Training Tip Tuesday #8- A Look at Running Economy: Part 2

Last week we discussed what (the deuce) running economy is and why it is an important marker for endurance performance. Being able to use our precious oxygen in the most economical way possible is extremely advantageous whether we be racing sprint triathlons or Ironman. Originally I was going to talk about how we can improve RE this week but after further review of the material I've decided to extend this discussion one more week. This week I'll be covering some of the various biomechanical, physiological and anthropometric characteristics that effect RE. This doesn't necessarily mean you should start employing an intervention method to enhance RE. It's simply a sampling of variables that effect RE. NEXT week I'll talk about specific interventions that might help you improve yours. There is one in particular that is easy to implement and carries a host of benefits. Below, I've highlighted a few of the interesting and relevant factors effecting RE. Once again, the Saunders article is my primary source along with some confirmation from various other articles.



Anthropometric Characteristics

I'll place my bet on skinny calves all day long

Since none of us have control over how tall we are, how wide our pelvis is or the size of our feet I'll brush over these factors relatively quickly. The biggest take away is that less body mass on the extremities is conducive to better RE. Small calves are better than big calves when it comes to running fast. This is also part of the reason we wear lighter weight shoes in racing. Less mass at the extremities means less effort to move that mass and less oxygen required.

Physiological Factors

It's generally accepted that a higher percentage of slow-twitch muscle fibers is associated with better RE. We'll touch on this more next week when we discuss specific interventions to improve RE but more running results in an increase in oxidative mechanisms and enzymes. From the Saunders et al., article- "An increase in the respiratory capacity of skeletal muscle permits trained runners to use less oxygen per mitochondrial respiratory chain a given sub maximal running speed." Quite a mouthful I know but the takeaway is this- improving our aerobic energy system makes us more economical.

Stride length

Research has shown that RE is best with a self-selected stride length during running. That is, RE gets worse when subjects consciously tried to shorten or lengthen their stride different from how they normally stride when running. I don't think this has to mean that we should never try to adjust our stride. Most of these studies were done on well trained individuals running at a speed of 8-10 mph (7:30-6:00 min/mile pace. For a well trained runner that is a fairly relaxed pace and they have undoubtedly run hundreds and hundreds of miles at that pace and become very economical. Below we'll discuss the difference between over striding and heel striking. I believe that correcting over striding is a good thing. There is also a difference in whether our stride length comes from in front of us or behind us. If you aren't already running sub 7:00 or 6:00 min/mile pace for a half marathon than don't completely throw the idea of adjusting stride length out the window.

Footstrike

Oddly enough, HEEL STRIKERS were found to have better RE than forefoot strikers! Utterly shocking and utterly conflicting with what is the current day trend of forefoot running. Personally, I don't think HOW the foot hits is the ground is quite as important as WHERE it hits the ground in relation to our center of mass. I will try not to climb on too much of a soap box here but I definitely think this point deserves note. There is a difference between heel striking and over striding. Over striding is bad, heel striking isn't necessarily bad.  I don't think the issue of over striding should be fixed by focusing on what part of our foot touches the ground first but where the foot touches the ground. Many elite runners are known to be heel strikers and I know of at least one extremely successful triathlon coach who actually tries to coach his athletes to become heel strikers.  It's a point worth considering anyways.

Flexibility

No consensus was found on this issue. Some studies found that improved hip flexion and extension resulted in improvement in RE. Many others have found that poor flexibility actually resulted in better RE. This is thought to be due to better elastic return of energy because of stiffer joints, muscles and tendons. My personal belief is that there is an appropriate level of flexibility and that each person is different. Some people are naturally quite flexible and don't need specific stretching exercises to stay that way. Others, I think, can benefit from stretching muscles around the hip that allow them to have full range of motion during their running stride. If tight hip flexors are preventing you from extending fully at the toe off phase of your run stride then you might benefit from stretching your hip flexors.


I want to be careful in mentioning these various variables that coerce to generate running economy. Many of them might seem contradictory. For instance- if a self selected stride length is best then why might flexibility and increased hip extension improve my RE? None of what I've outlined above are interventions that should be taken to augment RE. I will cover that next week. In the meantime I wanted to paint a broader picture of the issue in hopes of eliciting better understanding. Another confounding is that each individual is different with a different physiological, anthropometrical (I just feel really smart typing that word) and biomechanics make up. Even among elite runners there is a wide discrepancy in stride mechanics, muscle fiber type and flexibility. My goal is to educate and elicit thought.

ipsa scientia potestas est

Knowledge itself is power

Training Tip Tuesday #7- A Look at Running Economy: Part 1

Ahhh running economy. That elusive, mystic enigmatic variable we have heard reference to but aren't quite sure exactly what it means. We shall attempt to delve into the intricacies of this nebulous term and hopefully come out better informed and wiser on the other side. In this post I will do my best to explain the definition of running economy, what it measures and the implications thereof.

Much of the information on running economy I will present today comes from a review article titled, "Factors Affecting Running Economy in Trained Distance Runners (Saunders, Pyne, Telford & Hawley 2004)." In their article, Saunders et al., summarizes the information on running economy gathered from over 100 pieces of literature. For the purposes of this post I will be mainly referring to the Saunders, piece. If you have questions about the other sources and references please feel free to contact me and I will be happy to provide the references for you.

What the deuce is running economy, you ask? Well, allow me- "Running economy (RE) is typically defined as the energy demand for a given velocity of sub maximal running." Say whaaa???? To put it more simply, running economy is essentially how much oxygen we use to run at a given speed. RE is measured at a much lower speed than maximal intensity because it's not very applicable to see how efficient we are with oxygen while sprinting. The reasons for this are 1) because sprinting 100m has little to do with the aerobic energy system and 2) because we don't sprint a 5k, 10k or marathon off the bike. It is much more applicable to find out how efficient we are with oxygen while running 10k pace or half marathon pace than running 4:00 minute pace for 200 meters.

An example protocol for testing RE would be to have all subjects perform a 10min run at 8 mph (7:30 pace). During this run the subjects VO2 and respiratory exchange ratio (RER) would be measured. (RER shows what percentage of fat versus carbohydrate our body is using for fuel. An RER of 1.00 reflects 100% carbohydrate utilization to fuel the working muscles). Having better running economy basically means that we need less oxygen to run at a given intensity. I don't know about you but I'm all for conserving every spare O2 molecule I have when I'm racing hard trying to beat the fellow next to me.

This helpful little graph from the Saunders paper shows how two elite level runners can have nearly identical values for their VO2max but have drastically different running economy (and different 10k times).

With RE it isn't about how fast or how far you can go, or how high your VO2max is, It's about how efficiently you can use the resources (oxygen) you have while running at a given intensity.

This is important because racing is all about efficiency. The goal of a race is to get to the finish line as fast as we can. Now, if we can conserve energy by being more… dare I say economical? This will allow us to go faster at the same level of effort.

To put it another way- lets say my "threshold" intensity is 50 mL of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute (mL/kg/min) and I can run 7:30 pace at this intensity. If I can improve my running economy so that I only have to use 45 mL/kg/min of oxygen to go 7:30 pace, that means that I can now bump my intensity back up to 50 mL/kg/min (my threshold) but I'm now running 7:15 pace instead of 7:30 pace. I'm running at the same intensity but my pace is faster at that intensity because I'm more economical That means I'm going faster and more likely to beat you!!

Hopefully this exiguous attempt at analyzing running economy was somewhat enlightening and didn't confuse the issue more. Next week I'll discuss ways we can improve running economy. In the meantime feel free to chime in with comments, questions, complaints or disagreements you may have.

Until next time!

Saunders, P. U., Pyne, D. B., Telford, R. D., & Hawley, J. A. (2004). Factors affecting running economy in trained distance runners. Sports Medicine, 34(7), 465-485.

Training Tip Tuesday #6- It's About the Process

We'll keep it short and sweet this week. Here's a little anecdote to chew on and decide what it means for you.


"It’s about the process. It doesn’t matter what you do tomorrow and it doesn’t matter what you did yesterday. It’s about today and making today count. That’s especially true in training but that’s the same mentality I carry into racing. Focus on the task at hand, not on the finish line or the next part of the race, but what it is that is right in front of you at the moment.” 

                 - Jordan Rapp (6x Ironman Champion)


Focus on the task at hand. Balance and consistency is key.

An Ignominious End

There's been so many tips and training advice flying around this joint lately I thought it was about time to check in with the residing pro triathlete and the end of the season...

After a good build up through my early races in September, 2013 didn't close out exactly how I expected.

Leading into Lifetime Fitness in Dallas I was feeling quite good. Training was going pretty well, I was running fast times on the track and swimming well. I didn't have any unrealistic expectations about swimming with the front pack but after the swim was canceled at Galveston 5150 I wanted to practice swimming as hard as I could as I could and see what I could do. You'd think that after 10 years in triathlon I would know better than to try anything new going into a big race but… apparently I needed to learn that lesson one more time. I  changed up a little bit about my routine in the 2-3 days before the race based on looking back at training logs and seeing a trend that I thought would help me feel my best. It worked quite the opposite however, and instead my body felt stiff, sluggish and unresponsive. I raced as hard as I could but felt like I was stuck in 3rd gear the whole time, never able to get my heart rate up and really push. 12th place and not a happy end. I was incredibly disappointed in myself after that performance but that's racing.

Maybe the upside down number was bad mojo

Two weeks later I traveled to Houston for Tri Andy's Tri, a super-short, super-fast, super-painful sprint triathlon consisting of 300m swim/10 mile bike/3 mile run. Race morning brought cool temperatures and a solid field of athletes vying for the $1000 prize for breaking the course record. The swim is a 300 meter straight away and it was kind of fun with 10 of us sprinting as hard as we could for 3 1/2 minutes. Out of the water and on to the bike my San Antonio training buddy, Robbie Wade, dropped me straight away. The cold air was quite a shock on our wet legs and Robbie swears he rode so fast just to try and get warm. I rode with Patrick Dougherty and Dustin Joubert the whole time and we tried to keep the pace hot but in the cold it was tough to get the legs going and Robbie continued to pull away. Out onto the run I took off at a hard pace unable to tell if I was running 4:30's or 6:30's due to the numbness still inflicting my lower extremeties. At mile one I looked back and could see Dustin and Patrick hanging 5-10sec behind so I surged hard for a mile to try and shake them. I ended up with 2nd place and a pr 3 mile run.

The next weekend was my last race of the year at the Longhorn 70.3. I'd been on the fence about doing this one but I had a reasonably good race at my first half the year before when I did Tri-Tyler and was hoping I could summon a similar effort this year knowing I was in much better condition. It would also be a good chance to score some points in the 70.3 rankings for next year. I swam hard and just missed latching on to the 2nd pack at 600m in (story of my life). I continued swimming hard as the group pulled away and came out of the water with Ben Hall, a good friend (and excellent cyclist) from Louisiana.

Thanks Sean Chang, for the shot

Ben and Robbie took off in the opening 5 miles and I knew my bike strength wasn't good enough to go with them. I was set on riding my own pace and watching my heart rate. I was staying hydrated with  Fluid nutrition and beginning to feel stronger and stronger as I went. Somewhere around mile 20 or 25 I started to notice that I was getting really uncomfortable on my saddle. I felt like I was continually falling off the nose and shifting and moving around trying to find a spot where my… junk, wasn't getting squished. This fall I've been the most comfortable I've ever been on a bike racing in Cobb Cycling shorts and using the SHC saddle by Cobb so this was really weird. I couldn't figure out why I was getting so uncomfortable since normally when I ride the saddle and shorts it feels like a dream. The last 10 miles I sat up and just pedaled in and by then I knew something was off with my saddle. Turns out it had gotten tilted down 15-20 degrees at some point and that is why I kept sliding off the front and had to brace with my forearms to keep from falling on the top tube. By the time I hit T2 I was so far back in the field I knew I wasn't going to earn any points so I handed my chip in and dropped out.

Riding downhill

I've been pretty lucky with very, very few mechanical mishaps over my career (this was only my second ever in a race). It wasn't a mechanical that kept me from finishing but it was one that kept me from performing. At the end of the year it just wasn't worth a good "training day" to slug through a run.  I've got to give big props to Ben, who spent 15-20min on the side of the road with a flat tire but still finished the race.

Two weeks later and I just finished a fortnight hiatus from triathlon. During that time I've worked a ton, ate some cake, drove a Uhaul 1200 miles, slept in and done pretty much no training. It's been great! I've been able to spend a lot more time with my wife in a non-fatigued or cranky state which has been nice. I'm mentally and physically refreshed and itching to get on my mountain bike and try some cyclocross racing.

I want to send a special thanks to these companies and the individuals who I've interacted with at them. Without their support this journey would not be possible. The quest for excellence in 2014 begins tomorrow. Onwards and upwards.

                                                               

     

                                                 

Training Tip Tuesday #5: Top 10 Tips To Supercharge Your Offseason: (Off)Season 2

5. Try cyclocross, an adventure race or maybe the wife carrying competition.

This time of year is a great chance to try a different sort of exercise that is a little wacky or zany and you would never be caught doing in the heat of Ironman training. As you groggily awake from your sugar/alcohol/too-much-time-with-the-family induced coma you may find yourself with a nagging urge to engage in some form of physical exertion. This is a great time to get out of your comfort zone, get in that cardio zone and burn some old fashioned calories. Try something new for a change! You may find it’s quite fun, ridiculously difficult and has a high probability of getting dirty. So find a wife and get carrying! 

4. Don’t do Anything

3. Have a physical evaluation done

You know the warning labels they put on all the jump ropes and exercise balls to make sure you can't sue the company for tripping over your own two feet- “Make sure and have a thorough examination by a Doctor before engaging in physical activity.” Well that advice is actually quite good for us as triathletes as well. The miles and miles we put our body through can lead us to develop certain weaknesses and muscle imbalances that are often difficult to detect. It’s definitely not a bad idea to get a regular check up done for heart conditions, blood pressure, nose hair growth or whatever Doctors check these days. However, It’s also a good idea to have an examination done by a physical therapist or chiropractor that can do a functional analysis and identify weak areas that have the potential to lead to injury. You just might find that your flexor digit minimi brevis muscle has gotten a little out of wack.

2. Emphasize form and technique
We all know that success in endurance sport has nothing to do with quality or form and is solely based on who can pound out the most 100 mile rides and 20 mile runs. Ok so I'm being a bit facetious. Actually, many studies have shown that running economy is a better predictor of performance than VO2max is. While I won't go into the details explaining running economy it essentially has to do with how efficiently your body uses oxygen at a given steady-state work load. Drills, plyometrics and strength training have all been shown to improve running economy. Soo… if better running economy makes you faster and drills help you have better running economy, then drills will make you run faster. Makes sense right? The problem with this is that drills are often fun and involve quick movements and coordination. As triathletes we're not good at any of those things. We hate having fun so anything that involves a light jog to a grassy field where we jump and skip around in our bare feet and do some light sprints in the early morning dew sounds absolutely abhorrent. We'd much rather slog out a 3 hour run on concrete at noon in the middle of summer weighed down by the 15 pounds of water we've strapped to our waist. Now THAT, my friends, is a good time!!

I'm not sure who this woman is but I'm quite certain she's way
 tougher than me so please realize I mean no disrespect.

And we won't even get started on the coordination aspect. I'm routinely shocked at how bad distance runners and triathletes are at basic skipping or karaoke drills. It's like we are naturally pre-selected for sports that don't require our brain to fire our muscles in a rapid fashion. Kind of like this platypus.

Just a little work on the knee drive and we might see a sub 15 5k from this guy

Actually I take that back, this platypus is actually quite quick and agile. The point is that you can be a faster runner (and swimmer and biker) if you work on some "skills and drills." You will be lighter on your feet, have faster ground reaction time and improve your cadence just by taking 30 minutes to work on form and technique. You're better off spending 30 minutes working on drills with a warm up and cool down then pounding out another hour long run to keep your mileage total up.

These basic drills demonstrated by Lauren Fleshman are a great starting point. Note how light and bouncy she is and her great range of motion.  

1. Give your spouse/significant other the thanks they deserve.
This loved one of yours has endured countless early mornings, late nights, sweaty running shorts, in-grown toenails, moldy water bottles and all your boring chitter-chatter about "such and such did such and such a time at such and such a race this weekend." Trust me, my wife is pretty sick of triathlon by the time the season is over. Unfortunately for her I never get sick of triathlon! Over the years though I've realized that balance is a very important in life and it's important that we take time to recognize our loved ones for their support (however begrudgingly given) over the course of the season. Just be thankful you're not on the curb yet. In reality, this shouldn't be a two week ritual celebrated once a year. Your family should always come above your goals and aspirations as an athlete. Triathlon is never so important that you should place it above the needs of the people you care about. However, in our selfish-kona-fever-goal-driven-dehdrated-bonk-city state we sometimes get a little cranky and don't always remember to look out for our loved ones first. Regardless of how caring you are during the season they still have to smell you occasionally and that CAN'T be pleasant. So take some time this offseason to care for the people you love, take a chill pill, relax and enjoy the life you're blessed with and the people around you.

Training Tip Tuesday #4- Top 10 Tips to Supercharge Your Offseason: (Off)Season 2

Last year I posted a two part series titled the, "Top 10 Tips to Supercharge Your Offseason." If you missed it you can check out Part 1 here, and Part 2 here. I believe the series was met with wild success so of course I had to return for a second run.

10. Party like a rockstar

The Shop Boyz sure knew what they were talking about. The season is over! It’s like it’s the weekend. Except this is a long weekend in which you DON’T have to spend the majority of your time in spandex. Get to the club and break out the funky dance moves! Maybe the club isn’t your thing but you can at least open a bottle of champagne and give yourself a toast to commemorate another year in the books.  If the season ended poorly for you (as it did for me), then don’t be too hard on yourself. There are still many things to enjoy in life and a wonderful chance to celebrate those things with the holiday season coming up. Which leads me to my next point…

9. Throw yourself into an activity completed unrelated to triathlon

If you’re like 99.9% of the triathletes out there then you probably have a lot of energy and don’t like just sitting around.  Sometimes what is most important during the offseason is taking a mental break not just a physical one. Don’t get me wrong, a physical break is definitely necessary but if you start going stir crazy after a couple days around the house then find another hobbie you can throw yourself into. It’s a great time to pursue other areas of interest you might have that get neglected during the regular season. Bake a cake, read a book, plant a garden (If you live in south Texas where you can grow more in the winter than the summer), volunteer at a homeless shelter, have a baby (wait what?!), play a round of golf or search for pennies in the sofa cushion. You’re bound to have at least one other interest outside of triathlon so go enjoy it! Speaking of cake…

8. "Let Them Eat Cake!"

So goes the exclamation uttered by Marie Antoinette during the French Revolution when informed that her people had no bread. Hopefully your situation isn't quite as dire that you have to resort to such drastic measures. Nonetheless, now that it’s offseason you don’t have to worry about feeling guilty for sampling after you bake a delicious cake in your free time!  Last year I suggested rewarding yourself with a cookie but this year I think it’s appropriate to take it up a notch. Anyone lacking confidence with their baking skills are welcome to send me a sample and I’ll be happy to provide positive, encouraging feedback.

7. Drive a Uhaul across the country

Not your idea of a good time? Combine #1 and #7 and you get PARTY UHAUL!! Ok, so maybe this isn’t actually a great way to spend your offseason but it’s how I’m choosing to spend my free time this year! If driving a 26 foot truck full of furniture from Indiana to San Antonio isn’t your thing then maybe there is some other necessary tasks you need to get done that you haven’t had time for.

The only alternative to a Uhaul was this so… I opted for the Uhaul

Number #9 offseason tip was more about fun/hobbie type activities but #7 is for the not-as-exciting-but-probably-more-important stuff I’m sure you have looming over your head. Maybe you have mounds of useless paper you need to file and/or shred (actually that could be fun), a cabinet to put together or a garage to clean (don’t we all).

6. Plan for next year

After you’ve partied, ate cake, driven around the country and checked off every little task from your to-do list you might find your thoughts wandering back to triathlon every now and then. This is a great time to reflect on the last year. Every year I like to write down at least three things I think I did very well and three things I need to work on for next year. Even if you had a bad year I’m sure you can still find a few areas that were good steps forward. Maybe you improved your transitions, fixed your bike fit, ate healthier or didn’t bonk quite as bad as the year before.

If you had a good year then think about the areas you can still improve in and where you’d like to do better next year. What’s that saying about the definition of insanity again? "Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the same result." If you’re consistently having problems in the same area you need to be able to assess the situation and make changes where appropriate. This is where having a coach or someone you trust offer his or her opinion can be very helpful. An unbiased, unemotional point of view will help you fully  analyze the situation and plan adjustments for next year.

Stay tuned next week for the final 5 tips!