MOMO - (CLOSED) IN TRAINING MODE (Page 6)

I am having a heck of a time breaking through the 9 minute average mark on runs over 3 miles. I can run 2-3 miles holding an 8 minute mile, but anything over that and I bonk. Do I just need to up my long runs to 5-6 miles and hold the 9 minute pace to build my volume?

Thats an easy one.. you need to do some interval training.. thats how you gain speed... and also on your long days, the last couple mile pick the pace up to about 3/4s race pace..


so if you are doing a six mile run. run the last 2 miles at 3/4s race pace.. it will suck, it will hurt, it cause you to breathe harder.. but there is gains.. so when you start to fade.. dig deeper.. relax the shoulder.. breathe deeper... (take three big gravity breathes.. in through the nose, let the air fall out of your mouth..) and keep pushing..

I spoke w a friend of mine who has a Masters degree in Exercise Physiology about your issues.  Cautioning that she's only heard about it second hand, she suggested the following:

Sounds like your plantar fasciitis (sp?) is too long (no arch).  You were probably put in running shoes that have a small arch.  You're not used to it, so it's going to hurt for a while (think like the first few time you do lunges - ouch) b/c your feet are not used to any arch support. 

Exercises:  to be done daily

1.  put a washcloth on the floor.  keeping your heel on the floor try to scrunch the washcloth up w your toes.  work up to 3 sets 12x/foot.

2.  shoes off.   stand on one leg.  try to lift your arch off the floor and hold it for 6 seconds.  work up to 3 sets 12x/foot.

She said these exercises will be hard for you at first, but encouraged you to keep with it - daily.  You need to build up your arch or you will eventually have knee pain - your knee will collapse inward as you run.  The imbalance will work its way up the leg.

She also said no flipflops (gasp!).  You need to be wearing shoes w even the smallest arch support.

Hope this helps!

So does your friend have any advice for those of us that have broken bones in both of their feet.  I have broken metatarsals in both feet a couple of times.  As it turns out rock hopping can have a negative effect on your lower hemisphere and come back to bite you later in life.  A couple of times a year I have about a week where the foot pain makes it hard to even walk....let alone run. 

kerux!!  ow.  friggin' ow!  What is rock hopping?  On a mountain bike?  Jumping in a quarry?  What the heck.?  And what do you mean a couple of times?!?  Did you break one and then try it again, or did both snap?  What the heck...

Yeah, I'm thinking it's painful alright.  If it were me, I'd be sporting so much cushion in my sneaks they'd look like Herman Munster shoes!

OH NO! NO FLIP FLOPS!? Yeah, I've been told those are really bad for me...*sigh*....

But thank you all so much for the advice and excersises! I greatly appreciate it!

I tried to get a lot of our questions answered.  She stressed that she's trained as & with elite runners as well as for the past 5 years coached college division 1 track, so she stated her responses were geared to the intense runner, but tried to generalize.

Perfect running form:  no one has it.  Perfect form is running at maximum efficiency w no wasted effort.  Concentrate on your core and arms.  Core and arms are what get you there, and will push you through when you feel you can't go on.  A strong core is vital.  Check your core when you're running.  Keep it strong & engaged.  Planks, side planks, crunches & weight training on the stability ball.  Lots & lots of planks.  Be sure to stay level, start by trying for 30 seconds.

If you pump your arms, your legs will follow.  Your wrists should just about graze your hips.  Think fist to hips to be sure you swing them back enough.  Elbows in.  Don't cross your arms in front of you - wasted energy - moves your core.

To increase speed, one training session/week should be devoted to speed drills.  Do not mix speed drills w maintenance or long runs.  To increase endurance, run longer.  One long run/week.  Do not increase your distance more than 4-10% every 2 weeks.  Each week 1 speed drills, 2-3 maintenance runs (have fun with it), 1 long run.

Beginners should run 3x/week for the first 2-3 months.  The goal is to stay motivated ~ find a buddy, be accountable to someone, have fun.  The elite runner will not improve greatly running 3x/week.  4 minimum, eventually 5x/week, but never more than 5.

Forget about foot strike.  Each person is different depending upon how they pronate, etc.  Feet should land just about under your hip.  If your stride is too long you're stopping yourself and putting too much pressure on your joints/knees.  Listen to your feet as you run.  If you hear them slapping the ground - bad form.  Don't be shy about occassionally asking people to critique how you run.  You can get into bad habits without realizing it.

Breathing.  Always open mouth.  On the rare occasion you're out of control and need to calm down a bit/slow your heart rate, one breath out of every four through the nose.

In general neither she nor her colleagues use heart rate monitors.  She used one a few times after an ended rest period to be sure she didn't over-exert too quickly when she started back.  It's fine if you do, it's just not her thing.

Lean into hills going up.  Lean into hills going down - let gravity help you.  Don't fight it.

Well,
the Riding season is among us.. several new riders.. Heres a snippet of one most important things you will hear when i comes to riding. I also included the web site

Relax!

One of the most common mistakes is riding while you’re too tight in the upper body. If you see someone riding and you see locked shoulders and straight, stiff arms, you’re looking at someone who’s probably going to have a sore neck and arms at the end of the ride and someone who’s tiring out muscles for no good reason. Relax when you’re riding. Keep nice, loose, bent arms. Drop your shoulders and get comfortable. Train yourself to relax by, every 15 minutes or so, shrugging your shoulders to get them to drop and relax. Bring your elbows down and closer together and shake your arms to relax them. Bend your elbows. Exhale. Think about letting all that tension leave your neck, shoulders and arms. You’ll feel a whole lot better and have a lot more control of your bike if you can learn to ride comfortably

Resource was http://www.jimlangley.net/crank/ridetech.html

Rock hopping as in hiking....and then jumping from boulder to boulder in river crossings and messing around before rappels.  By a couple of times I mean I have broken toes in both feet....the third metatarsal in my right and left foot....my fourth metatarsal in my left foot and dislocated my talus a time or two.  I'm flat footed as well.  It's been awhile since anyone jammed a needle full of cortizone in my foot so hopefully this tri thing is keeping some arthritis at bay.

Momo,
Thanks for the advice on the intervals. I am going to add a "interval workout" into the mix next week. I should have known that, I used to be a swim coach and I would have done the same thing for the swim workouts. I guess the philosophies are going to translate pretty well.

On another note I ran a 10k for the first time today and it actually felt great. I guess I can run farther than I thought! Held a good pace and felt like I had a lot left at the end.

As a noob.. a tri bike is quiet the purchase.. normally a nice road bike is first... group for all types of rides.. learning a bike(in and out).. balancing, drafting, and many other things..

tri bike a maded different than standard bike.. the front stem is shorter.. this helps become more aerodynamic when in aero. quads are used a lot more. tri bike are thinner than road bikes.. and also lighter..

aero position, takes some getting use too.. a test ride, isn't enough time to get adjusted.. cross winds really suck.. there two types... bull horns.. (straight) and the other bend upward.. have to find the type that fits you.. you need flexible wrists for bull horns.

Yeah, that was my original plan was to throw down some $$$ for a decent road bike. I went to the LBS to get fitted and tried a few out but then one of my teamates offered to sell his wife's old tri bike (she got an upgrade) to me for a couple hundred dollars. It is an older model Quitana Roo Kilo that has been upraded w/ shimano components, new aero bars, seat and wheels. I've got it for a week to try it out and I'm swinging by the LBS to get my friend's opinion. I don't have a bike to ride so I desperately need one (gave my old mountain bike away a couple yrs ago b/c I stopped riding) but I'm not sure if I'm ready to throw down $800-$1500 yet for a new bike.

yeah... its tough to spend that kind of money.. QR is a good brand of tri bikes.. the thing about bikes is, that they last, you shouldn't have to buy another for a long time.. I recommend a road bike for your first only because they are versital. Tri bikes are one way.. though you may be getting a great deal on the QR.. (just my opinion..)

im sure you can find a gently used road bike.. check you local bike clubs, craiglist, and ebay.. look for a trek 1000, 1200, 1500.. i see them all the time.. for like 500 - 800 bucks..

OK, training question here...Last night I was on my road bike and did interval training.  Rode hard for 1min, followed by 2 min recovery...repeated for several miles following a warm-up.  I cranked them out with the bike in a higher gear (harder to pedal).  Should intervals be incorporated in this manner, or should I have used a lower gear (easier pedaling) like spinning?  Or a combination of both?  Any input would be appreciated....thanks.

Good to see you doing interval training..

Lower gears is recovery in interval training.. I tend to use distance with interval training..

1 mile => 0.25 build up => 0.50 - 0.75 sprinting =>0.75 -next mile recovery (lower gear easier pedaling.)(you want a gear that doesn't reduce your speed much, but you want your legs to turn at a high rpm 100-110) I'd do this over 8 or 9 miles..

the easy pedaling(fast rpm) helps relieve the lactic burn in the quads, it also help the hip flexors..

i have found it difficult to do intervals using time when outside.. but i do time intervals on bike trainer and treadmill.. (the only way i can stay focused and not get bored.)

Recovery is just as important as the training itself.. so yes, include in your training..


Hope helps a little..

Met w 2 cardiologists.  Interesting points for our group:

Don't worry about heart rates when working out:

   heart rates vary greatly person/person, especially men vs. women
   ex.  females can (and do) hop on a treadmill, keeping their heart rate in the 180s for             most of the time,
   guys would keel over if they were in the 180s for more than a few minutes (pushing it is generally in the 160s for males)
  
   focusing on heart rate can cause you to push yourself too hard - very dangerous


Do focus on:  recovery heart rates.  how fast your heart rate drops in the first minutes after your workout.  how long it takes to get back to normal pace

The most physically in shape person they've ever tested:  a professional jockey

SO I have to vent...after a terrible two weeks at work, and not feeling great while training, I went for my final racepace ride before my event this weekend. 10 miles into the ride I broke a spoke, and taco'ed my rear wheel. So I may not be racing this weekend unless I can get a new wheel, or find a bike. Awesome...

see if you can get a loaner wheel from your local bike shop.. so do that.. You could also ask if they have tester wheels.. you may can try out a pair of zipps 404, 606, or 808's.. check it out.. bro

I am going to check with the shop in the morning. Seems crazy that this stuff keeps happening, I broke my seat post a week ago. Replaced it this week, and now I will be adding some more money to a bike I want to replace at the end of the summer. Frustrating way to start what I hope is a long, albeit more stress free, career in a sport.

Yea, that would suck.. the good thing is.. if you get really good components.. you can transfer them to your new bike.. and put the ok parts on the old bike.

God bless the LBS. They are going to try and fix my wheel. I got a call around lunch today and  LBS found a bike for me to ride in case the wheel was to far gone. They offered me a Fuji Aloha 1.0 to ride on Sunday. I went in to check it out and they fitted me to the bike. So I just went from a 2002 Trek 1000, to a new Aloha Tri bike. I must have done something good in a previous life.

awesome... ride it like you stole it...

TRI HARD