Run4PRs

Run streaks! Maybe you have seen people on social media talking about their 1000 day run streaks or maybe you have no idea what a run streak is. Today we are going to talk about the topic of ‘run streaking’. Before we dive into this topic, we wanted to define a run streak. A run streak is simply running every single day (no days off from running) usually defined with a minimum of 1 mile per day and the streak continues on ‘forever’. Maybe people participate in the shorter runner’s worlds run streaks every year over the holiday season. These types of run streaks are a little different because they have a defining end point… But what about the streaks that don’t end? We are going to break down this topic into a few parts

Sharing some stats about run streaks

Runeveryday.com

What is the longest streak for a man? John Sutherland - Ron Hill retired his at 52 years

For a female? Lois Bastien of Florida

Are these people slower than they could potentially be?

Why would someone start a run streak? What are some of the potential benefits of a run streak?

Helps with consistency which can make you faster

Building endurance/used to running on fatigued legs

Gets you outside/moving

What are some of the potential downsides to a run streak?

No rest days is problematic

Define rest days & why no taking them can be a problem

Benefits the metabolic systems such as fitness, threshold and vo2 max.

Benefits structural systems such as muscles and tendons and neuromuscular coordination

Not resting can lead to OCD tendencies or feeling the need to run through injury or illness which can result in poor performance or being forced to take extended time off.

Mental & physical burn out

Sometimes you might lose the joy without that mental break!

Your performance might suffer if you’re always worried about mileage and not as focused around a polarized training approach.

Longer you go, the harder it is to break

Viewing ‘rest’ as ‘failure’ has potential long term issues

Biggest issue is the view of rest as ‘bad’/’breaking’ your healthy habit

Too much of a good thing

People who should avoid run streaks

Anxiety or OCD tendencies

If you feel like you don’t have ‘other coping strategies’

What are some healthy coping strategies for stress besides running?

Someone who has impending medical needs or wanting to have children

If you avoid having kids or having a surgery because of a run streak

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What is one thing you would do differently for your first marathon if you could go back?

Do it sooner & not overthink it so much

Have no ego

Run based off effort

Have fun with it

Train better

How many miles can a pair of shoes get before you need to retire them?

When to wear certain types of shoes

Easy run

Clifton

Carbon X

Endorphin

Nike

Workouts

Alpha

Fueling during runs and training

Before

During

after

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OVERTRAINING: How can you recover from & can you salvage a race?

We want to learn something from why/how this happened

How long has this deterioration going?

12 marathons in 2 years?

It’s going to take longer to recover

Usually is something that builds up over the course of years

Feeling burnt out can be corrected if it’s on a microlevel

Elevated RHR

How can you run during the first trimester?

Symptoms: fatigue & nausea

Nausea makes it hard to keep food down or eat

Eating small meals

Movement helps. Give yourself 

Fatigue: things might feel harder

Is it possible to run too slow on easy days?

How much time should you space between racing 5ks or half marathons?

www.run4prs.com Slowing down can be challenging for runners. Most people have seen the extreme fitness ‘no pain no gain’ side of things. When we begin running, we often think that if we aren’t in the pain cave or really pushing it, that our efforts are not going to simulate change. However, running is a unique sport in that way. Our aerobic system is actually developed at lower intensities

EASY RUNNING BASED ON HR: Why this is not ideal

What is ‘zone 2 work’

How to calculate max HR & your ‘zone 2 HR’

MAF Method: what this is & how to calculate HR off this method

Limitations to the HR method

Wrist HR monitors are not accurate

Medications/stress/sleep impact HR

HR zones people get using 220-age are often incorrect

READ ARTICLE HERE: https://runnersconnect.net/coach-corner/why-i-dont-recommend-training-by-heart-rate/

EASY RUNNING BASED ON PACES: Can be a good guide

Jack Daniels Approach: Watch his video on easy running: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veAQ73OJdwY

Easy 60% of effort/vo2max 65% of HR. As you run harder your HR goes up but your stroke volume, the force of contraction plateaus around that 60% of your HR.

Inside muscle fibers, contain mitochondria, blood supply provides oxygen which gives us fuel and energy

VDOT calculator gives a small window for a pace range, but you can/should go even slower on some days. Think of his range as the ‘speed limit’ for easy running

If you are able to still hit workout days consistency you are in the right easy zone

VIDEO SUMMARY:

Heart muscle gets stronger

Stroke volume maxes out at 60% max HR… Heart is beating as hard as it’s every going to beat at 60% max HR—> 120BPM (

Mitochondria increase in size

You can run easy for longer and easier on the muscular skeltoal system.

On our IG page we often reference 2-4 min per mile slower than 5k pace or 1-3 min per mile slower than marathon pace. The idea is that you go significantly slower than race pace. Most people need to go slower on easy days not faster

Can easy days be too easy? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixTO4dtSLGU

Make sure you have good mechanics

EASY RUNNING BASED ON EFFORT: ideal end point for runners

Running Based on effort

This method really only works if you have an understanding of how easy running should feel by using either the HR method or running off pace for a number of months/years

Running based on effort allows you to listen to your body to adjust the pace on the fly

THINGS THAT HELP YOU SLOW DOWN

Doing hard workout days for 20% of weekly milage

Running enough mileage

Running with slower people

Not listening to music

Not looking at your watch

Trying to breathe out of your nose on

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Question 1→ VDOT says I can run faster in the marathon by 20 min. My lungs don’t give out but my legs do! I run 50 miles a week (2 speed work days, 1 LR, 3 easy), Fasted marathon was 4hr. Current projection based on a 1/2 marathon Vdot calculation has me set for a 3:40 marathon I often find it hard to breathe for the hour+ following an interval workout. my muscles rarely are sore or give up before my breath gives out. 

Question 2- Tips for running during pregnancy

Two end of the spectrum. You never know how you wil feel. Things will be different. Listen to your body. Adjust your goals. Turn strava off. Run with a slower group like moms on the run. Running will feel harder at some point. Do not compare your pregnancy to others. Comparing your kids to others, etc. 

Question 3- Can you train consecutive cycles for a 5k or do you still need to periodize

Question 4- Breastfeeding race day logistics

Question 5-Should I use MAC HR or lactate threshold HR to train in zone 2?

www.run4prs.com It has been a tough and long winter for those of us living in the upper regions of the US. A lot of runners in the midwest will use the treadmill for the majority of the winter due to poor footing or sub zero temps. The treadmill is a great tool for runners to stay consistent in the winter, however, we know that as the spring approaches runners are eager to say goodbye to the treadmill and transition outside. We wanted to do an episode about transitioning back outside because while it can seem like a relatively straightforward task, we should approach cautiously because outdoor running can be harder on the body than the treadmill

Cite studies about treadmill surface being softer/more bounce/give than outdoor running

The surface is softer on your joints: Treadmills are typically a much softer surface to run on, and therefore softer on the joints. Looking after your joints can help you reduce injuries, and keep running for longer.

Research on the differences between treadmill and outside

More muscle activation: Compared to running on the treadmill, when you run on the road, or the trail, you’re having to use more muscles to grab the ground and push off. One of the downsides of running on the treadmill is that the belt assists leg turnover, meaning you don't have to work quite as hard. When running outside, you’re also forced to not just move in a linear motion, as you’ll often find you have to dodge people, cars, and objects on the sidewalk as you move.

Moving on the lateral plans vs side to side

Incorporating band work side to side?

https://breakingmuscle.com/train-the-lateral-plane-for-maximum-athleticism/

https://www.kinetic-revolution.com/multi-planar-strength-for-triathlon-and-running/

Assess how many miles per week were on the treadmill

Example: averaged 30 miles a week the past 6 weeks and 25 of them were on the treadmill

Week 1 transition outside aim for 10-15 miles outside

Week 2 translation outside aim for 15-20 miles outside

Week 3 transition outside aim for 20-25 miles outside

Week 4 transition outside aim for 25-30 miles outside

It might be good to ease into things and give yourself 4-6 weeks to go from majority treadmill to 100% outside. Can you get away with more? Possibly but we would rather be safe

Running on softer surfaces may also help: consider the trails

Try not to add in too many variables at once. If you haven’t been running workouts or long runs, try not to add that in during this transition time.

How often do you see people overtrain?

How do we know if it is the right amount of stress?

Why do people not like to do less?

Comparison trap

Fear of not being ready for their race

Thinking that more is always better.

Can you still improve by doing more than you should?

We often see people do workouts on strava or social media and sometimes we think, if I could just hit those paces in a workout, I could be as fast as them? This might lead an athlete to run workouts faster than they should. The whole point of this podcast is that each workout has a purpose. Even a workout like 6 x 800 meters could be a threshold workout or a VO2MAX workout. The purpose of the workout will dictate the pace you run for the intervals. If you are doing a threshold workout, you would run this reps slower and have shorter recovery inbetween. If you are doing a VO2MAX workout, you would be running these much faster and have maximum rest inbetween.

Racing DEFINED! What really is racing?

Max effort 1 max rep at the gym

Takes time to be able to push yourself: don’t know how to push it

Beginner

Intimate

Advanced

The purpose of each workout

VO2MAX

Threshold

Upper end Aerobic/Marathon Pace

Easy run

Why faster/more isn’t always better

4x 1 mi @ threshold pace @ 6:30

Let’s say you go out and run 6:10 pace (5k

If you do 4 miles of work at 5k pace, that is hella stress

If you do 4 miles of work at threshold pace, it’s less than a race effort

Overtraining

Giving 100% effort is harder to recover from

Saving racing for racing

Is it better to do less?

Not always→ sometimes you have to do more.. Law of diminishing returns

You need to stress the body just enough to make a change→ progressive overload

Signs you might be racing your workouts

Unable to consistently hit workouts

Feeling like you always need additional recovery between reps

Feeling like you are not recovering inbetween workouts/overtraining

Not wanting to do workouts

Injury

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 1.Trail running vs road running: How can running in trails be a benefit?

- not ultras, just getting miles in on the trail during training blocks. I run alot of my long days on the trails, it kind of forces you to run slower, and i feel way more ab engagement than just on the road. Any recommendations on how often to trail run? I’m a New England runner so lots of great trails out here.

2.  I am getting ready for the Murph workout this year, and the workout is bookended with a 1 mile runs wearing a 20 weighted vest.

What about wearing a weighted vest once or twice a week for runs?

Too much on the joints? Good way to increase strength?

Very hard on the joints. Risk for injury unless you increase slowly.

Rucking involves wearing a weighted pack.

DO NOT:

Run with a weight vest if you’ve never run before or never lifted weights before.

Run with a weight vest if you have a serious injury.

Wear a weight vest all day.

Run with a weight vest over long distances.

Wear a weight vest that is too heavy for you.

You might go on some runs after lifting to account for the fatigue

3. Eye injury– 2 weeks off running go straight into it?

2 weeks isn’t enough time to really lose a ton of fitness, but with any time off I usually recommend easing back into things slightly and see how the body responds. Also considering eyewear?

4. If I have been training at a BQ pace, how should I pace the marathon?

Training at exactly BQ pace is tricky because it doesn’t give a ton of room for error. Often marathon courses measure 26.4 miles. A sub 3 hour marathon is 6:52/mi pace but even 6:50 per mile on most courses will not be enough to break 3 on your watch. It is nice if you calculate the pace you need to run based on the assumption that your watch will measure the course as 26.5 miles AND that you will want to run something with a 30-60 second buffer. For example

A 3:29:30 on a 26.5 mile course is actually 7:54 per mile instead of the 8:00 per mile

A 8:00 pace for 26.5 miles in 3:32- 2 min shy of the goal.

I would take this into consideration for pacing

5. How do I lower my heart rate while running? I tried running really slow like 13 min pace and it is still not working

Make sure you are measuring with something that is accurate. Wrist HR monitor is NOT accurate. The chest strap is better. Then, be realistic with the paces. 13:00 pace is not that slow. If you run a 5k at 8:00 or 9:00 per mile, 13:00 pace might be your easy pace at a low heart rate as your body adapts. It could also be a sign of overtraining. Other things also impact HR such as stress, caffeine, medications. I would look at all the things that could be impacting HR and see if we can’t find a reason.

Ever have a day where you just don't feel like running? This can be common especially this time of year if the weather is tough. You are not alone in feeling like running can sometimes feel like a chore. This mindset makes consistency very challenging. We have talked about the power of consistency so many times in this podcast. If we are able to be consistent with training over time, we will be able to transform as runners and reach our potential.

Things to do if you feel like you are stuck in a rut

Find a running friend/partner

Talk to someone on the phone

Netflix

New running routes

Mentally what might be going on

Lack of goals/direction

Not excited about your goals/direction

Something else might be off in your life

Not enough time to workout

Not enough energy

“Everyone should meditate for 10 min a day unless you are too busy then you need an hour”