RA Coaching Forum

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Articles (Read 319 times)

Scout7


    Alright, I've been thinking about this one for a little bit, and I thought a place to sort links to interesting articles might be worthwhile. So, here it is. I think the best way to do this would be to post a link to an article, and a short summary of what it's about.
    mikeymike


      Not exaclty an article, just something I like to keep bookmarked: http://www.kemibe.com/training.htm It's about running.

      Runners run

      Scout7


        Alright, I got a couple.... This one is on various form drills: http://www.runningplanet.com/training/running-drills.html This one is a 4-part series on different types of speedwork: http://home.hia.no/~stephens/dcouper.htm And this last one is on mental techniques: http://ironman.com/training/jason-gootman-and-will-kirousis-have-some-mental-tips-that-will-help-you-in-your-next-race


        Why is it sideways?

          Good stuff, guys. I like really like this part from Mikey's article:
          If you're in a period of training with no immediate racing goals (and thus presumably not doing a lot of track or interval work), you can run as fast as you want to every day. If you're a little tired the next day, good. You should be. If you're really whipped, consciously back off and you'll probably feel fresher soon enough. There are no magical programs or formulas when it comes to building strength in the off-season. Run as much as you can as often as possible and run like hell when moved to do so. That seemingly oversimplified piece of advice is not a cop-out or a spitting in the face of science or specifics; it's a real prescription for long-term success. I have benefitted tremendously from this approach, as have many runners far better than me.
          mikeymike


            I like that part too, Jeff. Balanced, of course, by this:
            During a period of serious racing, the variables change. Here, you should almost certainly be running slower on non-workout, non-race days than you think you should. "Recovery days" are so named for a reason; they're not called "slow, but no slower than seven-minutes-a-mile-'cause-that's-too-slow" days, for the same reason. You're better off running too slowly than running too fast during an in-season training run, and, though it may not feel like it, better of pitter-pattering along at a relative jog than not running at all.

            Runners run


            Why is it sideways?

              Ran my the first mile of my run today at 8:15 pace. Thought you would be proud of me.
              mikeymike


                Wow, did it hurt to run that slow?

                Runners run


                Why is it sideways?

                  I ran that slow because it hurt. Wink Actually, I'm trying out the idea of running very slowly for the first 5-10 minutes of my daily runs. I probably started off at 10:00 mile pace for that 8:15 mile. I think by doing that I'm achieving two things: 1) I'm getting a good warm-up and (hopefully avoiding muscle strains) and 2) I'm letting my body determine pace instead of my preconceived idea of the pace I have to run that day. I'm trying to work on the switch that I have that is always stuck in the ON position. The switch that says: push. I'd like to be able to turn it off and on and by resisting the temptation to run hard from the beginning of my run, I think I'm gaining some sort of mental flexibility. By the way, I've found that my average pace for the entire run ends up being about the same, which tells me that I'm able to finish my runs faster by warming up slower.