Season 2 – Episode 13 — The Runs on the Run

running advice bug Season 2   Episode 13    The Runs on the RunWe started apologizing last week for this week’s video. Last week we were looking at what can wrong with runners to make them vomit, barf, or puke. This week, we head south of the border and look at what happens when runners get the runs on the run. And that is not that last of the puns coming this week.

There’s a serious topic in here. Getting your plumbing working correctly before a marathon is a big deal. But the bottom line is that Coach Joe and Coach Dean are little boys at heart and there is a lot of giggling going on here. We hope you find this educational, while being entertained — at least as much as we were talking about it.

On this week’s episode:
— The pre-race poop
— What to do if you get the runs on the run
— Dealing with diarrhea while running
— What causes Runner’s diarrhea

And a whole bunch of war stories and jokes about things that have gone wrong with us.

We’ll get more serious again next week, when we start our series of episodes that we taped at the Rock N Roll Arizona Marathon race expo. Tune in next week for more.

Season 2 – Episode 13 — Runs on the Run from Joe English on Vimeo.

To visit our video pages with links to all of the episodes in the series, go to:
Season 1 Video Page

Season 2 Video Page

Running Advice and News
www.running-advice.com

  • Share/Bookmark

Training — What causes muscle cramps in runners?

Coach Joe English

Coach Joe English

Marathon runner Jen writes in with a great question that comes up all of the time. It has to do with cramps in her calves when running and what causes them. Here’s Jen’s question:

This past October I changed my running schedule quite a bit. Instead of doing the same runs at the same comfortable pace all the time I decided to make the change and start pushing harder. The video about “quality vs. quantity” really hit me. I HATE to run fast, but that’s what’s going to make me faster…duh.

So I just started running faster, just pushing to where it was hard the whole time, on all of my runs at first. This is when my calf started letting me know it was there. Then on one of my long runs during the first of January it cramped up so bad I thought I was going to have to have my husband come pick me up…but of course I ran faster just to get home. Then cried because I’ve never hurt like that before! . . . .[Now] the only run that hurts me is the long run. It doesn’t cramp when I sprint or run an 8-10 mile tempo pace, but when I go out slow for that 15-17 mile run…Wham right about mile 10…. I do the chomps, I drink water, etc…none of that has changed from the last 3 years.”

Great question Jen. Let’s start by looking at what a cramp is and what causes a cramp before we jump into the solution space. Too often the standard answer that you’ll get is to drink more fluid, but that may miss some of the causes of cramping that may be causing the problem in your particular case.

How do muscles work?
Muscles work by contracting and relaxing. Any particular muscle can only move in one direction and it only moves by contracting. The muscle is connected across a joint to another part of the body and when it contracts (or shortens itself), it pulls across that joint and moves the part of the body towards it. When the body part is going to move back the other direction, a muscle in opposition to the first muscle contracts and pulls the body part back in place. In this manner — through opposite muscles contracting and relaxing — parts of our body are moved back and forth.
Read more…

  • Share/Bookmark

Races — Little Rock Marathon produces another big finisher’s medal

running advice bug Races    Little Rock Marathon produces another big finishers medalThe Little Rock Marathon has unveiled the medal for finishing this year’s event — and it is a big one. Little Rock has somehow become the leader in the race to produce the biggest marathon medals and this year is no exception. At a press conference last week, marathon officials showed off the 2010 medal, weighing in at almost two pounds, and measuring nearly 8 inches high.

Little Rock Marathon Medal Small Races    Little Rock Marathon produces another big finishers medal

2010 Little Rock Marathon Finisher's Medal

The 2010 version of the Little Rock Marathon medal will once again be dubbed the “world’s largest marathon finisher’s medal”.

“In 2004, Runner’s World Magazine reported that we gave out the ‘world’s largest marathon finisher’s medal,” Gina Marchese Pharis, Co-Executive Director said. “For six years we have been recognized as having the world’s largest marathon finisher’s and we believe we can still claim the title with this year’s Natural medal.”

“When we started the Little Rock Marathon we had no idea the medal would be what we are known for,” Pharis said.
Read more…

  • Share/Bookmark

Track and Field — Lagat runs to record at Millrose Games

running advice bug Track and Field    Lagat runs to record at Millrose GamesNEW YORK – On a frigid night in New York City, the world’s finest track and field athletes brought the heat to one of the worlds most famous indoor arenas, Madison Square Garden. Bernard Lagat’s dominating record-eighth win in the Wanamaker Mile and three world leaders kept fans on the edge of their seats Friday night at the 103rd Millrose Games.

Two-time Olympic medalist and 2007 double world champion Bernard Lagat now stands alone in the Millrose Games record book. He is the only athlete ever to win eight Wanamaker Mile trophyies. Content to sit on the shoulder of 2008 Olympic gold medalist Asbel Kiprop (KEN), it was not until the bell rang that Lagat shot past Kiprop and continued to extend his lead over the final lap before crossing the line in 3:56.34 with Kirpop coming in second (3:58.03). With his historic eight win, Lagat collected all of the night’s hardware, including Team USA Athlete of the Meet, presented by Visa, which comes with a $2500 bonus. Lagat has decided to donate this, and all bonus monies he might earn this indoor season, to the Haiti Relief Fund.

The man mountain himself, reigning World Indoor and Outdoor champion Christian Cantwell dominated the Visa men’s shot put, winning by over a meter in a field that featured four athletes with 15 World and Olympic medals. With four throws over 21.36m/70-1, Cantwell had a best effort of 21.95m/72-0.25. 2007 World Outdoor champion Reese Hoffa took second with 20.59m/67-6.75 and two-time Olympic silver medalist Adam Nelson, the most-medaled man in World Outdoor shot history, was third with 20.51m/67-3.5. With his victory, Cantwell catapulted into the Visa Championship Series points lead.
Read more…

  • Share/Bookmark

Video — Season 2 – Episode 12 – The Vomit Episode

running advice bug Video    Season 2   Episode 12   The Vomit EpisodeWe may have to apologize in advance to our viewers for this episode — actually this and the next episode coming next week on a related topic. Hey, if you’ve been watching, you know that Coaches Joe and Dean are like a couple of kids when it comes to their sense of humor. Well, this weekend we tackle a real topic for runners, albeit one that happens to lend itself to a lot of crude jokes.

The topic this week: vomit, puke, throw-up, barf. This is the Vomit Episode and it is dedicate to all of the runners out there that suffer from throwing-up, puking, or heaving when they are running.

On this week’s episode:
– Why do runners throw-up, puke, vomit, or barf?
– What types of runners are more prone to throwing up?
– What can runners do to avoid throwing-up?
– What are Coaches Dean and Joe’s favorite ways to refer to throwing-up, puking or vomiting?

Next week, we take a trip south of the border to talk about what’s coming out the other end.

Season 2 – Episode 12 — The Vomit Episode from Joe English on Vimeo.

To visit our video pages with links to all of the episodes in the series, go to:
Season 1 Video Page

Season 2 Video Page

Running Advice and News
www.running-advice.com

  • Share/Bookmark

Workouts — a strength-building workout for recovery days

Coach Joe English

Coach Joe English

I’m picking back up on our weekly workout series, which has been on hiatus since the end of the fall marathon season. Every week, I write about a workout that might be useful to you in your training. Today’s topic: a good strength-building workout that you can do on a recovery day when you might be feeling fatigued or just need a break from your mileage. This workout will give you a lot of bang for your buck on a day when you don’t feel mentally ready to hit it too hard.

Workout: Strength-building Drills

Workout Summary: It happens to runners. They do a hard workout and then the next day they feel totally flat, fatigued and not ready to go again. So what do they do? They hit the road for a few easy miles. The impact of these miles? Not much really. Those short mileage, slow jog days, don’t add much to your fitness. In fact, if you’re too baked to run, then those easy miles are probably just dealing your recovery. But if the fatigue is mostly mental and you are up for a workout, one suggestion would be a running drill workout that you’ll do at your local track or football field. Running drills, also called plyometrics, isolate individual aspects of your running stride to build muscular strength in specific areas. These are the equivalent of doing sit-ups or push-ups for your running muscles.

Today’s workout starts with an easy warm-up jog and then goes into a series of drills that are all kept to short distances. Why are the distances short? So that you can concentrate on your form over these short distances and keep from getting sloppy. You will want to do these drills on a soft surface, such as grass, rather than on the road.
Read more…

  • Share/Bookmark

Track & Field – NFL Players hit track at Millrose Games

running advice bug Track & Field   NFL Players hit track at Millrose GamesNEW YORK – A pair of Super Bowl veterans with nearly identical sprinting speed, but opposite builds, have joined the field of the Super 60 – or Super LX, for Roman numeral buffs – at the 103rd Millrose Games on January 29.

Cornerback Phillip Buchanon and defensive end Ryan LaCasse join the previously announced Super 60 field that includes Willie Gault and Tim Dwight. Former New York Giant David Tyree will not compete.

The 17th overall pick in the 2002 draft, Buchanon wore the black-and-silver of the Oakland Raiders for Super Bowl XXXVII in 2003. With 4.3 40 speed, the cornerback spent three seasons at Oakland before playing for Texas, Tampa Bay and his current team, the Detroit Lions. In his time with the Raiders, he recorded 122 tackles and 11 interceptions.

“I have always been a big fan of track and field, and I know I’m one of the fastest guys in the NFL,” Buchanon said. “With the last name Buchanon, I plan on shooting out of the starting blocks like a cannon. The other guys better watch out, I’ll be flying by them before they know it.”
Read more…

  • Share/Bookmark

Races — Celeb starter Salman Khan sees riot at Jaipur Marathon

running advice bug Races    Celeb starter Salman Khan sees riot at Jaipur MarathonBollywood film star Salman Khan hoped to add some celebrity to the start of the Jaipur Half-marathon and 6KM run this weekend. Unfortunately, the crowd turned ugly. According to web-reports, after acting as the official starter for the 25,000 runner event, fans got out of control trying to get a peek at the actor.

Police whisked him away in a car, but that turned the situation even uglier. Fans had hoped to run the race with Khan and after he had departed, police and fans turned the situation into a melee. Several web-sites reported that riot police had resorted to “lathicharge” to disperse the field. For those outside India, the term lathicharge refers to a method of crowd control in which police use long sticks called “lathi” to beat back crowds or rioters. Only minor injuries were reported. Apparently fans were throwing chairs and water-bottles in the melee.

Jaipur, also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital of the Indian state of Rajasthan, according to Wikipedia. The city today has a population of more than 4 million.

Salman Khan is a major Indian film star. He has acted in films since 1988 and has starred in some of Bollywood’s highest grossing films, including Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), Tere Naam (2003), No Entry (2005), Partner (2007) and Wanted (2009).

Running Advice and News
www.running-advice.com

  • Share/Bookmark

Races — Gebrselassie wins Dubai Marathon, no world record this time

running advice bug Races    Gebrselassie wins Dubai Marathon, no world record this timeA bad back was to blame for keeping Haile Gebrselassie from a new world record in the marathon this weekend, according to the running super-star. The 36 year-old Gebrselassie still outkicked the field to win the Dubai Marathon in 2:06:09, making it three in a row in Dubai and taking home another $250,000 prize. One million dollars was on the line for a new world record.

Gebrselassie has attempted the world record the last three years in Dubai, hoping to take home the big payout, but his world record success of Berlin has not followed him to Dubai. Gebrselassie has broken the world record two out of the last three years in the Berlin Marathon. His current world best time is 2:03:59.

In the Dubai event, Gebrselassie complained of a sore back that had been giving him trouble. He felt that a world record attempt would have left him unable to finish, so he stayed with the pack until the last 5KM when he tore away to win the race in front of scores of cheering fans.

“I took it easy in the first 15kms of the race. I didn’t want to go all out because that would have been risky. If I had done that, probably I couldn’t have completed the race. People would have said: ‘Look, Haile even couldn’t get to the podium’,” Gebrselassie told reporters after the race. “I didn’t want that to happen. So I just concentrated on winning the race. At the end of the day it gives me a big pleasure that I managed to win the race. That’s very important, you know.”
Read more…

  • Share/Bookmark

Video – Season 2 – Episode 11 — Mileage and Young Runners

running advice bug Video   Season 2   Episode 11    Mileage and Young RunnersOur video series continues rolling along this week with an episode that goes out to the young runners, their parents and coaches this week. Coaches Joe and Dean are sitting on Runner’s Sofa talking about how much should high-school track and cross-country runners run.

On this week’s episode:
- How many miles should young runners be running?
- How many miles is enough to prepare for high-school and cross-country running events?
- Why should runners avoid running too many miles at a young age?
- How should parents and students deal with coaches that are assigning too many miles?

Season 2 – Episode 11 — Mileage and Young Runners from Joe English on Vimeo.

Coach Dean has a book on this subject called: Runners Take Your Mark: The Parents’ Guide to Youth Track and Field. If you’d like more information about the book, click here.

To visit our video pages with links to all of the episodes in the series, go to:
Season 1 Video Page

Season 2 Video Page

Running Advice and News
www.running-advice.com

  • Share/Bookmark