Hi, Friends &
Fellow Runners:
As many of you know, I’ve
been a regular contributor to a column called EachCoach, published every
Wednesday by Canada’s National Post
newspaper. My job is to provide brief,
on-point answers to questions posed by runners on an array of topics. Here are some of those recent questions.....
Am I doing too much strength training and is it
hurting my running?
Is there a right time for a runner to donate
blood?
How do I eliminate the boredom of treadmill
training?
I’m a new runner and already have foot pain;
what’s the problem?
.....and here’s the
detail:
Q. I am new to my running group and I can't seem to find a good
pace group for me. I'm too slow for one group and a little too fast for the
other group. The faster group pushes me
to go outside my comfort zone and that's good, but 3 times a week of pushing
yourself hard can lead to injury in my experience. I have a question about whether I am
overtraining and maybe that's why I am slow. I take Sundays off every week. I
strength train on Monday and Friday with weights for an hour each time; on
Tuesday and Thursday morning I work on strengthening my core for a half-hour
and then I run 5 or 6 miles in the pm; on Wednesday, I cross train. Am I
doing too much and is it slowing my running times? I hear how important
strength training, core work and cross training are, so I'm trying to include these
to strengthen my running? Any advice?
A. Let’s cut to the quick and answer your
specific questions: Yes, you are doing
too much strength training, and yes, it is slowing down your running. You should strength train no more than twice
a week for a maximum of one hour in total.
More is not better, especially since your four strength sessions seem to
be limiting your running to 3X/week (instead of the preferred 4 or 5X), and
none of your runs appear to be speed intervals or hill repeats. On a second point, you’re correct in
scheduling strength training and running on the same day, but your running
should come before, not after, your strength sessions. Research has shown that by doing the strength
work first (as in your case) your ability to sustain fast times in runs done
later in the day is reduced significantly.
Q. Are
there long distance runners who donate blood somewhat regularly and have they
noticed any effects on their endurance?
A. After the Boston Marathon bombing last year,
hundreds of runners made their way to local hospitals to donate blood. It was their way of honoring the victims of
that horrific event, but on a more mundane level it was something they felt
they could do because they had run their race and knew they’d be entering an
extended period of training downtime.
The lesson here is that timing is critical. Donating blood hurts athletic performance
because it leads to a reduction in red blood cells which transport oxygen to
the working muscles. This, in turn, can
reduce your anaerobic heart rate in the first week by as much as 10% and makes
your hard training runs immeasurably more difficult. As well, a full return to pre-donation
performance levels can often take as long as a month. So it makes sense to give blood only during
periods of time that allow for several weeks of recovery before the onset of
serious training or competition.
Q. I’m
hoping I can get running outside soon.
Treadmill running is boring.
A. You can eliminate the boredom by introducing
variety into your treadmill sessions.
Mimic interval training, for example, by completing several cycles of five
minutes’ sprinting and five minutes’ walking.
Duplicate a series of hill repeats by raising the elevation to a “6” and
running hard uphill for a half-mile before cutting the elevation back to zero
and jogging the same distance. Or simply
set a pace you want to run in your next race, maintain it for 10 minutes before
taking a one-minute walk break and then repeating the routine four or five
times. If you’re watching TV, pick up
your pace during commercial breaks. If
you’re listening to music, increase or reduce speed with each new song. Etc., etc.
The possibilities are endless.
Q. I am relatively new to running. After my first few weeks, I was jogging about
4 miles 3-4 times a week. Feeling great overall
and was looking forward to pushing further but have come across a nagging big
toe/ball of my foot pain that hurts when I push off the toe. No swelling or bruising, just pain in my left
foot and I am now starting to feel it in my right as well. I’m wondering if there is anyone with similar
issues.
A. Footwear is the
usual suspect when it comes to pain like yours.
Do your new running shoes fit properly and specifically allow for the
swelling in your feet when you run? And
are they made to accommodate the structure of your foot? Only if you know the answers to such
questions are a definite yes should you consider other possible causes. You might be striking the ground on the balls
of your feet instead of the midsole, for example. Or you could be running too much on hard
surfaces. A final but remote possibility
could be insufficient fat padding in your forefoot – a problem that could be
solved by placing a foam rubber pad just behind the painful area.
Coach Stephen
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