Ryan – Page 77 – HillRunner.com

Fitness first, details later

September 15, 2016 / Training / 2 minutes of reading

This article was originally posted by Ryan at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

I’ve recently been writing a lot of Seattle Marathon training plans and a common theme has been coming up, especially for beginning runners or those who have been out of running for a while. The most important first step isn’t some magic bullet, it’s building basic fitness.

A lot of these plans I’ve been writing haven’t been all that exciting. Some involve workouts only once every two weeks, if at all. Most involve fairly conservative volume progressions. The most elaborate aspect of these plans often is the fact that I’m asking the runner to consistently get a run in 3-4 times a week.

It might seem that the people paying for these plans aren’t getting what they are paying for. However, as I explain in the emails I’m sending them, they are getting just what they need.

When you’re new to running or you’re getting started after a layoff, you need a good foundation to start. There are no shortcuts. There is no magic bullet. There is simply basic work that needs to be done.

Once you build that foundation, you can do more extravagant things. Until that foundation is in place, though, those things are a greater risk than benefit.

So, if you’re new to running or newly returning, make sure you start with the basics. It may not be exciting but it’s the safest and best way to get to where you want to be.

Relax and let the speed come out

September 8, 2016 / Training / 2 minutes of reading

This article was originally posted by Ryan at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

He knows what he’s talking about

If you watched the US Olympic Trials coverage on NBC, you may have noticed Ato Boldon repeatedly say that the fastest sprinters would "relax and let the speed come out". I was hoping he would use that line again in the Olympics but I didn’t notice it the way I did at the Olympic Trials.

Why was I hoping for the repeat? Because that advice Boldon was offering to any sprinters who were watching is also great advice for distance runners.

What does advice on sprint mechanics have to do with distance running? A lot.

Boldon’s advice is universal. When you tense up, your opposing muscles are working against each other, requiring more energy to do the same amount of work.

A simple way to think about this is to think of the opposing muscles of the upper arm, the biceps and triceps. If you’re trying to bend your elbow to lift something, you need to flex your biceps muscle. However, what you don’t always think about is that you also relax your triceps muscle. If you don’t, your triceps muscle is pulling to straighten your elbow and working against your biceps.

What does this have to do with relaxing to let the speed come out?

When you’re tense, your muscles are contracting. When you’re relaxed, as the term suggests, your muscles are relaxed. Only the working muscles are contracting.

When you’re tense, your contracting muscles are fighting against each other. When you’re relaxed, only your working muscles are contracting to do the job. There are no opposing muscles contracting to work against your working muscles.

In short, when you relax, you’re not spending energy to work against yourself. You can save energy and deliver more power into the work you want to get done (like propelling your body forward).

So what do we do now that we recognize how important it is to relax in order to let the speed come out? Practice, practice, practice. I see a lot of runners, myself included although I’ve been working on it in recent years, who strain and get very tense when working hard. Whether in workouts or races, you can see the strain in their faces and, many times, throughout their bodies.

In training, try to focus on fighting the urge to tense up and strain. Work on staying loose when the going gets tough.

Photo credit: Ato Boldon by Dhanika Ranasinghe, on Flickr

Hootie Hustle – 5K

September 1, 2016 / Race Reports / 5 minutes of reading

This article was originally posted by Ed at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

The weather for race day seemed like it wouldnât be very promising to set a PR. Ryan and I had discussed this and I decided that, like Ryan said, we donât need to worry about time just place. I figured I would do my best to get and stay ahead of as many people as possible and then pass as many as I could while gutting it out to the end.

My wife Debby came out to support me and that was nice to have her drive (and be there for me) so I could refocus my race day nerves and anxiety. She has an amazing calming effect on me that I really appreciate. We pulled in right next to Coach Hill. It was raining lightly as I went to get my packet. I was thinking, last year it was rainy and cool and I PRâd then, so maybe . . .

I asked for my packet and got one of the biggest compliments ever. The lady running the event said she was waiting and waiting to see me register and was excited when she saw that I registered. REALY â me?! That was a little boost of confidence.

Got back to the car and the rain was picking up a bit. I pinned the bib on, relaxed a little bit more and asked Ryan if he was ready to warm-up. We headed out for a very easy paced warm-up of 1.32 miles at an 8:37 pace. We stretched a little and changed into Race Gear. Then like in Ryanâs race report we headed over to the bleachers under the press box for some final stretching and warm-up. We did some strides on the track and I was unusually calm.

We lined up at the starting line and when they counted down â we took off. I immediately found myself in very odd territory. I was just behind Ryan with no one else ahead of us â I was in second place. I checked my Garmin to be sure that I wasnât blowing myself up to die in the end and I was out a bit quick with the 1st quarter mile in 1:24 or 5:36 per mile. I didnât have to worry about slowing it down because Ryan did as did the two guys behind me. I got through mile one in 5:57 â I was hoping to be a bit quicker but this is good because I was conserving energy with the two guys not dropping off from us.

I contemplated trying to catch Ryan who wasnât but a couple of seconds ahead of me to let him know that we needed pick it up or the two guys behind us might make a move and catch us but I decided against it. That was good because we had indeed picked it up a little bit finishing mile two in about a 5:53 pace. I was hurting a bit but knew that 1.128 miles should be easy and that was all I had left to go. I pushed on trying to slowly gap the guys behind me. I started looking behind me at turns to try and gauge how the two threats were doing. I saw that one of the guys had dropped off and now I had to fight to keep second as one guy was about three to four seconds behind me.

I knew that there was a good downhill portion coming up on which I could open up and hopefully put a bit more space on him. At this point I quit checking on him because I didnât feel like I was going to fade. As I reflect a little, I wasnât even thinking of getting second place just staying ahead of the guy behind me. I was in such a tunnel vision that I donât recall even seeing Ryan just ahead of me. I was trying to listen to race volunteers that cheered for us as we passed to hear how close the guy behind was. But I couldnât tell.

As I made the tight turn and headed onto the track I knew I had about a quarter mile to go â that is short no matter how much I am hurting at this point. The third mile (I didnât know it at the time) was run in 5:36; my fastest mile ever. I pushed as hard as I could around that track unaware of anything other than the finish line and my inability to breathe anymore. I turned to go straight up the football field toward the 50 yard line ready to collapse. I saw the clock in the very low 18s and thought âthis is a new PR!â I ran through the finish line and fell to the ground dizzy, light headed and gasping for air.

Ryan, being a good coach, wouldnât let me lay on the ground. He helped me up and got me walking. We figured I came in somewhere just under 18:10 another PR and my highest ever finish â 2nd place!

I ended up running 18:06 which is 24 seconds faster than last year at this same event and a new PR by eight seconds! Very happy with these results –

http://media.wix.com/ugd/d60b0e_add9b592616f4573a3defc34c18f8ce7.pdf

Event page – https://www.honoursinc.com/!results-and-photos-2015/ybyri

Race report: 2016 Hootie Hustle 5K

September 1, 2016 / Race Reports / 7 minutes of reading

This article was originally posted by Ryan at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

I’m cheating a little bit and this week’s blog post will be my race report. At this point, I don’t intend to make this a regular thing but I simply have too much going on right now. Hopefully, things will settle in over the next week or two and I’ll be back on a regular routine.

My lead up to this race wasn’t ideal. It’s been a very busy summer in general, then it turns out the Hootie Hustle happened to be exactly 3 months before the Seattle Marathon, which meant I spent the 2 weeks before the race writing training plans. I love helping these runners so it’s a great joy doing so but I’ll be honest. It’s not exactly the ideal way to prepare for a race. Plus, I had a lot going on at work and at home.

That said, this is my hometown race. It’s a race to support the scholarship program at the school district my daughter goes to. Not only do I want to run it but I want to do all I can to support it. On that note, HillRunner.com for the first time ever sponsored a race.

Proud to be among the sponsors!

I’m very proud to support this event and look forward to doing so again in the future.

As for the race, my preparation wasn’t ideal but I am the two time defending champion heading into the third running of the event. I believe in myself and trust myself to do all I can to defend the title. The past two years, I ran faster than I would have expected on this course and I kept thinking I had more and maybe could even flirt with a sub-17 if things went right.

Given that, I showed up at the race to see a light rain falling as I checked in and went back to the car to stay dry. Ed showed up as I was pinning my bib to my singlet and parked right next to me. I relaxed a bit more, then got prepared for warmup time.

Ed and I went out for our warmup just as the rain was letting up and was down to virtually nothing. Maybe this would be like last year, drying out just in time for warmup and race time.

We arrived back just as the kids run was finishing up, went to our cars, then made our way toward the starting area at the track. I was making my way to the high jump apron to set up camp when the rain started coming hard so I decided instead to go under the bleachers and ended up finding a much more dry spot under the press box, where I stretched and got ready to do some strides.

Just as Ed and I were about to head out for strides, the rain let up but didn’t completely stop so I grabbed my things and took them out to the high jump apron. Then we set off on a 1 lap acceleration and got in a couple strides before the start of the race.

Hey Ed, whatcha doin’?

At the start of the race, I went straight to the lead. After slowing down to navigate a hard turn, I accelerated back to what I felt I could hold and found myself "alone" in front. By "alone" I mean nobody right next to me but I could hear at least a couple people right behind me, maybe a step or two back.

Around a few turns, then we head back into a residential area and start the long, gradual climb to roughly the halfway point. By this point, I can already feel that things aren’t quite right. My legs are just flat. I can feel that the pace isn’t really challenging me but I just can’t go faster. My legs just won’t go. At this point, I figure I’ll ride out the climb and hope the downhill in the second half gets me going.

Through the mile, I can still hear someone right behind me and just have a sense it’s Ed. I actually have a thought at about the mile mark that my time isn’t going to be something I’m thrilled with so I could just drop back with Ed and help him through the race. Then I think better of it. I tell myself Ed would rather do this by himself. Besides, I’m still close enough that I’m giving him a target, which might work better than running with him to pull him through. Plus, a little selfishly, this is my home town race, not his. I want to make sure I do all I can to win. I know Ed is a speedster and I’m not so I don’t want to leave it to a kick.

I work my way up to the middle school at the high point of the course and, while probably a little before the halfway point, given the early climb and late descent, what I think of as the halfway point effort wise. Starting a very gradual downhill, I try to find a good rhythm and stretch out the legs but now it’s clear this race is going to be a battle. Just not my day for a fast time.

I keep pushing, steal a couple looks back to see Ed not far behind and another guy I recognize but can’t quite place just behind Ed. I keep hoping Ed can gap this guy, while selfishly hoping I can get a little more distance on Ed.

Finally, we get past the mile 2 mark and hit a nice downhill. Again, I try to open up the stride but there’s only so fast my legs are going to go. Even with the assistance of gravity, the legs just won’t move faster. I do what I can and keep telling myself the finish line is near. Around a left turn, then a right, then a hard left and toward the track.

Almost to the track

Finishing with a lap around the track, then running into the 50 yard line of the football field, I know this means I have about 400 meters to go. I’m feeling fairly comfortable with my lead but I’m still not taking anything for granted. Again, I know Ed is a speedster and I’m not. I give it all I have as soon as I hit the track and try to separate a bit more. I’m not sure if it’s working but I don’t feel anyone coming up on me so I cruise in as well as I can.

As I’m approaching the finish line, I see the clock ticking toward 18 minutes. I think I can get in under 18 but it’s going to be close. I’m pretty sure I cross the finish line with the clock showing 17:59 but I’m officially given 18:00. Oh well, it’s not like this is a time I’m going to get excited about whether it’s 17:59 or 18:00.

I then turn around and I have to say the highlight of the race for me was seeing Ed coming in right behind me. He finishes in 18:06 and third place, who I realized after getting home is actually the dad of one of my daughter’s friends, is not too far behind Ed.

In reviewing the race, I got thinking about my races at the Hank Aaron 5K. I always struggle to run fast there, then have no problem running fast after that. I always chalked it up to the course and the early August heat and humidity. Now, I’m beginning to wonder if, after a summer of slower running due to the heat, I need one good race in my legs before I’m really ready to run fast. This year, I didn’t do Hank Aaron so this became that race.

Regardless, I’m happy to get the home town win. I’m thrilled to see how well Ed ran. And I’m very motivated to come back at Al’s Run and prove that I’m capable of more.

About those muscles

August 25, 2016 / Roundups / 3 minutes of reading

This article was originally posted by Ryan at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

This post will be all about the muscles. I have an interesting article on some muscle research I’ve been holding on to and another one just popped up yesterday that I think has some interesting results for those of you who might deal with seasonal allergies.

How much protein do you need?

First, how much protein do you need as a runner? Many runners underestimate what we need. After all, we’re runners, not bodybuilders.

The problem with that is that, while we’re not be bodybuilders, running causes a lot of muscle damage and the damaged muscles need to be repaired. In addition, we burn some protein while running, especially when our glycogen levels get depleted such as late in long runs or longer races.

How much protein do we need? Well, the good news is that, if you eat a typical American diet but a little more because you’re burning more calories, you’re probably fine overall.

However, you may want to think about when you’re getting your protein. As pointed out, your body can only absorb and put to use a certain amount of protein at one time. The rest gets converted to fat and stored in that form. So try to spread out your intake more. For most Americans, this means more protein at breakfast and lunch, some in snacks, and less at dinner.

Antihistamines and our muscles

What do we know about how antihistamines and our muscles? It turns out not much.

What we do know is taking antihistamines appears to reduce muscle soreness.

Sounds good, right? Well, there’s a catch. It appears less soreness come with the side effect of more muscle damage. It seems that the same system that blocks the feeling of soreness may also block the signals to the body that the muscle is damaged and needs to be repaired.

So, in the short term, you gain the advantage of less sore muscles but the tradeoff is more muscle damage in the long term.

As a side note, a few years ago I attempted to take some Claritin when spring allergies were hitting me fairly hard. Within a day or two, the allergy symptoms cleared. However, within a week, my running took a complete dive. I stopped taking the Claritin and was back to normal within a few days. I don’t think the what I felt was due to the effects noted in this study but just beware, if you consider taking antihistamines during allergy season, make sure you give yourself time before any important race to ensure they won’t negatively affect you.