Starting a running blog

/ Miscellaneous / 3 minutes of reading

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

Yes, I have been drinking tonight and that has spurred my desire to start a running blog. I would never do this out in the blogosphere as I just don’t think I have thick enough skin to take some of the negativity or drama that I sometimes see targeted at some of the bloggers I follow. I really don’t want any of that in my life. As for the blog I just plan to post my weekly mileage and any random thoughts that I have about running or life in general. I am always trying to improve at both.

About my running; As of today I have 696 miles logged for 2013. Some were fast, many were slow, and a few 1k intervals were really fast. Way too many miles were on the treadmill due to the splendid ice accumulating conditions we had this year. I have a half marathon in May and I feel really good about where I am at right now in my training.

As for me; I am selectively compulsive and tend to take things to extremes but only about certain things like running, being on time, my shoes always being just right for my outfit, and clothes, shoes, and hair in general. Oddly though, I do not feel the same way about my running clothes and will wear them til they fall apart. I even raced a goal half marathon in a 5 year old dingy tech shirt with paint on the sleeve. When it comes to running it is all about the running and not at all about all those extra things that stylish runners need.

For a compulsive person though I do have a messy house. I just was not programmed to be tidy as much as I was programmed to get the miles in every day or shop for just the right pair of heels. A friend of mine told me that she cannot get out to exercise as she cannot bear to leave the house if there is a dirty dish in the sink. Entire kitchen can be trashed and I just see it as one more reason to leave for a run. You can always clean a kitchen to perfection even if the dishes were piled up by the sink for a week but your own body is not so forgiving if you do not work out. Not that I let my dishes pile up for a week. I learned long ago that the best cure for an untidy house is fewer possessions so I only have about a one day supply of dishes. And that last sentence is most likely the best advice I will ever offer on this blog.

My hobbies besides running are looking at red cowboy boots on E-Bay and trying to make sure that my kids grow up to be adults that are not annoying. Not that I am never ever annoying but you always hope for better for your children.

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This year compared to last

/ Miscellaneous / 1 minute of reading

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

Just wanted to put it out there that this year while inconsistant is leaps and bounds over last year at this point.

Last year 1/1 through 4/3 I had only run 22 times for 83.83 miles and I still had a pretty good racing year.

This year 1/1 through 4/3 I have run 40 times for 258.63 miles.

I know I should have had nearly 500 miles so far but I have plenty of time before my goal races to step it up and work extra hard. Looking forward to the five races I have planned for the year.

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Breaking news: Hill repeats are good for your 5K

/ Training / 2 minutes of reading

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

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Hill repeats will of course help if you’re racing here

Well, maybe not exactly breaking but a recent study backs up what we’ve known for some time. It also adds to the picture a bit.

This study found that hill repeats of any kind improved a runner’s 5K performance by about 2%. That’s a pretty significant number. For a 20 minute 5K runner, 2% would be a 24 second improvement.

What I found interesting here is that they looked at repeats at different intensities and how that affected running economy and 5K performance. The result was that the highest intensity hill repeats improved running economy the most but, to quote the author, "there was no clear optimum for time-trial performance". In other words, while running economy improved most with the highest intensity hill repeats, other factors played into making 5K performance gains similar across all intensities.

What to take from this? First, hill repeats are good. No news here. Second, high intensity repeats are great for running economy. This shouldn’t be a huge surprise. We’ve known that short bursts of high intensity work are good for running economy already. That’s why we all do strides, even marathoners. Many runners would already at times take those strides to a hill to get a little more intensity. Third, there are other benefits to longer repeats. Again, we already knew this. That’s why hill repeats have been popular for decades.

So why am I writing about something that just tells us what we already know? First, it’s always good to make sure the science confirms what you already believe. Second, it never hurts to remind ourselves of what we’ve already known. We all know strides are good for us but I know I’ve forgotten this lesson at times and gotten away from doing strides. Have you gotten away from hill repeats? Maybe this is an opportunity to consider whether it would be a good idea to add them back.

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Barefoot running: It’s about how you run more than what you run in

/ Training / 2 minutes of reading

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

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Another study on barefoot running is out. I find this one to be of particular interest because it’s asking a question I would like to see asked more often: is the benefit of barefoot running due to what you’re running in (nothing or next to nothing) or how you’re running (eliminating the heavy heel strike)? I have my opinion on this answer but I’d like to see science back it up.

This is a small study (only 12 runners) so it hardly closes the book on the question but it’s a step forward in beginning to explore the question.

As for the answer itself, it seems to conclude the same thing many people, myself included, believed. The benefits (and risks) of barefoot running have to do more with how we run (forefoot plant) when barefoot than what we’re running in.

Specifically, the runners, whether wearing shoes or not, gain shock absorption when switching to a forefoot plant. Going barefoot and keeping your heel plant, not surprisingly, increases injury risk. The risk of switching to a forefoot plant, also not surprisingly, is an increased load on your calf muscles. Specifically, the gastrocnemius, which is the outer muscle of the calf.

What’s the takeaway of this? Here’s what I’m taking out of it. If you’re going to consider minimal or "barefoot" shoes or barefoot running itself, remember, the shoes are a tool. It’s not the shoes that improve your running, it’s the form changes that the lack of cushioning in those shoes forces. At the same time, proceed with caution. Your calves will need to work harder than they are used to if you currently heel plant. As with anything, build up slowly.

In other words, the same thing some of us have been saying for years, going back even before Chris McDougall’s book was published.

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Birthday races

/ Miscellaneous / 1 minute of reading

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

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A less serious topic, just because (and it’s not even my birthday, this was spurred by a conversation with another runner who recently celebrated a birthday).

I have often been asked why I don’t celebrate my birthday with a race. Maybe it’s because I’m not a huge fan of racing in Wisconsin winters, which complicates things with an early February birthday. Maybe it’s because, while I’ve always thought of myself as a competitive runner, I’m a runner first and competitive second. Racing is an incredible experience and my running life would have a huge hole in it if racing wasn’t a part of it but I don’t run to race. I race because it’s a part of the running experience for me. I sometimes enjoy a relaxing long run through nature even more than I do a race.

Or maybe it’s because last time I did a birthday race, not running well was only half the story. Guys in the age group I joined just days earlier took 3 of the top 4 spots overall. What a welcome to a new age group that was.

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