Benefits of a 2-for-1 Tradeoff

Hi, Friends & Fellow Runners:

For the time-constrained athletes among you who are always battling to balance family, job and running commitments, the following question-and-answer exchange may be of interest.  The question was submitted by a National Post reader to the newspaper’s EachCoach column; the answer is mine.

Q.  Trying to increase the amount of distance I run during the week, but always a bit tight for time in the mornings and evenings.  Is it ok to do 2 shorter runs on some days (an 8K morning and 6K evening for example) or does that create more risk of an injury?

A.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with splitting a day's scheduled run into AM and PM components when time constraints would otherwise force you to do the run faster than you should.  Trying to shoehorn a 14K workout into a shorter time frame than your body is accustomed to, for example, would create a much greater injury risk than any 2 runs-for-1 tradeoff.  Beyond that, you should simply add one or two kilometers to the day's total workout to get a comparable performance benefit from the tradeoff.

Coach Stephen

Just Dodged a Bullet

Hi, Friends & Fellow Runners:

Three weeks ago I slipped on ice while running and came within a hair's breadth of breaking my hip - an injury that would have ended my chances of becoming, in 2014, the oldest person to qualify for and complete both the Boston and New York marathons in the same calendar year. The injury, at my age, might have even ended my running career, such as it's been. Fortunately, the hip was badly bruised, not broken, and I was able to spend up to two hours a day cross training in my local gym.  Now I'm back running and have logged 50 kilometers in the five days since last Thursday. My training is back on track, my depression has lifted and I am once again counting down the days to Boston.

Coach Stephen

Toughness: Hardly a Gender Issue

Hi, Friends & Fellow Runners:

Literally overnight, it became conventional wisdom that the tougher team won Super Bowl XLVIII, not necessarily the more fit, the more talented, or the better coached.  It reminds me of the one good thing about the worst streak of bad weather that I've seen in six years of coaching running clinics during the winter -- and that is,  Mother Nature’s meanness provides an unmistakable barometer of toughness.  Just keep running when you’re scheduled to run, regardless of cold, ice, snow and wind, and you know how tough you are.  It’s beyond discussion or dispute.  And interestingly, the members who keep showing up for the group runs at my Running Room clinics these days are mostly women – often petite to the point of seeming frailness and sometimes young enough to be my grandchildren.  Why am I not surprised that the next mayor of Toronto and the next president of the US will probably be women?

Coach Stephen