Over the last 4 weeks, post marathon I have been using my pre marathon run training time to get back into the gym, even a couple of swims. I have kept running familiar with up to 3 runs a week trying to keep myself mindful of my form work therefore trying to keep them to no faster then 1.5 to 2 minutes slower then my fall marathon. Specifically it has not made me faster, YET!, but I beleive the holistic apporach in the off season provides an increased level of strength physically to take on the more specific training later and maybe more importantly, it allows my mind to relax in terms less structure and the freedom to miss workouts. With the Aerobic Power build up to the Christmas Mile and some indoor meets in the New Year it was time to pick it up a little bit in my workouts, just simply by adding some increased effort intervals, fartlek style. To all of you that think no one else can feel as bad as you do in your first tough workout, everyone feels bad. Trying to not let pace dictate the workout i would check only after the interval. My so called Tempo feeling 3 minute efforts were ending up being my fall marathon pace. Finally though after a decade of working through all this stuff I know this is ok.

I know everyone hates the feeling of "starting over". Enjoying a nice off season, getting a little out of shape, relative to your own in season conditioning, does make for a little discomfort in the early going. I think these "lows" are important though to achieve your "highs". Sometimes its tougher to take when you are beside someone  in January that tries to maintain a high level of performance year round. They may make you feel like you have hit a new all time low that winter, but for those that are looking for a certain peak performance at an event come summer time, I believe your mind and body needs that break.

 

The past 2 days have been beautiful and fascinating. Beautiful because what other course can use a beach at sunrise as a classroom to teach a component of their course? In this case, 3-D movements. Fascinating because  it is a new approach to the rehabilitation of injuries, improving efficiency of movements in your sport or just allowing someone the freedom to be able to perform daily tasks pain free.

Read more: 2 Steps Forward Out of the Box

WOW! Thats all I can say as I headed out of my room and in about 100m I was on a boardwalk along the ocean in sunny San Diego. I am here for a biomechanics conference lead by one of the functional movement gurus, Gary Gray.

Read more: Foot Prints in the Sand

I have always been so fortunate to have crossed paths with so many passionate and knowledgeable individuals. My obsession with run mechanics, and the desire to improve mine and pass on that knowledge to athletes in Aerobic Power was really ignited about 3 or 4 years ago. I guess it began in a non specific sense. I worked with Michol Dalcourt who now travels the world lecturing on functional training on behalf of PT on the Net. He was a walking textbook and the first one to make me think about how everything is truly related and in doing so, changed my strength training routines in the gym. Also during that time we had a special guest coach at our run camp in Canmore, Syl Corbett who actually trained under Dr. Romanov, the creator of the POSE Run Method of running.  Syl combined what she liked from the POSE Method with some of her own research and really got my mind intrigued with how important technique and specific run strength was to running. From that camp forward my run training and all our athletes training was no longer 1 dimensional, run, run, run. It was practice running, specific strength training for running, practice running, and continue to keep practicing running. We know that our Vo2 is not as trainable as our run economy. So I wonder why most runners do not spend more time practicing the technique of running? My latest pathway has led me to EJ, a Canadian bronze medalist sprinter from the 2008 Olympics. We work side by side now at our training facility where I am able to collaborate with him on the techniques of running. Like those who doubted racing 1 milers and 3k’s on route to their marathon, I am sure many of you are already thinking sprinting is very different from distance running. I agree it is, in the event itself, but maybe not so much in the breakdown of the run mechanics. The goal of my current discussions with EJ is to determine where sprinting and distance running meets mechanically. I have seen many still shots of great marathoners, where if you added 75 pounds to their frame they would look like sprinters. They were leaning forward from the ankles, their heel was up towards their butt, their knee was about 45 degrees to the ground, and their foot was landing underneath them and on the mid foot. In early discussions with EJ the first thing that became very obvious is the need to practice and refine the skill of running. If they can’t run properly for 10m, they certainly aren’t going to be allowed to run 50m. They practice perfect running to save a 10^th of a second. Over our 10km, 21 km and 42 km that would make for some significant time savings.  Currently EJ is breaking my mechanics down and sharing a very keen eye and great knowledge he has gained from his Olympic level coaches including Kevin Tyler. Stay tuned over the next couple months, or years, ha, ha, as my running and knowledge develops to a new level.

 

I was always puzzled as to why the greatest runners in the world needed pace teams to aid in their achievement of victories or records. If anyone new how to hit a pace and stick with it, it would be them. There are some obvious advantages, if it’s windy the pacers would shield you for instance. But there is actually more to it then that. It gets back to my article on pacing practice for marathons and being able to run at a sub conscious level. When you are with runners of like ability and time goals within a race you almost share the role of staying on pace. Once the pace is settled, the rhythm of the turnover and the breathing through the group provide a baseline to adhere to, like dancing to the beat of a song, you don’t need to continually count your steps, you will just begin to follow the music. In the Edmonton marathon I really experienced this phenomenon first hand. Pacing a runner for 2/3 of the Edmonton marathon I truly discovered what I was providing him based on what I was experiencing. At Chicago I really enjoyed this phenomenon to a whole new level. Being part of such a big race there were many runners all around the pace I was targeting providing a group at times of up to 4 to 6 runners. These points of the race felt like they used up so much less mental and physical energy with all the runners just feeding off of one another. I think initially there can be the desire to get out alone, possibly just feeling uncomfortable shoulder to shoulder, or thinking the group may hold you up or take you off your pace. It is very worthwhile to try and settle in with a group for as long as you can. When I look back it was these stages of the race that seemed like they took nothing from the body.