East African Runners

During my hiatus from running (week 6, now), I can't exactly have random thoughts while running. Ideas for this blog haven't just popped up. However, today, I read another blog that I wanted to share.

One of the enduring mysteries of distance running is Why do middle and long distance runners from East Africa completely dominate these events? Davie, from Scotland, addressed this question in a blog post in September, Glasglow Running Seminar 2009, Part 1. He followed that post with 2 more on the rest of the seminar. His report makes for interesting reading -- he gives a good summary of the information presented on East African runners. His style is informal and non-technical, making it easy to read.

Summarizing the conclusions of one of the presenters, Dr Yannis Pitsiladis, FACSM: Research Scientist based in Glasgow who acts as Scientific Adviser to Global Sport Communications, regarding the domination of East African distance runners, Davie said:

• Solid base - 60% of E African elite runners report running to school as children
• High Altitude camps
• Non scientific approach - natural instinct
• Aerobic training
• Interval training (known to them as bone-breakers)
• Altitude training different from western approach; (E.African athletes live at varying heights from 2,400m to 3,000m, but when they leave home to run they start by climbing even higher. They do drop down to do speedwork but generally the rule is "Live high, train higher) as opposed to our athlete's rule of "live high train low")
• Cross country training
• African diet (86% vegetable, 14% animal and 77% carbohydrate. Much of the diet is maize, 64%, eaten in the traditional form of Ugali. Staple drink is tea.)
• Non scientific approach to training (no drugs, supplements or technology) only high tech apparatus is a stopwatch - no Garmins!!!
• Superior fatigue resistance
• Low body weight (average Kenyan runner's weight is almost 10kg less -- 22 pounds -- than the average US runner)

The most important conclusion, though, seems to be mental -- East African runners have the attitude that they can run long and fast. Davie covered this in more detail in Part 3. In Part 2, he summarized information on hydration and heat build up in the body.*

Seems to me that there are lessons in this for those of us who are (much) less than elite runners.  My summary: Eat right and simply, train hard and simply, train your mind. Frankly, I think I run better when I take a more simplified approach to training versus a more regimented approach. What about you?

Run well, y'all,
Bob

*Unlike the presenters in the seminar, I can't and don't attribute the running abilities of humans to evolution. This is a complicated subject, so what I say here will be overly simplified -- a sound bite -- but, while evolution seems logical as an overall theory, the devil's in the details. When I read explanations like the first part of Davie's Part 2, I find it just makes more sense that humans were created this way, not that we "developed" these abilities. But, that doesn't change the validity of the explanations for the dominance of East Africans in distance running.

How Do You Train?

I'm at the end of my 4th week of no running -- nada. The doc is not sure, yet, if my problem is tendonitis or osteitis. Hopefully x-ray and bone scan will show what's going on. While the symptoms don't seem to be directly correlated to running, he advised me not to run until we find out what's going on. Boy, I do miss being on the road!

In the meantime, I'm giving some thought to how I might change what I do and how I run. I would really like to set a new PR for a 10K (current: 46:19) and break 1:50:00 again on a half marathon (current PR: 1:48:and change) I'm fascinated by the recent reports of new research on the impact of footstrikes (pun fully intended). While I cannot imagine running barefoot on the streets of Nairobi, I can focus on ensuring that I hit more midfoot. Even toying with getting a pair of Vibram Five-Fingers to try.

In the process of reading about these impact studies, I discovered Steve Magness' blog, On and Off the Track. Excellent technical blog about running. I also follow Steve on Twitter (you can also follow me on Twitter). Steve's post last night on Twitter, is very interesting: How do Norway's top XC skiers train? 700hrs/yr 76% easy, 6% medium, 5% high, 4% speed dvlpment, 9% strength training. Hmmm. I wonder if that formula would work with running.

Check out Steve's blog for some really interesting running discussions.

I'd have to do some calculations to determine my running mix. I haven't done much strength training at all and I do plan to change that. What kind of mix do you use when you're training?

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Tempo Runs and Speedwork

Ben, running blogger at The Audacity of Marathoning, asked about how I do tempo runs. I'm not an expert runner by any stretch of the imagination but perhaps what I've learned will be helpful for someone else. I've used Runner's World Smart Coach to train for my last 3 races (half-marathon and 2 10K's) and that plan had me do the following for a "tempo run" -- my goal pace for the 10K was 7:25 mpm:

1 mile warm-up -- I ran at an easy run pace, about 90 seconds per mile slower than my goal 10K pace or about 8:55 mpm.

3-5 miles tempo -- about 10 seconds per mile slower than my goal 10K pace or about 7:35 mpm.

1 mile cool-down -- again, I aimed to run about 8:55 mpm but it was usually closer to 8:15 mpm.

Tempo Run distances for an 11 week 10K training program:

Weeks 1 and 3 were 3 miles @ 7:36
Weeks 4 and 7 were 4 miles @ 7:40 & 7:35
Weeks 8 and 10 were 5 miles @ 7:40 & 7:35

Weeks 2, 5 and 9 were speedwork -- 800 meter repeats on a local high school track at about 45 seconds per mile faster than my goal 10K pace, about 1 mile warm-up and 1 mile cool-down, and 400 meter easy jogs between repeats:

Week 2 (3x800 meters @ 3:24 min)
Week 5 (4x800 meters @ 3:22 min)
Week 9 (5x800 meters @ 3:20 min)

Weeks 6 and 11 were easy weeks so no tempo runs or speedwork runs.

I normally end up running the tempo runs a bit faster than the suggested goal. They are hard but satisfying. The speedwork repeats were usually right on target. The repeats are real killers and I hate doing them, but they do seem to help.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Take It and Run Thursday: Half Marathons

Runner's Lounge sponsors a Take It and Run Thursday when they invite lounge members to share their collective wisdom about a particular running topic. Today's topic is Half Marathons. Since I'm such an expert on that topic, having run exactly 1 (one) half marathon in the entire 53 years and 9 months of my life, I thought I'd jump right in.

That first and only half marathon (Richmond's Maymont X-Country Half) did teach me some things (my profile picture is my finish of that half):

1. A half marathon is not a cake walk. Granted, what I ran was not the typical half since it was a mixed-surface run -- roads, trails, bridges, steps, etc. The terrain made it more difficult than I expected. But, unlike Amy, I'm not sure it's a run that everybody should attempt, but anyone who does needs to be prepared for it to be hard.

2. Train for it. Yes, I know, there are some folks who can hop off the couch and run whatever. But most of us can't. I would advise anyone planning to do a half marathon to train specifically for that. I used a training plan from Runner's World (Smart Coach). Not only was it good to have some expert advice but it gave me the confidence that I could actually do the run in respectable form.

3. Build endurance. Long runs seem to me to be the key to a successful half marathon. I didn't do enough in preparation and my endurance suffered (well, I suffered) even though my time was still good.

4. Do some speed work. I ran either a tempo run or mile repeats once a week. Even though all my other runs in a week were at an "easy" pace, those special runs kept my speed from being negatively affected.

5. Don't start too fast. While that's true of any race, it seems to be especially important in a long race like a half. If you start too fast in a 5k race, the distance is short enough so that it won't kill you. But, start out too fast in a half and you still have a long, long way to go.

6. Run your own race. Related to #4 -- know how you run and follow the same pattern. In my everyday runs, even without planning to do so, I run the 1st mile at a fairly easy pace. Then I pick up the pace throughout the run. When I ran the half, we decided to aim for the average goal pace each mile. The first mile was right on target but then my body/mind did what it always does -- picked up the pace on succeeding miles. That lasted only 4-5 miles before I knew this wasn't working. Next time, I'll not plan to be consistent for every mile.

7. A partner is great. I almost forgot this one. Without the young man (my son's age) who ran with me -- and, yes, he had to slow way down -- I would not have done as well as I did. Justin (in the orange shirt in my profile picture) was a real encouragement, especially since the X-Country course is not spectator friendly. Hey, he even let this old man finish ahead of him. So, you can do a half by yourself, but you'll like it more if you're running with a friend.

As hard as it was, I will do the X-Country again, probably not in 2008 because of a conflict. I will be smarter and more prepared. In the meantime, I hope to do the Richmond Half in November.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Quirky Exercise Equipment

Can you see yourself using this chair? Yoni Freedhoff, author of the Weighty Matters blog, posted this yesterday. Watching it makes me a little ill. I believe it would throw my back out like nobody's business. And, how in the world would you talk on the phone or type coherently on a computer while this thing is tossing you around? Would you buy one?



I think I'll stick to running! :) Speaking of running, it's the end of the 2nd week of training for the Richmond 10K. I was traveling so did some switching of workouts -- 4 easier runs Sun-Wed of 4.5-6.5 miles, half-mile repeats yesterday, and a long run today. Today's run started with a warm-up jog (0.4 mi) to the local YMCA to join up with the intermediate group run (4 miles), and then finished with 8.5 miles by myself. That's a total run of 12.9 miles in 1:48 or an average pace of 8:22 mpm (all numbers rounded and the map does not include the initial warm-up jog). Except for the half-marathon in September, that's my longest run ever. It was a good run in many ways.

One of my problems in the half-marathon was that I had not done enough longer runs and just didn't have the leg strength and endurance I wanted. So, I'm modifying my RW training plan and have made my Saturday runs longer. I'm hoping that will give me the endurance that I want.

Run well, y'all,
Bob
Richmond, VA

Tempo Run - Day 3 of 10K Training

Well, wasn't sure how my fitness had held up. Since running the half marathon at the end of September, I had done very little faster work. Plus, though the temperature was only 32°, I found out that there were some icy patches on the road. The Plan for this 3rd day of my 10K training called for 1 mile warm-up, 3 miles @ 7:36 mpm, 1 mile cool-down. Here are my splits:

0.23 x 2:58.72 (Walking)
1.00 x 8:56.78 (Warm up)
1.00 x 7:40.95 (At this point, thought I wouldn't make it)
1.00 x 7:13.15 (Hmmm. Probably should slow down)
1.00 x 7:14.96 (Whoa! Didn't slow down much -- felt good)
1.25 x 9:51.82 (Ahhh. Watch the ice!)

Run well, y'all,
Bob
Richmond