Ryan

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

I’m having some computer problems at home and I have a backlog of articles I’ve wanted to write out. So, as I’m in the process of ditching my old computer for a new one, it seems fitting that I write about a couple things runners may soon consider ditching.

Ditch the ice bath?

Who likes ice baths? I’m going out on a limb and guessing nobody. Those of us who use them don’t do them because they are enjoyable. We do them because they help us recover.

I do question whether that’s always what we want (see here and here). However, more importantly, can bigger gains be made by taking a hot bath or, better, hitting the sauna after your workout? Maybe.

It’s not the same effect. In short, this is heat training, not a recovery aid. It’s similar to why some cold climate runners overdress when preparing for warm weather races. You can increase your blood plasma volume, which helps performance. In this case, a hot conditions (90+ degrees F) 5K time trial improved by 5% on average. Unfortunately, in more moderate conditions (just short of 65 degrees F) performance didn’t improve. I do wonder if it might be more beneficial in more moderate conditions if the distance were longer. 65 isn’t all that taxing when running a 5K, it can be when running a marathon.

I’m not saying we should all jump on the hot bath or sauna train. However, if you’re training for a race in hot weather or I’d argue a longer race in more moderate weather, this is a result worth considering.

Ditch beet juice?

Most of us have probably heard of beet juice as a performance enhancing supplement. The nitrate in the juice is converted into nitric oxide, which has been shown to improve blood flow and delivery of oxygen to the muscles.

However, beet juice tastes…well…not so good. What if you could get the same effects by having something more appetizing? Such as, let’s say, some dark chocolate.

As noted, this isn’t perfect because you can’t guarantee a consistent dosage but it sure sounds better than the alternative. This seems worth keeping an eye on at least.

I’ll hopefully be back with some more original content next week once the new computer is up and running.

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

We don’t want to slow down, right? Unfortunately, we all know that there are those things that do slow us down. Two of those things? The hot sun and starting too fast. Well, here’s some information on how much the sunlight can slow us down as well as why fast starts slow us down.

How much does sunlight slow you down?

Answer: pretty much when it’s already hot outside.

This probably isn’t surprising but it’s a good reminder that the temperature and relative humidity aren’t the only things that matter. Cloud cover, or lack of, can make a big difference in what pace we can hold.

Why do fast starts slow you down?

We all know not to start too fast, right? It’s been drilled into us. Still, we occasionally do so by accident and pay the price. What’s happening when we make that mistake?

We might now have an answer.

It appears that, when you start fast, you are less efficient. In the case of the study at hand, the fast starters would be 3 minutes slower in an hour run or 8.5 minutes slower in a 2.5 hour run.

Does it really matter that efficiency is the reason we slow down? Probably not. The main thing is that we still know that going out too fast slows us down later. However, I always think it’s nice to know what’s going on and now we have a better picture of that.