Tk Oct 12,, 2023
How “real runners’ (like you) can do Norwegian Training
I enjoy researching new training articles from a wide range of sportsmed/health/fitness journals. No one can actually try everything that’s proposed here, there, and the next place. But you gotta keep up, first. And then learn to apply the systems that seem right for your age, lifestyle, and ambitions.
Sometimes the first-person experiences are more valuable than the science-y stuff. We all want to know what our peers think of a certain shoe, a new gel, or a recently popular training program. This is one of those first-person case studies.
The runner in question wanted to incorporate aspects of the red hot “Norwegian training method.” But without following two tenets: running twice a day, and performing finger-prick lactate tests during workouts. Okay, that’s cool, because few “real life” runners are going to mimic those practices. Best of all, our anonymous online reporter scored a significant half-marathon PR after following his/her adapted Norwegian program.
So what did the runner do? “I did slightly larger single workouts rather than doubles, and ran based on pace + HR + effort rather than a lactate meter.” Specifically, the runner tackled two long interval workouts: 25 x 400 meters at 5-mile race pace; and 12 x 1000 meters at half-marathon race pace). Both were done at a controlled pace, with short 60-second rests.
Yes, those are long, tough workouts. But they hit a basic precept of Norwegian training: to cover a significant distance at an important pace without running so long and continuously (as in a 6- to 8-mile tempo run) that you accumulate excessive fatigue. The presentation here, and responses from other readers, are really good and well worth reading. More at Reddit.
Shocking results of simple dehydration experiment
We all recognize that excessive dehydration--generally more than 2% of body weight--will have a negative effect on performance. However, it’s also true that short-term weight loss can have the opposite effect--a positive boost.
So what happens when you pit one against the other? Is it better to be modestly dehydrated and lighter? Or to maintain hydration status and body weight? That’s the question this study analyzes.
During 72 minutes of treadmill running in a pre-test period, some subjects were given so little fluid that they lost 2.2% of their body weight. Another group did the same 72 minutes of running. But they received enough fluid so that they lost only 0.5% of their body weight. So now you’ve got your A vs B groups. All subjects followed both the A and B protocols in a crossover design.
After the pre-tests, subjects completed a 3000-meter time trial on the laboratory treadmill. Result: The dehydrated subjects ran much slower, by an average of 55 seconds. This amounted to a very substantial 6% difference compared to the trial when they were only minimally dehydrated.
Conclusion: “Exercise-induced hypohydration of ~2% body mass impaired 3 km running TT performance.” This likely occurred due to “increased cardiovascular strain (indicated by increased heart rate and decreased plasma volume) and thermal strain, which altered the perception of effort (i.e., RPE).”
The laboratory temperature was “temperate,” meaning that the difference could have been even larger in hot conditions often faced by road racers and marathon runners. So here’s more evidence that you should always stay hydrated before races and hard workouts. More at J of Sports Sciences with free full text.
This 5-mile workout is short, tough, super effective
Great workouts have a few things in common: 1) They’re simple--you don’t need a full page of paper to describe them. 2) They’re run at a prescribed intensity--but you don’t need a HR monitor or finger-prick device to measure the intensity. 3) They make sense--you can easily understand why they work. 4) They don’t go on excessively long--that’s the route to overtraining or injury. 5) They hurt enough that you won’t be motivated to repeat them too often.
Here’s one I haven’t seen before that hits the nail on the head for all the above qualities. You can get it done in an hour or so, and it will set you up nicely for your next race over distances from 10 miles to the marathon. The article doesn’t attribute the workout to anyone, so I can’t give them the credit they deserve. But I’m eager to try it myself, and think you might like it as well.
Here are the simple details: Warmup a bit. Then: Run a mile at half-marathon pace, a mile at marathon pace, a mile at half pace, a mile at marathon pace,and a final (fifth) mile at half pace. Cool down. There, you’re done. Congrats. That was tough but worthwhile. More at Canadian Running.
Get your next injury under control fast
Well known running coach Greg McMillan has a masters degree in exercise science, and uses established evidence to build his training programs for runners. But one reason he’s such a successful coach is his ability to go beyond science to find common sense solutions based on what I call “accumulated running wisdom.”
Science doesn’t always provide a guaranteed answer, but that doesn’t stop runners from wanting solid advice when faced with frustrating issues. So you have to give them the best that you’ve got. Which is what McMillan delivers in the below article--a “quick fix” guide to injuries.
McMillan claims up front that “Nearly 100% of the time, this protocol allows the body to heal and keeps tightness/aches/pain from advancing into a training cycle killing injury.” That’s a pretty high percentage, if you ask me.
Still, I can’t find fault with the advice. It includes: Stop running immediately, and take a day off. Then do several days at 50% of normal. If this doesn’t work: Seek medical help, take ice baths, try foam rolling, and do some “active isolated mobility.” (He cleverly avoids the word “stretching.”)
McMillan has several additional suggestions, including: “Watch a lot of videos, programs and/or movies that make you laugh.” That’s a good one, and not part of most other recovery programs. More at McMillan Running.
Just 3 weeks of specialized training = peak performance
Any runner who has spent months diligently working to improve her/his fitness eventually runs into a problem--the law of diminishing returns. At some point, you don’t get fitter and faster by just repeating what you’ve done so far. . You need an extra boost.
But those boosts aren’t easily achieved, because you also face another physiological rule: The faster you are, the harder it is to get even faster.
One method that has sometimes worked: sprint interval training (SIT)--performing short but super hard/fast intervals. That’s what Japanese researchers tested with 24 trained male cyclists in their early 20s. These subjects were asked to do 6 SIT workouts over 3 weeks. Just 2/week, in other words.
The workouts consisted of 7 “sprints” of 10 seconds duration followed by a 4 minute recovery. That’s a lot of recovery. It means you can go all out in your next sprint.
Result: After 3 weeks of SIT training, subjects improved their vo2 max, their maximal aerobic power, their peak cadence, and their lactate concentration. Conclusion: “Our results suggest that 3 weeks of SIT improves endurance performance in trained subjects.”
Thus, a modest amount of sprint training in the weeks when you are peaking for a top performance could help you reach your goal. More at The J of Sports Medicine & Physical Performance.
How hard should you push your favorite youth runner?
We’ve all got kids or grandkids, or friends with kids/grandkids, and we all want those youngsters to grow up fit and healthy with a positive attitude toward regular exercise activity. Indeed, we wouldn’t mind if they actually excelled at sports like running. If you’ve ever gone to a high school or age-group cross-country meet to cheer for a favorite runner or team, you know exactly what I mean.
Our intentions are good. The question is: What’s the best way to help our intentions come true?
It’s a subject that has received a lot of attention in recent years, with some pointing to an alleged “10,000 hours” rule while others cast doubt on the same. Two well known books that largely support contrasting views: Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers: The Story of Success and David Epstein’s Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World.
A recent study and systematic review tried to pry out the truth, at least in the elite sports world. It asked the basic question: What percentage of toprank “junior” athletes will attain the same status as “seniors”? The paper looked at more than 38,000 international-level junior athletes and more than 22,000 international-level senior athletes. The relationship was more clear-cut than I would have expected.
And it wasn’t a positive relationship. In fact, only 11% of the top juniors turned into elite senior athletes.
This seems to imply that we should encourage our kids to play, but we shouldn’t expect too much in terms of elite success, because the odds are stacked against them. Of course, there are plenty of reasons to participate in sports outside the quest for awards, acclaim, and podium finishes.. More at Sports Medicine with free full text.
Alex Hutchinson takes a deep dive into this topic at Outside Online. He particularly likes the story of Canadian runner Reid Coolsaet, a notable middle-of-the-pack 5K runner through his adolescence, but eventually a two-time Olympic Marathon runner. We all mature at a different rate--one that’s not predictable with future-looking lenses.
Among adult recreational athletes, the outcomes are easier to predict. If you don’t do the work, you don’t get the results. On the other hand, consistent, year-after-year training will almost always take you to a higher level, even if it’s not necessarily a podium.
Careful about focusing too much on sleep: It could make you slower
You’ve read plenty of studies about sleep for recovery, and they’ve probably convinced you that sleep is a key factor in any runner’s marathon training program. I’m convinced, too.
But what we’d really like to see is a study of marathon participants that looks for any potentially direct relationships between sleep practices and marathon finish times. Now we’ve got one, “the first to evaluate the relationships between sleep health, individual characteristics, lifestyle factors, and marathon completion time in marathoners.”
One of its surprising conclusions: Worrying too much about your sleep--orthosomnia-- could make you slower. “Orthosomnia” is defined as excessive concern about tracking your sleep metrics. In a study of 943 London Marathon runners, the results suggested “a deleterious influence of sleep tracker use on sleep health in marathoners.”
Overall, 23.5% of the London runners reported sleep difficulties. These were generally worse in middle-aged runners vs their younger peers. However, the younger runners complained that it took them longer to fall asleep (“sleep onset latency,” or SOL), and you can probably guess why.
That’s right. They were more likely to be reading and scrolling on their phones in the hour before bedtime. “Increasing weekly frequency of electronic device use and longer SOL emerged as predictors of worse marathon completion time.” In other words, if you’re intent on running a strong marathon, you should put away your phone at least an hour before bed.
Conclusion: “Going forward, it will be key for marathoners (and athletes in general), coaches, and providers to be mindful of the athlete’s psychological relationship with sleep health and tools relevant to sleep health, as over-fixation has the potential to contribute to deleterious outcomes for sleep health and, thus, performance and overall well-being.”
That’s a bit wordy, but the message is clear. Sleep is important, and you’re most likely to sleep well if you don’t over-stress about it. At the same time, you should follow simple guidelines like putting away your phone, seeking a cool room temperature, and maintaining room darkness. More at Brain Sciences with free full text.
Hey, something’s going on out there. Is it the “third running boom”?
I think there’s something going on in the larger running world. By which I mean beyond the recent incredible elite world records in the Berlin and Chicago Marathons. I’m detecting a change in the vast middle of the pack.
I’m hesitant to call this the “third running boom.” But it could be. The first running boom was in the late 1970s on the heels of Jim Fixx’s Complete Book of Running. The second occurred in the 1990s. Since it was largely a women’s running boom, I often give credit to Oprah Winfrey’s completion of the Marine Corps Marathon in 1994. This time around we’re looking at a post-Covid phenomenon.
We all know Covid was tough. It limited our fitness opportunities, as races were canceled, and you couldn’t go to the gym. (But you could run outdoors alone, which many did, including many who were not runners previously.) Even more, it limited social opportunities. Workplaces closed down, everyone was stuck at home, and Netflix exploded.
None of these were healthy things. We know that fitness is directly connected to health and wellbeing, because we have 1000s of objective-measure studies to confirm that relationship. We also know that social connectivity to family, friends, and larger groups is health enhancing because we have many somewhat “squishier” studies showing the same.
So, for lack of a better term, I’m going to call his new running boom “social running.” It’s a reaction to the loosening of Covid’s grip. Now that we can mix it up again, we’re doing so in droves. Specifically, we want to be fit and social, and running groups combine both very nicely, thank you.
A little evidence: A recent NY Times article on new social running clubs, and a spate of “Park Run” studies tracing the growth of that mostly-non-U.S. phenomenon. The article linked here says that Park Run attracts followers with its greenery and “fresh water.” I’m sure that’s true. But in more urban settings, I think another big attraction is simply the friendly, welcoming social runners. More at NYTimes and PLOS Global Public Health with free full text.
It might also be true that big races are approaching their 2019 entry size, and are poised to gain even more participants. At any rate, it’s a great time to expand your social circle of running buddies.
SHORT STUFF you don’t want to miss
>>> Dose and response: When it comes to exercise against depression, more is better
>>> One step at a time: What keeps new runners going? (Big hint--they need to find their “why.”)
>>> A quick payoff: 5 immediate benefits of exercise. You get increased happiness, energy, and 3 more
GREAT QUOTES make great training partners
“The marathon is a metaphor for life, and life is not easy. But through hard work, maintaining your spirit, and sticking with it, you can finish.”
--Meb Keflezighi
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading. See you again next week. Amby