Many athletes struggle with their competitive running after they graduate from high school or college. Some athletes are burned out and take a break from the sport and have to get back into shape. Others lose all motivation to run once they are away from the team environment, and some simply do not know how to develop a training schedule.

Developing a training schedule is not always an easy thing to do. Many runners simply do not know much about why they do different workouts. They may not understand exactly when in their training program they are supposed to incorporate their long runs, tempo runs, or intervals workouts. This article’s goal is to discuss one method of organizing your training. The method was developed by Arthur Lydiard. Arthur Lydiard is considered by most of the running community to be the best running coach of all time.

Marathon Conditioning (10 weeks)

According to the Lydiard method the first phase of your training for any endurance race should be Marathon Conditioning. The marathon conditioning phase should be 10 weeks in length. The goals of this phase are to improve your aerobic foundation and help prevent injuries. The improved functioning of your heart and lungs increases your aerobic foundation. Marathon Conditioning also strengthens connective tissues and ligaments which will help you prevent injuries.

To develop you training schedule for the marathon conditioning phase you should start with short runs on a consistent basis. Gradually you can lengthen the distance of your runs. To lengthen the distance of your runs start with lengthening one run a week. Then you can increase that number to two runs a week. When you plan your training for this phase make sure that you follow the hard/easy principle. This principle says that you should run one day hard and then the next one or two days easy before doing another hard day. During the marathon conditioning phase a longer mileage day is considered a hard day. It does not necessarily have to be run fast or hard. Here is an example of what a Marathon Conditioning phase build-up may look like. If you can run three miles everyday without becoming overly fatigued you could start lengthening your runs. After a few weeks your weekly workout might have changed from three miles everyday to five miles on Monday, three miles on Tuesday, five miles on Wednesday, three miles on Thursday and Friday, and 8 miles on Saturday. Sunday would be a rest day. That is just an example and may not be the best way to organize a schedule for you. If you noticed on Saturday the sample schedule included an eight mile run. During the marathon conditioning phase Lydiard suggests increasing the time of one run per week until that run reaches two hours in duration. If you are a beginner in running the two hour run may be increasing your total time running too quickly in the 10 week phase. If this is the case then you should pick a shorter duration for your long run.

Hill Resistance (4 weeks)

The Hill Resistance phase should be 4 weeks in length, and it serves as a transition phase. The goal of this phase is to transition your body from the slower running in the Marathon Phase to the faster running in the Track Training phase. The Hill Resistance phase will begin to introduce anaerobic exercise to you and it will add power and flexibility to your legs.

There are several different types of workouts that can be included into your schedule during this phase. The first one is steep hill running. While maintaining good running form you can run up a steep hill that is 300 to 800 meters in length. While doing this workout your legs should be lifted up until they are almost horizontal to the ground. The second workout is hill bounding. Find a hill with a moderate grade and a length of about 200 meters. Use bounding strides to climb the hill. You should feel like a deer jumping over a fence. A third workout is Sprinting Drills. Examples of Sprinting Drills are high knees, strides, bounding, and butt kicks. You should do one of these workouts, or a workout similar to this, 1-3 times per week during the Hill Resistance phase. The rest of the week should include easy running.

Track Training (4 weeks)

The track training phase is 4 weeks in length and is a phase in which you will do intervals and/or repetitions on the track that will help you with you goal race. The workouts you choose for this phase should focus on developing the systems you will need for your goal race. Some examples of these workouts might include 400 meter repeats, 800 meter repeats, 1-2 mile repeats, and ladder workouts. The phase is called track training, but the workouts do not have to be done on the track. Finding a flat section of road and doing intervals from telephone pole to telephone pole may be your desired way of training during this phase.

This is a very important phase in your training, but when doing track training caution must be used. This is the phase in which injuries are more likely to occur because of the increased intensity of the workouts. It is better to be under-trained in this phase as opposed to over-trained. Once your body begins to become over-trained you will have a hard time fighting off illnesses and avoiding injury. This is you bodies way of telling you to take it a little easier. One way to help prevent over-training is to make sure you follow the hard/easy principle that was discussed earlier.

Coordination (4 weeks)

The coordination phase is where you start to get all your systems ready for the goal race a few weeks down the road. The coordination phase is the time for you to start incorporating sprint drills and time trials into your training.

Running time trials allows your body to become familiar with the effort required during your goal race. One thing to remember about time trials is to not become discouraged with your time. Once you get to this phase of your training you should be in great shape. Many times you may set a personal record for an event during a time trial. Other times you may not run as fast as you think you are capable of. If this is the case for your time trial just remember that most people can not run as fast by themselves in a time trial as they can against competition in a race.

Sprint drills are also important to your goal race. These drills allow you to develop more leg turnover (speed) by developing muscle strength. These drills also improve your running form which improves your efficiency.

Freshening Up (1-2 weeks)

The freshening up phase (also know as a taper phase) is when everything should begin to come together. In this phase your training decreases and your body recovers from the hard work you have put in during the past 22 weeks. This is the time when you may not be able to sit still due to the extra energy your body has that you are not using due to the decreased training. Be cautious during this phase. This is not the time to go out and play a game of pick-up basketball to burn off some extra energy. This is also not the time to put in extra training because you are feeling energized. The length of the freshening up phase is usually 1-2 weeks, but it can depend on the athlete and the goal event. Freshening up for a marathon usually takes 3 weeks.

Down Time

Once you reach the end of the freshening up phase you have your goal race. If everything goes according to plan you should have ran one of the best races of your life. After this race comes a very well deserved period of your training. This is also a very important part of your training. While this period is not an actual named part of the Lydiard Method it is a part of almost all training methods. After your goal race you should have some down time. During this down time you should take a few weeks to relax and refresh yourself physically and mentally. These few weeks of relaxing should include jogging easily. Do not feel guilty if you miss a few days here or there during your down time. Be cautious not to miss too many days because you will begin to lose all the progress you made during the previous training cycle.

If you have not already done so now is the time to pick out your next goal race and begin the training cycle again, and build upon the progress you made. The Lydiard Method is a training cycle that can be followed over and over to build up for goal races. As with all training methods it takes time to improve. If you continue to follow the Lydiard Method over a long period you may set personal records in races that a few years ago you could only dream of. To quote the great coach Arthur Lydiard, “It is not the best athlete who wins; but the best prepared.”

Information for this article came from the Lydiard Foundation. http://lydiardfoundation.org

Darrell Lewis is a USA Track and Field certified coach. He also is the owner of Peak Performance Running. Darrell helps runners of all ability levels reach their running goals. You can view Darrell’s website at http://www.peakperformancerunning.org

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So you think you can become one of the 1/1000th of 1% of the world who can say they have gone and completed an Ironman Triathlon? It’s quite an accomplishment to either swim 2.2 miles, or bike 112, or run a 26.2mile marathon - but to do them all consecutively in one day?! Some would argue this is borderline psychotic Suffice to say, I am one of those psychotic people and to perhaps give YOU some inspiration that this “crazy” triathlon accomplishment can be a legitimate goal in your own lifetime, I couldn’t swim 10meters let alone 2.2miles when I signed up for my first Ironman.

With the right mindset and dedication, it IS in fact possible to squeeze in your training, your work, your social life, your laundry, your nap time, etc etc etc - but it all boils down to
how badly you want it. The sport of triathlon is growing at an alarming rate, so it would seem that a LOT of people are looking for a new challenge beyond doing a 5km or 10km or marathon. I was in the same boat, having done a few marathons, I figured what other test of endurance could I subject myself to and doing an Ironman seemed about right… I don’t exactly recommend doing Ironman as your first triathlon, nor do I recommend trying to do an iron distance triathlon without knowing how to swim - but if you want incentive to learn and a greater incentive to push yourself to the limits of physical endurance - by all means

Of course, most people start by doing a sprint distance triathlon or even an Olympic distance as they are not quite as intimidating. Some are even held indoors and you have the luxury of swimming in a semi-heated pool as opposed to a freezing cold lake (at least where I’m from). You won’t need to get yourself a top of the line time-trial bike and I’ve seen people do triathlon races with mountain bikes, and even a unicycle! Now THAT’s crazy.

In any case, the point is, the sport of triathlon is not as “elite” as many people make it out to be. It’s meant to be fun, it’s meant to be a challenge, and there really is no better feeling than crossing that finish line for your first multisports race whether it’s a short sprint, or your first Ironman. Regardless of distance you choose - Go For it!

Tavis is a 2x Ironman Triathlon Finisher and his hilarious GymSkinZ Triathlon T-Shirts are seen all over the world. His quest for Ironman Kona continues - you can follow his crazy adventures via his Triathlon Blog & Newsletter at GymSkinZ.com

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Running drills give us an opportunity to teach cues while speed traininig. These drills are used to break down certain aspects or parts of the whole body of sprinting. Cues such as: ’step over and drive down’ during a speed drill in practice are used to give an athlete a frame of reference to use to make adjustments to their form while sprinting.

Every time you sprint you should be working on technique. You want your athletes to have proper running technique ingrained in their heads so when it is time to sprint, they can feel when everything is happening smoothly.

Speed training drills are needed to reinforce running mechanics and help technique while also helping your athletes become faster, moer powerful and even stronger.

Acceleration Training Speed Drills

Short Hill Work

This is a great speed drill when you have large groups and you do not need any expensive equipment. Hills can naturally help athletes with their stride frequency and also help promote quick arm action. Also, athletes that tend to rotate a lot at the hips and cross over with a side-to-side running action will have to quickly re-evaluate their flawed running mechanics when doing hill work. If they are running side-to-side, they will not be going anywhere, and will have trouble getting up the hill. Therefore, this short hill work will help improve their straight ahead running.

Hill work is perfect for acceleration development as it puts the athlete in proper acceleration mechanics naturally without any tools or cues. You are bringing the ground up to them as they will be driving out and running in the 45 degree angle to the ground.

Sample Hill Workout

8 x 20 meter hills at 15 degree gradient. Walk back down with a 2 minute rest between each repetition.

Stadiums

If you have a nice set of bleachers or stadium stairs in your area, I suggest you take advantage of them. When performing stadiums for acceleration work, make sure that your athletes are skipping a step so they are running every other step. Running every other step on the bleachers mimics acceleration mechanics similar to short hill work. It is putting the athletes at that 45 degree body angle while they are running the stairs.

If you run up every step and do not skip one in between, your body will be up taller in more of an upright maximum velocity position. Skipping steps is important because maximum velocity work is not the goal of this drill.

Wall Drill

The Wall Drill was covered in detail in last month’s Speed Training Report but here is an overview. Standing parallel to the wall, have the athlete lean forward so they are now at a 45 degree and angle with their hands now supporting them by holding onto the wall (arms now parallel to the ground). The feet should be behind the hips and the athlete should be at, approximately, a 45 degree angle to the ground. The torso should be erect, hips forward, stomach and lower back tight so that one could draw a straight (45 degree) line from the head, through the hips to the ankles.

From this position we implement a marching action. Have the athlete raise the right leg so that the ankle is beneath the hips, toe dorsiflexed. On your command, the athlete will march, alternating legs, for a given number of repetitions. They will finish with their leg in the original starting position.

Partner Assisted - March

Exactly like the Wall Drill except a partner is in the place of the wall.

Have the two partners face each other. The first person leans in the proper acceleration position (45 degree angle), while their partner is holding them in this position at the shoulders. Your athletes toe should be cocked up toward the shin, the ankle is kept up benind the knee, and the right knee is up. Also known on for front side mechanics as triple extension: the position your athlete would be in during acceleration. On the support leg (left leg), have your athlete in triple extension. The left leg will be in a straight line with the hips, spine and head.

The athlete’s partner will be resisting slightly, keeping the working athlete at the desired 45 degree angle. The athlete is going to be marching for 10 steps, forcefully driving the front-side leg down and back. The forward movement will be short in distance with the focus on the driving motion. You want your athlete to be able to feel their feet behind them during these drills so it seems natural when it comes time to accelerate during games.

Face and Chase

This drill is pretty much an extension of the Partner Assisted March drill. This time the ‘marcher’ is running instead of marching, and the partner is providing more resistance. The focus is still on providing force application into the ground.

While slowly moving backwards for about 5 meters, your partner is resisting the movement forward. At this point the partner lets go and releases. The partner that was resisting and now released, will turn and run and try to beat the person they were resisting to a cone at 15 meters.

We have extended these distances out and also turned them into a tag game (Face, Chase and Race).

Various Starting Positions

Instead of bringing the ground up to the athlete to create the 45 degree angle as we did with the hill work, we are now going to bring the athlete down to the ground. Starting with the athlete on the ground, have them perform these drills in different positions. Naturally, your body tries to move as quickly as possible, wanting to get up fast. The best way to do that is to drive out in proper acceleration mechanics without having the athlete think too much about it.

Weaker athletes have an extremely tough time accelerating from a standing or 2 point position but are successful creating the acceleration form from a ground based position. Essentially, we work from the ground up. As our athletes get stronger and better mechanically, we use the more vertical stances for our acceleration work. You would still use the distance parameters of 10-30 meters per run for your sprint workouts when you perform this drill.

Here are some examples of the various starting positions you can use:

- Laying on back
- Push-up ‘Up’ position
- Push-up ‘Down’ position
- On 1 knee (always switch)
- Seated (facing forward)
- Seated (facing Backwards)
- 3 point position
- 4 point position
- Falling start
- Position specific

Med Ball Starts

The athlete starts with both feet shoulder width apart, holding a medicine ball at their chest. Have your athlete provide an explosive chest pass, trying to propel the medicine ball as far as possible. This will cause the athlete to use their legs and drive out. Once the ball is released, your athlete will try and grab the ball and then continue to sprint by the ball for another 15 yards. This is a good exercise for athletes that don’t seem to be going any where their first couple of steps of acceleration and need to become more explosive.

Ball Drop

You can start this drill having the athletes use the various starting positions as described above. The coach stands 10 feet away (this distance can be moved up or back depending on the level of athlete) with a tennis ball in his or her hand. The coach’s arm is at shoulder level held out to the side. The coach then drops the ball and once the athlete sees the ball released, he/she must catch the ball before it bounces twice.

This is a great drill to work on not only acceleration mechanics but also reaction time: an extremely important characteristic in all sports.

Use the speed drills provided for acceleration and make sure that your athletes are getting the most out of them by not sacrificing form in any of the drills.

Patrick Beith is the co-owner of Athletes Acceleration the leader in sports performance information. To discover the secrets to dominant speed, go to http://www.AthletesAcceleration.com and checkout http://www.CompleteSpeedTraining.com

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Running a few 5K races this summer is an excellent way to challenge yourself. Once you’ve decided to start racing, you should incorporate training runs and cross-training into your regular workout routine. Combine running, strength training, core strength, and other forms of cardio into your routine to improve your performance when race day arrives.

Make your training fun and challenging by tracking your distances and times for each training run. Incorporate indoor and outdoor runs, sprints, hills, and distance to keep training runs interesting. When it’s time to strength train, be sure to work the entire body as opposed to focusing only on your legs. The running motion incorporates upper body, lower body, and core muscle groups and training the entire body will improve your performance.

I found two studies that talked about strength training and running being used together in a training program. In the first study, it was found that explosive strength training improved the 5K time endurance athletes [1]. The second study indicated that endurance athletes could benefit from strength training if they were doing certain activities that required fast-twitch muscle fibers [2].

These studies were done on trained endurance athletes and indicated some positive correlations between strength training and running. Most athletes, beginners and advanced, should benefit from strength training as a cross-training activity to improve 5K time [1], although endurance runners who run 4-6 days per week may not see notable improvement in running performance for longer races [2].

If you have just signed up for one of your first races or you haven’t raced in a long time, you definitely want to start training runs at least 4 weeks before race day (for a 5K). If the race you’ve chosen is a longer than 5K, plan on training at least 8 weeks prior to the race.

You can design your own race training program with a simple calender and a few ideas. As a beginner in moderate physical condition, running a 5K, you can run twice per week and strength train twice per week for the first four weeks. For the second four weeks, include 3 runs in your training regimen and strength train twice per week.

If you have any questions, let me know by sending me an email!

Good Luck!

References
1. Leena Paavolainen1, Keijo Häkkinen2, Ismo Hämäläinen1, Ari Nummela1, and Heikki Rusko Journal of Applied Physiology Vol. 86, Issue 5, 1527-1533, May 1999 Explosive-strength training improves 5-km running time by improving running economy and muscle power
2. R. C. Hickson, B. A. Dvorak, E. M. Gorostiaga, T. T. Kurowski, and C. Foster J Appl Physiol, Nov 1988; 65: 2285 - 2290 Potential for strength and endurance training to amplify endurance performance

Jessica Dawn is a fitness professional who has been studying health & fitness for over 10 years. In addition to actively participating in fitness, Jessica has a degree in Kinesiology (exercise science) which allows her to understand both the scientific and behavioral aspects of weight loss and fitness.

Jessica Dawn is a leader in teaching proven strategies for reaching health & fitness goals. You can receive a free report, free fitness tools, free video exercise demo’s, and more by signing up for her email list at http://www.visfitness.blogspot.com or http://www.visfitness.com.

Jessica shows you how to develop a lifestyle of health, vitality, and fitness. She answers the quesions you have about life-long weight control and resolves the roadblocks you may have faced in the past so you can achieve your goals once and for all.

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This is the question most of the people I know asked me, when I first announced I wanted to run one. Having completed (only just) a half marathon at the age of 18.

Since then I have had a very on-off relationship with running, more off then on. Briefly taking it up in an attempt to get fit and/or lose weight.

Three years ago, a friend and colleague Ronan and I managed to talk each other into entering the London 10K Bupa Featbeat (as it was known then), and we even started to train together during work lunchtimes and then individually over the weekend. We embarked upon an 8 week fairly easy training schedule, and we both wanted to complete the race in under an hour. The first couple of weeks of training were pretty hard as I had not done any kind of running for a number of years, but I was soon running solid for 30 minutes. We gently built this up to 45 minutes and then 2 weeks before the race managed to run or or less 10K to give the confidence. On race day, despite Ronan being somewhat fitter than me, we ran together and finished it in 56:30 and were both pleased as we had achieved our goal (I am still convinced Ronan could have ran it quicker, if he had gone at his own pace).

After that we both entered the Windsor Half Marathon, which Ronan carried on training for, but I unfortunately seemed to just lose motivation. So Ronan ran that one alone.

The next year, 2005, my wife got pregnant and in the November we had a beautiful son Sam. Unfortunately he was born with a genetic heart defect, and as a result in 2006 he underwent 4 lots of surgery, I am pleased to say that he is in good health now and brings me joy every day. Needless, to say it was a pretty difficult year and at the end of it as Sam started to get better, I decided 2007 would be a better year, so I decided I would get fit again and make sure I looked after my own health, so that I could always be there for Sam.

Back in March, Ronan and I managed to persuade each other to run the BUPA 10K London Great Run, this was ideal for me as it gave me the motivation to start running again. So I downloaded a 10 week training schedule, as I was already able to run 4/5 miles on the treadmill at the gym, I decided to try a harder training schedule.

I think having a more structured training schedule really helped me to keep motivation, as I was now training on my own (Ronan and I now worked in different offices). The first long run was a 6 miler, which straight away gave me the confidence to run 10K. I also learnt about different types of running e.g. speedwork, tempo runs, endurance runs, recovery runs. I also started learning about what foods I should eat before and after running (particularly longer runs). Before I knew it, I was really enjoying running, and finding motivation was not a problem. Ronan and I managed to do a training run together a few weeks before the race, a reasonably quick 4 miles. For the first time I was able to match Ronan for pace and also hold a (albeit fairly limited) conversation with him.

This was proof that I was now fitter than I had been since I was 18. The week before the race, very much aware that when we had run the same race 3 years back, straight after I just stopped running. I entered myself for the Burnham Half Marathon some 5 weeks later. I was already running 9/10 miles in training. On race day itself July 15th, once again, we ran it in 56:30, I must admit, I was quite disappointed as I had hoped to run quicker. But it is a very popular event and it was pretty crowded most of the way round the course.

With the Half Marathon looming fast, I then started talking about entering the Flora London Marathon, as I knew applications opened in August, at the same time I became aware that COSMIC (Children of St Mary’s Intensive Care) St Mary’s is where Sam had undergone 2 of his operations and had been in intensive care after the second one (which happened to be his last operation, November 2006), had 10 golden places on the FLM 2008.

So at the beginning of August I filled out my ballot application for the London Marathon and then a few weeks later I filled out my application for the COSMIC place. In the meantime I completed my first half marathon since I was 18 in just over 2 hours, I was well chuffed.

Last month I received confirmation that I had secured one of COSMIC’s golden places, I was absolutely over the moon. Not only could I have the chance to achieve a long standing goal, but I could now have the chance to say thank you to the staff at St Mary’s Intensive Care and give a little something back.

Needless to say I have started my training and fundraising, please visit www.justgiving.com/keithbadman if you would like to donate and www.cosmiccharity.com if you would like to find out more about COSMIC. Last week, I found out that I had also got a ballot place on the Marathon, so even better news as COSMIC can now let someone else run under their Golden Place and hence raise even more money.

So why run a marathon? Need I say more?

Please feel free to visit my blog which I will be updating with my training diary and sharing my joy, fear, pain and general madness as I continue on my journey towards my first Marathon.

Keith Badman, amateur running, http://www.myrunning-blog.com

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Running is one of the most heavily participated sports and recreational activities in the world. However, from a young age we are told to go out on the streets and run until we are tired. This may be alright for a while but further on down the road you will be likely to sustain an overuse injury that takes away your passion for running.

In order to make running a lifetime activity you need to be aware of some of the contributing factors that lead to common running injuries. Once you acknowledge these injury causing factors then you can develop the right plan for you. This applies to both the recreational runner as well as the competitive runner.

To ensure that you gain the most out of your training sessions while also reducing the risk of sustaining an injury be sure to take note of the following mistakes made by many athletes and coaches.

Excessive hill running that can often lead to excessive demands placed on the calf muscles (possible shin splints). Shin splints are an absolute nightmare for a runner. This type of injury can put you out of running for months.

Excessive down hill running can lead to increased stress on the quadriceps muscle. Most athletes say that running down hill is easier, however, it is just as tough on your body as running up hill.

Running in one direction all the time (if doing track work or running around the tennis court, football field etc.) can cause excessive pronation on the inside leg. Once again this can be easily fixed by alternating directions in which you run.

Running on unforgiving surfaces such as street running (high impact). Asphalt is not an appropriate running surface. This is one of the major causes of knee and hip injuries for runners. Roads are made for cars and not for runners! If you must run on asphalt then add in some runs on a grass surface.

Lack of variety in your training sessions can lead to overuse injuries as well as mental boredom. Select different workouts each week. Do you always run the same route in the same direction each time? If so vary where you run, the distance you run as well as the intensity of the run.

Running on an uneven surface such as a grass field. Often athletes try to avoid the hard surface of the streets so they decide to run on uneven fields which can lead to injuries of the feet. I love running on ovals as they are more friendly on my body but I choose not to run on a football ground as I know that the surface is likely to be uneven and full of holes. Most recreational parks are better.

Increasing training volume too quickly (allow for individual progression). This is a tough one for highly driven individuals who thrive on pushing themselves. Have a plan and follow it. Even if you feel that you can push yourself and run that extra mile hold back!

Increasing the pace or speed at which you run too quickly (can be achieved slowly through Fartlek training). Try to stick to your plan and run at a similar speed before you get into your next phase. As we improve we often want to run faster. Increasing both the speed and distance of your run at the same time can lead to injury.

It is important to wear the proper footwear when you run. Encourage your athletes to change from their normal sports shoes (eg. tennis shoes, basketball shoes) to running shoes prior to starting their run. Wearing tennis or basketball shoes while running long distances will lead to injuries. They don’t provide the required support for the feet.

Recognize that each individual will have their own pace and level of endurance so set individual goals for each athlete. When running in a group at a set pace, that pace may be comfortable for some runners, but too fast for others. Divide your athletes into two even groups. This is often a big flaw for many coaches of sports teams. We have all been guilty for doing this in the past but you must allow for individual abilities of athletes.

Running long distances in extreme weather conditions such as freezing temperatures, hot and humid conditions or even when there has been a high pollution alert level given by the weather bureau. My tennis coach in college would often make our tennis team run at 7:00 am in the morning in the middle of a winter in North Carolina. As you could imagine we would often suffer from bronchitis and other common respiratory ailments. Unfortunately mine developed into pneumonia so make sure that the environmental conditions are appropriate for running.

Be smart when you run and your body will thank you for it!

David Horne is a former professional tennis player who has created several online sports web sites including Global Sports Zone which is the Ultimate Sports Directory for all sports fans! You can also visit the global web site for Tennis Coaching at Global Sports Coaching

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Running can be the most difficult thing imaginable when you begin for the first time. As you get into better and better shape, though, running becomes easier. And as running becomes easier, you pick up your average pace and begin running faster. The problem, though, is that sometimes you want to slow down and run at a more moderate pace for your easy runs, but you have trouble sticking to that slower pace. This can cause a plethora of problems, but there are a few strategies that you can use to combat the subconscious itch to run faster than a workout calls for.

Running too quickly does not mean that you intend to run fast; it just kind of happens. Eventually, running at a moderate pace becomes more difficult than picking that pace up. What happens to be a fast pace is different from person to person and even from workout to workout, and picking up the pace when you are supposed to be running easy can quietly sabotage your workout schedule.

-The Risks of Never Running Easy-

If you do not make a conscious effort to slow down on your recovery or other easy runs, then you are going to have problems.

1. You will not be well rested for your next speed session or race.

2. You will increase your risk of injury.

3. You will increase your risk of burning out.

4. You will suffer from a state of perpetual exhaustion.

-How I Discovered That I Never Ran Easy-

The first time that I consciously recognized that I was running too fast on my easy runs was in the Summer of 2000.

I was running a half marathon in Connecticut, and a couple of miles into the race I started to get sort of dizzy. It was more of a sense of vertigo than real dizziness, but my balance was thrown way off and I was afraid that I was suffering from heat exhaustion. The sensation lasted for about 5 or 6 minutes and then went away.

I did not want to risk going to the hospital, but I seemed all right once my balance returned. I decided to run the rest of the race easy and be sure to grab a couple of cups of water at each water stop. The race was a lot of fun, and I chatted with the folks I was running near as I jogged my way through it.

Towards the end of the course, you begin doubling back on the first few miles. As I came to the same part of the road where I had had problems at the beginning I began to feel the same sensations of wooziness and an inability to hold myself upright. I began weaving back and forth across the road uncontrollably. I took this as a good sign, because it meant that my issues were not heat related but environmental.

As soon as I got past where the problems had first started, they went away and I knew that it was safe for me to sprint the last mile of the race in to the finish. I got quite a few dirty looks from the people that passed my seemingly inebriated self mere minutes before as I sprinted past them to finish the race.

So how did I realize that my easy runs were too fast? This race had been at my Sunday Run pace when I was training with my team in college, when we normally went for 15 to 18 miles. Our schedule always called for a race on Saturday and a long run on Sunday, which was supposed to be at a relatively easy pace. When I looked at my finishing time for the half marathon, I saw that my relatively easy pace was at 6:47/mile.

If I was running my easy runs at that pace, then I was not giving my body a chance to recover. With an average of 12 running workouts per week when I was in season, that could prove catastrophic. (In fact, it did, as the next Autumn I got a stress fracture in one leg and tendinitis in the other.) I needed to slow myself down.

-How to Slow Yourself Down-

It took me a few years to find reliable ways of slowing myself down. I know how important it is to run at the correct pace for the workout, so I often employ different strategies depending upon my circumstances to make sure that I hold to that correct pace on my recovery runs. What works for me may not work for you, though, so you will need to experiment. Here are a few things that you can try:

* Run by feel. This does not usually work for me, since my mind might wander and I might accidentally pick up the pace. Even though the pace might feel easy, my body may not realize what I am trying to accomplish and might betray me. For some people, though, running by feel will be all that they need to do to keep themselves at the right pace.

* Find a running partner. If you can find a running partner that runs at the pace that you need, then you are all set. Just run with that person and try not to force them to run too fast. If you are conversational, then you will tend to slow down so that you can have enough breath to keep talking.

* Sing out loud. You can sing when you are running with somebody or when you are by yourself, but I guarantee that if you are running too fast and trying to sing at the same time, it will be very readily apparent when you are running too fast! I’ll warn you that you may get some strange looks, especially if you are singing while you run alone. If you are in a race, you may also annoy the people around you. (Why are you trying to run easy in a race?)

* Breathe through your nose. I have a breathing exercise that I do on easy runs that helps me to run a little slower when I am running alone and I do not feel like calling attention to myself by singing out loud. I will breathe in through my nose for 4 or 5 steps (2 left, 2 right) and will then exhale through my mouth for 4 or 5 steps. You are unable to bring as much air into your lungs when you breathe through your nose, so you begin having trouble breathing when you go too fast.
Breathing in and breathing out through my nose does not work very well for me when I am running, although you may want to experiment with it. It tends to lead to my having to sneeze when I try that, which is why I breathe out through my mouth. As a side benefit, this is a great way to protect your lungs (a little) when you are running with traffic, because your nose filters the fumes in the air somewhat rather than providing a nice straight path that the fumes get when you breathe in through your mouth and are gulping air from a fast pace.

* Calculate your pace. If you are running with a wrist watch over a measured distance, you can calculate what your pace is and adjust your speed accordingly. Just be aware that trying to do the math in your head might be distracting, so be careful that you don’t pick up the pace and try to be aware of any traffic nearby. An easier way to calculate your pace is to use a footpod or GPS device that can calculate your pace for you. The numbers may not be 100% accurate, but they will be close enough and can be pretty close to real-time.

* Check your pulse. Your heart rate can be a great determiner of how hard you are running. If you are running at 90% of your max heart rate and you want to be running at 60%, then you know that you are running too fast. The beauty of this method is that it takes environmental factors such as hills and weather into account, as well as how recovered you are from previous workouts, so you can truly run at an easy pace no matter how fast that happens to be.
You can calculate a very rough heart rate by finding an artery and counting the beats for 6 seconds and multiplying by 10, but it is better to count for at 30 seconds and multiplying by 2 or just count for a full minute. You may need to stop to get an accurate count, though. An easier way is to wear a heart rate monitor and then just glance at your wrist to see if you need to slow down. If you get a fancy one, you can even make it beep at you when it is time to slow down.

The next time that you have an easy day on your schedule, try one (or more) of these strategies to make sure that you run at a moderate pace that is going to allow you to recover from previous workouts and be ready for your future workouts.

Blaine Moore has been running since the early nineties, and regularly competes in distances between the 5k and the 50k. To sign up for Blaine’s Running Tips Newsletter, visit http://www.RunToWin.com or http://www.Marathoning.org

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Blaine_Moore

Running in the dark can be a challenge and presents some unique challenges. Running in the dark can also be very exhilarating, especially when you run in a group.

Basic Questions

There are basic 3 questions that you need to answer before you head outside for your early morning or late evening run.

1. What sort of terrain are you going to be running on?
2. How much light will there be on the route you plan to run?
3. How safe is the route you plan on running?

Terrain

Will you be running on the roads or will you be running on trails or a track? If you will be running anywhere that there is traffic, then you need to be sure to make yourself as visible as possible. Any time that you are out running with traffic, you need to assume that they can not see you. Very few drivers will look for runners out after dark. After all, it seems as if few enough lookout for runners during the daylight hours!

Ambient Light

Does the route that you are planning on running have regular street lights or house lights that can show you your path? Are the moon and stars bright enough to allow you to see where you are placing your feet? If not, then you will want to bring some sort of illumination with you.

Safety

How safe will the route that you are running be? It can be dangerous to run through an area with rocky terrain. You may also need to worry more about predators at night, both two-legged and four. I have never felt a need to carry any sort of weapon when I ran, but I am male and have lived in relatively safe cities for most of my life and most of my trail running after dark has been with a group.

Basic Tools

Once you have answered these questions, you will need to decide what you are going to carry with you. Here are a few items that you may need (I recommend that everyone get the first 3 if they ever plan on running in the dark or in inclement weather):

1. Get a reflective vest or jacket. Preferably a bright one in some unnatural color like fluorescent yellow or orange. You may look funny during the day, but I never let that bother me. Having been hit by a car, I like to make sure that I stand out against my surroundings. You may not need to wear this if you are not going to be running where there is traffic.
2. Get a headlamp. They are pretty cheap these days. You can start with a $20 (or less) pivoting headlamp at your local hardware store that will work well enough on the streets (that is what I currently have.) If you are going to be on trails or running in the dark regularly, then you will want to get a brighter one that is made for running. The ones that are made for running generally have a little extra support, the battery is located at the back of the head, and there are 6-8 white LEDs. Unless it is very bright where you are running, you are going to want to wear your head lamp on all of your runs in the dark.
3. Get a red strobe light. I use one that I bought for my bike as a tail light, but it came with a strap so that I could wear it on my arm. I have used it running more often than I have used it on my bike. It has 8 or 10 red LEDs that are very bright and that flash in 6 directions (3 horizontal and 3 vertical). You may not need to wear this if you are not going to be running where there is traffic. I have found that this does the best job of getting me noticed by traffic when there is any, though. Almost every one of them sees me if I have all three of these items on.
4. You may want to carry some mace. You will need to be careful not to accidentally spray yourself or somebody you are running near, but it can come in handy if you are mugged or if a dog or some other animal begins to chase you.
5. Bring some friends. Running with a group in the dark is a great shared experience, and it can be a lot safer than running solo. You are less likely to be hassled than if you run alone and traffic is more likely to see a crowd than a single person. If you fall and hurt yourself, there will be somebody there that can take care of you or get help.
6. Bring a cell phone, especially if you do not bring any friends with you. If you get lost, get hurt, or just get tired and lazy you will be able to call for somebody to pick you up or emergency services to come rescue you.
7. Bring identification. You should carry some sort of identification with you any time that you leave the house.

Weather

The last thing that you should consider before you leave your house is the weather. If it is foggy, slippery, raining or snowing really hard, or extremely cold then you may want to avoid running in the dark. Your visibility may be impacted and it can be easy to get lost or step on something that you can not see. Especially on roads, you need to worry about people driving that won’t be able to see any lights or reflective material that you are carrying. When it is really cold or has been snowing, there may be no shoulder for you to run on and a driver may not have adequately cleared their windshield so that they can see where they are driving.

Days where the weather makes it too dangerous to run outside I will bite the bullet and run indoors or cross train. It is never a good idea to miss a workout, but if you can not get home safely from the workout then it is worth trying to find some other activity to do or even changing up your schedule a bit to accommodate the weather.

Running at night can be safe and enjoyable, and there are a lot of tools that make it easy to get out in the dark. Make sure that you have an extra helping of common sense and that you can see and be seen, and have fun playing out in the dark!

Blaine Moore has been running since the early nineties, and regularly competes in distances between the 5k and the 50k. To sign up for Blaine’s Running Tips Newsletter, visit http://www.RunToWin.com or http://www.Marathoning.org

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Blaine_Moore

Much has been documented about the physical benefits of running but there are also significant psychological advantages. This article aims to examine some of the mental benefits of running.

1. Increased confidence and determination

Running can certainly improve your cognitive behavioural faculties. This refers to how your thinking affects your behaviour. Running not only enables you to complete physical challenges but improves your confidence as you achieve goals or overcome barriers. Perhaps you beat a personal best time or complete a charity run for the first time, this is not only a positive experience at the time but is likely to spill over into other areas of your life enabling you to think and act with confidence. Where previously you might have avoided a set of circumstances this improved confidence and determination may help you to resolve other problem situations that you are faced with.

2. Feel happy

Believe it or not running really can help you to feel happy. As you exercise there is a chemical reaction in your brain that releases Endorphins into your blood steam. These provide a natural high making you feel happy and positive. This is the same reaction that occurs when you laugh, have sex or eat chocolate.

3. Relieves Stress

Running is a great stress reliever helping you to focus your energies on a different problem so that you forget your current circumstances. The effect of running not only boosts your sense of happiness as you exercise but improves blood flow to all areas of your body, including your brain. Runners often report higher levels of concentration after exercise enabling your mental faculties to become sharper and making you more able to deal with problems, or find solutions, reducing stress levels.

4. Perseverance

There is a film called “The Loneliness of the long distance runner” and it encapsulates the determination and self discipline that is developed by runners who cover distances. In turn these skills help you to build perseverance which is important in life for dealing with difficult situations and circumstances where you might otherwise give up.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=J_Dawkins

Running for 10 years now has taught me a few things about fatigue. I have learned that my body always reaches a point that it needs a break. Days and weeks of training take their toll on my emotional and physical well being. I have come up with a few ideas of mine that will help you fight fatigue.

First and most often over looked is the importance of a good night’s sleep. My own biggest source of fatigue is not getting 8 hours of sleep a night. Being an active person I can always think of something that I need to do. I try to stick to a scheduled time for bed. This can be difficult at times when life throws me a curve. I would say that 5 nights a week I stick to my schedule.

Second is the importance of eating right. Every time I start eating fast food and drinking beer my running performance suffers, plus I feel lousy all the time. I always start my day with a good breakfast of cereal or oatmeal. I enjoy eating fruit with my cereal and oatmeal. My favorites are bananas, strawberries and blueberries. For lunch I usually eat a sandwich and fresh vegetables. I enjoy tuna, ham, or roast beef. For dinner my wife who is an excellent cook prepares chicken breasts, tuna patties, spaghetti made with ground turkey. We will have vegetables or a salad with our dinner.

Third is the importance of recovery after working out. My usual workout will last an hour. On Sunday’s I can be out running for up to 3 hours at a time. Every day after running I always make sure to rehydrate and eat something. I like to work out in the morning so I usually run before I eat. This makes recovery easier for me. First I always make sure to rehydrate before I sit down to eat breakfast. On the days when I run in the afternoon I will not eat lunch until afterwards. I usually eat a snack a couple hours before my afternoon run. Afterwards I rehydrate before eating lunch.

Fourth is the importance of taking recovery weeks. For many years I made the mistake of training hard week after week, month after month. I was always injured, grouchy and tired. When I tried reducing my workouts every third week my performances started going through the roof. I train hard for two weeks and on the third week reduce the number of days and the intensity in half. Following this pattern lead me to all of my personal records.

You can out smart fatigue as well by applying some of these suggestions to your own running program.

Author of: Fatigue Nutrition, Run2Fast, Ultimate Training Videos http://www.everything-running.com