Category Archives: Information

Running Trends and Race Results

First the running trends:

Here are some interesting statistics about running in the USA.

In 2006, over 8.5 million people completed a US Road Running Event, with 38% of those completing a 5K and 4.8% completing a marathon.
That is a 5% increase over 2005.
The above 8.5 million people competed in almost 15,000 events in 2006 with 50% of those being 5K’s.
Over 43,000 participated in the Celestial Seasonings Bolder Boulder 10K, 2006’s largest race, while Indy’s Mini-Marathon placed 7th overall with 27,000 finishers.
The half-marathon or 13.1 mile event is the largest growing event in the country. Other growing race distances include the 1 mile, 5 mile, 8K, and 10mile.
53% of runners are male and the average age is 44 years old.
In 2006, over $726 million (an increase of 11%) on running clothing and $3 BILLION on running shoes (a slight decline).

Now for the Race Results from August 18.

ICADV Race Away From Domestic Violence 10k was won by Andy Hass of Lizton, IN in 34:17 (5:32) with Cindy Harris of Indianapolis winning the female division in 42:51 (6:55) and placing 21st overall. In the 5K Stephen Mason of Indianapolis won in 16:56 (5:27) with Jean Lampert of Indianapolis winning the female division in 19:19 (6:13) and placing 10th overall.

5K 4 United Way, in Terre Haute was won by Gary Collins in 16:47 (5:04) with Jessica Crowder winning the female division in 19:22 (6:14) and placing 8th overall.

Friends of Seelyville 5K was won by Patrick Ferro in 19:06 (6:08) and the female division was won by Carla Yerkes in 20:34 (6:37).

Technorati tags: 5K, 10K, running, results, running trends

Anderson Road Runners Newsletter

Its a Raging Inferno Outside: Tips to Beat the HEAT

3 Replies

Its hot outside (maybe an understatement). At noon today its about 85 degrees with a heat index at 92 and 68% humidity! The prediction for today is 98 degrees with heat indexes around 105! The National Weather Service has issued a Heat Advisory for today and also one for tomorrow with predictions for 97 degrees and a similar heat index. UGH!

I guess its time for some hot weather running tips! There is a lot out there about this topic, so here is a compilation of advice from all the running experts and actually Runner’s World did a big feature on this topic in a recent issue.

Hydration is a must! Drink before, during, and after your runs. You can lose between 6-12oz of fluid per 20 minutes of running. Be careful with overhydration, if you are on a long run be sure to include some type of sugar such as Gatorade. A good indication of your fluid intake is your urine color (the darker the less hydrated you are). Also go ahead and pour some water over your body it will help cool you off! Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and carbonated drinks.
Run early, late, and in the shade. I guess running indoors works too, but not an option I really like! Trying to finish your run before the temperatures really start to rise is the best idea, otherwise a late night run is best. Running in the shade and avoiding blacktop surfaces will also help keep you cooler. You can also split up your workout between a morning and night or do some cross training.
Watch your pace – your times might be a little slower than normal, don’t push yourself too hard and be patient. Some would also say to start out a little slower than normal to prevent a serious time drop later in your run.
Wear light-weight, light-colored, and loose clothing with SPF in them. This includes light-colored moisture-wicking socks to help keep your feet cooler. Experts differ on wearing hats and long-sleeved shirts. Depending on your specific case they might be helpful, I doubt in Indiana we need to worry about wearing long-sleeved shirts, but I don’t know about hats. They can provide a needed respite from the sun, but they also hinder the escape of heat from our body. Using a cold, wet, or even frozen bandana wrapped around your neck or head is a good way to keep you cool, but once its lost its cool it might be a hindrance by keeping heat at your body. Wrapping a cold sponge with ice cubes can also be helpful.
Watch for symptoms of heat-related illness:
1. Leg cramps, dizziness, increased heart rate, headache, and nausea are the initial symptoms of heat exhaustion, which could lead to (possibly fatal) heat stroke. Anyone experiencing these indicators should stop exercising immediately, get to a cool place, and continue to hydrate slowly. If you cannot keep fluids down, go to the emergency room.
2. Other symptoms include confusion, loss of muscle control, clammy skin, feeling faint.
3. If you stop sweating, have a throbbing headache or red, hot, dry skin seek immediate medical attention.
Group running is more important so you can keep an eye on each other and provide assistance as needed.
Stay rested – ensure you are getting at least a normal amount if not more sleep.
Stay nourished – it is hard to eat or cook sometimes when it is so hot, but staying properly nourished will help your body fight the heat! Eating things like salad or fruits will help with hydration because of their high water content.

You can’t beat the heat. Nobody can–that is, nobody can race up to their potential in hot conditions. – Truman Clark

Hear is a link about indoor training. Also check out Gatorade’s hydration strategies website.

Sources for today’s post:

Road Runners Club of America
Cool Running
Active tips temps precautions summer
WebMD
Runner’s World hydration cool gauge mileage

Also check out this Indy Star article about hiking (running) trails at Turkey Run State Park.

Technorati tags: heat, running information, running, fitness, hydration, temperature

Ways to Ruin Your Next Race

7 Replies

There are lots of way to ruin a race, but over at Active.com they have provided a list of the top ten easiest ways to ruin a race. Its on their Triathlon site, but it is an excellent list for runners as well.

I’ll write out the list but be sure to check out the article to get their descriptions! By reading the descriptions you might also be able to spot what you should actually do to NOT ruin your race!

Increase Training Volume
Decrease or Eliminate Training
Don’t Keep a Training Log
Get New Gear Less than a Week Before the Race
Try New Techniques on Race Day
Schedule More than Normal Amounts of Work & Personal Obligations
Eat High-Fiber Foods in Your Last Few Pre-Race Meals
Plenty of Alcohol and Little Sleep the Night Before the Race
Base your Goal Performance on Others
Arrive to the Race as Late as Possible

I’ll admit I’ve actually done a couple of these!

- I ran a 5K after running 11 miles the day before (not such a good 5K time!) I also rode my bike 10 miles to a 5K, but actually planned to do that and didn’t care about my time.
- I raced a 5K without socks in my flats, because/ I forgot them at home! (luckily I didn’t get any blisters!)
- I’ve experimented with powerbars/gels during a race for the first time (I don’t remember any problems and actually raced a course PR)
- I have experienced less than a good amount of sleep the night before a race. But our rule in college was that the night before the night before (Thursday night for a Saturday race) was the most important night of sleep. I don’t recall the science for this one, anyone?
- One year, the night before the Indy Mini I went to the Expo and then walked around Indy for awhile afterwards, nothing like wearing out your legs!
- While I didn’t eat high-fiber, I have had issues with certain pasta restaurants not sitting well after eating them the night before!

Did you like this list? Find that it is pretty inclusive? Leave a comment and let us know what you think about any of these items.

Technorati tags: running, fitness, triathlon

Fartleking Fun

5 Replies

We all want to improve our performance to some degree and I imagine most of us want to become the best that we can in running and life. To get better we have to stretch ourselves, take our mind or body someplace where its not been before.

In running as in life, there are many avenues to pursue improvement. Probably one of the quickest ways to improve your running performance is to incorporate speed workouts. Speed work provides three primary benefits:

Helps improve form,
Trains your body to handle Oxygen debt, and
Helps push through mental barriers that may be holding you back.

Under speed work there are three broad umbrellas:

1. Hill Workouts
2. Interval Training
3. Fartleks

Each has a unique benefit and purpose and will help you overcome mid-race fatigue, poor finishing stretch, and overcoming oxygen debt. In my opinion Fartleks are the easiest way to do incorporate speed training into your workout schedule. Note: You should have a decent base before incorporating any speedwork into your training.

Fartlek, Fartlek, Fartlek

The word almost sounds profane, I mean who wants to lick a fart? It actually is a Swedish word meaning “speed play.” That is precisely what you should do with a fartlek: play and have fun! When the Europeans first popularized this aspect of training they didn’t base their “intervals” on time, but on random points during a run.

Basically a fartlek is adding a short period of acceleration, followed by a recovery, and repeating it. Most runners generally do Fartleks by time 1 minute on, 1 minute off, etc. Fartleks train you to push through your fatigue and help you during a race when you need to put a surge in to catch a passing competitor. Your off or rest pace should ideally return you back to your regular pace.

Fartleks are great because they can be done anywhere and at anytime, they are also more fun than running repeat intervals at a track and can produce some of the benefits. Fartleks can be done if you need to throw in some speed work but your base is a little weak, it is also done a lot towards the beginning of a training schedule to help get your legs use to running fast.

How do I do it?

It really depends on where you run, what your training looks like, and what your goal is. I’ve done fartleks at Mounds and on the road. Here is a sample fartlek on the road while training for a 10K:

Warmup – 10 minutes

1 minute at 10K pace – 1 minute recovery

2 minutes at 10K pace – 2 minute recovery

3 minutes at 10K pace – 3 minute recovery

2 minutes at 10K pace – 2 minute recovery

1 minute at 10K pace – 1 minute recovery

Cooldown – 10 minutes

I usually extend the cooldown to finish the course that I’m running, but you could also extend the warmup to get your mileage. You can add more accelerations, make them longer, or do whatever you want (remember to have fun). I would also note that when I say 10K pace, that should be goal pace, not your most recent 10K pace. In reality, pacing on a fartlek is about how you feel, it shouldn’t be 100% effort but maybe closer to 85%. Hard but not too hard.

Good luck and I’d like to hear your comments about Fartleking!

Technorati tags: running, running information, fitness, fartlek, speed work, training

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