#9 - My Running Watch

While being a slave to technology is the antithesis of trail running, purchasing a decent gps running watch has had a large positive impact on my improvement as a runner. While it is possible to run 'free', most runners prefer to know a little bit about their miles covered and time splits. Also, having a good idea of what your heart rate is doing is an important part of Z2 80/20 running. While it's possible to use a rating of perceived exertion to get some idea of the effort your putting out during a run, I'm guessing my notions of PRE would've been way off without a heart rate monitor to calibrate my personal PRE scale. Now that I've been running with a HRM for a consistent amount of time, I'm actually fairly comfortable leaving the technology at home and going free. Had I not put in the time to learn how my own PRE related to my heart rate, I promise I would've been training way too hard while trying to go easy.

In addition to making Z2 running much more effective, any decent GPS watch will give you access to some sort of training app, or can link to a free Strava account. Instead of having to constantly log your runs in a book or spreadsheet, you can let the app do the tracking for you. While I still tend to put some info into a spreadsheet as part of a whole training plan, it's nice to know that all my relevant data is stored in the Garmin Connect app, and I only need to spend a few minutes a week transposing and thinking about my data.

The watch I'm using is a Garmin Forerunner 230. Compared to other watches out there now it's a fairly low end device, but for a beginner to intermediate runner it serves me well. It wasn't a super expensive investment and it tracks time, distance, and heart rate. One thing I like about it is that it requires a separate heart rate monitor strap. All the reviews I've been reading of wrist-based HRM indicate that even now it's not accurate enough to be a reliable training tool. If you're getting precise with Zone training, a few beats per minute can be a big deal over the long haul.

I also like the Connect app that comes with any Garmin watch. Gone are the days of trying to combine the interval timer on my Timex with the stopwatch to run different workouts. With the 230 I can program my desired times, intervals, distances, etc into a workout in the Connect app, and then sync it to my watch. When I go out to do the workout, the watch keeps track of interval times, how many intervals I've done, recovery periods, etc. You start the workout, and when the watch beeps and vibrates you know it's time to switch intervals. Couldn't be easier.

The only drawback I find with this particular watch is that it doesn't give me real time elevation gain data, so if I'm targeting a particular amount of climbing for a workout, I need to know where I'm running, how much climb a particular section has, and how many times I need to repeat that section. This probably wouldn't be a huge deal if I lived near mountains and just had to run uphill for a long time, but here in the midwest my only reliable way to get sufficient climbing in is to run a lot of repeats on the few decent hills I can find. Tracking and planning this can be a pain, but I'm not sure it would justify shelling out more dough for a nicer model watch that can track this.

Overall, if you're serious about training, a decent GPS watch is almost a must-have in today's world. Sure you can get by with a regular timex or no watch at all, but most people find that it's hard to improve without data letting you know how your're doing.

Training - 5 easy miles. Go for a big volume week.

#8 - Listen To Your Body

After a hard workout Wednesday morning and an easy recovery effort Wednesday evening, I was feeling fairly wiped yesterday. Between a busy day of family and work activity I took an unscheduled but needed off day Thursday. I was very tired Thursday night and not super motivated to crank out a run when I woke up this morning. I prepped my gear last night before bed, slept hard for a good eight hours, but woke up still feeling stiff and unmotivated. Instead of hitting my morning run (the first of two I had planned for today), I woke up, fired up some coffee, did some stretching and voodoo flossing (see Starrett's Ready to Run for details on the floss) and then took some time to relax and catch up on some reading until my kids woke up.

As my day rolls on, instead of the heavy legs and flagging motivation I'd probably be experiencing all day, I'm feeling rested, and my motivation to crush the hill workout I've got planned for this evening has returned.

What's the point of this rant? Sometimes it's easy to get carried away by the idea of motivation, and that somehow if you don't get up and get after it everyday even if it feels like hell, you're a lazy sloth. I think that motivation is a good barometer. I know I'm motivated to do what it takes to complete my first hundred this fall; it's practically all I think about, sunup to sundown. So when my motivation flags, it's not that I'm lazy or slacking, it's usually a sign that I need to back off a bit and let my training sink in. When my body's ready to roll again, it usually gives me plenty of signs, like a giant craving to go out and get some wind in my hair while I hit the trails.

Training - Hill repeats at the local ski run, 10x up and down.

#7 - Mix It Up

One of the drawbacks of being a runner in Minnesota is December, January, and February. And March, and part of April. Actually that's five drawbacks. Often in the winter months running on either pavement or trails is a slippery, dangerous affair. After messing up a knee on ice in February of 2017 and nearly missing my first ultra, I avoided winter outdoor running like the plague this year. I stuck to the treadmill at the gym for most of the indoor months. I also mixed in some cross training, like staring at the bottom of the pool for an hour twice a week, or staring at my TV while perched on my cycle trainer for a few hours a week. Exciting stuff. By late March I couldn't take it anymore and started trying my luck on trails that were a complicated mess of snow, ice, puddles, and mud. Thankfully I pulled through unscathed.

All of this makes me appreciate the spring, when I can mix it up on trials, pavement, uphills, downhills, mud, grass, etc. Varying the terrain, as well as the type of runs or rides keeps it interesting, and helps strengthen different muscle groups and keeps repetitive motion injuries at bay.

Enjoy the summer while it lasts.

Training - 45 Min run, 6 x 1 min V02 Max intervals with 90 sec rest in between.

#6 - On Coaches

Anytime you're trying to improve a skill or performance or meet a performance goal, having the help or mentoring of a more experienced person should help you achieve your ends faster. That being said, the majority of the runners I know are self-coached. I assume this is because they, like me, are complete amateurs, and their running already cuts into their schedule and budget enough that it's difficult to justify hiring a coach. That being said, if you can afford to do it, you should hire a coach. I've never worked under a running coach but I assume my slow progress I've made self-coaching would speed up considerably under the tutelage of a qualified professional. I also spend a ton of time designing my own training, and then second guessing said training. A coach takes this stress off.

If you don't have the wherewithal to hire a coach, here are the best resources I've tapped into for my own "coaching" practice.

1. Ready to Run by Kelly Starrett.
This is where I would start from if you're new to running, or have a lot of injury issues and general bad habits. Starrett knows how to keep a body healthy; the steps he lays out in this book cleaned up a lot of my injury issues, introduced me to zero drop shoes, and got me over the hump that kept me from running the marathon I'd been dreaming of for years.

2. The Weekly Word - Podcast by Chris Hauth
If Starrett's book is what got me started, Hauth's podcast is my ongoing treasure trove of "professional" development. If you can't hire a coach, studying this podcast is the next best thing.

3. 80/20 Running: Run Stronger and Race Faster by Training Slower by Matt Fitzgerald
This book dovetails nicely with the Chris Hauth podcast. It's a good Zone 2 primer for beginners. I"m sure there are some aspects of this that Hauth would disagree with, but it did really help me get started with Zone 2 training, including plans up to marathon distance for two different skill levels.

4. Training Essentials for Ultrarunning by Jason Koop
Be forewarned, you won't find any specific training plans in Koops' book. I bought it thinking there would be based on the description I read. This annoyed me at first, but Koop has very valid reasons for not including them. Beyond that, this book covers almost everything you need to know to plan for running ultra's, including goal setting, nutrition and hydration, pacing, a great introduction to RPE, and some sound training philosophy. Koop's training methods differ from Hauth's in some ways, but at the end of the day I think they're both working off similar principles, they just time them differently. This is an essential reference that I find myself highlighting and rereading frequently.

Training - 5.5 miles, recovery pace.

#5 - What's in My Stable Right Now

Here's a breakdown of what I'm running in right now, along with a brief review.

From left to right in the picture:

1. Altra Escalante (2017) - I love Altra shoes. Zero drop shoes are now a must-have for me. (For more on zero drop shoes see Kelly Starrett's fantastic book Ready to Run). I picked up the Escalante last summer for long road runs while training for the 2017 Blue Ox marathon. I'd been wearing a zero drop, minimalist shoe for all of the prior year's training, and wanted to try something with a little more give for runs over an hour in length. Overall I liked this shoe, very comfortable and cushy for having a fairly low stack height. The toe box is very roomy, the shoe fits snug, and has held up well over time. I think I've got about 500 miles on it and am still running in it every so often.

2. Tesla BareTrek (2016) - I picked these minimalist shoes up when I first transitioned from heel striker to mid-foot striker in order to help facilitate the transition. I think these retail for about $25 on Amazon, and are the best bang for the buck footwear I've ever purchased. They're nearly identical to the pricier Merrell Vapor Glove. I won't go into the details of why and how to transition into minimalist footwear in this post (just read Ready to Run or Born to Run), but I recommend any runner pick up a pair of these or similar shoes. I haven't run in this shoe for a long time, but they are now my primary shoe I wear to work and everywhere else if there isn't a bunch of snow on the ground. I've had to use a dab of gorilla glue here and there over the past two years, but overall they've held up remarkably well for the price and how much use I've put into them. Go a half size up when ordering.

3. Merrell Bare Access 4 (2017) - These are my daily runners. Anything run on pavement that's less than an hour I run in this shoe. It's a minimalist, zero drop design that has really helped to strengthen my feet. I ran my first marathon in a previous pair, and I still wear that pair out and about for daily work/errands. I love this shoe, which of course means it has been discontinued. Thankfully this current pair should at least get me through the 2018 season before I have to try and find a replacement.

4. Altra Lone Peak 3.5? (2017) - These are my current trail shoes, I believe it's the 3.5 model but I can't recall off the top of my head. So far I've put about 70 miles on them, in ice, mud, water, and steep terrain. So far so good, they've got a nice amount of cushioning but still feel stable. My toes don't get smashed doing technical downhills. They're not super snug on the heel, which may be a concern running longer races, but I won't know for sure until I try. I did need to go a full size up in them to get the toe room I was looking for (10.5 normally, ordered an 11.5 in these, and I have fairly narrow feet.)

5. Altra Superior 2.0? (2016) - My first pair of Altra's, I love this rendition of the superior. I've put about 500 miles on them, including a few ultra races, and they're still going strong. Decided to move up to the Lone Peak for more cushioning in a 100 mile race, but I'll be buying another pair of Superiors to swap in and out of.

Training - Long trail run. 18 miles with 3000 feet of elevation change. Ouch. Simulated race nutrition and hydration.

#4 - Know When to Say No

This is a tough topic. If you have a scheduled training run, at what point is it OK to say 'No' to a run? The 'to run or not to run' question highlights the central dilemma (and challenge!) of run training. Train too little and you won't be prepared to meet your goals; train too much or too hard and you end up injured and unable to train or compete at all. Getting help in answering this question is one of the major benefits in working with an experienced coach if you have the wherewithal to do so. For my training, I typically try and err on the side of caution when deciding to rest in favor of running. As I've stated before, being slightly under trained is superior to not being trained at all, and any significant injury immediately places you in the latter category.

That being said, one must always be vigilant against laziness. It can be tempting to make the claim that your legs are tired or your feet are too sore as easy justification to sit around and do nothing. It must be understood that feeling a little beat up is part of any serious training, and is a key part of the stress/recovery cycle. My rule of thumb to follow is if I'm starting to feel a little too pounded, and am worried that my injury risk is growing higher than I care to tolerate, I'll stick to my work as scheduled, maybe swapping an easy run in for something more strenuous if necessary. If after a few days of easier runs I'm still feeling rough, I'll take a down day for some extra recovery. Swapping in some swimming or cycling is also a good option to keep adding fitness when running seems like a bad idea.

Training: Light cross training (I canceled some speed work, my lower legs are sketchy and I really want to nail a big run tomorrow). Rode bicycle for 60 minutes.

#3 - Going Easy

One frequent mistake that beginners often make is going too hard too often. I was guilty of this for years. After not running for a while, I’d get a wild hair and set off on my quest to run a marathon. Inside of a month I’d be broken and battered on the couch, dreams shattered as I faced the “reality” that my legs couldn’t handle the training. Ultimately what I learned is that I was making two critical mistakes that derailed me every time. For starters, I was a forceful heel-pounder. Every stride terminated with me putting the brakes on with my heel, sending the force of my momentum through my lower legs and into my knees. Shin splints and inevitably stress fractures were the result. Eventually I will dedicate some writing to changes I made to my footwear and stride that helped solve this issue.

The other critical mistake I made was attacking every training run like Rocky on Drago. If I failed to return home breathless, drenched in sweat, and exhausted, I assumed I was leaving gains on the table, or some similar nonsense. It turns out that all I was doing was needlessly overtaxing my body, leading to a swift shutdown. After a long process of research (kicked off by the classic Born to Run) I changed my whole approach. As it turns out a slow and steady approach to most training runs leads to  significant gains, mainly because it allows you to train consistently. Running day in and day out (sometimes twice a day) provides a consistent stress that your body can quickly recover from, and it’s this frequent stress/recover cycle that develops into strong running. For more information on this training, Matt Fitzgerald’s book 80/20 Running is a great introduction to this type of training methodology.

Training: Fairly easy 3 mile run with one set of strides thrown in.

#2 - Running Doubles

One of my struggles growing as a runner is increasing training volume while staying injury free. I'm sure I'm not the only person who has struggled with this. The golden rule of my training has become 'first do no harm'. It's painfully (or not) obvious that if you push to hard too often and get injured, you cannot train, and therefore your progress slows to a halt or reverses. When building volume or doing any amount of training, going easier more often pays huge dividends.

One of my key strategies for building volume without pushing past the breaking point is to run doubles (often called two-a-days. I also call them 'stacks' for some reason). Running a double means doing a short or medium distance run early in the day, and then doing another similar run in the evening. The shorter runs allow you to maintain and practice good form, keeps muscle breakdown to a minimum, and allows some recovery between miles. Intensity for the runs can vary, but at least one of them should be easy.


Training: Easy 4 miles. My rest day yesterday turned into a marathon session of intense sand volleyball. Struggled for 4 miles today, probably over exerted myself on the day prior to yesterday.