Gear Review: Hansons Marathon Method: A Renegade Path to Your Fastest Marathon

I'm a believer in the theory of cumulative fatigue. So a couple years ago, when a friend asked for some marathon advice, I suggested de-emphasizing the long run, and instead placing a focus on consistent mileage and quality workouts. I told her that I believed that running marathon paced workouts on tired legs would serve her better than having one disproportionate workout per week that required sacrificing the next several days to recovery. Now, she really had no reason to believe me, since at that point, I had run one marathon and it had not gone that well, and all the plans by established coaches like Pete Pfitzinger and Jack Daniels had 20 mile runs in them (I did run a better one later, and trained for that race using the principle of cumulative fatigue). However, I had some ammo: a Running Times article about a method used by two brothers in Michigan who have had success using the principle of cumulative fatigue to train elite distance runners. The result? She PRed and qualified for Boston. Last year, Luke Humphrey, a Hansons athlete, exercise physiologist, and coach at Hansons Coaching Services, wrote Hansons Marathon Method, which detailed the training philosophy used by the Hansons Brooks Original Distance Project.

Random Update

Apparently I've been neglecting this blog lately. The semester has started and I'm back above 70 miles per week, so I'll use that as my excuse. Finally started doubling again this week (thank God!), so we'll see how that goes. Doubling makes hitting bigger volume a lot easier, and generally once my body gets used to it, it helps me recover faster, but the first couple weeks are rough. I didn't want to start until I was averaging about 10 a day in singles though, so that's why I waited until now. My "low mileage" recovery week was 65, so I figured it was time. It's pretty easy for me to add an extra 20-30 miles a week by doubling (not this week though...20 mile jump all at once is more than I want, so I figure I'll only double about three days this week, for about an extra 12). I've gotten lazy about lifting though, so I need to get back on that train at some point. Probably not until after my body re-adapts to double workouts though. I'm just over 25 weeks post-op now (for those of you following along, that was to fix actual injury that lasted longer than like two weeks #2...kind of a doozy, but training is walking that fine line between ideal training and overtraining/injury, and it's inevitable that if you're pushing the limits, you'll probably screw up and push too hard and cross the line at some point...or at least I will hah). For now, everything is still easy mileage, but I really want to get my volume up and be hitting triple digit mileage comfortably before I add in any speedwork. I did start with some short speed workouts a couple weeks ago, but thought better of it and took it out for now.

Other than that, I'm in the process of working out something pretty sweet. (Actually, one of my friends is, and I'm just along to help). Details to come...stay tuned.

Hot Weather Running

Runners have got to be some of the whiniest people I've ever met. When it's cold, I swear half my Facebook friends have some status up about how miserable it is to finish a run with icicles on their eyelashes or how painful it is to defrost in the shower after a run. When it finally gets above freezing, the statuses change to how much everyone hates cold rain. Then it gets hot out, and then everyone starts complaining about the heat and humidity. Don't get me wrong, I love perfect weather as much as anyone, and I've been known to whine mightily when it's gross out. However, you don't have to run for long before you realize that the gnarly days far outnumber the beautiful days, and the chances that your goal race falls on a day with absolutely perfect weather is slim to none (and if you only train on beautiful days, you're not going to be very good). Luckily, some bad weather is "less bad" than others (i.e. -5 °F and windy is better than 35 °F and raining, and both are better than 60 °F and hailing), and most of it can be combated with proper clothing, correct hydration, and other preparation. Like any other less than ideal weather, hot weather running brings with it certain challenges.

Are we messing with form and shoes as a substitute for hard training?

Everywhere I look today, I see information on "the perfect running form." Articles on how to move from an ungainly heelstrike to a beautiful stride where your midfoot gently kisses the ground. How you should ditch your heavy foamboat foot coffin trainers with their high wedge heels and go to a minimalist zero-drop shoe that promotes good form. How this will all help you run faster, more efficiently, and injury-free. I can hardly go to a running website or forum anymore without being bombarded with information overload on form and shoes! And people are eating this information up too, to the point that I see more questions about running form and shoes than about training!

I know a lot of runners. There's a lot of variation as far as form goes, and as far as what shoes they wear. There are a lot of heel strikers, some midfoot strikers, and even a few forefoot strikers. And their shoe choices run the gamut from traditional trainers with a high level of cushioning and stability to completely barefoot. And it's not like the slow ones are the heel strikers who wear heavy trainers...my fastest friend is a heel striker who primarily wears the Brooks Defyance, a neutral trainer with a 12mm heel-toe differential and a high level of inherent stability for a shoe of its class (yes, neutral shoes have support built in). However, there is one thing that all of the fast ones have in common...they all work their effin' asses off.

Gear Review: Daniels' Running Formula

Say the name "Jack Daniels" to any serious runner, and they'll assume you're talking about the world-renowned coach and exercise physiologist, not the whiskey. While Daniels himself is only able to coach a limited number of athletes, he has written a book to make his training philosophy available to world. I've read a lot of running books, yet one of my absolute favorites is Daniels' Running Formula.

Strength Training for Distance Runners

Doing some strength training is an important part of a training program. Strength training helps to correct muscle imbalances created by running, which in turn, helps to prevent injury. It also builds muscle that can allow you to handle a greater workload. However, it can also take valuable energy and time away from running training, and actual running is, without a doubt, the best way to get better at running. Additionally, putting on a lot of muscle weight in areas that don't directly aid running equates to dead weight that you have to drag through your races (and while a certain amount of body fat is crucial for fat-soluble vitamin absorption and maintaining body function, body builder arms are not). Therefore, the key to effective strength training is, like any other aspect of running, specificity of training.

Progression, Specificity of Training, and the Value of Having a Coach

The other day, my friend Luke wrote a commentary on his progression as a climber versus his progression as a runner. I told him I was going to comment on his post, but I felt that there was some value to posting it on here.

First, a little background. I met Luke sophomore year of college, when two of my teammates and I decided to check out the rock climbing wall. Luke was one of the better climbers: super strong, and extremely dedicated to not only his own improvement, but also the progression of the people with whom he climbed. After graduation, Luke began running, jumping in pretty hardcore and managing to qualify for Boston in his first marathon, though climbing remains his primary endeavor. Anyway, if you haven't read his blog post yet, Luke compares and contrasts his running training with his climbing training. For the most part, he's pretty spot on. However, I did want to make a few comments pertaining to the later progression of running.

Marathon Training and the Long Run

If you're reading this blog, you no doubt know that we're approaching marathon season. The Mardi Gras Marathon and Half was last weekend (Molly Pritz, rockstar that she is, rocked the half in 1:11:05 to take second overall female! And to make me look unbiased, Kim Smith ran the fastest half by a woman on US soil, winning in 1:07:36), and the training for most people who are running a spring marathon is now underway.

Gear Review: P90X Final Thoughts

You may remember that a month ago, I wrote up a review of P90X. Well, I've finished the 90 days, and figured I would give some final thoughts on the program, as well as a few pictures of my results.

2010 in Review

Seeing as it's New Year's Eve, I decided to do a look back over the past year.

Mileage this year was looow. 2546 miles for an average weekly total of 59.2. Weak in comparison to 2009's 4362 (average week was 83.9). To be fair, last year was a healthy year for me, and I only took off somewhere between 5 and 6 weeks. This year, on the other hand, my year pretty much ended in early August (I had 2368 logged as of August 12th). It would probably be comparable if I measured overall training since I logged a lot of hours on the bike, but I don't feel like counting up cross-training for the past two years and I don't do the whole virtual miles thing.

Gear Review: P90X and Its Relationship to Competitive Running

UPDATE: Gear Review: P90X Final Thoughts is now up!

A friend of mine had a question asking whether P90X is a good supplement to running as her Facebook status today, and it gave me the idea to post up a review of P90X on my blog. Now, before I start, I want to say that I'm about 8 weeks into P90X, so I have not yet completed the program. However, I have done all of the workouts multiple times, and have a pretty good idea of what's going on by now.

P90X

I waste way too much time at PT talking. Well, today the subject of conversation was BeachBody's P90X, since PT Fran said that a lot of the exercises from P90X would be good for strengthening weak stabilizer muscles because I have no balance. PT Anthony seemed to agree that it was a good idea and also mentioned Insanity, but P90X seemed to get more votes and Insanity seems to involve a lot more jumping around, so P90X it is. Though now that I think about it, that probably means Insanity is better for cardio, but it's a little late for that now.

"Go for broke, but prepare to be broken"

In the past couple of weeks, I've talked to quite a few doctors: PTs, OSes, chiros, you name it. Most of them seem to agree that pulled hip flexor led to compensation which led to torn posterior tibialis tendon. So knowing the cause, we then start to talk recovery. And during that conversation, one piece of advice always seems to come up: "I'd highly suggest that when you can get back to running, you cut back on your mileage and take a day off every week." I know that sometimes there's certain medical advice that you really have to listen to, and obviously I trust these doctors or I wouldn't have gone to them in the first place, but isn't that particular piece of advice more my coach's realm? None of the doctors know my training history, and while a few of them are athletic, I'd be rather surprised if they've put a similar level of effort into their training (with the exception of the one OS who, incidentally, did not tell me to cut back my training). I know a lot of people think this is a pointless venture since I'm not a professional athlete nor am I fast enough to ever become one. But I do this for me. I love this sport. And I want to run as fast as my body will let me run...something that doesn't happen without putting in the work.

Focus on the Details

Had an awesome workout today. It was a long track workout that mixed VO2 max with LT training. It was one of those days when everything just flowed, and a workout that, by all rights, should have kicked my butt, instead felt pretty easy. But as I'm sitting here, basking in post-workout happiness and drinking my protein shake, I'm reminding myself I need to keep it in perspective. First and foremost, it was a tough enough workout that I really need to make sure I recover well from it, even if it didn't feel that hard. No one gets faster from doing hard workouts. Rather, we get faster recovering from hard workouts. It's something I really need to focus on, since I generally enjoy putting in a lot of miles on recovery days, and even though I take those miles very easy, a 14 mile day isn't always what my body truly needs to recover. That leads to the second point, which is that no one trains for workouts. Everyone loves a good workout. It feels great (in a perverse sort of way), it gives you confidence, et cetera. But each workout is just a step in a long road leading to the true goal: the race. I'm stoked about this workout, as I feel I should be. But at the same time, I don't want to become too excited, just as I need to be careful not to let a bad workout get to my head, something that, for me, is even harder than not bouncing off walls over a good workout. I need to let the workout motivate me, but also stay focused on the goal.