Current Running Concerns
04 /03/2006 10:51
Over the
past month, I have been reading a lot of books on running, which
has led me to reassess my training methods. I have mostly been
reading about the training techniques of Arthur Lydiard, the famous
coach from New Zealand, but I have also been influenced by the book
Run Strong, a collection of essays by some of the top
coaches in the world on various topics, including improving leg
turnover, extending one's range of motion, gaining ground through
upper-body and lower-body training, and peaking for a key race. As
for Lydiard, the meat and potatoes of his system is the
conditioning phase, during which one attempts to run as much as
possible at one's "steady state," or maximum aerobic capacity.
Although Lydiard is a bit vague about the ideal amount to run each
week, he suggests that 160 kilometers per week is an appropriate
goal for most runners. Another interesting part of Lydiard's system
is his emphasis on hill resistance training, which involves
springing up hills in order to stretch the muscles and tendons, and
also to develop leg strength. After running the Iejima Half
Marathon next week and completing a two-week recovery program, I
intend to follow Lydiard's system as closely as possible. To read
more about Lydiard's training methods, check out the following
link: Arthur
Lydiard's Athletic Training. Next month, I will create a
Lydiard style training menu and add it to my Training Menus page,
so if you want to follow a similar program, check out that menu.
For now, though, I am focusing on the following three
concerns:
Training Volume -- My primary goal will be to gradually increase my weekly distance to about 160 kilometers per week and to maintain that volume for several months. This will almost certainly require me to run "doubles" (two runs in one day), but since I often run to work anyway, this may actually save me some time. I may also need to start running on Mondays, which has always been my day off. If I do end up running on Mondays, I will be sure to keep the runs short and slow. My major concern when increasing volume will be to avoid injury.
Stretching -- I have already implemented a new stretching routine, which is described in Run Strong. In the chapter entitled "Stretching Your Range of Motion," Mark Elliot points out that "the latest research indicates advantages to using one specific set of flexibility techniques for pretraining. . . and another for posttraining." He argues that it is best to do dynamic stretching after a short warm-up at the beginning of training and static stretching at the end of training. I used to just do my stretching cold, without any warmup whatsoever, but it seems obvious that this was a mistake, as stretching cold muscles causes more damage than good. About two weeks ago, I implemented the dynamic stretching routine described in this book, preceded by a short warm-up run. The routine includes leg swings, lunges, ankle stretches, and several other stretches. After running, I do the same static stretches that I have always done. This new routine already seems to be bearing fruit, as I feel much more relaxed during my runs, and have been running faster, too. Even so, it's probably too early to know for sure.
Running Shoes -- I recently decided to try running more in flats, instead of my heavily cushioned training shoes. I don't intend to switch over completely all of a sudden. For now, I'm just going to try them for one short run a week and then go from there. Lydiard argues strongly against all the fancy and heavily cushioned running shoes that are so popular nowadays. He believes that these shoes are often the cause of running injuries. The biggest difference between trainers and flats seems to be that the midsoles of most trainers are extremely rigid, while the midsoles of flats are flexible. Lydiard argues that one should choose shoes that have as little as possible up top and a simple rubber sole on the bottom. I'm not sure that I buy his argument completely but I have wanted to try some lighter shoes, and I recently picked up a pair of Asics Sortie Magic, which are extremely light racing flats. When I tried them out two days ago, I was impressed with not only how much faster I felt but also how my feet seemed to grip the road. Unfortunately, however, I developed a bad blister on the back of my heel, a problem that I also had with my light trainers. This is terribly annoying as I have otherwise felt quite pleased with my performance in these lighter shoes.
Training Volume -- My primary goal will be to gradually increase my weekly distance to about 160 kilometers per week and to maintain that volume for several months. This will almost certainly require me to run "doubles" (two runs in one day), but since I often run to work anyway, this may actually save me some time. I may also need to start running on Mondays, which has always been my day off. If I do end up running on Mondays, I will be sure to keep the runs short and slow. My major concern when increasing volume will be to avoid injury.
Stretching -- I have already implemented a new stretching routine, which is described in Run Strong. In the chapter entitled "Stretching Your Range of Motion," Mark Elliot points out that "the latest research indicates advantages to using one specific set of flexibility techniques for pretraining. . . and another for posttraining." He argues that it is best to do dynamic stretching after a short warm-up at the beginning of training and static stretching at the end of training. I used to just do my stretching cold, without any warmup whatsoever, but it seems obvious that this was a mistake, as stretching cold muscles causes more damage than good. About two weeks ago, I implemented the dynamic stretching routine described in this book, preceded by a short warm-up run. The routine includes leg swings, lunges, ankle stretches, and several other stretches. After running, I do the same static stretches that I have always done. This new routine already seems to be bearing fruit, as I feel much more relaxed during my runs, and have been running faster, too. Even so, it's probably too early to know for sure.
Running Shoes -- I recently decided to try running more in flats, instead of my heavily cushioned training shoes. I don't intend to switch over completely all of a sudden. For now, I'm just going to try them for one short run a week and then go from there. Lydiard argues strongly against all the fancy and heavily cushioned running shoes that are so popular nowadays. He believes that these shoes are often the cause of running injuries. The biggest difference between trainers and flats seems to be that the midsoles of most trainers are extremely rigid, while the midsoles of flats are flexible. Lydiard argues that one should choose shoes that have as little as possible up top and a simple rubber sole on the bottom. I'm not sure that I buy his argument completely but I have wanted to try some lighter shoes, and I recently picked up a pair of Asics Sortie Magic, which are extremely light racing flats. When I tried them out two days ago, I was impressed with not only how much faster I felt but also how my feet seemed to grip the road. Unfortunately, however, I developed a bad blister on the back of my heel, a problem that I also had with my light trainers. This is terribly annoying as I have otherwise felt quite pleased with my performance in these lighter shoes.
|