Fix My Running

By Matthew BoydMedicine Health & Fitness

Fix My Running episodes

October 13, 2020DIY Running Technique Screen | E4
In this episode I discuss how to do your own "DIY Running Technique Screen". Questions this week come from Celia...
Hi Matthew, I am really enjoying your Facebook Q&A show. Thank you for sharing invaluable information. I am interested in proper running technique; similar to what I had learned from you at your studio on Bank Street in Ottawa. Also, how best to begin running again after having stopped for 1 year. And finally, how best to tone the body and overall strengthen the body. Thank you, Celia
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References
Overstriding

High Impact

Low Cadence

Hudl & Coach's Eye apps

Knock knee running

How to Fix Overstriding Running

Running in bare feet

How to Reduce Impact

Switch book by Heath brothers

DIY Strength Training for Runners
Music By The Passion HiFi
1 hr 59 min
October 13, 2020Half Marathon Training | E3
Hey Matthew!
Here are a few things that are on my mind...
1. Hills or speed intervals? Which are better if I’m trying to improve my 1/2 marathon pace?
2. I’m built like a sprinter. How go I train and change my body for endurance running?
3. What is the right mix of LSD vs tempo vs slow runs? What is the benefit of each?
4. What impact does diet have on improving my run efficiency? Why? What foods must I avoid if I want to runner further and faster?
5. I am an intermediate level runner. How many times a week should I be running to get stronger and/or faster?

Questions this week from Emeka, thanks mate!
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What is the right mix of LSD vs tempo vs slow runs? What is the benefit of each?”
Training intensity distribution (TID) can be divided into 3 main effort categories based on the physiological differences between them. We can fit all of the different training zones into…
Easy, moderate, hard
Easy is below the ventilatory threshold (think hours to days) | Long Slow Distance LSD, Easy runs, Recovery runs

Hard is above the lactate threshold (think seconds to minutes) | Hill Repeats

Moderate is in between (think up to an hour) | Threshold runs, Tempo runs
Two main schools of thought
East dominant 80:20 (Easy:Hard) approach

Threshold or moderate approach

80:20 training programs are supported by more evidence
“Hills or speed intervals? Which are better if I’m trying to improve my 1/2 marathon pace?”
Hills as they will build calf strength and Achilles stiffness
“I’m built like a sprinter. How go I train and change my body for endurance running?”
See above
“What impact does diet have on improving my run efficiency? Why? What foods must I avoid if I want to runner further and faster?”
That Triathlon Show

Biolayne
“I am an intermediate level runner. How many times a week should I be running to get stronger and/or faster?“
4 or more get injured less (for same weekly volume

Frequency better for technique
Thanks to…
Daniel Boullosa and colleagues for Factors Affecting Training and Physical Performance in Recreational Endurance Runners (2020)

Field & Forge for supplying the Belgian Ale
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Music By The Passion HiFi
38 min
October 13, 2020 Cross Training for Runners | E2
"How do you add cross training to a running schedule?"
Today's question comes from Kristine. She's just getting into running and is wondering how cross training fits in.

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Music By The Passion HiFi
32 min
October 11, 2020 Running in your Twilight Years | E1
Considerations for "seasoned" runners
I started endurance running at age 58. I’m now 65 and run 8-10 full marathons and 10-15 half marathons annually plus a host of shorter distances with my kids and grandkids. As I was ramping up I don’t recall seeing much guidance on considerations that more “seasoned” individuals should factor in versus the younger crowd. I know I went down the minimalist track and paid dearly for it with shin and knee issues. Full cushion for this senior. Also, Fartleks and aggressive hill repeats can be injury-prone too and I think proper cadence is even more critical to lessen impact stress.

It would be great to encourage more participation in the 50 plus crowd that exclaim “oh, my knees are too bad” or use some other excuse that are really euphemisms for fear and lack of knowledge of how to add running to their regimen safely.
All the best,
Steve
This week's question comes from Steve who wants to know what special considerations the more seasoned athletes have when getting into running.
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I'll be referencing a great episode of Run Chat Live that all twilight runners should listen to...

Episode 29 | Tips for the Older Runner with Dr Rich Willy
Some Statistics:
- Muscle mass loss as we age is just under 1% per year over 30 years old (actually ~ 8% per decade)
- VO2 max declines 7% per decade
- Finish time declines 8% per decade
- Max HR declines ~ 1 beat per year after age 20
- More muscle mass loss and tendon stiffness loss in the calf - where we get 50% of our propulsion
- 13% reduction in stride length from 20 to 60 years old
- Aerobic Capacity of a runner in their 80’s is double that of a non-runner

Fun Fact:
- In 2013 a couple in Australia in their 70's did a marathon a day for a whole year and ran all the way around Australia. They ate only raw plants and she was a cancer survivor! (@janette.murraywakelin and her husband, Alan Murray)

Minimalist Running Shoes for Seniors:
- Shin pain in uncommon among seniors as it's usually a bone stress reaction and seniors are more prone to musculotendinous injuries
- Switching to minimalist shoes forces a mid or forefoot strike in SOME runners.
- This shunts stress down to the lower leg away from the knee. Placing more demand on the calf or "plantarflexors"
- Lacking strength and tissue tolerance here could account for the injury trouble.

Hill Training for Seniors:
- Hills are tough for seniors as they demand more power from the calf. Seniors typically have less power in the calf due to muscle wasting
- Hills help develop power and prevent muscle mass loss. They are really important for older runners but you have to build up very very slowly as they are risky business
- I'd say impact stress is less concerning in the older runners as they are less prone to bony injuries and more prone to muscular and connective tissue injuries like tendinopathy, muscle tears and plantar fasciopathy.
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50 min