All About The Base - Back to the Run

Since last fall's Achilles debacle, my running has taken a back seat.  This week I've finally been able to put feet on the ground and work on that all important running base.

Base mileage is one of those concepts I recently scoffed at...   Until I got injured...

Like anything, when you are young and really driven by something, you embrace it, and you drink the Kool-Aid.  Later, you start to figure a few things out, try another approach and discard what you started with.  You might actually repeat this process a few times with different ideas.
Then, when you are older, you realize some of those things you threw away, were actually really valid ideas.  That's where I am now.

No more quick-fixes.  It's back to the time-tested approaches I used to train other people in.  It's time to build in the base, AND... the recovery.

So it's on.

Like Donkey Kong.

So what is Base Building?

It's a simple concept really.  If you are an endurance athlete, or even someone who is just beginning.  Start slow, stay consistent, don't push it, and repeat many times for a period of about 8 to 12 weeks.

That's it.  Consistency is king here.  No need to progress, just get the time in.  Think of it as practice.

Dan John's Easy Strength is one of those books that espouse the ideal that you should lift heavy, but not too heavy, and you stop when you do the work.   How vague is that?  Well not too vague really.  It can apply to running as well.

Dr. Phil Maffetone, has a great book on Endurance Training and Racing.  I'm using it at the moment and I shouldn't have left it.  180-minus your age.  That's your heart rate upper limit value.  It works.

• Low heart rate
• Show up
• Struggle every now and then

These are the keys to success.  I've seen it happen and I'm wishing I wasn't so impatient to see results before.  Thank-you Achilles injury :)

More on this as the weeks go on.

Alternatives to Running - Archery

What to do when you are told you have Achilles Tendonitis/Achilles Bursitis and are not supposed to run until it's healed:

Do what the doc says and shoot a crap-ton of arrows!

After living with somewhat debilitating heel and ankle pain for almost 6 weeks, I finally gave in and consulted with my doctor to get a recommendation on fixing this.

Two options:  steroid injections into the achilles tendon, or... physical therapy, rest and anti-inflammatory meds.

I chose the 2nd option.  It's the beginning of the second week of therapy and I can say two things are happening:

• My ankle is getting better
• My archery skill is improving

Why archery?  Well about a year ago, we got our kids youth compound bows and they've been loving it.  Later, I got one for myself and found that target practice is one of the best mind-clearing activities I've come across.  Breath, motor control and relaxed concentration are key.

When you can't run, the worst thing you can do is sit around and worry about it.  So I picked up the bow and have been setting a goal to shoot 100 arrows per session.  Sometimes I go over, sometimes I go under.  The actual number isn't as important as the thought that there is only one arrow that you are shooting.  As in one breath, one moment of zen arrow.

Right now I can hit a 20 yard target with decent accuracy, and after a few tracer shots, I can hit a target 40 yards away with consistency.  I'm no Robin Hood, and in fact have never robin-hooded an arrow (not yet), but this slow and controlled shooting practice is fun and I can't recommend it enough.

To be clear, I am not expecting archery practice to improve my running form, stride, cardiovascular endurance or ability to run hills.  I have other activities to help with that.

Two Reasons Why Runners Need the Turkish Getup

There are few movements as useful and as comprehensive as the get-up.  For runners, trail, or road, the getup needs to be part of your strength and mobility work.

There are multiple reasons why the getup should be considered.  I'm only going to cover two.

The first is the hip bridge.  For many runners, hip flexibility is non-existant.  Getting the hips to open up and 'unlock' will help release the internal brakes many of us have on constantly.

If your day job has you desk bound, chances are you don't open your hips much, and that sitting around can atrophy the hip flexors, making full opening of the hips problematic.  (check out Bret Contreras' site for more glute training) Doing the getup will help bring your hip strength back.

The second reason is ankle and foot health.  There's one movement that isn't highlighted much, but as a runner it's critical to do this movement frequently.  It's called dorsiflexion.

Dorsiflexion is where the toes are stretched toward the shin.  I currently have TERRIBLE flexibility this way, but after doing getups, I've noticed an improvement in the calf muscle soreness post run.  It's almost where I will need to do getup training as long as I want that ankle and foot flexibility.  Age is not in your favor on this one.  If you run and are getting farther away from your 20's, the ankles will take longer to recover from runs.  Especially if you run in a way that puts stress on your soleus and gastroc muscles.

So.

Do the Turkish Getup.

But first watch this:

Paying Attention to Running Form

Form is crucial to longevity in any kind of sport.  It become more obvious when you consider running.

Running is often viewed as an activity that everyone just "knows" how to do.  Depending on how you define it, that statement is true.  The key to running longer distances however is to stay healthy and injury-free.  If your form isn't dialed in, you WILL run into problems.

The run yesterday was a simple attempt to get a hill-run in while working on form.  My preferred form to emulate is POSE.  After taking the CrossFit Running Cert in 2009, and practicing Evolution running since 2005, the mid-forefoot strike while actively pulling the foot upward and practicing a forward fall works best for me.

This year however I changed shoes to the Altra Olympus and got sucked into the cushy.  While I can't definitely say that the shoes have caused my recent Achilles woes, they do suspiciously coincide as the more I ran with the Olympus, the more sore my calf muscles were.

The run yesterday was with more traditional shoes, not a zero drop, and not super cushy.  While my Achilles was still mildly sore, I was able to run POSE without the calf pain.  Quick strides, lean forward, practice falling.

As a result, I set several PR's on the run, at a lower heartrate, and still with a mild calf issue.  Not bad.  Also earlier in the day I got in a strength training session with deadlifts and kettlebell clean and presses.

Today my calf was pretty sore, so it was ice time and more deadlifts and kettlebells.

Achilles Pain - Taking Breaks - Getting Faster at the Same Effort

Ever had achilles pain? The kind where you wake up in the morning and limp for an hour and it kind of goes away?

Yeah me too. Then last Monday night happened. It was a track workout with my friend Jerry. He and I have put a few miles in together and sometimes we push each other on the speed days. I was having a fantastic interval workout and while he has me on the short bursts (the guy has some serious quad speed!) I can usually get him on the longer sprints.

I paid the price for that speed workout. Tuesday morning I was WRECKED.  Limped around for an hour, then the next hour, then the next.  I wasn't walking right until 3 days later, and even then the pain was just dumb.

So...  I took a week off.  No running or deadlifting, just mobility work and kettlebell swings.

Yesterday I ran Rancho for the first time in a while.  Decided to stick to Maffetone for as long as I could.

As long as I kept my stride length short (i.e. POSE-like), I could run without achilles pain.  The moment I opened up my stride, shooting pain in the heel cord.

So.  Low heart rate (180-age).  Quick step POSE running, and I get a PR on a half mile segment in Strava at the SAME heart rate as I did in August of this year.  Also I am battling a head cold.  Odds were NOT in my favor for a decent run.

Here's the therapy I've been doing on the calve muscles:

• foam rolling the upper calves
• 2 minute stretch on each side with toe flexion
• 45 reps each side of heel eccentrics (my legs are a little sore from this actually)

Here's the Strava run:

Run 50 Kilometers - Recover - Get Back to the Deadlift

Last Saturday (5/10) a friend and I ran the Quicksilver 50k.

Great race, first time doing it, and it wasn't too hot.  Not so for this deadlift session 5 days later.  90 degrees in the garage at 6pm...

As for the deadlift, I've left it alone for about 3 months.

Now it's time to focus on clean form, and keeping the back locked, hips down.

An Oddly Balanced Weekend

Lift Run Lift

Fantastic training this weekend - starting off with Friday’s attempt at CrossFit 14.2, (which I discovered I am terrible at chest to bar pull-ups), to a 14 mile run on Saturday with absolutely zero chaffing, to Strong Sunday where I was able to do a 225lb front squat for a double, a 150lb shoulder press, and a 150lb sandbag carry for 100 yards.  None of it is record breaking, but the combination of it all is what I find fun

It’s being able to do this kind of training that tells me the approach to balancing endurance and strength is working.  I’m not there yet, but it’s good

The key to getting this if you have kids is waking up early.

Controlling Chaffing

This may not seem like a big deal, but let me tell you, over 20 years of training I’ve never had chaffing like I had 2 weeks ago.  Running the same course but with an older pair of lycra shorts, I burned through the layer between my legs like it was match paper.  Not knowing how bad it was, I kept running toward the 7 mile turnaround which was only a mile away.  Didn’t seem like it was going to be bad.

Reached the turnaround no problem, but then needed to use the restroom, that’s when I made the grisly discovery that my inner thigh was producing its own oozing mess of lubricant as that first layer of skin had been rubbed off.  The area around the wound was numb and swollen and I knew I needed to get it some first aid attention immediately.  Three and a half miles away from home, I figured I should be able to do it.  I scrubbed it with soapy water in the park bathroom, then headed out.

Shower time is terrible for chaffing.  It’s that wound sting that is simply incredible.  Then… later in the week, the gauze I put on the wound got fused.  Thinking “it’s just like a band-aid, just rip it off” I ripped off the gauze, not realizing I was tearing more skin off the wound.  Restart the healing process.

Finally, a week later, I am back to normal.

Here’s what I would have done differently:

• ·         Body Glide
• ·         Better Short (2 layers, one lycra/skin tight)
• ·         Stay hydrated and balance electrolytes
• ·         Body Glide
• ·         Possibly more Body Glide

PTP

As for lifting this last week I started up a program I haven’t used in quite a while.  It’s PTP, otherwise known as Power to the People.  A very low volume lifting protocol that I can use while my running miles go up.  Deadlifs and Shoulder Presses!

Putting the Time In

When you train for the long stuff, it's about getting time in on your feet.  Anything you can do to increase that time, no matter how small, helps.

I was once told by a veteran adventure racer (Eco Challenge, Raid Gauloises...) that the trick to going long is to spend as much time on your feet as possible.  Get your body adapted to it.  Stand whenever you can, walk whenever you can and simply adapt to being on the move.

Today's run is a small one, but it's part of a larger puzzle, the one that will take me through what will most likely be the longest run I've ever done.