Run - Never Walk

How to train a kick

Feeling sluggish towards the end of a race and struggle to keep up the pace or even get the (in)famous kick? The excellent Science of Running blog explains how you train for that kick towards the end of your race. Good stuff.

Link: http://www.scienceofrunning.com/2011/10/training-to-kick.html

Just in case… Never Walk!

A little while ago I had the great pleasure to be invited to speak at the inaugural Startup Week in Vienna about two of the things I love most in life: Startups/Entrepreneurship and Running. It’s surprising what the later can teach you about the former…

I’ve written up my talk here - check it out, you might like it! :)

Picture by www.netokracija.com

Houston Half-Marathon

Jeez… I really need to blog more here. :)

Last weekend Jane and I went to Houston to cheer on the runners in the Olympic Marathon Trials (which was awesome - it’s incredible to see so many talented runners fight it out in one location) and run the Half-Marathon on the next day.

I didn’t have any expectations (literally - I only got three weeks of good training in after somewhat of a hiatus over Christmas) but decided to try to push it, following the time-proven advice from Pre: “The only race pace is suicide pace. And today is a good day to die.”

It worked out pretty well - 1:28:40, which is a new PR by 3+ minutes. And makes me realize that my body is surely able to run a 1:25 (and who knows how far we can push it - maybe a 1:20 is in the decks sometime).

Below my mile splits. Nice and even with some good kick towards the end. Good stuff. Now - onward.

Podcast: Physiotherapist Blaise Dubois on Running Injuries, Form, Footwear, and Barefoot Running

Head over to the excellent Runblogger.com blog and grab this fantastic podcast with physiotherapist Blaise Dubois on everything from running injuries, running form and how shoes play into this.

Very well worth listening to!

Hack the System: Get a GPS for cheap

Here’s a neat little trick on how to get the brand-new Timex Ironman Run Trainer GPS watch for cheap - really cheap:

My favorite running store Running Warehouse sells you the Timex Ironman GPS watch for $189.95 - that’s already $35 off of the MSRP of $225. Timex runs a promotion which entitles you to a $50 mail-in rebate if you buy between Nov 3 and Dec 31. Which brings down the price of the watch to a very affordable $139.95 already.

But it gets even better: Apply the promo-code RUNBLOG10 at checkout and you get 10% off - bringing down the price of the watch to $126.

And it gets even better, better (well, this offer is actually over - but it worked for me): Running Warehouse sold you gift cards 20% off - snatch a $100 card and pay only $80. When you apply these $20 off to your order you get the Timex GPS watch for only $106. Irresistible! But even with out this last trick you get a pretty neat, tricked out GPS watch for $126 (plus tax)… :)

My “Fight Club Rules” of Dieting

I read a ton on nutrition and diets mainly as I wanted to figure out what a) the healthiest way to live is and b) what the best diet for my running regime would be. There is a lot of conflicting information out there plus a lot of information which is built on top of the food advice from 40 years ago…

My personal advice (and be aware - I am not a nutritionist but only someone who’s piecing his own information together) is rather simple. Let’s call it the “Fight Club Rules of Eating”:

1. Avoid sugar.

Sugar is toxic (literally) and beside the fact that it makes people fat it also makes people ill. Avoid it where you can. Read more about it here.

2. Don’t drink your calories.

Drink water, tea, black coffee. Don’t drink anything with sugar in it (softdrinks but also juice, smoothies, etc) and avoid stuff with sweetener (it doesn’t have the calories but it makes your insulin levels go up which has a lot of negative side-effects).

3. Avoid fast-burning carbs.

Bread, pasta, rice - all that stuff just adds calories and does very little for you.

That’s it. And every week give yourself a day off - if you have cravings during the week, write them down and promise yourself that you can eat the stuff on your day off. Don’t starve - your body needs food to function. Eat veggies, salad, meat, fish, etc - there is a ton of stuff you can eat and really fuel your body. If you can - go shopping at a decent supermarket such as Trader Joe’s here in California - their stuff is cheap and really good quality. :)

Personally I stopped eating pretty much any sugar (as much as you can avoid it as there is sugar in pretty much everything these days) and cut out fast-burning carbs (mainly I don’t eat bread, pasta or rice) and lost about 20 pounds since Jan 1st — which is huge for me, as I am already skinny (I am now down to just a few percent bodyfat and feel absolutely great!).

Last piece of advice (and I think this is important): Don’t be anal about it - I do eat all these things from time to time. I do get a Starbucks Caramel Macchiato from time to time. I’m just good about 90% of the time - which is great and surely enough to live a very, very healthy life!

180 isn't a magic number - Stride Rate and what it means

This is one of the best articles I read recently on the magic “cadence 180” mantra.

For a little while I ran with a Garmin footpod which allows me to measure my cadence - it’s extremely hard for me to get myself up to a 180 cadence (though I don’t overstride). My normal cadence is around 170 - my hypothesis is that due to the fact that I am very tall (6’4”) and have long legs, I would need to shorten my stride significantly to get to a 180 cadence (and thus beyond a point where it makes sense).

Link: http://www.scienceofrunning.com/2011/02/180-isnt-magic-number-stride-rate-and.html

Pilates for Runners (or how I somewhat accidentally became a Pilates instructor)

Prolog

Nearly ten years ago I was diagnosed with two degenerated discs in my lower spine. The doctor at the time told me that I could try physiotherapy but he expected me to be back in his office within a year for spinal surgery. The diagnosis came after years of niggling pain in my lower back - especially after long spouts of working sitting in front of a computer. And certainly not the kind of diagnosis you want to hear.

I tried traditional physiotherapy - and lo and behold: It didn’t work. I tried a different therapist with a different approach - to no avail. Then Jane convinced me to give Pilates a shot. Pilates is a form of exercise which puts the emphasis on building a strong core, in the understanding that the core muscles stabilize and support the whole body, thus reducing stress on your bones, ligaments and tendons.

We started doing traditional Pilates, consisting of exercises done on the floor using mainly your own bodyweight as resistance. Beside the point that it can be ridiculously hard to work your body that way, the pain in my lower back disappeared after only two months of two weekly one hour training sessions. I was baffled - and accepted the simple idea that core strength leads to a healthy posture which in turn removed my nasty back pain.

Relearning Pilates

When we came to America, Jane and I were keen to keep up the habit and find a Pilates studio where we could work out. Through chance we found a studio just down the road from our place - BodyDynamic PT had just opened and it turned out that the owner, Becky, trained a group of marathoners who were on their way to qualify for the 2012 Olympic games.

I started working out with the group and quickly learned a completely new side to Pilates - instead of focussing on the more traditional Pilates mat work, Becky had us use the Pilates machines and modified the exercises to focus on runner specific problem areas (core strength, lower leg stability, inner and outer thighs, hip flexor strength and flexibility, glute strength). We also tackled exercises much more like a gym workout - working the muscles to the point of exhaustion to trigger faster adoption and strength gain.

The effects were near immediate - not only did I manage to keep my back in good health but I also grew stronger fast. Further the specific focus on running yielded quick results - my running form (especially when tired at the end of a longer run) was better, I felt much stronger when running fast and my ability to tackle hills without burning out my quads grew significantly.

Becoming a Trainer

I was convinced. So much so, that I decided to take Becky’s offer up and trained to become a Pilates trainer myself. I now work with a group of runners - including two Olympic marathon trials runners and a successful ultramarathoner.

If you ever want to do something for your posture, help yourself with niggling pain or simply become a better runner - for me, there is no better way than Pilates. Give it a try! And if you are in the Los Gatos, CA area - pop by and take one of my classes. :)

UCSF’s RunSafe Running Clinic - Becoming a better Runner

Intrigued by an article in a recent issue of Runners World about the RunSafe Running Clinic at the University of California San Francisco I went ahead and put my name down for the $200 2-hour program. The program is so popular that you inevitably end up being on a waiting list - about 8 weeks after I signed up, I got my appointment.

What it is all about

The RunSafe program is a rather complete assessment of you as a runner - four specialists assess your running form on a treadmill with high-speed video analysis; analyze your feet and the wear-pattern of your running shoes; do a head-to-toe physiotherapy session to gain insights into your flexibility and strength and lastly spend time with you talking about your nutrition. At the end of the assessment the four specialists get together and discuss the individual results to gain a complete picture of your running form and specific issues which they then discuss with you in a group session.

My experience with RunSafe

It was a great experience and I learned quite a lot about my running - giving me valuable insights which not only will make me a better runner but also have the potential to avoid injuries down the road. For reference I have included both the specific training plan I received after my assessment (note that this is tailored to me - so don’t blindly follow it) and the video material from my video analysis:

Some interesting points to note in the video: I still heel strike pretty badly (something I want to fix in 2011); my hipflexors and quads are somewhat tight which prevents me from properly swinging my leg back (which results in a reduced range of motion - also something I need to fix in 2011) and lastly you can see that my left hip drops a bit (which is connected to my hipflexor tightness).

You should do it too

If you’re intrigued and live somewhere close to San Francisco - sign up for the program, it will give you the tools to become a better runner!

The (nearly) Perfect Running Shoe

People who know me, will know that I have a slight obsession with (running) shoes. I just like sneakers and don’t seem to be able to settle with a running shoe for long - always on the lookout for something which supports my running form better, which feels more natural on long and tempo runs and which simply doesn’t get in my way while running. This seem to have changed recently…

First things first

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves… Here’s how it started: When I started running again (after a longer hiatus), I went to a local sports shop and bought a pair of Asics. The sales guy put me on a treadmill, let me run a bit and recommended a pair which were on sale. Fine with me. After getting through my initial 6 months of easing back into running a halfway decent mileage per week (and with my first half-marathon coming up), I decided to trade up and go for something more “professional” (or so I thought). I went to the Asics store in London, got the full “we measure your feet and gait and find the perfect shoe for you” ordeal and ended up buying a pair of Asics Gel Kayano. Well - all that tech didn’t really do me any good: After running the Berlin Half-Marathon I ended up with two black toenails (and consequently lost both nails).  Turns out that my feet seem to swell up quite a bit while running and the expertly fitted shoe was too small.

With that experience under my belt I decided to give another highly rated shoe a try - I went to a local running shop and got them to fit me the Saucony ProGrid Omni, still believing that I need to run in a lot of cushioning and a decent amount of stability (as this was what all the running magazines kept telling me). To make a long story short - I never really liked the shoe. It felt too heavy, too stiff and simply got in my way too much.

Going barefoot

I started buying a bunch of other running shoes just to try them out - Adidas, Saucony’s neutral running shoe Pro Grid Triumph… I didn’t like any of them. They all somehow felt wrong.

Which led me to a rather extreme experiment - going barefoot (or better: running in Vibram FiveFingers). The experience was pretty enlightening - I quickly learned that feeling the ground under your feet is an amazing feedback mechanism for your body. Don’t having a large heel-to-toe drop let me strike the ground in a much more natural (mid-foot) way. Everything just felt better - except the fact that running without any cushioning and guidance after all those years in shoes is hard. And if you’re as competitive as I am, you end up doing too much too soon… Which led to a rather nasty Achilles heel injury which sidelined me for 4 months (and revealed a significant instability in my ankle which I since solved with lots of awesome Pilates - but that’s a different story).

Trying to find the compromise

After my adventurous journey into the land of barefoot running I figured that I need something in the middle - shoes with minimal heel-to-toe drop, thinner soles which let me feel the ground, light and flexible… in summary: Racing flats seemed to fit the bill nicely. So - more shoe buying. I started out with a pair of New Balance 905 (in which I ran the California Marathon), tried the Adidas Adizero Mana (which I didn’t like as they seem to have a rather small footprint and put you pretty high up from the ground which leads to a lot of instability), Nike’s Lunar Fly (way to squishy for me) and finally gave Newton’s zero drop shoes a try. The Newton’s worked pretty well - but their somewhat weird and in my eyes a bit gimmicky “Action/Reaction” technology again seems to make the shoe somewhat unstable and puts you too high up from the ground.

The (nearly) perfect shoe

After reading a couple of reviews (and here) of Saucony’s Kinvara, I decided to give the shoe a try. Their weight (or better: lack thereof), minimal heel-to-toe drop (4mm) and low to the ground feeling intrigued me. The first thing you notice when you put these guys on is that they just feel good. They have a sock-like feeling and don’t toy around with any stability features - combine that with a sole which has just enough cushioning to give you a nice ride without moving your foot too far away from the the road (thus giving you tactile feedback from the ground) and you have a shoe which just feels right. The one feature which stands out with the Kinvaras after running in them for a couple of weeks on roads and trails (mainly fire roads) is the sheer fact that you forget that you wear them! This is the first shoe which I completely forget about while running - they don’t get in my way, enable my foot to strike in a natural way and provide enough cushioning that even after doing 12 gruesome (and beautiful) miles up and down the trails of the Sierra Azul Open Space my feet felt great.

The one thing I wish they would have is a more ergonomically correct toebox - the Kinvaras follow the standard design of a pointy toebox, which doesn’t seem to work too well for me (my toes always feel a tiny bit sore after long runs). I would love to see the Kinvaras in a version which has a wide toebox which accommodates proper toe spread while running.

Having said that - you should give these guys a try. They are reasonably cheap - I got my pair from Running Warehouse for $70 incl. shipping. For now I seem to have (finally) found the shoes I am happy with! :)