Strength and Core Muscle Training

Compiled by Emmet Delaney

Week 8

Notes courtesy of Marathoning by Patti & Warren Finke

Why do Strength Training?

Muscles are your shock absorbers. When your muscles get tired your tendons and bone absorb more of the impact shock. The tendons and bones are not as elastic as your muscles and you will injure yourself. Therefore the stronger your muscles, they longer they take to fatigue and consequently the less risk you have of being injured.

Runners need to train for an activity that will be longer in duration, through a relatively small range of motion. Strength training should resemble the activity you’re training for as much as possible. For a runner that means higher repetitions with lower weights.

What is the best method for strength training?

You can use machines in the gym, free weights, or elastics and body weight. Free weights are generally better because they require you to both lift and control the weight. Exception is athletes who struggle with balance or athletes returning from injury and need to protect certain muscles.

When to train?

Most strength building is done in the off season (winter, when you are indoors anyway). Don’t do weight training on a hard run day, you will not be able to summon your tired muscles and you increase your chance of injury.

What will I feel the next day?

You can expect muscles soreness for 24-48 hours especially the first few times you do weight training. Start slowly and listen to your body; note there is “good” sore and “bad” sore.

What to strengthen?

Shock absorber muscles – quads, hamstrings, gluteals. Also muscles that maintain your posture, balance and core – abdominals and muscles around your spine aka “core” muscles.

Crunches

Small movements to strengthen your abdominal muscles. Place your feet on a chair or bench. Contract your abs and left your head a few inches off the ground. Hold for 3 seconds and relax.

Prone opposite arm and leg extension

Lie on your stomach on a mat on the floor. Both arms should be straight overhead and your forehead and chin on the floor. Lift right arm and left leg together while keeping them both straight. Then alternate with the other side.

Squats

Lateral Lunges

Planks

Race Planning and Strategy

By Bill Collins

Week 10

Key Takeaways

1. Nothing new on race day
2. Have a plan for the race
3. Use the program workouts to practice aspects of items 1 and 2
4. Control what you can; deal with what you can’t

Nothing New on Race Day

There should be nothing in or on your body during the race that you haven’t tried before so that you know it works for you.  This includes:

• Shoes
• Clothing
• Hat, visor, headband, or nothing on your head
• Glasses, sunglasses, contacts, or nothing for your eyes
• Running watch, heart rate monitor, jewelry
• Body Glide, Vaseline – and where on your body you apply it
• Sunscreen
• Bug spray, cosmetics
• Road ID, key on your shoe lace, cell phone in your pocket, etc.
• Anything you eat before, during, or immediately after the race
• Anything you drink before, during, or immediately after the race

Have a Plan for the Race

Several Weeks Before the Race

• If possible, run the race course as a workout beforehand so you know the terrain, landmarks, etc.  (We will      do a race rehearsal on the course two weeks before the Perfect 10 race.)
• Pre-register for the race, if you can.  It often will cost less, and being registered will give you one less thing to    do/worry about on race day.
• If possible, and the race is a 10K or longer, find out what sports drink (Gatorade, PowerAde, etc.) will be served at the water stops.  Try it to see if its works for you; if not, you will need to bring your own sports drink of a kind that keeps your stomach happy.

The Week Before the Race

• Your training program should have you tapering (and the 10K program does)
• Try to get all of your regular sleep, and maybe a little extra
• In your eating, focus on high-quality fuel for your body

The Day Before the Race

• Pick up your race packet, if you can
• Lay out the clothes you’re going to wear and all equipment you’re going to use.  “Equipment” especially      includes water, sports drinks, Gu, etc., for consumption before, during, and after the race.  (Make sure clothes are clean, Garmin is recharged, shoelaces don’t need to be replaced, etc.)
• Pin race number to clothing, attach timing chip to shoe, etc.
• If you’re going to utilize the bag drop at the race, pack your bag
• Review any runner instructions you received in your race packet
• Determine your strategy for the race

Before the Race

• Begin hydrating as soon as you wake up
• Eat your pre-planned breakfast
• Double check your clothing, equipment, drop bag, etc., before you leave home
• Leave home sufficiently early to arrive at the race location at least one hour before the race start time
• Prepare fluids, food, and everything else you’re going to wear/carry during the race
• Take bag to bag drop
• Visit bathroom/porta-potty before the lines get long.  If you are nervous, you might need to make multiple trips.
• About  30 to 20 minutes before start time: warm up with slow/easy jog for at least 10 minutes, and perhaps a few strides.  The shorter the race, the more important it is to warm up.
• Check your shoes and socks, and tie your shoelaces such that they will not come untied during the race
• Be at the starting line at least 5 minutes before start time; find your wave (if the race has a wave start)

Race Strategy

Generally, the key element of your race strategy will be the pace you intend to run for each mile.  Every race should have an explicit goals or goals, which could be:

• Finish the race, without having to walk
• Run a specific time
• Run a personal record (PR)
• Run an even pace for each mile

Your race strategy might include other elements, such as:

• Take water at every water stop; walk if necessary to make sure you get a full cup inside you
• Walk the hills
• Slow down if heart rate exceeds X number of beats per minute (bpm)
• Start your race-finishing kick when get to X landmark

You might need to revise your strategy on race day to take into consideration the weather, the crowd, how you feel, and so on.

During the Race

• Execute your race strategy!  However . . .
• "The best laid plans o'mice an' men/Gang aft a-gley." (Robert Burns, 18^th century poet)  Don’t be a prisoner of your strategy.  Part-way through the race, it may become apparent that your actual race has diverged so far from your planned race that you must rethink.  (Example: Your strategy was to run a 10K race at an even 10:00 minute/mile pace. You’re now 2.5 miles in, you’re running 10:30 pace, and you feel awful.)  Your best revised strategy is to run at  whatever pace you can sustain through the remainder of the race.
• The best time comes from an even pace; the best race experience comes from negative splits; positive splits can be painful!
• Often the race course will be crowded for the first few miles.  Relax, be patient, run your race, don’t let adrenalin or the crowd cause you to go out too fast.
• Do not consciously “save yourself” for a finishing kick: that will cause you run too slowly early in the race.  Your kick should be whatever you have left, when you reach the point in the race at which it’s time to kick.

After the Race

• Remove your timing chip, if applicable
• Get some fluids immediately
• Depending on the length of the race, you might need to begin recovery eating as soon as possible after the race – more applicable to races 10K and longer
• Do not sit down!  Keep walking for at least 10 minutes so your circulatory system can distribute blood, waste products, etc., from your legs and muscles.  If you have a heart monitor, have a goal heart rate (example: I walk until my heart rate slows to 100 bpm).
• Get your drop bag and change into dry/comfortable clothes
• A  dry shirt will make you feel much better
• A  hand towel to wipe off sweat can be handy
• Some people like to change out of running shoes into sandals or other comfy shoes
• Make sure you put all clothing and equipment that you take off into your drop bag so you don’t lose it
• Enjoy any post-race activities
• When you get home, reflect on your performance and take some notes about it so you won’t forget them.  (When I download my Garmin to my computer, I record my thoughts in the “Notes” tab for that run.)  What worked?  What didn’t?  What should you do differently next time?

Program Workouts Are Where/How You Find Out What Works

When I was a high school athlete, we called what we did every day after school “practice.”  Think of the workouts in the program as practice – a series of experiments in which you find out what clothing, food, pace, etc., works and doesn’t work for you.  For each workout, have a plan for what, if anything, you’re going to try to see if it works for you.  It can be using Vaseline rather than Body Glide to see if you like it better, whether eating one hour before the workout makes your stomach queasy while you are running, etc.

Control What You Can; Deal With What You Can’t

If you have a plan and diligently execute it, you can control many aspects of your racing experience.  But there always will be aspects of it that you cannot control:

• The weather
• The terrain of the race course
• Sick child at home
• Crisis at work; have to work overtime the week before
• Not enough porta-potties => long lines
• Many other things

Controlling what you can will give you confidence and leave time and attention available to deal with what you can’t.

Stretching For Runners

Week 7

By Jodi Rakoff

What to stretch

• Calf muscles – back of lower leg
• Hamstrings – back of thigh
• Hip flexors – front of hip
• Quadriceps – front of thigh

When to stretch

• Pre-run - it is most effective to stretch after your muscles are warm, like after warm up jog or a hot bath. Warmth increases the elasticity in the muscles/joints and connective tissue.
• Post run – give yourself several minutes to bring your heart rate down before you stretch.
• Everyday – you should incorporate stretching into your daily schedule (even on your off days!)

When not to stretch

• Pain or a pull  - stop stretching if you experience any sensation in an area where you shouldn’t be feeling it.
• Do not stretch a muscle that is strained or sprained.

How to stretch

• Dynamic – actively moving a muscle/joint through similar ranges of motion. (Warm up)
• Static – slowly easing into a stretch and holding it steady, no movement for 30 seconds. (Post run)

Examples of Static Stretching

Copyright 2000 Janet Hamilton, Running Strong & Injury Free.

 Copyright 2001 Janet Hamilton, Running Strong & Injury Free.