Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,
Run, Forrest, Run! That's all I've been doing for the past few months. Running and yoga have been my exercise modes to train for this half marathon. One day while icing my knees after a run, I realized that I should probably cross train so I don't wear out my body one step at a time. Since I can't imagine running for 5 hours (the minimum I would be running for a full marathon), and I have a feeling that my body won't be able to take the pounding of running for long, I thought about what other activities I could do. Why not a triathlon?
I've always written off triathlons saying, "Well, the biking I could do but, swimming? Pssh...swimming is not for me." With a pool at my gym/work, there was no way I could continue ignoring that aspect of training. The lifeguards at my pool are super friendly and were eager to help me work on my form. I'm now into my 3rd week of swimming and am in love with it! Swimming well really just comes down to form (teaser...get excited for a post all about swimming!)
Running? Check. Swimming? Check. Biking? Pending.
Again, using my undergrads as resources, a girl on the cycling team was able to direct me to a sweet road bike by Specialized. I still know nothing about bikes, what you should look for, what's good, what isn't but, I'm told that the Specialized Dolce for Women is an excellent bike to begin one's love affair with cycling.
My next step is to actually get the bike and ride. There are tons of resources on the web for how to train for a triathlon. My modus operandi for now will just be to get all three activities in during the week with some yoga and strength training too. Eventually, I'll have to work on transitioning from cycling to running but that will come in due time. Until then, perhaps give triathlons a second look...the swimming part isn't really that bad!
In health,
Lauren
Showing posts with label endurance training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label endurance training. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Monday, January 2, 2012
345/365 Thrills of Running Down Hills
Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,
Running hills are a great way to train to run faster. The motion of running on an incline is an exaggeration of how we run on flat ground. By training up hills, you can work on your knee drive upwards and your leg extension as you propel yourself forward. If you find a nice stretch of hill (like 400m/0.25mi), sprint up and jog down four to six times for a quick and exhilarating work out. Form is crucial for running up and down the hills to avoid injury and increase performance.
As you may know, my cousin and I are training for the Rock and Roll Half Marathon in March. Our neighborhood offers a nice variety of terrain for us to run including those dreadful hills. Too many hills on our runs seems to have caused my cousin's knee to bother her. She went to the local running store to purchase a sleeve for her knee. The sales associate however advised her to wait on the sleeve and to just try to take it easy and not run so many hills. Since we cannot just make perfectly flat routes out of thin air, he coached her on how to approach declines.
When running down a hill, I usually just let my body fly while still maintaining a toe strike; I feel my knees a little more when I do that. Instead, he suggested to run with a gentle heel to mid strike and to lean forward. Your lean doesn't start at your waist but at your ankles to keep your posture the same as if you were running on flat ground. This requires you to bend your knees more on your landing and be more aware of your posture. I tried doing this and in fact, I did go down a lot faster with more control and no knee pain. Speaking of knees, be sure to ice after a tough run especially if you have previous injuries. Icing will decrease inflammation and speed recovery; 15-20min is ideal.
As always, stand tall, tuck your pelvis underneath you, drive your knees straight up (to avoid twisting of any kind), keep your shoulders and head back, and have a great run.
In health,
Lauren
Running hills are a great way to train to run faster. The motion of running on an incline is an exaggeration of how we run on flat ground. By training up hills, you can work on your knee drive upwards and your leg extension as you propel yourself forward. If you find a nice stretch of hill (like 400m/0.25mi), sprint up and jog down four to six times for a quick and exhilarating work out. Form is crucial for running up and down the hills to avoid injury and increase performance.
As you may know, my cousin and I are training for the Rock and Roll Half Marathon in March. Our neighborhood offers a nice variety of terrain for us to run including those dreadful hills. Too many hills on our runs seems to have caused my cousin's knee to bother her. She went to the local running store to purchase a sleeve for her knee. The sales associate however advised her to wait on the sleeve and to just try to take it easy and not run so many hills. Since we cannot just make perfectly flat routes out of thin air, he coached her on how to approach declines.
When running down a hill, I usually just let my body fly while still maintaining a toe strike; I feel my knees a little more when I do that. Instead, he suggested to run with a gentle heel to mid strike and to lean forward. Your lean doesn't start at your waist but at your ankles to keep your posture the same as if you were running on flat ground. This requires you to bend your knees more on your landing and be more aware of your posture. I tried doing this and in fact, I did go down a lot faster with more control and no knee pain. Speaking of knees, be sure to ice after a tough run especially if you have previous injuries. Icing will decrease inflammation and speed recovery; 15-20min is ideal.
As always, stand tall, tuck your pelvis underneath you, drive your knees straight up (to avoid twisting of any kind), keep your shoulders and head back, and have a great run.
In health,
Lauren
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
343/365 What's GU, Pussycat?
Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,
My cousin and I are training for the Rock and Roll Half Marathon in DC next year, who's in? "But, Lauren," you think to yourself, "how could I ever run a half marathon?" Well, I am still asking that question to myself even as my cousin and I are doing our long runs on the weekend. How does one train for a half marathon?
I am certainly no expert on the subject of long distance running, I just do whatever my cousin tells me otherwise I probably would stop training altogether. Our game plan though is to run just 3 times a week. On off days, I do yoga to stretch out my calves, hip flexors, hamstrings, and core to help recover and prevent injury. Day One of running is 2 miles run and Day Two is a slightly longer run. These runs are meant to keep the wheels greased, to train our minds to easily conquer that first leg, and to work on speed. Our long run on the weekends started at 4 miles and have gotten longer by 1-1.25 miles each week. Once we got over the 10K marker (6.2 mi), it was time to whip out the energy gel.
Energy gels, GU Energy, Sport Beans etc. are products that give you a boost of energy. They are mostly made with sugar to deliver energy quickly to your body; they also usually have electrolytes and protein. On a long distance run, you're burning a mixture of fats and carbs, carbs being glycogen floating around in your blood or stored in your liver. Conditioned endurance runners will be able to burn more fat since their bodies are more efficient and can take the time to use fat. At some point though, all of us will burn more carbs than fat since it takes a shorter time to burn carbs and we need the energy immediately. To top off those sugar levels, energy gels come in to save the day! By taking in a bolus of sugar that is easy to digest, we refill the bank of sugar our body can withdraw from to create more ATP, energy.
The thing to keep in mind with energy gels is timing. Though you may not feel tired 30-45 min into the race, a few more minutes longer at that intensity without fuel could be your end. It's recommended that you take a "shot" 15 min before running to top off your fuel levels and then every 30-45 min. GU Energy says to take the whole packet at once but for me, it's a little too much and I feel really weird and shaky. I take about a third each time interval and it has worked out well for me. I have yet to hit my wall, just my lactate threshold on some hills.
Before trying it, I joked about goo packs and how weird or gross they were. After two weeks of goosage (goo usage ha ha) I can truly say that they're not so bad. My gel has been hard and cold since it's been frigid outside which is fine by me. I can't imagine soft, warm gel; maybe that's just me. I've only tried GU Energy's Tri-Berry. I've also taken a few punch flavored Sport Beans before running because I actually have time to chew it. These are also pretty good, I'd just be slightly afraid of choking if I took it while running. The best thing I can recommend is giving it a try and seeing which kind/brand you like. And as always, drink water! These companies don't really say why you should drink 24-30 ounces with it but my guess is to help wash it down. Of course, you should absolutely stay hydrated whether you're running or hanging out anyway because Mama Lauren said so.
If you are a gooser (goo user ha ha), let me know what you think, what flavors you like, and which brand you enjoy the most.
In health,
Lauren
My cousin and I are training for the Rock and Roll Half Marathon in DC next year, who's in? "But, Lauren," you think to yourself, "how could I ever run a half marathon?" Well, I am still asking that question to myself even as my cousin and I are doing our long runs on the weekend. How does one train for a half marathon?
I am certainly no expert on the subject of long distance running, I just do whatever my cousin tells me otherwise I probably would stop training altogether. Our game plan though is to run just 3 times a week. On off days, I do yoga to stretch out my calves, hip flexors, hamstrings, and core to help recover and prevent injury. Day One of running is 2 miles run and Day Two is a slightly longer run. These runs are meant to keep the wheels greased, to train our minds to easily conquer that first leg, and to work on speed. Our long run on the weekends started at 4 miles and have gotten longer by 1-1.25 miles each week. Once we got over the 10K marker (6.2 mi), it was time to whip out the energy gel.
Energy gels, GU Energy, Sport Beans etc. are products that give you a boost of energy. They are mostly made with sugar to deliver energy quickly to your body; they also usually have electrolytes and protein. On a long distance run, you're burning a mixture of fats and carbs, carbs being glycogen floating around in your blood or stored in your liver. Conditioned endurance runners will be able to burn more fat since their bodies are more efficient and can take the time to use fat. At some point though, all of us will burn more carbs than fat since it takes a shorter time to burn carbs and we need the energy immediately. To top off those sugar levels, energy gels come in to save the day! By taking in a bolus of sugar that is easy to digest, we refill the bank of sugar our body can withdraw from to create more ATP, energy.
The thing to keep in mind with energy gels is timing. Though you may not feel tired 30-45 min into the race, a few more minutes longer at that intensity without fuel could be your end. It's recommended that you take a "shot" 15 min before running to top off your fuel levels and then every 30-45 min. GU Energy says to take the whole packet at once but for me, it's a little too much and I feel really weird and shaky. I take about a third each time interval and it has worked out well for me. I have yet to hit my wall, just my lactate threshold on some hills.
Before trying it, I joked about goo packs and how weird or gross they were. After two weeks of goosage (goo usage ha ha) I can truly say that they're not so bad. My gel has been hard and cold since it's been frigid outside which is fine by me. I can't imagine soft, warm gel; maybe that's just me. I've only tried GU Energy's Tri-Berry. I've also taken a few punch flavored Sport Beans before running because I actually have time to chew it. These are also pretty good, I'd just be slightly afraid of choking if I took it while running. The best thing I can recommend is giving it a try and seeing which kind/brand you like. And as always, drink water! These companies don't really say why you should drink 24-30 ounces with it but my guess is to help wash it down. Of course, you should absolutely stay hydrated whether you're running or hanging out anyway because Mama Lauren said so.
If you are a gooser (goo user ha ha), let me know what you think, what flavors you like, and which brand you enjoy the most.
In health,
Lauren
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