Strength Training - Legs

    As many of our race seasons come to a close, we look forward to a break in the heavy training.

    We begin to think of the upcoming off season and what we can work on to race even better next season.

    Strength training can be a welcomed break from our usual routine of Swim, Bike, and Run.

    Think about adding these exercises, shared by Mark Allen , to help with run leg speed and power on the bike.

Stop Running Long on Sunday.

Stop Running Long on Sunday
by Rich Strauss of Endurance Nation 

Many Ironman athletes, training plans, and coaches schedule the weekly long run on Sunday after a long bike on Saturday. The reason is often given as “you need to practice running on tired legs.”

This is NOT a good idea and here’s why:
A long run on tired legs is just another opportunity to practice running slowly on tired legs vs running more quickly on fresher legs. The best way to become a faster runner is to create opportunities in your training week for you to…run faster, not slog through a run on wooden legs!

The recovery cost of a long run done on Sunday, for example, after a long Saturday bike is much greater than that same run done mid-week. The net is that Monday, often Tuesday, and sometimes Wednesday’s workouts begin to become compromised, especially as that weekend volume gets up to a 4-6hrs long bike on Saturday and 2.5-3hr long run.

Any long run in training will have at least an hour or more where your legs feel Ok. That is, they feel like you’re starting a long run after a long bike the day before. Contrast this to Ironman race day, where you’re coming right off a 112 mi bike after a 2.4mi swim. After you get your legs back a bit, by about mile 6 or 7, your legs will now feel like, at best, about mile 15 of your best long run…then it just gets harder. My point is that your tired legs on Sunday long run isn’t even close to what it’s going to feel like on race day…so why bother?

By separating the long bike from the long run:
The long run can now accommodate some get-faster work.

We can separate the long run from the long bike with a no-legs day on Friday.

We weight the cycling to the weekend. A 3hr semi-long ride on Sunday has a MUCH lower recovery cost than a hard 2.5hr Sunday run = much lower chance that it, and it’s combination with the Saturday ride, will affect your early week workouts the following week.

     Finally, it may create a social opportunity for you on the bike on Sunday — a Sunday ride with friends. Riding with other athletes, especially those stronger than you, is a very, very valuable opportunity that we encourage our athletes to seek out.

EN provides training plans and articles on triathlon and the endurance lifestyle.
Visit EN at Endurance Nation.

Monday Motivation - "40 Exhilarating Reads for Runners"

         



 Have a Runner on your holiday gift list?

   







   
Share a little winter Motivation with one of the following 40 Exhilarating Reads for Runners - shared by Online Courses, "a comprehensive information source for continuing and online education".
             Checkout the Online Courses blog, for links to all the reads. 

How-tos and Guides -
    In this list, you’ll find books that are full of tips for all types of runners, including barefoot runners, women runners, beginners, and marathoners.

1. The Barefoot Running Book Second Edition: A Practical Guide to the Art and Science of Barefoot and Minimalist Shoe Running by Jason Robillard; Edited by Dirk Wierenga: Barefoot running has gained a lot of traction in the long distance running world over the last few years, and this book will help you make the transition.

2. Runner’s World Complete Book of Women’s Running: The Best Advice to Get Started, Stay Motivated, Lose Weight, Run Injury-Free, Be Safe, and Train for Any Distance by Dagny Scott Barrios: Female runners wanting to customize a running routine that results in weight loss, a healthy lifestyle and increased athleticism will appreciate this guide.

3. The Non-Runner’s Marathon Trainer by David Whitsett, Forrest Dolgener and Tanjala Kole: Based on the training class offered at University of Northern Iowa, this book helps more casual runners step up their game and get ready for marathons.

4. The Beginning Runner’s Handbook: The Proven 13-Week Walk-Run Program by The Sport Medicine Council of British Columbia: If you’d like to become a runner but are afraid of burning out or injuring yourself, use this 13-week guide to get you in shape.

5. Running & Being: The Total Experience, by George Sheehan: First published in the 70s, this New York Times bestseller is still regarded as a practical guide and celebration of running as a form of "exercise, play and competition."

6. Lore of Running, by Timothy Noakes: This revised book is sort of a one-stop read for learning about running and the running world, complete with information on star athletes, injuries, running anatomy, and more.

7. The Runner’s Handbook : The Bestselling Classic Fitness Guide for Beginning and Intermediate Runners, by Bob Glover, Jack Shepherd and Shelly-lynn Florence Glover: The cover’s a bit vintage, but this book eases rookies into a new lifestyle by getting them gradually addicted to running.

8. Run Faster from the 5K to the Marathon: How to Be Your Own Best Coach, by Brad Hudson and Matt Fitzgerald: Learn how to take control of your own training program so that you can set new personal records and run longer distances.

9. Running for Mortals: A Commonsense Plan for Changing Your Life With Running, by John Bingham and Jenny Hadfield: Even if you don’t want to become a competitive runner or marathoner, you can still benefit from adding running into your daily lifestyle, and this book will show you how.

10. Running Anatomy, Joseph Puleo and Patrick Milroy: This illustrated guide to running anatomy will help you understand how your body reacts to training exercises and can reach running goals more effectively.

Monday Motivation - Victors' shared words "Why Do People Do Triathlons?"

Why Do People Do Triathlons?

Victor Michael Belh, of Glassboro NJ, shares one of his favorite quotes -

"I love to be alive. I love the gift of life. Never have I felt more alive than when my heart is beating, my lungs filling and my muscles pumping with life - in pursuit of a goal. I'm not in it for the T-shirts, or the "Wow, you're a triathlete?" admiration conveyed by the gaping mouth of the spectator.

Each of us has within ourselves the desire to move from spectator to participant in our own lives. A key to becoming a participant in life is to set specific, measurable and worthwhile goals, and then to pursue these goals with all our heart. Committing oneself to a triathlon is a very special way to set these goals, and to love the pursuit.

Deep down inside everyone of us has a place of terror. This is the place where we doubt ourselves, where our self-confidence dwindles and where our dreams are called into question. During a race, and through this magnificent sport, people have to pay a few visits to this place - at mile 17 of the Ironman run or even at the bike-to-run transition of a shorter race. People go to Doubtsville, and then they return. And you know what? They leave this place behind and come back with a golden smile. For with every heartbeat during a triathlon, we pound away acres from that land of fear, anxiety and doubt.

Through triathlons, I have gained a greater capacity to give and to love. I can feel my soul glow a bit brighter, my smile stretch a bit wider, my self-confidence grow a bit stronger and my happiness penetrate a bit deeper.

It's a way to hug life, to participate in life, to search deep inside and to let life flow through you at 168 beats per minute.

There is a spark to the people involved in this sport. Triathletes are here to pursue a dream, to reach deep inside and to discover how we can all break though false limits."   Author Unknown
 
 

 
ViF note - Victor Micheal completed his first Ironman at
Ironman Kentucky - August, 2010
Congratulations Micheal you are an "IRONMAN"!

Broken Brick Workout...You want me to do it again!

The Broken Brick Workout?

Most triathletes are familiar with the traditional brick workout - a bike ride followed immediately by a run. This simulates racing conditions and helps your body adapt to the transition of switching quickly from cycling to running.

Sprint and Olympic-distance focused triathletes can keep the distances on the shorter side, riding 10 to 20 miles and then running anywhere from 1 to 3 miles. 70.3 and Ironman distance athletes tend to go longer - riding anywhere from 2 to 5 hours and then running anywhere from 10 minutes to a couple of hours. Brick workouts like these, used appropriately and at the right times, are crucial to triathlon success.

The Broken Brick -
A more involved type of brick workout is what we call the broken brick. This starts out like a traditional brick but the cycle is repeated 2 or 3 times. For example, an Olympic distance racer might add a broken brick of 3 x 10 mile bike / 2 mile run into their training schedule three or four weeks out from their key race.

The effort should increase during each round so the last round is at or faster than goal race pace. These workouts are challenging and should be considered "key" workouts, both in terms of rest going in and recovery afterwards. You don't want to do this type of brick every weekend!

A few differences between Broken Bricks and Traditional Bricks:
More frequent transitioning adaptation from cycling to running (and back, for duathletes) helps athletes train self-monitoring and pacing abilities - if you go too hard on the first round you will know it on the last round. During Ironman training broken bricks (3 x 30/3 miles) the body does not sustain quite as much breakdown because the run is not continuous (allowing a bit of recovery between each 3 mile run section) Broken bricks enable "mental toughness" - it is challenging to go back out on the bike after that first round

I plan broken bricks for most of my athletes, from sprint to expert level, about once a month leading into the season and occasionally as time / racing permits during the race season.

If you currently do not include these, definitely consider it!


USA Triathlon coach Marty Gaal, CSCS,
offers multisport coaching at One Step Beyond.

Summer heat is here... Time for Hydration 101

Hydration 101
  article excerpt by Infinit "The First & and; Last Word in Sports Nutrition"

   Do you know how much you should be drinking to stay hydrated
during training or racing?

   Infinit explains a trend it has seen over the past couple of years, the issue...
"Athletes have no idea exactly how much they should be drinking in order to stay hydrated. It is a HUGE component of how you will perform. If you lose 2-3% of your body weight in water loss you will lose 5-15% of your watts (power output). For an athlete that weighs 150 pounds, only a few pounds that will make the difference between a solid result and potential disaster.

Salt does not prevent dehydration or cramping. That is the stuff of urban legend. Salt is a transporter of fluids. You need salt, but only enough to move water out of your gut into your system. The movement of water is the key to prevent dehydration and possibly cramping issues. If you are not drinking enough, I don’t care how perfect your formulation is, you might be in for a long day. For most males the target should be around 375 mg of sodium per hour and females around 325 mg. It should be a blend of electrolytes containing sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium. To reiterate, salt is a transporter. You don’t have to overdue electrolyte intake. You only need enough to move the liquids you are putting into your system.

There are two things that you must have in order to train and race efficiently.

DO A SWEAT RATE TEST! How are you going to know how much you need to be drinking if you don’t have a handle on how much you are sweating? Remember, no product in the world is going to prevent you from dehydrating if you are not drinking enough. Your hydration target will vary somewhat depending on the heat and humidity, but this is a crucial component to race day performance.

• Before your workout empty you bladder, and record your weight
• Record how much you drink during the workout
• After the workout, re-empty your bladder and re-weigh yourself
• Take the weight you lost, ADD the amount you drank, then divide by the number of hours you worked out.

That will give you an hourly hydration target. I would do it a few times to have an average. Your hydration target will need to be adjusted somewhat for heat and humidity. But this is key information for performance.

Calorie and electrolyte intake (in a form that is isotonic). Most athletes perform better by not overdoing calories and salt. Rule of thumb is 2 calories per pound of lean body weight. Obviously some people need more and some people need less. Long distance racers typically need more calories per hour than sprint racers. But these are solid starting points based on working with thousands of athletes.

So there it is. With those these small pieces of information you can have a great race.

• Know how many calories per hour you need
• Know how much you need to be drinking per hour
• Put your nutrition in a form that is isotonic

It does not have to be complicated. Remember simple and repeatable. Follow those simple steps and you will perform the way you want with no nutritional issues."

See this full article and many other great nutrition tips and training articles at Infinit Loop

DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) - Victors' shared words

   Sore a day or two after training or a race? Victor and personal trainer Thad the "RunnerDude" from NC says, don't blame Lactate.

So why do you get it?

"DOMS—Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness...we've all had it and we all hate it, but it's a necessary evil in your pursuit for a fitter stronger body. Whether you're a swimmer, a runner, a cyclist, a gym rat, or a combination of them all, you've experienced DOMS. You don't have to be a newbie to fitness to experience DOMS. Anytime you expose your body to new or more intense demands you're more than likely going to experience muscle soreness a day or two after the workout.

   Lactate (a by-product of intense exercise) is often blamed for the muscle soreness, but lactate is not the culprit. Lactate actually isn't the bad guy it's often portrayed to be. A trained athlete can actually use lactate as an energy source. When an athlete pushes him/herself past his/her lactate threshold (such as in an interval workout), the body can no longer clear the lactate fast enough so it builds up and can cause that burning sensation in the muscles eventually fatiguing the muscles causing you to slow down. But if you've ever experienced that burn in an interval workout, you also know that if you slow it back down or stop and walk it off, that burn will eventually subside because the body pretty quickly is able to recoup and clear the excess lactate (usually within 30 minutes). DOMS, however, doesn't happen until the next day or sometimes not even until 2 or 3 days later. So, Lactate, you're off the hook.

   If it's not lactate buildup, then what's the cause of DOMS? If you're a runner, you can probably pin point two types of workouts that might result in DOMS—short fast workouts such as intervals or hillwork and very long slow runs. Downhill running seems to cause the most intense DOMS. Whenever you up-the-ante with duration or intensity, you're putting your muscles under more stress. You're actually causing microscopic damage to the tiny myofibrils that make up the muscle fibers. Don't worry. I know that sounds bad, but it's not. This is actually how muscle becomes stronger. The pain you're feeling the next day or so, is the result of that microscopic muscle damage. But during this time the body sends in the troops and begins to repair the damage. It's this repair process that actually makes the muscle stronger. Because the muscle will be stronger, the next time you apply the same stress that caused the initial DOMS, your muscles will be able to handle the workout and most likely you'll not experience DOMS. That's called adaptation. Your body has now adapted to the intensity level.

   Because your body is an expert at adaptation, it's very important to always mix up your running routine. Have you ever heard someone say, "I run every day, but I can't seem to get any faster. I'm even gaining a little weight." If you dig a littler deeper into this person's running regimen, you'll probably discover that he may have the mileage, but he's running the same distance and the same intensity every time he runs. His body has adapted to this and so he's stagnated. In order to get out of this slump, he needs to mix-it-up by throwing in a tempo run, add some fartleks to a regular run, or add a day of speed work each week such as intervals or hill repeats."

   Now these folkss have some serious DOMS! 
Watch and chuckle, we've all been there...(watch till end, too funny!)

Monday Motivation - GOTRIbal "empowering women through the journey of endurance sports"

Beginner or World Ironman Champion, everyone's journey starts with taking that first single step.

"GOTRIbal empowers, engages and excites women through the journey of endurance sports"

Chrissie Wellington - World Ironman Champion 2007, 2008, 2009, Times Sportswoman of the Year, and irondistance world record holder





   "I am so proud and excited to be involved in the development of GOTRIbal.
Four years ago I was asked whether I would ever do an Ironman. My response? ‘No way, you must be completely mad to do something like that!’ Imagine if I had never gone back on my word, if I hadn’t changed
‘I can’t’ to ‘I can’, if hadn’t dared to push myself harder, and most importantly what if I hadn’t had people to support, encourage, mentor and most of all make me believe in ME?

   I never ever thought I would be able to run a half marathon, and once I finished my first in 2002 I realised it wasn’t such a big hurdle after all. I never thought I could kayak over 40miles, but again, once I had done it, the insurmountable dream became a reality. And I never ever thought I would be crowned World Ironman Champion, but in 2007 and 2008, I achieved more than I ever thought possible.

   We all have our own personal barriers, be they mental or physical. We are all nervous about trying new things and giving ourselves bigger mountains to climb. We all worry about the ‘what if’s’ and, of course, we are all scared about being seen in public wearing lycra…

   But in reality there are no limits to what you can achieve, in sport and outside. Only the limits you place on yourself. So whether it is a walk, a 5km run or an Ironman, if you have faith in yourself and a support network around you, those colossal mountains can truly feel like mole hills once you have scaled them.

   But we cannot do it alone. And that is why I am so proud and excited to be involved in the development of GOTribal – a global movement which aims to encourage and help people around the world, particularly women, raise their own bar that little bit higher - providing them with a cocoon of support in which they can grow, flourish and become the athletes that they never thought they could be. And like a snowball the ‘pay it forward’ support process will roll around the world, growing and building as it gathers energy and momentum: building bridges, breaking down barriers, inspiring confidence, encouraging participation and enabling people to realise their dreams. No matter who they are.
GOTRIbal will help you change ‘I can’t’ to ‘I can’ – good luck!"

                                                                   Chrissie Wellington

Thanks out to Brenda Cochran
for sharing her journey with IronMakeover
and paying the gift forward!

Monday Motivation - "Never Say Never" Victors' shared words

 Motivational words Shared by Victor Sarah Race - from PA

"Never Say Never"

"I'm coming up on my official 3rd anniversary of being a runner; three years ago this May I ran my first Broad Street Run, a 10 mile course through the heart of Philadelphia. Going into it, a friend told me "if you can run 8 miles, you can do Broad Street" so thats what I did. I started off with 3 miles at a time, then managed a few 5-6 mile runs and one or two 8 mile runs beforehand. I was so scared at the starting line, my stomach was in knots. By the time I got to mile 7 I was wondering why I ever thought I could do this in the first place. I played sports growing up and have been deemed the "athletic" sibling of the family, but run 10 miles? The second I crossed the finish line I was hooked. I couldn't believe I had done it! The following September I ran my first half marathon, the Philadelphia Distance Run and knew these two races would be a yearly thing for me. Last May while waiting in line for the bathroom at the starting line for Broad Street (my second 10 miler ever), I was talking with three friends - two had run full marathons, one was about to run her first 10 miler. Listening to their stories of how miserable miles 18-26.2 were, the pain, the cursing, I was laughing at the thought of putting my own body through such torture. I remember so clearly saying "there is no way I could ever run a marathon, adding three miles to finish a half marathon was managable, but doubling that? No way." Fast forward six months later to November 2009 when I ran my first 26.2 at the Philadelphia Marathon.

With my first race of 2010 coming up in a few weeks (the Ocean Drive 10 Miler in Cape May, NJ), I can't help but reflect on how much has changed, how much I have grown, and how my attitude has gone from "I can't" and "I'll never" to "Never say never". Life is too short to limit yourself, and as cliche as it sounds, every day that passes is a day you will never get back. My attitude towards running has turned from grinding through the miles, thinking about when I can stop, to a time when I can clear my head and eliminate all the "I can't"s that are always in the back of my mind. Running has taught me that I am one of the most stubborn, determined people I know - almost to a fault. Running has taught me that I will always be my biggest critic and to accept that even though I am a perfectionist, I am far from perfect, will never be perfect, and that is ok. Running has taught me that there are times when I have to take a deep breath and realize that life isn't perfect and some things are beyond my control. Running has taught me that a little rain, freezing temperatures, or wind is just an added bonus to make you stronger for race day. Running has taught me to relax. But most importantly, running has taught me to never stop challenging myself, because the second you do you are accepting that you can't be any better than you are today.

Now that I am beginning my journey into the world of triathlon, I have to remind myself that -yes, it is going to take a while to be able to ride efficiently, at a speed that says "triathlete" instead of "training wheels". Its going to take a while to feel confident on my bike and not scared of another crash (which I got out of the way on my first ride... granted it wasn't my fault, but still it doesn't exactly start off my triathlon career the way I envisioned). Its going to take a while to fully understand the transitions, gear, techniques and tips, but if the 115,000 members of USAT can do it, there is no reason I can't. It is frustrating, but I have to remind myself of that first Broad Street Run three years ago when I realized I really can do anything."

Never say never.
 
Follow Sarah's brand new blog at iruntotri.blogspot.com

Should I be using a Coach... Do I really need one?

Attending a recent Northeast Multisport Expo ViF noticed one of the largest exhibitor categories was that of coaching and coaching related services.
One might think, "Wow, so many coaches and coaching programs or methods!
Can't an athlete just train on their own, do they really need a coach to tell them what and when to do things?"

The answer is Yes and No, as always, it depends.

ViF - Victory is Finishing is about finishing...but you define "Finishing".

Are you at the stage of your journey where "Finishing" to you is now more than reaching and crossing the finish line?
Has "Finishing" become defined more by how quickly you reach that finish line? Do you have a certain finish time or goal you want to achieve this season?

Could a tri or running club, strong training partner, or a coach help you reach your goals?

Kerry Sullivan of  Rock Star Triathlete Academy
might help you answer that question with his recent article -

What's the Point of a Coach?    

"I truly love coaching, and I believe it is important for everyone, even coaches, to work with a coach. I believe in this so strongly that I work with two coaches: one for swimming, and one for overall triathlon training. Yes, I am a certified coach and experienced athlete in all types of endurance sports, and yet I still utilize coaches.

Why?

1. Often, people can become so focused on moving in a particular direction that they do not even realize that they are headed the wrong way. Needless to say, I have done this and, as a result, I have run myself into the ground, even though I knew better. A coach can stand back, look at things from a fresh perspective, and help the athlete to realize that a different direction is needed. This is the same reason why many corporations hire consultants -- to help them run their companies better.

2. I love to read about top performers in all different areas, from business to sports. Most top performers employ coaches and or mentors, even though they already have a great deal of knowledge. Tiger Woods, for example, is very knowledgeable on golf, yet he still has many people around him who assist him with all areas of his game.

3. I once read that the two things that will have the most impact on a person's life are the books a person reads and the people with whom he or she chooses to associate with. If a person wishes to develop more strength in a particular area, it is a good idea to surround oneself with knowledgeable and experienced people. That is why many top athletes have coaches, nutritionists, strength and conditioning coaches, and strong training partners.

Long Course Triathlon Training - for a "Real Person" in the "Real World"

Victors' Rich Strauss and Patrick McCrann share Long-Course Triathlon Training for the "Age Grouper" and "Real Life"
(A three part series worth the read!)

5 Keys to Long-Course Triathlon Training: Part I - The focus you put on your training will determine how prepared you are at the start line.

By Rich Strauss and Patrick McCrann of Endurance Nation

We'd like to share with you our distilled summary of what long-course triathlon training is all about, learned from our nearly 20 years of long-course training, coaching and racing experience. Our goal is to bring you years and years up the learning curve, saving you tons of time and experimentation. In short, we've made all of the mistakes so you don't have to.

In Part I we'll discuss keys one through four. In Part II we'll discuss the fifth key. Finally, in Part III we'll contrast our approach with the conventional long-course training wisdom.

The Five Keys are entirely a function of the need to both maximize and reserve your training time investment for as long as possible to meet real world constraints.

Everything we do—the workouts, the structure, everything—flows backwards from the fact that you are an age-group athlete living in the real world. Period. We feel very strongly that any discussion on how to train that does not begin, in the first sentence, with defining how much time you have to train, is largely invalid.

In other words, we can't talk about what goes in your training box without first talking about how big your box is.

Life - not a spreadsheet, not a coach, not a book—dictates the size of that box. This is an absolute, do-not-pass-go thing you gotta get through your head. This is all just a game and it must fit within your life.

Endurance Nation's -

Five Keys of Long-Course Training

1. Real-World Volume

2. Maximize Return on Time Invested

3. Fitness = Ability to Perform More Work

4. Intensity = Most Flexible Tool to Manipulate Training Load

5. The Best Predictor of Performance is Pace/Watts at Functional/Lactate Threshold

Improve Swim, Bike, Run, Endurance - Victors' shared words

How to Create Your Own Interval Workouts

by Jessi Stensland - professional triathlete, movement specialist and
creator of MovementU

Having a specific purpose to each of your workouts is key. Interval training is a great way to help you achieve specific improvements as you work to reach your true potential.

Here is a great example of an interval progression with a basic premise that can be applied to any endurance sports, whether it be swimming, biking or running. It has two goals that are key to increasing your capacity to do work when you train and race:

1. Increase anaerobic threshold

2. Increase leg speed

By improving both your anaerobic threshold and your leg speed, you will increase your endurance for longer distances. The workout involves short, intense intervals followed by a period of rest, and takes into account this work-to-rest ratio.

With increased fitness over time, the intense intervals will get longer and the rest needed will get shorter.

    Choosing your speed — You'll want the intense intervals to challenge you beyond your current anaerobic   threshold, taking you very close to your maximum effort for each interval.

    Choosing your rest — You'll want to take enough rest to be able to continue to perform the hard intervals well throughout the set.

The Workout

After a dynamic warm-up and about five minutes easy of whatever sport you're doing, begin the workout with a one-to-one work-to-rest ratio.

101 Greatest Running Tips

"Everyone is an athlete. But some of us are training, and some of us are not." Dr. George Sheehan - runner/writer/philosopher


101 Greatest Running Tips

Beginning Runner's Guide -
Presenting the 101 greatest training tips of all time -  
for beginners, veterans, marathoners,
and everyone in between

By: Mark Will-Weber
Courtesy of Runner's World

Comment on which are your favorites, or better yet
share some of your own Tips with ViF


"Stop fighting it!"
That's what a fellow marathoner yelled at me years ago in the middle of a very windy out-and-back marathon. "Don't fight the wind, man," he said. "Wait until the turnaround, then pick up the pace when the wind is at your back." The sheer simplicity of that advice! Until he mentioned it, I was dug in. Wind be damned, I was going to keep my pace or die trying. Thanks to that veteran marathoner's advice, I did neither. I ended up running a great race.
   I've remembered his tip in every windy race and run since. That's the thing about a great piece of advice: Like a trusted friend, it'll always be there when you need it. Here are 100 more memorable running tips, gleaned from experts past and present.

Starting Out

1. Accept the challenge
"Everyone is an athlete. But some of us are training, and some of us are not." —Dr. George Sheehan, runner/writer/philosopher

2. Shoot for this (at least)
"Running 8 to 15 miles per week significantly increases your aerobic capacity, and positively effects many of the coronary risk factors." —Dr. Kenneth Cooper, aerobics pioneer

3. Be a minuteman
"The biggest mistake that new runners make is that they tend to think in mile increments—1 mile, 2 miles, 3 miles. Beginning runners need to think in minutes, not miles." —Budd Coates, four-time U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier/coach

Victors' Shared Words - Life of a Running Shoe

"Watch your steps:
The life of a running shoe may be shorter than you think, researchers from The University of Texas at El Paso suggest. After subjects went 200 miles, their sneaker cushioning started to break down, causing changes in their foot strikes, possibly hastening fatigue.
Although 350 miles was once the magic number, you may want to retire your pair sooner, especially if you jog on pavement."
"Keep logging those miles, but don't run your kicks into the ground."
Self Magazine, February 2010

Shared by Victor Paige Zobel, NJ

Monday Motivation - Girls on the Run - "Empowering Young Girls"

    Alexis - 5th grader (age 10), VA

Victors' shared words -
"My favorite thing was learning about all the items                 
that the coaches taught us girls. Like not gossiping,
not smoking, and sharing. I also liked all the running
and how much I have improved."
                                                 (Shared by one Proud Uncle)

Educating and preparing girls for a lifetime of
self-respect and healthy living.

"Changing the world one girl at a time."
Molly Barker - founder of Girls on the Run,
Four-time Hawaii Ironman Triathlete, and
one of Runner's World magazine's Heroes of Running.

Girls on the Run is a running program for young girls,
age eight to thirteen years old.
A lot more than a running program - "The programs combine training
for a 3.1 mile running event with self-esteem enhancing,
uplifting workouts. The goals of the programs are to encourage positive emotional,
social, mental, spiritual and physical development."

Learning how to keep young women out of the "Girl Box".

"The Girl Box is that place that many girls go around fifth grade, where suddenly being themselves isn't good enough," I shared. "In the Girl Box, girls begin to feel more valued for their appearance as opposed to who they really are. In the box we are never thin enough, pretty enough, smart enough, sexy enough, perfect enough. We are never enough. In an effort to deal with the Girl Box, many girls turn to alcohol, food addictions, eating disorders, multiple plastic surgeries and other unhealthy behaviors to deal with the turmoil of life inside the stifling box." Molly Barker - Girls on the Run founder

Watch the video below, courtesy of Girls on the Run,
to learn what all the fun is about!
(trouble seeing video image click on this Video Link)






Read more, Molly Barker's speech   (ViF heartstrings warning!)

Should you be Running Barefoot?

   The articles and books out there promoting running barefoot or with minimal foot protection are many. Should we be tossing our favorite running shoes and training barefoot?

   Running and triathlon Coach Al Lyman shares his thoughts in his article -

                                 Running Shoes and Barefoot Running
                                         "Musings From a Coach"
                                      Coach Al Lyman, CSCS, FMS

   Among the most common questions I receive from runners are those asking about different brands and types of running shoes, and how differences in design affect form and function. With the increasing popularity of minimalist lightweight designs including Vibram’s 5-finger shoes (which mimic the feeling of being barefooted), as well as actual barefoot running, now is a good time to share some thoughts on shoes, form, and function. While I am not a biomechanist or shoe expert, I hope these musings that come from my own practical experience and study, are helpful. The questions I get usually follow similar themes: Is one shoe type or brand better than another? Should I try to change the way I run by changing to a different type of shoe? Should I be doing more barefoot running?

Triathlon - 5 common issues that cause weak triathlon runs

Solving the Run Riddle
By Jason Gootman and Will Kirousis

"I had a solid swim, I tore it up on the bike, and then I fell apart on the run! What happened? How can I avoid this and have a strong run?" Triathletes typically respond to this question and problem by running more, running harder, or both, figuring they are just not very good runners. Sometimes this works - if the athlete's problem is simply that they are not as strong of a runner as they'd like to be. If that sounds like you, then keep at it - there is not substitute for hard work. But what if you already are a strong runner and you still seem to fade or fall apart on the run in triathlons? What if you run great in running races, but don't run so well in triathlons? In this case, we need to identify what is holding you back and go over how to solve your problem. Here are five common issues that cause weak triathlon runs and their solutions.