Tomorrow, we take on the Sporting Life 10K for the fifth year running. Jeff and I have a goal of completing sub 53 minutes and are hoping that Dorothea reaches her goal of 50 minutes.

As an aside, Jeff and I have decided that this year's "Traveling Half Marathon" will be in Boston on October 7th.  As Jeff humbly noted, "this is as close to Boston [full marathon] that we will come."

Results of Sporting Life to soon follow!

My Nike +iPod is one of my favourite things - I bought it in August of 2006 at Nike Town NYC. Sadly though, I had to retire it for about six months. As much as I loved using it, I just couldn't bare to switch to Nike runners and duct-taping the sensor to the bottom of my orthotics to use with my Ascics just wasn't working. 

Well, last month I was reading an update online from Running Free and they did a write up on a Nike +  iPod shoe pouch. I bought one yesterday and used it on my long run this am.  It is absolutely incredible!  I highly recommend this product to everyone who runs and owns an iPod. I even bought one for my sister.

Thank you so much to the people at Grantwood Technologies. 

Aside from the many other benefits of running, burning fat / staying fit are prime motivators to getting us (the girls and I) off our sofas and on to the pavement.

It has been a constant battle to determine which burns more fat, running at the optimal "fat burning pace" which is generally slower than the "high intensity pace."  Searching for answers, I came across the following article at Runner's World.

According to this, the numbers don't lie. You are better off running at a high intensity pace to burn more fat (yes! I am vindicated)!

"Many so-called "experts" recommend that the best way to burn more fat is to run slowly during workouts. You've probably heard advice about training in your "fat-burning zone," said to correspond to a heart rate of just 50 to 65 percent of maximum heart rate (MHR). This is equivalent to a running pace about 2 minutes per mile slower than your marathon race pace. In other words, very slow.

At first glance, such slow running seems like a great idea. A recent University of Texas study found that when athletes exercised at only 50 percent of their MHR, fat provided 90 percent of the calories burned. When the athletes sped up to 75 percent of MHR, fat provided "only" 60 percent of calories.

However, the higher-intensity session actually burned more total fat calories! This happened because the 50-percent workout burned only 7 calories per minute, while the 75-percent workout burned 14 calories per minute. A little simple math reveals that the harder workout consumed 8.4 fat calories per minute (60 percent of 14) versus just 6.3 fat calories (90 percent of 7) for the slow workout.

A study reported in last month's "Health Watch" column reached similar conclusions. In that intriguing experiment, world-famous fat researchers from Laval University in Quebec City, Quebec, reported that intense exercise led to a ninefold greater loss of body fat, per calorie burned, than less intense exercise. The scientists at Laval had earlier shown that vigorous exercisers are thinner than moderate exercisers who burn the same number of calories. From these studies, you might conclude that you should run at top speed to maximize your fat-burning potential. Not so. Above 85 percent of MHR, fat metabolism begins to drop. It appears that 75 to 85 percent of MHR is the ideal range for fat-burning."

I came and conquered!

With a head cold and a severly runny nose, I exceeded my goal of completing the Sporting Life 10K run in 55 minutes. To be exact, I came in with a chip time of 54:21.8.

Overall, I placed 2781 of 6627 runners and 170 of 576 women in my category. Ok, maybe a I had a bit of luck since I just dropped to the beginning of a new category (age 35-39).

All in all, I am very pleased. This was 2 minutes faster than last year.

Special recognition goes to Jeff Cowan who completed his first 10K running with me. Jeff finished strong with a 54:32 finish. Hope your legs are okay today!

Thanks to my friends Dorothea and Darlene for coming out. Stace - we missed ya!

This is it. My official start to race season. Registering in the Sporting Life 10K. This year, my goal is to finish in 55:00 minutes or better.

I am confident in my abilities this year. For one, we have had so much beautiful and warm weather that I have logged many more training hours then in previous years. Secondly, my move to mid-town Toronto has me running a lot more hills (Forest Hill) than previously.

And so, I invite you to check back on Sunday to see how I did....

I came across ChiRunning when I was looking at summer programs at Kripalu.

ChiRunning is self-desribed as;

"ChiRunning combines the inner focus and flow of T'ai Chi with the power and energy of running to create a revolutionary running form and philosophy that takes the pounding, pain, and potential damage out of the sport of running. The ChiRunning program increases mental clarity and focus, enhances the joy of running, and turns running into a safe and effective lifelong program for health, fitness, and well-being."

It looks interesting. Anything that can help reduce pain and increase speed sounds convincing enough for me to try. So, I registered for the Chi Running Essentials half-day workshop with a Chi Running instructor in Toronto on May 13th. 

I will try it out and let you know how it goes...
 

I came across this article on a self-rehydration test from Running Free. It is good - especially for running through heat waves (like the one we have been having). Enjoy!

Hydration guidelines for endurance athletes have been set at a 1:1 ratio. That is, 1 litre lost through sweating should be replaced with 1 litre of fluids. Runners participating in races or training runs lasting longer than 1 hour, should determine in advance their fluid needs. Using the following procedure during a 1 hour training run will help prepare you for a safe enjoyable workout.

-Make sure you are well hydrated before this test – your urine should be fairly clear.
-Do a warm-up run to a point where you begin to perspire, than stop.
-Strip down and weigh yourself in the nude. Record your weight in pounds.
-Go out for a 1 hour run at your targeted race pace.
-During the run it is important to keep track of the exact amount of fluid you ingest in 
 ounces.
-Do not urinate during the test run.
-When returning from the run, strip down, towel off perspiration and weigh yourself using
 the same scale in step 3.
-At this point, you may urinate or drink more fluids as needed.
 Calculating your requirements
A. Enter your pre workout body weight in pounds. (Step 3)  ________
 
B. Enter your post workout body weight in pounds. (Step 7)  ________
 
C. Subtract B from A                                                                                  ________
                                                                                       X 15.3


D. Convert your total in C to fluid ounces by multiplying by 15.3                       =________
 
E. Enter the amount of fluid ounces you consumed during the run.                    +________
 
F. Add D total to E total.                                                                              =________
 
The final figure is the number of fluid ounces you must consume per hour to remain well hydrated. It is important to note that the results of this test will be accurate to the weather and intensity of your workout. For runs longer that 1 hour, electrolyte replenishment is also needed.  

 

 

I could write a novel on this subject - well maybe not - but atleast a few dozen posts. I came across this article in the Running Times Newsletter with some interesting facts on letting your body rest. I thought I would share it with you.

As I learned, real loss does not come until the third week of time off.

The Effect of Rest

Concerned that you've just missed some training? Or, conversely, have you been training so hard that you're feeling exhausted—or worse yet, sore—every time out? Rest is a critical component to your training plan, so break the habit of viewing a day off as a failure.

If you're feeling sore, tired, or under the weather, a rest will allow your body to heal and recover, allowing you to attack your next phase of training with renewed vigor. Even if you're feeling fine, but have been training hard for an extended period, a rest can provide a much-needed mental and physical break from the rigors of running every day.

According to Pete Pfitzinger, there's no need to worry about losing fitness during a short rest. If you're out of action for an extended period of time, though, a number of adaptations will take place. As he wrote in his Pfitzinger Lab Report, "After two weeks off, VO2 max and performance typically slip less than 2%. During the third week, however, detraining's effects kick in. By the fourth week, significant physiological changes have occurred." In addition to a decreased VO2 max, your body will begin supplying less blood to the working muscles, and your muscles' ability to store glycogen will decrease.

If you find yourself forced to take some time off for reasons other than injury, Pfitzinger recommends replacing higher volume training with some high-intensity workouts, which will help you maintain that hard-earned fitness even when you can't train every day.

I took three running programs at Running Free in Markham.  As part of any great running program, you are required to do hill sprints. Hill training helps to develop strength and endurance.

I can recall yelling "I love hills" over and over again as we ran up and down. Starting with six repeats and ending with nine.

I snipped this from the article, On the road again: Start the season out right from Active Runner and thought you might be interested. I have added some of my own comments in bold.

2. Get into hill shape: All that time on the treadmill has kept you aerobically fit (a good thing), but you haven't been on the road. While treadmills simulate running, it's important to remember that they run you -- you don't power the treadmill.

For those of you who use a heart rate monitor, this is why your heart rate will be four to eight beats lower than what you would see on a similar outdoor run. It follows then that if running outdoors means recruiting more muscles, running on rolling terrain requires putting those muscles to good use. You can spot a treadmill runner in an early-season race by watching them fade on the hills.

To avoid becoming a "fader" yourself, it's important to incorporate some hill running in your routine. Start small by doing two to three runs a week on a rolling course. Once this is comfortable, consider heading for a local hill and doing some 30" to 45" repeats (at normal pace) in the middle of a weekly run. When this is comfortable (four to six weeks), you can start to do some specific hill work. Start with 40" repetitions and build to 80" max.

Remember the three keys to hill workouts:

• Warm up well beforehand -- at least 15 minutes.
• Do not sprint up the hill -- instead, run at a normal pace up the hill then pick up the pace for the last five seconds (as you come over the top of the hill).
• Jessica's note: My second coach taught us to jog lightly down the hill - not walk - in order to flush lactic acid from our muscles. This really worked. I found myself in less pain the next day and recovered and built strength much faster.
• Recover after each hill workout -- Some light stretching and elevating your legs will help alleviate some of the additional stress that hill work entails.

As much as I love to run outside, it is really not pleasurable in -20 degree weather. So, I go to the club and workout on the treadmill. I find treadmill running EXTREMELY boring - nothing seems to help - not the new Beastie Boys on my MP3, the TV, or my fellow clubmates. I feel like a hamster in a wheel.

The upside, however, is that I do get to continue my training.

The following article came to me through my subscription to the Running Room's weekly newsletter. I found it very interesting - especially for those of us looking to maintain our current level of training and prevent injuries. Enjoy!

"First running on a treadmill is of equal aerobic value providing you keep your heart rate in its training range. On a treadmill you can keep an exact pace and add the resistance of hills or take them away at the touch of a button. Now wouldn’t it be nice if we could just make the hills go away when running a race? You also don’t have to worry about the cold, snow, and head winds when using a treadmill. That’s the upside.

The downside is running on a treadmill is different to running outside. You do not experience air resistance as your body is not moving forward, and when your foot hits on the moving surface of a treadmill there is less breaking action so it requires less effort. As a result you feel you are running much faster on a machine, and may be disappointed on race day. You can increase the resistance by about 1 percent to help this but running outside is better for training. Also runners tend to lean forward on a treadmill to keep pace with the belt and the slight pulling motion of the belt can cause lower leg or Achilles tendon problems, so pay close attention to your running form when using a treadmill."

 

Last year my friend, Stacey and I took a Yoga for Runners course at Downward Dog Yoga Studio. The course was excellent - especially for lengthening the hamstrings which get tight when running.

I found this site which illustrates some great yoga stretches for runners, which you might wish to try out:

http://www.runnergirl.com/yoga_idx.shtml#run

Happy running

 

After searching, I found this article which is quite informative. Will let you know how it goes:

http://www.jeffgalloway.com/resources/rw_archives/feb_1998.html

Making sure your stride is accurate.

As a runner, you want to ensure that your feet are spending just enough time on the ground. Too long or too short and you can cause stress on your muscles. 

Your goal: 45 steps by your left foot  in 30 seconds.

What does this mean? Your left foot should hit the ground 45 times in 30 seconds. Start your stop watch and begin to count. Stop your watch and look at how long it took you to reach 45 steps. If it is 30 seconds you have optimal form.

To correct your stride, run with someone who meets the goal and try to mimic their stride rate.

I have to credit Dr. John Definney with all his help and for this tip about correcting your stride rate.