balance, increased speed and more agility, try integrating these fun and challenging plyometric drills into your weekly workouts.
runnersworld.com

Alto Lab - Affordable Altitude Simulation

If you are a serious endurance athlete with some extra cash and looking for an edge, I'd take a look at a company called Pharma Pacific that makes the Alto Lab Portable Altitude Simulator. Their protocol calls for a 1 hour treatment for 2 weeks, which they claim can significantly boost EPO and red blood cell production.

I like the fact that you can actually measure a drop in blood O2 levels while using the simulator. You can purchase the starter kit for under $200, however that does not include the pulse oximeter (you can probably get a better deal on one of those elsewhere). The all-inclusive Elite package (with oximeter and 3 months of silos which need to be replaced periodically) runs $789.

Hendrick Ramaala - The Self-Coached Marathoner

Marathon training can take up to 12 weeks to complete. You need a buildup (base) training phase and then a specific marathon training phase. I go 200 kilometers (124 miles) a week or more when I get ready for a marathon. At the end of this heavy training, you will need a tapering period of two to three weeks. I do a minimum of 10 to 12 long runs in that period. Four to six of those will be around 40 kilometers (24.8 miles), the rest between 25 and 30 kilometers (15 to 18 miles).

I also include interval sessions on the track (two times a week); some hill runs (once a week); tempo runs (twice a week) and recovery runs. Four or three weeks before my marathon race, I normally race a half-marathon to test myself. When doing marathon training you need to take lots of rest, get sports massages, consume lots of liquids, eat lots of good food and focus more as the load of training is taxing on the body. -nytimes

MY COMMENT: Hendrick Ramaala is a self-coached S. African that won the NYC Marathon in 2004.

Lydiard Training Methods Explained

You'll see, for example, how to use sessions of long slow distance therapeutically, to help recover form. Keith has also done a great job of providing the missing science; although Arthur has been hailed as the greatest running coach of all time, Keith reminds us that Arthur was actually a milkman; he worked things out by experimenting on himself and then with trial and error plus intuition. 30 years on, and with the benefit of the latest research, we can see why Arthur's system works so well -- and also what we need to tweak to make it even more effective. -customer review on Amazon.com


MY COMMENT: Looks like a good book detailing the training system used so successfully by New Zealand's Arthur Lydiard. I am ordering this one today!