Ryan

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

Have you ever found something not feeling quite right and ignored it? What was the result? Chances are you ended up injured not too long after.

Pay close attention to these things. It’s true that we can’t always cut back our training every time something is a little off or, especially as we age, we’d never be training at full capacity. However, we can and should at least pay attention to these things. We can be proactive immediately and, if they get progressively worse or don’t go away for an extended period of time, we can adjust our training before we’re forced to take time off.

Being proactive doesn’t have to mean rest. It can mean "prehab" as some people call it. A little extra stretching, some strength work to target weaknesses that may be the root cause of the problem, maybe a massage appointment. Whatever it takes, it’s better to do a little up front than to be forced into a long time off down the line.

If being proactive isn’t enough, then it’s time to make some hard decisions. Will reducing training load for a week or two help? Will taking a day or two off, even a week, now prevent a longer forced time off later? If so, isn’t doing that worth it?

I will definitely expand on this in the future. As for now, just a quick reminder to pay attention to the little things and deal with them before they become big problems.

Photo credit: Running painful ankle injury by 4Chion Marketing, on Flickr

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.

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