Plan Every Run, Run Every Plan

 I’ll take the liberty of stating that even if they don’t follow one, most runners are familiar with the concept of a training plan. Maybe you have never used a training plan. Maybe that’s because you’ve never prepared for a race. Maybe that’s because you “just like to run.” Maybe you use a training plan only when training for an event, but that’s a special time and most of the year you don’t use a training plan. Maybe I’ve used the word “maybe” too many times in this opening paragraph.

Whatever the reason - whether you are new to running, intimidated by training plans, or you just don’t like “structured running” – I’m telling you today that you really should be using a training plan. Especially for races, but also for specific goals (annual mileage), as well as year-round. Every run should be part of a plan. Plan Every Run, Run Every Plan.

To explain a little further, a “training plan” is a written plan for when, how far, and how fast you will run during a given period of time. Why is so much formality necessary? A plan is a secret weapon. A plan will get you moving when there are other obstacles to putting one foot in front of the other: weather, attitude, energy, etc. A plan will hold you back to keep you “safe” when you’re feeling too good for your own good. Plan Every Run, Run Every Plan.

A plan can be weekly, monthly, annual, or event-driven. Many of us are familiar with an event-driven plan (e.g., marathon training), which can guide you to the proper training needed to get to the starting line healthy and ready to achieve your goals for that event. Likewise, an annual, monthly, or weekly plan can guide you to the proper training needed to achieve your goals for that specific time period. A plan is a must to help you rehab from an injury or return to running safely after some time off.

But the secret power of a training plan is to keep you safe from yourself, regardless of whether you need protection from laziness or over-zealousness. The only thing you need to do is plan your runs, and discipline yourself to follow the plan. If you do those things, you have one more reason to get up, go outside and run. Valid though they may seem at the time, we all have an endless supply of excuses to avoid running: I didn’t sleep well; I just sneezed; my foot hurts; it’s too hot; it’s tool cold; it’s raining; it’s snowing; my running buddy just bailed so I’ll bail too (to name just a few.) Similarly, we all give ourselves ample opportunity to hurt ourselves by doing too much too soon: I feel great today; I just got my new shoes; I can catch that person up ahead of me; I can run faster/longer than the person on the next treadmill; I need to lose five pounds; I need to grab the Strava Local Legend. All of these are great motivators, but it’s when we overextend our abilities (especially our ability to recover) that we have the greatest probability of injuring ourselves. No one wants to hear those dreaded words from a doctor, “No running for two weeks.”

Now that I’ve got your attention, I’ll dial back the formality a bit. No, you don’t really have to write every run down before you do it. You should definitely have a plan for your run’s pace & distance in your head before you head out. But if you need an extra kick of motivation to get over a hump or slump, you should go ahead and try writing it down ahead of time. If there’s no event in your future, plan out the next month of running. How many days a week do you want to run? You should be varying the types of runs; which ones are going to be long, short, easy, hard, etc.? How long, exactly? How fast, specifically? How many intervals? Also make sure you don’t do “effort runs” on back-to-back days. Plan Every Run, Run Every Plan.

If you need a reason to get up and run, write it down and then do it because that’s What The Plan Says. Plan it, do it, and be proud of yourself. If you are going through a trying time – recovering from a race, preparing to start race training, feeling sick – write that plan to keep yourself in check. When the plan says “Run short and slow”, do what it says, rejoice in meeting your plan, and call it a day. If the plan says “Recovery Run”, do NOT race the next treadmill or try to catch that runner up ahead. Do NOT add hills on interval day “because you feel good.” Plan Every Run, Run Every Plan.

With the new year almost upon us, now is the time to build the discipline & consistency you need to be a successful, healthy, happy runner in the next year and beyond! Plan Every Run, Run Every Plan!

#realisticrunning

Listen to Your Body

A term that’s used frequently on social media with regard to running is “listen to your body.” This is a catch-all term that appears to mean, “if any body part feels less than perfect, cancel your run.” It's easy to turn this into a "final straw" excuse not to run.

Certainly we are all capable of listening to our body. The thing is, do we understand what our body is saying to us? Sometimes our body does not seem to be speaking the same language. Wait, what was that? Did you say, “No quiero correr hoy,” or “necessito correr hoy?” I understand a few words but what was that first word again? Getting it wrong could mean lack of progress in your running career or extended down -time due to injury. thinking we understand when we really don’t could be the worst situation: a setup for failure, whether that’s minimal gains or debilitating injury.

Here’s an example.

I ran a goal marathon this past May. That went as well as can be expected after it went virtual, but that’s a different story. After 842 training miles over twenty weeks, my body had earned a rest. After returning home, during the next Autumn Arch Run Club weekly run, I learned that the brewery was hosting a 5k in the very near future. After marathon training, “only a 5k” would be a rest day, but I’m a competitive person, so of course if I run a 5k I want to run it “fast.” Don’t get me wrong – I wasn’t going to win, except for maybe my age group. But I’m always looking to Beat Yesterday.

I asked my body if it was up for the challenge, and when I listened to my body, it said it wasn’t sure. I had eleven (11) days to train. I thought, if I run a hard run every other day, I can get four workout runs in before a few easy pre-race days. My plan was to start with some intervals the next day and then repeat every other day with a lower number of longer intervals. I had a lot of easy miles on my legs at that point, so of course I planned to listen to my body along the way.

The first training day was awesome: 4x800m intervals, each one faster than the previous, averaging just above my 5k PR pace. . It felt great to run “fast” again!  I asked my body how it was feeling, and I listened to my body tell me, “All systems go.” After another easy day, it was back to running hard. This was a Saturday – my traditional long run day – but this time I had a new goal in mind: 5x1km intervals, each one faster than the previous, averaging well below my 5k PR pace. This felt even better than the previous effort! This was going to work! “Hey body,” I asked, “Are we going to do this?” I listened to my body. “YES!” was the resounding answer from my body. Another easy day, then another workout. Now it’s Monday, my usual interval day; today was going to be epic! I banged out 4x1.25km intervals, each at a steady 9 sec/mile under my 5k PR. “Hey, body… how are you feeling today?”

That was it. I listened to my body, and I didn’t like what I heard. My body told me it wasn’t happy. I had developed a pain on the side of my right knee. This was going to be a deal-breaker. After only five days in, 5k Training was over. Five days away, the race was off.

So, what’s the moral of this story? You need to listen to your body, but you need to be certain that you understand what your body is saying. Was my body ready to train for a 5k following two days off and two easy runs post-marathon? Yes, my body said it was ready, I believed it then, and I still do. Was my training plan reasonable? Yes; hard/easy/hard/easy/hard for a week is not a crazy plan. Did my body change its mind after five days of hard training? Again, the answer is yes. Two different answers from my body in the span of only five days. Do you understand what you are hearing when you listen to your body?

You need to listen to your body, you need to be certain that you understand what your body is saying, and you need to react the correct way even if your body tells you something you don’t want to hear. You need to be just as ready and willing to pull the plug at the first sign of an injury before it becomes an injury that requires you (gasp!) stop running! And sometimes, getting to that injury point is necessary for you to fully understand what your body was telling you. We don't truly know where our limits are until we exceed them. But NEXT time, you’d better pay attention, remember, and react.

#realisticrunning

Warming Up: It's Not Just for Winter

It's January.

This is the time of year when two things happen:

1. Many people need to learn how to warm up because they are just starting a running program as a New Year’s resolution
2. Nobody really minds warming up, because it’s winter and cold out!

But, of course, warmups are necessary year-round.

The Purpose of a Warmup

A good warmup should consist of moving your body to increase your heart rate and respiratory rate and prepares your body for the upcoming activity. A great warmup would consist of moving the actual parts of your body that you are about to exercise. Read on for an enlightening experience I had that taught me how to warm up.

An Example

During the week I usually run at work, during lunchtime. That time works best for me for multiple reasons, and we are fortunate enough to have showers at work, which makes it acceptable to my co-workers. I am also fortunate enough to have an office that adjoins a county park with a 2.6-mile paved running trail as well as wooded trails. Sometimes on “easy run” days, I’ll take an easy run for about a mile and a half to a pull-up bar in the park. I’ll do a few sets of pull-ups and pushups and then finish my easy run around the park and back to the office. The thing is, I noticed that the “easy run” was more difficult after the calisthenics than before. What’s up with that? I’m not an exercise physiologist, but I am a self-proclaimed “perpetual student of all things running.” Here’s my theory.

What's Up With That?

My experience at the pullup bar demonstrates first-hand how working a muscle sends more blood supply to that muscle. It makes sense – muscle activity requires oxygen, and it’s the blood that brings oxygen. Have you ever worked out any muscle and felt that “pumped” feeling? That pumped feeling is, among other things, the extra blood sent to your working muscles. However, a person has a finite supply of blood in their  body. So, if there’s “extra” blood pumping up your arm and back muscles after some pullups and pushups, there must be less blood somewhere else! Therefore, if working out other body parts makes running harder, working out your “running body parts” should make running easier. Of course, “harder” and easier” are relative terms.

A Warmup Should Be Specific

Back to the warmup itself. You want a light workout of the muscles you use during running in order to get those muscles prepped for the run. What’s the best way to do that? Running! Of course, your running warmup needs to be “easier” running than your running workout is going to be. Based on your pace, maybe that means walking to warm up.  I like to warm up on a continuum, starting really easy and then ramping up to the running workout. And my preferred warmup has changed over time. As I’ve mentioned, I read and study and evaluate new things and if they work, I start using them regularly.

My Warmup 

I start my warmup with the “starting stance” from The Sling Method (feel free to go look it up. Tell Paul I sent you.) Then to add some more activity, I stand on one foot doing an exaggerated “running motion” with the leg that’s off the ground”. That means, knee high up in front, cycles through with the foot rubbing the ground on the way back, full follow-through kick. I repeat 20-30 times and then repeat on the other leg. Then I start off my run with 1 to 1.5 miles of very easy running. For reference, my mindless easy pace is about 9:15/mile, and I start off at about 10:00-10:30 per mile. If I am going to be doing speedwork that day, I will add some 0.05 mile stride intervals during the last mile of warmup: 0.05 mile fast, 0.05 mile easy, repeat.

 Now Go Do It

That’s it. A good warmup doesn’t need to be complicated. But it does need to precede your workout! Every time. Even if the weather is warm.

New Year, New You

It’s the single-digits of January, a time when many people vow to change their lives. For runners, it’s the time to set new annual mileage goals, plan to crush some PRs, or sign up for that first marathon. Whether you’re a brand-new runner or a veteran, there are a few steps you should take to get the most out of your New Year’s Resolution.

First & foremost, stop talking about – or even thinking about – the negatives. You’ll make more progress by turning around those self-deprecating thoughts into self-affirming words. For example, unless you’re a professional or competitive runner, your speed/pace doesn’t matter. No one cares about it except you. Stop telling everyone how slow you are. Everyone is slower than someone, and everyone is faster than someone else. If you’re up and moving, as the cliché goes, “you’re faster than those sitting on the couch.” If that statement itself doesn’t make you proud that you’re moving, and you truly want to be faster, then start working on getting faster!

If you’ve decided that this new year is finally the time you will become a runner, congratulations! Your negative thoughts might be telling you how hard it’s going to be, but I’m here to tell you that it will never be easier. If you’re just getting up off the couch, that’s an accomplishment! You have nowhere to go but up.

If you’ve already been running for a while, maybe this new year is your promise to yourself to improve. Remember that there are many aspects to improvement: farther, faster, longer, stronger, etc. There are also many paths on which to find that improvement: run intervals, run hills, run longer distances. There are also hidden paths that can help you get to your goals. Improve your diet, hydrate better, lose weight, strengthen your body, get more sleep; all of these are indirect ways that you can improve your running.

Regardless of your running experience, there a few things to remember that are critical to your success. Do your research. Take the advice of experts. Test and verify. Be Consistent.

Do Your Research

We are lucky to live in the information age where real scientific data is available at our fingertips. Too many people make the mistake of asking friends (real or virtual) for running advice. That practice is like rolling the dice. Your friends, whether in real life or on Facebook, are not necessarily running experts just because they run. Even if they run a lot. One thing about science is that it is, by nature, always changing. Hypotheses are tested and new discoveries are made. I see a lot of running lore passed on that is not necessarily the latest and best information. Which leads to the next section…

Take the Advice of Experts

Friends will try to help you by telling you what works for them. Sometimes they say it very authoritatively and you believe it. However, what has worked wonders for one person isn’t necessarily the best thing for another. It’s likely to really be a good thing, but even so it might not be the place where you’ll see the most improvement at this time. Talk to a coach. Visit running-science web sites or Facebook groups. These people are experienced with dealing with multiple runners, not just a data set of one. They can help you set realistic goals instead of just telling you what you want to hear. They likely study the latest science and know how to evaluate you to suggest what you should do next. But you should always…

Test and Verify

Pick one thing at a time to change, dedicate yourself to it, give it some time, and don’t give up. If you change more than one thing at a time, you won’t know which one worked and which didn’t. Invest in a running watch that gives you lots of data. Learn how to evaluate that data. Keep good records. Be dedicated for at least six weeks. Compare the new you to the old you. If you’re better now than you were before, keep doing that new thing, and add another new thing. If you’re not improving, drop it and move on to the next new thing.

Be Consistent

Finally, be consistent. Keep doing the things that make you better. Stop doing the things that are holding you back. If something doesn’t give you value, consider dropping it to make time for something that does. Keep learning. Keep verifying. Keep improving.

Happy New Year!

Eat Plant-Based for Your Best Immune System

This blog is called “The Plant-Based Plodder”, but to be honest I have seldom mentioned diet. There were a few times early on when I mentioned it: My First Post; Switching To Vegan; and as a stretch, Running With The Bull.  Well, now seems like a very good time to bring this up again.

Not all vegetarians – not even all vegans - are necessarily following a healthy diet. There is plenty of vegan junk food available; Oreos & potato chips come to mind. For that reason, and because the word “vegan” has political connotations, I like to use the term “Whole -Food Plant-Based” (WFPB) to describe my diet. To me, that means that I rely on plant-based foods with a minimum amount of processing. Think avocados instead of guacamole & olives instead of olive oil.

There is research that shows vegetarianism can have many benefits for health. One we’re learning more about is its potential to strengthen our immune systems¹. According to this year-old Australian article², there is still some mystery whether this is due to avoiding meat or eating more vegetables. But it’s safe to assume that the higher volume of foods including fruits, vegetables, and legumes seen in vegetarian diets is likely to have a lot to do with associated health benefits. And, studies show that balanced vegetarian eating patterns could be good for our immune system and the related response of the body, “The enhanced natural cytotoxicity may be one of the factors contributing to the lower cancer risk shown by vegetarians.”³

In addition to helping the immune system directly, vegetarian diets may also help our body by reducing a related process called inflammation. Vegetarian diets have been shown to prevent inflammation due to the antioxidant components within the foods. Inflammation occurs when the body releases chemicals such as C-reactive Protein (CRP) and fibrinogen to attack unwanted pathogens or respond to injury. Many people take NSAIDs (non-steroidal Anti-Inflammatory drugs) such as naproxen and ibuprofen when they are injured or sore after a workout. However, studies⁴ have shown that people who follow plant-based diets have lower levels of some of these chemicals compared to people following a non-vegetarian diet. Inflammation is part of the body’s natural reaction to injury, but sometimes it can get out of control. But, people maintaining a vegetarian diet long-term are at a lower risk of getting Type-II diabetes, heart disease and even some cancers.

Diving a little deeper into diet details: to function at full capacity, cells need the essential micro-nutrients - not just carbs, proteins, and fats, but vitamins A-K, magnesium, potassium, iron, calcium, boron, and more. The Standard American Diet (“SAD”! coincidence? I think not!) - along with popular diet trends such as Keto and Paleo - relies on foods such as meat and dairy that are severely lacking in these micronutrients. Plant-based foods, on the other hand, tend to be extremely high in these essential nutrients that support healthy cell function. Think of it this way: when one consumes a dairy product, such as cows’ milk, they are likely opting out of a more nutrient-dense option, such as pea milk.

While it’s true dairy does contain some nutrients - mainly calcium, protein, potassium, and fortified vitamin D - it also contains harmful⁵ trans and saturated fats, artery-constricting cholesterol, natural bovine hormones that may stimulate unregulated cell growth, and inflammatory properties. When there are ample amounts of foods that offer the same nutrients without the side harmful side effects, there is no reason to consume dairy for the sake of meeting nutrition needs.

I could keep going. But I’ll end with this. In addition to micro-nutrients, antioxidants are key. These compounds are mostly found in plant foods and help fight inflammation—the nexus for disease. In fact, a WFPB diet contains 64-times the amount of immunity-boosting antioxidants compared to a diet that includes meat and dairy.

What have you got to lose? Right here, right now, in April 2020, immunity is key. Cut out the antioxidant-depleted animal foods and incorporate these nutrient-dense, antioxidant-rich plant foods into your diet⁶:

·       Berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, etc)

·       Beets

·       Cherries

·       Raw cacao (in powdered form, mixed into oatmeal or smoothies)

·       Leafy greens (kale, collard greens, bok choy, chard, etc)

Even if you are wary to switch “cold-turkey” (pardon the animal reference here), NOW is a good time to just TRY this. For example, why not try “Meatless Mondays”? At the very least, it will give you something to do while you are shuttered up in your home.

References:

1.       Impact of a 3-Months Vegetarian Diet on the Gut Microbiota and Immune Repertoire

2.       Eat your vegetables – studies show plant-based diets are good for immunity

3.       Natural killer cells, vitamins, and other blood components of vegetarian and omnivorous men.

4.       Vegetarian-Based Dietary Patterns and their Relation with Inflammatory and Immune Biomarkers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

5.       Why Ditch Dairy?

6.       Ways To Support Your Immunity On A Plant-Based Diet