Forget Tactics…

After dusting off the ol’ racing shoes, I have found myself sprinting all-out approaching the last 100m in recent races. Typically, that’s ok; I have been nicknamed “The Hunter” by fellow training/racing partners. Intentionally or not, I typically sit and wait to kick for the line. Historically, it has worked very well. However, the most recent race I missed breaking the tape by .01 of a second, to a timing chip decision. It was is in the moments immediately following that I realized my tactics were flawed.

I knew my competitor. I failed to know opponent #2: The Course.

Trail race promoters do a great job of mapping routes close to the exact distance. However, it is expected to assume +/-1/4 mile variation from the exact distance. The race was 10k (6.2 miles) on single-track trails outside of Washington, D.C. At 5.7 miles into the race, I realized I had no idea what the last half mile of the race looked like. During this moment of panic, I frantically sought a solution to salvage my race plan. All of the sudden we popped out of the woods with a sharp right turn and it was 50m to the line. In an amateurish move, I failed to review the final mile of the course on my warm-up. DOH!!!

Racing 101: Your tactics do not matter if you do not know where the finish line is!

http://www.xterraplanet.com/2017/04/rivalries-heat-xterra-atlantic-series/

Harder is not smarter.

Training paces, especially in workouts, must have a high and low pace restriction. If the workout is written properly a goal pace, often an upper limit, is provided. However, I believe there must be a finite range. I think most amateur athletes would be happy to hit a goal pace and chip away at faster and faster times. On the day it can be a confidence booster and, maybe something to brag about. However, competent coaches use discretion and assess all of the variables before permitting this training habit. They know full well the extended recovery time following a really tough workout.

Too fast of a workout will cause the athlete to need prolonged recovery. Their legs could be dead for days, even weeks! Yes, they had a killer workout on Tuesday but their runs on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday have all been junk. Do they stand a chance in the weekend’s race? In the end what was really gained if so many days were unproductive?

I remember reading books by Dr. Jack Daniels, Joe Friel, etc. in high school and college. These coaches had calculations to figure out suggested paces for workouts. Every time, I thought “No way, that is too slow. I can go much faster than that. AND why is he/she suggesting so much rest!?” Then, like clockwork, I would run insane splits for the workout and feel flat for days after. Eventually, I tried the conservative paces and BOOM! I was feeling stronger day after day, week after week. The culmination of my quality weeks of training was making a difference opposed to attempts at blasting my legs on the track and recovering.

The same can be said about reduced recovery between intervals. Most of the time, a properly written workout is focused on attacking a specific metabolic system. Each metabolic system takes a known amount of time to recover. Chopping the recovery down makes it harder but does not facilitate the desired training adaptation and has increased risks of injury.

Harder is not smarter.

Shoot From the Hip

Last weekend, a local running club reached out and asked if I would give a short presentation on ancillary activities to help with running. I was asked to prepare something for everyone to do following their January, Saturday tradition back in the mom and pop running store they congregate in.

It is the club’s tradition to hold “Resolution Runs” on the local rail-trail every Saturday morning during the month of January. Two distances are offered; a 2.5 mile and 5 mile run/race. The event leaves little excuse for club members not to attend. The environment low key and often members collect to share in each other’s company opposed to competing. Most are looking forward to thawing with coffee and bagels back at the store.

I joined in for the 5 mile event and held, for me, a tempo pace alongside a local, collegiate running stud, home for winter break, (probably sub marathon pace for him). During the run, we had a great conversation about what exercises he has been doing with his college coach at school. I learned the prehab I had in store for the running club would be new to him and hopefully beneficial for all.

In the final 100m, I pulled a cheeky move and jokingly trying to out sprint my companion for the finish. After a laugh, we cool down with a slow run back to the store. When we arrived many of the 2.5 mile contestants and a few others had already schmear’d their bagels and were half way through a cup of Folgers. Everyone was swapping stories on how the day’s run went, how their training is going so far and what their goals are for the year. It was not long before I started my “presentation” centering on the importance of hip stability and guided them through a prehab routine.

I am a firm believer the majority of running injuries stem from weak hips. Sitting all day, reduced playtime, and general unidirectional movements have left modern runners (especially club and weekend warriors) prone to small nagging injuries. These minor injuries can really halt an athlete’s progression.

Your center of mass (COM) is somewhere around your hips/core when standing tall and all forces involved with running are going to be applied through this point. Running involves one contact point (the feet) at a time and the balance necessary to stabilize and the strength to propel forward. Furthermore, leg forces are going to cause an equal and opposite force on the upper body. Case in point, runners swing their arms as a countermeasure to leg swing. The force travels up the leg, through the hips and core and is countered with a lateral force by the opposite arm.

This pattern is primarily true when the core is strong and stable. However, weak cores and unstable hips tend to sway, drop, rotate or creates an angle that the force must travel through. To better visualize this, we must first understand the physics of the situation. A force acting at a distance from an axis is torque. 

Force * Distance (between force application and axis) = Torque

For simplicity, let’s assume the forces (gravity and propulsion forces) will remain consistent and the axis is your COM; leaving the variable in this equation to how stable or unstable your hips are. The further the distance your hips move the greater the torque produced. See these bologna values to get the idea:

10*1= 10 (Stable hips)

10*3= 30 (Unstable Hips)

Greater the distance the greater the torque. Get the idea?

The more the hips move, the greater the [unnecessary] stress on the body is. This shearing stress travels from the feet to the neck causing all sorts of nagging issues. How do we fix this? Simple exercises that I believe can be done at any time.

Before, after or during a completely separate training session perform these simple exercises. I promise you, none of these exercises will take away from the day’s workout. In fact, most of my athletes and clients feel better, even stronger, in the run having used these exercises as a warm-up; myself included. The goal is to reactivate and strengthen many of small dormant muscles in and around our hips that are not used in modern daily life.

The following exercises are not rocket science, therefore I am not going to keep them a secret. I would dare say all runners would benefit more from running 5 minutes less each day to accommodate these exercises into his or her schedule. Please feel free to follow this routine on your own (at your own risk). Check Youtube for any exercise you are not sure about:

Hips:

Lateral Leg Swing	10/side
Forward Leg Swing	10/side
Body Wt Squat	10
Single Leg Dead Lift	5-10/side
Lunge Split Jump	8
Clam Shells	10/side
Side Plank Dips	10/side
Fire Hydrant	10/side
Adductor Leg Lift	10/side
3-way Lunge Matrix	9 (3*3steps)

A core/abs routine should also be added to your training.

There are many other areas to improve imbalances and prevent injuries. I believe strengthening the hips and core can have one of the largest, positive impacts.

Band of Brothers

I have been rewatching the famed HBO miniseries, Band of Brothers. For those who haven’t seen it, the story follows a WWII airborne regiment dropped behind enemy lines the early hours of the invasion of Normandy (D-Day). From there, E-Company, 2nd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, affectionately known as “Easy Company”, pushed the frontline all of the way into Austria. They were an elite fighting force comprised of volunteers, not draftees.

Easy Company is revered for the brutal and agonizing missions they accomplished aiding the Allied victory in Europe. The relationships forged due to these objectives is that of a brotherhood. While friendships were not guaranteed, the soldiers counted on each other; often risking their lives for the man next to them. Outsiders and new additions were outsiders to the family. Which begs the question:

Which came first: Objectives forging bonds? Or, bonds completing objectives?

A key officer focused on in the miniseries was Major Richard “Dick” Winters. A respected leader by his men and command, he was routinely promoted during the Campaign. Major Winters often struggled with his elevated position as he was no longer able to fight alongside his men. I think it is fair to say he felt a certain disconnect in not being able to enact his decisions with the men carrying out his orders.

Bullets certainly aren’t flying but, I have always felt athletic teams weld friendships capable of furthering a team’s potential. As a former collegiate distance runner, now coach, it took some time to overcome the similar feelings Major Winters dealt with. While I am not ordering a squad of men to outflank a Panzer tank, I am the one who believes hill repeats on Wednesday are good for the development of an athlete. (The same athlete who won’t get his or her money back when their lunch inevitably comes up.)

Character building training like hill repeats, tempo runs, morning practice, ice baths, etc. are what makes a first-year runner family in a matter of days. Even without these, I think team members subconsciously give each other increasing levels of respect each day they come back to practice for more. As a coach, developing team culture can be as simple as clear direction, expectations and keep them coming back. Before long, leaders will rise and use the brotherhood to manage little things so the group can focus on important goals.

These same leaders will be the one shouting back to the runner who is hanging 2-3 strides off of the pace: “Stay with us! Only 600 to go!” The leader did not look back to see his or her teammate falling back, they know the sound a pack makes when running together and felt something was off.

Watching from across the field, you, as the coach, can observe the pack of five followed by one become a team of six. The lead runner maintains pace while the following four drop back slightly as to form a bridge between #1 and the struggling #6. You’ll see the sixth runner tuck their chin and take five strong strides to rejoin and together, the six pack up again. No one asked them to do this, they just do, almost everytime, without fail.

The group turns the last corner and you have a team charging towards you with no man (or woman) left behind.