GETTING INJURED
FIX: TRAIN SMARTER
WHAT IS AS RUNNER'S NUMBER ONE FEAR? INJURY, ACCORDING
to two-thirds of respondents to a runnersworld.com poll. Many mistakes can lead to injuries; training cautiously can prevent most of them. Follow the famous "10 percent rule"-that is, increase weekly mileage by just 10 percent. separate all long runs, tempo runs, ans speed workouts by at least 48 hours, with only easy runs, cross training, or rest days between them. And don't pile on miles. "Most of the people I know who get injured are the ones who don't have a coach or consistently 'mono-train,' so they never really run slow and constantly stress their bodies," says Joyette Jopson, a triathlete. "Mileage increases are different for everyone. It's about your weight, running gait, running background, or even what surface you run on. A experienced and intuitive coach will be able to guide an athlete in the right direction."
THINK POSITIVE: "Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself."
--Max Ehrmann
WHAT IS AS RUNNER'S NUMBER ONE FEAR? INJURY, ACCORDING
to two-thirds of respondents to a runnersworld.com poll. Many mistakes can lead to injuries; training cautiously can prevent most of them. Follow the famous "10 percent rule"-that is, increase weekly mileage by just 10 percent. separate all long runs, tempo runs, ans speed workouts by at least 48 hours, with only easy runs, cross training, or rest days between them. And don't pile on miles. "Most of the people I know who get injured are the ones who don't have a coach or consistently 'mono-train,' so they never really run slow and constantly stress their bodies," says Joyette Jopson, a triathlete. "Mileage increases are different for everyone. It's about your weight, running gait, running background, or even what surface you run on. A experienced and intuitive coach will be able to guide an athlete in the right direction."
THINK POSITIVE: "Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself."
--Max Ehrmann
FALLING BEHIND
FIX: CLOSE THE GAP QUICKLY
AT SOME POINT, EVERY RUNNER GETS dropped, whether on a long, hard run or in track repeat. Stiffness or fatigue from a recent workout is a legit reason for not keeping up; allow more recovery in the future. So is running with a too-fast crowd; pick a slower ground next time or accept that it may take a while to get fit enough to run with cheetahs. Or you might just be having an off day.
But sometimes there are no excuses. "Do your best to stay close to your pace group," says Coach Ani De Leon-Brown. "Having a partner or a group to run with regularly just makes training every other day mush easier, as it becomes a social time as well. It can get boring running on your own for weeks at a time. Even the most serious trainers can use a group or partner every now and then. For groups which are competitive, this helps them push each other to run faster than they would on their own."
THINK POSITIVE: "There is no failure here, sweetheart, just when you quit."--U2
AT SOME POINT, EVERY RUNNER GETS dropped, whether on a long, hard run or in track repeat. Stiffness or fatigue from a recent workout is a legit reason for not keeping up; allow more recovery in the future. So is running with a too-fast crowd; pick a slower ground next time or accept that it may take a while to get fit enough to run with cheetahs. Or you might just be having an off day.
But sometimes there are no excuses. "Do your best to stay close to your pace group," says Coach Ani De Leon-Brown. "Having a partner or a group to run with regularly just makes training every other day mush easier, as it becomes a social time as well. It can get boring running on your own for weeks at a time. Even the most serious trainers can use a group or partner every now and then. For groups which are competitive, this helps them push each other to run faster than they would on their own."
THINK POSITIVE: "There is no failure here, sweetheart, just when you quit."--U2
TACKLING HARD HILLS
FIX: PUT IT IN PERSPECTIVE
"I love running hills", says Jopson. " They are great intervals without the impact. They force me to run with a shorter and faster stride." Coach Armand Mendoza agrees. "Hills improve running strength," he says. " Although time or distance training varies in approach to hills, improvements may vary per individual on each type of training." Try doing hill repeats at three set of 30,60, and 90 seconds. Experiment on each type of training and note how you feel about each type. Mendoza suggests at least two sessions a week to see remarkable progress. Also, studies have found that people tend to overestimate the steepness of hills by an average of 18 to 19 degree. So that monster hill may no t be as monstrous as it looks.
THINK POSITIVE: "Never fear those mountains in the distance; never settle for the path of at least resistance." Lee Ann Womack
"I love running hills", says Jopson. " They are great intervals without the impact. They force me to run with a shorter and faster stride." Coach Armand Mendoza agrees. "Hills improve running strength," he says. " Although time or distance training varies in approach to hills, improvements may vary per individual on each type of training." Try doing hill repeats at three set of 30,60, and 90 seconds. Experiment on each type of training and note how you feel about each type. Mendoza suggests at least two sessions a week to see remarkable progress. Also, studies have found that people tend to overestimate the steepness of hills by an average of 18 to 19 degree. So that monster hill may no t be as monstrous as it looks.
THINK POSITIVE: "Never fear those mountains in the distance; never settle for the path of at least resistance." Lee Ann Womack
FAILING TO HIT SPEEDWORK GOALS
FIX: TWEAT THE TARGET TIMES OR DISTANCES
"Missing goal times is usually the result of a bad day or overly ambitious goals,"says Luke Humphrey, a 2:14 marathoner who's head coach of Hanson's Coaching Services in suburban Daetroit. "You can't do much about bad days, and it's okay to completely miss once in a while. But there are a couple of ways to adjust targets if they're too ambitious. " Runners need to slowly increase the intensity over the weeks until they hit their faster goal race time. For runners who lack the confidence to hit a certain pace, Humphrey suggests at first reducing the repeat distance - by starting with 400-meter repeats at goal pace, say, instead of 800s - to remove the intimidation factor. "It's better to make mistakes in training and learn from them," he says, "than to make them on race day."
THINK POSITIVE: "Failure isn't failure if a lesson from it's learned." -Garth Brooks
"Missing goal times is usually the result of a bad day or overly ambitious goals,"says Luke Humphrey, a 2:14 marathoner who's head coach of Hanson's Coaching Services in suburban Daetroit. "You can't do much about bad days, and it's okay to completely miss once in a while. But there are a couple of ways to adjust targets if they're too ambitious. " Runners need to slowly increase the intensity over the weeks until they hit their faster goal race time. For runners who lack the confidence to hit a certain pace, Humphrey suggests at first reducing the repeat distance - by starting with 400-meter repeats at goal pace, say, instead of 800s - to remove the intimidation factor. "It's better to make mistakes in training and learn from them," he says, "than to make them on race day."
THINK POSITIVE: "Failure isn't failure if a lesson from it's learned." -Garth Brooks
COMING IN LAST
FIX: HIGHLY IMPROBABLE, SO KEEP YOUR CONFIDENCE
If you train even a little and enter a large race with walkers, you will not finish last. But even if it happens, so what? Paolo Abrera, host of ANC's Green Living, says, "At the Pico de Loro triathlon, the bike leg was challenging with big hills, so by the time I got to the run, I was completely wasted. Fact is, I was under trained. I jus dug deep and kept putting one foot after another. "He says accepted that while it wouldn't be his best run, he would eventually make it to the finish line. "I've had good races and bad races, and they've all taught me something," adds Abrera. "But the bigger lessons - on training, nutrition, and perseverance - have always been learned from the bad races. "Even if you're last, you're still beating everyone who dropped out or wouldn't stand on a starting line if you paid them. They're the real losers.
THINK POSITIVE: "You can't win until you're not afraid to lose."- Bon Jovi
If you train even a little and enter a large race with walkers, you will not finish last. But even if it happens, so what? Paolo Abrera, host of ANC's Green Living, says, "At the Pico de Loro triathlon, the bike leg was challenging with big hills, so by the time I got to the run, I was completely wasted. Fact is, I was under trained. I jus dug deep and kept putting one foot after another. "He says accepted that while it wouldn't be his best run, he would eventually make it to the finish line. "I've had good races and bad races, and they've all taught me something," adds Abrera. "But the bigger lessons - on training, nutrition, and perseverance - have always been learned from the bad races. "Even if you're last, you're still beating everyone who dropped out or wouldn't stand on a starting line if you paid them. They're the real losers.
THINK POSITIVE: "You can't win until you're not afraid to lose."- Bon Jovi
FALLING OFF THE TREADMILL
FIX. PAY ATTENTION!
That's the best way to avoid this painful but common mishap, which is also painfully embarrassing in a crowded gym. "When you get off balance or something falls on the belt, don't chase it, "says Enrico Tocol, an ultra-runner and senior personal trainer at Gold's Gym Glorietta. His advice: Hold on to the handrails and set foot on the treadmill's side step board Then, either decrease the speed or stop.
Before you start, locate the large "kill" button, which stops the treadmill, and punch it the moment you begin to fail if you ever do.
THINK POSITIVE: "Our greatest glory in not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." - Confucius
That's the best way to avoid this painful but common mishap, which is also painfully embarrassing in a crowded gym. "When you get off balance or something falls on the belt, don't chase it, "says Enrico Tocol, an ultra-runner and senior personal trainer at Gold's Gym Glorietta. His advice: Hold on to the handrails and set foot on the treadmill's side step board Then, either decrease the speed or stop.
Before you start, locate the large "kill" button, which stops the treadmill, and punch it the moment you begin to fail if you ever do.
THINK POSITIVE: "Our greatest glory in not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." - Confucius
HITTING THE WALL
FIX: KNOCK IT DOWN WITH GELS
Hitting the wall can be caused by many things like starting too fast, not being fit enough, and bonking, says Jopson. To avoid this, runners should take in calories during the race. Jopson says she usually consumes a gel beforehand and carries a few with her on the go. The amount of calories you need to take in depends on your size, efficiency, intensity, and the distance you're running. Jopson suggests finding out what best in training and then applying it in the race. But the Wall still stands if you goof on race pace. If you take in calories and still hit the Wall, it means you ran a pace your body wasn't prepared to handle. Race-pace training runs and "test" races are tools you can use to decide on the ideal race pace.
THINK POSITIVE: "If you run into a wall... climb it, go through it, or work around it." - Michael Jordan
Hitting the wall can be caused by many things like starting too fast, not being fit enough, and bonking, says Jopson. To avoid this, runners should take in calories during the race. Jopson says she usually consumes a gel beforehand and carries a few with her on the go. The amount of calories you need to take in depends on your size, efficiency, intensity, and the distance you're running. Jopson suggests finding out what best in training and then applying it in the race. But the Wall still stands if you goof on race pace. If you take in calories and still hit the Wall, it means you ran a pace your body wasn't prepared to handle. Race-pace training runs and "test" races are tools you can use to decide on the ideal race pace.
THINK POSITIVE: "If you run into a wall... climb it, go through it, or work around it." - Michael Jordan