September 5, 2024

Hot Tip: How Micro-Periodization Leads To Max Performance

Everyone knows that you can’t train hard every day. As a result, we have developed many varieties of “periodization” in training.

The simplest works like this: Alternate hard days and easy days. Some would say, “Take two easy days after every hard day.” (Or three, or … ???) Your age and fitness determine the number of recovery days you need.

Marathon coaches and runners often take entire “cutback weeks” during their 12- to 16-week buildups. These allow you to build your weekly mileage and long-run distance without hitting the wall pre-race. I’ve always supported this schema.

However, new technologies might provide a better way. Instead of using heavy-handed, non-physiological math to determine training patterns--take a cutback week once every month--you could monitor your stress-fatigue more precisely.

That’s the argument made in a recent editorial on “the new frontier of micro periodization for endurance.” The authors, a team of endurance-training experts, believe that older periodization systems are wasteful and limiting.

Why? Because they ask athletes to take too many easy days that aren’t necessary according to daily biological data. Instead, if body measurements say, “I’m good to go,” the athlete can train hard. Even if (s)he trained hard the previous day.

In this system, you forget about the calendar. Instead, you use objective tools like heart rate variability, sleep, muscle-damage enzymes, and hormone fluctuations. These can help you “eliminate unnecessary unloading weeks, which entail an unjustified reduction in training load.”

The authors believe this system allows for “maximizing the training load and achievable adaptations” while also limiting injuries and overtraining.

Conclusion: “Microperiodization emerges as a new frontier in periodization of endurance disciplines.” This is indeed an exciting new frontier. 

At the same time, I still like cutback weeks.  If you’re not aiming for Olympic gold or a Marathon Majors win, it’s better to be safe than sorry. More at The J of Sports Medicine & Physical Fitness. More details in this great podcast at KoopCast.

What’s The Best High Intensity Workout For Runners?

There’s much to be said for a simple training plan. You learn what works well for you, and you return to certain key workouts as necessary.

Such a plan would have to include at least one high-intensity workout every week or two. This doesn’t have to be a killer, all-out session. There’s no requirement that you must puke under the grandstands.

But the workout should push you to perhaps 90 percent of your max, and leave you near that level for 20 to 30 minutes. Many runners and coaches describe the required effort as “hard but controlled.” I’ve always liked that phrasing.

Over at Reddit, the advanced running group recently discussed t the “single best high intensity workout” for runners. There was considerable support for multiple repeats of 1000-meter intervals--often 6 to 8 repeats at your 10K to half-marathon race pace.

These are similar to Yasso 800s, where you run 8 to 10 repeats at the same time (in minutes:seconds) as your goal marathon time (in hours:minutes). If you’re aiming for a 3:45 marathon, you run your Yasso 800s in 3 minutes, 45 seconds each.

Other runners favored mile repeats--a classic distance formula. And some leaned more toward 2-mile repeats.

An interesting trend I didn’t expect: Most of these runners seemed to prefer the precision of track running over the tempo runs (on the road) many marathoners do. If you like to break away from the track, you can always try “Moose fartlek.” More at Reddit.

Face It: Strange Facial Expressions Can Boost Endurance

Top U.S. distance runner Colleen Quigley, a 2016 Olympian in the steeplechase, caused more than a few raised eyebrows with a recent post on Instagram. She shared a video of herself doing a tongue-pulling exercise intended to relieve tension in the pelvis. This, in turn, improves her running.

Quigley does this tongue-pulling before hard workouts and races. “1000% the weirdest muscle release I’ve ever done, but I swear it works,” she wrote. 

Most respondents got a good laugh from the unusual reel, while a few said they had done the same thing in their operatic careers, or when working with horses. 

Here’s an explanatory article on Quigley’s tongue exercise with a link to the original Instagram post. I couldn’t find any evidence-based support for Quigley’s practice, but that doesn’t mean none exists. Some in the strength-training world advocate that that tongue placement in the mouth--towards the roof of the mouth vs lower--affects muscle performance. 

Quigley reminded me of faces I’ve seen among Maori rugby players. I think a bit of tongue pulling and haka on road race starting lines could liven things up a bit. 

In addition, we’ve heard that a smile can help you run faster. Also, we’ve all seen runners wearing nasal strips, while some research has supported jaw-repositioning mouthguards “for performance enhancement in both aerobic and anaerobic performances.” Maybe the face, tongue, and jaw deserve more attention.

Don’t Be Carb-Smart And Carb-Dumb At The Same Time

Most endurance runners understand that carbohydrates are their friend. (There are a few runners, but not many, sticking to the keto-diet approach--probably more in ultramarathoning than in Olympic distances like the 5000 meters to marathon.)

But it’s not enough to be well-read and well-educated. You also have to put your understanding to good use. And many runners fail to do that.

A new paper investigated, for the first time in the scientific literature, the link between knowledge and practice among 50 endurance athletes (37 female) who competed in events lasting longer than 2.5 hours. Outcome: There was “no relationship between the knowledge of CHO recommendations and practice.”

Seems incredible, right? I admit I was surprised. Especially when you consider that over half the subjects had worked with a registered sports nutritionist. 

Here’s how the research was performed. All athletes began by taking a test to assess their understanding of carbohydrates for endurance success. They also reported their food consumption for 24 hours before a long race, and in the race itself. “No attempt was made to influence or alter race nutrition practices throughout the course of this study.”

Result: Only 10 percent of subjects met the carb loading guidelines in practice. Many more, 80%, got their pre-competition meal right. But only 19 percent consumed enough carbs during their race.

What happened here? What backfired? The researchers offered several reasonable hypotheses. The subjects probably didn’t plan precisely enough for their meals away from home (at the race location), worried about upset-stomach issues, and/or had a “fear of carbohydrates” related to weight gain.

Whatever the reasons, the lesson is clear. It’s not enough that you know what you’re supposed to eat and drink before and during endurance races. You also need a solid plan to make sure you follow through on carbohydrate recommendations. More at European J of Sport Sciences with free full text.

5 Evidence-Based Tips For Run-Walk Training 

I’ve been using the run-walk method of training for the last 20 years, and I’m still learning new variations. Once you get over the big psychological hurdle--yes, it’s okay to take walk breaks on your runs, even if you are a “serious” runner--the world of training for running opens up. It begins to provide many previously unseen possibilities. 

Here’s my latest experiment: I’m completing my basic 6-mile and 10-mile training efforts with a relaxed 3:1 run:walk ratio for the first two-thirds of the distance. I had been using a 4:1 ratio for 2 decades, so this represents a slowdown. But, hey, I’m getting older every day, so cut me a break. 

The new wrinkle: I’m now all-running the last one-third of the distance at either my half-marathon pace (on the 6-milers) or my marathon pace (on the 10-milers). Neither of these all-run paces are fast, but they are medium hard and steady. And they represent my goal paces for my biggest annual races.

So far, so good. Maybe I’ll let you know more after an upcoming marathon. In the meantime, here’s a solid, evidence-based article about the potential benefits of run-walk training. These are particularly useful for aging runners, and those returning to running after injury or a long layoff. More at Performance Lab. 

5 Ways To Lower Triathlon Training Injuries (inc. Bike Accidents)

Triathletes get overuse running injuries just as all runners do. However, their injury risks are likely lowered by a total fitness training program that includes plenty of cycling and swimming. 

Of course, cycling is a big problem, because falls and accidents cause traumatic injuries. They can require a long recovery period.

Here a Spanish research team studied 28 of the country’s top triathletes for 3 years. They put the subjects on a Holistic [Injury] Training Program (HITP). It included 5 components that “were worked on continuously throughout the season.” 

The components were: strength training, training load control, session development control, bike skills training, and physiotherapy treatment. The researchers then measured injuries during the 3 years.

Result: All told, the researchers noted 24 injuries over the 3-year period. Fourteen were traumatic injuries, and only 10 overuse injuries. Among the triathlete-subjects, 46% had no injuries, and 71% had no overuse injuries. Men suffered significantly more numerous and severe traumatic injuries, while women tended to have more overuse injuries.

Conclusion: “The main findings were that the implementation of an HITP resulted in low injury incidence (and particularly overuse injury incidence).” More at Sports with free full text.

Which Is Better: Caffeine Or Sodium Bicarbonate?

Runners and other endurance athletes are experimenting with ever more supplements, hoping to find legal ones that will provide a boost in performance. Caffeine is a perennial favorite, and well-proven. Sodium bicarbonate is a relatively recent one, now available in new formulations.

It’s reasonable to wonder how each affects performance individually, and how things change if someone takes both before a big event.

That’s the question addressed in this new paper, which used a strong double-blind, cross-over design. The performance measure was an isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP)--not exactly a running time-trial, but a thigh muscle test “which has gained significant popularity in recent years.”

Subjects performed the IMTP 60 minutes after receiving: 1) nothing; 2) a placebo; 3) caffeine; 4) sodium bicarbonate; or 5) a combination of caffeine and sodium bicarbonate. They never knew which of the preparations they had received.

Result: Caffeine, taken alone, “positively affects submaximal strength performance.” There was no such improvement for any of the other conditions.

Therefore, on this IMTP test, it appears that sodium bicarbonate doesn’t provide any performance advantage. Indeed, if combined with caffeine, sodium bicarb erases caffeine’s benefit. More at Sports with free full text.

Complete Guide To Headwinds & Tailwinds

We runners love tailwinds and hate headwinds. There’s a good scientific explanation for this, as performance PhD and blogger John Davis points out here.

He writes: “A headwind will slow you down by two or three times as much as the equivalent tailwind will speed you up.” So whenever you qualify for the Boston Marathon, you’d better hope you don’t get a headwind blowing against you from the East.

On the other hand, a circular urban marathon can give you some protection from the wind. Davis says: “In a dense urban area, the actual wind speed you encounter might be less than half the nominal wind speed measured by a weather station.”

His article on tailwinds and headwinds is longer, more technical, and more mathematical than most will care to read in full. But you can jump down to his “Recap” for the summary. Then you’ll want to head over to his amazing Calculator. 

First, set it to your expected running pace in minutes/mile (other units available). The default wind is a headwind, which you can adjust with the < > buttons. To see the effect of a tailwind, grab the blue wind infographic (set at “N” for north) with your cursor, and rotate it to “S.” Now you can play with various tailwinds.

In either case, the Calculator instantly adjusts your pace depending on the headwind or tailwind you selected. It’s a very clever tool.

You can’t do much to change the winds you encounter on race day. But this tool makes it easy to adjust race outcomes, if you want. It also helps you understand why drafting makes a difference, since it cuts down headwinds. More at Running Writings.

SHORT STUFF You Don’t Want To Miss

>>> Lacking confidence? Some runners suffer from a sort of “imposter syndrome” that limits their potential. Here’s how to surmount that hurdle.

>>> Healthy heart advice: A big U.S. study shows that boosting your aerobic fitness gives you a heart age 20 years younger than the unfit.

>>> Which comes first? Athletes often wonder if they should do cardio workouts before strength, or vice versa. A review of 15 big studies concluded: “The sequence of concurrent training is not of great importance” for endurance. However, 14 of the 15 found that it IS important to do both, no matter the order.

GREAT QUOTES Make Great Training Partners

“If you feel bad at 10 miles, you’re in trouble. If you feel bad at 20 miles, you’re normal. If you don’t feel bad at 26 miles, you’re abnormal.” 

– Rob de Castella, former Australian marathon great and Boston Marathon winner

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading. See you again next week. Amby

September 12, 2024

 Your Best Long-Run Distance & Pace

We’re smack-dab in the middle of the fall marathon-training season now, so of course runners everywhere are asking those eternal questions: How long should I run on my long runs? And how fast?

There’s no universally intelligent answer to that question except for “It depends.” (Sorry.) It depends on many key factors relating to your current training, your fitness, your prior marathon experience, your goals, and so on.

This article delves into these questions, and adds an important reminder: Hey, it’s not only about long runs. Other factors are also important, particularly your total weekly mileage and number of runs per week.

But back to long runs. There’s general agreement among top marathon coaches like Jack Daniels that you should run no more than 2.5 to 3 hours on a long run. Beyond that, the fatigue mounts, and your form and muscle strength disintegrate. Result: The potential risk of injury is greater than your potential endurance improvement.  

What about the pace question? Many runners go long at a relaxed, comfortable pace, and save faster running for tempo and speedwork days. However, marathon-pace training seems to be getting more popular all the time.

To do that correctly, you have to make sure you are training and not racing your long runs. Here’s a practical approach: Do one several modest sections of your long run at marathon pace while keeping the other miles slower. More at Marathon Handbook.

The Genius Of Percy Cerutty’s “Stotan” Training

In the late 1950s and early 1960s Australian running coach Percy Cerutty developed a “stotan” training philosophy (stoic + spartan) to develop some of the world’s best distance runners. The list included the remarkable Herb Elliott, who never lost a 1500-meter/mile race in his senior career. Elliott set a massive 1500-meter world record in the 1960 Rome Olympics, winning the race by the largest margin ever at that distance.

In this article, the author reviews a bit of Cerutty’s personal history, but focuses mainly on his training beliefs. Cerutty was known for his flamboyant personality, but his training sounds remarkably modern in many ways. 

He emphasized the mind’s central role. “We can become what we believe we can become,” he told his runners. He proposed a mix of long hard runs, and exhaustive fartlek sprints, usually in a natural setting. He became famous for the sand-dune hill repeats his athletes performed at his oceanside training camp in Portsea, Australia.

My high school coach, John J. Kelley, visited Portsea and Cerutty after the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne. I later ran crazy barefoot fartlek sessions with Kelley at sunset on a local golf course. I viscerally remember the soft, crunchy feel underfoot, and the coolness of the dewy grass when I collapsed into it after our last hard effort.

Cerutty disdained track training. “Percy saw training around a track as drudgery and potentially soul destroying.” This was likewise a strong Kelley ethic. We ran through parklands, on rough trails, and through thick brambles, returning sometimes with scratched and bleeding legs. 

The author also notes that Cerutty believed in lifting heavy weights and following a simple, natural foods diet. “His view on diet, as it was on most things, was strict and uncompromising.”

That last word describes Cerutty best: uncompromising. To reach the top, you’ve got to commit yourself 100%. This is a great historical read with plenty of good training advice along the way. More at Tony Wilson’s blog.

When Buying Super Shoes, Don’t Rely On “Comfort”

Here’s a thorough, evidence-based paper if you want a great “narrative review” of super shoe history and performance capabilities. A narrative review is essentially one you can read without a PhD in running biomechanics.

That said, it starts with a stunning mistake. In talking about the differences between Abebe Bikila and Eliud Kipchoge, both two-time Olympic Marathon champs, it notes that Kipchoge wore Nike super shoes in his two wins. Whereas Bikila ran barefoot in his 1960 Rome Olympic victory, and in Puma shoes 4 years later in Tokyo 1964. (Click ahead to about 9:30 in this fantastic YouTube video.)

However, the narrative review says Bikila wore “Onitsuka Tiger Marup” shoes in Tokyo. When I pointed out the mistake to friend, paper co-author, and expert running biomechanist, Geoff Burns, he was mortified. But, let’s face it, we all make mistakes like this from time to time.

Otherwise, the paper does an excellent job explaining the “robustly demonstrated” running performance benefits of super shoes. The review discusses foams, plates, and the possibility for a “teeter totter” effect that enhances forward propulsion. 

It also looks into “muscle damage mitigation.” Do super shoes “protect” the legs, allowing for longer, faster training, and more rapid recovery? 

In discussing “Practical Applications” for runners, the authors discuss an important, little-noted effect. In recent years, virtually all shoe-buying guidelines have emphasized the importance of shoe comfort. Thus, “Buy the shoes that feel the best on your feet.”

This may not hold true for super shoes. Rather, “Comfort may not be a strong predictor of running economy enhancement. The authors have observed this phenomenon in their own testing, as well as through personal communications with other laboratories conducting AFT research, wherein a subject’s perceived ‘best’ shoe is not a strong predictor of the shoe that is actually the most economical.”

Summary: At this point, much is known about super shoes or Advanced Footwear Technologies. But individual selection and effectiveness remain elusive.  “We do not yet know what features of the footwear are best suited to different individuals.” More at International J of Sport Physiology & Performance with free full text.

The Enduring Mystery Of Optimal Recovery

Scientists, coaches, and athletes have elevated recovery to the top rung of quality training requirements. Sure, we always knew recovery was important-- hence hard-easy days, cutback weeks, etc.

But now recovery is the horse ahead of the cart (training). Experts believe you should adjust today’s training according to your recovery from prior days. You shouldn’t train hard first, and figure out your recovery later. 

The problem? We’re still not sure exactly how to determine your recovery-status today.

At Outside Online, Alex Hutchinson reviews an outstanding new paper (free full text) from top New Zealand researchers. They examined a number of popular recovery metrics, including heart rate variability (HRV), during 12 weeks of training by 43 endurance athletes. 

Some were pro athletes, some recreational. All told, the researchers collected 3572 records. The 3 measures that most closely tracked each morning’s “perceived recovery” were Soreness, Sleep Index, and Resting Heart Rate. 

We’ve been told that HRV, available from a number of “wearables,” can serve as a single measure that neatly combines the above 3 and much more. HRV is supposed to tell us when we’re ready to rumble with today’s workout, and when we’d be smarter to hold back.

The New Zealand findings didn’t support that. HRV was good at predicting the previous day’s HRV, and tomorrow’s, but not so much at guiding your training today. Also, recovery values differed substantially from one athlete to another. For some, HRV was a useful tool; for others, it wasn’t.

This amounts to another proof of the “experiment of one” concept. We are all different, and need to figure out our own best paths.

In another related paper, a graduate student working with top physiologist-coach Chris Lundstrom (coach of U.S. Paris Olympic marathoner Dakotah Lindwurm), measured changes in HRV and Heart Rate Recovery of college students in a Univ. of Minnesota marathon training class.

The data showed, via a 2-mile time-trial, that the students’ fitness increased after completing the class. However, “Changes in HRV and HRR variables did not strongly predict changes in running performance.” More at ProQuest.

BOOM! Another Major Paper Supports Carbon Monoxide Breathing

Carbon monoxide breathing is perhaps this year’s biggest endurance performance story. That’s particularly true when you combine new research with news reports of top Tour de France cyclists using the practice. 

It’s being touted as a way to increase blood hemoglobin and EPO levels, and thus endurance potential.

Now a respected physiology journal has published a paper showing that breathing carbon monoxide twice a day while altitude training may produce greater improvement than simply training at high altitude. 

The research protocol assigned 31 cyclists to 1 of 3 groups: 1) Live high, train high (LHTH), breathe carbon monoxide; 2) Live high, train high, no carbon monoxide; and 3) Live low, train low, no carbon monoxide. 

The subjects were tested before and after 3 weeks in the experiment. The tests included blood values, muscle oxidative capacity, and “physiological indicators of cycling performance.”

Result: There were no statistical differences between the two LHTH groups in “submaximal and maximal performance measures.” Both groups had higher performance measures than the LLTL group.

In comparison with the non-carbon-monoxide breathing LHTH group, subjects breathing CO displayed greater 1-min max power, higher power output at lactate threshold, and higher vo2 max.

Conclusion: “These findings suggest that combining moderate altitude training with daily CO inhalation promotes hematological adaptations more effectively than moderate altitude alone, and enhances cycling performance metrics in cyclists more than sea-level training.” More at J of Applied Physiology.

Important caution: Unlike making your own sports drinks in the kitchen, this is not a DIY project. Excessive CO inhalation causes deaths each year in homes with faulty heating systems, or when people use a gas oven to produce room heating. Here’s what the Environmental Protection Agency says about carbon monoxide risks in the home.

That Olympic Marathon Cooling Band Fails Research Test

If you were looking closely at the Paris Olympic Marathons a month ago, you couldn’t help but notice some strange head wraps. In particular, Eliud Kipchoge and Sifan Hassan appeared to be wearing radiator-like headbands from Omius.

Sifan won the women’s marathon, but Kipchoge dropped out, so we don’t have much proof of concept between the two of them. Also, a new research paper gives the Omius device a “thumbs down.” 

On its website, Omius claims: “Using thermally conductive and porous graphite, and a patented coating, the Omius technology increases the evaporative surface area of the skin by as much as 7x. This amplifies the body's natural cooling mechanism and dramatically increases comfort and performance in hot conditions and during strenuous exercise.”

The research trial put 10 “trained runners” through a rigorous protocol to see if the Omius headband boosted their performance. After a 70 minute easy run in a hot, humid lab, the runners completed a 5K time trial going as hard as they could. 

They ran one time with the Omius headband, and another time with a sham headband. They didn’t know and couldn’t tell the difference between the two.

Result: “Time trial performance did not significantly differ” between the Omius band and the sham band. 

Conclusion: “In conclusion, Omius improves forehead thermal comfort and reduces forehead temperature but not rectal temperature, heart rate and perceived exertion during, nor 5-km time trial performance after 70 minutes of easy running in the heat.” More at J of Thermal Biology.

The Miracle Of Exercise Vs Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the most common female cancer around the globe. While modern treatments have reduced mortality rates, the incidence of breast cancer continues to climb by about .5% per year. 

Moderate exercise is known to reduce the likelihood of developing breast cancer in the first place, and to lower the mortality rate in those who are diagnosed with breast cancer. A new paper explores how exercise produces these remarkable outcomes. 

It examined inflammation among 71 new breast cancer patients who agreed to do some training during the time of their chemotherapy treatments vs 21 similar patients who refused to exercise. Chemotherapy is known to be a “double-edged sword” that fights cancer but induces chronic inflammation.

Result: Moderate physical activity lowered “cancer-related chronic inflammation” even though chemotherapy produced “inflammatory effects.” The patients did 3 moderate workouts a week, each lasting 60 minutes. 

Conclusion: The exercise-induced drop in chronic inflammation “may improve patients’ outcome.” More at EMSO Cancer Horizons with free full text. 

Don’t Underestimate The Severity Of Ankle Sprains

Every runner sprains an ankle at one time or another. These sprain don’t always occur while you’re running--it’s easy to sprain an ankle on the stairs at home or work, or while walking on an uneven sidewalk--but they present an obstacle to your continued training.

Too often the problem is compounded, because we tend to underestimate the severity and longer-term issues relating to ankle sprains.This is a mistake, according to a new systematic review and meta-analysis of ankle sprains in runners. 

It notes that “a substantial proportion of people who undergo an ankle sprain experience injury recurrence and long-lasting symptoms that form chronic ankle instability, and may lead to ankle osteoarthritis.”

You can’t easily prevent accidental ankle sprains, but you can be more aware of when and how they occur. The new paper looked at the percent of runners who sprained an ankle during various kinds of running. 

The percentages ranged from a low of 8.5% in distance runners to 27.07% in cross-country to 67.42 % in track. (I don’t fully understand this last figure, but suspect it relates to sprinters and hurdlers.)

Conclusion: “Running practice results in a significant proportion-rate of ankle sprains. Recreational runners exhibit a higher proportion than elites.” More at Physical Therapy in Sport.

Additional material: Here’s the Position Stand of the National Athletic Trainers Association on managing and preventing ankle sprains. (With free full text.)

SHORT STUFF You Don’t Want To Miss

>>> Hit The Ground Running: Ground reaction forces are important to runners, and can be successfully measured with a consumer insole that could help you change your  running form and the forces produced. (Note: The author was an employee of the insole investigated here--Nurvv--which is no longer being produced.) The technology remains promising.

>>> Support Your Arches: In a 10K race, runners exhibited changes in arch structure indicating a need to wear “running shoes with foot arch support.”

>>> Body Roundness Beats BMI: Scientists have long been unhappy with BMI as a measure of body fitness and health. Now more are supporting Body Roundness as a superior tool. (Journal article.)  Additional News story.

GREAT QUOTES Make Great Training Partners

“I have a lot of long-term goals, but it’s more about the day-to-day--having fun with running, and leaning into what excites me."

--Keira D’Amato, second fastest American female marathon runner (2:19:12), who turns 40 on October 21

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading. See you again next week. Amby