The first phase to any good training plan always starts with a base training phase.  In this post I am going to talk about the importance of base training and its basic purpose.

The reason this phase is called "base training" is because it makes up the base portion of your training pyramid.  As with any pyramid it is usually the biggest and largest phase of any training cycle.  It can vary in the amount of weeks, but every good base training phase should last about 6-8 weeks.  

The basic purpose of base training is to subject the body to low intensity stress, mainly to prepare the body for more quality training, but also to develop those components of fitness that respond well to low-stress training.   Low stress training is many times referred to as "conversational" pace, because you can carry on a conversation while running with another runner.  This period of training is also a great time to get in the routine of your supplemental exercises and stretching routine.  

Physiologically the benefits of base training are numerous.  As you slowly increase your mileage during base training you get what we call the cumulative training effect.  These are the changes that occur throughout your body that over time allow you to perform your daily run with less discomfort.  The muscles you stress become stronger and blood flow to these muscles increases.  Changes inside the muscle cells provide more energy for the muscles and your resting hear rate undoubtedly becomes slower.  Your body weight becomes lower, you may lower your resting blood pressure, and your overall running economy improves.  Finally, base training helps develop an overall building up of resistance to injury and a solid foundation on which to build faster training session in the the months ahead.

So there it is, don't neglect the all importance base training phase.  This phase can vary greatly between runners of all different levels, but the main theory stays the same.  Low-stress training with the aim of "hardening" up the body to respond to higher intensity training sessions later in the training program. Plus, it can provide a nice mental break from the weeks of high-stress training later on.

Well It's been nearly a year and a half since my last blog.  A lot has happened in that time, but one thing that has not happened is blogging!  In this past year and a half, I have officially retired from competitive running(I still do local races), we have gotten pregnant with our second child( a boy again!), and I have become a partner at the physical therapy clinic I work at.  So needless to say my coach blogging has suffered.

However, now that things have settled down with the clinic, I'm not running a 100 miles a week anymore, and the second baby has not come yet (due early september), I'm going to do my best to start blogging again!

For my first blog back I would like to touch on water and gel consumption for a marathon...

So this is a topic I get asked quite frequently by my athletes.  Luckily I have done a good amount of research on this topic so I am able to provide some good evidence based insight into this subject.  According to a research article by John Bennet MS and Michael Kehoe phD, out of University of Florida, they have found what they believe to be the basic formula for marathon nutrition.  Their formula is of coursed based off your pace during the marathon.  

I'll lay down a couple basics, but I have also copied the link for the article for all to see.  

• Rule #1: you should be taking at least 3 gels during your marathon weather you are running 7:00 pace or 5:00 pace.  And probably more if you are running 8:00 and beyond.  Basically every 40-45 minutes is a good rule of thumb.  With the gel, you should take water right before, and right after to help in the absorption of it.
• Rule#2: You should be taking about 6 to 8oz of water or sports drink every 10 to 15 minutes.  You can alternate taking water or sport drink every other stop, but the main idea is to replace a lot of those fluids you are loosing.  This is because the more fluid you are loosing during the race, the less total blood volume you have, which in turn raises your heart rate and decreases stroke volume.  So yeah, it's important!
• Rule #3: Keep taking the fluids up to mile 25!  A lot of athletes will stop taking fluids around mile 20 cause they think, "oh I can make it without any water for these last few miles".  But the reality is the longer you are running, the sweat continues and you are decreasing your total blood volume.  So yes, getting fluids early is important, but so it getting them all the way through mile 25!

Alright here is the research article on marathon nutrition I use. Towards the end is a good summary chart. I am unable to do a direct link to it, so just copy it into google and it will come up.  https://www.nsca.com/uploadedFiles/NSCA/.../marathon_fueling_techniques.pdf

​Comments are welcome!
​

 So I have never run a sale on my coaching services before, but I thought it might be a cool way to get all my athletes motivated to do a spring marathon/half marathon or even a 5k/10k track season training plan.  From now until January 1st all training plans are 15% off!  So act fast! The only stipulations are you can only buy 1 training plan per athlete, and you have to start its use before June 1st!

I would really like this sale to be a great way to get you all motivated to run some races this spring!!  It can be hard to stay motivated during the short winter days, but having a goal race and a coach will really help!

So take advantage of this sale, tell your friends and family!  Or maybe buy them an awesome Christmas gift!  

Hope this Holiday season finds you all and happy and healthy!  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

The absolute best way to make sure you keep up with your training this winter is to get somebody to run with.  Having a dedicated training partner or training group is essential in getting in your winter runs.  Basically, when it is cold and snowing outside, and you just can't picture yourself running out there, think of your poor friend waiting for you in the freezing cold.  You can just leave them there!  Your only choice is to put on your warm clothes and head out the door!

The next best way to make sure you get in your training this winter is to find a treadmill.  Although these machines can be a little boring, they are very close to essential training tools during the winter.  I find having the treadmill for double days, or workouts are really beneficial.  Trying to do some faster type intervals on slick snowy surface outside isn't usually the best idea.  Or when you already bared the cold for your main run, and just can't imagine a second run out in the cold, the treadmill is key.  My formula for keeping your treadmill running more sane is keep music and the TV with closed captioning on, so if one hits a commercial you always have something else to keep your attention!

Having lots of warm running clothes is another vital part of a winter training program.  My motto is to always dress warmer then you would think.  Chances are you will have to take clothes off during the run, but that is much better then being freezing the whole time!  The main clothes to make sure you have are several pairs of long running tights, a few pairs of long running pants, tons of long sleeve shirts, a few pairs of half tights, two or three good running jackets, a few beanies, and a couple pairs of warm gloves.  The warmer you feel before you take off, the easier it will be to get going.

I'd like to say this is where I come in.  One of the most important parts about having a coach is the accountability.  When someone other then yourself is significantly interested in your running, and you have to explain to them why you stayed in and drank an extra cup of coffee instead of doing your Saturday morning long run, it will drive you to get out the door!  Having a set training plan with a set goal race can be very helpful as well.  Sometimes even just seeing the run you are suppose to do on paper can be enough motivation on those long snowy run days.

This is something I have personally gotten into since moving to CO, and it has been a great way to help me stay motivated during the winter months.  I'm a huge fan of trail running, and when the trails are packed with snow, the only way to still get on them is with running snow shoes!  These are specifically light weight snow shoes that offer great traction and are made to keep you afloat in even deep snow.  Not to mention there are lots of snow shoe races out there to keep your competitive juices flowing during the slow road race months of december-february.  Plus, they are a ton of fun!

Now get out there and run!

In the aftermath of my cousin suffering a stress fracture in his foot,  I felt it might be an interesting blog to talk about injury recovery timelines for a few of the most common injuries in the sport.  So here are the top 5 injuries runners deal with and their respective prognosis.

I'm also going to add a few treatment ideas when dealing with these injuries.  These can help to speed up the healing process and hopefully get you back to running sooner.

1. Shin Splints- 2-6 weeks recovery timeline

Shin splints are typically caused by an increase in miles without proper build up or improper foot wear.  There are two types of shin splints that affect either the front of your shin or the inside.  The best treatment options for shin splints are icing, ice massages w/ ice cups, calf massage, calf stretching, and new shoes!

2. Stress Fracture- 6-8 weeks recovery timeline


Stress Fractures can happen for several different reasons.  Typically it is caused by improper running form, poor/improper arch support, increasing mileage too quickly, or running too frequently on hard surfaces.  Unfortunately there is not much you can do other then rest after suffering a stress fracture.  There is some evidence that low grade ultrasound of 4 to 5 times a week can speed up the bone healing process.  The more important factor is coming back slowly enough to avoid suffering another fracture.

3.  Achilles Tendinitis/osis- 4 weeks to 18 months


Achilles pain is also typically caused by increasing mileage too quickly, tight calf muscles, improper footwear, and too much hills/speedwork.  Achilles tendinitis means it is an acute flare up of inflammation in your achilles, either at the insertion or mid belly.  For this problem calf stretching, icing, increasing cushion in your footwear, and calf massaging can really help the problem.  If the achilles pain becomes chronic, it can take much longer to heal and may require the use of eccentrics (strengthening the muscle while lengthening it) to get the tendon fully healed.

4. Plantar Fasciitis- 6 weeks to 18 months


Plantar fasciitis is another injury that when treated early usually isn't too debilitating, but if allowed to get chronic can last for a long time.  Plantar fascitis is again caused by tight calf muscles, tight intrinsic foot muscles, poor arch support, and improper footwear.  Some treatment ideas for plantar fasciitis is rolling your arch with a golf ball or frozen waterbottle, calf stretching, night splints, over the counter or custom orthotics, and calf/arch massage.

5. IT Band Syndrome- 2 weeks to 6 months


IT Band Syndrome is typically caused by hip tightness/weakness or misalignment, increasing mileage too quickly, improper footwear, and poor running form.  The best treatments for IT band syndrome is foam rolling, icing w/ ice cup massage, glute/hip strengthening, piriformis stretching, and IT band stretching.  This is definitely one injury you want to catch early as the pain can get quite intense if you continue to run on it.  

In conclusion, there are a few things that every runner should do to avoid sustaining these injuries to begin with.  First and foremost is make sure you have good shoes!  You should typically get new shoes every 500 miles or 6 months, whichever comes first.  It's amazing how many injuries could be prevented with just making sure to change out your shoes.  Next, don't increase your mileage or training intensity too quickly.  A lot of injuries occur during either building up mileage too quickly or increasing the intensity of your workouts too dramatically.  Like going from running base training on the trails to track workouts.  And finally, don't let you pains near joints and tendons go untreated for too long.  Learning what type of pains are more muscle soreness and what are more sharp in nature can really make a difference in catching your injuries early enough to avoid them becoming chronic!

Happy Running!

I get asked quite frequently, "Mike, what do you think should be my goals for this training cycle?"  "Well," I'd say, "that depends on a lot of things...but most importantly, what do you think you can run?"

This is a simple concept I learned early on from my coaches in high school and college.  Basically, you won't be able to achieve any of your goals, if you first don't truly believe you are capable of achieving them.  As my high school coach, Coach Green, would always say..."See it.  Believe it.  Achieve it!"  

So, my first step in setting up a goal session with any athlete is to ask, "What do you believe you can achieve?"  From there, we can get a real starting point.  As a youngster, I struggled with this concept a lot.  Most of my older teammates would call me a "realist" (meaning, I would set goals that most often were short of what I was really capable of doing).  From this realist view I may have limited myself, but was at least able to reach most of my goals.  So my coach, after dealing with my "realist" expectations, started having me set Realistic, Optimistic, and Dream goals.  I think this is a great concept and I would like to expand upon this formula.

So, get out a piece of paper and lets get started...

1. Realistic Goal- Your realistic goal should really be a goal that you know you can run, but just have not had the right situation.  Many times, the marathon is a good example of this.  Marathons are tricky because about 50% of the time, something just doesn't work out that day.  A good indicator of how to set a realistic goal is using other race times from similar races.  Say, for instance, your 5k best is 20:00.  This means your realistic goal for a 10k would be about 41:30.  There are many pace calculators online that may be able to help you with setting this goal.

2. Optimistic Goal- Personally, I feel this is the goal everyone should really be shooting for.  This is the goal you set where you know that if you put in the training, devote the time required, and have some decent race conditions, you are capable of reaching it.  This is the goal that in the back of your mind you know you can achieve, but are going to have to work to get there.  This is where the magic happens... what are you ready to really commit to?  What do you believe you can do?!

3. Dream Goal- Dare to dream!  This is the goal where if everything comes together, all the stars align, and the wind is at your back, you can run.  For many runners this is still a very attainable goal, but takes all the little, extra things:  more sleep, better nutrition, more double runs, and of course a little bit of craziness!  Always have a dream goal.  Where would America be if not for its dreamers?  Take a chance!

As a closing statement I would like to reiterate what the quote states in the picture above. In the end, "success" or "reaching your goals" is really all in the trying.  It's all in getting the best out of yourself, despite the end result.  Whether you reach your goals is simply icing on the cake.  Having the guts to go after it is really the success!

This months blog I am going to link to a blog from a good friend of mine named Craig Depperschmidt.  Craig, is a physical therapist who treats lots of runners and is very knowledgeable in injury prevention and rehabilitation.  Please give his blog a read, it's definitely worth your time, and he mentions me in it so that is always cool!  http://www.reboundsportspt.com/blog/running-2/running-stimuli

To expand upon my last blog on the 5 most important factors to getting faster, number 2 was having a purpose to each run. Well, in order to have a purpose to each run you need to have set training plan.  By set, I mean some guidelines to what phase of training you are in, so your workouts can enhance the right systems.  I have based my 4 phases of training off some of the best coaches around and my personal experience.  See if you are following a proper training program, if not, it may be time to prioritize your training.  

The first phase of training, which basically everybody knows about, but many fail to really utilize, is the base training phase.  In this phase your primary goal is to build up your weekly mileage to near peak mileage.  Most of these runs will consist of easy days and moderate aerobic workouts.  The main focus of base training phase is to build up your aerobic base, increase lower extremity muscular strength and endurance, and improve your ability to utilize fat as a fuel source.  In this phase you want to avoid running too hard or fast putting yourself in oxygen debt.  This can cause increase lactic waste build up and limit your ability to recover and build base mileage.  Although this is one of the more "boring" phases, it is by far the most essential!

 This phase is very often misunderstood by the typical runner.  Most athletes I would say understand the importance of base training and building your aerobic base.  After that, things can get a little cloudy/convoluted. This phase is basically to progress your base training into something more aerobically demanding.  In this phase we start to introduce nueromuscular type workouts, hills, and fartleks to initiate faster leg turnover.  In this phase you will also begin true tempo and marathon pace workouts to improve your ability to maintain long sustained efforts.  There are many fun ways to enhance your fitness in this phase, with your primary goal in mind of improving your aerobic endurance.

It is in this phase where, depending on the distance and race you are training for, your purpose of each workout can really differ.  If your primary goal is to run a fast 5k or 10k, then this is where you may start getting on the track and start some interval/ladder type sessions.  Your workouts may include VO2 max efforts to really enhance your ability to uptake and utilize oxygen.  If you are training for a half or full marathon, then this is where you may begin some more race specific workouts, such as repeats or tempo runs based off marathon goal pace(MGP).  In this phase you may even begin to reduce your long run length if you are training for a shorter race, or get into increased long run distance if you are training for a marathon.  Your main purpose of this phase is to focus your workouts toward the distance your are racing and get specific!

This phase is where if you are training for a marathon or half marathon you finally get to decrease your mileage, do a little sharpening, and get your body healthy and ready for a great race.  In this phase I typically like to see that your intensity in the workouts stays about the same as the last phase, but the workouts are only about 60-70% of the normal distance.  If you are training for more of a 5k or 10k, this is where you want to have your most important races planned out.  Most experts would agree that you can only hold your best fitness for about 4 to 6 weeks.  I tend to lean on the side of 4 weeks as most high school, college and even professional seasons culminate their championship season in about a month.  

So this is a basic outline of what a good training plan should have.  There is obviously a lot of difference in how much time you may spend in each phase depending on your goal race and schedule.  I believe, an ideal training schedule before a goal race should be anywhere from 16 to 28 weeks.  However, the real magic in utilizing a proper training program is to learn your personal strengths and weaknesses, so you can differentiate your workouts to enhance your weaknesses and foster your strengths.  Remember, always have a purpose to your run each day!

Sorry it has taken me so long to put out another post, but I thought I would at least blog about some good info to make up for it.  These 5 factors are vital to reaching your goals and getting to your best fitness.  And they are in a specific order, so prioritize accordingly! :)

This is by far the most important factor in improving your overall fitness and racing times.  Consistently getting yourself out the door day in and day out builds fitness, running economy and what I call cumulative fatigue.  When you miss days off that weren't planned you start to loose the cumulative fatigue affect.  This affect builds many things...mental toughness, ability to run through fatigue, greater aerobic base, and muscle endurance.  Of course we all need days off here and there, but the more consistent you can be day in and day out, month in and month out, and even year to year, will definitely pay off.

It is vital to a proper training program to have purpose to each run, and then to execute that run as designed.  Many runners succumb to the "just get in what I can" mentality to their training and are missing a big part in the purpose of training.  If you are going to spend the time to train for a race, have a goal, and run through pain, then you may as well have a plan to it all.  A proper plan of periodization with a goal race in mind is the best way to assure you are putting your best foot forward and not just spinning your wheels!

By balance, I am referring to keeping a balance to your life and running career.  Every running career will have set backs, injuries, and rough patches, but balance is what allows you to come back stronger each time.  Make sure to have other priorities in your life that give your mind a break from running.  Hobbies(the less running involved the better) are a great way to develop a passion for something other then running.  I always recommend having someway to distract yourself from a training regimen.  It helps to prevent burnout and gives you something to do on your breaks from training.

That's right, number 4 is the all important sleep! Physically and mentally sleep is the most important part of the recovery process to every running program.  As you know, each of us only spend an hour or two each day actually running, and the rest of the day recovering.  Sleep is the time when our body has a chance to take full advantage of our recovery process.  So if you have the chance, take naps and go to bed earlier to get the extra hour or two of sleep.  Your body will thank you on the run the next day!

The long run is by far the most important run of the week.  The length of each long run obviously varies with the distance of race you are training for, but every training plan should have a long run in place.  Rearrange your week to get this run in as it builds capillary beds, improves running economy, improves your ability to uptake and use glycogen, and of course builds mental toughness.  The long run can be quite tiring though, so it is important to follow this recovery protocol....long run, eat, shower, sleep... to reap the full benefits of your long run and to be able to function the rest of the day. 

Happy New Year!  I have decided that one of my New Years Resolutions this year would be to start posting a new coaching blog every week or two.  Hopefully I will be able to keep them informative and enjoyable at the same time.  So here is my first blog of the new year, it is on one of my favorite types of workouts.  A "nueromuscular" workout, and this will give a little insight on what it is and why we do it.

A nueromuscular workout is essentially a way to start building some leg turnover into your base mileage to start the transition into more faster aerobic/VO2 work.  After doing base mileage/tempos for several weeks we generally dread how we are going to feel after our first formal "workout" because this new type of stimulus often causes increased soreness and fatigue for several days following.  This is where the nueromuscular workout comes into play.

The nueromuscular workout is a hybrid of a fartlek and a tempo run.  Basically the main parts are anywhere from 30 sec to 2 min segments that are spaced about 2 to 3 minutes apart.  These segments are meant to be done at about 5 to 10k race pace depending on the length of the repeat.  However the key during these workouts are to keep the "off" part of the run at a slow tempo pace.  Thus allowing your breathing to get back under control, but still getting a modified longer aerobic effort in the process.  The turnover part of the workout helps get your legs ready for more faster paced interval workouts later, but due to the fact that you still have to run a slow tempo pace it prevents you from going too fast on the interval part. Hopefully preventing you from getting too sore the next few days.

This type of workout gets to stress two different training systems of the body in one workout, not overloading any one system.  This allows for a quicker recovery, yet still a good aerobic effort.  Here is an example of a typical nueromuscular workout...

20 minute warm up, 10 x 1 min "ons" at 5k race pace, with 2 minutes of slow tempo recovery pace in between.  15 minute warm down.

Hope that all makes sense.  Anyway, it's a fun workout that I look forward to every training cycle.  Happy Running!