RUNNING: Train & Race Train & Race – Optimizing Your Racing Frequency: What’s The Magic Number?

How many times a year can you truly expect to race in peak form?

Written by: Kevin Beck

In the first installment of this series, I suggested that careful race-schedule planning is something a lot of non-elite runners do, typically to their detriment, and listed a number of factors that strongly affect how often runners can race to or close to their potential within a given year. In the next piece, I described a typical club runner’s dilemma — how to balance off the need or desire to participate in a number of Grand Prix-style races without compromising individual goals — and made a note of how the seasonal nature of the sport at the scholastic level tends to bleed into the adult road-slug ranks. Now, I’ll get into the nitty-gritty: Given only physiological concerns to consider, how many times a year can you truly expect to race in peak form? Read the rest of this entry »

GEAR: Forsale: FaderFox DJ2 / DX2 Combo

I am selling my backup set of Faderfoxes
with Midi cables and USB midi interface, including original midi interconnect cable!

It includes:

FADERFOX micromodul DJ2 – Mix
FADERFOX micromodul DX2 – Effects + Que
FADERFOX short midi interconnect between DJ2/DX2 (rare)
Long Midi Cable (black)
Edirol UM-1S Midi to USB

RUNNING: Long Run Double

The Long-Run Day Double

Can running twice on your long-run days speed recovery?

Before the 1996 U.S. Olympic marathon trials, I coached a woman who had long been doing a short shake-out run in the evening after her long run. She’d run 18–24 miles in the morning, rest all day (like we all should do after a long run), then get out the door for a very, very slow jog of around 20 minutes. She felt it helped her legs feel better in the coming days, and she always felt better with the double run on long-run days compared to when she didn’t double on the long-run day. As she prepared for the trials, we kept this Long-Run Day Double as part of her training, and she went on to set a PR.

Could doing a Long-Run Day Double be your secret to better training? Read the rest of this entry »

RUNNING: Switching to lightweight Shoes

1) Walk before you run. Use your new shoes in everyday settings before hitting the road. Meb said the best thing you can do is let your muscles adapt to the flatter heels and lighter structure. Take them shopping and even to work.

2) Go short at first. “Do some 3 mile, then 5-mile runs,” Meb said. Use the shorter runs to let your stride begin to slowly change with the lightweight design.

3) Try longer runs on the road. “Go for 7 miles on a road or smooth surface,” Meb advised. Only after you feel good on the short runs should you run with the shoes on your regular workouts. Meb said that a smooth road is the perfect place to try out your lightweight shoes and your newly-improved form.

4) Focus on your core. Some lightweight shoes can encourage a forward lean to your run. The rest of your body needs the strength to follow. That means you need a strong core. Meb advised us, “Do lots of planks and improve your stability.”

5) Stretch, stretch, and stretch. Meb also said to stretch regularly. In a sport that really doesn’t have an offseason, at age 36, Meb knows how to perform well and stay healthy. Find a good post-run stretching routine and stick with it.

How did the shoes perform at the NYC marathon for Meb? Before the race, Meb said, “Sunday is a stacked field, but I always give it 110 percent.” And that he did. He held solidly with the men’s lead pack through mile 20. Finishing in 6th place, Meb broke his own personal course record with a time of 2:09:13.

MIX: 10 Steps EP 19 – Pumpkin MIX by knockingsoul

10 Steps EP 19 – Recorded October 27 2011

PLAY LIST

1.    In this world – Mild Pitch (Vocal)
2.    Light Black
3.    Good times to pray (Vocal)
4.     Mannequin – Pig & Dan
5.    Delta Tripping DJ Sneak
6.    All My People
7.    Step Back – Slam
8.    Escape from Horror
9.    Concert C
10.    No Place
11.    Night Vibe

http://www.knockingsoul.ca

knockingsoul[at]gmail.com
twitter: knockingsoul

10 Steps EP 19 – Pumpkin by knockingsoul

Runnning: Interval Training the answer to Fat Loss & Speed

HIGH-INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING: THE OPTIMAL PROTOCOL FOR FAT LOSS?

James Krieger

As exercise intensity increases, the proportion of fat utilized as an energy substrate decreases, while the proportion of carbohydrates utilized increases (5). The rate of fatty acid mobilization from adipose tissue also declines with increasing exercise intensity (5). This had led to the common recommendation that low- to moderate-intensity, long duration endurance exercise is the most beneficial for fat loss (15). However, this belief does not take into consideration what happens during the post-exercise recovery period; total daily energy expenditure is more important for fat loss than the predominant fuel utilized during exercise (5). This is supported by research showing no significant difference in body fat loss between high-intensity and low-intensity submaximal, continuous exercise when total energy expenditure per exercise session is equated (2,7,9). Research by Hickson et al (11) further supports the notion that the predominant fuel substrate used during exercise does not play a role in fat loss; rats engaged in a high-intensity sprint training protocol achieved significant reductions in body fat, despite the fact that sprint training relies almost completely on carbohydrates as a fuel source.

Read the rest of this entry »

Aerobic Exercise Bests Resistance Training at Burning Belly Fat

ScienceDaily (Aug. 25, 2011) — Aerobic exercise is your best bet when it comes to losing that dreaded belly fat, a new study finds. When Duke University Medical Center researchers conducted a head-to-head comparison of aerobic exercise, resistance training, and a combination of the two, they found aerobic exercise to be the most efficient and most effective way to lose the belly fat that’s most damaging to your health.

Read the rest of this entry »

Recovering from Strenuous Exercise

Recovering from Strenuous Exercise

Milk, all sugared soft drinks, and fruit juices all help
athletes to recover faster from endurance exercise (Medicine &
Science in Sports & Exercise, October 2011).  This study shows
that two sugars, galactose in milk and  fructose in soft drinks
and fruit juice, are the best sugars to replace sugar stored in
liver.  When you compete in endurance sports, sugar stored in
muscles prevents HITTING THE WALL, and sugar stored in your liver
prevents BONKING.  Glucose, the sugar that circulates in your
body, is far less effective in replacing stored sugar in liver.
HOW YOUR BODY HANDLES THE DIFFERENT SUGARS: Carbohydrates
are sugars, either alone, or bound together in doubles, triples,
up to long chains of sugars.  Fruit juices contain fructose and
glucose bound together.  Sugared soft drinks contain glucose and
fructose, separately. Milk contains glucose and galactose bound
together. Read the rest of this entry »

Seven Ways To Improve Speed Without Increasing Mileage

This much is understood by most exercise scientists. But what all too many of these professionals don’t know is that most of what is classified as anaerobic metabolism is actually just incomplete aerobic metabolism. Recent research has shown that roughly 75 percent of the lactate that is produced through the anaerobic breakdown of glucose is further broken down aerobically within the muscles cells to release energy. The rest is shuttled to other organs and tissues, where it is either broken down aerobically to supply energy or converted back into glucose for future aerobic breakdown. Read the rest of this entry »

Protein – Primer, and how important it is to pay attenion to high quality protein

Protein Primer

A runners’ guide to the best protein consumption practices

Protein’s amino acids act like recovery agents that refresh muscles for the next go-round: After hard training, especially long runs, protein rebuilds tissues and readies them for future sessions. It also bolsters your immune system, since the body requires plenty of protein to make infection-fighting white blood cells. And because it slows digestion and lowers foods’ glycemic index, protein prevents high-energy carbs from sending your blood sugar on a roller-coaster ride. That’s especially valuable during long runs, when steady-release energy keeps you from bonking. When that happens, protein helps out again: During fuel shortages, the body sends protein to the liver, where it gets turned into “backup” carbs.All of which explains why distance runners need more protein, not less, than most people, says Roberta Anding, R.D., a sports dietitian and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. Skimp on protein, and your body borrows from muscle to meet its needs–undermining the fitness that runners work so hard to achieve. “Getting enough protein protects your lean mass,” says Anding. “And that’s where your power comes from.”
Read the rest of this entry »