What’s going on at HillRunner.com?

/ HillRunner.com Admin / 4 minutes of reading

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

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A lot of things are happening all the time at HillRunner.com. Some are big enough to warrant their own blog post to cover, such as the recent return of more widespread ads (also covered below). Others are small enough to not warrant their own blog posts.

I’d like to occasionally round up some of the recent changes that are big enough to mention but not big enough for their own blog post. Here’s my first attempt at doing so.

Training log features for Club HillRunner.com members

I’ve placed a significant focus recently on the training log. Right now, the benefits are primarily but not solely limited to Club HillRunner.com members.

The biggest changes have been the addition of some visual elements (charts) to help you visualize your training trends over days, weeks, and months. More of these are coming for Club HillRunner.com members and, in time, some will most likely make it to the general public.

Usability improvements in training log and calculators

Some changes have been made for usability, such as drop-downs in place of free form text fields when entering times.

Social links

You may have noticed more social links all around HillRunner.com. Three changes have been made in this regard.

First, currently on every page of HillRunner.com, you can find social follow and social share links. I hope you will find that this makes it easier to find HillRunner.com on a few of the most popular social networks, as well as to share the content here on those networks.

Second, I made it even easier to share blog posts by placing social share links immediately after a post. So it’s very easy once you’re done reading a post to share with your friends.

Finally, you may have noticed that there are now Facebook and Twitter links following my name on post pages and in the comments of the blogs. If you update your profile, you can have those links after you name if you wish. I hope this will allow the community here to connect on social networks more easily if you wish to do so.

Readability

I made a few changes to improve the readability to HillRunner.com. Primarily, what this means is that you’ll see more white space. It’s been shown that more space between lines of text makes the text easier to read and generally easier on the eyes. I don’t want you to have to scroll to read a single sentence but I do want to make sure your reading experience is as pleasant as possible.

There have also been some other cosmetic changes. Almost all focused on making reading HillRunner.com easier but also some just to make HillRunner.com more attractive.

Anti-spam measures

Registration may require a little more work than previously due to attempts to keep members from registering. Also, since most spam was coming through via replies to forum topics, replies will not be allowed after a topic has been quiet for 7 days.

As has been the case for some time, members will have to wait a day after registering before making a new blog post. In addition, guests are welcome and encouraged to comment on blog posts but all guest comments are moderated to prevent spam.

Ads

Finally, ads are back. I already posted about this when they made their return but I wanted to address this again because I realize it is a big deal.

I hate ads as much as you do. I probably hate ads on HillRunner.com more than you do. However, I do have to pay the bills and I think it’s unfair to ask a small number of people (those I coach and Club HillRunner.com members) to take the full burden for something that everyone benefits from. So I decided to create a three-tier structure for ads to ensure everyone helps in some way.

Tier 1: Club HillRunner.com members (which includes those I coach) will get an ad free experience. You’ve already pitched in and I’m very grateful for your support.

Tier 2: Registered and logged on members will see ads on certain pages roughly half of the time. By taking the time to register and log in, you’ve shown loyalty to HillRunner.com and I want to show my appreciation for that.

Tier 3: Anyone who is not logged on will see ads all the time on certain pages. I do truly appreciate your taking the time to visit HillRunner.com and I hope you don’t find the ads overwhelming. I just need to ask you to chip in to help pay the bills.

Note: I have overridden things to place myself in tier 3. I did this so I get constant reminders of what you see and of why I want to keep the ads to a minimum.

Consistency matters

/ Training / 2 minutes of reading

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

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This past weekend, I completed what I would consider my 2016 base phase. Looking over it, I accomplished the following:

7 weeks of 70-72 miles
4 weeks of 66-69 miles
2 weeks of 50 miles (cutback weeks)
1 week of 40 miles (ill)

I can sum up these results in one word: consistency. And I’m feeling very good about where my 2016 racing season will be going for that one reason.

I hope you’re accomplishing the same thing.

It’s not about the numbers to me. Personally, I respond well to 70 mile weeks and that’s what currently fits into my life. I’m not concerned with whether you find yourself saying the same thing about 30 mile weeks, 50 mile weeks, or 100 mile weeks.

What I am concerned with is how consistent you are at the level that works for you.

For years, I’ve said I don’t care what your peak weekly mileage was or what your peak long run was. Tell me what your fourth highest week was. Tell me what your third longest run was. This tells me much more about how your training has been than one big peak.

When you do a single 20 mile long run but your next longest are 18, 16, and 14 you’re less prepared for a marathon than if you’ve run three 18 mile long runs and two 16 milers.

When you do a single 60 mile week but your next highest was 45, you have less complete of a base and are likely more broken down than if you’ve run between 50 and 55 miles several times.

The consistent grind may not be as impressive as a single big blowout week or a single big workout or long run but it’s more effective in the end. It will lead to better results on race day. So, if that’s what you’re looking for, go for the boring in your training. Grind it out with consistent focus and effort.

You don’t need to impress people with the big number in training because you can impress people on race day, when it really matters.

What’s the deal with the ads?

/ HillRunner.com Admin / 2 minutes of reading

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

I think it’s been well established that I hate ads on HillRunner.com as much as anybody.

That said, I have to pay the bills somehow and I don’t think it’s fair to ask Club HillRunner.com members to carry the full burden. So, as much as I hate ads, I’m bringing them back.

As you may (or may not – I’ll explain below) have already noticed, ads have returned to some of the most heavily visited parts of HillRunner.com. They will return to more areas as time goes on. However, not everyone will see them with the same frequency – or at all.

Here’s the deal:

Club HillRunner.com members: Whenever you are logged in, you will continue to have a completely ad free experience. You’re already supporting HillRunner.com through your membership fee and I thank you for doing so.

Registered, logged in members: Whenever you are logged in, you will only see half as many ads as you otherwise would. I appreciate your loyalty and the time you took to sign up.

Guests: I truly appreciate everyone who visits. I’m not trying to punish you. However, I do have to pay the bills so you will see the most ads.

How to reduce or eliminate the ads:

I already laid it out above. If you want to reduce the number of ads you see, you can do so for free by registering and making sure you’re logged in.

If you want to completely eliminate the ads you see on HillRunner.com, you can do so for as little as $1 per month by joining Club HillRunner.com.

I am still committed to keeping the ads to a minimum. I will always ensure HillRunner.com will not become one of those sites where you feel like there are more ads than useful content.

I hope I’m finding a balance that everyone can appreciate and respect. If you have any questions or comments about the new ad policy, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

March Update

/ Miscellaneous / 2 minutes of reading

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

Hello one and all,

March was a pretty good month overall. While I only got 26 runs in for the month it was my fourth highest monthly total mileage ever. I ran a total of 212.90 miles in a total time of 28 hours and 13 minutes. That is some serious base training (for a recreational competitive runner.)

I had a minor injury issue that took me out of running for three days and I had a cold that made it tough for four days. Both of my calves were experiencing a lot of pain right where they connect to the Achilles Tendon – I could not run at all. But three days off and I was good to go. The cold – well – it was a cold.

This is turning out to be a great year so far. First quarter of 2015 I had only 42.52 (yes less than 50) miles. Compare this to first quarter of 2016 where I have 660.26 miles.

Add to this – fourth quarter of 2014 compared to fourth quarter of 2015 and you get a serious difference. Fourth quarter of 2014 was only 4 (four) miles. Fourth quarter of 2015 was 386.22.

So in the past six months I have run 1,046.48 miles compared to 46.52 miles over the same time period the previous year! That is 1,000 more miles!!!!!!

I am in a much better place now and looking forward to the change from base to race training.

Ditch the ice bath for hot baths? Ditch beet juice for dark chocolate?

/ Roundups / 2 minutes of reading

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.

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