Strength Training, Donating Blood & Other Subjects

 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

  

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

Blisters & Black Toes

Hi, Friends & Fellow Runners:

Here’s the latest question that I’ve fielded from a National Post reader, along with my answer published in the newspaper’s EachCoach running column:

Q.  Ran the hypothermic in Ottawa this morning and banged up my toes, couple evil looking blisters, and I seem to have a recurring problem of bruising my right big toe, and both my second toes are perpetually black (for the past two years).  I’m a mid-foot striker; I don’t plant my toes first when I run.  I tried smaller and larger shoes, different brands, no difference.  Tried lacing my shoes differently, same result.  As I increase my distances, there is no let up for the toes.  Help?

A. It seems you may have a hammertoe problem.  And the primary solution lies with proper footwear, as you surmised.  But that doesn’t mean it’s limited necessarily to running shoes.  It could be rooted in your street shoes; work or snow boots; or the width and material of your socks (thick cotton is definitely a no-no).  And female runners with the problem could be experiencing the adverse affects of wearing high heels in the office or on social occasions.  In addition to checking out all your footwear, you could try inserting a soft pad cut to fit the affected area and reduce pressure on the toes.

Coach Stephen

Never Too Old to Run

Hi, Friends & Fellow Runners:

Happily, I seem to have emerged as a “go to” guy for Canada’s National Post when it comes to questions submitted by older readers to the paper’s weekly Each Coach running column – probably because there are relatively few marathon runners older than yours truly. Here are a couple of questions that were forwarded to me from 50+ athletes in the last few weeks (paired with my answers):

Q.  I’m 62 years old and I like to run four to five times weekly.  I cover approximately 30K in those runs.  I run with a heart monitor and I’m worried at my age that my heart rate is too high.  Average H/R 142, with a peak at 165.  I don’t feel winded or sore after my runs.  Am I spending too much time worrying about my heart beat?

A.  The short answer is yes – for two reasons.  First, monitors tend to spike erratically in the early stages of a hard run as the heart responds to the abrupt stress of a start that’s too fast.  Avoid that by warming up sufficiently before settling into your pace.  And secondly, all standard formulas used to estimate Maximum Heart Rate (MHR) rely primarily on age and become notoriously inaccurate when applied to older, physically-fit runners.  Thus, a measured Average Heart Rate that is perfectly appropriate can seem too high because it is compared with a formula-based maximum rate that, for 60+ runners, is invariably too low.  (Case in point: the formula used by most monitor and treadmill makers is 220, minus one’s age – which would put your MHR at 158, a totally absurd figure since your actual heart rate regularly exceeds that level.)

Q.  I finished my first 5k running clinic in June 2009, followed by my first 10k running clinic in the fall 2009. I ran my first half marathon in the spring 2010. Then deterioration. Knee surgery Jan 2011. Started over again in August 2011. I am 56 years old. I am not fast. I have arthritis. My goal in 2013 was to run one race / month, which I did. Smile. I participated in track in the summer months and achieved personal best times in all my races (5k, 8k, 10k, 15k and half marathon). So, before I get any older, any slower, or (heaven forbid) ill, I want to run a marathon. I am thinking I need six months of training so looking at fall of this year, considering Niagara Falls International Marathon. Masters program for beginners?

A.  Here are some hopefully helpful thoughts from a twice-a-year marathon runner who’s old enough to be your father.  Your challenge is not so much to complete your first marathon as it is to follow a training program that will get you to Race Day without injury.  Group clinics or pre-packaged programs are out.  Forget running 5 or 6X a week for as many as 60 or 70K, and trying to do that on a steady basis for as long as six months.  Instead, think 3 or 4X/week, a 50K maximum, and 18 weeks at most.  Take up the slack with cross-training (cardio- and strength-based).  It’s the salvation for older runners like us.

Coach Stephen

Carbs on the Run = Performance Gains

Hi, Friends & Fellow Runners:

Let’s first address the elephant in the room as far as nutrition and running are concerned.  No one talks or writes about it, but the fact of the matter is that a runner’s diet doesn’t quite fit a professional nutritionist’s definition of healthy eating.  Some purists might say it doesn’t even come close.  That’s because runners and other endurance athletes need carbohydrates and plenty of them.

Most nutritionists tell us that carbohydrates should represent no more than 35 or 40% of the macronutrients we consume (with protein and fats making up the balance).  But a serious runner needs to increase that percentage to about 50% during most of a training cycle and then, in the last two weeks before a race, to 55 or 60%.

Carbs enter our body’s bloodstream as glucose and are stored in our liver and muscles as glycogen.  Their major reason for existence is to serve as an energy source.  And unlike our body fat, the only other fuel for running, they are always in short supply during long training sessions and distance races. 

Despite their obvious benefits, however, carbohydrates are often given short shrift in treatises on weight control and proper nutrition.  Sugar is a carbohydrate, for one thing, and sport-engineered products such as energy drinks and gels depend on sugar for their effectiveness.  As well, carb-rich foods like the three P’s of pancakes, potatoes and pasta rarely head anyone’s list of healthy food choices.  But at the end of the day you can take the following statement to the bank:

Carbohydrates are, without a doubt, the most important fuel for an endurance athlete.  To deny that is to deny science.  They are the single most powerful nutrient for replenishing glycogen stores, extending time to exhaustion, increasing immunity during and after exercise, and improving performance.  Period.  End of story.

That’s why, if you want to perform well in any distance race from a half-marathon to an ultra-marathon, you must get into the habit of consuming carbohydrates on the run.  At least 40 to 60 grams of the nutrient are what you need per hour to maintain a strong and consistent pace while engaged in a race or training run of more than 75 minutes in duration.

Here’s how the cause-and-effect link between carbohydrate intake and enhanced performance was described in a recent issue of 220 Triathlon, a British magazine:

“The reason for the benefits of carbohydrate use during exercise is straightforward; muscle carbohydrate (more commonly called glycogen) is your body’s ‘premium grade’ fuel, especially when those muscles are working hard, such as during a race.

“However, your muscles can only store around two hours’ worth of glycogen.  And because even mild glycogen depletion is known to impair performance, using carbohydrate drinks or gels to replenish your carbs on the move....helps to delay the onset of fatigue and thus improves performance.”

The magazine gets very specific on the nature of that improvement.  It states, by way of example, that runners able to complete a half marathon in two hours (120 minutes) while consuming only water or nothing at all could better their finishing times to the following extent by ingesting carbohydrates:

Grams per Hour          % Improvement          Performance Gain

20                                2.0%                            2.40 minutes

40                                3.5%                            4.20      “

60                                4.3%                            5.16      “

After 60 grams, further carbohydrate consumption leads to little additional improvement, and after 80 grams the percentage improvement actually declines (apparently because too many carbs in too short a time tends to cause stomach distress.)

Reaching the recommended allotment of 40 to 60 grams of carbohydrates per hour while running could be as simple as combining 8-ounce Fuel Belt bottles of a sports drink (about 10 grams per bottle) and packets of energy gel or beans (27 grams each).   Or you could include in the mix everyday food items like a medium-sized banana, granola bar, quarter-cup of dates, small box of raisins or four Fig Newton’s – each of which provides about 30 grams of carbs. 

Determining an effective nutrition strategy for an endurance race is a matter of testing and practice.  The objective is to consume the needed carbs conveniently, quickly, and with no accompanying stomach distress.  Test yourself and find out what works for you in terms of food, gels, sports drink, etc. (as well as water).  Practice with different combinations on your weekly long-distance runs until you’re satisfied that you’ve found the one that suits you best.  And remember, a successful approach to carbohydrate consumption during a race of two hours or more is an absolute necessity if you hope to do your best.

Coach Stephen