Are you ready to advance your running skills so you can increase your distance and strength?! If you want to become a good runner. Jason Fitzgerald and I discuss some of the myths about long-distance running, why runners often neglect strength training, and more. Running Nike and Adidas just rolled out ultra-fast marathon shoes. But do they make sense for the average runner? As part of their rival efforts to break the two-hour. The Healthy Runner’s Diet Follow these six rules for a healthy, whole-foods eating plan designed just for a runner like you. By Liz Applegate, Ph.D. What elite runners eat to get the most out of their training and racing is not a secret. Here is a typical diet and how you can make it fit your training. Want to be a better runner? Here are 5K, 10K, and half-marathon training plans and running tips for beginners to serious runners. The Local Elite ! I’m writing up a “quick” birth story for anyone who is interested in how my 3rd baby entered the world and then hope to get right into blogging again about coming back and how my running is going. The birth was similar in some ways (vaginal, no epidural, extremely painful delivery!) but also different (middle of the night, exhausted, starving momma this time around). I’m going to start by going off on a little tangent and say BRAVO to all moms for carrying and delivering babies regardless of how the process goes. I think one of the worst parts of pregnancy for me is realizing around 8. I made it easier on myself with my 2nd and 3rd child by saying “this is what I want to happen in an ideal world, but I’m ok with anything that has to happen to result in a healthy baby and mom in the end.” Before having my first child, a daughter, I wanted a perfectly magical, natural labor. After taking birthing classes I felt like I knew exactly what labor would be like and I WAS GOING TO DO IT SO WELL! Then I ended up having a long, painful labor that ended with an epidural and I quickly realized I knew absolutely nothing and every labor is different and you really can’t prepare much for what it will really be like other than mentally preparing for ANYTHING. Epidurals happen, c- sections happen, blood transfusions happen, newborns in the NICU happen, the list goes on and on – you are NOT LESS of a woman or mother or person for the way you choose to have your baby or how your body chooses to respond to labor. We are all SUPERWOMEN!! Husband and wife Ryan and Sara Hall are two of America’s premier distance runners. Both were California high school superstars and All-Americans at Stanford. ![]() Moving along. When I would go to bed at night, I would feel almost like I peed my pants a little, but I knew it wasn’t pee. I told my mom who urged me to go to the midwives on Monday. I had an appointment on Thursday and decided to wait until then. Thursday rolled around and I brought my hospital bag to my appointment. ![]() I see the midwives at the hospital where I deliver and I just knew I wouldn’t be going home. I was right. They confirmed I had a leak and I would have to be induced Thursday evening. Posing in front of the hospital after finding out I was going to be induced. I was a little disappointed to be induced. I felt like I did something wrong. But then I remembered what I typed earlier – we are all awesome and having a leak and being induced is not my fault and I’m not “failing” at anything. I did request the midwives check to see if there was a low bag of water that needed to be broken since I felt the leak was high and the baby was still surrounded by plenty of “water” and labor wasn’t going to progress quickly like that. I wasn’t feeling like I was in labor at all. I thought if they would check that and break my water my labor would start to progress. But they recommended not checking due to risk of infection and they would start me on Pitocin. NytroWhey Ultra Elite by ProSource, is a Premium Whey Protein Powder using CFM Whey Isolate from Glambia along with Aminogen. I agreed on the Pitocin and reminded them in a *perfect world* I wanted a natural, vaginal delivery but to offer me an epidural when things got rough and let me make a decision then. My family met me at the hospital but the kids left with our good friends after an hour had passed and it was clearly going to be a longer process than originally expected. I had lunch at noon that day before my 1pm appointment and when I was waiting for a room to clear (2: 3. I wanted to get a snack before they induced me. I assumed I would have a room soon and the induction would be quick, having me eating dinner by 6pm so I said I was fine. I didn’t want to feel full during my labor. Well, that was a horrible idea because I was STILL waiting for a room at 6pm and got started on Pitocin at 7pm. To make a long story short the Pitocin did nothing and I was still waiting for noticeable contractions at 1. I was on a clear liquids diet so kept requesting italian ice and gingerale to give me energy. In my gown and ready to get this show on the road! Face swapping with my husband to pass the time! I was exhausted, starving, and worried the process might take all night and I didn’t feel like my body or mind would be able to handle it. I asked if I was still on a low dose of Pitocin because I was literally feeling nothing but Braxton Hicks feeling contractions. No pain at all. They had been increasing the dose every half hour and said I was up to a high level (still half of what is “allowed” but most people don’t go past the dose I was being given and nothing was happening). The midwife ended up coming in and I asked her to please please PLEASE!!! She agreed and my instincts were correct. Baby was still hanging in tons of water so she broke the water right then, at exactly midnight. Within minutes, the real contractions hit pretty hard. It was now officially Friday morning and I knew my baby would be born sometime on 3/2. I decided if all went well and was normal, I was going to approach this labor like a race – most specifically a marathon. There was going to be the part that was comfortable, then it would be annoyingly uncomfortable, then there would be pain, then it would get unbearable and I would want to throw in the towel, but if I could pass that point (which is the “transition phase” of labor I would “see the finish line” (pushing) and be able to make it through. Luckily, that scenario is exactly how labor went. ![]() When things got really bad, the midwife offered the epidural and I said, “I feel like this is going to be less than 3 hours and I know I can deal with 3 hours of pain so let’s go without it.” I hit many points where I thought I would throw up, then I was sure I would pass out. Strange things crossed my mind like, “will I die?” or “will my baby die” and then “what will happen to my baby?” Most of this time I was laboring alone as the midwives are very much into letting you labor as you wish and not interfering. This is one of the reasons I chose the midwives. ![]() ![]()
![]() My husband was pretending to sleep on the couch, knowing I am independent and like doing hard things on my own! When labor started to seem unbearable I reminded myself the finish line was approaching. I had the advantage of knowing exactly what the “transition phase” felt like from my previous 2 children and knew I was there. When I was ready to push, I buzzed for the midwife and nurses and they came to my room fairly quickly. My husband then got up and joined me and it was go time. I was so tired I started to worry I wouldn’t be able to push the baby out, but on the second contraction after the urge to push, I was holding baby Ryles in my arms. I had 2 hours and 4. I had my reward! Relieved to have my baby in my arms and have the pain stop. So many thoughts and emotions running through my head at this point, but was mostly just relieved. People say you forget the pain of labor, and that happened after my first child (labored for 3. I also forgot the pain almost immediately after my second (he was quick and came just before lunch when I had high energy levels and high spirits and I didn’t have time to get an epidural as I was 1. I arrived at the hospital). But the thing is, I can still imagine and feel the pain of this 3rd baby, even though the pain subsided moments after giving birth. So, don’t believe everything you hear about childbirth and never believe every labor will be the same! Later that morning after I had about 3. I recovered really quickly and was walking around, using the restroom unassisted and doing all the things I needed to do in the first hour or so. Yes, I got LUCKY! I was able to leave the hospital the next day to join my other kids and parents at home and start to learn what it feels like to be a family of 5! Bigham, part of 5! Thank you so much for all of the love and encouragement and I will blog soon about my return to base building, then real training, and finally back to competitive running! Spoiler alert: I’m “participating” in a race 5 weeks postpartum. Unbreakable Runner: Cross. Fit Endurance for Running. In a recent article posted on Active by my former colleague, star author and longtime friend, Matt Fitzgerald, Matt takes up the issue of injury prevention for runners, using an initial mention of Unbreakable Runner to make his point. He writes, “In their book, Mac. Kenzie and Murphy take it as a given that runners who run more get injured more. However, recent research suggests the opposite is true.”The first study Fitzgerald cites was a web survey of 6. Sixty- eight of the respondents reported an injury that hindered their training for at least two weeks. From the data, researchers concluded that runners should put in no less than 1. Fitzgerald also refers to a 2. Researchers focused on overall mileage, speed and frequency of runs. From the data collected, they predicted that injury risk in regards to training load is affected by body- mass index and previous injuries. Fitzgerald then effectively dismisses a program like Cross. Fit Endurance—the subject of Unbreakable Runner—with his own deduction: “Why do runners who run more get injured less?” Fitzgerald posits. He answers that “running alone develops the specific kind of durability that makes the body resistant to running- related injuries.”He adds his bottom- line: “All of the strength training and technique drills in the world won’t match the toughening effect of actual running.”To support this contention, he cites a 2. Both groups would follow a 9- week training program, but the test group first prepared with a four- week phase of pre- conditioning comprised of walking and hopping exercises. Researchers concluded that the four weeks of hopping and walking didn’t have a valuable effect on shielding newbie runners from injury. Only running itself builds the kind of durability that prevents running- related injuries. Drills and strength training just don’t cut it.”I think this is an important discussion to have and I think Matt brings up some valuable insight, especially for beginning runners. From the data, Matt extrapolates that “drills and strength training” just don’t cut it. I assume he’s talking about the inclusion of running drills, bodyweight gymnastic work, mobility and functional- strength training workouts in Mac. Kenzie’s approach, and not the . At any rate, one thing I wish to clarify is the primary messages we wanted to get across in Unbreakable Runner: Unleash the Power of Strength and Conditioning for a Lifetime of Running Strong. I want to underscore the “Lifetime” part of the subtitle a little later on, but first, a stress within Unbreakable Runner I wanted to make is not that it’s the best program or the only program worth following—something Mac. Kenzie seems to be routinely accused of saying. There are so many different types of runners with different goals and different issues, I think a variety of options and ideas is a good thing. Lydiard isn’t for everyone and CFE isn’t for everyone as is Galloway isn’t for everyone or Vigil isn’t for everyone (pity the recreational runner who tries to follow Joe Vigil’s 1. K program, preferably performed at 8. And that’s a core message in the book: We wanted to communicate an accurate picture of Cross. Fit Endurance and offer it to those who might be frustrated with injuries from the programs they’ve been following, or for those who might find the variety and all- around athleticism appealing. But we weren’t out to force it down anyone’s throat. Recently, a link to a story on the book was announced with the Twitter text: . He doesn’t dispute that high- mileage programs can work—in fact, the foreward is written by the human odometer, Dean Karnazes—what Brian does suggest is that a runner should look for every opportunity to minimize the wear and tear of running and factors, like a poor diet or not getting enough sleep, that lead to chronic inflammation, which science clearly links to premature aging. As an example, if you ask Mac. Kenzie what the number one benefit of a Cross. Fit workout is for a runner, he’s going to talk about how functional movements, performed under load and at high- intensity, can do wonders for a coach trying to sort out biomechanical weaknesses, imbalances and other “holes” that ultimately, down the road, will probably be the cause of an injury. The weaknesses are exposed well before they manifest themselves in a tweak. There’s also the value of the strength work. As Jay Dicharry, MPT, puts forth in his detailed examination of biomechanics and running, the excellent book, Anatomy for Runners, nothing drives him crazier in his practice then when a veteran runner comes into his office with a chronic injury (or injuries) and Dicharry asks what the runner has been doing as far as routine maintenance over the years, and and the answer is . To illustrate his point, Dicharry uses the metaphor of a car mechanic talking to a customer whose car is breaking down at 7. Dicharry also advocates the style of strength training that Mac. Kenzie does: Weight training (at high intensity) requires the runner to produce forces well above those seen during running. It’s possible to activate a very high percentage of a runner’s muscle mass, with minimal physiologic fatigue. The study I would be interested in seeing would be a six week (or more) preparation program that went above and beyond walking and hopping and prepared new runners with movement drills and basic functional strength training moves. Then compare them to a control group and a nine- week training program. But even then, that’s just going to offer another ray of information for the discussion. The one study that I know of that looked at a pool of very good runners over a long time has been conducted by Jack Daniels, Ph. D., the longtime coach, researcher and author of The Daniels Running Formula. In a phone interview about a year and a half ago, Daniels described to me how he’s kept tabs on the elite runners he first studied circa 1. During the call, he told me how he had completed a third survey with his cohort, and said there was one conclusion he could draw in regards to those who still were enjoying their running and running well. The ones who had run the least were the least broken, in other words. That’s just another piece of the puzzle, of course, when it comes to the discussion of running mileage. Steve Magness, author of The Science of Running, examines the subject of volume in his book and concludes that we just don’t know enough—it’s his contention that there just aren’t enough studies on the subject that one can use research alone to make a decision on what mileage level is the best mileage level. One of my favorite people to talk to on the subject is Dr. Brian Hickey, a Ph. D at Florida A& M. In his 4. 0s, Hickey has been a running and track geek since he was a kid, and he’s applied his vast knowledge of exercise science toward his own athletic career. Even though he’s been competing since high school and ran at Syracuse, he still loves to spend his summers finding duathlons and Masters track meets to frequent. I seem to recall him telling me that he not only likes to enter just myriad race distances, from the 4. That the guy has been at it for more than two decades and is still racing a lot is one thing; it’s another thing to be able to do a field event that I can barely watch because of the impact stress involved. Hickey, in fact, was a like a third author on the book, Unbreakable Runner, and I’m looking forward to reporting more about what he has to say. He’s all about minimum effective dose when it comes to running miles, using functional strength movements and heavy weights as part of his long- term durability plan. If you’re in your 2. CFE- like workouts to supplant the easy maintenance runs? I think the answer is very individual, and may have something to do with the quality of your mechanics and any mobility issues you have. A thought sparked in discussions with Hickey is that the day that you end up in your 4. Or is it the inevitable result of all those steps you took doing 6. It’s different if you’re a professional runner who is out to make a killing and be finished with running by the age of 2. But it’s a different thing for the age- grouper sort who wants to run forever. I totally agree with Fitzgerald that running produces adaptations that lead to stronger connective tissue, bone density and the like—durability, as he puts it. My question—for those who love running and want to be able to run in their later years—is what else can you do besides just more running? What can you do to insure your bet? That’s what Unbreakable Runner is about. In their new book, Unbreakable Runner, Cross. Fit Endurance. Murphy examine long- held beliefs about how to train, tearing down those traditions to reveal new principles for a lifetime of healthy, powerful running. Unbreakable Runner includes Cross. Fit- based training programs for the most popular running race distances from 5. K to ultramarathon. Now available! Autographed copies of Unbreakable Runner from Brian Mac. Kenzie! Find Unbreakable Runner in your local bookstore, Cross. Fit gym, or from these online retailers: Velo. Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Chapters/Indigo, your local bookstore.
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