Running "rules of thumb" (Read 609 times)

Sorry I'm late but I didn't see this one.  You can run no faster in a marathon than you run your fastest 26.2 miles in any given week.

I was about to write, this sounds more like an antirule -- if you run 26 miles at MP or faster in the week before your goal race, for example, I'm pretty sure your race is going to be a disaster. But then you said "any given week", not the final week. Still, sounds very suspect to me.

But -- someone in the Marathon Maniacs FB group just posted that he did almost exactly this, to run 2:59, at age 58. So what do I know.

"Since my target pace was under 7 per mile, I wanted to see how many of those I could run in a week- on 2 seperate occastions I was able to run 25 sub 7 min miles by combining short intervals (400s), short tempo (3-4 miles), long intervals (800s), and long tempo (8 miles). Turned out that half or more of my weekly miles were under 7. I didn't do that every week but I made sure the other weeks that I had a 2 hr run and Yasso 800s or something similar. In summary, I think if you can run 25 sub 7 min miles in a week (it doesn't really matter how you do it), you are fit enough to run close to a 3 hr marathon."

Not what I would ever try to do. But, huh.

Just dropped into this chat:

Every minute you steal on the first half of a marathon you pay back treble on the second half.

I guess that doesn't work for everyone and is better expressed as a %, but for me that rule has held true for a few years now.

 

I want to hear more about this because this could be spectacular!

 

Please, enlighten us on his fascinating response.

I wonder if he's a "Biomimeticist."

source

Spareribs,

To save you some time you might just fill this out and hit refresh a few times.

This was created by bhearn.

http://www.hearn.to/jester-o-matic.html

Happy to help.  Here is what he wrote me, leaving out his name:

 

Saw your request for running "rules of thumb" and thought to write and introduce myself. I'm a researcher in elite human performance, training clients which include Navy SEALs. I'd be honored for a conversation if you're looking for a very different perspective of running for the recreational, professional or tactical (military, law enforcement, firefighter) athlete.

 

My area of research is injury prevention and for that reason I've been asked to assist the US Army to rewrite their standard training manuals to include a running technique not only biomechanically different  from what coaches teach, but documented to reduce the most common injuries runners face.

 

What you refer to as rules of thumb, are in fact well repeated myths which have absolutely no science to back up their claims. The 10% rule is the joke that limiting your running will only delay the onset of injury, not prevent it.

 

The army in fact has done studies with the most common running techniques promoted by the sports media industry. Unfortunately, the 180 step per minute mantra has no validity. In short, it doesn't reduce injury risks, it merely changes where in your body you experience them.

http://www.army.mil/article/121873/USARIEM_researchers_study_Soldiers__running_styles/

 

In fact studies clearly show the 180 step per minute is a less efficient way to run

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16195026

 

If you'd enjoy a very radical discussion to improve anyone's running technique, I'd look forward to discussing what science says actually works to improve technique, speed, and reduce injury risks

By "radical", he means "kitty" running.

SIGH.  Why can't I stay away?

 

This is like middle school giggles.

Hehe. Giggle giggle. Jester!  Hehe! {note sarcasm}

I can't be the only person who feels like I'm 13 years old when we instigate this type of childish stuff within an innocent thread.
We're such a childish group of adults. It's annoying.
I've all but left RA because of how we interact.

No giggling on my part.  Maybe a wry smirk when I clicked it a few times to make sure I was giving the correct link and it matched up so closely with posts that I've read from him.

My goal was to attempt to save Spareribs the time that otherwise would have been spent attempting to have an interaction with sportjester whatever his real name is.  I wouldn't want anyone to go into that without knowing what they are getting into.