After becoming the captain of his high school cross country team that featured not only himself but also Dathan Ritzenhein he went onto successful running in college and a career as an American elite runner.

Some of his accomplishments include becoming a six-time All-American at the University of Oregon, a 4-time Olympic trials qualifier, winner of the 2009 Twin Cities Marathon, and for the last two years the top American finisher at the Boston Marathon finishing 4th overall in both 2012 and 2013.

In this episode Jason and I discuss not only his background and his career but dive into his training philosophies including:

• How he structures his training
• His current cross-training activities of choice
• Remaining calm and collected before, during and after races
• The process of formulating a race day strategy
• His mantra when things start to hurt
• Running in hot weather
• Overcoming adversity and coming back from missing big goals

We also cover some additional topics including:

• How to avoid beating yourself in the final weeks before a marathon
• Tips for the final days leading up to a race
• His most important workout before a half-marathon
• How his height of 6’3 impacts his running
• What’s next in his career

This episode offers a great insight into the preparation and training habits of a top American elite runner and he offers ways it can translate into your own running.

Quick Tip

Do you find yourself having a great run and suddenly your phone or MP3 player throws you off your pace by giving you a song that is either too fast or too slow? I’ll share a brand new app called TempoRun developed by a team of student entrepreneurs and runners at Michigan State University that will ensure your music is always at the right tempo.

Links Mentioned in the Show

@JasonRHartmann - Follow Jason on Twitter
temporunapp.com – More information on the TempoRun App
iOS TempoRun App – Download the app from the Apple App Store

Nothing is more frustrating than believing you are putting in the work and not seeing results that you know you are capable of. In most cases, it is not your work ethic that is holding you back but rather not doing the right things.

Here are 6 actionable ways you can immediately start to improve your running by simply evaluating your running as it stands today and carefully considering these suggestions and implementing any that might make sense to your situation.

1. Run More Miles

Depending on the data you consult, regular runners are putting in 30-35 miles per week on average. While this is a respectable amount and certainly can get you across the finish line of a marathon is it enough to reach your goals?

“Miles make champions.” - Arthur Lydiard

While you may never be a champion at the elite level you can become a champion of your own through a new PR or crossing the finish line of a new race distance. Longer term goals that once seemed out of reach such as qualifying for the Boston Marathon can become reality.

The secret? More running.

The more we run, the better we race. Many research studies have been done that correlate average and peak running mileage as key predictors of performance in marathons for runners of all ability levels – even at elite levels. Dr. Jason Karp has found a strong correlation between training volume and performance in male and female qualifiers for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials marathons.

While we know running more volume is a positive for runners and has been a constant as other things have changed with training theory over the decades since Arthur Lydiard first popularized the approach.

If you determine that you might be lacking in weekly mileage consider increasing slowly and listen to your body while doing so, particularly if you know you have a limit that you tend to bump up against and begin to breakdown. Allow yourself to get comfortable with higher mileage and remember to step back every third or fourth week so your body has an opportunity to recover and avoid overtraining.

Never increase both the volume of mileage and speedwork concurrently as this is a one way ticket to the sidelines.

2. Incorporate Strength Training

If you aren’t engaging in any strength training activities it is a good idea to consider doing so. Running is a very repetitive movement and can over develop the primary running muscles if you only run and fail to strengthen the muscles that support your primary running muscles.

In addition to becoming an overall stronger runner, you will reduce your injury risk.

Strength training can also help you overcome total weekly mileage limits you typically come up against and enable you run more volume.

3. Periodize Your Training

There are literally endless training plans for races of all distances from the 5K to ultra-marathons.

Too many runners use basic schedules of mileage rather than a comprehensive training plan that will allow them to reach their potential. There is a difference. In many cases, there is a lack of awareness of what makes a solid training plan.

How many miles to run and when is only the basic building block of a training plan and not a training plan itself.

Your training should progress in a logical manner in terms of both distance and quality workouts.  This progression should tie directly into specific periods of base building (if necessary), speed building, sharpening and tapering.

The type of quality workouts you conduct change as the weeks progress and should not be the same workout and intensity week after week.

Our training plans and the training plans inside Runner Academy Membership and all custom training plans we design begin with this philosophy.

While running more mileage is important and will help you improve, simply running more mileage alone is not targeted enough to maximize your potential.

4. Perform Quality Workouts

With the mention of quality workouts comes the reality that there are many runners that do not incorporate quality workouts at all. Quality workouts are not just traditional speedwork such as track workouts that are the staple of many running programs but include workouts such as tempo runs, cutdown runs, combo workouts, hill sprints, fartlek workouts and VO2 workouts to name a few.

Many runners tend to perform all of their training at one pace – medium. This will help you get good at that particular pace but will not serve to prepare you to deliver your best effort on race day.

Besides becoming monotonous continual improvement will not occur if you don’t vary your training stimulus with specific workouts designed to get your body comfortable at holding your race pace for extended periods of time, running on tired legs, simulating glycogen depletion at distance events.

Depending on your race distance there should be specific workouts geared at the particular distance and a proper mix of aerobic vs. anaerobic training efforts to develop the proper systems and muscle fibers.

5. Have Accountability

Without having accountability mechanisms in place even the most disciplined runner can get off track or waver in their training. Having a purpose and accountability for your running will lead to increased performance.

If you don’t have a race on the calendar put one on your calendar. Having a hard deadline that only gets closer by the day will provide the motivation to get out the door, hit your paces and get the mileage in.

Have you ever signed up for a race and then not put in the training and hope for the best on race day? When signing up for a race, consider signing up with a friend or a small group of those at or slightly above your ability level to help build some accountability in avoiding embarrassment or excuses on race day.

Much of our training is conducted alone. Whether by choice or by necessity due to schedule running alone exclusively may not be the best strategy for peak performance.

Running with others even occasionally can help you nail key workouts by having the support and accountability of others and can provide the motivation you need to not slow down or cut a key effort short.

Another great option is to “go public” and tell your friends and family about your goals. Once you declare a goal you will be asked from time to time how your preparation is going keeping it top of mind and requiring an answer.

6. Run with Right Form

Have you considered your running form? For some reason technique is not something many runners focus on, especially when first starting out. Everyone knows that practice is the way to improve but in running practice is usually equated with getting out the door and running more rather than starting with the basics of proper form.

In other sports where technique is critical such as swimming, basketball or golf you focus on learning the motions and consistently working on your technique over time. If you play golf and have a bad golf swing you don’t get a better golf swing if you just keep whacking away at the ball. You simply reinforce bad habits which then become harder to break.

The same holds true with running. There is a proper technique to run efficiently. If you run without proper running form you increase the risk of injury, use more energy with every stride and negatively impact your potential race times.

By learning, implementing and practicing Right Form Running you will run faster with fewer injuries and less effort increasing your enjoyment of the sport.

Success will bring more success.

Hopefully one of these tips resonates with you and provides you with something actionable to immediately bring to your running and ultimately get to where you want to be!

I started running 8 years ago with Team in Training for a marathon, using the Galloway method. I’ve been running steadily again (since missing some time while having two kids) for the past two years and I’m wondering if I need to eliminate the walk breaks to improve. What’s your take on walk breaks?

-Susan Priollo

Answer

Dr. Jason Karp is a nationally recognized running and fitness coach, freelance writer and author, and exercise physiologist.

A 2011 IDEA Personal Trainer of the Year award winner which is the fitness industry’s highest award, Dr. Karp has been published in scientific journals including Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, and International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance.

He has taught USA Track & Field’s highest level coaching certification and was an instructor at the USATF/U.S. Olympic Committee’s Emerging Elite Coaches Camp at the U.S. Olympic Training Center.

He is also the co-author of Running For Women and author of Running a Marathon for Dummies.

In this episode Jason and I engage in a detailed discussion of women’s running including:

• Key considerations for female runners
• The effects of estrogen and progesterone on endurance
• How running is affected during each phase of the menstrual cycle
• Best times of the month to increase mileage, run key workouts and race
• Anatomical differences that impact running
• The female athlete triad: 3 risk factors that impact performance
• How to safely lose weight through running without depleting key nutrients
• Mistakes female runners make when trying to lose weight through running
• How to keep weight off for life through running and diet
• The impact of pregnancy on running and what to do when you become pregnant
• Coming back to running after childbirth
• The effects of aging on female runners including menopause

Quick Tip

I share one simple concept that will pay dividends in your training.

Links Mentioned in the Show

runcoachjason.com – Jason’s website

Get expert running information and never miss an episode of your favorite running podcast. App features include:

• Streaming access or download to device to play episodes from anywhere
• Always updated with the latest episodes
• Playback resume (when interrupted by a call or other distraction)
• Quick access to all the contact methods for the show
• Exclusive extras including a 180bpm metronome file!

Since the show’s inception in August 2012 we have grown to nearly 50,000 downloads per month and have featured both everyday runners achieving personal accomplishment through running along with top names in the sport including Dean Karnazes, Kathrine Switzer, Lynn Jennings, Dick Beardsley, Tim Noakes, Matt Fitzgerald and others.

Runner Academy Podcast is just one part of Runner Academy which will soon offer a complete system for successful running including coaching, training courses, video instruction and more.

If you enjoy the podcast already through iTunes or another podcast application, you can continue to do so. This app is just one more way we deliver top running information and inspiration to you.

If you know other runners that don’t already enjoy the show or are unsure of how to listen to podcasts it is now as simple as downloading our free app.

Get the app and then get out and crush it!

Tim holds both Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Science degrees from the University of Cape Town, is rated an A1 scientist by the National Research Foundation of South Africa, and is a Professor in the Discovery Health Chair of Exercise and Sports Science at the University of Cape Town.

He is also the author of Lore of Running, Waterlogged, co-author of Running Injuries, has more than 450 scientific publications to his name and is one of the most respected endurance sports research scientists in the world.

Tim has challenged many existing dogmas in his quest to understand how the body responds to exercise and the associated challenges. He has built a career around sports medicine and medical service given to athletes using research to develop sound nutrition and injury prevention strategies.

In this episode Tim and I discuss a variety of topics in depth related to his own running and lifetime of scientific research including:

• How he got into running on accident
• Going from unable to run 3 miles to completing the Comrades 56 mile Marathon at 7 min/mile just 3 years later
• The importance of running negative splits in your racing
• A key difference between how elite Kenyan runners approach their training compared to the rest of us that you can follow
• Why everyday runners can benefit tremendously from a running coach
• What is critical to run the fastest pace you are capable of
• What makes a great runner

A discussion on his research into The Central Governor Model:

• How your brain determines before you race how you will finish
• Warning signs that you are going out too fast in a race
• How much you really have left in the tank when your brain says stop running
• Ways to expand the time until your brain signals to stop
• How the sensation of fatigue is just a sensation and not your true physical state

Nutrition for runners and why he has changed his long held position on the importance of carbohydrates in running:

• How to determine if a high carbohydrate diet is safe for you
• Why the best diet for running might not be optimal for your overall health
• The case for a high fat, low carbohydrate diet
• Which class of runners might benefit from reducing carbohydrate intake
• Tim’s views on Matt Fitzgerald’s advice on nutrition for runners
• How a high carbohydrate diet impacts your performance as you age

The problem of overhydration by runners in the marathon:

• How to avoid becoming overhydrated
• His thoughts on proper hydration
• The myths of dehydration causing issues
• The influence of the sports drink companies to push hydration products

In all, an hour with one of the leading and status quo challenging minds in endurance sports of our time. And of course, Tim telling you in his own words to get out and crush it!

Tim believes that if you train hard enough and want something bad enough you can achieve it.

Quick Tip

I share strategies for acclimating to warm weather running after a cold spring, or anytime you might go from a cold running environment to a warmer one than you are accustomed to.

Links Mentioned in the Show

The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance
Eating Academy – Peter Attia’s blog on eating
The Lore of Running - Tim’s flagship book on running
Waterlogged - Tim’s latest book on overhydration in endurance sports

At first I wasn’t sure what was meant by the message.

Moments later as we deplaned and went into the terminal I saw the first images of the explosions at the Boston Marathon on CNN which had happened just moments earlier.

More e-mails, tweets and texts started rolling in.

My first thought was, is this for real? My wife said to me that could have been us there today. The sad realization then set in and I told her this could be us at any marathon or large sporting event – not just Boston.

Upon returning home and continuing to follow the developments, reading the outpouring on Twitter and verifying the safety of those I knew of attending or running the race I made the decision to withhold the podcast episode originally scheduled for today.

In the following hours it became apparent to me that temporarily withholding the episode out of respect for those in Boston was not enough. This is not a time to be silent, but rather to comfort, encourage and inspire us all to remain resilient and not let this deter us from running or taking part in our favorite races.

This morning I was at a loss at what to say. What can you say about this tragedy?

I reached out to Kathrine Switzer asking if she could spend a few minutes with us today to share her story and reflections. She understandably was unable to do so with her travel arrangements and other speaking engagements today. However, she suggested I share with you all her remarks given earlier today.

In this special podcast episode, I offer some reflections on the events at The Boston Marathon and also share reflections that were offered by Kathrine Switzer earlier today in a recorded interview with WIXY radio in Champaign, IL.

Next Tuesday, we’ll move forward with the podcast that was originally scheduled for today. But for now we offer our condolences to the victims, thoughts to the families of the wounded and to the people of Boston.

I encourage you to share your stories and thoughts in the comments below.

For many runners qualifying for the Boston Marathon is a goal of a lifetime. It represents the pinnacle of accomplishment for the everyday runner.

To qualify for the Boston Marathon you must run another marathon and meet the minimum standard cut off time for your age group. Depending on your age and gender, the qualifying time can be challenging enough before you factor in the race course, weather and other considerations.

In making an attempt to qualify for Boston, you want every advantage in your favor so that you have the best chance of succeeding.

Not all marathons are the same. Some are in fact better than others when aiming for qualifying for Boston.

The list below was compiled by Marathon Guide and represents the best races to qualify for the Boston Marathon by total number of Boston qualifiers (BQ) in 2012. These are the best marathons in the United States and Canada to run if you have your sights set on lining up in Hopkinton on Patriot’s Day.

Make the first step towards your spot in Beantown. Inside Runner Academy Membership you’ll find a complete system for effectively training for your qualifying race, or any race from the 5K to the Marathon along with accountability and expert guidance from Runner Academy.

Source: http://www.marathonguide.com/races/BostonMarathonQualifyingRaces.cfm?Year=2012

Runners want results now and in some cases yesterday! This is partly due to our culture of instant gratification and also being told to set overly ambitious goals.

Challenging goals that you think aren’t possible are great – but the part that is often left out is the time it might take to get there.

I recently received an e-mail from a listener of the podcast about completing her first marathon and her goals for her next one:

I’m a 36 year old newer runner and recently ran my first marathon in 4:42:07 and just started thinking how cool it would be to run Boston. What do I need to do for my training to qualify in my next marathon?

I’ve given guidance to this runner, but the main problem is focusing only on the goal and accomplishing it right away.

The goal of getting to Boston and qualifying with a marathon time of under 3:40:00 for her age group is 62 minutes away from her current, and only, marathon result. It is a worthy goal to have and one that I think is attainable for this runner, but not in her next marathon which is scheduled for 6 months from now.

Instead, this runner or any runner with ambitious goals should be thinking not in terms of how they accomplish the goal now but instead consider the road map to getting there with incremental steps. Taking this approach will result in a higher probability of attaining your goals.

The Problems with only a Short Term Approach

A short term approach lends itself to a host of potential problems from running too much, too soon, overtraining and becoming injured.

When a runner focuses on going for it all in a short period of time it results in a rapid increase in training often with the thinking of “the harder you train the more results you will see”.

Expecting big results in a short time frame puts undue stress and pressure on the runner which can then lead to psychological issues in addition to the physical risks noted above. As the race date nears closer and the goal is seemingly slipping out of reach it can lead to feelings of despair, desperation and irritability.

The problem isn’t that the goal slipped away – it was never within reach for the given time frame. What has been accomplished is more work and training towards that ultimate goal but instead the work that was put in is viewed as a failure and could lead a runner to give up when they are already on a good path. More time and experience is what is needed.

Some runners will say they don’t have time as they took up running later in life and only have so many years left (often inferring they have only one or two possible good years left before they are too old!). In actuality, regardless of when you start running you can expect improvement for up to 10 years after you first start regardless of the age you begin at.

Sure you have better abilities and might not have to train as hard at a younger age compared to an older age, but that does not mean you can’t continue to improve.

Thinking Longer Term In Your Running

If you approach your distance running from a longer term perspective in years instead of months you will not only have a better chance of attaining your goals, but you will be less likely to end up injured, burned out and you will enjoy many smaller victories along the way. Success breeds success.

This approach also helps make running a lifestyle rather than a one time event completing a bucket list item such as running a marathon and never running again. The more time you spend running the greater the chance your love for the sport will grow.

Keys To Success In Distance Running

The most important component to success in distance events is progression. All of your training is cumulative meaning it builds upon itself. This requires a patience and not expecting to accomplish all of your goals with one race or just one season.

Here are some ways to put progression into practice in your own running and to take a longer term approach:

1. Stick to the training plan.

This doesn’t mean you can’t modify it from time to time to fit your life, but rather train at the level you can currently handle.  Resist the temptation to add mileage or increase paces of runs. Progression takes time over the course of several weeks for each performance gain you specifically target.

A key concept to consider when targeting your training on a specific element to improve upon is to Introduce, Improve and Perfect.

Introduce - Start your training at the appropriate level of difficulty based on your ability and not harder, longer or faster.

Improve - Progressively overload your body with the same or similar stress over the course of about 3 weeks. Research shows that after 3-4 weeks the bulk of performance gains are made for a given training focus.

Perfect - Your body will physically and mentally adapt to the training and it will become less difficult to perform whichever training activity you have worked to perfect. It is at this point you can move to the next level and repeat this cycle.

Training harder than your body is ready for will not help you progress faster to being able to run at that level but instead is a recipe for over training and injury. There are no shortcuts to improvement in running – just consistent, hard work.

2. Set realistic goals.

Before training for a distance event you should have an idea of what your approximate time for the distance should be. From there you can aim to make modest improvements over the course of a training cycle.

Newer runners will make larger gains in their first few races at distance than more experienced runners as gains come more quickly for newer runners and also experience teaches how to avoid common mistakes that might have added significant amounts of time to a race result.

If you have an ambitious goal such as qualifying for Boston and you have little marathon experience you can chip away at the goal making attainable progress with each successive race. Eventually, your BQ time will become the realistic goal from the progression you made over time and you will be very likely to achieve the big goal you originally set out to accomplish.

3. Don’t start each year from zero.

When the training for your event is over, the work you put in is not suddenly gone. It is now part of your foundation to the next level – but only if you don’t step away for several months. Many runners will train hard for several months before a goal race and then not run for several months afterwards usually coinciding with the start of winter and the holidays.

It is very healthy to take a couple weeks off following a goal race and you won’t lose your fitness gains in that amount of time. Just don’t let it turn into months.

You don’t need to train at a high level year round nor is it advised for most runners. However you should maintain your base so that you can keep a majority of your gains and start your next training cycle with the benefit of the work you put in.

It is far easier and effective to maintain your running fitness than to spend time rebuilding it each season.

4. Consider stepping back your race distance for a training cycle.

If you have been in a cycle of training for half and full marathons for several years or focused exclusively on these distances for even one season consider stepping back to shorter distance races when working on distance race time goals.

Getting better at shorter distance helps you at longer distances. The approach you take to training for shorter distance races is fundamentally different in that shorter distance races are run closer to your maximal speed the shorter the event is compared to long distance events such as the marathon.

Training for a short and fast race will not only give you some variety to your training, but also develop core competencies that are essential to getting faster in the distance events such as leg speed, turnover and good form.

You’ll also build a base of faster running at shorter distances that can lead to sustaining such paces for longer workouts in distance training.

I encourage you to evaluate your current running goals and to think about how taking a longer term approach will improve the odds of achieving what you ultimately want from your racing. Consistent measured progress is the right formula for success.

Inside Runner Academy Membership you’ll learn more about training theory and best practices along with how to set realistic running goals while keeping your motivation to see them through!

In 1987, he won the U.S. National Biathlon Long Course Championship and won the Smoky Mountain Marathon in 1998. He has also completed the Ironman five times and the Badwater 146 through Death Valley.

He has also cycled, unsupported and by himself, across the country twice.

He is perhaps best known for inventing the Yasso 800s, a marathon-training workout used by many.

A 2007 inductee into the Running USA Hall of Champions, today he serves as Chief Running Officer at Runner’s World and travels nearly every weekend to races across the country and around the world meeting runners. Many runners refer to him as “the mayor of running.”

He has also authored his memoir: My Life on the Run: The Wit, Wisdom, and Insights of a Road Racing Icon.

In this episode Bart and I discuss:

• His humble beginnings in the sport
• A day in the life as Chief Running Officer at Runner’s World
• Trends he is seeing on the ground in our sport
• The impact of commercialization and rising race entry fees
• The races he feels every runner should race at least once
• His thoughts on the ultra running movement
• His strategies for getting through tough patches in a race
• How Lyme Disease has impacted his running
• Making running a lifestyle rather than a race bucket list goal
• How he discovered the correlation of 10 x 800 (Yasso 800s) as a marathon time predictor

Bart believes that winning isn’t the payoff in running but rather the reward is living the lifestyle and embracing the journey. It is not only about finishing, it is about moving forward.

Quick Tip

How to select the right race for you and things to consider when choosing which races to run.

Links Mentioned in the Show

My Life on the Run - Bart’s memoir
BartYasso.com – Bart’s website
@BartYasso – Follow Bart on Twitter

In this quick win video, you will learn how to examine your shoes to gain insights into your running form along with how to evaluate when a shoe is worn out.

You are out enjoying your run or about to get a new training PR and the next thing you know you look down and those shoelaces have come undone yet again! Frustrating! Thankfully there is something really simple you can do about it – tie them properly.

Most of us learned how to tie our shoes at a young age and likely have thought nothing of it since then. It’s automatic. But if you are doing it wrong you will notice it as a runner.

The Problem

Most people tie an unbalanced knot which is known as a granny knot.

A granny knot is the most common reason for shoelaces to come undone. It is caused when the starting knot and finishing bow don’t balance each other. If your shoelaces are angled across your shoe or even perpendicular you have a granny knot.

You want to tie a balanced knot also known as a reef knot. A reef knot will not come undone when properly tied. This knot will sit sideways across the shoe, and even tightens when you are underway rather than working itself loose. As an added bonus, it looks better than a granny knot.

The Fix

So how do you tie a balanced reef knot instead of a granny? Quite simple actually.

In fact, you only have to change one step of your shoe tying process for trouble free running! Watch the video below and I will show you how.

While there is a lot of information published on the sport of running from training, nutrition and scientific perspectives little to nothing existed chronicling the true thoughts of runners everywhere until Bob published his first book I Run, Therefore I Am Nuts in 2001.

His collection of humorous and satirical essays on various running topics proved so popular that he has followed it up with a sequel releasing I Run, Therefore I am STILL Nuts in 2012.

While we share some laughs in this episode, we focus on maintaining perspective and not taking your running so seriously all of the time. Most of the time is allowable.

In this episode Bob and I discuss:

• How to figure out what works for you
• The importance of sticking to what works for you
• Approaching your running as “an experiment of one”
• How he overcame a decade of injuries in his 40s
• The importance of variety in your training
• The importance of perspective
• Running perspectives as you age
• Taking time to enjoy running for what it is

I Run Therefore I Am STILL Nuts brings out the humor in situations that every runner can relate to:

• Suffering from RWIA, otherwise known as Running Watch Information Addiction
• The addictive nature of High Intensity Interval Training
• The depths of despair upon learning your favorite shoe will be discontinued
• Embracing the saving grace of age graded race time calculators
• Attempting to run with a reluctant canine companion
• Trying out running in the oxymoron of barefoot shoes

Whether you are just getting acquainted with the joys of running, or you can recite the brand and model number of your last twelve running shoe purchases, you’ll identify with this book. Allow Bob to replace your side stitches with stitches from laughter and get you into your target heart rate zone via tickling your funny bone.

Quick Tip

I share my thoughts on taking a holistic approach to your running to avoid stressing out over big workouts on your training schedule in the future or a workout that didn’t go as planned.

Signed Book Giveaway Contest Winner

Congratulations to Kelly McBride of Lexington, IL who won the giveaway of a signed copy of Bob’s book I Run, Therefore I am Still Nuts!

Links Mentioned in the Show

RunningLaughsBlog.com – Bob’s Blog
Running Laughs Facebook Page
I Run, Therefore I am Nuts – Bob’s Original Book
I Run, Therefore I am STILL Nuts – Bob’s 2nd Book
The Stick - Massage and Injury Prevention Tool

That’s right, easy runs are anything but easy.

On it’s face this does not make sense, but easy runs are often the culprit for injuries, poor performance in harder workout sessions, falling short of expectations on race day and not reaching your potential as a runner.

Why is this?

Just about all of the reasons can be traced back to mental discipline and lack of knowledge.

Five Reasons Why Easy Runs are Difficult

1. They are often not viewed as critical to successful training and are the first to be dropped in a busy schedule

2. There is a misconception that easy runs are “junk miles”

3. The shorter distance of some easy runs leads runners to run them harder than prescribed to feel like they are doing anything worthwhile

4. Running fast becomes easier as you improve making running slower a challenging exercise

5. The benefits of easy runs are not widely understood beyond “recovering” from a hard workout

Overlooked Benefits of Easy Running

Have a look at all of the benefits that your easy runs provide you as a runner. These components are all critical to your running ability, yet easy running is one of the most effective ways to improve on all of them simultaneously.

Let’s take a look as to why each of these are important and how easy running supports these developments in runners.

Slow Twitch Muscle Fiber Development

Slow twitch muscle fibers are the workhorse for you as a runner. They are extremely efficient at using oxygen to generate fuel for continuous muscle contractions over a long timeframe. They are aerobic in nature meaning they can operate for a long period of time without fatigue. If you run distance events, they are key for success.

Unfortunately, genetics play a role in how many you have, but easy running can help you develop more of these precious fibers. The reason for this is the slower runs recruit these fibers and repeated activity demand more be created in response. While there is a limit to what you can develop, you want as many as you can.

As a bonus, slow twitch muscle fibers provide a host of other benefits including the ability to burn fat for energy (key to not hitting the wall in a marathon) and an increased amount of capillaries and mitochondria.

Increased Capillary Capacity

An increased capillary capacity means that oxygen can be exchanged in your cells more efficiently. This means your muscles can get the oxygen they need to keep running faster the more your capillaries are developed. Think of a highway being congested and adding more lanes – the result is more efficient travel.

Mitochondrial Development

Distance running is largely an aerobic activity. On the most basic level, mitochondria are our aerobic engines that power this activity. A key purpose is to burn fat to convert to energy. The more you require your body to do this they will adapt to the demand and over the course of several months grow larger in size to handle the increased load.  As mentioned, your ability to burn fat is a key way to help avoid crashing during your runs of longer distances.

Aerobic Capacity

Aerobic capacity is the maximum amount of oxygen that your body can utilize during any form of exercise. As a newer runner, you may not be able to run for a very long period of time before your heart rate increases and you become winded. As you progress or if you are an experienced runner this time is extended by your increased aerobic capacity.

Easy running enables your lungs and cardiovascular system to more efficiently deliver oxygen and for your heart to deliver more blood which by consequence means more oxygen can be carried.

If you are looking to run longer distances at a given pace, easy running specifically trains the aerobic systems that make this possible.

Fat Burning For Energy

As your pace becomes faster you will need more carbohydrates to sustain your faster pace. The ability for your body to burn fat efficiently for energy can reduce the need for excessive amount of carbohydrate and leave you less likely to hit the wall.

As mentioned, easy running promotes mitochondria development which improve your ability to source more energy from fat for a longer period of time.

Increased Running Economy

Easy running promotes improved running economy. Think of running economy as being similar to fuel economy in your car. The more miles per gallon (MPG) the further you can drive on the same amount of fuel compared to a car that is less economical. Your running economy is the amount of oxygen that is needed to run a given pace.

The more economical you are with oxygen, the less of it you will need to run a given pace compared to another runner.

A runner that needs less oxygen to sustain a given pace can run longer at that pace than one who requires more oxygen.

Improved Muscle Tendon Strength

Running puts additional pressure on your tendons and joints. As you increase your pace the force increases.

Easy running allows your body to gradually adapt and strengthen your tendons to be able to sustain greater forces. If you run your easy runs too fast you are putting an increased load on your tendons in addition to harder workouts that are especially demanding. This increases the risk of injury.

Bone Strength

Bone density is improved through easy running. Sustained faster pace running puts increased stress on the bones just as with the case of muscle tendons. Bones that are subjected to repeated high intensity efforts are more likely to fracture.

However, sustained easy running puts less pressure on the bones and causes them to adapt to your running and become stronger to support increased activity.

Increased Glycogen Storage

Glycogen is a form of energy storage. When you increase your carbohydrate intake in the weeks before a race your body stores some of the excess in the form of glycogen. But it will only store what is often demanded. As a runner, you will tax your body and the glycogen reserves through longer stretches of easy running.

Since the body adapts to change it will increase the amount of glycogen stored in your muscles and liver to sustain longer periods of running. Run too fast and you will tax your anaerobic system instead and not get to the point where you can cause adaptations to your ability to store glycogen.

The more glycogen you can store, the less carbohydrate you will need to consume when running to fuel a given amount of effort, the longer you can put off needing to burn fat in a race such as the marathon and you push back the time you are likely to hit the wall.

Base Mileage Building

In order to sustain longer distance runs and also your ability to perform harder workouts at your best you need a proper running base to effectively do so. You can run more miles at an easier effort than at a harder effort. In terms of building a base to support your formalized training easy running is the most effective manner to accomplish this.

Active Recovery

While true rest days are important, running a slower paced effort following a longer distance run helps promote circulation, removal of waste products and has some scientific evidence to suggest it speeds recovery. This is only in the form of an easy effort. A hard effort following a hard effort can lead to overtraining.

Impact Of Improper Execution of Easy Runs

Without easy runs as part of your training plan, you miss out on all of these benefits that are critical to your success.

Allowing your easy runs to become run at a faster pace is not improving you as a runner, but rather training entirely different energy systems that you are likely targeting in harder workouts such as speed sessions. If easy runs are always run at a harder than necessary pace you will experience reduced performance on your harder workout days and stress the body to the point of risking injury and overtraining.

Your aerobic system is what will power a majority of your running, and almost all of your distance running. Fast running does not train your aerobic system but rather your anaerobic system instead. As a result you don’t improve the foundation of your energy system for running.

On the flipside, you do want to make sure that you are not running too easy that you are barely exercising. If you run your easy runs too slow you are also getting none of the benefits described above and instead just wearing down your body without aerobic benefit.

Strategies for Effective Easy Running

Easy runs are best performed at 1 – 2 minutes slower than your projected marathon pace, regardless of the distance you are training for.

If you are newer to running, focus on time on your feet at a slower pace for your easy running. More advanced runners can run the faster side of the range if desired.

A GPS watch or heart rate monitor can be an effective way to monitor your pace or effort while performing an easy run. Make an effort to feel what an easy pace feels like and train your body to be comfortable getting into rhytym at the slower pace. This may require you having to consistently monitor your pace and making a concerted effort to slow down often. It will become easier with experience.

For running with a heart rate monitor, you should not be running in excess of 60% of your max heart rate.

Value Your Easy Days

Hopefully you now appreciate the importance of easy running as part of your training and how skipping them, running them faster than prescribed or considering them as junk miles is putting you at a disadvantage. Just because you don’t feel as spent at the end of an easy run compared to a harder effort does not mean it is any less worthy of a workout or requires modification to make it seem worthwhile.

The more knowledge you have about the purpose of each run you do, the easier it will be to stick to your training plan and ultimately achieve your running goals.

Matt Fitzgerald is an endurance sports writer, coach, and nutritionist. His work appears regularly in publications such as Competitor, Men’s Journal, and Triathlete and he has authored books on endurance nutrition, including Performance Nutrition for Runners and Racing Weight.

He has also provided nutritional advice to world-class runners, including Kara Goucher and Ryan Hall.

His just released book, The New Rules of Marathon and Half-Marathon Nutrition: A Cutting-Edge Plan to Fuel Your Body Beyond ‘The Wall’ will be of particular interest to those with questions on how to properly fuel for your half or full marathon and how to avoid the dreaded wall.

Perhaps what is best about Matt, is his ability to take the science behind why things work in training and racing and making it easier to understand.

In this episode Matt and I discuss:

• What else besides carbohydrates are crucial to success in distance events
• What to do if you get an upset stomach during a race
• Matt’s thoughts on how to select nutrition
• Energy bars, sports drinks, gels, GU – what’s best
• The importance of running your easy runs slow
• Mastering eating and drinking while running
• His advice on planning your race fueling strategy
• Where to go eat when you are short on time
• How the best runners in the world fuel
• Vegan and vegetarian considerations

In The New Rules, Matt cuts through the myths, distilling the most up–to–date science to help runners overcome the universally experienced nutritional barriers that prevent success in the marathon and half-marathon.

From basic tenets of training to nutrition guidelines, The New Rules is the first resource for runners to fully integrate nutrition with training for a complete and systematic pre-race plan. His powerful and easy–to–use tools will enable runners of all levels to attain their ideal racing weight, calculate their precise daily energy needs, and formulate a custom nutrition plan.

Quick Tip

If you have been performing most of your running indoors during the winter I share strategies for you to successfully transition back outside and considerations when doing so.

Signed Book Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to podcast listener Lisa Smith of Bend, OR who won a signed copy of Matt Fitzgerald’s New Rules of Marathon and Half-Marathon Nutrition!

Links Mentioned in the Show

mattfitzgerald.org - Matt Fitzgerald’s website
Get Matt’s Latest Book - The New Rules of Marathon and Half-Marathon Nutrition

Here is one we aren’t going to see on the cover of Runner’s World. I am sorry, but since you have given me the opportunity to ask an experienced coach any question about running…why is it that 20-30 minutes into a run I have a urgent need to have a bowel movement?

I always carry a plastic bag with a small amount of toilet paper, and I can be super quick, but what about a major marathon? Not always a port-a-potty and usually a big crowd. I hope it doesn’t need further explanation, but this isn’t the type of thing that I can hold for more than 10 minutes.

-Patrick Mohney

Answer

Dick Beardsley is a best selling author and champion – in running and in life.

He began as a back of pack cross country runner at his high school simply in search of a varsity letterman’s jacket and in just a few short years found himself in the Guinness Book of World Records with 13 consecutive marathon PRs.

Of these finishes two were in dramatic fashion including finishing the inaugural London Marathon in a 1st place tie with Inge Simonsen holding hands at the finish line as neither man had won a marathon before and the now famous Duel in the Sun with Alberto Salazar at the 1982 Boston Marathon where both men were neck and neck for the final miles resulting in one of the most memorable finishes ever in the marathon.

Although his competitive running career as an elite athlete ended in 1988, Dick is still the 3rd fastest American born runner in the marathon distance, running 2:08:53 in the 1982 Boston Marathon.

But Dick is more than a running champion – he is a fighter. After a series of near-fatal accidents and a journey of self-discovery, Dick has turned his life around. Today with two knee replacements, he is enjoying his running more than ever and in addition to running he has become an avid cyclist and has added duathlons and triathlons to his lifestyle.

In this episode Dick shares his running journey including:

• The real (and funny) reason he got into running
• How he progressed from being an average runner to a marathon champion in a few short years
• The dramatic recount of his 1982 Duel in The Sun with Alberto Salazar
• How to keep going when your body wants you to stop
• The importance of mental training in racing
• Coming back from rock bottom

Dick will leave you knowing that anything is possible, despite any roadblocks.   With perseverance and courage, you will know that you can take the next step when you don’t think that you can or have it in you.

His experiences in life and running will motivate you, bring you to laughter, tears, the pinnacle, the bottom, and back up again.

Quick Tip

If you are planning on racing later this year and structured training has not yet begun or if you haven’t kept up with your running as much as you would have liked over the winter, I’ll share what you can be doing now to prepare so you are ready to go when your structured training begins.

Links Mentioned in the Show

dickbeardsleyfoundation.org – Dick’s foundation for healthy active lifestyles and chemical dependency education
dickbeardsleyrun.com - Dick Beardsley 1/2 Marathon & 5K in Detroit Lakes, MN
Duel In The Sun – Watch the dramatic finish of the 1982 Boston Marathon

What are your thoughts on running with a cold? Will it keep me from getting well or impact my running performance?

-Greg Jones

Answer

It is a fine line when you are feeling ill whether or not you should run.

The good news is a common cold is not typically something that has to sideline your running. Depending on the severity, you may want to curtail your workouts and stick to easier runs vs. maximum speed efforts.

One study at Ball State University by Tom Weidner, Ph.D. took two groups of 30 runners each and inoculated them with the common cold.  (Who would willingly agree to this test?) One group ran up to 40 minutes every day for a week. The other group did not engage in any exercise or running.

According to the results of his study, “the two groups didn’t differ in the length or severity of their colds.” In another study that he conducted, Weidner found that running with a cold didn’t compromise performance.

So when should you take a sick day?

If you are running a fever over 99°F, have a sinus infection, are experiencing any flu like symptoms or have been prescribed antibiotics, it is appropriate to take a sick day and up to 2 to 3 additional days off from your training to be sure your body has cleared the illness.

Another good test to decide if you should run or not is to consider if you have any symptoms below the neck. If you do, best to take the day off.

Exercise will not help you “sweat it out” or recover any sooner from a cold. Always listen to your body and use your best judgement.

References
Weidner, T., Cranston, T., Schurr, T., & Kaminsky, L. (1998). The effect of exercise training on the severity and duration of a viral upper respiratory illness. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 30(Suppl. 11), 1578-1583.

I often find my pace slowing late in a marathon. I don’t feel as if I am hitting the wall as I am properly fueling my body during the entire race and from experience I know the feeling of hitting the wall.  This is different. My legs are just tired. Is there anything I can do or is it just too difficult for me to believe I can run the same pace for all 26.2 miles?

-Jon Finkel

Answer

For many runners long runs in their marathon training programs are run at one pace – medium or even easy. Regardless of the distance the runs are run consistently at the same pace.

This stems from some popular internet training plans that prescribe this approach. While this is a good approach when building your base and endurance early in a marathon training plan, it is not conditioning you to the rigors of running your goal marathon pace, and holding that pace late into the race.

There are two issues here.  The first is not conducting any of your long run training at goal marathon pace. The second is not conducting any of your marathon training at goal marathon pace when you are tiring later in the run.

To overcome this problem, you need to consider the principle of specificity. In order to perform better late in your marathon and hold your pace you need to specifically simulate that condition in your training.

When conducting speed workouts or runs at harder paces you are often on fairly fresh legs.  To simulate the condition of running your goal pace later in the race when your legs are tired, I recommend you have at least one long run that you run at least 10-14 miles of it at goal marathon pace and add a couple of fast finish long runs in the later stages of your training.

These runs should be scheduled in the final weeks of your training ahead of the taper period after you have built your endurance base from those slower long runs at the beginning of your training.

Having a long run that you conduct a majority of at your goal marathon pace teaches your body what it is like to hold that pace for long periods of time.

Modifying a medium pace long run (80% of your goal marathon pace) to incorporate a fast finish at your goal marathon pace in the final few miles of the run trains your body to hold the pace later in the race when your legs are tired.

These strategies will help you overcome this barrier in your running allowing you to finish strong.  This type of training is also incorporated in our custom marathon training plans inside Runner Academy Membership.

In this second part of the series, we will explore the psychology behind overtraining, the signs and symptoms along with solutions to overcome this.

The psychological factors of overtraining are just as important if not more important than the physical factors. It is often the mind that drives an athlete into an overtrained state, rather than a poorly designed training plan or too much stress on the body at any given time.

Most psychological reasons for overtraining are a combination of fear, lack of confidence, a more is better mindset and competitive forces.

All of these factors are with good reason. Formally training for a race of any distance is a large commitment of time, lifestyle, in some cases monetary considerations and putting yourself out there to be publicly measured in the form of race results. You want to do it right and obtain the best result you are capable of.

Fear

Fear is perhaps the most powerful of the psychological factors. Fear can be due to not feeling that you are doing enough to prepare, not having a relevant experience to compare to for validation of what you are doing or fear of doing the wrong things to prepare.

If you have a social circle that includes other runners you are undoubtedly discussing your training strategies, races and more amongst each other. You may hear how someone that you perceive similar to your ability level is preparing and compare it to your own efforts leading to questioning what you are doing which leads to fear.

Fear can lead to overtraining by incorporating more into your training than outlined in your plan. It could include adding many elements from outside sources that when added to your training regimen becomes just enough to cause an overuse injury.

Lack of Confidence

If you are training for a new race distance for the first time you don’t have a baseline to compare it to. For example, training for your first marathon is mentally more challenging than preparing for subsequent ones as you then have prior experience to take into consideration when planning your preparation.

You may start off from the beginning with the idea that you don’t think you can accomplish the task ahead causing you to decide to do more than necessary to prepare in order to make sure there is no chance you will have under trained and fail on race day.

The fact is if you follow even 75% of your training plan for a marathon there is little doubt your body will be able to complete the distance, but if you over train the risk of developing an injury during the race from being on the cusp of injury from your training is very high.

More Is Better

This most commonly manifests itself in the form of modifying training to be more rigorous than prescribed.

For example, an easy run of just a few miles at a slow pace during a marathon training program may seem like a waste of time or not providing you any benefit compared to the latest long run you recently conquered or a speed workout that left you feeling as if you really accomplished something. It can be easy to fall into the pattern of running a short workout hard or adding a few more miles on.

Your mind will convince you that more is better. The cumulative effect of running easy and recovery workouts as hard training runs is one of the top reasons a runner becomes injured.

For many this attitude towards exercise has been ingrained upon them since a young age. ‘No pain no gain’ may have been a mantra you were taught.

When combined with fear, lack of confidence and competitive forces this is a recipe for over training. As you develop as a runner, you will train your mind to value the rest and recovery days as much as the key workouts you perform.

Competitive Forces

Competitive forces whether they be against yourself or against other runners are powerful drivers of sticking to your running, but they can often lead to overtraining.  Similar mental factors are at work here as in the ‘more is better’ mentality.

Many runners think that if they put in more work than the runner they are competing against they will outperform them. Perhaps, but only to a point. Each runner is unique as to what their ability is, what needs to be worked on to improve, years of experience in the sport and total volume that can be tolerated without injury.

When you only account for what more you can do instead of considering the why for your preparation efforts it can lead to over training.

Psychological Signs and Symptoms of Overtraining

Overtraining often presents itself first with psychological signs before any physical signs become present. Here are some of the common psychological signs of overtraining:

• Changes in personality
• Unable to concentrate on a task
• A compulsive need to exercise
• Decreased self-esteem
• Lack of motivation to exercise
• Difficulty concentrating during school or work
• Fear of competition
• General apathy
• Giving up when faced with challenge
• Mood swings and general irritability
• Depression (in severe cases)
• Loss of enthusiasm for the sport
• Repeatedly searching for new training methods or plans

Identifying these warning signs and taking corrective action including rest and reducing training volume accordingly until resolved can be very effective in preventing injury.

Solutions

1. Stick to a training plan for the entire cycle
Unless the training you are engaged in has a compelling reason as to why it should be discontinued you should see it through to the end of the training cycle. Only after completing a training cycle can you evaluate how things went objectively.

If you change plans during your training once or more you won’t be able to determine what led to the outcome with any reasonable measure of certainty. Allowing yourself to change course in the middle of a training cyle puts you on a path of constantly seeking new information, not performing anything as fully intended and getting results, lowering your confidence and failing to reach your potential.

Many plans including your custom plan inside Runner Academy Membership are designed with periodization in mind.  Changing mid-cycle could reduce the effectiveness of the training you have already done.

The same goes for a coach. If you hire a running coach, trust them and follow the plan. Only consider changing a coach after your competition. Give them and yourself the benefit of time and experience with the system before evaluating the results.  Comparing one training cycle to another is the best way to objectively evaluate how things went.  You need to allow time for the results to present themselves.

2. Trust your training
Refer back frequently to why you have selected the training program that you have. Your reasons then should be your reasons now. If you are doubting things, ask yourself what has changed since you started to cause concern? Many times the answer will be nothing except the opinions of others along with doubt and fear itself.

3. Keep a training log
Keep a detailed training log of your workouts as you progress. When you start, write down the goal for the training period and why the plan you have selected will get you there. Write down how you feel after each workout and if things didn’t go as well your assessment as to why. Were you ill? Was the weather at fault? Under stress at work or school? These can provide valuable clues later that you may forget.

It will also serve to give you the confidence later that you have adequately prepared when you look back on the total body of work that went into your training, rather than just how your last workout went.

4. Ask Questions
Doubt and fear can creep into the mind of any runner. Ask questions of your coach or the designer of your training plan as to how it is designed, and why certain workouts are prescribed.  By resolving any questions you are more likely to be confident and less likely to go astray.

5. Educate yourself
Be a student of your own sport. Have a general knowledge of why you are doing what you are doing. You don’t need to understand all the science behind it, but have a good idea at a high level of why you are doing what you are doing. This will boost your confidence and remove doubts about your training.

For more on overtraining listen to Matt’s interview with expert guest Dr. Jack Raglin on Runner Academy Podcast episode 15.

Also be sure to review our course on overtraining along with over 40 other running topics, custom training schedules and more as part of Runner Academy Membership.

He has also been acknowledged as the “great bearded sage” of barefoot running in the bestseller Born to Run, by Chris McDougall, who calls Ken Bob “The Master of Barefoot Running.”

Ken Bob has completed more than 400 races barefoot, including 79 marathons barefoot (and one marathon in shoes), and one ultra-marathon. Ken Bob has qualified for the Boston Marathon several times and has ran it twice.

He completed a marathon-a-month challenge in 2004, which he topped with 14 marathons in 2006, including 4 marathons in a 15-day period – all barefoot. He believes that running shouldn’t be work, but rather fun and enjoyable.

He’s also the author of Barefoot Running Step by Step along with co-author Roy Wallack.

In this episode, we talk all things barefoot running with a particular focus on those that are curious, want to experiment or looking to get started. Some of the topics we discuss include:

• Why barefoot running
• How to properly start off with barefoot running
• Why minimalist shoes are not suitable to “transition” to barefoot running
• The importance of landing gently on your feet
• Common fears debunked about glass, hard surfaces and injuries to your feet
• Why running on soft surfaces is not optimal when first starting out

If you aren’t sure if barefoot running is for you, Ken Bob still offers experience from barefoot running that can help you improve your running form and reducing the risk of injury. He offers fresh ideas and perspective from his 4 decades of experience.  Some of it may surprise you!

Quick Tip

In the quick tip, I offer a tip on using your upper body to increase your turnover towards the goal of 180 steps per minute.

Links Mentioned in the Show

barefootrunning.com - Ken Bob Saxton’s website on barefoot running
Barefoot Running Step by Step – Ken Bob’s book
Yahoo! Original Barefoot Running Forum

It isn’t something that happens overnight but rather a gradual process that builds upon itself in successive workouts until it manifests itself in the form of reduced performance, fatigue or injury.

In this two part series, we will explore both the physical and mental components to this problem.

Understanding how it happens from both perspectives is essential to preventing overtraining so that you can identify what causes it and be on the lookout early to prevent it.

Understanding A Workout Cycle

The fitness level of a human body in a workout cycle can be broken down into four segments: initial baseline fitness, training, recovery, and supercompensation.

Everyone starts out at their baseline level of fitness before any training begins.  When you are not actively training this is the level of fitness your body tends to move towards as your natural ability.

Upon engaging in a workout, your level of fitness actually begins to decrease while performing the workout and you end at a state of having less fitness than when you began.

If you think about it logically this makes sense.  If you run a marathon you are not going to be at the same level of fitness to run another one at the same effort the following day or even the following few days.

After training, the body enters a recovery period responding to the workout you engaged in.  During this time your level of fitness increases back up to the initial baseline fitness level you began at before you conducted your workout.

Once it reaches that point your body will then enter a period of supercompensation in which it builds itself to a higher level of fitness in anticipation of the next training session.

The supercompensation period is when your body is at a level of fitness higher than when you started. This is your body’s response and adaptation to the training stimulus so that it is able to perform more efficiently next time.

If there are no further workouts over a period of time, the body’s fitness level will slowly decline back towards the initial fitness level. You must use it or lose it over time.

A Successful Training Model

The key to successful training is executing targeted workouts that have a specific purpose and adequate recovery time before engaging in the next workout within the window of supercompensation.  There is a peak period of supercompensation within the cycle when executing your next workout is most optimal.

The chart below illustrates this concept:

Beginning at your baseline fitness level you conduct a workout and end up at a decreased level of fitness. After a recovery to your baseline level of fitness you enter a window of supercompensation where your body is stronger than it was before you engaged in the prior workout.  Within this window there is a peak period when further training is most effective to maximize further fitness gains.

Unfortunately, there is no hard rule of when peak supercompensation occurs.  Typical ranges are from 48 to 72 hours after completion of your workout, but it varies greatly depending on the intensity of the training and which systems were trained.  There is no set number of hours that are optimal as a general guideline.

Training affects many different bodily functions and parameters.  Each bodily function or parameter has a different recovery time, a different amount of time needed to reach peak supercompensation, and a different amount of time between a supercompensation peak and return to base fitness.

Your goal as a runner is not to try to figure out that optimal moment, but rather to conduct your subsequent workout within the window of supercompensation so your body can adapt and improve based on prior workouts.  This way you avoid training in the same manner again too soon leading to overtraining, or too long afterwards resulting in making little to no improvement over time by returning to baseline fitness.

While the above chart shows a linear relationship between training and improvement, the supercompensation cycle is not linear indefinitely.  After 28 days a majority of training adaptations are made and you will begin to plateau in further gains.  This is known as a mesocycle in your training.  After this period it is best to focus on making adaptations to other systems.

Proper recovery need not only be rest, but active recovery such as easy runs, cross-training or training other systems are all activities that can be conducted while in the recovery period for the main training activity.

All good race training plans including the custom plans inside Runner Academy Membership structure your training accordingly to ensure you maximize your fitness gains without overtraining.

The Cause Of Overtraining

Now that you have an understanding of a successful training model and an understanding of how you improve as a runner from your workouts let’s explore how overtraining occurs and the impact to your training.

There are several ways that a runner can overtrain:

• Increasing mileage too soon
• Conducting successive hard training sessions
• Conducting hard training sessions after long endurance sessions
• Training harder than prescribed (i.e. running recovery runs at race pace, adding miles)
• Not taking rest days

Engaging in any of these behaviors does not allow the supercompensation cycle to run the course and instead of making measured improvement from adaptations from training, you actually decrease your fitness with each successive workout.

The chart below illustrates this concept:

While fitness levels continue to decrease with each successive workout the risk of injury increases.  A point is eventually reached where injury or burnout occurs that forces the runner to stop training or to take time away.

When the cycle of overtraining is finally broken, your body does not improve as a result from your hard efforts.  Instead, it gradually recovers to your baseline level of fitness that you started with.  Essentially, all of your efforts were for nothing.

Most runners enter the cycle of overtraining and only recover from it when an injury occurs or time away from running such as a vacation takes place.  For runners that consistently overtrain, little progress is made towards achieving their running goal.

When a lot of work is put into training without seeing good results this can be one of the causes.

Hopefully this illustrates the importance of not only adhering to a well planned training system, but to value your rest, recovery and easy days.  Simple things such as adding more miles to your short recovery runs or running easy runs at race pace will not make you a better runner but instead put you on a path of decreased fitness and at higher risk of injury.  Neither are productive to achieving your running goal.

Physical Signs and Symptoms of Overtraining

Knowing the signs of overtraining and identifying them early is key to preventing a situation from negatively impacting your running.  Common warning signs include:

• Chronic fatigue, feeling drained all of the time, lack of energy
• Mild soreness in the legs that does not resolve
• General aches and pains that are ongoing
• Specific pain in muscles and joints
• Insomnia
• Decreased appetite
• Increased incidence of injuries
• Headache
• Sudden reduction in performance (Training voulme and intensity, race results)
• Decreased immunity (increased number of respiratory infections, sore throat)

In part 2 of this series, we’ll explore the psychological reasons for overtraining so that you can develop mental discipline necessary to stay on track towards your goal! Click here to see part 2.

For more on overtraining listen to Matt’s interview with expert guest Dr. Jack Raglin on Runner Academy Podcast episode 15.

Also be sure to review our course on overtraining along with over 40 other running topics, custom training schedules and more as part of Runner Academy Membership.

She has won more United States women’s cross country titles than anyone in history with 9 titles over 12 years from 1985 until 1996, including 3 consecutive world championship titles in women’s cross country from 1990-92.

She has also won 10 United States outdoor champion titles and set the USA women’s indoor 5,000 m along with a record in the 10,000 m of 31:19.89 which lasted for a decade until broken by Deena Kastor.  She also claims the USA 10K road race record of 31:06 as of the time of this recording.

In addition, she is a 3 time Olympian and won the bronze medal in the 10,000 m event at the Barcelona games in 1992.

Her story is one of peaks and troughs.  From being the slowest runner on the 9th grade boys cross country team to becoming the most highly sought after college recruit only to have an uninspiring college performance and moments of self reflection before she accomplished greatness.

In this episode you’ll learn why regardless of how a race goes, there is always a take away.  She reaffirms the importance of understanding your motivations for running to keep you focused and consistently working towards your running goals.

If you encounter periods of losing focus or motivation, Lynn’s story will resonate with you.  In fact she quit numerous times in her college career and after an unsuccessful Olympic trials in 1984. She’ll share how it happened to her and how she overcame it.

She also discusses how your mental strength as a runner is key to bringing out the best performance you are capable of while stressing how running is a long term process to reach your potential.

Lynn also shares her strategies for mentally preparing for your key races, as she reflects on her preparations and experience leading up to her 1992 Olympic final along with a tip to make sure you finish with the best time possible.

Quick Tip

In the quick tip, do you do the marathon shuffle?  I’ll explain what it is, and how to break this habit as a distance runner which will allow you to run more economically with proper mechanics for speed.

Links Mentioned in the Show

craftsbury.com - Website of the summer running camp Lynn Jennings directs in Vermont

She came from humble beginnings as a slow runner joining the men’s cross country team at Syracuse University as no women’s team existed.  That soon led to her desire to run the Boston Marathon.

Her persistence brought her to Hopkinton leading to her now famous moment in the 1967 Boston Marathon where she barely evaded physical removal from the marathon by race director Jock Semple.

That moment became the catalyst that later allowed her to focus her efforts in creating women’s racing events around the world that ultimately led to the inclusion of the women’s marathon in the Olympic Games.  She has devoted her life to empowering women to have opportunities in running and in life.

In this episode, you’ll live the moment in Boston that changed the marathon through her own words.

Hear her reaction, fears and thoughts as she crossed the finish line as the first official female finisher of the race and what it meant to women everywhere.

She also shares her wisdom from decades of training and championing causes that have literally changed the world.  Her belief is that just having opportunity changes lives.  Everyone can be their own hero in their life.

If you think training in tough conditions is hard today, wait until you hear how she prepared during the winter of 1966-67 for the 1967 Boston Marathon.  She shares her thoughts on training in adverse conditions.

If the Boston Marathon is in your future or if you hope to qualify for it someday, you’ll hear her advice for training effectively and crushing it on race day.

Kathrine’s story is sure to inspire you.

Quick Tip

In the quick tip, I share a way to treat pain from injury or muscle soreness using things you already have around your home.

Links Mentioned in the Show

marathonwoman.com – Kathrine Switzer’s website
facebook.com/KathrineSwitzer – Kathrine’s Facebook Page
illinoismarathon.com – Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon
Podcast Episode 5 – Alice Mansfield’s Interview: Never To Old To Run

The effects of hot weather on your running are quite clear – you will need to slow your pace, put very focused attention on hydration, and watch for warning signs of heat exhaustion.

In short, your performance in hot temperatures is not the same as it would be on an optimal 50°F day.  You’ll run slower and maybe not able to run as far as you planned.

But what about cold temperatures?  How much is your performance impacted?  Is it safe?  Can your lungs freeze?  Humans are actually warm weather mammals and we only thrive in colder climates with clothing and ability to shelter ourselves from prolonged exposure to the cold.

As a result there are impacts to your running when the temperature drops, but they are for different reasons than hot weather performance declines.

Impact of Cold Weather on Performance

As the temperature decreases below 50°F your performance can be subject to decline.  The good news is that the difference is negligible as long as the air temperature is above freezing 32°F/0°C.   At an air temperature at the freezing point, you can expect just a 1-2% increase in your pace per mile.  As the temperature drops, the impact to your performance becomes more noticeable:

The reason for the increased pace is three fold.

Reduced Muscle Contractions

At colder temperatures your muscles do not contract with the same intensity as they do in warmer temperatures.  As the temperature gets colder your nervous system that transmits the impulses to move your muscles slows down.  Since your muscle contractions are not as powerful as they are in warmer temperatures you slow down as a result.

The cold can also reduce the blood flow to chilled areas of your body.  Cold muscles can’t perform at the same level as a muscle that is warm.

Changes in Energy Sourcing

The second reason for increased pace is how your body uses energy at lower temperatures.  As the temperature drops your body increases carbohydrate consumption as a source of fuel and reduces the reliance on fat consumption.  As carbohydrates are an important source for energy for distance running you drain your reserves faster than you would at warmer temperatures.

Your body also becomes less efficient in using oxygen as a fuel source resulting in more oxygen being used in cold conditions compared to the same effort in ideal conditions.

Increased Lactate Production

When running your body either operates in an aerobic or anaerobic state.  In an aerobic state your body uses oxygen as a primary fuel source and it is very efficient in producing the energy needed for running.

When your pace is faster than your body can sustain aerobically your body taps the anaerobic system which does not use oxygen but instead breaks down carbohydrates to create lactic acid to fuel your running until a point is reached where the lactic acid build up slows your pace due to excess hydrogen byproducts.

As mentioned above your body consumes carbohydrates faster at lower temperatures which increases lactic acid production as a consequence.  Since carbohydrates are burned faster at cold temperatures this increases the pace per mile that is sustainable at a given temperature.  This is in addition to the disadvantage of having less efficient oxygen usage.

Other Performance Considerations

In addition to your pace per mile being negatively impacted, there are other impacts to your performance when the temperature drops.

At lower temperatures your body has to work harder to maintain your core temperature.  The result of this is more energy has to be expended simply for maintaining core temperature compared to ideal conditions or warm weather.  This increased energy consumption comes at the expense of your running performance as less overall energy is available.  Quite simply there are more demands for the same amount of available energy when it is cold.

When running in cold conditions it is important to keep your muscles warm and your core temperature maintained at all times.  If you become chilled on a run or allow yourself to cool down for any length of time your body is unable to get back to the prior temperature without returning to a warmer environment.  As a result, your performance will suffer.

This is critically important when starting a race.  If you head into the cold and do not keep yourself warm and ready to go but allow yourself to cool down you will be at an even greater disadvantage that cannot be overcome.  Allowing yourself to get to the point of shivering will quickly rob your body of energy as shivering is produced by your body engaging in the most inefficient muscle contractions it can to generate heat.

Hydration needs are impacted in colder conditions.  When the temperature drops your blood pressure rises as your blood flow is constricted.  To counter this your body removes excess water in the form of urine.  In colder temperatures you do not sweat as much and your body does not trigger thirst the same way it does in warm conditions.  As a result, it is very easy to become dehydrated.

Minimal intake of fluid can cause the feeling of needing to urinate, even if it is a small amount.

The same rules apply for hydrating in cold weather as in warm weather:

Safety Considerations

Running in the cold requires paying attention to signals from your body.  Unlike in warm weather if you become overheated you can slow or stop activity to prevent heat related illness or heat exhaustion.  In cold weather, the onset of hypothermia is a real risk and can only be treated by warming the body by immersing yourself in warmer temperatures.  Advanced signs of hypothermia include slowed or slurred speech, loss of concentration and loss of coordination.

There is also the risk of frost nip or frost bite, especially in very cold conditions where sweat can freeze to the skin.

Many runners fear that in very cold temperatures their lungs or airway tissues can freeze and cause damage. Some runners experience pain or stinging in their lungs when exercising in the cold.

Fortunately this is one concern that is largely unfounded. Your body is incredibly efficient in heating air before it makes it to your lungs so the risk of sub-freezing air killing tissue or freezing your lungs is not a concern. But some do struggle with breathing in cold weather.

Much of the time this is due to dry air being inhaled rather than cold air.  You might try inhaling through your nose as much as possible or purchasing a running mask to help warm and moisten the air before you inhale it.

By knowing the impact of running in cold weather, you can plan your training, racing and pacing effectively and set realistic expectations for your performance. You can’t control the conditions, but you can optimize your planning and approach.

Jack Raglin is a Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Kinesiology at Indiana University – Bloomington.

Jack is also a Fellow in the American Psychological Association, the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education.

His research involves the study of psychology and physiology as it applies to issues in sport and exercise, including overtraining, pre-competition anxiety, performance, exercise behavior and adherence, and the relationship between exercise and mental health.

He is well published academically and his work is cited in countless scholarly and non-scholarly articles.

In this episode you’ll learn what leads some to be successful in sticking to their training while others drop out.  He’ll share with you what correlates to being one that sticks with it.  We also discuss other topics of importance to runners including:

• Over-training and how to identify it before injury or burnout occurs
• Common excuses to not exercise and strategies to overcome them
• Race day anxiety
• Race performance
• Trusting your training
• Getting back on track after poor or missed workouts
• A new take on visualization techniques
• How to make difficult workouts not be recalled as so difficult

Quick Tip

Do you have difficulty breathing in cold temperatures?  Whether it stings, causes you to feel parched or leads to excessive coughing, I’ll share strategies to overcome this and make breathing in the cold easier.

Links Mentioned in the Show

runneracademy.com/join - Runner Academy Membership
runneracademy.com/wintermask – Winter Running Mask to aid in breathing in cold temperatures

I have been working out (weight training and cardio) and shrinking in size since Sept. I’ve never been a runner, but since I’ve had my 2nd daughter 2 years ago, it seems my muscles have forgotten what a simple jog is.

I look like a kid trying to run for the first time; like I’m not able to get it out of 1st gear. I also have exercise induced asthma. I stopped taking all my medications for it about 4-5 years because I know I can control it without it.

My brother wants me to run in the Warrior Dash in July 2013. First of all is this possible to train for in such a short period of time? Second, how should I go about starting the training for it?  - April Miller

Answer

Yes, you have plenty of time to prepare for the Warrior Dash being 6 months away, especially since you mention you have been active since at least the last 3 months.  I think in your case you might be experiencing some trepidation with all the marketing and hype of the obstacle portion of these events.

As far as your exercise induced asthma make sure you can in fact control it and do not hesitate to seek medical attention should you have issues with it in your training.

The Warrior Dash is a short distance event of 3 – 4 miles unlike it’s long distance counterpart Tough Mudder which exceeds 10 miles.  While the hype of the Warrior Dash is the obstacles like the one shown above, the fact is the majority of a Warrior Dash course is actually running and not negotiating obstacles.

Another thing to consider is that Warrior Dash events are designed for all ability levels meaning you don’t have to be a hardcore athlete or in incredible shape to attempt them.  That being said, there is some risk and if are not adequately prepared you will find the experience harder than it needs to be.

For your training, you should approach it similar to how you would for a 5K or 10K.  It is your endurance rather than your strength that will carry you through the race.  Since you mentioned your running needs work that should be your primary focus, and not getting caught up in preparing for the obstacles.

In addition to your running you should incorporate strength training along with circuit training to re-create the start and stop nature of the event when negotiating obstacles.  Stopping to perform exercises at regular intervals while running will simulate the effort needed on race day.

Runner Academy is giving consideration to developing a Warrior Dash training plan at some point in the future but for now let the following be your guide.  While it is far from a specific schedule and exercises, it should hopefully give you an idea of how to structure your training.

As a beginner aim to start your formal training no later than 12 weeks out, however in your case I recommend you begin building a base now with running and walking 3 times per week.  Start with walking and running up to a mile each time out for your first week, and build gradually.  The following week you might increase to 1.5 miles and increase in subsequent weeks.  If you have difficulty running the full distance feel free to walk.  In subsequent weeks your time running should replace your walking as you build endurance.

As for your formal training period aim to run 12 – 15 miles per week at the beginning of the training period and aim for 20 – 22 miles per week at your peak.  You should run 3 times per week with one run being just a simple long run.  Allow for a 1 week taper where you return to your first week level of training.

On one day of the week aim to run one mile, stop for immediate strength exercises such as pull-ups, push-ups, lunges, body weight squats or holding a plank position for 30 – 60 seconds and then immediately run another mile and repeat another set.

On another day of the week run up to 3 miles and after each mile perform 1 to 2 strides.  Increase the number of strides as you progress to a maximum of 6 total per workout.

You should continue working out in the gym with resistance training that you have been doing or other strength exercises at least one other day per week.

Finally, you should have one dedicated day each week to just running the distance of the course and beyond.  Begin with a long run of 5 miles and build to 7 miles.

If you have the ability to do any of your running in a park or a non-paved trail it is a bonus to simulate those conditions as well.

I also recommend you sign up and complete a plain old 5K race as part of your preparation.  It will give you the confidence to have some race experience.

Now, go out and crush it!

• What are your New Year’s resolutions?
• How to stick to New Year’s resolutions?
• Why this year is the year!

You will undoubtedly see countless recycled articles across newspapers and fitness blogs rehashing these same tired topics.  When I see these articles I can’t click the back button fast enough!

Sadly, most dream and talk but never come close to attaining what they really want.  A perfect example of this is your local health club. Each December the health club is mostly deserted except for the regulars.  You may have noticed this recently if you go year round as I do.

On January 1st, there is an abrupt change as a flood of new members join. Many gym regulars dread this time of year and even have a name for these people: resolutioners.

The resolutioners pack the place for about 3 weeks and then as quickly as they came, they are gone.

A second surge comes about a week before spring break vacations as these same people feeling guilty for not using their gym membership attempt to obtain massive results in just 1 week before their vacation.

You already know what happens.

A New Year’s resolution represents the difference between where you are and where you want to be. In the middle there is this “gap”.  The gap is the action required to accomplish the goal.

All of the focus is on the outcome that is desired rather than what are the motivations behind it.  When it comes time to put in the hard work, without having deeper motivations for it you are set up to fail.

As 2013 dawns, my message to you is Don’t Be A Resolutioner!  Be committed to a healthy active lifestyle instead.

In this episode, I’ll share with you why setting goals alone is not enough to accomplish what you desire to in your running and instead share a different approach that is more likely to keep you on track.

I’ll also share two common reasons new runners that take up running use as a reason to start that have a poor track record of success and instead share reasons that are more likely to be successful.

Quick Tip

When running in cold weather, do you find yourself getting too warm on the first half of your run only to feel chilled on the way back?  I’ll share a tip for remaining comfortable throughout and avoiding this common scenario.

Links Mentioned in the Show

runneracademy.com/join - Runner Academy Membership

As our focus is on family and celebration this week I wanted to let you know what’s ahead in 2013.

Look for a special New Year’s Day podcast episode with my message to you for a successful start to 2013. If you get a new phone or computer for the holidays make sure you stay subscribed to the podcast through iTunes or any of the podcast apps!

In the coming weeks, some of the biggest guests yet to come to the podcast will share their experience and knowledge with you. Some of them are historic figures in running who grant few interviews so I am delighted to bring them to you.

I continue my work on Runner Academy Membership into the new year. As most of you know I focus on quality and everything I put out being the best it can be. This will be no exception. I will continue to keep you updated on the progress so that those of you with race goals or looking to get started in 2013 can consider it for your training.

Also in 2013 you’ll see our new periodic Keeping Pace newsletter offering the latest training and advice from us, automatic entries for being a subscriber to any contests and giveaways for books or other great running products we have made available to us along with letting you know when new podcast episodes are available.

I look forward to continuing to help you get out and crush it!

Through my coaching and Runner Academy I have had the pleasure to work with and talk to runners of all ability levels – those that can’t run down the street let alone a mile, those that have ran recreationally for awhile and now want to do some organized races, first time marathoners, those that have run for many years to runners in pursuit of new challenging PRs.

Despite engaging with such a diverse group of runners, there are many things that are similar among them that stand out to me as core traits for those that attain success and reach their goals.

This applies to everyone – those new to running, your everyday runner, competitive Type A personalities that balance career, family and hobbies along with their running goals and even accomplished runners.

1. Find Your Rhythm

Successful running is about finding the right balance between training and recovery.  Training for a race can be stressful at times.  Physically, it depletes your body’s energy stores, it stresses your muscles, ligaments, tendons and even your bones.  Race preparation breaks your body down.

Too much training and you will become fatigued, then later experience pain and finally injury if you push too far.  With rest and recovery, your body responds to the stressors of your training and rebuilds stronger than before.  

You will often hear me say “always listen to your body.”  Aside from listening to warning signs that you may be on the verge of injury, finding your rhythm is a large part of this statement.

Aim to find the right mix of training and rest where your body achieves a balance.  This is something that can only be accomplished over time as each runner is unique.  You will know you are on the right track when you start having a string of days of positive workouts, one after the next.  Before too long, this string of positive workouts turns into weeks of successful training.

Each week, set up your training from the outset to be positive.  I teach runners to dominate every Monday, as it sets the tone for your week.  If Monday is a rest day on your training schedule following a Sunday long run, dominate it mentally or consider Sunday the start to your training week.

This can at times be challenging due to the unpredictable nature of other life events such as work and family, but if you can establish a training routine where nearly every one of your workouts (and subsequent races) is positive you will be successful as a runner and even provide a balance for life events themselves!

If you find that you are frequently having poor performance in your running or are often battling injury then your training stress is too great and you are not valuing the benefit of recovery.  Realize that rest is not only ok, it is an essential part of any training program.  Try adding more recovery time in and work on finding your training rhythm.

I can tell when a runner has turned the corner in achieving their goals when they value a rest day as much as a speed workout.

2. Be Consistent

Once you find your rhythm in training you can focus on being consistent.  To reach your full potential as a runner you need to have consistent training.  This means that day after day, week after week, month after month and even year after year you are consistently working on improving.

Several months of solid workouts is more beneficial than a few weeks of epic workouts leaving you on the verge of being injured or overtrained.  Being consistent means minimizing the risk of injuries,  illness and avoid overtraining that can sideline you.

Always approach your training with a long term approach and think about how a given activity fits in and impacts the big picture.

3. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

Every runner experiences a bad run from time to time.  You could have long streaks of great workouts, steady progress and out of nowhere comes a day where you feel you can’t run more than a few miles.  Your legs are heavy.  Each step is a struggle.  You begin to question your training.  Days like these often seem to occur just before a big race causing doubt and panic.  Don’t be rattled.

Realize that days like these are going to happen.  It happens to new runners, experienced runners and elite runners.  No one is immune.  The cause of the bad day is often unknown, and quite frankly it does not matter.

Bad days are just a bump in the road.  They are something you just have to live with and accept as a runner.

Successful runners accept this and when a bad day happens they chalk it up to this knowledge.  They shake it off and instead of dwelling on what happened, they look forward to the next workout.

Remember that no one single workout will determine the outcome on race day.  It is the sum of all the effort and training that will come through, not the one bad day.  Mentally it may feel otherwise, but rise above it.

This leads to the next trait of successful runners.

4. Just Keep Going

This means just keep on going even when things don’t go to plan or when one bad workout out of no where after a string of good ones occurs.  If you tend to be a stubborn person this can work to your advantage.  Regardless of what happens just keep putting one foot in front of the other and trust your training.

By simply showing up, giving your best and not getting discouraged at the first sign of a bad day the finish line will eventually come and your performance will surprise you!

5. Build Your Confidence

This is perhaps the most important trait for success in a runner.  Confidence that you trained the best you could.  You trust your training.  You are not only physically prepared for your event, but mentally you know you are going to get out and crush it.

While training for your race there will be one or two types of workouts that may become your favorites.  They are workouts that you nail and feel great afterwards.  Occasionally they may even result in the type of run that when you finish it makes you begin to think about what’s possible and to push the envelope of what you previously thought was possible in your running.

As you approach your race day, add in one or two of these workouts where they make sense to boost your confidence.  Don’t be a slave to the training plan.  Part of having confidence is knowing when you can modify it for the betterment of your overall goal.

Success breeds success.  Positive workouts lead to consistently increasing motivation which will result in a better result on race day!

For more guidance and strategies for achieving your running goals and developing into the most successful runner you can be, join us inside Runner Academy Membership.

There are those in the camp that it is not pure and a safety issue of possibly being less aware of your surroundings.

On the flip side, there are those that couldn’t imagine running without it and might go so far to skip a workout if they had to go without in the case of a dead battery in their device.

Personal beliefs aside, is there any advantage for runners that listen to music over those that do not?

The Research

“Music is a legal drug for athletes,” says Dr. Costas Karageorghis, an expert on the effects of music on exercise at Brunel University in the UK.  His research has shown that listening to music while running can boost performance by up to 15%.

The reason music is positively correlated to running performance is due to dissociation which is a mild detachment from your immediate surroundings to more severe detachment from physical and emotional reality.

In other words, music allows you to mentally block any discomfort you may be experiencing during your run and allows you to continue to perform at a higher level than if you went without.

Does Tempo of Music Matter?

In another British study conducted in 2005 researchers conducted a test on stationary bikes with 18 untrained men and women that were divided into 3 groups.

Group 1 had no music, group 2 had music with high beats per minute and group 3 had music with low beats per minute.  They were told to ride without any other instruction.

The results were surprising.  While there was the expected difference between the group that had no music and and the groups that had music, it turns out that the type of music did not produce a statistically significant result.

Both groups with music had traveled significantly further in distance compared to the control group with no music.  Another interesting finding was the perceived effort of the groups with music was lower than the group that had no music despite having actually exercised harder!

Are There Limits to Performance Gains?

Just as with anything else, there is a limit to the positive effect of music on exercise.  As it turns out it is not how often or how much of your run is spent listening to music, but your experience as a runner.

The positive effects of music are most evident in everyday runners at the amateur level and those that have less experience running.   This goes back to the concept of dissociation.  Less experienced runners are more likely to reduce their intensity level when discomfort begins to take hold.  With music, the amount of discomfort you can experience before you reduce your performance increases as the music allows you to lose focus on the pain.

On the other end of runners, elites and even those that have been running for many years can actually have reduced performance with music.

Dr. Jack Raglin, a professor and sport psychologist at Indiana University, claims that elite athletes are associators instead of dissociators.  He believes that for really intense efforts you have to pay close attention to your body, and music interferes with this.

Runners at the higher levels of the sport can use music when training to log miles, but for very focused race efforts it is best to go without.

The Verdict?

Many runners, including myself, find us somewhere in between.  Music can be a great way to crush tough workouts, and sometimes even races.  It is best to learn what works best for you in various running situations.  Test your performance and perceived effort with and without music on similar workouts at similar states of fitness level and rest beforehand.

I think you’ll find that music can take some of your training sessions to a higher level.

A lot of runners begin their training following generic advice or doing what they have read as conventional wisdom since “that’s the way it has always been done.”

In the mid 1980s this frustrated Owen Anderson who took his newly minted Ph.D. and devoted his work to putting science and research behind running.  After self-publishing his own research he was published in Runner’s World Magazine where he was a regular columnist for many years.

Owen has since been published in many other running publications including National Geographic Adventure Magazine, Running Times Magazine, Men’s Health, Runner’s World, Shape, and RunningFitness Magazine (in the United Kingdom) and has written three books of his own.

Owen has traveled to Kenya on 10 separate occasions to study the training techniques of the top Kenyan runners, and he has assisted such notable Kenyan runners as Tegla Loroupe (quadruple world-record holder) and Sammy Lelei (59:24 PR for the half-marathon, 2:07:03 for the marathon) with their training programs.

He has also coached Benjamin Simatei (winner of the Park Forest 10-Mile Race in Chicago, Illinois), Antony Maina (bronze-medal winner at the Kenyan National Armed-Forces Cross-Country Championships), Leah Malot (African 10-K champion), Catherine Dugdale (seven-time Welsh cross-country champion and United-Kingdom representative at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne Australia in 2006), Joan Cherop (winner, Kampala Half-Marathon 2008), and Titus Loroupe (3:42 for 1500 meters).

Owen has also operated a training camp for elite runners in Kaptagat, Kenya (with Jackson Limo as the on-site coach).

He is now the race director for the Lansing Marathon in Lansing, MI and continues to coach both elite and amateur runners alike.

In this episode, Owen will share the techniques of the elite Kenyan runners, their training strategies and what non-running related factor contributes heavily to their success.  From their training strategies you’ll learn ideas on how you can get faster and how to set realistic goals for improvement.

We also discuss what is missing from most training plans and how this missing component is likely keeping you from reaching your true personal bests that you are capable of.

He will also challenge many traditionally held beliefs that simply more miles and increasing volume alone are better for distance runners and instead propose a better approach rooted in science.

If you are training for a marathon you’ll learn why running a long run every weekend may not be ideal for peak performance, along with what you should be doing instead to be reasonably certain of attaining your goal time over the entire 26.2 miles.

The episode is packed full of research based training advice you can immediately implement in your running!

Quick Tip

I’ll address muscle cramping while you are running – what causes them, what to do if you get one while running and a helpful tip to prevent them from recurring on your run.

Links Mentioned In The Show

educatedrunner.com – Owen’s Website
lansingmarathon.com – Lansing Marathon

While the power of free and minimal cost running apps such as RunKeeper, Daily Mile or Endomondo has grown over the past few years there are some distinct advantages to a dedicated GPS watch.

Data Collection/Reporting

The type of data recorded and what you can do with it is similar between both apps and GPS watches.  Both options will provide you with core functionality of your current pace, distance traveled, elapsed time, a map of your route and other metrics to measure your performance over time.

It is the actual functionality of the two options while running that makes a separate running watch the preferred choice.

Two Tests of a Phone App vs. a GPS Watch

I recently conducted my own test of biking 5 miles with an iPhone 5, a Samsung Galaxy Nexus and the Garmin Forerunner 210 along with a CatEye Strata bike computer with a sensor on the wheel.

I performed this test on my road bike instead of running so I could have an accurate control distance with the bike computer attached to the wheel so the actual ground covered was recorded.  This is the same method used to issue USATF running race course certifications (wheel measurement).

Only the Garmin matched the bike computer within a margin of .01 miles.  The iPhone and Samsung Galaxy Nexus both over reported the distance traveled and pace substantially.

Bike Computer (Wheel sensor): 5.00 miles
Garmin Forerunner 210: 5.01 miles
iPhone 5 (with Runkeeper): 5.32 miles
Samsung Galaxy Nexus (with Runkeeper): 5.29 miles

For runs of a mile or two this may not be a big deal, but if you run longer distances over 10 miles the results can be running over a mile or more less than the phone has reported!  That 20 mile marathon long run you might do could end up being more like 18.5 miles.

What’s worse, your pace is being reported incorrectly.  You will have a false sense of your performance capability and learn of this on race day when you run a measured course only to find your phone has betrayed you!

In another test, I wore both my Garmin Forerunner 210 and used RunKeeper on my Samsung Galaxy Nexus during the 2012 Chicago Marathon.  The phone was strapped to my upper arm with a clear view of the sky.  Downtown Chicago presents tough challenges for GPS devices.  The tall buildings can bounce signals or block them entirely causing measurements of your location several blocks away or zig zagging across the city.

Extended underpasses such as the one at the beginning of the race block GPS entirely for nearly half a mile.

The results?

Garmin Forerunner 210: 26.58 miles
Samsung Galaxy Nexus (with RunKeeper): 27.93 miles

I personally believe the Garmin recorded my actual distance covered due to any weaving or not running the exact course line over the course of the marathon.  If there was any error due to the buildings or other obstructions it was minimal.  The phone was not even close.

There is nothing worse than finding out your pace is not what you think it is or how you trained on race day when you discover your phone has over reported all along.

Issues with Running Apps

Reduced Accuracy
The GPS sensors vary greatly between different phones.  But the one thing that holds true today is they are less accurate than a dedicated GPS running watch that is specifically designed to capture precise movements.  While this is reported universally among runners I wanted to see for myself.

Phones are less accurate than a GPS watch for a variety of reasons.  The most common reason is due to the compact form factor of a phone along with all of the other antennas and circuitry inside there just isn’t enough room to include a more accurate GPS sensor.  In some phones, the type of sensor used might also vary, but that is beyond the scope of this discussion.  GPS watches have a larger GPS sensor as a critical component.

For a phone, the GPS is designed to give a very good indication of your location, but not a pinpoint. Compounding the problem, phones do not take a continuous recording of your location but rather frequent “snapshots” in time. These data points are then connected by the shortest distance between the two points. This is why quick movements, turn arounds or tight turns are often cut off when reviewing phone GPS data on a running app.

Finally, the algorithms used to calculate distance traveled also vary in phones.

Phones are not designed specifically with accurate GPS distance measurement in mind the way a running watch is.   A phone is a Swiss Army Knife.  It can do a variety of things, but not all of them very well.

Tracking Progress While Running
A big issue with running applications is viewing your distance, pace, time elapsed and possibly heart rate while you are running.  Typically your phone is strapped to your arm or on a waist belt out of easy sight.  Running apps have tried to counter this shortfall by having computerized voices periodically announce your pace and splits over your earphones if you are listening to music.  But what if you don’t listen to music?

You will have to physically wake up the screen and make a concerted effort each time you want to check your progress.   Even if you do listen to music I find the announced intervals are not often enough to stay on track if you are monitoring your pacing.

A running watch is always within easy view without altering your running form and provides immediate feedback of your run.  Pacing is easy to determine at a glance.  It is always on and nothing to fiddle with.  There is a reason a phone’s screen turns off while running which brings up the next issue.

Battery Life
Today’s smartphones can do a lot, but battery technology has not kept pace for their energy demands.   A running app is not only constantly using the GPS of your phone, but also the data plan in order to update maps and sync data.

Other features such as social network sharing or uploading to websites can use even more battery.  I haven’t even mentioned the draw of the battery for that big screen and any other applications the phone is running either such as your music player and countless apps in the background.

If you plan to run longer than 2-3 hours your phone may not make it through your run leaving you without a way to call for help if needed and leaving you flying blind for the rest of your run.  Not good!

GPS running watch batteries can reliably capture 8-10 hours or more of activity and can remain on standby over a week.  In other words, more than you will need!

Data Plans
Use of a running app requires a data plan on your phone.  With many carriers limiting data use or families sharing plans this can add up.  While a running app may not consume a lot of data, it consumes more than a GPS running watch that uses no data plan!

Indoor Use
If you want to record your running on an indoor track or even a treadmill forget it with a smartphone.   Your phone’s GPS will do you no good indoors.

GPS watches are equally useless indoors, but many can be paired with an optional footpod that can record everything with a good degree of accuracy, except for plotting on a map where you ran.  You simply keep on running!

I’ve owned both Polar footpod devices and Garmin footpod devices and find the Garmin devices perform really well compared to Polar.

Even better, for instances where GPS may be blocked (such as the half-mile underpass at the beginning of the Chicago marathon), a footpod serves as a secondary data source that is automatically tapped so you are never running blind waiting for the signal to return.  Other runners will be in the dark.

Our Take

It is our recommendation that if you are serious about your running and want a tool best suited for the job it is a great decision to invest in a GPS running watch.  If you are just starting out and want to get a feel for the type of data you can record about your runs you can start with an app and then transition to a watch later.

Running apps are powerful but are just not accurate enough to be used to train reliably.  This again is no fault of the app designers, but limitations of phone hardware.  They also are inconvenient for measuring real time progress while you are running.

The watch I personally train and race with, along with many elite marathoners such as Ryan Hall, is the Garmin Forerunner 210.

In considering a running watch, there are a lot of features, functionality, styles and form factors to consider.  I use the Garmin Forerunner 210 as it has just the information I need and enough functionality to train effectively.  It can be enticing to have a running watch with more bells and whistles but in the end it is just different ways of reporting the same data.

All you really need is distance, time elapsed, pace and possibly heart rate and cadence if you use those to train.  When you get home you can easily upload all of the data and analyze your run and progress while recovering!

One App That Will Enhance Your Running

There is still one app that can enhance your running and isn’t affected by GPS. Our FREE Runner Academy Podcast app will deliver top training information directly to you including interviews with expert coaches, authors, elite runners and others along with actionable tips you can immediately implement in your running. Listen when you run, at the gym or commuting.

For more on running gear including expert advice on what every runner should consider come join us inside Runner Academy Membership.

No matter the time of year today is always the best day to get started.  If it happens to be the middle of winter and running outdoors is not practical getting started on a treadmill is a great way to get a head start on those that wait until Spring and help the off season pass by faster.

You’ll also find being outdoors that much more enjoyable after putting in some work ahead of time.

It is important when starting out to give your body plenty of time to adapt to the new physical demands you are placing upon it and avoid a common new runner mistake of doing too much too soon.

The best way to get started is to do a walk/run program and gradually transition to all running.  By taking this approach, you begin to build the foundation for longer periods of running, faster running and longer distance.

Remember that being indoors means you lose the natural wind resistance of forward motion while running.  To compensate for this, as a beginner raise the incline of the treadmill to 1%.  Having a gentle incline better simulates being outdoors.

If you are new to running on a treadmill, I encourage you to read more on mastering the treadmill where you’ll learn everything you need to know to effectively use a treadmill.

Walk/Run Interval Treadmill Workout

The below workout offers a good balance of walking and running and begins at a modest 10:00 min/mile pace for the maximum pace of the workout.

This workout is an interval style workout in that you have periods of high intensity followed by periods of lower intensity for recovery.

You can adjust the speed of your walking or running if the above workout is too easy or hard for you.  If you know what your running pace is you can make easy conversions to adjust this workout by using our treadmill conversion table to convert speeds on the treadmill to pace.  You can also remove an interval of walking and running to shorten the overall duration of the workout if needed.

Try to complete the above workout three times per week with at least one rest day between sessions.  As the workout becomes less challenging increase your speed for the running portions and then next you can reduce your walking intervals until you are able to run continuously.

Once you have mastered the above workout and are able to run for 25 – 30 minutes without stopping at a comfortable pace where you can maintain a conversation without struggling, you can move onto more challenging treadmill workouts.

Understanding your running pace is essential for enjoyable running and to get faster.  Inside Runner Academy Membership, I teach you how to establish your running pace, how to figure your running pace for various distances (you adjust based on distance!) and how to get faster.

The article was just published in Heart, a journal of the British Medical Journal Group, and headlined “One Running Shoe in the Grave” in a Wall Street Journal summary.

Summary of Study Findings

To summarize the findings of the study, 52,600 people were followed for three decades.  The runners in the group experienced a 19% lower death rate than non-runners, according to the findings.

But among the running group over age 50, those who ran more than 20 to 25 miles per week experienced diminishing returns and lost that benefit and increased their risk of heart attack or stroke.

Media Hype

First off, understand that the media loves sensationalism and any story they can latch on to support unhealthy habits of a sedentary lifestyle on the couch watching TV vs. those that are committed to a healthy active lifestyle will be a winner among the masses.

How do I know this?  I have a background in broadcasting and still follow the industry closely.  If it is controversial it will sell.  Need more proof of media sensationalism?  Look at how small weather events are blown into epic crises and don’t even get started on politics!

The media has essentially taken the study and put a spin on it for their own liking to sell a story of “if you exercise you are going to die sooner.”  I even heard one report on a radio news segment teasing with “could running a marathon kill you?”

But we shouldn’t entirely discount the findings of the study.

What Does The Study Really Tell Us?

Let’s take a moment to consider the findings by critically thinking about what it really means.  When you really read into the findings there is little new information here that was not already common sense.  It has just now been validated by one research study.  The common sense was made into a hypothesis, tested and these are simply the results.

First, let’s reiterate one of the key findings of the study.  The runners in the study experienced a 19% lower death rate than non-runners.

As you age, you are not able to perform at the same level you once could when you were younger.  It is just an unfortunate fact of life.

The study suggests that endurance athletes over the age of 50 that run more than 25 miles per week, or at a faster pace than 7:30 per mile reap no more benefits than those that don’t and in fact may be worse for the wear.  Understand that every athlete is different, but this is an example of the law of diminishing returns.

No matter if you are over 50, or a young runner in their 20s, we all have a point where more miles at a faster pace will be detrimental to the body.  As you age, that threshold becomes less and less.

For an easy analogy, think about a new car vs. an old car.  Would you drive an old car very hard and at excessive rates of speed compared to how you might drive a new car?  Not if you want it to last.  The same goes for your body.

As a result, what you are capable of in race situations diminishes as well.  Just look at the qualifying times for the Boston Marathon as evidence of this.  The qualification times as you age are slower than those of younger runners for this reason.

In an upcoming podcast episode I’ll have an interview with 1992 Olympic Medalist Lynn Jennings. As you will hear in our upcoming interview, she does not keep the same hard training regimen today in her 50s.   She still runs, but not at the fast paces she once did and not at a high volume either.  She also balances other healthy activities in supplementing her running.

No matter your age, there is a sweet spot in your running that gives you an optimal benefit from cardiovascular exercise.  Too little exercise and you are leaving some benefit on the table.  Too much and you increase your risk or injury and chance of detrimental effects of too much exercise.

The hardest part in this equation is the mental acceptance that as you age you can’t accomplish the same athletic achievements you once could when you were younger.  There can be a tendency to just work harder for the same results that came easier at a younger age.  You can become addicted to exercise at any age and suffer dangerous consequences as a result.

Running and endurance events are healthy activities you can perform for your entire life if you take care of your body, train properly, and realize you will one day reach a peak.  As you age, you will need to listen to your body more closely and adjust your training accordingly.

In exercise, there can be too much of a good thing and how much that level is decreases as you age.  If you push it too hard and ignore warning signs from your body you are at greater risk for heart attack or stroke.

That is really all this study is saying.

If you always listen to your body and train smartly based on your ability level and reduce the volume and intensity as you age, you will be beating everyone on the couch.

Don’t let the media tell you otherwise!

Since 1987, Steve has racked up countless triathlons and multisport events of all distances including marathons and Ironman triathlons with many top age group finishes.

In February 2006, life threw Steve a curve ball when he was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. He immediately underwent four rounds of chemotherapy. During his treatment he maintained his baseline fitness level, often running home from his treatments and quickly reached complete remission.

By July of that same year, he was back to racing triathlons and in September, just 7 months after his diagnosis, he was called “Remission Man” and crossed the finish line of his 8th career iron distance triathlon (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run).

He has continued to crush it since that time, being named Team in Training 2008 Volunteer of the Year and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society 2010 Man of The Year.

This episode is loaded with stories of inspiration, enduring when times get tough and metaphors for life and for your own training.

You’ll hear Steve’s inspirational story of how he overcame adversity and how he has made the experience into a positive in not only his life but in the lives of others.  He also shares how he got started with a 5K, then a 10K, then a half-marathon and finally a full marathon before taking on Triathlon and offers good advice on being patient in your training.

In addition to Steve’s story, if you have given thought to running for charity you’ll learn more about what it is like running for charity including overcoming the fear of not only the event itself but the fundraising process.

Steve also shares some perspectives on training for triathlon events should you be considering one in your future including how to get through the dreaded open water swim portion of the race.

He also reminds us to enjoy the journey – our training and on race day and to not focus exclusively on that finish line.

Quick Tip

I’ll address “pushing through the pain” with tips and evaluation on when you can keep running, and when you should stop your run when you experience pain while running.

I’ll help you identify pain that may not be a serious concern, pain that is a warning sign to a developing running injury and pain that is an indicator of a possible running injury so you don’t risk extended time away from running.

Links Mentioned In The Show

remissionman.com - Steve’s website
teamintraining.org – LLS Team In Training.  Information on running for TNT.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Runner Academy’s blog has been named a top running blog by runningblogs.org.  Runner Academy has been recognized for thorough expert training articles and the highly rated Runner Academy Podcast.

In receiving the news Runner Academy founder Matt Johnson said, “I’m truly honored yet humbled at the response thus far to Runner Academy and the podcast.  I knew there were a large amount of runners looking to improve themselves, make sense of conflicting information and hear it straight from real runners.  I’m grateful for this recognition and look forward to helping hundreds of runners in the forthcoming Runner Academy membership.”

About Runner Academy
Runner Academy exists to teach, inspire and empower everyday people to lead healthier lives, achieve their running goals, and reach new milestones by tapping into their running potential.  Through the podcast and the forthcoming Runner Academy Membership, runners will be able to make sense of the endless and often conflicting information on running and be empowered to accomplish their running goal.

We take the guesswork out of running and provide a complete solution for running success. Whether you are looking to get started running, complete your first 5K, 10K, half marathon or full marathon, or want to make your next one the best yet, Runner Academy provides you the knowledge you need to be successful. Commit. Train. Achieve. To learn more, visit runneracademy.com

I often have a hard time getting started running, but once I run for a mile or so it gets easier.  Is this normal?  What can I do to overcome this? -Sara Parker

I often receive the question or comments from runners on the start of a run being painful or hard to get underway compared to the rest of their run.

If you often find yourself struggling at the beginning of your runs you are not alone.  In fact, I’ve never met a runner that doesn’t have some sort of difficulty at the beginning of their run, compared to the rest of it.  It may be more challenging to get underway on some days more than others, but the experience is universal.  This is where the saying “the first 2 miles are the worst miles” comes from.

Let’s start out with the reason for this and then I have some strategies for you to mitigate this.

The Reason

The reason for this is simple and rooted in a basic theory of aerobic exercise.  In the first few minutes of running it is a struggle because your body starts off in the anaerobic state.    Not sure what this means? Read more on aerobic vs. anaerobic exercise.

After 8-10 minutes (depending on your fitness level) of continuous cardio-respiratory exercise your body transitions to the aerobic state.  For most runners this means after the first mile, but sometimes it can take well into the second mile before you get into rhythm feeling more comfortable and relaxed.

The key is, get to that point.  If you head out on a run and you are just not feeling it during that first or second mile don’t give up!  More than likely it is due to the reason above and is not indicative of how the rest of your run will go.

I’ve had many times where I go out on a run and just feel awful at the beginning of it.  I could be in the heart of marathon training and feel winded, exhausted or getting side stitches in the opening mile as if I am completely out of shape.  I’ve had runs that have started out like this where I ended up crushing it for the remainder of the run.

3 Strategies To Mitigate This

1) Never go out full effort from a cold start.  Even if you are only going a short distance it is not advisable to go maximum effort without a warm up.  Depending on your ability, consider a light jog, running at a very easy pace or speed walking before you begin your planned run.  Then, run your planned run at the planned pace for the entire distance.

2) Plan to run the first mile of your run at a slower pace than the rest of your run until you are warmed up.  This doesn’t add additional time or distance to your planned run and still allows you to complete most of it at your planned pace.

3) Run a progression run.  While there are many takes on this type of run, the way to implement it here is to determine the average pace you want to run for the entire distance and run the first half slower than planned pace and the second half faster than planned pace, with planned intervals of equal distance of progressively faster paces.

Example: Say you want to complete a 5 mile run at an 8 minute per mile pace.  You would run each of the segments as follows:

This results in running your entire distance at your goal of 8 minute per mile while minimizing the effect of the first mile or two being more challenging at an 8 minute per mile pace right out of the gate.  This doesn’t add additional time or distance to your planned run and still allows you to achieve the overall time you are going for.  This is a useful strategy for shorter distance runs.

You don’t have to pick one strategy and always follow it.  Depending on what your workout for the day calls for there can be reasons for choosing one over another on a given day.  Try one of these on your next run and notice how it will be easier to get started and finish strong!

This post is a part of a series of questions from runners answered by the expert coaches at Runner Academy.  See more of your questions answered here or ask a question of your own.

I tend to be in the loathe category and affectionately refer to it as the “dreadmill”.  Perhaps that comes from the fact that I never started out running on a treadmill for exercise.  It became something I did in the absence of a indoor running track at a health club when I couldn’t get outside to run.

Don’t think of the treadmill as a necessary evil, attempt to compare it to running outdoors or something you wish you didn’t have to use from time to time, but instead a specialized piece of equipment to improve your running.

Many people start off running on one to lose weight and transition to running outside.  But there is also a sizable number of seasoned runners that use them only in a pinch to not let their running routine get off track.  In both cases, there are some best practices to get the most out of your treadmill time.

Simulate Being Outdoors

A lot of the reason you are on a treadmill probably is because being outside isn’t practical.   But you should aim to replicate as much as you can about being outside when inside.  Being indoors means you lose the natural wind resistance of forward motion while running.  To compensate for this, raise the incline of the treadmill to 1% or 2%.  Having a gentle incline better simulates being outdoors.

Don’t Run Up A Steep Hill Indefinitely

Like many things in running, a runner often assumes more is always a good thing.  More time spent running means more miles.  More miles means better fitness.  As we know, this is to a point before you risk injury.

In the case of a treadmill you may be thinking that since I just mentioned setting your incline to 1% or 2% that setting it to a higher grade would result in even greater results.  Again, the answer is to a point.

Higher inclines can be useful to simulate specific outdoor scenarios such as hills, but you should never run a workout at an incline of more than 2% for the entire duration of your run.  Straight hill running is not a good idea indoors or out.  When adding incline in excess of 2%, you should only do so for a short duration of not more than 5 minutes and never surpass a 7% incline for any length of time.

Inclines in excess of 2% for extended periods of time put you at risk for Achilles tendon or calf injuries and inclines of greater than 7% increase these risks in addition to putting undue strain on your back, hips and ankles.

Warm Up Properly

In can be tempting to just get on the treadmill and go, especially since many runners will run on a treadmill for a set period of time such as 30 or 45 minutes rather than a specific number of miles. Warming up is then seen as eating into this time.  Run at an easy pace for 5 minutes just as you likely would outdoors.

Don’t Hold Onto The Rails

The rails and console are there to assist you in getting on and off the treadmill and as a source of stability to regain your balance while you are running should you lose your footing since falling would result in the moving belt throwing you backwards.  Swing your arms just as you would outdoors.  The treadmill is not a StairMaster!

Holding onto the railing has several drawbacks.

The first is it completely negates the 1% or 2% incline you set to simulate running outdoors.  When you hold onto the rails, you tend to lean back and make your body perpendicular to the treadmill.

The second is you are very likely to heel strike which is not only poor running form, but increases your injury risk.

Holding on also makes running easier which gives you a false sense of your fitness ability.  What you are capable of indoors will not be even close to what you can do outdoors.  Finding this out after a period of time running indoors will not serve you well.

If you find yourself needing to hold on, reduce the speed, incline or both.  You’ll get a better workout at less intensity by not holding the rails than if you do.

Don’t Look At Your Feet or The Console

It can be very tempting to look at your feet to make sure you are positioned correctly and also to stare at the console to watch your progress and see how much you have left.  Doing either of these for too long will result in your running form suffering.  You will likely start to hunch over which can lead to stiffness or pain.  Just as when running outdoors, look straight ahead when running on a treadmill.

If you are watching a TV on the treadmill, make sure it is positioned straight ahead and at eye level.

To resist the temptation to gaze down at the console, I recommend putting a towel over it and checking it only when you need to use the towel.  This can also help runners that feel demoralized by the constant status of how much further you have yet to go.

Focus on Your Stride

Just as outside, focus on your turnover and striking the treadmill with your mid-foot.  Same rules apply indoors as out, 180 steps per minute (90 per foot).

Since you have less distractions while running indoors on a treadmill, use the time to really focus specifically on hitting this goal.  This is a good way to not only improve your turnover for outdoor running but also to combat any boredom.

Visualize A Running Route

Inside Runner Academy Membership I talk about visualizing success.  On a treadmill take a variation of this approach.  Rather than thinking about a specific race outcome, think about your favorite outdoor running training route and imagine you are on it, passing certain landmarks, other runners and adjust the incline based on any hills along your route.  You just might find a lot of time quickly has passed!

Cool Down Properly

When running outdoors you never want to just abruptly stop and sit down.  You walk for a bit and cool down.  The same applies on the treadmill.

Many runners will simply hop off when time is up just because they are on a piece of fitness equipment, or again because they think of their time spent on a treadmill as a fixed amount of time.  Spend 5 minutes in a slow jog or even a walk before you get off.

Have you ever stepped off a treadmill and felt dizzy or had sensations that you were still moving? You can avoid it if you cool down properly and adjust back to movement off the belt.

Now that you are set for successful treadmill training, check out my best treadmill workouts to crush it and own the treadmill!

Jim grew up as a non-athlete – almost anything sports related was alien to him, and his body.  It wasn’t until the 1980s that he discovered running through his role model and older brother.  In a personal challenge from his brother, Jim trained for his first marathon, completing the Los Angeles Marathon in March 1989.

Since his first marathon in 1989, he has completed a marathon in all 50 states, and now has a total of 89 marathons under his belt on his way to 100 marathons.  He is actively involved in his running group and a member of the Colorado Runners Association.

He is now sharing his life stories and how running defined him in his upcoming and anticipated book, One Foot in Front of the Other, which will be published in the spring 2013.  His hope is that this book will inspire and motivate, and allow others to reflect a little and become a champion in their own life.

Jim and I chat about his humble beginnings in running.  We then talk about the high points – the experience of his first marathon, the way running has positively impacted his life along with crossing the finish line in completing a marathon in all 50 states.

We also go into the low points – coming back from an injury that he was told would end his running and times he wanted to give up.

We’ll also talk about how he runs marathons with short intervals between them, how he stays injury free and motivated.

He’ll also share details of his upcoming book that is sure to inspire you to make running part of your lifestyle rather than just a focus on a temporary goal.

Jim has found how running can bring you personal and professional fulfillment and leads a better life because of it.

Quick Tip

I share training strategies to stay on track and improve your running during the winter months.

Links Mentioned In The Show

authorjimlynch.com – Jim’s Website – read the first chapter from his upcoming book
@authorjimlynch – Follow Jim on Twitter

This is due to many reasons including not owning the right clothing and equipment to run comfortably, not knowing how to dress properly, fear of slipping and falling, discomfort from inhaling cold air and the increased time and effort required to actually get out the door!  It often becomes “just a hassle.”

As a runner you have to overcome the natural tendency to hibernate indoors.  It’s often dark, dreary and uninviting to head outside, completely unlike a beautiful spring, summer or fall day that naturally pulls you outdoors.

I won’t sugar coat it, running outdoors in the cold can at times be miserable and wet with the constant irritation of a runny nose.  You’ll think to yourself why am I out here.  But there is also is a refreshing quality of cold, crisp air that will awaken you,  revitalize your spirit and help ward off the winter blues.

How to Dress

The biggest problem most runners face with clothing during the winter is being too warm, not being too cold.   Your tendency is to dress for the conditions when you step out the door.  While you may not be cold when you first head out, you will soon be overheating once underway.  How much clothing you need at a given temperature is highly personal to each person, but there are some guidelines to successful clothing choices.

Here are my keys to success for dressing appropriately:

1.  Avoid Cotton!
Remember the number one rule of dressing for winter running - AVOID COTTON!  Cotton will soak up your sweat and then you will become cold rapidly and the layer may even freeze depending on the temperature.  They key to successful running in the winter is staying dry.

2.  Dress For Warmer Temps Than It Is
When you first head out you should feel slightly chilly, but not cold.   As you begin running you will warm up as your body produces excess heat.  To compensate for this, dress for it to be 10-15°F warmer than it actually is.  After the first mile you’ll be warmed up and dressed optimally.

3. Avoid Bulky, Heavy Clothing
Thin, light weight, form fitting technical fabrics are best for running in the cold.  When selecting clothing, you want to specifically purchase clothing made for running in the cold.  Again avoid cotton at all costs – a sweatshirt and sweatpants aren’t going to cut it.  Stick with the same tried and true brands that you use for your summer gear.  Nike’s Dri Fit, Asics, Brooks and others all make great options for runners.

4.  Upper Body/Core
Start with a long sleeve base layer that is light weight.  It should be well fitting and not hanging off your body loosely.  This layer will serve to prevent too much heat from escaping but not so much that you overheat.  Depending on the temperature and your preferences, you then can add a second thin layer or add a warmer insulating later made specifically for running.  You might also consider a running vest.  A vest keeps your core warm, yet is less restrictive and does not provide additional insulation to your arms.

For temperatures below 30°F I typically have a second layer that has a thin, fleece like lining and technical fabric outer shell.

For temperatures below 20°F a jacket made specifically for running is a great choice and can be layered on top of your base and insulating layer.  Many have a insulating lining with water resistant shells.

I personally find Nike’s Dri Fit clothing to be among the best.  Their material not only keeps you warm, but is engineered to prevent you from overheating.  In the picture below I backlit one of my warmer layers for dry conditions so you can see how they have engineered their garments to allow excess heat to escape while still having insulating properties.  Note triangle shaped pattern that allows for this.  Many of their warmer layer offerings are designed with a similar concept in mind but the execution varies.

5. Pay Attention To Your Feet
Nothing can ruin a run in the cold faster than getting wet.  Whether it is a hidden slush puddle, stepping in snow that is deeper than you expect or getting splashed by a passing car, it’s no fun.   The most common part of your body to get cold and wet is your feet.

Depending on conditions your regular running shoes just might not cut it.  If there is precipitation or wet conditions such as slush or puddles from melting snow your regular shoes will quickly become soaked leaving your feet cold and wet.  Even if it is dry, in very cold temperatures your feet will quickly become cold with most running shoes designed to keep your feet cool for warm weather.

If it is cold and dry, consider wearing a running sock specifically designed for cold weather with an extra insulating layer where it counts.  Drymax is a great brand.

If it is wet, I recommend you have a different pair of shoes altogether since nothing ruins a run faster than sinking into cold slush. Visit your local running store for their recommendations on winter specific shoes that protect against this scenario, to be fitted properly and get a shoe that is right for your needs.

6.  Wear A Hat
Your mother knew best when she told you to wear a hat.  More heat escapes through a runner’s head than any other part of your body.  In fact, in cool but not cold temperatures wearing a hat alone can keep you warm enough. I’ll often go running when temperatures are near 40°F with a running hat, light base layer on my core and running shorts.  Yes – shorts!

Select a hat that is made specifically for running.  Beanie styles are very functional.  It should be made of thin, lightweight technical fabrics so as not to trap excessive amounts of heat.

7. Hands
Your hands will be the first to get cold when running outdoors.   As they get cold you will want to clench your fists to keep them warm.  This can tighten other areas of your upper body as a result.  Have a pair of running gloves that are made of a technical material just like everything else.  There are mitten, finger styles and even ones that will allow you to continue to operate your phone for music or listening to Runner Academy Podcast (of course!)

8. Lower Body
Your lower body can typically withstand the cold better than anywhere else.  I will typically wear shorts down to about 30°F as I find anything else restrictive.  Once temperatures dip below freezing it is time to consider protection to avoid the risk of frostbite or having your legs go numb.   Invest in a good pair or two of running tights.  Yes, even for the men.  Avoid anything loose fitting.  Running tights provide needed protection from the cold and a good pair won’t inhibit your movement.

Avoid Slips And Falls

Not only are they embarrassing  they can lead to injury and possibly derail your running.  One of the risks of running outdoors in winter is coming across a patch of black ice or running at sunset and having the snowmelt from the day begin to refreeze while you are out on a run causing slick conditions that were not present when you started.

Stick to paved, clear and dry surfaces when ever possible.  If you must run on snow, I highly recommend tracking your run by minutes instead of miles.  It can take you significantly longer to run in the snow.  Some days it is important to get in the miles, but on days like this you should focus on effort and time spent running on your legs.  To keep your traction on snow or ice, I recommend you consider a pair of YakTrax to attach to your running shoes.

YakTrax attach to nearly any running shoe and provide you additional traction to maintain stable footing and are minimally intrusive.  You won’t be able to go as fast as in ideal conditions, but they will help you run safely and securely.

Stay Hydrated

Many runners make the mistake of not hydrating enough in the winter.  Since it is not hot and you may not be sweating and losing fluid at as fast of a rate as you would in the summer it does not mean you can avoid taking in fluids.  Winter air is cold and dry and you will lose fluid.  The same rules for hydrating apply in the winter as in the summer.

Be Seen

If the conditions are dry and there is no snow present then you should try to dress in colors similar to how you would in the summer – bright and reflective.  If you are running in the daytime and there is snow, particularly on a bright, sunny day with snow reflective clothing becomes camouflage.   Instead, wear dark colors in bright reflective environments such as these so you contrast with your surroundings.

Note The Wind

Running in the wind is never fun, but running in the wind in cold weather can be brutal.  It’s especially problematic if you start your run and then night falls or if it is sunny and suddenly turns cloudy.  If you are damp with sweat you will cool faster in the wind.  To negate this, attempt to run with the wind in your face on the way out and then have the wind at your back on the way home. If you run with the wind at your back the first half of a run, you will likely get hot, sweaty and remove layers. When you turn around, the wind will get very cold almost immediately.

Be Flexible

If the weather is truly harsh don’t think twice about skipping the day and going out another time.  There are other ways to train during the winter besides just running outdoors.  It is simply not worth the risk of injury over one workout that could leave you sidelined for weeks.   Use your own good judgement.

Take Care of Your Gear

Promptly care for your running clothes when returning home.  Immediately wash them and remove all salt from your shoes.  If your shoes become wet while running, crumple up some newspaper and insert the newspaper into your shoes to draw the moisture out and help them retain their shape.

These strategies will allow you to obtain the most enjoyment from your winter running.  For more detail on running in inclement weather, be sure to check out the training course on this inside Runner Academy Membership.

Any of these reasons sound familiar?

You might be coming off a goal race from the fall and feel entitled to some rest time.  You certainly are, but a week or two of rest following a rigorous training schedule and goal race can become a month, and then the weather becomes less favorable to outdoor running contributing to a lack of motivation.

The days grow shorter providing less opportunity for running in the morning or evening before/after school or work.

The holidays approach and temporary demands for your time take hold.  Suddenly it is well into January and you feel off track and have lost some of your fitness level.

You might detest the idea of running indoors on a treadmill referring to it as a ‘dreadmill’ and feel if you can’t run outdoors you won’t run at all so you hang it up.  Others have no issue running indoors but feel it becomes too monotonous at times and don’t keep up with it consistently.

Perhaps without another goal race in sight, you lose focus or motivation to keep going and wonder now what?

Define Your Goals For The Winter

Without any idea of what you are looking to accomplish it is far too easy to get off track.  Winter provides a unique time to improve your running from various approaches.  It helps to decide early on what your goals for the coming year are.  Do you want to become more fit overall?  Get faster at a certain race distance?  Attempt a new race distance such as the marathon?  Decide what you want to work towards for the next few months.  Even if you don’t have a race formally scheduled it will provide you a framework to structure your training.

With that in mind, start looking as early as you can to get a new goal race on the calendar for the Spring and then schedule one!

Making decisions and deciding what you want to accomplish next will set you on the path to stay consistent, since you have something specific you are working towards.

Focus On One Area To Improve

Assuming you have a goal race set for the Spring it may seem like a long way off, certainly if it is some time before a formal training schedule starts.   This time before you start formally training for your next goal race is an excellent time to do some specific, targeted training that you might not focus on as much during the peak running season.  While you should engage in a balance of activities and not just one exclusively, you can place emphasis on what is most pertinent to you.

Did you have an injury during the peak part of the year?  This would be an excellent time to strengthen your body and perform strength exercises to build your supporting running muscles and prevent that injury from recurring in the future.

Do you want to get faster?  A period of non-formalized training for a race during the winter is a great time to focus your efforts.  You can perform speed building track workouts on an indoor track.  Change up your treadmill routine and run specific speed workouts rather than simply pounding away at one consistent pace for a given period of time.   Take a weekly “boot camp” style class that focuses on circuit training at high intensity to increase your aerobic capacity.  Join a weekly spin class for more targeted training to maintain and build your running fitness.

You Don’t Need To Run As Often

Many runners feel that if they can’t get outside and run they aren’t doing anything worthwhile.  The fact is, maintaining your running base does not require you run as much as you do in preparing for a race.

Performing strength training, cross training and circuit training can be just as effective for maintaining and building your fitness.   Time spent strengthening your body will put you ahead of other runners in the Spring when formalized race training resumes.

Get Outside When You Can

It’s true that outdoor running is more pleasurable than indoor running.  Accept the fact that there will be days where running outdoors is simply not possible or downright dangerous.  But you shouldn’t avoid outdoor training altogether.

Continuing to run outdoors offers you more benefit as your races will be run outdoors, and the more training you can do in an environment that is similar to your races the better.  Running indoors occurs on a rubberized track or on a treadmill.  Running outdoors is typically on pavement which by nature less forgiving.  If you spend the entire winter running indoors exclusively it can be a bit jarring to return to outdoor running.  If you are able to get outdoors at least once per week you will be able to make the transition back to outdoor running  with ease in the Spring.

Make a deliberate effort to schedule your activities around the weather forecast.  Days suitable for running will present themselves from time to time – make sure they don’t go to waste.  If you have an indoor workout scheduled change it to another day and get outside instead.   Be flexible and if a string of nice days is on the horizon plan ahead so you can take advantage.  This will also help you continue to have variety in your workouts.

The other benefit to training both indoors and out is exposure to a variety of temperatures.  If you train indoors all winter and have an early season 5K and the weather is cold, you may not perform as well since you have not trained at all in the cooler temperatures.  Just as you need time to adapt to warm temperatures, you don’t want to have issues in the cold early in the Spring.

Rather than detesting winter, embrace the opportunity to have a break from the rigors of formal race preparation and take advantage of the opportunity to get stronger as a runner so you can get out and crush it when most are starting over.

Dean Karnazes has run across America in 75 days, run 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days, won the Badwater Ultra-Marathon – a 135 mile race across Death Valley in 120°F heat, ran a marathon to the South Pole in temperatures of -40°F. He was the 2008 Overall Winner of the 4 Deserts Race Series, he’s run 10 – 200 mile relay races – solo! He’s been named to Time Magazine’s List of the 100 Most Influential People in The World.  And this is only to name some of his accomplishments as a runner.

Dean has been featured on 60 Minutes, The Late Show with David Letterman, CBS News, CNN, ESPN, The Howard Stern Show, NPR’s Morning Edition, the BBC, and many others. He has appeared on the cover of Runner’s World and Outside, and been featured in TIME, Newsweek, People, GQ, The New York Times, USA TODAY, The Washington Post, Men’s Journal, Forbes, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, and the London Telegraph, and many others.  He is a monthly columnist for Men’s Health, the largest Men’s publication in the world.

He’s a New York Times best selling author of 3 books UltraMarathon Man: Confessions of an all Night Runner, 50/50 and his most recent book Run: 26.2 stories of Blisters and Bliss are inspiring stories of his triumphs that are sure to inspire you.

But most importantly, running is his passion, he is humble about his successes and above all as I discovered when I met him in Chicago before the Chicago marathon, just a regular guy.

In this episode, Dean shares lots of advice and wisdom in achieving your own running goals.   You’ll hear his strategies for breaking out of your comfort zone, how to deal with a string of bad days, runs or when you want to quit in a race.  He also shares his thoughts on cross-training, finding time to run and inspiration. You’ll also hear what didn’t make it into his books.

Quick Tip

I share some basics for proper running form so you can ensure you can run as fast and efficiently as possible.

Links Mentioned In The Show

ultramarathonman.com – Dean’s Website (Schedule, Books, DVDs, Blog and more)
karnokids.com - Dean’s Charity for kids to stay active

Contest Winners

Congratulations to the following listeners of Runner Academy Podcast that won a personalized and signed copy of one of Dean’s books!

Doug Felts – Silverdale, WA
Sara Adams – Littleton, MA
Lindsay Schenck – Chicago, IL

Geographic factors aside, there is also the size of a race.  You can run in large races with thousands of runners or smaller races with maybe just a couple hundred runners.

Picking the right race is a personal decision of which many factors need to be considered.  Here are some decision points to consider in order to help you focus on the right race for you.

Consideration 1:  Time Of Year

Thinking of signing up for a spring half or full marathon?  Don’t focus so much on the date of the race itself, but think of the time period you will be training for it.  If you live in a place where the weather is amicable to training outdoors year round then no worries.  But if you sign up for a distance event in April the months of January – March are when you will be in the core of your training.  Think about yourself as a runner.  Will you have difficulty getting in your training as a result?  Do you hate running in inclement weather?  If you plan to train indoors most of the winter will you have enough time to do some miles outdoors?  Will you be able to simulate the course profile (hills, surface, etc) adequately if you train mostly indoors?

Be honest with yourself about your training preferences.  A good start might be to select a shorter distance race in the early part of the Spring and race distance towards the end of the Spring, but before the heat of Summer arrives.  This way you can start training indoors if you must and transition to outdoors later.

If you are thinking about running a race during the Winter or early Spring away from home in a warm climate and you will be doing your training in a cold climate, you need to be prepared accordingly.  If you trained outdoors in 30°F temperatures and your race is in Florida and that is the first time you will experience warm weather again, your performance will definitely suffer as a result of not being acclimated to the temperature.

Consideration 2: Large or Small Race

Do you want a race with thousands of runners or prefer a race with hundreds instead?   There are a lot of things to consider about size.

With thousands of runners in a large race, you may experience congestion at the start or various points in the race that may be a negative factor if you are attempting to run a PR or have a goal time.  Your pace might be dictated by how those around you are running or time can be added weaving around others.

Look at how the start is managed.  If there are start corrals with a staggered start spacing out runners by ability level the over crowding scenario is often mitigated.   If not, you might encounter it.  If you are running the race for the experience instead of time this may not matter as much.

Course aid can vary greatly between large and small races.  A large marathon such as the Chicago Marathon will have aid stations spanning 2 city blocks on both sides of the street with hundreds of volunteers handing out aid.   A smaller town marathon such as the Grand Rapids Marathon while adequately having aid available will have much smaller aid stations with fewer volunteers and can be swamped in the early miles.

The same goes for short distance events.   Some small short distance 5K or 10K races may not have aid stations at all, or just one with limited supply.  Research ahead of time and decide if what they are offering for aid is ok with you.  Race day is not the time to find out.

One advantage to smaller races is your ability to potentially place better than you can in a larger race that draws many more runners, and often a large field of elite runners.  Depending on your age and ability level, it is not out of the realm of possibility to place in top 10 for your age group at a smaller race and get some bragging rights with fewer runners and lack of an elite field.

For every minute in a large race hundreds of runners can cross the finish line putting your strong performance sort of average in terms of finishing place.  In a smaller race, a handful of runners might cross the finish in the same time.  The difference in a large 8K race between finishing in 35:00 and 36:00 might be over 500 places but a smaller race might be just 10 places.

Consideration 3: Home or Away

There are many advantages to running a race near home.

The first advantage of course is expense.  Since you don’t incur the cost of travel, lodging, meals, etc a relatively inexpensive race entry fee doesn’t end up blowing a hole in your budget from all of these extras.

The second advantage is being able to sleep in your own bed and have your regular routine.  Regardless of the actual race distance, some runners have difficulty sleeping the night before a race.  Being at home where you are most comfortable is preferable to being in an unfamiliar bed and surroundings.

The third advantage to a home race is you know the terrain.  You have ‘home court’ advantage.  If you are running a distance event you may be able to actually train on the race course itself or at least be able to scope it out if you are not already familiar with it.

Many runners like the appeal of visiting a new place or running a destination race that makes the experience much more worthwhile and even a source of their motivation.  A destination race can become the basis for your training, a constant source of conversation and a memorable experience.  If it is your first race at a given distance, I recommend you consider running something close to home first.  A new race distance is enough to tackle itself without any added stress of the logistics of traveling to an unfamiliar place.  Get some experience under your belt, then think about a destination race.

When planning a destination race, consider how you plan your travel around it.  If it is simply for the weekend to a nearby city, you’ll probably be fine.  If it somewhere farther away, take travel into consideration when planning.  It’s not a good idea to get off a 6 hour plane ride and run the next day.  Try to allow a buffer day.  Another thing to consider is if you are making your race part of a vacation.  If you do, think about scheduling your trip so that the race is at the beginning.  This way, you won’t focus on it all week and not relax on your vacation and also you will avoid having been on your feet for several days leading up to the race while taking in the sights.

Consideration 4:  The Course Itself

Take a look at the course map before signing up.  Is it a point to point course, meaning you start in one location and finish in another (Boston Marathon)?  Is it a single loop course, where you start and finish in roughly the same spot (Chicago Marathon)?  Or is it a series of loops where you will pass the same part of the course multiple times and take laps?

Don’t think of the course layout just in terms of your preferences, but think also of any supporters that will be there to see you.

A point to point course can be interesting as you actually might end up a considerable distance from where you started and appreciate the distance traveled since so many races and training runs start and finish at the same spot.  But for spectators, it is a nightmare.  They might not be able to see you more than one time and also have to travel the distance with you to see you off at the start, at some point along the race route and of course the finish.  Think also about logistics of getting to the start that might be some distance away and travel time.

A single loop course is usually ideal as you won’t pass the same scenery more than one time avoiding the dreaded feeling of having to pass by a certain spot again and again before you are done.  From a spectator standpoint, it is often easier to see you multiple times since the return trip in a loop might be on an adjacent street just a few blocks away.  Where to park, gear check and other race logistical issues are also much easier when you start and finish in the same place.

The final point in respect to the course itself is the course profile.  The course profile refers to how many turns, hills or other elements there are that you will have to encounter.  If you are going for a PR, don’t choose a race that has lots of turns or hills, especially if you are training somewhere that is flat.  Look for a ‘fast’ course meaning it is designed with long straightaways, few turns, and few (if any) hills.

Do Your Homework

Take a look at race reports that others have posted online about any prospective race you want to run.  It will give you a great feeling for what it will be like.  Talk to other runners about their favorite races and start listening for the same mentions of races coming up again and again.  That is a good indication of a stellar event.

In the end, selecting a race will be a combination of all of the above factors and a highly personal decision.  But make a decision and sign-up.  Nothing will keep you motivated to keep moving ahead than having a race date approaching.

So much goes into preparing for a race.  Not only are there training considerations, if you find yourself without a lot of race experience there are a lot of common mistakes new runners make – even experienced runners – that can be avoided.  Inside Runner Academy Membership I have devoted an entire module of training to race day itself, as it is such a critical part of your experience.  What happens in the final 24-48 hours and the opening minutes of a race can make or break your event.  Take every advantage you can for the best race day experience possible!

Runner Academy Podcast launched on August 6, 2012 has been featured by Apple as ‘New and Noteworthy’  for several weeks and has the distinction of being ranked within the top 30 of all podcasts overall featured by Apple on the iTunes store.  In addition, the podcast has been featured in the top 3 for ‘New and Noteworthy’ podcasts in the Fitness & Nutrition category.

According to Apple’s website, hundreds of new podcasts are submitted each day.  New and Noteworthy podcasts are handpicked by iTunes staff based on uniqueness and quality.

In addition to this distinction, the show can now be found in nearly every smartphone podcast application for iOS, Android and Blackberry as well as other online directories.

Runner Academy founder Matt Johnson said, “To be featured among the best overall in podcasting including big names such as ESPN, NBC and the BBC is truly an honor.  There are countless individuals turning to running to change their lives for the better and I am grateful to see that the show is resonating with people and encouraging them to achieve their own running goals.”

Over 25,000 downloads of the podcast have occurred since the podcast went live and currently averages approximately 1,000 downloads per day.  The show has also been recognized by listeners through over fifty 5-star reviews that have been given since it’s inception just over 60 days ago.   The show has already encouraged one runner to take on the challenge of running a marathon:

“I started to listen to the podcast while on my long runs.  Matt keeps the show fresh every week and gives great advice on running topics.  His topics have helped me to taper properly and realize I could do a full marathon.  After finishing my half, I signed up for a full and will continue to listen to the show on my long runs to carry me through.  Many thanks to Matt for being relatable and inspiring.   You are killing it!” -iTunes Review from Kandirae on 10/7/12

On Runner Academy Podcast Matt Johnson shares his 15 years of running experience.  Listeners hear inspirational stories, tips and training advice that can be immediately used in their running regardless of current ability.

The podcast can be found on the iTunes store at: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/runner-academy-matt-johnson/id551103126

The show can also be found at http://runneracademypodcast.com where there are instructions to subscribe for free on a variety of podcast applications.

Graphic: Recent screenshot of Runner Academy Podcast listing in the top 30 of ‘New and Noteworthy’ of all podcasts on the Apple iTunes Store.

About Runner Academy
Runner Academy exists to teach, inspire and empower everyday people to lead healthier lives, achieve their running goals, and reach new milestones by tapping into their running potential.  Through the podcast and the forthcoming Runner Academy Membership, runners will be able to make sense of the endless and often conflicting information on running and be empowered to accomplish their running goal.  We take the guesswork out of running and provide a complete solution for running success. Whether you are looking to get started running, complete your first 5K, 10K, half marathon or full marathon, or want to make your next one the best yet, Runner Academy provides you the knowledge you need to be successful. Commit. Train. Achieve. To learn more, visit runneracademy.com

Jan Seeley is the co-race director of the Illinois Marathon in Champagin-Urbana, IL and publisher of Marathon & Beyond, a bimonthly magazine tailored specifically for marathoners and ultrarunners.

In addition to her responsibilities as a race director and publisher of a national running magazine she has been a runner for 38 years and continues to run today.

I asked Jan many of the questions runners often have (and sometimes even complain about) when it comes to races.

In this episode you will get to hear the other side of the story, have a new appreciation of your Race Director along with a few laughs of delivering a memorable race day experience.

You’ll also learn about the Illinois Marathon, which I personally believe is one of the finest races in country to run for a variety of reasons.

The Illinois Marathon offers a race distance for everyone, multi-event challenges, a flat and fast course perfect for attempting a new PR without the crowds of a big city marathon yet won’t leave you on your own as some smaller town marathons can sometimes do.

Did I mention the entry fees are among the lowest among races and they have fantastic swag?  After this episode you just might have your Spring race scheduled.

Quick Tip

In the quick tip, I’ll address the question of “What’s next” after completing your goal race for the fall along with tips to keep the momentum going.

Links Mentioned In The Show

illinoismarathon.com - Official Race Website for the Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon
marathonandbeyond.com - Marathon and Beyond Magazine 
joes-blasts.blogspot.com - Blog of Joe Seeley chronicling his 21 month fight with Leukemia 

They are now in the process of making a documentary about their stories and their journey together as one team in an upcoming 200 mile relay race from Miami to Key West, FL.  You will experience their personal journeys in becoming runners, accomplishing their goals and benefit from what they have learned along the way.  They will also share how they fit it all in with their busy lives and offer tons of motivation.

For Rik and Ada it has lead to a new lifestyle and having an incredible opportunity to inspire others in a way they never imagined just a few short years ago.

Rik Akey
In 2007, Rick Akey was age 38, 275 pounds, had borderline high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and low energy, and realized he had to take action.  Unable to run around the block or even do one pushup, he hired a personal trainer and took massive action for 6 months.  At the end of those 6 months, Rik set a fitness goal to learn how to run. Undaunted by how much goes into proper running at the start, he progressed to running a mile without stopping in 6 weeks.

His journey lead him to his first 5K, half and full marathons where he counts himself today as a sub-4 hour marathoner.  In all he dropped 90 pounds, his blood pressure dropped 30 points, and his cholesterol dropped 100 points and is off his medications.  Rik now has a lifetime goal to run a marathon in all 50 states and is now a captain of a Ragnar Relay Race team paying it forward by inspiring others to take action.

Rik shares his personal story from when he couldn’t run around the block to crossing the finish line of his first marathon – including his emotional reaction.  He also shares things he has learned along his running journey.  We also hear about how the idea of forming a Ragnar Relay team came about and how it lead to the creation of the forthcoming documentary.

Ada Wong
At age 27 and 259 pounds, Ada felt she had missed out on the best years of her life during her 20′s.  She took a chance on entering to become a contestant on The Biggest Loser and was selected to be on the show.  During the show, in addition to her incredible weight loss of nearly 100 pounds she ran her first marathon and set a female course record in the process.

She finished The Biggest Loser Season 10 as the runner up.  After the show, there are stories of contestants that return to their old habits.  Not Ada.  She took massive action once home and continued a healthy eating and took running more seriously.  She has completed triathlons but has put a renewed focus on running.

Ada shares her personal story on what she has done since The Biggest Loser, how she maintains a healthy lifestyle today, things she has learned along the way with her running and her advice to anyone considering what might be possible.

After listening to this episode ask yourself, where will my running journey take me?

In the quick tip, are you unsure of what to wear on a cool race day when you are debating if you should wear shorts or long sleeves?  I’ll cover strategies to ensure you are warm at the start without overheating during the race.

Links Mentioned In The Show
fromfattofinishline.com - Fat To Finish Line Website
indiegogo.com/fattofinish - Fat To Finish Line Funding Site to Support the Film
facebook.com/fattofinish – Fat To Finish Line Facebook Page
runsforcookies.com – Blog of Katie Foster

How about overcoming RA and not being able to run more than a few blocks to having completed races all over the world including running a marathon on the Great Wall of China, a half-marathon in the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea, and completing an ultra marathon. Did I mention that she does all of this barefoot?

Wendy Nail’s journey in just 5 years of being a runner will not only serve to inspire you, but to live vicariously through her amazing running experiences and to consider your own goals.

Quick Tip

In the quick tip, I share a segment of my appearance on the Runner Girls Podcast where I share some of my top tips for a successful race day, including a tip that can shave time off your race without running faster (or cutting the course!)

Links Mentioned In The Show

http://rustedrunner.blogspot.com - Rusted Runner (Wendy Nail’s Blog)
http://runnergirlspodcast.wordpress.com - Runner Girls Podcast (Journey of 3 women  running their first half-marathon)

VO2 Abbreviation
The V in VO2 represents volume, but not just as a quantity.  It also represents a rate – how much over a certain period of time.  The O2 simply refers to the chemical formula for oxygen.   Your body has several VO2 rates.  One such rate is your resting rate, that is how much oxygen your body uses while at rest.  There are then rates for VO2 during exercise.

VO2 During Running
As you begin running, your muscles begin working above your VO2 resting rate.  As a result they naturally need more fuel to sustain this increased activity.  Part of this increased demand requires more oxygen so your breathing gets progressively faster and deeper as your running pace increases.

What is VO2 Max?
As stated above, it is the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during exercise.  It is a combination of how much oxygen your lungs can take in, convert into the bloodstream which is then pumped throughout your body by your heart and finally how efficient your muscles are in consuming and converting that oxygen for use.  Since oxygen is the most critical component to running a fast pace, your VO2 max is the best measure of your running fitness.

As you begin running your VO2 rate will increase and continue to increase until a point it can increase no more.  This plateau of where you can no longer utilize oxygen any faster is your VO2 max.  The higher your VO2 max, the better your fitness level.

Here is a graphical representation of this for our visual runners: 

How To Calculate VO2 Max
The only method for truly determining your VO2 max accurately is to have it read via a laboratory test.  These are expensive and not really necessary except for elite runners striving to make incremental improvements and need that level of precision.

The rest of us can use a simple test called the “One Mile Walk Test” to determine our VO2 max.  That’s right, we are going to walk…well, walk fast.  For accuracy I recommend you conduct this test at your local running track.  A standard track is 400m for 1 lap, so 4 laps equals 1600m or 1 mile.

Here are the steps for this test:

1) Walk exactly one mile as fast as you can without straining yourself or running.  Think Olympic speed walking if you can manage it!

2) Note the time in seconds it takes for you to complete the distance.

3) Immediately upon completion take your pulse for 15 seconds and multiply by 4 to obtain your heart rate.

4) Input your results into our calculator below:

Interpreting Your VO2 Max Results
Take the result from our calculator to interpret your VO2 max results.  As a runner you should work towards being in the good to high category and work to improve towards the lower range of the Athletic category for your age group to reach your potential as a runner.  The elite level is rarely obtainable except for the most exceptional of athletes.  Runners at these levels usually have natural gifts in addition to extensive training.

How to Improve Your VO2 Max
There are several specific running workouts you can use to improve your VO2 Max.  Inside Runner Academy Membership I cover what these types of workouts are, in addition to how to perform them correctly.  In addition, as a Runner Academy member you will learn how to determine your optimal running pace to remain in an aerobic running state and running paces for each race distance from 5K to the Marathon.

Some runners even give up altogether on their goal if their training gets sidetracked for a week or two thinking all is lost while others have an inability to take a scheduled rest day in fear of losing the gains that have been made.

All runners have some level of fear about taking a day or few off from training with the belief that weeks or months of hard work will immediately be negated.  Despite my over 15 years of running I too still battle this irrational fear from time to time.  It’s time to put some facts to those fears and put them to rest.

The fact is, without scheduled rest time for recovery, you are continuing to wear your body down and not giving it a chance to recover, rebuild and become stronger.   But the question is, what are the exact effects to your performance when taking time away from running?

When we examine the impact of taking time away from running we have to consider two things: the effects of time away from running on your aerobic capacity and loss of muscle mass that you have developed through your training.

Aerobic Capacity

VO2 max is one of the best measurements available as a measure of a runners’ fitness level.  VO2 max is the maximum capacity of an individual’s body to transport and use oxygen during exercise, and is a measurement of the physical fitness of the individual.

The good news for most runners is they tend to sweat the small stuff.  In the case of missing a workout or two it may seem like the end of the world but the reality is studies have shown there is little reduction in VO2 max (your fitness level) within the first week away from running.

For you marathon runners that worry about your taper period – take a deep breath and relax.   You are simply reducing your training volume, not your running altogether.  Those that have been running for a longer period of time and have a well established running base will lose their aerobic fitness gains much slower than a runner that has not developed a base or been running for very long.  In both cases, there is no immediate fitness loss.

Muscle Development

Just like your aerobic capacity there is negligible loss in your muscle development and tone within the first week away from running.  After a week there begins to be minimal losses in muscle power but the good news is you can quickly regain these losses when you resume running.  You can even speed the muscle rebuilding process with speed workouts such as fartlek training.

Summary

You won’t lose your aerobic capacity or muscle power as long as your time away from running is less than two weeks.  Any minimal losses can quickly be regained.   Remember it is always best to err on the side of caution and take a rest day or cross-train if your body is giving you signals that you are on the verge of injury.

There are times when a week or two away from running is actually beneficial, such as after a strenuous marathon performance. Coming back to running too soon after such an event puts you at a very high risk for injury if your body has not fully recovered.

If you are away for more than two weeks, you’ll have a bit of work to do in order to get back to where you left off but all of your work is still not lost.  Your mind will remember how fast you were able to run previously, but your body will not perform quite at the same level.

The impact to your overall readiness for your goal race will be based on when your extended break occurs in your training.  Breaks of more than 2 weeks at the beginning of a 16-18 week training plan early on will be less detrimental than those that occur during peak training weeks closer to your goal race.

Take those scheduled rest days, don’t give up on your goals with a week or two away for whatever reason.  Your shoes will be waiting for you and your body will quickly recover to where you left off.

Many runners are now, or will soon be entering the taper period for their half and full marathons.

On this episode, I will address the taper and how to master it so you can run strong on race day.  There is a lot of information out there about how to taper, but none on how to successfully taper.

I’ll take you through what I do and give a complete well rounded approach covering proper timing, how to decrease your running, how to modify your nutrition, getting adequate rest, mental preparation, customization and self control.

Quick Tip

In the quick tip, I answer a listener e-mail about my top tips for someone running the Chicago Marathon for the first time.

Links Mentioned In The Show

http://runneracademy.com/spirit-of-the-marathon - Link to The Spirit Of The Marathon Movie

Many runners are either unaware or unsure of the difference between them.   Understanding these two exercise states is essential to improving as a runner.  If you have set your sights on a PR at an upcoming race you need to understand these concepts.  They are are the core reasons why you can sustain a given pace for a period of time and why you can’t with others.

In addition to understanding aerobic vs anaerobic running we need to understand the role your body’s production of lactic acid plays into each running state.

Aerobic Running

Aerobic running  is a state of exercise where your body has enough oxygen.  An example of this would be an easy run or a recovery run after a hard workout.   You can run without becoming winded and can sustain a conversation with your running partner.  In this state, your body has enough oxygen for your muscles to produce all of the energy required to perform.

Carbon dioxide and water are the two main waste sources through breathing during an aerobic running state and are easily expelled when you exhale.  Your body’s production of lactic acid is matched by your ability to use it as fuel and no excess is building up in your system during aerobic running.

Anaerobic Running

Anaerobic running  is a state of exercise where your body does not have enough oxygen.  Think of when you may be going all out to the finish in a race or running very hard at a pace you can’t sustain for very long such as when you perform interval training.   When you are running anaerobically you will be unable to sustain a conversation with your running partner and will often be getting a few words out before gasping for breath.

Your body does not have enough oxygen to deliver to your muscles to produce energy.  As a result the energy has to come from somewhere to make up the difference. That difference comes in the form of sugar.  Your muscles will begin to burn sugar in addition to oxygen. One consequence of this is the over production of lactic acid.

You also enter an anaerobic state when you first start your run for up to 8-10 minutes depending on your fitness level.  Your body then transitions to an aerobic state assuming you are running a pace that is sustainable as discussed above.  This is the reason why you might struggle to get started at the beginning of your run and why it is often said “the first two miles are the worst miles“.

Lactic Acid

Lactic Acid is actually a good thing in the right proportions.  It plays a crucial role in generating energy as you run.  The body produces lactic acid whenever it breaks down carbohydrates for energy.  But like anything else, more is not always better.  Excess lactic acid is not easily removed from your body as carbon dioxide and water are.  Carbon dioxide and water can be expelled through your breath, but lactic acid excesses cannot.   The result is lactic acid accumulating in your system.

The lactic acid itself is not the problem but rather one of the byproducts of your body producing lactic acid – Hydrogen.  Hydrogen interferes with your body’s electrical signals in your muscles and nerves, slows your energy reactions, and impairs muscle contractions.  Over a short period of time, this increased accumulation of lactic acid byproducts creates extreme fatigue.

The faster you go above your fitness level and thus enter an anaerobic running state, the more carbohydrates you will use fuel and produce lactic acid in excess of your body’s ability to use it or remove it.

It’s important to note that lactic acid itself is not the cause of muscle soreness nor the burning sensation you get from intense exercise.  Muscle soreness stems from micro tears in the muscle tissue caused from exercise.

Real World Running Scenarios

If you start a training run or race at a pace that is too hard or increase to this pace in the middle of your run your body will enter an anaerobic state where lactic acid will accumulate in excess of your body’s ability to clear it.  If you enter this state too early in your run you will feel increasingly fatigued as lactic acid accumulates within your body and eventually you will be forced to reduce your pace to return to an aerobic state of running.

But herein lies the problem.  Since your body has over produced lactic acid which has subsequently flooded your body your ability to increase pace or even continue at your planned pace is compromised. In a race situation, your goal time is now likely unattainable.  This is one of the reasons I consistently tell runners not to go out too fast at the beginning of a race or training run.  Doing so jeopardizes the outcome of the entire activity.

Now you might be able to get away with running anaerobically at a very short distance race such as the mile.  But you won’t be able to do the same over any considerable distance.  In the case of the marathon this is even more critical.  The marathon requires that you run at a pace that is fast enough, yet not too fast that you prematurely burn your energy in the early miles.  If you run anaerobically too soon in the marathon you will likely “bonk” well before the finish.  The goal is to conserve energy to make it all the way through at your planned pace and then run anaerobically into the finish if that is part of your race plan.

Determining Your Training Paces

While your ability to hold a conversation while running that I mentioned above is a good “gut check” to determine if you are running aerobically or anaerobically while you are out running, it isn’t particularly useful for determining your target paces for running various distances nor accomplishing any time goals.

Inside Runner Academy Membership I’ll show you how to determine your Lactate Threshold, that is the fastest pace you can run before you begin to run anaerobically and begin to overrun your body’s ability to maintain the pace.

Along with determining your lactate threshold I’ll also teach you specific running workouts designed to improve this figure so you can run faster aerobically!

In this episode we hear from Alice Mansfield, a 73 year old runner that began running off and on in her 40s and didn’t run regularly until her 50s.

As a young girl in the 1940s she lived in Boston on the route of the Boston Marathon and would watch the race with fascination.

However, in the 1940s women were not allowed to participate and her mother reminded her of this fact and told her running was not for girls. Over 50 years later she crossed the finish line in the Boston Marathon and has run several other marathons and continues to run half-marathons today.

She will make you rethink what is possible regardless of your age, and how starting or continuing a running lifestyle now can have a positive impact on the quality of your life well into your golden years.  She also offers a wealth of information for those looking to get started, how to stick with running, how to accomplish your goals and lots of wisdom from near 25 years running.

Quick Tip

I’ll tell you how you can use your smartphone to immediately improve your running form.

Links Mentioned In The Show

http://runneracademy.com/alice - Alice’s LLS Team in Training Fundraising Page
http://runneracademy.com/coachs-eye - My video demo of Coach’s Eye evaluating foot striking
http://coachseye.com – Coach’s Eye App

Proper running form is essential to successful, injury free running.  Very likely you have developed your own form if you have been running for some time and it’s worth evaluating if some tweaks can be made. If you are newer to running it pays to get off on the right foot from the beginning.

Inside Runner Academy Membership I will teach all of the points of proper running form and provide you the resources to take with you out running to ensure you are running with proper form every time.  But I would like to focus on the most problematic areas of running form that many runners are challenged by.

One of the most common running form issues that transcends runners of all ability levels is where the rubber meets the road; that is where your foot strikes the ground.

Many runners struggle with heel striking.  In a study conducted by Daniel Lieberman at Harvard University it was found that 75% of runners wearing modern running shoes heel strike.

Proper distance running form calls for landing midfoot, not on the heel or toes. Striking the pavement with your heel is the most common running stride and naturally puts on the brakes, wastes energy, slows your pace and leaves you prone to injury since it’s jarring. Running on your toes may be ok for a fast, short sprint but in any sort of distance running it is destined for injury.

It can be difficult to determine where your foot is striking the ground as a runner.  After many months of practice, midfoot striking can become second nature, but being able to view your foot strike and immediately make adjustments would be most effective.

Any good running store can offer you this analysis.  Most will do it for free if you are purchasing shoes while others charge for it as part of a clinic on proper running form.  What if you could put that same power of their expensive camera systems into your own hands out on the road where you actually run rather than on a treadmill in a store?  That would be amazing.  As mentioned in the quick tip of podcast episode 5, such a solution now exists.

Enter Coach’s Eye.

Coach’s Eye is an extremely powerful video analysis app developed by TechSmith that is available for a nominal cost to your iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch or Android device.

The app allows you the ability to record your running and immediately review it for instant feedback.  Are you heel striking or midfoot striking?  As they say the camera doesn’t lie.  Have a friend record you or set your phone on a bench and run by to capture your form.  Then, immediately have a look frame by frame where those feet are striking the ground.  Even better, as you are reviewing your recording the app can make a new video capturing your review, critique and even highlight the areas that need improvement or look good with on screen telestration so you can track your progress over time.

It has more uses than just where your foot strikes the ground.  Use it to examine your gait, your posture, lean, how you perform strength exercises and other areas of your running form.

See more for yourself in the video below where I provide a quick example of how you can use it to evaluate your running.

I highly recommend this app for all runners to use as a tool to improve their running.  Get it for your phone or tablet today.

*Disclaimer – I work for TechSmith and was not compensated or instructed to post any reviews. I did so on my own behalf as I feel runners can benefit from use of it. The links above are not affiliate links meaning I do not earn anything if you choose to buy it.

The good news is that it can be done even with very busy schedules.

In this episode I will help you find time for running a midst your busy life. If you don’t think there is time, I will show you how to find it. I’ll cover strategies for this, offer a way to make running something that is habitual and automatic for you along with tips for making sure the time you allocate for running is spent running.

Quick Tip

In the quick tip, do you find yourself struggling to get started every time you go out running?  You are not alone.  I’ll explain why that is and offer you 3 ways to overcome this hurdle in your running.

Monday can be a doozy.

After a weekend of rest and relaxation most dread the alarm on Monday morning.  The day is often a mental roadblock which can lead to becoming demotivated, overwhelmed at the work ahead for the week or just a grind.

Many people come home exhausted, might order out an unhealthy meal for dinner and veg out in front of the TV before lying in bed at the end of the day realizing how little was accomplished.  Getting in a run?  HA!  Too tired, I’ll do it tomorrow, I’ll just take a rest day – name your excuse.

In reality, Monday is the most important day of the week for your running – even if it is a cross training day.  Why?  Monday sets the tone for the entire week.  Never underestimate the power of habits and momentum.  Start the week off poorly and it can spill over into the rest of the week.

Let’s take a look at an unproductive Monday and how the impact is felt long after Monday is over:

If you skipped out on your run on Monday, it becomes that much easier to skip your run on Tuesday.  Even worse, if you happened to not get a run in over the weekend Monday is that much more critical.  Friday, Saturday and Sunday may have come and gone.  Monday would make it 4 days in a row.

When your Monday routine is thrown off, the likeihood you get back on track for the rest of the week is low.  Mentally, you already feel like you are behind for the week.  Feeling demoralized, you might think to yourself, “I already missed a day this week, no point in starting late.  I’ve worked hard lately and will just take a week off and start fresh next Monday.”

If you sleep in Monday and don’t get up for your morning run, it becomes that much easier to snooze again Tuesday, and Wednesday and so on…

If you didn’t eat healthy on Monday it becomes a license to do so for the rest of the week.

Being unproductive on Monday can lead to stress and guilt for falling behind which can cause frustration and even resentment.  You might see others out running and get anxiety knowing you should have been out there too.

Sometimes, a bad Monday can turn into a bad week and can turn into even another week of not putting in the training you committed to.  Weeks can quickly come and go and you find yourself deep in a hole with your event approaching and you might try to just do longer runs and harder workouts later to “make up for it”.  This then leads to doing too much too soon as you skipped out on the training that was to progressively lead to the harder workouts and you then wind up injured or fatigued, leading to even more rest days.

As you can see, things can quickly spiral out of control.  Seem like an exaggeration?  It’s not.  I’ve heard this exact scenario too many times from runners.  Curiously, it always seems to have started on a week that got off on the wrong note.

Now, let’s take a look at the opposite scenario.

You dominated your Monday setting the tone to crush it all week.  After getting in a good run Monday, each successive workout follows suit.  You might even see improvements in your pace or set a new PR.

You dominated your Monday making good decisions with food.  Your brain is now in the “I’m going to make healthy choices this week” mode.

You got out of bed on Monday morning and got your run in.  Hitting that snooze button becomes less and less likely with each passing day.  If you are a morning runner, it becomes automatic.  It’s a habit.

Since you were so productive on Monday, you go to bed feeling great about the day, the week and your running goals.  The rest of your week is less stressful since you aren’t already behind on day one.

One good week turns into another good week.  You find yourself progressing steadily towards your running goal.  What once seemed like a daunting goal seems more and more attainable with each passing day.

I challenge you to dominate every Monday.

It’s not the worst day of the week, it’s not the start of yet another week – it is the most important day of the week.  Own it each week and see your results materialize.

• Make sure you have your workouts planned for the week.  How much are you running each day, what pace, where, what time – GET SPECIFIC!

• What cross training activities are you going to engage in, and for how long?

• Plan your meals for the week on Sunday and grocery shop on Sunday so that you have the fresh food you need for the week.  Eliminate the trap of eating out every night since you have already purchased the food you need.

• Put your alarm clock across the room, away from your bed so you have no way to shut it off without getting out of bed.  Eliminate all ways you can snooze and have an excuse to miss your morning workout.  ”Just 5 more minutes” can easily turn into I’ll just run tomorrow morning instead.

• Get to work/school on time, and focus on what is important to accomplish for the week, rather than unproductive time filling tasks.

How will you dominate every Monday?

Tell us in the comments below!

Hilda has been running on and off with a small group of friends for several years but never committed to a race or structured training. That all changed in January 2012 when she set a goal to run two 5K races.

Just a month later she hadn’t yet run more than 3 miles but committed to the Chicago Marathon while also taking on the challenge of raising money for charity.  Quite an ambitious change in goals!

Hear the story of Hilda’s journey thus far as we approach race day for her first marathon including how she has overcome a common running injury, lessons learned from training thus far and her approach to completing her first marathon.

If you are in a similar place or thinking of having a marathon in your future, you will learn some great tips to get through the rigors of training.

Quick Tip

In the quick tip, have a busy weekend coming up?  Don’t let that derail your long run or key workout of the week.  I’ll share strategies to accommodate both.

One of the best ways I know to improve as a runner, recover after running and most importantly avoiding injury is by cross-training.

What Is Cross-Training?

Cross-training is defined as any activity that is a secondary activity to your main activity that compliments your effort in your main activity.  That’s right, activities other than running. This can be hard for some to see the purpose of, especially once starting out.  It seems logical that if you want to get better as a runner you need to just run more.

We are conditioned from a young age that more is better.  Practice makes perfect.  This is true to a certain extent, but to really unlock your potential as a runner and derive the maximum gains from your running activity you need to supplement it with other activities outside of running.

The Benefits of Cross-Training

I have personally experienced success in my running with consistent cross training.  When training for distance events such as the marathon, it helps provide a balance.  It provides a mental break from pounding the pavement day after day.

I credit having run injury free for years to it. With cross-training you can perform additional aerobic exercise with hardly any extra injury risk.  Your likelihood to become injured increases as your mileage increases, so it is better to build a well rounded fitness level now rather than become injured, rehab and do it later as a necessity to get healthy enough to run again.  Cross-training will help provide you a solid foundation on which to increase your running mileage.

If you are prone to common running injuries cross-training is a must.  Running exclusively tends to over train your primary running muscles while neglecting the supporting muscles. At some point, your running muscles overpower the supporting muscles and injury occurs.  Cross-training will in part strengthen muscle groups that normally don’t get worked during running, support those running muscles and may be the key to staying injury free.

Effective Cross-Training Activities For Runners

Try adding these two activities at least twice a week in addition to your running.  On easy run days I may choose to run in the morning and do a cross-training activity in the evening.

1. Cycling – Take out your bike and go for a ride.  If you don’t have one (or in good working order!) a spin bike at your gym is a great option.  In the winter months when I can’t bike outdoors I drop into a weekly spin class at my gym or set up my road bike on a trainer at home.

If you are serious about cross-training and want maximum benefit from your cycling efforts I highly recommend you use clip-in shoes if that is an option as they will fully work your leg on the upstroke and downstroke rather than just relying on the pushing down movement of the downstroke.  Most high end spin bikes in health clubs have compatibility with popular bike shoe systems.

The key to effectively cross training on the bike is not so much the type of bike, but how you ride it.

When cycling as a cross-training activity aim to keep your cadence above 90 rotations per minute. You want to spin in an easier to pedal gear, rather than going for speed in a tougher to pedal gear.  As a cross-training activity cadence over speed is key to effective cycling for running benefit.

2. Swimming – Swimming is perhaps the best cross-training activity you can engage in as a runner.  Water offers a gentle, natural resistance with almost no impact on your joints.  Many physical therapists will recommended swimming as the first course of action for injured runners to maintain fitness.  But instead of waiting for an injury and winding up with a physical therapy prescription, use it to increase your endurance in a non-jarring way as a supplemental activity.

Learn proper technique.  Would you believe that before I honed in on proper swimming technique that as a marathon runner I would find myself swimming just a few laps of the pool and being winded?  That was the case until I learned how to kick, pull and increase my buoyancy in the water.  Your stroke should be fluid and be performed with ease.  Learning to swim would be a good use of your time as well as you will stand to benefit greatly as a runner from it.  If you are already comfortable in the water different strokes work different muscle groups.

For example, freestyle swimming provides a great aerobic workout while using your upper body as the primary method of propulsion rather than your lower body. Breaststroke uses a variety of lower body muscles that are supplemental to running and helps remove lactic acid buildup.

I typically swim an easy breaststroke following a long run, and use freestyle on days where I am exclusively cross-training or as a second workout on an easy run day.

If you don’t like/know/want to swim even just water resistance exercise also serves as a fantastic recovery exercise.  After a long run I find that getting in the pool and performing the high knee pool exercise does wonders for my recovery and prevents the stiffness after a challenging workout.

Activities You Should Avoid

Depending on what your running goals are, I recommend you avoid other jarring forms of exercise while actively running and training for a race.  These include but are not limited to basketball, flag football, tennis, racquetball – anything with running and quick stop and go movements.  This is especially true for training for speed in short distance races, or for half or full marathons.

You increase your risk of injury by engaging in other high impact sports in conjunction with running.  You also are not cross-training as you are using the same muscle groups as you do as a runner.  Save these activities for the off-season or when you are not actively training for a race.

Inside Runner Academy Membership, I teach runners about many more forms of cross-training activities, injury prevention, detailed strength exercises and cross-training is also a core part of each of my race training plans. It’s an approach that is proven to work, but unfortunately, most either don’t know it can help them, don’t know what to do, how much to do or don’t see the value as they haven’t tried it.

I look forward to hearing how cross-training benefits your running.

Unfortunately, just after mile 11, Ryan Hall had a race outcome that he had never attained before in his life; he did not finish (DNF).   Previously, he had never finished worse than 10th in any Marathon he has run.  For the miles leading up to the point he dropped out his hamstring muscle began flaring up in a way that had not occurred during his training.  He tried to continue in the heat of the day but his hamstring muscle got progressively tighter the more he ran. Soon he had to make a painful decision: finish the Olympic race and risk serious injury or walk away.

Ryan Hall hit this point by saying,

“As marathoners you train so hard, you’re pushing the body so hard these things come up.”

Lesson 1: Things happen.  The marathon is one of the great equalizers in running.  No matter your ability it is entirely possible that on any given day you might just have a bad race.  It just wasn’t your day.  You can experience this in training as much as you can on race day itself.  This also applies to other distances as well.

You could have trained well and be fully on track to PR in your next 5K yet on race day something goes wrong.  A muscle spasms, you arrive to the start late and have to weave through slower runners adding time and distance to your run, it’s a 90° day, it is below freezing with ice pellets hitting your face causing your to go numb and your lungs to sting with every breath.  You can’t control everything that will affect your performance so don’t beat yourself up over things.  Know you gave your best effort.

But the biggest point that was made by Hall sums up one of the best lessons of this race.  Hall stated,

“It’s really disappointing, but I’m trying to keep the overall big-picture perspective, I’m just trying not to do anything stupid out there, trying not to damage my body.”

Lesson 2:  One race, one training run, one day – no matter how big the stage – is not worth a career ending injury.  This is the key to being a great runner.   Live to run another day.  At age 29, Ryan Hall knew that despite this particular opportunity coming only once every 4 years, having to qualify for it and train for months and months he would rather have the opportunity again to come back than to risk never seriously competing in distance running again at this level.

Ryan exhibited this same trait in 2010 when he dropped out of the Chicago Marathon weeks before the race, to the disappointment of many.   He knew he wasn’t in top shape with nagging injuries, so get healthy and race another day.

The final lesson of the 2012 Olympic Marathon comes from the winner himself, Stephen Kiprotich.  With his finishing time of 2:08:01 he certainly was not the fastest runner in the world or a likely winner at most big city marathons.  But he was the fastest this day.

“At the start, I didn’t believe I could win the race,” Kiprotich said.

Lesson 3: You just might surprise yourself.  As much as misfortune can strike you in running, the opposite is also true.  The stars align, you have ideal conditions, you fuel off the crowd, you never hit the wall, you are light on your feet and fly to a new PR.  Days like this also happen, and is part of the reason you run the race.

It’s why Ryan Hall dropped out at mile 11 when he knew he was on the verge of serious injury, there will be another day and another race.

Try to keep these perspectives in both your training and running.  Celebrate successes, and let go of the things that are beyond your control.  And if you end up falling short of your goal know there is another race to try again.  Be thankful that you are healthy enough to have been out there and accomplished what you did.

Well done Ryan.

Her background?  Not a runner.  Her whole journey started with a New Years resolution to learn to cook and run in 2007.  Just over 3 years later she had completed a marathon in every state.

Her story will serve to not only motivate you but inspire you to what is possible.

Quick Tip

I will share with you what I do to get through tough times during training runs.

Links Mentioned on the Show

www.50by25.com - Laura Skladzinski’s Blog Absolut(ly) Fit

Whether you are looking to get started running, complete your first 5K, 10K, half marathon or full marathon, or want to make your next one the best yet, Runner Academy podcast is just one way I will provide you the knowledge you need to be successful.

The show will regularly feature guests to share their stories on a variety of running topics. From inspirational stories of completing marathons in every state, from couch to 5K, epic weight loss to specific topics such as proper shoe fitting, making your training plan work for you and more you can count on improving your running by listening.

I will also take your questions by using the Runner Academy contact form.

You can find the podcast on iTunes, the iOS Podcast App (for iPhone, iPod and iPad) , Stitcher, along with every popular podcast app for your smartphone and it is also published on our podcast page on the blog.  By using one of the services outside of our blog you can subscribe free and automatically have new episodes sent to you, and take Runner Academy with you when you are out running!

Have a listen to episode 1 to get started!

Join me from the beginning as I launch this unique show all about running. The podcast will regularly offer topical and timely real running advice from me and also include guests that will inspire you with real stories of their success and accomplishment.

I’ll also invite guests to do guest talks on a variety of running related topics and seek to interview the biggest names in running.

Here is what is in store for you in episode 1:

-Introduction of myself, what is Runner Academy and how it will help you achieve your running goals.
-What to expect on future episodes
-Featured Segment: Why Run?

Quick Tip

The number 1 mistake runners make that derail their training and running goals

Watch the video below to learn how to perform the high knee exercise in the pool and how it can aid in your recovery post run.

Water is one of the best ways to cool down after a run.  If you have the benefit of a pool in your backyard as I do consider going straight into it after every run (just don’t forget to take your shoes off!) The cool water will help immediately reduce muscle swelling from your run and aid to dissipate heat rapidly.  Rather than just a quick jump in, try to remain in the water for 10 – 15 minutes for maximum benefit.  While in the water, try swimming a resting stroke such as breaststroke to help flush lactic acid buildup from your body.  Another great option is to perform the high knee pool exercise.

When I train on the lakefront in Chicago Lake Michigan serves this purpose instead of a pool.  Think about if you can plan to have a run end at a pool or natural body of water. In fact, the colder the water the better.  If you don’t feel like submerging completely or can’t swim or if the water is just plain too cold just soaking your legs by wading in waist deep has tremendous benefit.

As an added benefit, the thought of cooling down in the pool immediately after your run can help you push through the heat for your reward.  Just keep visualizing the water and how great you will feel after your run.

And now for your enjoyment, a post run cool down of my own following a 6 mile training run for the Chicago Marathon.

In fact, a recent poll conducted on running in the summer confirms that 89% of runners surveyed reported times of feeling less motivated during the summer.  This just leaves 11% that report they remain just as committed during the summer and have no loss of motivation.

Now this may be a bit skewed given the summer of 2012 is proving to be particularly difficult with the relentless heat that has broiled much of the US.

It is not just hot, it is dangerously hot for many days where running outdoors must be limited or avoided altogether.  So hot that even getting out running early in the morning has proven to be not sufficient with overnight temperatures remaining in the 80s and quickly hitting 90°F once the sun rises.

I have even found myself becoming frustrated as the heat not only makes it harder to run, but greatly reduces my performance which can become very demotivating.  I have found my pace much slower and perceived effort much harder leading me to feel less fit that I really am.

On top of this, the heat leads to increased fatigue which makes me want to just sleep in.  Any of this sounding familiar to you?

The fact is once cooler weather returns, you will find you are much faster and fit than you expect.  This will be an immediate motivator and boost.  In fact, you don’t appreciate how much excessive heat impacts your running until you have had to deal with it for a long period of time and then you get outdoors on a cooler day and surprise yourself.

You just need to hang in there and slog it out.

Many runners get a boost of excitement each spring as the weather initially warms up and this can carry over for a few months until summer fully arrives.  Why are many runners less motivated during the summer?  Other findings of the recent survey include:

• 62% struggled with heat and humidity
• 22% had a hard time due to travel or family commitments
• 5% dealt with allergies or a general lack of motivation

I’d like to address each of these individually so you can stay focused for the bulk of summer still to come.

Dealing With Heat and Humidity

The most effective way to deal with the heat and humidity is to avoid it altogether if you can.  Avoid running during the peak of the day.  You may think this means the traditional 10am – 2pm period but this is actually only the strongest part of the day for the sun’s intensity.  The fact is the greatest temperature of the day often comes after this period from 2 – 5pm as there is a lag between the greatest solar energy and the maximum temperature for the day.

When the temperature is forecast to be well over 90°F I suggest running before 8am or after 7pm once the temperatures have moderated and the sun is not as intense.

Running just before sunrise when it is light but the sun has not yet risen will give you light for safety, less crowded roads to cross and the lowest temperatures of the day as this part of the day has had the maximum number of sun free hours to cool down.  If you are running on a paved trail the pavement will not be radiating heat in the morning as it can in the evening hours following a full day of baking in the sun.

If you find yourself unable to get out early, I suggest running indoors during periods of excessive heat.  Most runners only consider the indoor track or treadmill at their health club as a refuge from winter and rainy days but excessive heat is a good reason to head indoors as well.  If you are like me you spend much less time at the gym in the summer anyway, so it gives you a chance to get back in there and do some cross training as well.

Brutal heat and humidity mean you must scale back your running goals.  Do not try to beat the conditions.  Slow down, take a walk break occasionally if necessary, and save the hard workout for a cooler day.  Remember, a few days of having to scale back your running will not impact your race goals in a meaningful way.  Keep the big picture in mind.  Shorter, individual workouts benefit you in whole, not just what happens on one day.

For more tips on running in hot weather, how to stay hydrated be sure to read my article on Running In Hot Weather.

Travel and Family Commitments

Summer often brings periods of time that differ from your regular routine.  In Runner Academy Membership I teach runners how to find time for running.  I offer strategies to make running automatic, a routine in your day.  Many runners succeed with these methods but find trouble when their routine changes for summer travel – not being familiar with the area, not having their running gear with them, other activities planned during the day when you usually would be running to name a few.

To overcome these, plan ahead.  Think about what challenges you will face with your running and plan accordingly.  Don’t wait until the last minute or once you are traveling to consider how to keep your exercise routine going.  You likely won’t!

Try to spend as much time on foot as possible.  Walking or hiking long distance can supplement your running efforts and also serve as a potential rest period from the rigors of training while still getting benefits.

Here is detailed information on How To Train While on Vacation.

Allergies

For most allergies tend to subside during the summer or at least be less severe.  If you are still finding yourself having issues consider changing the time you take your allergy medication.  For example, taking a 24 hour allergy medication before bed if you plan to run in the morning ensures you will have an ample store of it in your system when you head out in the morning instead of taking it then and having to wait for it to become effective.  If you don’t take any specific medication for allergies but have issues when running periodically consider taking an over the counter allergy medication such as Benadryl at least an hour before running.

General Lack of Motivation

Realize that everyone becomes unmotivated from time to time, even myself.  Admit that is happening to you and don’t beat yourself up over it.  Everyone goes through periods of lack of motivation.  Try to identify the cause – is it the heat?  Do you have a busier than normal schedule?  Feeling like you might be developing an injury?  Perhaps you have been over training and it has led to burnout.

Once you have identified the cause, think creatively about a solution.  What is it that you can change or engage in to get back on track?  In many cases developing a support system and accountability mechanisms can greatly improve a general lack of motivation.  I teach runners several strategies for how to accomplish this inside Runner Academy Membership with an entire course devoted to the topic.   Support, combined with accountability mechanisms leads to success.

The hard work you are putting in now will pay off come race day for you, especially if you are training for a fall event.  Just as runners that train at high altitudes can have an advantage over those that are at lower altitudes runners that remain consistent with their training during the summer, even if it is modified for days of excessive heat, will have an advantage over those that did not on a cooler fall race day.

While you will always have challenges running in the heat,  it is even more difficult when you are not acclimated to it.  It can take up to 7 days to acclimate to a large climate change in your running.  Think not only of hot weather in the summer, but if you are training during the winter for an event that will take place in the Spring when the chance of the first hot day occurring on your race day exists (think Boston Marathon 2012) or if you are training for a winter race in cold weather that will take place in a warm climate such as the Disney Half and Full Marathons in January in Orlando, FL.

These are all examples of situations that can derail your running if you aren’t adequately prepared.  Running in the heat and humidity can put you at increased risk for dehydration, heat stroke and other heat related illnesses.  Common sense is the key to avoiding problems when running in hot weather.

Here are some of the keys to running in hot weather that I present within the Runner Academy Membership area.  Join today for more tips on training in hot weather along with cold weather, rain, snow or whatever mother nature throws at you!

1.  Stay Hydrated

This is a no brainer, but what does staying hydrated really mean?  It actually begins before you head out running and regardless of weather.  As a runner you should be aiming to consume at least 64 ounces of water per day to maintain a good level of hydration.  This will take some time to get your body used to.  If hot weather is immediately imminent hydrate as often as you can during the entire day in advance of your run, the day of your run and after your run.  When you head out running you want your body to already be hydrated, rather than downing a lot of fluid just before heading out.

While out running maintain at least the following levels of fluid intake:

Following the above guidelines will help you remember to consume fluids properly, at proper intervals, and replacing what you need.  You should not become thirsty when running.  If you have signs of thirst, consume more water immediately.  You should drink evenly throughout your run to avoid ever being thirsty and to maintain proper hydration.

2.  Don’t Over Hydrate

The hydration guide above is what you should be taking in at a minimum.  You should take in more if you need it, but you want to avoid over-hydration.   This is a dangerous condition that runners can develop by taking in large quantities of water.  Over-hydration occurs when the body takes in more water than it excretes through sweat or urine and its normal sodium level is diluted.  It can lead to cramping, nausea, dizziness and in extreme cases seizure.   A similar condition can develop if you do not replace your sodium and electrolytes lost through sweat by drinking water exclusively on long runs.   You want to drink evenly throughout your run to avoid this condition.

Again, the above hydration guidelines are for runs of 5-7 miles or 90 minutes, whichever comes first.  For runs exceeding these distances I cover hydration strategies for long runs in Runner Academy Membership in Module 3 – The Long Run.

3.  Drink Cold Fluids

Some runners prefer cold fluids while others prefer room temperature.  When it is hot you should drink as cold of a fluid as possible.  Cold fluids are absorbed into the body faster than warm fluids.  Drinking cold fluids also makes you feel cooler.  The effect is not just psychological.  Colder fluid intake has also been shown to have a slight physiological cooling effect as well helping to keep your body temperature down.  To keep your fluids cold while running try a handheld water bottle and partially freeze your fluid before you head out.  Adding ice also works on short notice.

4.  Avoid The Hot Weather Altogether

Avoid running between 10am and 5pm during the peak of the day’s heat.  If possible, run first thing in the morning just before or at sunrise.  This is the coolest part of the day as temperatures have had the longest period of time to come down overnight.  Humidity is also at the lowest point.  The next best time to run is late in the evening before sunset.  If you can’t avoid the middle of the day, try to choose routes in shaded areas such as forest trails or waterfront areas with breezes.

Running just before sunrise when it is light but the sun has not yet risen will give you light for safety, less crowded roads to cross and the lowest temperatures of the day as this part of the day has had the maximum number of sun free hours to cool down.  If you are running on a paved trail the pavement will not be radiating heat in the morning as it can in the evening hours following a full day of baking in the sun.

The best option for you may be to consider running indoors on a track or treadmill instead if it is excessively hot until weather conditions improve.

5.  Wear Technical Fabrics

If you don’t own technical running clothes hot weather will make you miserable.  Invest in quality technical running clothing that remains dry, wicks away sweat and eliminates chafing.  In hot weather wear only light colored, loose fitting technical fabrics.  Avoid tight fitting clothing and cotton.  Wearing anything with cotton will cause your clothes to become heavy and soaked with sweat that will lead to inefficient cooling and painful chafing.   A running hat is your best friend in the heat.  Even if it not sunny, a running hat will help your head cool effectively and absorb sweat from running down your face, into your headphones and out of your eyes.   For the men, you may find that running in a technical shirt may keep you cooler than running shirtless.   For more on technical clothing and what you should look for check out Module 4 – Equipment in the Runner Academy Membership.

6.  Slow Down

Brutal heat and humidity mean you must scale back your running goals.  Do not try to beat the conditions.  Slow down, take a walk break occasionally if necessary, and save the hard workout for a cooler day.  You will perform better overall if you slow down from the start rather than become fatigued and struggle later.

How much you need to reduce your pace is largely determined by your prior exposure to heat and humidity.  As a general rule of thumb, slow your pace by 30 seconds for every 5°F above 65°F.  

7.  Make A Splash

Use water (but not water that you need to drink!) on your head and face to help cool your core temperature.  Under your armpits is another area cold water will aid in cooling your body temperature.  After your run, literally make a splash.  Jumping into a pool or wading into a lake will help your body dissipate heat rapidly.   Submersing yourself in water also helps reduce muscle swelling which can be caused by heat and humidity.

Make sure someone knows where you are going and always carry a cell phone so that you can call for help if you become too fatigued or feel the effects of heat exhaustion or heat stroke.  Make sure you always carry identification as well – attaching a Road ID to your shoe is a great way to not forget this should the unthinkable occur.  By following these tips you can continue to train in the heat.

Learn more about training and racing in hot weather as well as other weather conditions as many others already do within Runner Academy Membership.

But once you begin to venture past a couple of miles and begin running on a regular basis you owe it to yourself to equip yourself with the knowledge to be successful.  It is better to start off with good habits than to correct bad ones later on.  (If you don’t believe me you have never attempted taking golf lessons after years of frustrating play!)

There are 5 key principles in becoming a runner that apply to whatever your reason for running is, and grow even more important as you progress as a runner.

Principle 1: Progressive Overloading

Your running abilities will improve from your training as your body adapts to the stress training places upon it. The adaptations that occur are at the cellular level.  You don’t want to overwhelm your system, as that can lead to injury, illness, fatigue or all of the above.

Your body is best equipped to improve itself from gradual increases in additional stress.  Additional stress from training includes increased time, distance and intensity.  You would not go out and run a marathon without any training.  The same goes for starting off on regular running.  Remember the golden rule in running: never increase your distance by more than 10% per week.

Principle 2: Specificity

The type of improvement you experience as a runner will be directly correlated to the type of training you perform.  The principle of specificity applies to the type of exercise, intensity (pace), and duration (time or distance).   Of course, to become a runner you need to run, but how you approach your training will be different depending on your goal.

As a beginner you might aim to run for 1 mile without stopping.  Perhaps it is run for 30 minutes.  Maybe you want to train for your first 5K.  A more advanced runner might want to set a personal record (PR) in a half-marathon.  Each of these examples represents a different goal that requires a unique training approach.

For example, a new runner looking to be able to run for 30 minutes without stopping would be best served with a run walk program to build a base level of fitness and gradually increase the time spent running until 30 minutes is achieved.  A first time marathoner will want to have specific running workouts tailored to the demands of the marathon – long runs for endurance, cross -training for injury prevention, shorter runs for maintenance while recovering from longer runs.

If you are looking to get faster, logging more miles won’t be effective.  You’ll need to focus some of your training on specific running workouts such as interval training to increase your speed.

Principle 3: Individual Differences in Ability

Beginning runners experience the fastest gains compared to any other group of runners.  When you don’t have a core running base established simply starting a running routine will result in rapid gains as your body responds to the new stresses placed upon it.

If you are starting your running efforts with a partner or group not everyone will progress at the same rate.  Individuals are unique in their physiology.  Some have a gift for running, others have to work harder to achieve the same result.

The most important factor is to not compare yourself to others when starting out.  It can be discouraging if you are one of those not progressing at the same rate.  Instead, evaluate where you are now and where you want to be 3 months from now.  After running for a few weeks, take note of your progress.  Think about what you can accomplish now that you could not accomplish just a short time ago.

Running is more about competing against yourself than it is against others.

There will always be those that are fitter and faster than you.  Make your own goals to measure yourself against.  Even if others get to where you want to be faster than you we all end up at the same place eventually due to the next principle.

Principle 4: Law of Diminishing Returns

One of the biggest benefits of being a new runner is your early progress will be substantial.   As you make great gains you will start a positive feedback loop equating running with the increased fitness you are experiencing.  However, over time you will begin to approach your optimal performance.  Whatever training regimen you are engaging in will become less effective over time until you are simply maintaining the gains you have made.

As you approach that point, only small incremental improvements will be possible from hard training efforts, compared to large improvements that came from more moderate training at the very beginning.  Don’t let this discourage you, but rather allow you to focus on a specific area of your running you want to target for improvement.

Principle 5: Use It Or Lose It

Just as the principle states, you have to keep running to maintain your fitness level as a runner.  Consistency is the key.   This does not mean that you have to run at the same intensity year round.  But if you train hard all summer and then hang it up completely for the winter you are going to be starting over with next to nothing the following Spring.  That can be extremely frustrating as mentally you will feel you can just pick up where you left off because you have done it before but physically your body will tell you otherwise!

It takes about 10 days of no running before you start to lose what you have worked so hard to obtain.  See more on how long it takes to lose your fitness level.  Depending on your level of fitness, what it takes to maintain it will vary.

One of the most common beginner mistakes is to take time away and just pick up where you left off.  This can lead to injury or a bad case of delayed muscle soreness.   Remember principle 1 – progressive overloading.  If you have more than a few weeks away you need to build back to the level you were at.

No matter your running goal these 5 principles will start you off on the right foot.

Now choose your running goal and chart your course to achieve it.  No matter what it is, Runner Academy Membership can give you the knowledge you need to be successful!

While the exact cause of side stitches is still under debate, there are certain activities that tend to cause them that you can proactively be aware of and take measures to prevent them.

Many beginner runners experience side stitches only to have them occur at less frequency and severity as their running fitness level improves.  As an experienced runner, I encounter them only once or twice a year and never at a debilitating pain level.

Here are three ways to prevent them, and strategies for stopping a stitch while running.

1. Warm-up before you run

When you head out for a run, starting off on your planned pace might seem like the most logical idea, but your breathing is not in an established rhythm yet.  In fact, during the first 8 – 10 minutes of exercise your body starts in an anaerobic state of exercise and then transitions to an aerobic state assuming you are running a proper pace.

Not breathing in a consistent rhythm is thought to be one of the most common culprits of side stitches.   Consider these strategies to start your run or to conduct your workout and avoid side stitches.

My favorite strategy is to run for a half to full mile at an easy pace to warm up.  I can make up the time during the run if desired or another option is to not start the watch on your workout until after your warm-up.

Many runners start the clock right when they head out the door, but will stop it once they finish running and not add in the cool down.  Don’t factor your warm-up as part of your distance for the day, just as you don’t count any walking cool down you do as part of your distance either.

2. Regulate your breathing

When you are running you should aim to breathe deeply from the diaphragm as opposed to quick shallow breaths from your lungs.  Shallow breathing may be linked to an increased frequency of side stitches.

Try this strategy to encourage slower deeper breaths – inhaling for two to three strides and exhale for the same. The faster the pace, the shorter the sequence (fast pace = one or two strides per breath, slower pace = three or four strides per breath).

This will not only reduce the chance of stitches, but also helps your body use oxygen most effectively.

3. Eat carefully before you run

While most side stitches are rooted in breathing issues what you consume before hand is also thought to be a cause.

Foods that are high in fat and fiber are often triggers of side stitches.  Experiment with a variety of pre-run food before you run, eat lightly rather than a whole meal, and give yourself plenty of time to digest.  In doing so practice your race day fueling strategy remembering that you should practice everything in your training.  Race day is no time to try something new!

Watch your intake of fluids before you head out running and aim for your last fluid intake to be at least an hour before you head out to run.  The preferred approach is to hydrate evenly throughout the day rather than consuming a lot of fluid just before your run.  Consuming fluid throughout the day encourages your body to be well hydrated all the time and you won’t have feel the urge to intake large amounts before heading out.

If you consume too much fluid before you head out you will likely get a not only a side stitch, but also an  upset stomach from fluid sloshing around in your stomach.  Sometimes this can lead to vomiting.

Treating A Side Stitch

If you experience a side stitch while running, take action immediately and don’t wait for it to get worse.  Your best chance of preventing it is heading it off at the first sign.

Slow your pace or even speedwalk and exhale forcibly from your diaphragm as the foot on the opposite side of the stitch hits the ground. This doesn’t mean every time that foot hits the ground, but as you exhale, do so at the same time with that opposite side of where the stitch is occurring.

Another strategy is to hold your breath for a few of seconds and then forcibly exhale.  This can release the tension in the muscle causing the side stitch.

Getting a side stitch does not mean you will get another once you are able to relieve it.  Run with confidence once you feel the stitch has passed.

As mentioned, the good news is with time and experience you are less likely to experience side stitches. As your body acclimates to running, many of the causes of side stitches remedy themselves through developing proper running form and fitness.

If you are like most runners you will focus on maximizing your relaxation time.  The good news is for vacations of 7 – 10 days any of the above approaches is perfectly fine.  You can maintain your current level of fitness for up to two weeks by doing next to nothing.  Beyond that and you will start to lose your fitness level.

Assuming you want to at least something on your next vacation I have 3 tips to help you stick to getting some training in effectively.

Tip 1: Run in the Morning

Some like to run in the morning while others prefer afternoon or early evening.  But while you are on vacation, I highly recommend that you run in the morning.  Vacation often can result in large blocks of unstructured time.

Without having constraints on your time it is easier to push your training until later in the day when you also may have little on the agenda and ultimately it never happens as daytime sight seeing opportunities arise or a nice dinner at a restaurant followed by drinks kills any chance to get out and run.

This tip is even more important for those who might be doing a lot of hiking while on vacation. Hiking takes a lot of effort and after a day on the trails your legs can be left feeling spent. Running afterwards is not recommended – the fatigue can negatively affect your form, making you much more susceptible to an injury.

Tip 2: Don’t Just Run

Keep up with any injury prevention exercises you are doing.  If you have equipment that you use for this that is impractical to bring with such as a foam roller focus on exercises that don’t require equipment or pack easy to use equipment such as resistance bands that are light and take minimal space in your luggage.  You may also consider strength exercises that require no equipment at all or can be easily conducted on mats at a hotel gym.

Tip 3: Stick to the Basics

Don’t focus on details such as pace or hitting certain mileage goals.  Just get out and run, even at an easy pace.  An easy pace is sufficient to maintain your fitness gains while you are traveling.  In fact, if you are in the middle of a structured training program an easy week might be just what you need to come back and crush it once you return home.

The only exception to this is if your vacation occurs during a core week of training – such as the week of your longest long run in preparing for a marathon.  Identify early on where vacations will occur so that you can make adjustments to your training plan.  One example would be to shift an easier week to your vacation week and move the more rigorous training week before your vacation.

Remember not to be a slave to the training plan, make it fit your lifestyle.  With few exceptions such as key weeks in marathon preparation, there won’t be impact to your race goal.

Where to Run?

A lot of times you may not have an ideal place to run, or you may fear getting lost.  Don’t let it become an excuse to skip your workout.

In 2011 I vacationed in Barbados and Paris as well as took many frequent weekend trips away from home.  The beaches in Barbados were beautiful yet they were not all connected as many hotels had natural barriers to restrict access to their private property.  I left the gates of our all inclusive resort and ran out and back to “The Gap” and through the town surrounding us.  In the process, I found places off resort I wanted to go try later that evening.  Let your run be a way to see more of your destination in a way a car can’t.

Try to explore the area you are going in advance on Google Maps and even the Streetview feature and find places you might want to run.

Sites like Map My Run or if you use a Garmin running watch Garmin Connect may have routes that are laid out by runners who actively run in the location you are vacationing.  You might be able to find ideas there or even the local running path.

If you are in an unfamiliar area or out of the country where your smartphone may not work do not fear getting lost.  Plan to run straight out and straight back  so you can’t get lost and make note of points of interest along the way.

If there is truly no where to run, don’t be afraid to use a treadmill in the hotel gym.  Remember you are just sticking to the basics in most cases and looking to keep your fitness level maintained.

What To Do Once You Get Home

When you come back from your trip and want to resume training, you can usually begin training at the same volume and intensity as before you left if you were gone for 7-10 days, especially if you were able to get a run in once or twice.  Your don’t lose a noticeable amount of fitness in 7 – 10 days.

Pick up right where you left off and repeat the same week that you had before you left. This ensures that you’re not doing too much, too soon since you had an easier week than the plan calls for.

We have a saying at Runner Academy that the first two miles are the worst miles.  This may be particularly true coming off a vacation.  But stick with it, after a workout or two you’ll be back at it.

If your vacation was longer than 10 days and you did nothing while away, you need to ease back into your training plan. Repeat the prior week before you left and reduce the mileage of each workout by 20%.  If time allows, follow the first week back with a repeat the week before you left as outlined.  Then proceed with the plan as scheduled.

If you return home and your first day back is a scheduled speed workout day, skip that in favor of an easy run instead.  Never resume training with speedwork as your first run off vacation as your risk of injury is higher from your time away.

A vacation can be a great complement to your running goals.  Don’t let it prevent you from signing up for a race or fear your training will be thrown off track. Remember to not be a slave to the training plan and feel comfortable reducing your training while away.  The time away will leave you rejuvenated upon your return.

As you grow in experience as a runner, you will find period periods of rest and your regularly scheduled rest days as essential to your training as your long runs.

The key to feeling great is not to push yourself beyond what you are physically able to handle before you are ready.

Many new runners assume that since running is making them feel good, engaging in as much as possible will make them feel even better.  This is not the case.  In fact, it is one of the most common new runner mistakes.

Here are 5 strategies to avoid overtraining, fatigue and feel amazing as a runner.

1. Don’t Race Excessively

Racing can be fun but realize that it puts a lot of stress on your body. Without taking time to recover from frequent racing and devoting time to recover in between races, you will hit a wall in your race performance and may even burn out.

Since racing is done at maximum effort, you should focus on running quality races rather than a large quantity.

For 5Ks or 10Ks, allow yourself 1-2 in a month total.  These races are often ran at maximum speed and can be almost more detrimental than longer distances ran at slower speeds.  Don’t let the short distance be a rationale to race them every weekend.

For distances over 10K and up to the half-marathon, you should allow a minimum of one month between each race.  This is not to say that you can’t run back to back half-marathons or a few in a short period of time occasionally, but they should not be a regular occurrence especially if you are just starting out.

For the marathon pick 2-3 marathons per year depending on your ability level.  Marathons bring a tremendous sense of accomplishment, but with that comes a toll on your body.  Even though they become easier with experience, respect the distance.  Beginners should focus on just one marathon a year when first starting out.

2. Variety is the Key to Successful Training

There are some runners that talk themselves into needing to do long runs every other day or perform speed workouts multiple times each week, especially if that is a targeted area for improvement.

You will become overtrained and likely injured if you put too much emphasis on any one type of training.

Depending on your race goal, one type of training is also eliminating the other types that are necessary for a successful race performance. For example, if in training for a distance race you only ran fast, short distance speed workouts to increase your speed but sacrificed your long runs as you needed to recover from the speed work you won’t perform well on race day.

Some runners find it hard to run different types of workouts out of fear.  They feel they aren’t doing enough.

Others are complacent and figure “this is always what has worked.”

Some runners just  don’t realize that different types of running workouts exist or if they do why they should change things up and how to perform them properly. If that sounds like you, my course on Types of Running Workouts in Runner Academy Membership that covers these in great detail including what they are, why you would use them, and how to conduct them.

3. Easy Runs Mean EASY!

Perhaps the most common error runners of all ability levels make is turning an easy run into a harder workout.  This can be due to fear, thoughts that the workout is useless or simply not proactively slowing down and allowing yourself to fall into a regular pace.  This requires discipline that you need to build over time.

Don’t fall into the trap of trying to get a good workout from an easy run. Think about the purpose of a recovery run.  Improving your running fitness is not the reason for easy runs and if you try to run too far or too fast, you are not becoming a better runner. You are actually hindering your training and increasing your risk of injury.

Understand why workouts in your training plan are structured the way they are and trust your training.

4. Maintain a Proper Diet

Your diet provides the fuel you need to train and it helps your body recover from the stresses of training and logging lots of miles.  There is no one proper diet for a runner and nutrition is a subject of an entire course inside Runner Academy Membership.

Maintaining a proper diet simply means eat real food like meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts and grains.  Avoid the temptation to feel you can eat whatever you want all the time since you are a runner and will “just burn it off.”  While you may be able to have a few more allowances than those that are not as active, running is not an excuse for poor eating habits.

When running realize that you have to replace the calories you burn running in addition to your normal caloric needs. This is especially pronounced on long runs. Fail to due so and you will end up fatigued, with a headache or feeling ill. What’s worse, your body won’t have the nutrition necessary to make the gains from your training.

It can be easy to run caloric deficits during the peak weeks of marathon training.  I have found this myself as a lean runner with a high metabolism.

My caloric needs are over 3,000 calories a day just to maintain myself.  Add a long run over 12 miles into the mix and suddenly it is a lot higher!  The trouble comes when you don’t feel like consuming calories before you run to avoid getting runners trots or an upset stomach and then not feeling hungry or up for food post running for several hours.

Rather than focusing only on what you consume on any given day, aim to increase your caloric intake over the course of several days leading up to a high mileage week.  Your body will have more in it’s stores to tap for your run.

5. Get Some Sleep

You can only get the maximum benefit from your training if you sleep at least 7-8 hours per night.  Just give it a try!  This requires discipline.

Improvement as a runner happens when you sleep because that’s when your body recovers and adapts to the stress you placed upon it from your training. The effort is made out on your runs, the gains are made while you are sleeping.

If you can, take a nap after a particularly difficult workout or long run (but eat something first!) This will help you recover faster. If you find it challenging to get 7-8 hours of sleep per night, on a weekend rest day make it a point to go to bed early and wake up without an alarm clock.  I find this can be sufficient to really feel refreshed and recharged.  Just don’t sleep until noon!

If you implement these five strategies, I guarantee you will notice a difference and be able to get out and crush it!

They eagerly sign-up for a race no matter how soon it might be in the whirlwind of excitement surrounding the decision to do it.

Many of these runners have maybe causally jogged or maybe completed a 5K at some point in their life.  They certainly haven’t educated themselves on everything that is involved in a marathon.

Often times the first marathon training schedule they find in Google is printed off and off they go, regardless of how much running base is mentioned as a pre-requisite to starting.  No attention is paid to pace, proper running form, different types of running workouts, what they should be wearing, hydration, fueling needs and that pain they start feeling on the longer training runs is normal right?  After all no pain, no gain?

Assuming the runner makes it to the starting line they get caught up in the anxiety of race weekend and eat different food before the race, load up on “energy gels and GU” despite having never tried them before.

As soon as the race starts, they run almost full sprint out of the gate in the excitement and by the second or third mile realize they have gone too fast wasting precious energy.

And herein lies the problem.

Each summer I watch hundreds of runners slogging it out on the lakefront path in Chicago in “survival mode.”  The training and the marathon are something to survive, rather than an event to train for.  This is because they are so overwhelmed learning everything about running while training for one of the most demanding athletic events you can attempt.

The marathon is no place for a crash course in running.

I am not saying that you can not decide to run a marathon and complete it within the same calendar year.  I certainly did many years ago when I first ran one – but I had a lot of prior running experience and was in good athletic shape.

I know some that had never run a race before and were successful as well.  But just about all of them said they wish they started off with a shorter race first as they would have learned so much that would have benefited them on marathon day.   Quite simply, 26.2 miles is a long distance.  So many things can happen over the course of that distance.

My question to you or anyone you know that is considering doing this is why would you do this as your first race?

A marathon takes a lot of preparation – mentally, physically and in some cases emotionally.  If you don’t have a lot of experience running you really would stand to gain so much starting out smaller with the marathon as an end goal after some shorter distance race experiences.

If you have no running experience at all start with a 5K or a 10K.  They are fantastic intermediate running goals.  Get comfortable sticking to a training schedule.  Build a base of miles.  Learn what your pace is.  Experience race day and the atmosphere that surrounds it.  Then, evaluate your readiness to tackle something greater.

Before the marathon, train for and run a half-marathon.  A half-marathon is a serious race and a respectable distance.  You’ll gain so much from experiencing a larger event and longer race distance.   While preparing for the half you will be setting the foundation for a successful marathon training period and a spectacular race.  You can even train for the marathon and the half-marathon at the same time, substituting a weekend long run for a formal half-marathon race.

I want you to have that success, which is why I recommend you give strong consideration to building up over time.  Get some racing experience.  There is no substitute for running experience.

Even the best training and advice I can give you will only become effective with practice.  The marathon exposes those that are not prepared from those that are.  Give yourself every advantage.

One of the goals of the Runner Academy is to promote healthy lifestyles.  Starting smaller and working your way up to the marathon promotes positive experiences with running over time, increasing the likelihood it becomes a lifestyle rather than just a few months of action and a one time event.

Regardless of your decision, I am here to support you in your running goal.

If you are ready to tackle the marathon or even a shorter distance race, you’ll find everything you need to achieve your running goal inside Runner Academy Membership or if you are looking to just get out the door and become a runner try our free Walk-To-Run training plan.

It used to be qualifying for the Boston Marathon was a simple process.  Look up the qualifying time for your age and gender class and then achieve said time in another marathon of your choice that was Boston certified.

The 2012 running marks the final year of the long used qualifying times that had not changed since 1980.  Starting with 2013, the minimum acceptable time requirements will become more stringent along with not having a guarantee of running Boston even if you attain the required time.

For the 2013 running, and each running thereafter, the Boston marathon qualifying times for each age group will be 5 minutes faster than they previously were.  In addition, you no longer will be able to have the “one minute buffer” at the qualifying time to be able to qualify.  For example, for 18-34 year old men the old qualifying time was 3:10.  The BAA used to accept anytime that was 3:10:00 all the way up to 3:10:59 or less.  Starting in 2013, the new qualifying time is EXACTLY 3:05:00 and not one second more.

If that wasn’t enough, this is in addition to the new registration procedure that started with the 2012 race.  In 2011 the race sold out in under 8 hours a midst a crush to the registration page when registration opened.  To prevent this run on the website at the second the registration opened the BAA instituted a new “seeded registration system” that allows those with faster qualifying times to be accepted ahead of those with slower qualifying times.

The net effect of this is you could very well run a marathon and “qualify” for Boston, yet not be eligible to race if the race fills before entrants with faster times before entrants with your time are accepted.  Depending field of eligible runners the actual time you need to attain in order to guarantee a spot in the race will vary from year to year.  So instead of being able to celebrate a “BQ” at your marathon you essentially become “BE” or Boston Eligible and have to wait it out until registration opens.

Here are the 2013 and beyond Boston Marathon Qualifying Times:

Depending on your training and distance you will likely push your body and brain to the limit.  As I discuss at extensive length in the Academy, the human brain is an essential tool to leverage in your training.  It organizes your steps, maintains your temperature, monitors your heart rate and provides signals of needs your body has while performing.

Here are 8 mental strategies you can leverage to help you maximize your mental ability to persevere and squash any negative thoughts during your next race.

1. Trust Your Training
For weeks and likely months you have been putting in time training.  Regardless if there were a few missed workouts or if everything went according to plan the fact is the training is done.  It is showtime.  Your preparation has brought you to this point.

Think of your race as a victory lap, a reward for the hard work to this point.   If you haven’t already done so, start visualizing your pre-race routine and race day itself.  Practice your race routine in advance if you can.  Race day is different than just lacing up and heading out for a typical training run.  Prepare accordingly for it and you will reduce anxiety and be focused come race day.

2. Eliminate the “What ifs, if thens, ya butts” in your thinking
Running is not about making deals with fate but rather taking ownership of the here and now.  Let only positive thoughts move through your head as your feet move along.   Know your ability and have your plan to execute against.

3. Leave Life’s Distractions On The Sidelines
You’ve been working hard towards this point, so let all your other cares go before, during and after the race.  All that matters is the task at hand.   Unless it is a life or death priority, it can wait until later.  Others are more understanding than you think.

4. Accept the Unexpected
If the weather turns rainy and windy, an old nagging injury or sore muscle comes calling, wardrobe malfunction – just take it in stride.  Accept whatever happens for what it is.  Perfection is not a requirement to finish your race.

5. Talk Yourself Through Tough Spots
Big hill on the course?  Hitting the wall?   Be your own coach.  Let the positive thoughts flow.  Break up whatever challenge lies ahead into more manageable pieces.  Leverage the power of your motivations for running the race.    Mental cues can provide the boost you need to push through barriers.

6.  Perform Superstitious Acts
Lucky shirt? Hat?  Socks?  Shoes?  Pre-race routine you must do?  Then do it.  Superstitions no matter how silly act as a catalyst to get your mind in the race.  They can cue your body for the task ahead.  Just don’t let them ruin your race day if you forget your lucky shirt.  Thousands of shirts will cross the finish line. Whatever you wear won’t make a difference in the race.  Maybe you will set a PR in a different shirt and it will become your new “lucky” shirt.  Superstitions are no reason to have a poor outing.

7. Set Several Race Goals
Many runners only focus on one goal – a new PR or a certain race time.  This can put undue pressure on you and may have a detrimental effect on your performance.   Think of some smaller, more incremental goals, that you can achieve during the race.  Regardless if you hit the main goal, you will feel as if you have still accomplished something.  Additionally, achieving smaller race goals can provide a boost and be a stepping stone towards the ultimate goal for your race.  Some examples would be to aim to hit the 1/4 point at a certain time, feeling a certain way, sticking to your strategy, etc.

8. Remind Yourself Why You Are Running
In Runner Academy Membership, we identify your reason for running as a motivation.  Leverage these motivations.  Think about what brought you into running in the first place.  No matter what happens during your race, remember why you are there and what you have accomplished.  Many are proud of you.

Once you cross the finish line, never say I’m not doing this again.  You know you will be thinking about your next race immediately.  The pain and exhaustion is always long forgotten.

Here are some tips to make sure your transition back outside goes well.

Tip 1: Scale back your distance

If you have been running indoors all winter you have likely been on a rubberized track or on a treadmill.  By moving back outside you are likely to be running on a hard paved surface.  This can be a bit jarring to what your body is accustomed to so make a plan to transition effectively.  There is a slight risk of experiencing a minor injury such as shin splints or experiencing some soreness from changing surfaces.

Consider reducing your distance to 25% of what your regular indoor distance is for the first 1 – 2 weeks outside.  Over the course of 1 – 2 weeks you should be acclimated and ready to go.   Do not make your first run of the year outside your long run!

Tip 2: Evaluate Your Shoes

Spring is a good time to evaluate the condition of your running shoes.  If you haven’t bought a pair since last summer it is definitely time to replace them.  Even if you weren’t as active over the winter materials in a running shoe can break down from sitting idle as well as from use.   If you have been running over the winter the transition back outside will expose any worn shoes in the form of discomfort and soreness that could lead to injury.  New running season equals new shoes.  Start your training off right and before you start logging serious distance.

Tip 3: Consider Your Hydration

You may have a running route that you rely on public water fountains for hydration.  If you do make sure you carry your own fluids until you verify that they have been turned back on for the season.  There is nothing worse than arriving parched to a water fountain to find it dry.

Tip 4:  Be mindful of changing weather conditions

A run on a delightful spring afternoon could turn cold quickly as the sun goes down, especially early in the season.  Make sure you are prepared.  Likewise, a cool spring morning can warm rapidly so be sure to not overdress.  It can be challenging to decide what to wear this time of year so when in doubt, dress for about 10 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than it is.  Once you are running you will warm up and be comfortable.

Tip 5:  Can You Be Seen at Night?

Even with daylight savings time an evening run might take you into darkness as the days are still not at maximum length.  Make sure you wear light colored or clothing that has reflective properties so you are visible to others.   There are many running hats, shirts and even shoes that have reflective strips within them that are functional, stylish and not making you look like you are directing traffic.  Get a Road ID if you don’t have one.

Tip 6: Consider Your Pace

Remember that your pace outdoors is likely to be slower than your pace indoors.  This is due to the fact that indoors there is no wind resistance, you are on a forgiving surface and if you have been running on a treadmill the machine has assisted you in moving your legs backwards.  Don’t be discouraged and don’t push yourself into a pace that you are not able to maintain comfortably simply because it has been your pace indoors.

Running outside is freeing and why so many love this sport.  Following these tips will set you on a course for a successful season!

Here’s is how to perform this test.  First, make sure you conduct this exercise on a day that you feel great.  The day after a long run would not be ideal as it is going to be a tough 6 minutes!  Start off with a brief warm up to be sure you are ready to perform at your highest level.  Then, run all out for 6 minutes.  Go as fast as you can go.  At the end of the 6 minutes, measure the distance you covered.  Now it’s time to do some math.

Your average speed during your 6 minute sprint is your vVO2max (the speed at which you are converting 100% of the oxygen you are in-taking).  Let’s have a look at a simple example.  Assume you can cover 1600 meters during the 6 minutes.  That’s a vVo2max of 90 seconds per 400 meters (expressed as a tempo rather than a velocity in this case). This would be a great tempo for 400 and 800-meter intervals during a training session.

But the 6 minute effort also predicts marathon time rather accurately, thanks to Horwill’s Law of Running.  Horwill’s Law of Running states that a runner’s best pace slows by four seconds per 400 meters when distance doubles.

Therefore, a runner who sprints 1600 meters in 6 minutes (90 seconds per 400 meters), would eventually slow to 94 seconds per 400 if 3200 meters (twice the distance) were covered.

Let’s translate this to the marathon distance of 26.2 miles.

Since the runner covered 3200 meters at 94 seconds per 400 meters, the runner would then run 6400 meters at 98 seconds per 400 meters.

The runner would then run a 10K distance at 100 seconds per 400 meters, the half-marathon at 104 seconds per 400 meters, and the marathon distance at approximately 108 seconds per 400 meters.
The marathon is equivalent to 105.5 400-meter segments .  In this case, 105.5 X 108 seconds equates to a finishing time of 11,394 seconds or 3 hours, 9 minutes and 54 seconds.

Using the above formula, you can take any distance you can cover and use it to predict your marathon time accurately.  This is one of many ways to calculate your predicted marathon finishing time.  It can serve as a quick gut check of where you stand in terms of your training at any given time and can be easily worked into speed workouts making it versatile.

This training tip is courtesy of Owen Anderson, Race Director of the Lansing Marathon.

The suit argues that there are no scientific claims that barefoot running is is better yet the company has enriched themselves for financial gain arguing that it is.  The suit also points to the fact that runners typically must have a transition period of standard shoes to barefoot or minimalist running shoes such as FiveFingers.  In some cases, this “transition” period can exceed one year.

“Given that Defendants’ advertising and marketing equates barefoot running with running in FiveFingers, Defendants’ uniform deceptive statements about barefoot running are also deceptive statements about Five Fingers,” alleges the suit.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.  I have personally not used FiveFingers products and at this time do not have a desire to do so based on experiences shared by other runners.  They are not for me, but that is not to say they are not for you.  I have experimented with minimalist running shoes in the traditional shoe form and have determined it is too early to decide if the experience is better than a traditional running shoe.  Over the long term making the transition might make sense, especially from the perspective that a minimalist shoe promotes better running form and mid-foot striking instead of heel striking in my view.  One thing is clear, you cannot simply buy any minimalist running shoe and immediately start running exclusively in it.

Minimalist shoes require you to employ more muscle groups than with a standard running shoe.  As a practical matter, you must build the strength over time of the muscle groups or you will risk serious injury from overuse.  That is why it is strongly recommended that you use both your traditional running shoe and a minimalist shoe in alternating runs, with more emphasis of staying with your traditional shoe early on and for longer runs.

We’ll be watching how this plays out over the months ahead.

I have devoted an entire course on minimalist/barefoot running in the Academy and how to make the determination if it may be something that is right for you to try.

The purpose of the expo is to obtain your bib number, goodie bag and event t-shirt.

Depending on the size of your event it may range from a simple bib number and t-shirt pick up morning of the race or a full blown multi-day event in an exhibt hall filled with vendors, charities, and guest speakers.

If your event has a large expo you can expect to have a lot of excitement and buzz surrounding it.  While it is an excellent way to get into the zone ahead of your race, it’s a good idea to map out a strategy ahead of the expo to maximize your time.  Here’s my advice to a successful race expo.

1. If the expo is more than one day, go the first day if possible.
There will be a better selection of merchandise if you are looking to make any purchases.  In addition, you will allow a day between walking the expo and your race to rest and be in top shape for the starting line.  This is particularly important for half or full marathons.

2. Get your bib and t-shirt first.
After all, that is the entire reason you are there.  Take care of these two essential items first before you do anything else so you have time to check that your registration information is correct, your D-Tag/B-Tag or timing device is tested and functional and your t-shirt is the right size.

3. Map out the exhibitors you want to see in advance.
By planning what you want to see you can make the most use of your time, minimize walking and be sure not to miss anything you might otherwise by just walking around down each aisle of the floor.  You want to walk around a little, but you should try to minimize the time on your feet as much as possible.

4. Be careful of the samples.
At larger events there will be a lot of food and even sports drinks to sample.  Don’t overdo it or use the samples as a substitute for lunch. If you are running a marathon and attending a race expo remember that lunch the day before your race is the final opportunity to really fuel your body in advance of the race.

Your dinner will not have enough time to be digested and stored in advance of the race.  Don’t let your final meal that counts be energy bars, hot dogs or hamburgers typical of most convention center cafes or worse nothing at all.

If you really want to try something try one or two things, take the rest home for your next training run if possible.   Don’t use any of the free samples on your race day.  Remember – try nothing new on race day.

5. Bring a bottle of water.
 Surprisingly water is in short supply at expos in my experience.  Bring a bottle with you and keep hydrating.

6. Ask if there are any specials.
Booth signage might not tell you of everything.  Ask if there are any specials in things you are interested in.  If you do happen to attend in the closing hours of the expo there is always a chance the exhibitor will cut a deal since they don’t want to carry everything home with them.

7. Have a pre-set spending limit.
Just like when you go to Las Vegas, have an idea in mind how much you plan to spend and determine a reasonable figure.  Race expos have so much you can buy it can be easy to justify it and rack up a large bill. Think of what you paid for the race entry free and training to this point. This adds to it.

It can be especially tempting to buy every branded item for the race, especially if it is your first marathon.  Resist the temptation and buy one or two items you will actually use and enjoy. Buy more at the next race you run. You don’t want all your items from one race. Your wallet and closet will thank you.

8. Make sure your calendar is up to date in your phone.
Many other events in your area will likely be represented and offer special expo pricing to register for their race.  It can represent a nice savings, but not if you sign up and it turns out to be your friend’s wedding day you forgot about.

Combined with tip #3 above take a look at what other races may be attending the race expo.  If you are planning to sign up for them you can often get a better deal and avoid any transaction fees from the large event websites like Active.com by signing up at the expo.

9. Leave the young kids at home.
Race expos are crowded and sometimes chaotic.  It is not a place for strollers or really young children.  You’ll be more relaxed if you can leave them with someone else.

10. Don’t buy anything to be used on your race day.
Can’t emphasize this enough.  Try nothing new on race day.  Minimize the unknown variables and race only with the clothes, shoes and nutrition you used in your training.  After putting in all that effort training it would be terrible to end up with blisters from improper fitting shoes, or chafing from a shirt or an upset stomach from a nutrition bar that your body doesn’t like.  Buy things to be used after the race.

11. Enjoy the experience.
Enjoy the atmosphere and mingling with other runners.  Remember to wish everyone a good race and have a good time!

The training plan provides a daily rubric of what to do, when to do it and provides a few links and user forum for support.

While there is nothing inherently wrong with the training schedule in the popularized “Couch to 5K’ plan that is the first running experience for many there are many shortfalls.  It is woefully inadequate when it comes to addressing all aspects of running.

It is a simple training schedule that only addresses a tiny part of what’s important when it comes to running. This is not a criticism of the program as many do find success and as I mentioned it opens the door to the world of running for many, but there are shortfalls to consider.

Shortfall 1: Motivations

The Couch to 5K plan assumes you have already made the commitment to complete a 5K event and that decision is enough on its own.  The fact is,  so much can come up that can derail the best of intentions.

Life obligations, work, family, school, feeling tired, pain, even a cold or rainy day.  Missing a day or two of training can turn into a week and before you know it you feel guilty of the workouts you have missed and with the approaching event you give up altogether and plan to start over later.  Meanwhile you might even feel failure for what happened.

The cornerstone to any successful preparation is commitment.  The Couch to 5K plan does not have you start out first determining your motivation – that is what is going to keep you going when the going gets tough.  This is different from goals, which come out of determining your motivations.  Both are essential as a foundation to a successful training program.

Shortfall 2: The Blind Leading the Blind

This old adage applies to the support forum at “Couch to 5K”.  Those that are using the plan are completely new to running.  Often times their knowledge is limited yet advice is thrown around as if they are seasoned pros with many races under their belts.

While the concept of a user forum is wonderful to support one another in their goals and progress towards achieving them unintentional misleading advice due to lack of knowledge can teach bad running habits instead of good habits from the start.  Ask any participant in any sport about how bad habits are hard to change.   The same goes for running.  No one is really in charge or leading the discussion.  Everyone is on their own.

Shortfall 3: Information Overload

One of the biggest challenges new runners face is sorting through the massive amount of information that is out there from multiple sources.  Sometimes the advice even conflicts.  Links are provided by the program to learn more about topics in running, rather than creating their own unique content tailored to the program.

On the user forum links thrown around to various sites based on what a particular user has come across.  Bits and pieces of information that you come across randomly depending on when you stumble upon it.  At worst case, you come across a very advanced topic that leaves you feeling overwhelmed.  Some of it may not even make sense because you are missing other things you need to know to make use of it.

This leads into shortall 4…

Shortfall 4: No Cohesive Strategy

The Couch to 5K plan lacks any sequence of teaching you information that would be beneficial for your training.   Think back to school.  Could you imagine learning Calculus before you knew Algebra?  You would become frustrated and struggle.  Your path to success should be well defined, sequential and executable.  Nothing should be left to chance.

As mentioned you are left on your own to figure it out all the intangibles in running on your own time, time that could be better spent training or fulfilling other obligations you may have.  As a result, the information doesn’t get to the runner at all, or they get an incomplete picture.   So many things can derail a 5K training plan.  Lack of information should not be one of them.

A step by step program with all of the information categorized and presented in an easy to reference and directly applicable manner gives you the best chance for success.  Couch to 5K doesn’t deliver here.

Shortfall 5: Mission Accomplished.  Now What?

Completing a 5K event is possible for most people.  Given a plan most can get there.  But once you cross that finish line what happens then?  For many, the process is like a diet and finishing the race a temporary accomplishment before they fall back into old habits.  A small percentage do change for the better and continue to challenge themselves through working to improve their time or more challenging distances.

Since those that follow the program are told only how to get to the finish line of a 5K and are not taught essentials such as motivation, goals, determining pace, stretching, injury prevention, common pitfalls, proper clothing, measuring progress, what to expect on race day and more they have to essentially start over if they want to try anything more ambitious.

The best time to have learned all of this key information is from the beginning, when your interest level is at it’s highest.  By having these insights up front you not only would exceed your expectations for your first 5K from being out of shape, but you would have a solid foundation from which to build a new healthy lifestyle and an ability to easily move on to other events such as a 10K, Half or Full Marathon if desired.

There would be no barriers to the next step and in most cases it would be immediately obvious what to do.

A Better Approach

While the Couch to 5K training program was started with the best of intentions, and many still can find success, there is a better approach that will teach you everything you need to know up front, at the right time and without having to sift through hundreds of webpages seeking information that may or may not be best for you.

If you are serious about getting off the couch and into running and completing a 5K, making lifestyle change, while getting educated on topics for a lifetime of successful running you owe it to yourself to consider joining Runner Academy Membership today.  Not only will you crush your 5K, but you’ll be ready to take the next step in your healthy active lifestyle after your race.

When first starting out many runners make the mistake of adding on mileage, speed training, or pace runs too fast.

The first weeks of a training program might seem “too easy” and they know they can push it harder.   They may even start training without even building up a base for a few weeks and a week or two into it they notice soreness in their shins, IT bands, shoulders, backs, or knees and ignore it because training is suppose to come with a little pain – right?  Wrong!

If you ignore your body’s signals and keep running, you are likely to wind up injured.  There is a specific reason for each component of our training plans and if it is too easy in the beginning you are not slacking off by not pushing harder.  The challenging training portion will come, believe me!

Always listen to your body, especially when first starting out.  Learn the difference between soreness from exercise (typical the day or two following a hard workout) and actual pain from overuse and a possible developing injury (typically this occurs during exercise).

There is a difference.  You should not feel any pain during your runs.  If you do, immediately stop and perform strengthening exercises and stretches.  Walk, hop the bus or call a friend to pick you up and bring you home.

Take a rest from running that day and for at least the next two days.  If the pain is recurring during your next run seek medical attention.  Often times injuries start minor and can be stopped with the right combination of treatments before serious injury and possibly physical therapy is required.

Remember R.I.C.E. (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation)

Know the warning signs of a developing injury and how to treat them.  An acronym to help you remember is RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation).   Rest the affected area, apply a cold compress, add compression such as compression socks and elevate the affected area to prevent swelling.  This technique is also very valuable if you are training for a distance event such as a marathon following a long run.  RICE can significantly improve your recovery time and reduce the risk of injury.

When in doubt about whether you should “run through” the pain is DON’T DO IT! GRADUALLY build up and take your rest days seriously.  Rest days are just as crucial to your success as your hard run days.  If it seems like we are restating the obvious we are.  Every runner eventually faces the need to practice discipline and trust in their plan.

If you fail to take your rest days or run your recovery runs or easy runs at race pace instead of an easy recovery pace you are very likely to wind up overtraining.

Now that you are going to avoid this common new runner mistake, consider these 5 principles of training when getting started running.

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Running is one of the best ways to strengthen the heart and ensure the efficient flow of blood and oxygen throughout the body, which helps decrease your risk of a heart attack.  Regular exercise such as running, combined with maintaining a healthy weight, is one of the best ways to naturally reduce your blood pressure if it’s above normal.

If you have high blood pressure, anxiety, high cholesterol, high levels of stress or fatigue, running can alleviate all of these symptoms.  In many cases, committing to a running program may even be able to restore your body to a state where prescription medication may no longer be necessary to treat these conditions.  Of course, only your doctor can make this determination.

Running also improves your auto-immune system, so your body is more effective and efficient at fighting off illness.  Running is also known to increase bone density, which can fend off osteoporosis.

Many people start running to lose some extra pounds. As one of the most vigorous exercises out there, running is an extremely effective and efficient way to burn calories and lose weight. If you’re already at a healthy weight, running can help you maintain it.  Just make sure you don’t think running gives you a license to eat everything and anything. The basic rule is that you must burn more calories than you take in to lose weight — still applies to runners.  If you burn 800 calories running and then have a 1,200 calorie burrito you are behind where you started.

Regular runners often see an increase in their confidence and self-esteem.  The self-esteem benefits of running are increased if you set a specific goal, such as running a 5K or even a marathon, and accomplish it.

As with many forms of exercise running is a great cure for stress, emotional strain and even mild depression. Research has shown that healthy adults who exercise regularly are generally happier than those who don’t.  Many runners also enjoy reaching the “runner’s high” — that euphoric, clear, and calm state they feel after a long run.  A clear mind can make you more productive in your career or family obligations.

Research shows that healthy adults who exercise regularly are generally happier than those who don’t. As a runner, you’ll likely feel more energetic and creative.  You will see benefits in countless areas of your life well beyond just your physical appearance.

If you aren’t enjoying all of these benefits from simple, inexpensive exercise you are missing out!