Goals, goal setting, and goal training

Setting Goals is a Great Way to Achieve Them!

Okay, so that statement may be the most obvious statement I have made in a long time. Let me expand for a minute. From a philosophical standpoint, you can't really achieve a goal that isn't there. So if you don't set a goal, you can never achieve a goal, and therefore you have no way to meet a goal. If you set a goal though, you can certainly fail to achieve that goal, so setting a goal does not equal success, it merely allows you to have that chance. What I am talking about here is more of a measurable goal to train with. 

Setting a goal means saying "I want to run under 43:24 minutes for my 10k on Thanksgiving Day." That is now a  specific goal as far as distance and time, measurable goal, I believe it's achievable and realistic, and there is a time deadline involved. It's "SMART" if you will, but more than that, I now have a pace I can aim for. That goal happens to be exactly a 7 minute mile pace. I came up with that based on my current training paces and distances. 

Goal Setting Example for a runner:

It would not be smart of me to set a goal at a pace faster than I can sustain one mile, or even 400 meters. For example, with my athletes, I ask them to set goals. One of my female athletes is aiming to run 56.8 for the 400, 2:10 for the 800, and 4:30 for the 1500 (sub 4:55 for the mile - 1609 meters). When we set her goals, there are some key things that have to happen. First, she has to be able to run a 100 faster than 14 seconds (14x4 = 56) and a 200 faster than 28 seconds (She can). Next she has to have the capacity to run a 400 in under 61 seconds (my rule). Achieving goal one means she can, but since that's a goal, we have to know she can do the other (she can). Finally, she should be able to run at least 1 mile without having to stop. Once we know she is capable of running that distance, and the speed required, we can adjust our training to meet the demands of the race and help her achieve her goals. 

For me, I can run under a 7 minute mile, and I can run for over an hour and further than the distance of a 10k. My goal meets those demands. Now the easy part comes - I must train in a way that allows my body to learn that speed, recover when I'm not running at that speed, and work harder so that I am capable of running even faster than that speed during my run. 

Goal Training

Running at goal pace is a demanding, challenging thing. Being realistic with your goals is important because as my prior example shows, if you can't run 1/4 or 1/2 of the distance of the race at the pace you intend to race, you will likely find it difficult to train at that pace. On the contrary, if you find it extremely easy to run at your goal pace, perhaps for as long as the race itself and you are more than a month away from your competition, that may be a sign that you have chosen a goal time that was too easy for you to achieve. 

I have given other workout examples in previous posts, and I will give more in the future, but here is what I would say to anyone looking to be at pace for their event. 

Start out Small 

Do repeats of 30 seconds at goal pace with equal (30 second) recover when you're training for a 5k, shoot for 1 minute for a 10k or 5 minutes for a marathon. You can do 20 x 30 seconds at that 5k pace to start, but if you have hit pace the whole time you have spent 10 minutes running at your eventual goal pace. If you start out too long in the repeats, you may fail more quickly and feel as though the workout is too difficult.

Be steady

I can run more than 200 meters in 30 seconds, but it would be foolish of me to think my 5k goal is 12:30. On goal pace day, you need to be steady on that first repetition so that you are able to maintain your workout on the 20th or 40th repeat. This will actually teach your body the action you want to teach it. 

Increase Steadily

Once you reach the time you would want to be racing (i.e. You spend the goal time at goal pace) it may be time to increase your duration or decrease your rest. I usually figure if you are doing repeats lasting more than 30% of the total time, it's probably better to shorten the rest. For example, if you're goal is a 17 minute 5k, and you have built up to 5 minute repeats with 5 minute rests, the next step may be to go on 4 minutes rest instead of 5, however if you are at 1 minute repeats for the 5k, your body will probably learn more by sustaining a longer repeat. Some studies on VO2 max show a similarity in workout between 1 minute and 5 minute repeats, but the evidence for neurological brain function indicates that longer repeat may be more beneficial. Feel free to message me if you want more details, that is above the scope of this post. 

Listen to your body

Last week doing 20 minutes worth of 5k training might have been great, but this week your body says to stop after 15 so you don't get injured. Listen to your body. We do need to overload in order to get better, but cutting your workout short so you can do another workout tomorrow is always a good trade.

Good luck, and I hope you hit your goals! I am ready to hit mine. 

Hills, workouts, and walking?

Running downhill can KILL you!

Okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit here, but this post is brought to you by a conversation I had at a wedding last weekend with one of my former athletes. We talked about this blog and about his running. He was a 21' 6" long jumper, a 15 flat 110 hurdler, a 15' 7" pole vaulter, and he did the multi-events which means he also had some experience with the 1500. Many decathletes will tell you running long distance is the least favorite part of the event; it may not be as much the distance, but the fact that it is the 10th event in the two day competition. Having met Ashton Eaton, I can tell you that it's tough if you're the best in the history of the event or the third best on your team.

One of the workouts we use across the board with our athletes is hill running. Hills can be great, but it is running with resistance. Put your arms down at your sides, now lift them straight out. Not too hard, right? Now grab a 20# weight and see how easy it is. Harder, right? Resistance makes things more difficult. Running 200 meters at a high intensity is tough, running with resistance is tougher. That probably won't kill you though, actually it will probably make you stronger and your running form will probably improve significantly and therefore make you less likely to get hurt!

Then comes the problem, you have to get back down the hill. So how do you do it? Well when you're doing repeat hills, I recommend that you walk down the hill. 

Walk? 

Yes, walk down the hill. Running downhill causes an over-stride, gravity causes you to land with a greater impact on your legs, and that greater impact often results in a painful experience. Obviously this isn't a feasible way to run a race, nor a routine easy run. I recommend this on your hill repeat runs. This will allow you to have a good recovery on your hill run, but it will also prevent you from going down the hill too fast and creating a greater possibility of injury.

When not to walk?

It is a good idea to practice running downhill and obviously to do long runs and continuous runs by not stopping to walk down the hill. When you are running downhill, the reason you are most likely to over-stride and put extra force on your knees, shins, hips, etc. is because you will lean back to control your speed. Controlling your speed is your brain's way of saying "don't go too fast, I can't stop you before you hit that tree at the bottom of the hill" but finding an in between may be an important factor in preventing leg injury as you run down the hill.

What is a good hill workout?

You may or may not love hills, but I have come to love this workout:

Warm up to your favorite hill and be ready to go fast.

Run up the hill at the effort you would run a mile, and sustain that for 30-40 seconds.

Take 3 minutes to return to the bottom of the hill.

Repeat (as many times as you would like, but keep track and try to progress!)

Cool down and stretch (and do core and strengthening exercises)

Recover. 

in the LONG RUN

First of all, sorry for not posting for a couple of weeks. My dad has been sick, and while running is really important, that is more important.

Long Runs are long! 

The long run is one of the best things you can do. My dad taught me a lot about exercise physiology, and in talking about the long run, he went on about the benefits. I can remember being dropped off with some of my high school teammates 15 miles away from the school. After telling us to pay attention to all the turns as we road in the back of his pickup truck, we would jump out and run back to the school. Up hills, on dirt roads, running at a pace that spurred conversation (some of which caused us to go faster as the conversation became more intense.) Being the son of the coach, I always knew why we were doing what we were doing, but I always would ask for more...delaying the inevitable run was a certain goal!

Developing capillaries: 

One of the benefits I heard about was the development of capillaries, or new blood vessels, that would go through our muscles in our legs in order to better fuel our muscles with oxygen on our runs. We were told to never stop in the midst of a long run because that would lower our heart rate, and our body wouldn't develop those as well. This development would happen more efficiently during a long run than a normal easy run. Long runs "overloaded" the body and we need that to happen in order for our body to realize it needs to develop a more efficient pathway for the oxygen rich blood. 

Developing strength:

We don't think of strength as something you do over and over again, rather that is endurance. However, running for a long time develops strength; mental strength. Long runs, whether done at a pedestrian conversational pace or an up tempo pace, make you know how to persevere through pain as a race gets tough. Think about entering a 5k race knowing you can run it twice, there is nothing to fear. Think about that race knowing you can run it 5 times, now you know you can't go "too fast".

How long?

I have heard anything from 20 - 30% of your weekly run. If you run 4 times per week, it needs to be more than 25%, if you run 7 days a week, 20% could be good enough. The run is called a long run though, so it really should be longer than any of your other runs! 

If you are just starting out, I would say go out and run for as long as you feel like you can. If you get 35 minutes in or 6 miles or whatever, that's great! If you get a little further, or a little less, that's fine too, just find your first long run by trying. After that, try to go that far or a little further. Running a long run is something I would not want to do on a track, so find a good place to go run. Maybe the track or treadmill is right for you, either way, stick to it until you hit your distance/time goal. 

How often? 

I think a long run once every week is great, but for some that might be too much. If it is, shoot for every 10 days or every two weeks. I wouldn't go any longer than two weeks without a long run, and I wouldn't do more than 2 in any given week with one being likely still shorter than your true "long run." 

Where should you run?

I always made it back to my starting point...maybe that's why my dad dropped us off so far from the school? We never had the option to turn back or stop, we just ran. You can do a long run anywhere you want, trails, roads, grass, beach, etc. Running a loop or having a planned course sometimes helps when you're slightly less than half way through and you want to give up, you know you've got a plan and can stick to it. 

Finally, long runs have a great sense of accomplishment attached to them. When you finish, I know you'll feel amazing. Try it, you might love it! 

A workout you can do anytime for any distance oriented race

Can 30 seconds make a difference? 

The workout I'm going to talk about today, we call 30:30's. As a runner, I have done as few as 3 of these at a time, and as a coach, I have prescribed as many as 40 of these at a time. I have done them at the beginning of training cycles as well as at the end of a long training cycle. They can be fun, and if you do them in a place you don't enjoy running, they can be miserable. Ultimately I think they can be a workout anyone can do any day of their training, and they will help you improve your running speed. Technically, they should help you improve your velocity at VO2max (vVO2max), your lactate threshold running speed, your running economy, your heart muscle, your lung function, etc. They probably won't make you run the 100 meters significantly faster.

Warm Up

For now, I would suggest an easy jog, but do some "striders" to get up to the speed you plan to run. What are "striders"? Just short bouts of speed that you build up to a planned speed, and then gradually ease out of. In the future, I'll talk about warm up drills and routines, but a simple run with "striders" should be sufficient to raise your heart rate.

30:30's - The workout!

You get to decide how fast you are going to run today. I don't suggest this workout be any faster than your perceived 1 mile race effort, nor do I think you should go any slower than your 5k race speed. Ideally you could calculate your 3000 meter or 2 mile race speed and aim for that, but the decision is yours. (How to find your 3000 meter pace from a different race) 

Once you have determined how fast you want to go, you'll run the workout. Minimally you'll do 1 repetition at that speed. Hopefully you'll do more. If you have a weekly mileage goal, shoot for that, but stop when you are no longer hitting your target times. You might want to to give yourself a second try if you're not near your goal, but if you miss twice in a row, you're done; the workout is no longer benefiting you in the ways you were planning for.

How to do the workout?

Run for 30 seconds at that speed, and then walk or jog slowly for 30 seconds. Repeat! Does it matter if you walk? No, you'll be able to do more of your quality speed. Does it help if you jog? Not really, you'll do less of your quality speed, but you will have a higher percentage of total effort during your workout. If you're training for a marathon you might want to jog and a 5k you might want to walk. If you've never run before, walking might be great, if you're running 100 miles per week, jogging may feel more normal. Either way, it is 30 seconds of rest, and while it might not go by too quickly to begin with, by the end of your workout, it will seam like 30 seconds isn't enough. That's called overload, and that's a good thing!

Cool Down!

After the run is over, cool down with a jog. 5, 10, 15 minutes, maybe longer, but cool down. Easy jogging can help you be able to bounce back and feel like running tomorrow. It will begin the flushing of the accumulated lactic acid in your muscles, and that's a good thing. When you're done, you should probably stretch, my runners should probably stretch, and I should probably stretch. I'm terrible at that and don't spend anytime at all stretching. When I do stretch, I don't notice a difference, but when I skip the cool down I do notice the difference, I wake up the next day as if I had a much larger truck run over me the day before. 

When? How often? 

The great thing about this workout, you can really sprinkle it into any part of your training. As I stated earlier, we have done them very early in the season, and we have done them very late in the season. Sometimes they just spark the legs to get going, other times I am looking to add a boost to an otherwise easier day. Either way, I consider it a moderate workout. You probably don't want to (or need to) do it more than once a week, but you can do it in every microcycle, or for a period throughout a mesocycle of training. Have fun, and do them in a place you like to go feel fast. 

A Warning

I'll start by saying that I am not a doctor, and your decision to read about running doesn't mean I qualify you to begin a running program. They say you should talk to your doctor before beginning any exercise program, and I guess I'll just say if you haven't been running, you might want to get checked out. My only suggestion for seeking out a doctor, find one who seams like they might be active. They don't have to be a runner, but someone who is active may be able to understand what it is you are going through.

Barefoot Drills for runners and track and field athletes

Barefoot Walking Drills

This post is going to be entirely about drills you can do to develop the muscles in your feet and lower legs to prevent injury. There is no magic bullet, and I won't say that all of these will cure anyone who is a heel striker or that they will cause anyone to eradicate shin splints or knee pain. What I will say is this, when you drive your car and your tires start to go bald, your brakes wear down quicker and your gas mileage suffers. What do you think happens when your feet aren't doing their job as you run? 

Developing your running tires

Here is a description of the drills I suggest. These are not all inclusive, but they are the ones I think are the best. Why do I think they're the best? They're easy to remember and they hit all of the foot.

I like to do these through grass, but your living room is fine. I suggest 20 meters for this and all of the exercises, and I suggest you take off your shoes and socks, but if you're uncomfortable, just your shoes is fine. You'll see below why feeling where and what you're stepping on is important. 

Toe Walk 

Just as it sounds, walk on your toes. You'll lift up, and do your best to keep yourself up on the toes. As you walk, be upright, looking forward and NOT down. Do your best to make sure your feet are facing directly forward.

Heel Walk

Why would anyone want to walk on their heel if we try to avoid heel-toe striking? Because we will heel-toe strike when we get tired or by habit. Walking on your heels requires you to lift your toes, this will cause the muscles on the front side of your shin to activate, which can aid in preventing shin splints. Walking on your heels, you'll want to be upright as best you can, just like the toe walk, looking forward and not down.

Outside foot walk 

Rolling from heel-toe is again not something I suggest for runners, but while you're in your bare feet, try this. Roll from the heel to the toe on the outside portion of your foot. It will either be really easy or really hard, but do it, maintaining the same posture and let your foot muscles develop.

Inside foot walk

This is just walking and rolling on the inside of your foot. If the outside was easy, this won't be! Develop these muscles though, and notice if you feel the insides of your knees aggravate at all, or if you notice any similar feeling to to when you have a running pain? If you do, that may be a sign of what you're actually doing while you run.

Grass Grabbers

This is my new favorite! Start with a walk, but this will become a run. You're going to step over the opposite ankle and as your foot strikes the ground, your toes are going to grab the grass under you and try to "pull it out." This requires your foot to contract, and it requires you to land on the balls of your feet. Start slowly, and get a little quicker.

Conclusion

In the end, you'll probably find some of these difficult and some really easy, but I am certain that while they may not alter your running form or gait, they will help you develop into a less injury prone person. Repeat these everyday or every other day and see what happens. 

If you would like me to post video for a demonstration, please write in the comments section below. I would be happy to do that if it's something people would want to see.

Running Form: Foot Strike and how impact force can be good or bad!

Foot Strike

Good vs. Bad running form - how your feet strike the ground

When you are a runner, the last thing you want to have happen is for you to become unable to run. It amazes me as I watch people run how differently we all run. More than that, I am intrigued by how children run. They don't over-stride, they don't hunch, they sometimes don't use their arms or they put their arms up for protection, and other times they freely swing their arms, but don't protect themselves from the wall or something else. My son's foot strike is below his body, it is forceful, and when he hits the ground, his ankle joint, knee joint, and hip joint are all activated. I hope not to make him run like the slower adults who jog past our house sometimes, but I fear that he will be told by someone else as I did the exact WRONG way to run.

Today is all about foot strike.

The picture above is of an athlete's left foot as she lands, you can see how her toes are up. We call that a dorsi flexion, but that should only be happening in the air. As she strikes the ground, her foot should be under her body so that the balls of her feet can hit the ground and create a reactive force. By striking on her heel, she is still generating a lot of force, but it is putting pressure on her knees, shins, hip, etc. and creating a greater possibility of injury. 

The best way to see why she is doing that is to look at this next picture of a different girl who will do the same thing, but this image is of her legs in flight. 

As you see, this girl's front leg (left leg) is out in front of her body. Her knee is almost straight, and her body is literally waiting to land on the ground. From a RUN FAST perspective, this is not good because she is wasting time in the air, but from an injury prevention standpoint, we want to be fully flexed out (ankle extended, knee locked, hip open) in a triple extension at take off, but not at landing. This girl is very fast, and has gotten better at this, but a conscious effort to cut your stride by 5 or 10% may reduce your chance of injury greatly!

The next image is of a pretty good foot strike: 

Notice how this foot seams to almost be floating parallel to the ground? Yet she is about an inch off the ground. If we had a much higher speed camera, I could have grabbed the next image which would have been her planting on the ground. That would show the ball of her foot (front half, behind the toes) landing on the ground, her toes in a straight line with her shoulders, and her body ready to literally bounce off the ground! 

How do you strike your foot correctly?

Running up hill, the ground will meet you, so you're going to be less likely to over stride. Learn what that feels like, and do your best to mimic that. When we walk, we land heel-toe, so when we run with shoes on, our body doesn't always adjust. Learning what that feels like can be a huge step in making the correct adjustments. The next post will be some drills to help develop the muscles in your feet to do this better.

God Bless!

Run at Work day

I hope you had a great "Run at work" day today. I did, I had the pleasure of running with my assistant coach Katie through the area that our runners did their repeats today and through the woods a little bit on some trails. As we were running, I couldn't help but look over to her and watch her feet (and also feel where mine were landing) to determine how we were doing with preventing ourselves from becoming injured.

Here is what we focused on (aside from our interesting conversations!)

Don't over-stride! When we reach too far out, we tend to land on our heels. If we push our feet down through the ground hard and underneath our bodies, we didn't over-stride, and we landed on the balls of our feet. That's a good thing.

Push our feet through the ground. Pushing our legs down allowed our knees to recover and lift up. I don't know if I like the idea of focusing on a foot "drive down" or a knee "lift" better, but the more I study bio-mechanics, the more I realize the driving of the foot down will give us the improvements we're looking for. That also enhances the likelihood that we won't over-stride and we will land on the correct part of our feet.

Stop looking at Katie's feet! After a little bit, I realized looking over at Katie's feet was drawing my head down, which put me out of a great alignment of my body. Once I was able to remember to keep my chin up and my head up, I was able to do a better job of keeping my posture right and make great strides. I could feel my own feet striking the ground correctly, and hopefully Katie was doing things right. When I'm running, I guess it's better that I stop coaching for a few minutes!