Why can’t I taper?
I can taper, I choose not to.
And I can do the math:
Back it off 20% 3 weeks out, 50% 2 weeks out, plenty of protein, 30% of your calories from fat.
I know, I know…. Freshen the legs, boost the immune system. Get the glycogen in place for my best race.
Blah, blah, blah
But my midbrain is telling me; you’ll lose your conditioning. Screaming it actually.
The voice is real. Have a conversation with it!
Look in the mirror and tell it:
I’m anxious about cutting back on my training.
I love it so much, you know.
It’s my time to __________.
It helps with ____.
The voice is real. Listen to it. But it’s not the boss of you.
If you choose to run, go for a run! There are far worse things to do.
So, next time I’ll taper. But for this race, I’m the exception.
Have a great week of running!
If you have a race coming up, race with your heart (and emotion) and train with your brain.
Happy Running!
Attend to your trunk
At foot strike, your spine firms up so that you can transfer forces effectively to the ground and propel yourself forward. It almost immediately relaxes enough to rotate a bit as your legs and pelvis go through the gait cycle.
Said another way, you need stability so that your spine is rigid at foot strike and mobility so that your pelvis and trunk can rotate as your legs are moving you forward.
Try braiding to the left for a minute, then to the right for a minute at the end of a run this week. We called it karaoke in high school for some reason; it’s also known at grapevine. Because we’re doing it for mobility, do it slowly with exaggerated arm swing. Big and slow!
Then drop down and do a prone plank for a minute! Although it’s a static exercise, it has a place in your stability routine.
Happy Running!
It’s not the running!
It's not what I'm doing, it's what I'm not doing.
I love to run, so when I prioritize things, running is high on the list.
Recovery
Coherent training plan
Nutrition
Hydration
Mobility
High intensity strength training
Maybe not as much.
Your body will put up with running. It'll thrive on it if you are taking care of it.
Happy Running and Happy New Year!
Don’t forget leg day!
Doesn't it hurt when you run?
"It does if you're doing it right!"
I saw this on a t-shirt at a 10k road-race years ago. It's funny because it describes the denial that we have that there might be a solution to days lost to training. Just keep running.
While pain with running is almost never dangerous, it indicates clearly that I'm not doing something right. Almost all of the runners I see in the clinic haven’t been lifting weights.
I get it. I like to run. I don’t like to lift. And I don’t have time to go to the gym.
I also have an exemption from the rule that physiology is not impressed with excuses.
So, in the middle of the week after enjoying a run, lift your body weight 30 times with full-depth squats.
Feet a bit more than shoulder width apart, toes pointed out a bit, back held in neutral by drawing in your abs, hands clasped in front of you, sit back into a deep pain-free squat.
At the bottom of the squat, place your elbows inside your knees and push your knees wide apart to feel a stretch in the groin. Hold for a few seconds, then stand up, driving from the hips.
Repeat.
Happy Running!