Monthly Archives: March 2008

USATF – Ongoing Stretch Study

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USA Track and Field is in the middle of a very large study on the impact of stretching before you run and running-related injuries.

From their background information:

Many studies have been conducted to understand the impact of stretching or warm-ups on the risk of injury, but with conflicting results. A broad review of “stretching” has not conclusively determined whether a pre-run static stretch protects runners from injury during their routine training.

After reading through the research aka protocol I decided to join the study. The study is focused on three major muscle groups – calves/Achilles, hamstrings, and quadriceps. Volunteers who meet their criteria – any person over 13 who runs 10 miles a week, hasn’t had an injury which prevented running for more than 3 days, is planning on running for the next 3 months, and who is willing to commit to either stretching before running or not stretching before running. The last part may sound kinda logical but there are some who

believe that [pre-run] stretching is important for you to prevent injuries, [if that is you] then you should not volunteer for the Study. If you do not stretch before you run and you believe that stretching before running will increase the possibility of injuring yourself, then you should not volunteer for the Study.

The sign-up process is pretty painless, I think it was 13 simple questions about major health-related issues, your weekly mileage, and a few questions about chronic injuries.

The study process is fairly simple. If you are assigned to stretch, then you stretch. If you are assigned not to stretch, then you don’t stretch the 3 muscle groups. Either way you are allowed to continue with other normal stretching routines before, during or after running. To ensure everyone stretches in a similar manner they have created a how to stretch page to make sure your stretch properly. After the three months you file a report which contains 2 questions – I did or did not get injured during this study and I stretched x% of the time before running. If at any point during the study you get injured which is defined as not being able to run for 3 consecutive days – you file an injury report 3 weeks after the injury occurred.

The study began in April of 2007 and will continue until the maximum size of 10,000 is reached or they produce a statistically significant result.

Be sure to click on over and do your part to help the running community better understand injury prevention!

[tags] USATF, Research, Stretch Study, Stretching [/tags]

Half Training: Week Six

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Image provided by stock.xchng.

Halfway through the training plan – that means only 6 more weeks until race day. It really is coming quite quickly. I am definitely tired of the cold and having to check the weather each morning to find out how many layers I actually need to wear. The MDRA blog says it well: “The only good thing I’ve found about running in below zero temps is this; I know exactly how to dress. When the temp is in the mid 20s I’m always too hot or too cold by the end of a run. But I can totally nail it at minus 5. Weird.”

If you followed along with my mileage and workout stats on the sidebar for this week, you may have thought I slacked off. Well I did, just not the way you thought! I slacked off on inputting running data into the computer. I wanted to enter it accurately – it is all on the Garmin – so I just kept waiting around to do it.

Monday – Run 4 x 1200 meter repeats at 5K pace. Recover between the repeats with 800 meters at an easy pace. Cool down with 800 meters at an easy pace. It was a chilly 8 above with a -8 wind chill so it was quite windy for this interval workout. I did it along the Greenway for an overal run of 6.53 miles in 51:19. I think you will be able to tell by my splits which way the wind was blowing during this out and back run. My goal pace for each interval was 4:19 – 4:40. An additional note there is still many icy patches on the trail. I ran 5:01, 5:13, 4:55, 4:52 so none of them were in the target range – but pretty close considering the clothing and environmental challenges!

Tuesday – Run 6 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides. I ran 5.2 miles in 8:32. I don’t remember the weather, but I’m guessing it was cold and windy! I ran from home to downtown and then back down the bike trail to the Midtown Greenway.

Wednesday – Run 5 miles on a hill that is gradually and consistently uphill. Run at a pace that feels like 10K pace. Your actual pace will be slower due to the incline. It was about 24 this morning with at least an inch of snow on the roads and sidewalks when I left and it snowed the entire run. The warmer temps felt good and the snow provided a nice cushion. The workout sheet offered an indoor alternative – treadmill at 3-5%. I hate treadmills and figured out a way to incorporate some hills into my run without having to drive any where. The trade-off was having to run on sidewalks instead of the Greenway. I almost got hit by the rear end of a sliding bus and came upon a taxi-van sitting in the middle of the sidewalk – he crashed into an electric type box after sliding across the road and up onto the sidewalk. He said he was fine so I maneuvered carefully around him. I didn’t have the route perfectly memorized in my head so I missed the route I had planned but still had an excellent workout along the East River Parkway. I’m not sure why but the East side wasn’t plowed as well as the West – and it was still Minneapolis so it wasn’t just because I was in St Paul or anything. My overall run was 7.86 miles in 1:06:32. I ran 2.09 miles before I got to the beginning of the hills with a split of 18:30. The next 5 miles I ran in 41:29 which is a sad 8:11 pace – I wasn’t running anywhere near 10K effort for most of the run but it was a snowy mess! The last .7 miles I ran in 6:31. So not the best workout but there was hills and maybe next time I’ll actually remember where I’m going!

Thursday – Run 6 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides. I hit the bike this morning. My legs have felt pretty good, but it was something like -20 wind chill so I thought it would be a perfect day for cross-training. I wasn’t too ambitious on the bike and only did 7 miles in 29:30 – about half the normal time and way off the normal pace. Afterwards I lifted – I don’t think I’ve said anything about that before, but I’ve been lifting lower body for a few weeks. I’ve been doing it on whichever day I cross train, but today I also added triceps and biceps. I need to find my lifting sheet and get back into it.

Friday – Run 4 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides. I ran 4.16 miles in the afternoon on some random streets. I finished the run in 33:32. The sidewalks weren’t too bad today – there are still spots that are horrible (like where the sun never hits) but the majority have been nicely cleaned since Tuesday’s snow. I almost didn’t run again today, but honestly the though of having to write on here about not running for no good reason motivated me to do it. It was -5 actual temps this morning and I knew I’d be able to run later in the day when it was 10 above (1 above windchill). But when that time came I just didn’t feel like it. As always I’m glad I ran, even if it was just to explore new neighborhoods.

Saturday – Run 2 x 20 minute repeats at 10K pace. Jog for 5 minutes between repeats. I thought it was supposed to be warming up! It was 2 above with a -10 wind chill this morning. So I bundled up and took off. 10K pace is around 6:30 per mile. I was hoping to be able to run about 3 miles or even a full 5K in this time – 2.87 miles out (6:59 pace) and 2.76 (7:15) on the way back. A little disappointing but there were times I was at 6:30 pace, it was stinking cold! The overall run was 7.72 miles in 1:00:06.

Sunday – Rest! Gladly!

Totals for the week: Running – 31.4 miles and 4:15:20 hours Biking – 7 miles in 29:30 minutes.

This week should be a fun week of running with some good workouts. The weather also looks pretty good!

[tags] Half-Marathon, Training [/tags]

Human Race 8K

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While I had already registered for my first race in 2008, the St Patrick’s Day Human Race 8K will be the first one I’ll run. I registered at the beginning of March. This is the first race in the USATF Circuit. The 8K distance is just short of 5 miles and is the collegiate cross country distance.

It is kind of a unique name but they help explain it on their page:

In 2005 a scientific article was released that caught our attention. The authors claimed that the human body has evolved to be the shape it is because of running. That`s what we have thought all along, that running isn`t just something we do, it makes us human!

It also has a strong community focus:

The St. Patrick`s Day Human Race benefits the community in four distinct ways. First, the event is a celebration of fitness and healthy living, which we believe are positive community values. Second, each year we conduct a shoe drive to collect worn (but not worn out) shoes for distribution at a local free store. We collect over 700 pairs of shoes each year. Third, beginning in 2002, The Sporting Life has designated Human Race Heroes and initiated a fundraising effort for the charity of choice for the honoree. In 2006 we honored Bonnie Sons and Chris Celichowski, and fundraising for their charity of choice, Bolder Options. Finally, we recruit community groups to work at our event in exchange for a donation to their organization.

The 36th running of this event is on March 16 at the University of St Thomas in Saint Paul. The out and back course runs along Summit Ave which is also the finish of the Twin Cities Marathon.

USATF – Minnesota Member

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I’m a card carrying member of the USATF now. Well at least once I get the card in the mail!!

I had never thought about being a member of the USATF until now since I’m not fast enough to be in the track and field circuit and don’t really need another distraction.

So Why Sign-up?

I was prompted to sign up by one of the MDRA members to be a part of their racing team – Bad News Bears. The main purpose for signing up is to be a part of the Team Circuit. The circuit is a series of “championship” races where teams are scored cross-country style. The race distances go from 1 mile all the way up to a 25K (15.5 miles). The half-marathon I’m racing is part of the circuit and so are other local races hosted by the MDRA – so why not! It is $30 a year to be a member but there are some good benefits.

Benefits

I have actually already used one – discounts at races! I just saved $5 when I signed up for an upcoming 8K. There is a long list of discounted items, many of which I’ll never use. However, if you travel for a lot of races there are discounts for rental cars and hotels. There are discounts on running gear, other merchandise, magazine subscriptions, books and movies, and running stores. You also get a membership decal and a copy of the Fast Forward magazine. I think you could easily “earn back” your $30 membership if you were planning on getting some of discounted items! I’m also supposed to get a team jersey which must be worn during all races I’m competing in as part of the team!

You should see if there are any local USATF chapters or competitions to be a part of.

[tags] USATF, Minnesota, MDRA [/tags]