I Had a Great Run – Now What?

This is the second part of my last post. I discussed what happens to runners when they experience “bad run days” and that they are not necessarily an indicator of losing conditioning or being out of shape suddenly due to that workout. Now I want to contrast that with a really great run – “great run days”.

Every runner lives for these days! Your stride is effortless. You breathe freely. You are strong and your legs are responsive. You have that youthful bounce in your legs. You feel like you could pick up the pace at any moment or run longer or do extra reps on the track. It flows. If you are on the roads and you see runners way up in front of you; you attack wanting to show your superiority. (Come on – admit it, you think that.) Life is good. Sometimes you feel like it’s a matter of all your hard work paying off and other times it’s like there was no reason at all for having such a great day.

This is when we realize we are fit and in shape. A common comment I get from runners is “I wish this were race day” or “I wish I could feel like this on race day”. Capturing those moments proves quite elusive for most runners.

I believe that much like a bad run day, a great run day has reasons. It is our job to figure out why and how it occurs so we can replicate it more often. More importantly we want to be able to replicate it on race days! That is what peaking is about. That is what peak performances are about.

As with figuring out bad day runs our problem is that we are not in tune with ourselves. We don’t track the right variables (weather, sleep, training, HR, medications, life events, travel, etc.) We are even poorer at integrating all variables! Which combinations yielded the perfect run day? Until we tune in to all these variables we cannot get a handle on any cause and effect. It is our task to figure it out. Even if we could, most of us will not take the time and effort to track all the possible variables that cause good days.

Though a great run is often cause for personal celebration there are two directions the minds of runners tend to take after experiencing such runs.

One line of thinking goes something like this: “It is a fluke. It probably won’t happen again. I’m not really in that kind of shape. I ran ‘above my head’.”

A second line of thinking goes along these lines: “If I ran like this today then I should be able to run this way everyday.”

Both of these lines of reasoning have faulty logic.

Great runs are peak performances. Peak performances are when many variables – physical, mental, environmental, social, etc. – come together in the right way to enable an athlete to take advantage of their physical/athletic capabilities. But no set of variables can allow you to do something physical that you are not actually already capable of doing. Which is why line of thinking #1 is faulty. If you actually did it then indeed you are capable of doing it. Someone else didn’t do it for you! You have to take the credit. There is no such thing as running “above your capabilities” even if you previously have not run that far or that fast. The truth is that it is within your capabilities only you have never had the variables come together to manifest itself in that magical day.

The way to visualize peak performance variables is to see your physical conditioning as a finely tuned racecar. All variables other than physical are analogous to your emergency brake. The racecar will perform UP TO the limits of the physical tuning or ability of the vehicle – just like your body. If your emergency brake is on – no matter what condition you are in physically – you will not have a top-performing machine. It will always fall short because the brake is on to some degree. Releasing the emergency brake fully is having all those other variables come into alignment. And your mental game is the #1 “other variable”.

To build on this, peak performances can be replicated but not daily. However it is physically impossible to be able to have a PR-like effort every day. You could have all those “other” peak performance variables come together but in a physically fatigued state – your performance will fall short. This is where line of reasoning #2 is a fallacy. Therefore, to set the expectation that you have done it once and therefore should be able to always do it is setting yourself up for great disappointment, discouragement and a big hit to your confidence.

A great run is indeed an indicator of your capabilities. It is not an aberration. You ARE that fit. Now, let’s find ways to optimize replicating it when it really counts.

Your homework: On your next great run day – log your thoughts, self-talk, focal points and as many variables (from life events to you name it…) as you can. Do this after each great run and soon  you will discover patterns. These are the very patterns you need leading up to your next race to increase your chances of having THAT great day on race day!

I Had a Bad Run – Now What?

Everyone who runs has experienced it. Things just don’t feel right. Your rhythm is off and you can’t find your pace. You struggle with breathing – chest restricted, shortness of breath, shallow breathing. Your muscles don’t cooperate. You feel stiff… Sore… Nothing flows. Your stride is off. You don’t have any zip. You may even feel aches pains and such that you have never felt before. It’s just a bad day running.

Sometimes there is a reason that you can point to such as a long hard week of training. Or you are getting over an illness. Or you are stressed with life events or lacking sleep or the air quality is poor. Other times, they come out of nowhere and for no reason at all. Or worse yet, sometimes they are a string of days. (How about a week or a month of feeling out of sorts and experiencing bad run after bad run?)

The fact is that a bad day most often is just that, a bad day (ok, or two or three…). There are as many reasons for bad days as there are bad days. Sometimes you will know or figure out why. Other times you won’t. The important message to get through is that a bad run, the inability to complete a prescribed or scheduled workout pace-distance-effort, does NOT mean you are suddenly out of shape.

Now contrary to what I stated earlier, I actually do believe that there are reasons for everything. I believe that there are reasons for every bad day. Our problem is that we are not in tune with ourselves. We don’t track the right variables (weather, sleep, training, HR, medications, life events, travel, etc.) We are even poorer at integrating all variables! Which combinations yielded the perfect storm – that bad day? Until we tune in to all these variables we cannot get a handle on any cause and effect. It is our task to figure it out. Even if we could, most of us will not take the time and effort to track all the possible variables that cause bad days. The fact is that in most cases bad days are just that – a bad day or two. Only if there is a string of them or a long pattern is there a real strong reason to figure out why.

So we agree that bad run days are a bummer. Other than analyze the heck out of it what should we do about a bad run day?

We all embrace those good runs and feeling free when we run. Those good days energize us and we look forward to our next runs. But in the case of the “bad run” runners often take a mental U-turn. Oftentimes our thinking degenerates into doubting our conditioning (a temporary situation) or worse yet doubting our capabilities (a permanent condition). We doubt all we’ve done. We discount any successes we’ve had in the past. We may even start to dread facing our next workout fearing yet another “bad day”. Now it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy – your mindset going into the run sets you up for over-interpretation of every sensation. It’s like being sucked down a toilet – a vortex of negative thinking.

Allowing bad days to just pass and not allowing your mind to go down the cesspool of negative, over-interpretation thinking is key. In the larger scope of things, “this too shall pass”. It does not mean you are out of shape or lost conditioning. You do not lose conditioning because you had a slower or shorter run than scheduled. It is a bump in the road.

You can give yourself a bonus on a bad day though. It is a perfect opportunity to practice your mental toughness. What will you do when you hit a bad patch in a race? Where will your mind go when you have those “bad day” symptoms on race day? Bad days are the perfect opportunity to find out what you focus on, how you think and what you say to yourself to get through it. It is in these moments you learn how to be mentally tough on race day…. NOT on race day.

Your homework: On your next bad run day – log your thoughts, self-talk, and focal points; along with as many other variables as you can. Note what kept you going and what made you want to just give up and walk home. If you can learn from this… you have just reframed a bad run into a “learning run”. And you are doing what I ask of everyone of my runners – giving me your best bad day possible.

Wishing Hoping and Praying are not Confidence

I wish I were a better at …

I hope I do well…

I pray that I have a good day…

These are common statements from people as they relate to how they feel or think they will perform in an their upcoming contest. They also indicate a lack of confidence.

Confidence is a construct of belief in our abilities.  Confidence comes from among other things: quality practice, believing in abilities, other persons, quality instruction, fitness, diet, and doing the right things off the field of competition.

Though confidence can certainly be fed by successful performances and typically if we perform well it feeds our confidence to do well or better in the future. However that is not always the case. And the reason is that confidence is a mental construct which is up to the individual interpretation of such events. If the individual expected more out of their performance than what occurred then despite what everyone else may view as “successful” and would “feed confidence” it in fact could do the very opposite to this athlete.

So confidence is impacted by our interpretations of objective performance and we can build confidence by viewing our capabilities in other areas of life or even by seeing what others can do.

Here is what is difficult for athletes to get: it is possible to be quite confident in being able to do something even though we have never done it before! It is also possible to be quite confident in doing something even if by objective measures we are not that good. And that is the real secret. Develop your confidence now and don’t wait for a outcomes to validate or feed your confidence level. Low confidence will most definitely adversely affect performances through tentative actions and the stress of competition. Strong confidence will bolster your performances by allowing you to rebound and not get down even after an error or lapse or bad play or race.

Confidence can be evidenced by how someone characterizes or describes efforts or competitions. Here are what we might call levels of self-confidence: I hope, Maybe I’ll, I think, I believe, I know, I will.

Hoping, wishing and praying that some performance occurs is the weakest form of confident thinking. It leaves all outcomes to external and uncontrollable sources.

“Maybe” opens a door, and “I think” is creeping in the door to taking some control of the outcome. “Believing” that you can do soemthing is a stronger statement.

On the other hand, “knowing” that you can do something is the strongest representation of confidence. It is not open to debate. I simply “know” I can do this. And the final level is one step beyond because it indicates action: I will.

Our self-talk guides our actions. It is important to create talk about our capabilities that feeds our confidence. That in turn feeds our actions. it is more likely that our actions will reinforce strong confidence and ultimately lead to more consistent performances and breakthrough performances. Start now in changing how you talk about your capabilities.

Read more on your Mental Game.

Arizona Running Camps – Registration – 5 more days

Greetings All!

Registrations have been moving along for the June high school running camp up in the cool Flagstaff climes. June 18-23 is the youth camp for runners 13-18 years of age. We hold the camp on the beautiful campus of Northern Arizona University. 6 days and 5 nights – room and board, full handouts on all lecture topics, shirts, water bottles, give-aways of various sorts and fantastic workouts – all for $435! But this is only until 5/15/12. Then the registration moves to $470. We accept registrations right up to the week before camp as long as the University can accommodate us. So act now, get your young runner the support they need to get this summer off to a great start which means their fall cross-country season will have the foundation for success!

This camp is like no other. We have 2-3 workouts per day – all designed to improve your running and minimize injuries. We do not just “do miles” we do “better miles”. All information is science and research based. You can be assured of walking away with the knowledge to run your best.

This camp is NOT just for elite or varsity runners! Everyone is welcomed at our camp! We tailor workouts to the campers… and don’t force campers to do what they are not capable of or in condition for. That is why we have a 10:1 ratio of campers to counselors. We make sure everyone is attended to.

Who should go? 8th grade through seniors in high school who are motivated in improving their running. We ask that you be in basic condition upon arrival to take advantage of all the workouts and to apply what you learn. You should be able to run about 4 miles non-stop. But, attitude is everything.

Which leads me into what separates us from all other camps.

What also separates us from other camps is our resident nationally certified mental game coaching professional – Coach Dean of course! Every day includes mental game topic lectures AND mental game training is integrated into workouts. We provide a motivational and supportive atmosphere for those willing to do their best. We also have a “No Excuse Zone”. We believe in fostering mental toughness and working through barriers – optimizing each individual’s potential.

Did you know that Coach Dean has worked with athletes of all kinds?  Baseball, football, soccer, tennis, and volleyball players; race kart drivers, MMA fighters, golfers, bowlers, runners, triathletes, equestrians. And he’s accustomed to working with elite athletes – nationally ranked runners/All-Americans, D-I, II & III & NAIA varsity runners (including a member of the national indoor track champions), #1 Race Kart driver in US point standings (2012), top 50 US golfer (15-18 year olds), #1 US Duathlete at World Championships in Spain (2011).

Get on it now! The experience is like no other. They will be talking about their experience for a long time to come. They’ll take the experience with them forever.

Arizona Running Camps – Register today!

If-Then Myths of Running

I often hear questions, comments or even advice about training that reflect what I call the “If-Then Myths of Running”. They follow the basic formula of “…IF I do this THEN I must be able to do that…” Here is a list of some of the more popular ones and the facts.

If I train the same as {insert name of choice} then I should be just as good.

One of the most basic misconceptions that exists. It is why so many runners think that if they just do exactly what the Olympians do that they also will inevitably improve to that level. The fact is that the elite runners are elite for any number of reasons and yes, training is one of them. However, genetically they also have the ability to sustain that level and intensity of training. They have also gradually over many years increased to those levels. Unlike the average runner who “decides” to just increase their mileage from 40 to 100 miles per week these elite do so over years. Compare this to Coach Joe Vigil who coached Deena Kastor out of college and took her from 80 to 120 mile weeks over a 3 year span.

If I can run {insert a time or pace} in the 100F degrees then I’ll really be flying and beat everyone when it’s 60F degrees!

True, you may indeed be able to do well in the heat and indeed you are running slower than in cooler weather. But heat training does not help you run faster in cooler weather. Given all else being equal, you most likely will outrun someone in 100F degrees who has trained in 60F degrees but the reverse is not true. Running in the heat requires acclimatization which you are doing and the 60-degree runner isn’t. Advantage you. In moderate temperatures however no adaptation is needed therefore your advantage disappears. Furthermore here is a training fact: It is likely the 60-degree runner is getting to do better quality and quantity training on a regular basis than you are if you are exposed to 100F degrees daily. The net training effect is that you will lose your neuromuscular training to run faster. Advantage 60-degree runner.

If I run hills and do hard hill repeats then I will be faster than everyone else who doesn’t.

Hills do make you stronger. Hard hill repeats make you stronger yet! But, strong is not fast. You will be at an advantage against anyone who doesn’t do hill training on a hilly course. Hill training however – though power generating – also yields slower leg turnover. Given a flat course, your reduced leg turnover – and therefore speed – will suffer. Advantage goes to the person who didn’t do hill training but did high quality training for a flat course. The key to hill training is that it is ONE phase of your training and by itself will not make you fast. The next step is to take that strength and transition to high quality training to boost your overall speed to the next level.

If my running form is better then I will beat {insert name}.

This is a controversial one. Certainly if your form dramatically detracts from your race speed or causes injuries then you should attend to your form. However, there is absolutely no such thing as a picture perfect form. It might exist in a text book. There may be a couple people in the world who mimic it. But, even at the elite levels, their running forms are all over the board. The most important thing is to have the best running form for YOU. No one is put together the same. Really. We may have the same parts but biomechanically we are different. Bones and muscles are not all perfectly attached and aligned. We are not created equal (sorry to burst bubbles on that one). So, forget what someone else looks like – get YOUR biomechanics to be the most efficient possible by training right. Stop trying to be someone else.

If I run more miles then I’ll be faster.

This is another yes-no myth. In the beginning, of course miles count. You have to get in shape and from couch potato to running requires that you build up some miles. In which case, any miles will make you faster than the couch potato. For the novice runner, more miles will yield some positive results. But, even for the novice, they will improve EVEN FASTER by adding quality training – not just more miles – regardless of how many weekly miles they run. For experienced runners, in most cases, most of the time, adding quality training will get you faster – not more miles. Though VO2max can be improved by increasing mileage up through 70 miles per week the problem is that VO2max is a poor indicator of performance. So, though this physiological measurement is improved by increased miles, it does not correlate as well as other measures. vVO2max and lactate threshold and sprint speeds have been shown to be more predictive in performance than VO2max in various studies. And these are best improved through quality not quantity of training miles. So, to move from 40 miles of slow running to 70 miles of slow running will not make you faster. Slow begets slow.

Summertime Training – Go for It

[This is a companion piece to the The Mental Games of Summer which addresses the mental game of dealing with hot weather training and racing.]

It’s that time of year that takes most of us by surprise especially down in the southwest. We go from days of pleasant 70s to 90s and 100s in just weeks. The heat is both mentally and physically draining. But through adaptation – acclimation to the heat it can be tolerable. The key is that it is not a passive process.

Some people believe that if you live in the sunny southwest you are accustomed to the heat. That is both true and false. Most typically we move from air-conditioned house to air-conditioned car to air-conditioned office or mall with about one minute of walking outside. This does NOT condition us to the heat. If you routinely expose yourself for periods of time to outdoor heat then you do acclimate (such is the case of landscapers for instance who are out all day in the heat). The latter group of people indeed acclimate and will tolerate heat better than those from cooler climes.

This does not address the athlete however. If you train on a treadmill in your favorite gym or living room, or if you get up in the early dawn hours and run while it’s comparatively cool (75-85F is cool compared to 100-110F) then you are NOT acclimating to the heat – even though you live and workout down here in the southwest! And passively living in the desert southwest will not mean you can run in the heat well.

If you are a fitness runner then the indoor/cool-time-of-day strategy is a good way to keep you going all summer long. If you race, you are not doing yourself a favor because races will not be 70F degrees (like on your gym treadmill) they will often be 85-90F degrees on race day (and sometimes higher).

Fact: Everyone runs slower in hot weather conditions no exceptions.

Fact: Well acclimated runners will fair better than those who are not acclimated. That is they lose LESS time than un-acclimated runners.

Fact: An unacclimated heat runner will experience far more heat related illnesses and symptoms than an acclimated runner.

Fact: Running in the heat (and adding layers of sweat suits) does NOT get you in “better shape”.

Research: It has been clearly demonstrated in controlled laboratories that 52F (11C) to 70F (21C) and 88F (31C) yield progressive decrements in performance.

In Arizona for instance, if you run year round in the “hot times of the day” you can acclimate readily. This is one smart approach. In Arizona, temperatures gradually increase and have a pattern that the highs in each month – February- 70Fs; March- 80Fs; April- 90Fs; May-100Fs; June-July-August 100-110Fs. So you can see that if you run regularly in daily temps, you allow your body a gradual adaptation.

Otherwise, it takes several weeks to acclimate to the heat. If you run 2-4 times a week in the heat you will gradually get your body to adjust. You do not have to run every day in the heat to get used to it.

Some things to do:

Run in small doses at first. You may not be able to do full workouts. If your goal is a 2-hour run; split it up. Run part in the heat and the rest when it is cooler.

Do your “easy” run day in the heat. It’s going to be slow anyway right? Why not get an extra purpose out of the training run other than a hard workout recovery.

Time your run so that it is early morning and most of your run is in the cooler pre-dawn light and only the last part is in the hotter daylight. Or reverse that and run in the evening heat with the last half of your run after sundown. (I know, in AZ it is still 100F after the sun goes down but it’s relatively cooler!)

Do faster but shorter workouts. The longer you are out the more you dehydrate. Replace an hour run with a 25 minute tempo paced run. Or, do a track workout with much faster reps interspersed with rest intervals. But, get them done and then get out of the heat so that you don’t dehydrate unnecessarily.

Stay hydrated all day long. You will not be able to consume enough fluids right before, during and immediately after your run to fully replenish yourself. So, be disciplined to drink all day long. As an example – recently in a ONE hour run in 74F degree temps I lost 7 pounds. One quart is about 2 pounds. I was closing in on a gallon of liquids I had to replace over and above daily requirements. I couldn’t take in that much without cramps!

It’s important that runners go about heat training gradually and progressively. If you do, you will find that you will tolerate the heat better than you ever have.

You Can’t Do It All – Well

When I start working with an athlete the beginning point of course is goal setting. It provides focus for training and of course specific workouts.

Some of their goals are very specific such as I want to qualify of boston. To which I may incorporate getting faster at a half-marathon. Or the goal may be to break 16:00 for a 5k and I may need them to get faster in general and incorporate getting fast at the mile.

Other times I get responses that are vague such as “get in better shape” or “get faster” which of course need some delving into. These general goals don’t provide much direction. After all, if you improve by 1 second in a 5k you are faster right? If you can run 1 minute longer than you ever have before you are in better shape. But is that what is really wanted? Doubtful.

And then again I will often get a comment to the effect that they want to get better at all distances and set PRs in everything this year from 1 mile to the marathon. Or race an sprint triathlon and Ironman equally well. This always causes some pause.

Now if you are a novice runner it is quite possible that en route to training for a decent marathon you may indeed set other PRs along the way – often the half-marathon and 10k. That makes sense.

But, for these novice runners, a sound training program (not some 12-week “miracle” run your marathon program) which progresses over 5 months or more in fact should incorporate enough quality work that indeed races even as short as the mile (1500m) or 5k can have dramatic improvements! I have had many such runners.

Over time however decisions will have to be made because you cannot continue to improve equally at all distances without focused training.

That being said, if you really want to get good at any distance you have to focus your training. And these are the prime combinations to set your goals upon.

• 800m and 1500m and mile/1600m training is similar enough to get good at those distances.
• Mile/1600/1500 and 5k can work for the right runner… but not all.
• 5k and 10k are very compatible in training and you can be quite good at both of these.
• 10k and half-marathon is a good pairing.
• 10-milers – half-marathon – 20k – 30k and marathons are good combinations.

What is a less likely combination? Events/distances with disparate training make it unlikely that you will set PRs. It is unlikely that you will set mile and marathon PRs on the same training program. It is doubtful that you will train for an Ironman and set Sprint triathlon PRs together. If you do PRs in these disparate events it’s most likely because you never run one distance or the other enough to have been your best at it.

So, you want a PR? You want breakthroughs? You want to find out how good you really can be? FOCUS your training. Stop trying to do it all – be good at all distances.

Focus your training for the next 6-9 months on that distance. You cannot train the way you always have. You cannot just add distance or just add some speed work and expect to be setting PRs in a few weeks. Train for it. Learn how to race it. Get your race tactics and pacing down. Only then will you know how good you really can be at any given distance.