Filed under: Gear
Running shoes are an interesting part of running attire. I have read that running shoes should be replaced after 6 months or 500 miles. I have also read that shoes should not be worn/run in on consecutive days to give them time to move back to their original state.
I have never been able to keep track of the time or the distance on a pair of shoes but I have felt what I considered shoes that lived past their prime. It wasn’t pretty. I was half way into a half marathon and my shoes felt like they had lost all their cushion. Again, it was not pretty and my feet did not appreciate it.
One of the coolest things famous running friend/customer Bob taught me was to write my miles on my shoes after each run. I had never done this before and could only guess how many miles were on a pair of shoes previously. I started to follow Bob’s suggestion with the Asics Bing gave me for Christmas. Today, with my 5 mile midweek run, I exceeded 200 miles on my new shoes. 200 miles in 11 weeks. Not bad for an old man.
Today’s run was a 5 mile indoor run at 10:17 Nike+ pace. The run didn’t start out right when I realized I forgot my wicking running shirt. I decided to wear my cotton long sleeve “After Work Out” shirt. I don’t think I have run in a cotton shirt since July 2008 but it was either go home and run five miles on the treadmill or run in the cotton shirt so on went the shirt and off I went. That is, until I realized I had also left my I-Pod holder at home meaning that I would have to either hold my I-Pod or figure out what else to do with it.
Luckily, I had a pocket in my running pants and in went the I-Pod.
In all, the shirt worked and the I-Pod worked and so did I.
Filed under: Gear
As I discuss my marathon preparation, I usually end up stating that the “Training Time” is one of the worst parts of the training. On long days, I may run for 3 – 4 hours but sometimes the preparation can take another 30 -45 minutes. The following are some of the things I like to have/do for my long run
- Bandaids
- Glide – for those parts that chafe
- Imodium - to minimize my runners diarrhea
- 20 – 30Oz of Gatorade (for during the run)
- 20 – 30 Oz of Accelerade (for during the run)
- 20 -30 Oz of water (for during the run)
- Water Bottle filled with cold water (for after the run)
- 12 – 16 Oz of Chocolate Milk (my recovery drink for after the run)
- 12 Oz of Gatorade (for after the run)
- 4 Gu Energy Gels to be taken at miles 3, 7, 10 and 14
- Zensah calf compression sleeves
- Garmin Heart Rate Chest Belt (Best to be put on before you ge dressed)
- Running socks
- Compression pants (I am a big boy with big thighs and I dont need them rubbing)
- Pants (depending on the weather, the pants can be gym shorts, long-leg compression tights, sweat pants, etc.)
- Wicking shirt (depending on the weather, it can be short sleeve, long sleeve, long sleeve with zipper)
- Outer Layer (Can be vest, windbreaker or wicking jacket)
- Hat (Baseball, skull cap, or any number of other head wear)
- sunglasses
- Garmen watch
- I-Pod arm band (To hold my I-Pod )
- I-Pod
- Shoes with Nike+ foot sensor
- Fuel Belt with two pouches ( One for the Gu and one for my Cell Phone)
- Cell Phone (Turned On)
- Face Protection (In case it’s so cold I need something over my mouth and nose)
- Gloves (I have many styles depending on how cold it is.)
- Sweat Towels (Often one for my run and one for after my run)
Today was a test. Strictly a test. A test of the Bob marathon training program. If this is an emergency, you will be asked to bring bushels of duck tape and Kleenex to Bob’s as he will be crying in the fetal position in the corner of his office screaming, “Why Me?”. Ok, I think I am a little more grounded that the later part of the previous sentence. I realize any hardships I experience during my training for a marathon are nothing compared to those in earthquake ravaged countries but I thought the picture in my mind’s eye would make Bing laugh and, along with keepin Jill and DAve current on my trianing, the goal of this blog is to make Bing laugh. Oh, yeah, if you are coming, leave the duck tape. I may not need it now but you can never have enough duck tape.
The plan was to take it slow. I skipped my thursday mid-week 5 mile run to give my body time to let the antibiotics affect my body and to get some extra rest. Saturday was a nice day with weather in the mid 30′s and Bing wanted to stretch her legs outside for the first time all year. She and I agreed that I would run the three miles with her and, assuming I felt good enough, run the remaining 5 miles on my own.
As luck, or proper planning, had it, the plan worked. Bing and I ran her three miles in 46 minutes and I averaged a 112 BPM Heart Rate. She had a wonderful time running outdoors and was able to run both the one mile and two-mile loops of my industrial park. Unfortunately, we did not see any deer but we did notice that the Sandhill cranes have returned. They are really cool in that the flock flies way up the sky and makes that really cool Sandhill crane sounds.
After Bing said “Ado” (Ok, she really doesn’t say things like “Ado” but she did give me a kiss and wished me luck.), I ran the last 8 miles at around a 12 minute pace. I felt good and enjoyed the run. Luckily for me, during my run I felt Mother Nature was going to be visiting so I checked out a new construction Portta Potty and much to my pleasant surprise, it had toilet paper. Whew ! (Insert a wiping of the brow with your forehand motion into your reading now.)
It was a gentle run with an average Heart Rate of 124. Just what I needed for my first run back.
I-Pod Issues: Now for the tragic part of the run. OK, again, it was not tragic but it really upset me. Ok, It really did not upset me, but I was disappointed that my I-Pod would not locate the footpod and it did not track my run. As you know, I am keeping track of all my runs with my Nike+ system and losing these 8 miles would be a pain. Each year I have lost at least one run. 2008 was a 7 miles run. 2009 was a 13.1 mile 1/2 marathon and today was an 8 mile run. No one can expect to remember these runs and add them back into my totals (Wait, I just did, didn’t I), so losing them would be unfortunate but figuring out what was wrong was even more important.
Luckily, later that night Bing and I went to Sports Authority, picking up a new Foot pod and receiver and all is right with the world again. Again, Whew. (Insert wiping of forehand accross ones brow again. Great! You are getting very good at that.)
Over a month ago, I found a race ran on an indoor track that wouldn’t kill our legs due to numerous turns. Milwaukee has an indoor ice speed skating rink that is ringed by a .27 mile two lane padded track. When I first started my research, I thought I might run a half marathon but the marathon and half marathon were sold out and I talked running friends Bob and Jill and my lovely wife Bing to run a marathon relay.
The beauty of this relay was that it could be run by two to four participants and each leg could be run at any distance. Usually a Marathon relay is broken up into four equal distances. We agreed that Bob would run 13 miles, I would run 6 miles (which followed my training schedule), while Jill and Bing would run four and three miles respectively. If you are checking, the race was around 96 laps.
The other concern was that they did not allow I-Pods. I have not run without my I-Pod in over 14 months and was not looking forward to running without it now. Plus, I wanted to learn about the indoor experience in that I was considering running the ”Gold Medal Challenge” next year where you run a half marathon (Bronze Medal) on Saturday and a Full Marathon (Silver Medal) on Sunday and by running both, you receive a third (Gold )medal and I really wondered if I could run that much without music in my head. As it turned out, in my six short miles, there was enough activity to keep my interested and I did not have to listed to those voices in my head.
Before the race, we each predicted our times and, if we ran our times, we would beat the 5 hour time limit by minutes. I actually lost sleep being concerned that we would miss our times and we would miss the cut-off. Well, luckily (OK, skillfully) each member of the team beat their estimate and we ran the marathon on 4:31:35. Special congrats to Bob who kicked but in his 48 laps.
We found that the relay was really a competitive race and that most of the participants where real runners and in their twenty and thirties. Our transition point was next to a team of males running mile intervals and yelling (1:30) in it was their .27/Mile pace. We also met the team/family that included a 16-year-old female winner of the state high school two-mile race. I thought the best part was when one of our neighbors missed a lap calculation and the runner on the track was told she had to run an additional lap. With every fiber in her being, and without a piece of levity, she commented to her team mates “You Assholes”.
I was hoping to run my leg of the race like my five and six miles training runs I have been having lately. I feel I have been running better. I ran my 6 miles at a 10:20 pace which was my third fastest pace with last Wednesday being 10:09 pace and the previous Saturday being 10:07. Thus, I was slightly disappointed that I didn’t run just a little better but I fell into the same problem that my other team mates did in that we did no warm up and we all took off to fast. Many of my long slow runs are run with a heart rate in the 130′s. I don’t think I was in the 130′s for any of this race. It seemed like I was in the 140 and 150′s from the get go. Of course, I ran two minutes per mile faster too.
What I learned the most from this race, and it confirms my plan, that I need to WALK the start to slowly get my heart rate up or I will die when I try to run a long distance of 26.2 miles.
One of the findings of the day was Bing mentioning that she had missed the thrill of the organized race. Putting on a bib and running with a purpose really is exciting. It doesn’t matter what your results where (OK, we did not win the race but we did not come in last either) as long as you had fun and we all agreed that we had fun. She also mentioned that the race missed “The Start” and a glorified “Finish” but in that all our legs stated in our own transition point, that point ended up being our own special start and finish.
As a side note, Bing and I had many conversations about what to wear. The race temperature was 55 degrees but we also had to dress for sitting/watching for four hours in the same environment. We originally thought to bring clothes for “Cold” weather but later realized that you for the running, you gress as its 75 degrees and thus “Warm” gear was on order. Jill was our lead off runner and after one or two laps, she yelled to us that she was too hot.
Bing and I worked out a plan on how to take her layers off as she ran. It seemed like she removed some layer of clothes on every one of her initial laps. Team mate Bob was really looking forward to he 10th and 11th lap if the trend continued but, much to Bob’s dismay, she stopped after removing her hat, gloves and one shirt. She was considering taking off a second shirt but her leg was almost over by that point.
The next layer she would have taken off was shirt that read on the back “Dear God, Please let there be someone behind me reading this”. Not only was it funny, but one of the spectators cheered her on every lap and stated she really liked the shirt so Bing did not want to disappoint her and thus kept it on.
I was in a similar place in that I got rid of my hat first, my gloves second and my outer short sleeve layer on the third lap. By the end of my 22nd lap, I was drenched from sweat. Luckily, I had decided before my leg to take off my running pants. They where necessary for watching but definitely not required for the race.
One of my unique race attributes is my ability to get fans who have no idea who I am, to cheer for me. I had a group of 10 or so cheering for me at the Oak Brook Half Marathon and a couple of spectators that keep following a friend and cheering for me at the Tyranena Beer run. This race had several people manning a hydration table. They must have had some friends in the race in that they seemed to be cheering every time I went by so I started by high fiving the first woman, then every lap I would add another high fiver to my cheering section until I had five people cheering and high fiving me on my last several laps. They were lots of fun and made that portion of the track rewarding, even thought I was running out of gas as the laps added up.
Weight: Just you never mind. Word on the street is that I am looking better so it doesn’t matter what I weight, does it?
Measurements: Ok, How do you quantify the above statement. My head knows that carrying less weight for 26.2 miles will make my job easier. My heart knows that my resistance training and multiple miles run will build up my muscles, adding weight since I am told muscle weighs 2.4 times that of fat. The only measurements my heart worries about are those provided by the scale and my upper body, i.e, chest, belt line and waist since they are the ones that I feel need the most improvement. I believe running 25 miles a week is starting to help support the goals of the heart, as shown below in the chest and waist improvements..
| 27-Sep | 11-Oct | 31-Oct | 14-Nov | 27-Nov | 12-Dec | 3-Jan | 16-Jan | |
| Neck | 17.25 | 17 | 16.5 | 16.5 | 16.5 | 16.25 | 17 | 17 |
| Chest | 46.5 | 45.5 | 45.5 | 45.5 | 45.5 | 46.25 | 45.75 | 45.25 |
| Bicep | 15.5 | 15.5 | 15.44 | 15.5 | 15.5 | 15.25 | 15.5 | 15.5 |
| Flexed Bicep | 16.75 | 16.75 | 16.75 | 16.75 | 16.5 | 16.75 | 16.75 | |
| Waist | 46.5 | 46.5 | 46 | 45 | 45.25 | 46 | 46 | 45.5 |
| Belt Line | 42.25 | 41.74 | 43 | 42.75 | 43 | 43 | 43 | 43 |
| Thigh | 27.5 | 26 | 27.5 | 27.5 | 27.5 | 27.5 | 27.5 | 27 |
| Calf | 19 | 19 | 18.5 | 18.5 | 18.5 | 18.75 | 18.5 | 18.75 |
GEAR: We know I love gear and we know that my I-Pod is not the most accurate in that it uses a Foot Pod versus GPS but how accurate is it?
| 16-Jan | 17-Jan | |||
| I-Pod | Garmin | I-Pod | Garmin | |
| Distance | 5.3 | 5 | 6.46 | 6 |
| Pace | 10:07 | 10:43 | 10:55 | 11:36 |
| Calories | 1061 | 1047 | 1289 | 1236 |
| Heart Rate Avg. | 142 | 137 | ||
| Heart Rate Max | 154 | 169 | ||
I have heard that the I-Pod out of the box is around 90% accurate and I feel that I am closer to 95% accurate. Since my total miles are calculated with my I-Pod, I will often stop my Garmin when I hit my goal miles or after warm up and before the warm down, so the fact that the I-Pod is off is not a problem to me. The important # is the Pace. The fact that my GPS pace is actually 30 – 40 seconds longer is important in that you dont want to confuse the two. I dont want to be trying to run a 10:00 minute pace on my Garmin when I can hardly do that on my I-Pod.
I am pleased to see that the calories are similar. That means I probably did burn over 2300 calories this weekend. Sweet.
Running Outdoors: I must admit before going on that I have never trained by running outdoors in the winter. Not once did I train when there was snow on the ground last year. I did run the Frosty 5 race (in under 49 minutes mind you) in February but there was not snow on the ground. Even though I bought cold weather gear over the last few years, I really did not have any intention to run in the cold. That is until I started feeling that pain in my Tibia again. Even though I try to run the corners in my indoor track in a large arc, I am still putting stress on my legs as I turn the corners so I really want to limit how much I run indoors so as not to give myself the potential for a stress fracture.
Running outside was easier than I thought but I made sure there was no snow or ice on the route. Saturday, as shown in the pace, was a much easier day than Sunday. Even though the run started and ended at 23 Degrees on Saturday and was 6 degrees warmer on Sunday, Sunday was much, much harder of a run.
The major difference between the two days was 1) I had run 6 miles on Saturday and not on Friday, and 2) I bought a better nose/mouth cover on Saturday night for the Sunday run. It is very possible that I was more tired on Sunday than I was on Saturday. I just don’t know what would have caused Sunday to be so hard but Sunday was REALLY hard for me. Bing mentioned that Sunday was 92% humidity. We blame the humidity for now.
I knew after the Saturday run that I needed something different to cover my mouth and nose. The wrap I had previously used was solid with no venting at all. When I wear glasses, they would fog from the warm air from my nose. When I run with my mouth covered, The breathing in would almost cause the wrap to be sucked into my mouth. It was just not working. Bing and I went to Sports Authority and tried all the options and I found one that had a whole for the nose and numerous little holes for the mouth. I was able to breath with almost no difficulty. It was a nice addition to my winter wardrobe.
To sum up the outdoor running, I was very happy I found a safe place to run, I felt good, had warm clothing, I enjoyed my I-Pod music and I met my mile goals. I will continue to run outdoor as long as the roads are ice-free. This week will be my lowest miles week for the balance of the training program. I am glad I tested the outdoor running in sub freezing temperatures because I would guess that the weather will only get better the rest of the year.
Nutrition: I am not listing most of my meals lately, mostly because I continue to eat well, not snack and stay off the types of food that don’t bring a benefit to your diet. I must note that Bing made me my favorite meal for my Sunday Birthday dinner. It’s called Chicken and Rice and I ate every bit of food that was available to me. Usually I try to not eat as much rice as I did tonight but dinner was so good, I wanted to reward myself for a good runs and for my birthday. Thanks for a great dinner Bing.
Today, a local runner hosted a non-competitive run called the Windburn 6 at our local outdoor state park. It was designed to run for six hours. He also held a Sunburn 6 in the fall at the same location.
There where no groomed paths, just lots of snow and in some areas, a one foot semi packed path of snow. The run was to be held for 6 hours. Today was the first time I had ever run outdoors in this weather (17 Degrees) and I ran for around 45 min. I can honestly say they where the toughest 45 minutes I have ever run. It reminded me of the 14 minutes I was on the stress test.
Running in the snow is HARD. Let me repeat that. it’s HARD. I was very surprised I did not pull a muscle during my slipping and sliding. If you where in one path of packed down snow and you wanted to jump to a different, possibly more packed down snow, you had to plan to do so in three or four strides. You couldn’t just hop. There was no hopping today. Lots of sliding. No hoping.
The run really gave me a work out and I had to walk 7 times. I walked at 1.2 miles, then again at 1.5 miles again at 1.8 and then four times over the last mile. My average heart rate was 148 with a 158 Max HEart Rate and a heart rate of over 150 during every mile. I am ver surprised my average heart rate was not in the 150′s in that every time I looked at my watch, I was in the 150′s. Then again, I only looked at my watch when I was very tired.
I found that the best way to run in the snow was to take short steps. That might explain why my results from my I-Pod and my Garmin where soooo different. The I_pod, which I started around 1/4 mile sooner than the Garmen, showed I ran 4.4 miles at an 11:21 pace and burned 880 calories while my Garmin, which I also stopped around 1/4 mile shorter than the I-Pod, showed I ran 3.23 miles at a 12:55 pace. In this case, the Gamin pace was much more accurate. I can only guess that I took enough steps to run the 4.4 miles on my I-Pod but they where much shorter steps.
Bing came with me to provide moral support and she had a blast visiting her favorite running spot, all be it not in a running atmosphere. Thanks for the company Bing.
Gear: I ran in my Illinois Long Sleeve Nike Shirt that I use for cold weather, my Under Armour STretch leggings and my Sport Hill Jacket and Pants that are designed for zero to 40 degrees. I used my Frosty 5 hat and a scarf type warp around my neck. I was going to put it over my face but it fogged up my sun glasses, which, due to the bright sun off the snow, was mandatory.
Marathon Training: With one day to go in week two of Marathon Training, I am on pace having run every distance required in the first two weeks. Well done old man.
Weight: 264# (-9.5#) No comment
Gear: As noted in a recent comment by Runner Buddy Jill, she was concerned for my proper break in of my new shoes. My plan was to work my three pairs of Asics into a rotation.I ran 8.4 miles today in my back up Asics and my feet started to be soar after 7 so I think I will use them for my short runs on Tuesday and Thursday. I will use my current Asics for the longer Wednesday and Saturday runs and my brand spanking new Ascis for my long Sunday run.
If I stay on plan, I will put 215 miles on the new shoes by race day. I think that should break them in nicely.
Cardio: I ran 8.4 miles (1600 Calories and an average BPM of 142) in 90 minutes today and over 6 miles (1200 Calories and an average BPM of 143) in 1 hour 5 minutes yesterday. Todays special feature was that I averaged 10:45 I-Pod pace for the run. 10:45 is almost a minute faster than any of my normal pace on long runs. In my mind, that is a significant pace decrease. And the fact that I felt good most of the run and actually had a lower BPM than the day before was wonderful. I stopped for Hydration at 30 and 45 minutes but kept up the run for the balance of the time. I also hit over 760 miles for the year as of today with only two or three running days left. I start my Marathon Training this week so I am actually going to cut back my total miles by running only 3 miles on Tuesday, 5 miles on Wednesday and 3 Thursday. Not bad for a Clydesdale Master PEnguin in only his first full year of running.
Nutrition: If you have kept up with my Blog, you know that recently I listed my typical meals for Tuesday and Thursday. without snacks I eat 270 carbs and if I eat all my snacks, which sometimes I do, I eat 337 carbs. I read in Runners World that “If your running about 25 miles a week, aim for at least 2.25 grams of Carbs every day for each pound of body weight.” (If you are running higher mileage, eat three to 3.5 grams)
If I were to weigh 260# (some day i will, I just know I will.) then I would need 585 grams of carbs, thus As noted above, on my lowest eating days, my carbs, without snacks, are half that. With Snacks, they are 3/4 that number.
How many calories and carbs do you think I need to eat to burn fat calories but provide enough energy for my body to run 30 – 40 miles per week? That’s the real question.
Weight: 265.5# (-8#)
Nutrition: Bing is a GREAT cook and we had a wonderful turkey dinner with stuffing and mashed potatoes for Christmas Eve Dinner. It was awesome. I toned down the carbs as not to work my pancreas as much as I did at Thanksgiving but it was still great as my oldest son and his girlfriend joined us for dinner. Anyway, even though Bing begged me not to weigh myself on Christmas. I did for the Blog and I was not to unhappy with the scale. A great dinner, great dinner guests and great conversation. It did not matter what the scale said. It could not dampen my spirits.
Gear: Bing and I exchanged running shoes for Christmas. This will be my 3rd pair of shoes in 2009 and these will be the ones I run the Illinois Marathon in May. I am going to do something different with these to keep track of my mileage in them. My customer/running friend Bob showed me how he writes his miles on the side of the cushion part of the shoe. I liked the idea and plan to do the same.
Yesterday, I signed up for two challenges on my Nike +/I-Pod tracking system. The first was the 500 Mile challenge I signed up for this year where I finished around 24th of those participating with around 750 miles and I started a 1000 mile challenge “For those that exceeded their 500 mile challenge in 2009″. My goal is to use the challenge to chart my 2010 performance. It’s a fun and easy way to keep track of your yearly, versus total, running miles.
Weight: 262 (-11.5#)
Cardio: Today my running goal was to run between 6 and 11 miles so that I could hit between 25 and 30 miles for the week. If Bing was going to join me, then I would run indoors, but since she typically does not run two days in a row, I was free to test out my winter running clothes at our local state park. I think the temperature was around 35 when I took off and close to freezing when I finished.
I also wanted to test to see if I could run in my Aroebic zone outdoors, where the weather and rolling hills can impact my performance.
I felt really good The first few miles so I set my sites on over 6 miles total but didn’t think I wanted to commit to 11.
My I-Pod miles, which includes walking warm up and warm down, ended up being 10.67 miles thus i exceeded 30 miles for the week. My 1:54 minutes of training today averaged 139 BPM and I burned over 2100 calories for the day.
For the week, I ran for just over 6 hours., all within the Aroebic Fat Burning Zone, and I consumed 5991 calories. Lastly, my total 2009 running miles has reached 721 so 750 looks to be in reach.
Gear: My sport hill jacket and pants, designed to work in 0 – 40 degree temperatures worked very well in the temps I ran in . Bing looked shocked when I came into the house and I thought she was looking at my jacket, which had wicked out my sweat to the suffice to the point that the entire jacket surface was wet, but what she was really looking at was the frost that layered my “Hot Chocolate” hat. I thought it looked cute. I found that hat and the Dick Pond disposable gloves worked well enough to keep me warm but not to overheat me.
In all, I found my goals of testing my clothes and testing my running in my Aroebic zone to be successful for today and for the week. I only hope that I can see the benefits in my weight and my running performance in the near future.
Nutrition: I felt hungry at breakfast time and thought I might put in a few miles so I went with a protien breakfast of three yolk reduced eggs on wheat toast with salsa. MMM For lunch, I polished off the left over Chinese and for dinner Bing made a really nice Turkey Meat Loaf with past and sauce and two helping of veggies.
Weight: 264.5 (-9#)
Nutrition: We ran out of time last night to have our good pork dinner, so we had a small thin curst pizza, half pepperoni and half cheese delivered, along with some breaded cauliflower. Nice and healthy, wouldn’t you say? Well, it tasted great and I ate more than my share.
Today I ate my standard breakfast and lunch and had one too many helpings of pork for dinner, along with a garlic potato
Resistance Training: Tonight is Hair Cut night, the once every 6 week night where Bing and I get our hair done. It’s more of a party than a hair cut. We did not have time. Wait, we did not make the time necessary to do resistance training. Plus, its taper week so I am not planning on doing any of those nasty lunges anyway.
WINTER IS COMING.
Last year, I never ran outdoors. I know many runners that did but I have access to an indoor 1/8 of a mile track and I use that, as well as a tread mill. This year, I purchased a pari of running/cross-country skiing pants that are supposed to work in zero – 40 degree weather. I had bought the jacket last year at L.L. Bean and it was wonderful. I would snow blow in it just to test it.
I don’t know if I will run a weekend long run outdoors but if you do, here are some good ideas to consider.
How to stick with training when it gets dark and chilly.
By Jeff Galloway From the December 2008 issue of Runner’s World
As the air chills, the roads get sloshy, and darkness intrudes on your morning and evening runs, you need to retool your routine. But with a little planning, you can maintain your workouts throughout the
cold-weather season.
MAP IT
Scout out well-lit, traffic-free routes near your home, office, and kids’ activities. Find two or three alternatives near each place so that you have options for different conditions-and a little variety. Find a few indoor options, too. Many health clubs offer winter memberships, and some malls and arenas open their doors to runners after hours.
DO IT MIDDAY
If you can’t find safe options for running in the dark, go out at lunch. At first you might feel sluggish exercising midday, but after two or three runs, you’ll feel better. The break from your desk will leave you feeling refreshed and energized. Make sure to have a light snack one to two hours before your run.
HIT A HILL
Hills build leg and lung power. Find a moderately steep rise, or set the treadmill at a two- to four-percent incline. After a warmup, run up the hill for five to 10 seconds, then walk downhill. Next, run for 10 to 12 seconds, picking up the pace slightly, and take a one-minute walk break. For the last segment, run for 10 to 20 seconds. On each workout, add 15 to 30 seconds of running and a one-minute walk break. Be sure to cool down.
PICK IT UP
Speedwork can help you make the most out of your limited time. After a warmup, run for 20 seconds at a pace that’s slightly faster than usual, then walk for 40 seconds. Do this twice more, picking up your pace slightly each workout.
Q+A
Q: Do I need to do a cooldown when it’s cold outside?
A: Yes. A five to 10-minute cooldown gradually brings your body back to a resting state, which helps protect your heart and reduce muscle soreness. While you’re running, blood is being pumped quickly between the leg muscles and the cardiovascular system. If you abruptly stop, the blood pools in the legs, which can put extra stress on the heart. For a cooldown, slow your running pace for five minutes, add walk breaks, then walk for five minutes.
Layer Up
How to dress smart
Wear several thin layers of clothing when it’s cold out, so you can shed them as you warm up. Start with a base layer of a technical shirt that “wicks,” or carries sweat away from your body. Your outer layer should be a jacket with a zipper that you can unzip to vent. Head out the door feeling slightly cool because you’ll get warm in 10 to 15 minutes.
