June 22, 2023

 June 22, 2023 xx

Twice as nice: This “Tempo Plus” workout gives you double the benefit

Mario Fraoli is one of those running coaches who can be depended upon for suggesting absolutely solid, productive workouts with no fluff or hype in the mix. He also practices what he preaches: This year, he ran his first Boston Marathon since turning 40, and recorded a strong 2:34:14.

Here he describes a workout he calls “Tempo Plus.” It’s an apt name, as the session includes some miles at tempo pace, followed by several 800 meter repeats. The repeats serve several purposes. One, as Fraoli notes: They’ll keep you “honest and prevent you from getting carried away during the tempo.” That’s always an important aspect of tempo running--staying in control. Of course, the 800s also get you moving significantly faster than your tempo miles. There’s the “Plus.”

Fraoli suggests a tempo distance of 3-6 miles, followed by 4 x 800. I’ll simply note that you could do less, and still get a nice boost from this workout. For example, you could do just 2 miles at tempo pace, followed by 2 x 800, and  feel the payoff in your next race.

If you see a good workout that’s a bit too advanced for your fitness, don’t discard it. Figure out how you can adapt it. More at The Morning Shakeout.

Or you could also “double” like a Norwegian

For world class runners, the hottest new training system by far is Norwegian Training. It’s also called “Double Threshold” training, as one or two days per week are set aside for tempo (threshold) training. On those days, the athletes do not one but two threshold workouts.

These aren’t the “strong but steady and controlled” runs of 20 to 60 minutes that most Americans have been doing the last 30 years. Instead, the Norwegians prefer very long interval sessions on the track with short recovery jogs.

A morning workout might be 5 x 2000 meters, and the afternoon session, 10 x 1000 meters. Why do intervals on the track? Well, the Norwegians are giving themselves regular finger-prick lactate tests to make sure they don’t push too hard, and the track is the most convenient place to do this. Also, the recovery jogs inherent to interval training help you keep the workout stress from elevating too high.

Few if any Americans have adopted the lactate testing, but the track is still a good place to stay controlled, and to be observed by a coach. The goal is always to run at a steady, controlled pace (not fast, as with High Intensity Intervals). 

At the below link, Jonathan Gault of LetsRun summarizes (at great length) both the history of Double Threshold training, and its rapidly-expanding acceptance by top American coaches and athletes. This includes those at Northern Arizona University and in Michigan.

Gault gives ample credit to Marius Bakken, often cited as the first serious Double Threshold guy, but also allows Seb Coe to claim that his father-coach, Peter Coe, was doing much the same in the late 1970s and early 1980s. (Bakken’s own magnum opus, “The Norwegian Model,” is here.)

Gault notes that training-breakthrough systems come and go, and there’s no way to tell if Double Threshold training will have staying power. Nonetheless, several American coaches say they are certain they’ll still be using Double Thresholds five years from now. More at Lets Run.

Can your running shorts make you faster?

Lets list the things that can help you run faster on race day. The right shoes, for certain. Caffeine, yup. Proper fueling and hydration, yes. Smart pacing, check. Keeping your skin cool, check. Mental and visualization techniques, check. 

How about your running shorts? (Try not to laugh.) Since the beginning of time--or at least since the beginning of compression clothing for athletes--there has been speculation that compression might improve performance. Maybe it could enhance muscle function? Or boost blood flow? 

These theories have been put forward and tested for decades now, mostly with full-length compression tights. And the results have rarely pointed to enhanced performance. But what about those popular compression shorts that cover only the upper thigh?

University of Memphis researchers recently investigated these shorts with one of the most impressive subject groups you’ll ever see. They tried the shorts on 19 different male 10K runners with personal bests under 31 minutes. The same runners were also tested in split shorts.

Result: The compression shorts “do not improve the metabolic costs of highly trained male distance runners.” A new but untested hypothesis: That the shorts, which somewhat limited internal hip rotation, “may benefit female runners with anterior knee pain.” More at ACSM abstracts. 

A surprising way to beat injuries: Don’t worry, be happy

We seem to be living in the decade of the runner’s brain. So many aspects of running have been linked to your brain and/or mental/emotional state. Now there’s a new one: the brain-injury connection. 

A research team from New York City Marathon sponsor, the Hospital for Special Surgery, conducted a “16 week observational study” to see what it could learn about injuries among runners training for last fall’s NYC Marathon. In the end, they gathered data from 894 runners. This group had an average age of 44, was slightly more than half female, and 76 percent had completed a previous marathon.

During the 4-month study period, 25 percent of the runners reported an injury, though only 4 percent decided it was serious enough to prevent them from running the marathon.

All subjects were asked about their age, sex, BMI, injury history, COVID history, race goal, grit, risk-taking behavior, and other factors that might reasonably have been associated with training injuries. Only they weren’t--at least not in this report.

In fact, only two traits were linked to injuries, and one to injury prevention. The two baddies: wearing orthotics, and “self assessed risk of running.” These two practically scream “major injury concern,” so they aren’t the least surprising. 

The injury-prevention link was a total brain/emotional state: “happiness.” Runners who judged themselves happy during their marathon training were 29% less likely to suffer from an injury than those who weren’t as happy. More at Clinical J of Sports Medicine (click down to page 296, the right-hand column.)

Try this new method to boost muscle recovery & adaptation

We’ve all heard that there’s an optimal nutrient intake “window” in the 30 to 60 minutes after a hard endurance workout. If you consume some carbs and protein during this window, your body is “primed” to make good use of them. 

It turns out there’s another “window” also--at least when it comes to protein for muscle recovery and rebuilding. And this one is just before you go to bed.

In this randomized, controlled trial, subjects performed endurance exercise in the evening, and later consumed a prepared drink 30 minutes before they went to bed. The drink was whey protein, casein protein, or a non-caloric placebo. 

Researchers then measured the amount of overnight mitochondrial and myofibrillar protein synthesis in the blood and muscle tissues of the subjects. Result: Protein synthesis was significantly greater after the whey or casein drinks (vs placebo), with no difference between the whey and casein. Thus, “Pre-sleep protein ingestion facilitates the skeletal muscle adaptive response to exercise.”

Conclusion: “Our observations suggest that pre-sleep protein ingestion represents an effective strategy to support muscle tissue repair and facilitate the skeletal muscle adaptive response to endurance training.” This approach could represent “an important and often overlooked opportunity” as “endurance athletes typically do not consume much protein prior to sleep.” More at Sports Medicine with free full text. Infographic here at YLM Sports Science.

Pregnant moms-to-be: Exercise now to enhance your baby’s heart health

The field of “intergenerational health effects” studies how the parents’ behavior affects their children. This includes links between parents and their not-yet-born offspring. In this pilot study, researchers wanted to determine if the exercise habits of the moms could be detected in the heart health of their infants at the age of 1 month.

During the last 24 weeks of their pregnancy, moms were divided into a group that did 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity exercise vs a comparison group that did no exercise but participated in 150 minutes a week of relaxation practices. The moms included both normal weight and overweight subjects.

A month after being born, subjects’ children received several heart-function tests. Those born to exercising moms showed “increased cardiac function.” It seemed their hearts grew stronger via their mom’s heart-healthy exercise habit. The improved function was relatively greater in children of overweight but exercising moms vs overweight, non exercising moms. More at Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

By the way, intergenerational effects are not limited to just the mother-child link. The father’s health can also influence the newly-born infant.

Can you be fat but fit? (Sure, but there’s a better way)

The fat but fit hypothesis has been around for a while now. Prior research has shown that overweight and obese individuals who exercise regularly are less likely to develop heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc, than overweight people who don’t exercise.  

But a question always remains: Can overweight exercisers become as healthy as non-overweight exercisers? Or would they be smart to knock off a few pounds?

A big study with the important British Biobank database has produced an answer. It analyzed data from 438,000 subjects, and supported the fat-but-fit argument that obese exercisers (with other good lifestyle habits) enjoyed lower health risks than obese-sedentary individuals. 

However, they were also significantly more likely to develop chronic diseases than healthy weight individuals with good lifestyle habits, including exercise. Conclusion: While “a healthy lifestyle is associated with a reduced risk of several adverse health outcomes in adults with obesity, it does not entirely eradicate the risk of obesity-related diseases.”

So: Eat smart (and not too much), exercise regularly, and maintain a healthy weight. More at JAMA Network Open.

At the ACSM meeting, Canadian running and nutrition expert Trent Stellingwerff underlined this finding in a “10 Questions, 10 Experts” session. He offered a rarely-heard perspective on carbohydrates: “Most endurance athletes already eat enough carbohydrates, and eating any more carbohydrate will just make an athlete fat.” An accompanying cartoon showed a chubby runner next to a lean one. “My running’s so-so,” says the thick runner, “but I’m one of the nation’s top five carbo-loaders.” More at Twitter/Stuart Phillips.

Find your optimal training mileage to race stronger and faster

At one time or another, all runners ask themselves a key question: How much should I be running per week? And: Would I perform better if I ran more … or less?

This article explores the question through the eyes of elite marathoner Nell Rojas and ultramarathon coach-exercise physiologist Shawn Bearden. They give somewhat different answers, based on their different start points.

Rojas feels that elite runners should be careful not to do too much. While many are focused on hitting triple digits per week (100+ miles), she feels stronger at about 85 miles. That’s where she believes she can stay healthy, and staying healthy is crucial to her getting-fitter-and-faster goals.

Bearden, on the other hand, says, “Almost everyone is running less than they can benefit from.” That’s a numerical and lifestyle truth. Few have the time, space, and energy to run more than, say, 40 miles a week. And there’s pretty obviously room for improvement above 40 miles a week.

But that doesn’t mean you should be doing more. Because Bearden defines optimal mileage as “The distance that results in the greatest gains within the context of your life.” Which sounds healthy and smart, and allows for plenty of flexibility as your life context changes through the decades. More at Outside Online.

SHORT STUFF you don’t want to miss

>>> Surface to surface: You run different on trails and grass vs the roads. Here’s how with free full text

>>> Speed limit: The faster you run, the more stress on your Achilles and calf muscles (especially the soleus)

>>> Exercise conquers flu: In a very large population study with a 9-yr followup period, subjects meeting both aerobic and strength training guidelines “had a 48% lower adjusted risk of influenza and pneumonia mortality.”

GREAT QUOTES make great training partners

“Your greatest runs are rarely measured by racing success. They are moments in time when running allows you to see how wonderful your life is.” 

— Kara Goucher 

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

June 15, 2023

Try this training secret used by Jakob Ingebrigtsen & Eliud Kipchoge

Moments after he ran an astonishing, fastest-ever 2 mile last week (7:54.10, or back to back miles in 3:57 each), Olympic 1500-meter gold medalist Jakob Ingebrigtsen explained an essential element of his training. It’s something he avoids, but has seen many other runners do. 

Here’s the key nugget. “One of the biggest mistakes a lot of people make is that they go too hard in training, because they don’t believe in themselves and need to build up confidence. That’s the wrong mindset. I’m never running faster in training than in competition, because I want the competition to be number one.” More at You Tube.

If this sounds familiar, maybe it’s because marathon world record holder and double Olympic gold medalist Eliud Kipchoge has said something quite similar. “I try not to run 100 percent. I perform 80 percent on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday and then at 50 percent Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.” More at Outside Online.

Fifty years ago we used to say, “Train, don’t strain.” I don’t know why that powerful guideline has largely disappeared from the training lexicon. But it deserves a strong comeback. Think about it on your next hard run. You still have to go hard at times. But when you do, maybe scale back just a little bit. Aim for relaxed, controlled “hard” vs intense, gritty hard. 

The 30 best running tips of all time

Here’s an article with an irresistible headline and a magazine--Outside--that’s been around for a long time with a solid reputation. That enabled the editors to cull through a lot of old, classic running content (dating as far back as 1996, but mostly in the last decade) to make their selections.

Some are underwhelming--Don’t Run Injured; Don’t Run Drunk--but still worth a quick scan. Some seem contradictory at first--Hydrate; Don’t Hydrate Too Much Before Running. But I’m okay with that. Because the second rule of running, after “Listen to your body,” is “Make specific choices for the specific situation.” And those situations can be so different that the most intelligent approach turns upside down.

The best tips here? I’m voting for “Don’t Pick Just One Running Partner” and “Find a Routine, Then Stick to It.” There’s a lot to be said for variety in training, but sticking to a routine increases your chances of actually doing any day’s workout, and that will always be high on my list of important advice. More at Outside Online.

4 videos that decrease mental fatigue and improve performance

Alex Hutchinson was probably the first fitness journalist to delve into mental fatigue and its influence on physical performance. It became a focus of his best-selling book, Endure, and he continues to follow the topic closely.

In a recent summary article, he wrote about the latest research presented at the American College 

of Sports Medicine convention. In short: Outdoor exercise seems for some reason easier than the equivalent workout indoors; the mental-fatigue question is getting more complicated; and watching videos that teach relaxation, breathing, and mental imagery can have a significant impact on performance. More at Outside Online.

I wrote about those videos several weeks ago in RLRH. At the time, they were not available on YouTube. Now they are. Here are links to 4 videos featuring Dr. Stephen Gonzalez. Video 1. Video 2. Video 3. Video 4. They range in length from 4 to 11 minutes.

Can taurine improve both your health AND your longevity?

The amino acid taurine broke into global headlines last week based on a study of mice and monkeys, but not humans. In the two animal groups, taurine supplementation increased lifespan and/or healthspan. Who wouldn’t want both?

“Mechanistically, taurine reduced cellular senescence, protected against telomerase deficiency, suppressed mitochondrial dysfunction, decreased DNA damage, and attenuated inflammaging.” More at Science with free full text.

In the NYTimes, one aging expert said, “There’s something here, and if it works in humans, it’s going to be a terrific thing.” However, he and others said human trials were needed. More at NY Times.

Taurine, which comes primarily from meats, shellfish and dairy products, is considered a non-essential amino acid. A Harvard nutrition expert told CNN that “This doesn’t seem like a story ready for prime time.” He noted that many human nutrition studies link high-meat consumption to poor health-longevity outcomes. More at CNN.

Testing, testing: How “illegal” super shoes perform in training workouts

Three years ago, running shoes beyond a certain outsole + midsole height (40mm, or about 1.57 inches) were ruled ineligible for competition by World Athletics, the world organization that controls regulations for the Olympics and other big races. The rationale--that thicker shoes might provide too much “energy return,” though I’m not aware that this has been confirmed in scientific testing.

At any rate, there’s nothing to stop you from wearing whatever you want in training--go barefoot, wear Army boots, or tinker with your shoes as you please. Several shoe companies now market shoes thicker than 40 mm for those who want them.

A product tester at Triathlete recently tried a pair of New Balance shoes that are 47mm thick. The good news: He enjoyed the extra cushioning and found them quite stable. Bad: Despite being super supers, if you will, he found them not very “springy” for uptempo training days. More at Triathlete.

Use a high intensity warm up to race faster in your next 5K

Warming up used to be a loosey-goosey exercise, or that’s what I thought. Do some light jogging, stretch a little, take a couple of strides … then head for the start line.

These days, the pre-race warmup has become more rigorous (and faster), with good evidence to support it for 800-meter and 1500-meter racers. What about 5000 meters? Many runners fear that an overly intense warmup would detract from their longer-distance races.

Here a group of highly fit runners tried two nearly identical warmups before racing a 5000-meter time trial. In one, they included 3 repeats of 250 meters at 70% of their vo2 max speed. In a second, they ran the 250s at 100% of vo2 max speed. All runners did both warmups prior to their 5000-meter trials in a crossover study design.

Both warmups lasted 8-10 minutes, and were followed by an 18-minute “transition” period before the 5K start. The 18-minute transition consisted of: 10 minutes quiet standing, 5 minutes skipping and hopping exercises, and 3 minutes quiet standing.

The warmup with the 3 high-intensity runs of 250 meters led to the faster 5000 meter times. The difference was a modest 6 seconds. Conclusion: “A high-intensity warm-up protocol can improve performance in the 5000 m in trained endurance runners.” More at J of Sports Science & Medicine with free full text.

To avoid bad air pollution days, switch to a treadmill run

Parts of the eastern U.S. and Canada had to deal with several days of horrible air pollution last week due to the massive fires in Canada. Health experts recommended that local residents spend as little time outdoors as possible, and consider using their Covid masks when outside. My Connecticut town wasn’t affected nearly as much as New York City, but I still wore a mask on two runs. 

Reacting quickly, the folks at the NY Times’s “Wirecutter” review service updated their treadmill reviews. I was surprised to learn that one of the highest rated mills costs under $1100 at Dick’s Sporting Goods. More at NYTimes.

Sexercises: One for women, one for men

Sexual health isn’t the biggest bucket on the life/health continuum, but it’s part of the whole. And research has long shown that regular, moderate exercise has benefits for your sexual health. The link can get broken, however, by overtraining and/or undereating, since those both disrupt key hormones.

Here are the two newest results in the field: one for females, one for males. The first investigated “sexual desire” among postpartum women who had followed 24 sessions of “core stabilization exercises” vs a control group who did not. The core sessions improved endurance of the pelvic floor muscles and central part of the body. 

 

Conclusion: “The study showed that the suggested exercises improved women's sexual desire; therefore, these exercises can improve the sexual health of mothers in the postpartum period, which can improve other aspects of people’s lives.” More at Iranian J of Nursing & Midwifery Research with free full text.

For the guys, two weeks of high intensity training every morning reduced premature ejaculation (PE) among those (ages 18 to 36) reporting the problem. Males who reached the highest heart rates during training achieved the biggest reductions in PE.

Conclusion: “High intensity training may reduce PE symptoms in men with PE. The heart-rate increase during the intervention may be a key factor.” The paper also noted that PE “is a common male sexual dysfunction worldwide,” and “there is still a lack of effective treatments without side effects.” More at Andrology.

Build stronger legs and hips for better running

I don’t know where David Roche got the chutzpah to stand in front of a video camera during several loooong, awkward segments while he demonstrated his favorite “Ultra Legs” routine. But he seemed to recognize his geek factor, as he superimposed a number of silly jokes on the screen.

Don’t let any of this bother you, because the Ultra Legs routine is a really good one. And Roche shows you how to do all the moves with almost no equipment (all of it lowcost). There’s an article here at Trail Runner and a video here on YouTube.

In another great leg-strengthening article, Amber Sayer demonstrates 10 different exercises geared to the hip muscles. All are illustrated with still photos, so you don’t have to click away to a separate video page. I can’t imagine anyone doing all 10 of these, but you can pick several you like. More at Outside Online. 

Also, don’t forget that we sit too much, and don’t stretch our hips enough. So get up and walk around as much as you can, and include several hip stretches like these at Back Intelligence.

SHORT STUFF you don’t want to miss

Smile, you’re on vegetables: In a randomized controlled trial of vegetable eaters vs non veggie eaters, those consuming more vegetables scored higher on a “happiness scale.”

Anatomy is destiny? Kenyans have longer Achilles tendons and other tendon traits different from Japanese and French with free full text.

No pain, no gain: NSAIDs might reduce pain, but current research data indicates that “consumption of analgesic drugs as an endurance performance enhancer or as a muscle anabolic” does nothing to improve performance.

GREAT QUOTES make great training partners

“The marathon is a reminder that we are all capable of greatness.”

--Meb Keflezighi

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