Fix My Running

The Nike Vaporfly and its descendants, the Next% and Alphafly, have revolutionized the running landscape. In recent years we have seen new world records set in the men's and women's 10k, half-marathon and marathon. Many other elite runners have set personal bests in the now-dubbed "super-shoes". We have multiple independent studies showing improvements in running economy of around 4% on average. With all the disruption, the IAAF has finally had to step in and update their regulations on running shoes.

Now that these "super-shoes" are more widely available, the question on every runner's lips is "will they work for me?". Our guest today has been attempting to answer that question. Dr Hébert-Losier recently published a study in The Journal of Sport and Health Science in which she tested the Nike Vaporfly 4% on a group of recreational runners, like us!

Kim Hébert-Losier is a Senior Lecturer and Researcher in Applied Biomechanics at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. She is also a Physiotherapist and an accomplished runner, having qualified for the Boston Marathon twice. She joins me on the show today to shed a little more light on what these "super-shoes" are, how they work and whether the Nike Vaporfly / Alphafly can really make you a faster runner.

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What do you consider when buying running shoes? Research shows that most runners think getting the "correct shoe" is important for avoiding injuries. But how do you know if you're in the "correct shoes"?

Dr Codi Ramsey is an expert on running shoes and has been investigating the relationship between shoes and running injuries. Dr Ramsey is the Academic Lead for the Masters of Applied Science program at Otago Polytechnic in New Zealand. She joins me on the show today to discuss the problems we face when trying to use the evidence to make informed decisions about our running shoes. We discussed the difficulty in making strong recommendations based on the current evidence, as well as the problems that have arisen from shoe companies putting the marketing-cart before the research-horse. She also shares some practical tips that runners can use to evaluate shoes right there in the store, before making a purchase.

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Cool stuff mentioned in the show

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Is a High-Fat Low-Carb diet a good idea for an endurance athlete? What about vegan, keto or paleo?

Are gels and sports drinks a good idea for runners who are trying to lose weight?

Registered Dietician and Sports Nutrition expert, Harrison Blizzard, joins me on the show to answer my many, many nutrition-related questions.

Check out the full show notes here

Would you like your running or triathlon questions featured in a future episode? Just click here to leave me a voicemail

Harrison consults out of RD Nutrition, here in Red Deer, Alberta:

Facebook: @rdnutritioninc

Instagram: @rd.nutrition.inc

YouTube

www.rdnutrition.ca

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"Tendons hurt when they are not strong enough to do their job"

Tendon pain usually affects runners in the Achilles tendon at the heel or the patellar tendon at the knee. It also commonly affects swimmers in the rotator cuff at the shoulder.

If you have pain in one of these areas during or after running/swimming you may have "tendinopathy". In this episode, we're going to learn how to fix it.

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Would you like your running or triathlon questions featured in a future episode? Just click here to leave me a voicemail

I wrote a 3 part blog series a while back on tendon pain:

Tendonitis in Runners

Tendonitis Treatment for Runners

Achilles Pain with Running

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Tendon pain (aka tendonitis) is really common among runners, swimmers and cyclists. Runners are often affected at the Achilles tendon in the heel or the patellar tendon in the knee. Swimmers get tendon pain in the rotator cuff of the shoulder and cyclists in the hamstring tendon just by the sit bones.

Today we're going to talk about the structural changes that occur within the tendon that often lead to tendon pain. We'll also be unpacking the different terminology used in relation to tendon pain such as tendonitis, tendinopathy, tendinosis etc.

Click here to read the full show notes

Would you like your running or triathlon questions featured in a future episode? Just click here to leave me a voicemail

I wrote a 3 part blog series a while back on tendon pain:

Tendonitis in Runners

Tendonitis Treatment for Runners

Achilles Pain with Running

Music By The Passion HiFi

Triathlon clubs help you learn all those little things that you would never think of. "Bring two pairs of goggles to a race" "Squeeze all your gels into a flask" "Invest in clip-in pedals before aero bars"

They also help you understand triathlon training. How to set you intensity on the bike, how to swim efficiently, how to structure your brick workouts.

Teresa Harrison is an NCCP comp intro certified triathlon coach and has been racing triathlons since 2001. She is the founder and a coach at Triumph Triathlon Club in Red Deer, Alberta. She joins me today to talk about all things triathlon clubs.

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Would you like your running or triathlon questions featured in a future episode? Just click here to leave me a voicemail

Cool stuff mentioned in the Episode:

Teresa is the founder and a coach at Triumph Triathlon Club in Red Deer, Alberta. 

Teresa is also the franchise owner at Freshii South-Pointe, Red Deer.

We also chatted about the Canmore xTerra from Grizzly Events and the Calgary Ironman. The local indoor track that Teresa mentioned is in the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre and the swimming pool is at the Michener Aquatic Centre.

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Run Clubs are an awesome way for newbie runners to stay accountable and motivated while making friends and learning the dos and don'ts of running. Matthew David is a coach at The Red Deer Run Collective and joins me today to talk all things Run Clubs.

Would you like your running or triathlon questions featured in a future episode? Just click here to leave me a voicemail

Cool stuff mentioned in the Episode

Matthew is a Run Coach with The Red Deer Run Collective. You can find them on Facebook and Instagram

Troubled Monk and Sawback brewing companies

Matthew's Running Technique Screen

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Hey Matthew hope all is well! I was wondering where do you find groups to bike and swim with to help teach techniques?

Questions this week from Shayne

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Candace is a Physiotherapist at Collegiate Sports Medicine in Red Deer, click here to read her bio

Candace swims with the Red Deer Masters Swim Club (aka the Red Deer Silver Sharks). You can find out more about them at their website and Facebook group

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Another friend of mine has started running again after 6 months off. He is struggling a bit with shin splints. How much running can he do to help him improve his fitness, without the risk of overdoing it and causing more serious damage? What advice would you have for him?

Warren

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Would you like your running or triathlon questions featured in a future episode? Just click here to leave me a voicemail

Marinus Winters @MarinusWinters

Stuart Warden @StuartJWarden

The relationship between lower-extremity stress fractures and the ground reaction force: a systematic review

Adam Meakins @AdamMeakins

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A question from Warren...

When analyzing the heart rate of my one friend, I see that her heart rate shoots up to Zone 5 within minutes at the start of her runs. She stays in zone 5 for the duration of her runs unless she starts walking. This is despite running at a slower (fairly comfortable) pace. In February she completed a half marathon and she spent 90% of the run in zone 5 with an average heart rate of 174 bpm. What type of training would you prescribe to improve this and allow her to run longer and keep her heart rate lower?

(Her half marathon time was 2:34:45 (and her HR was above 167bpm for 2 hours 28 minutes of that)

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