Q.
I’m upping my mileage for a half marathon. I’ve done several in the past, including two marathons. Is an increase of a mile per week for my long run excessive? I haven’t run more than a 10K distance since March but do run between 12-15 miles a week plus cardio at the gym.
- Chuck M.
Read Full Story »
Are you eating these foods and drinking these drinks?
Written by: Matt Fitzgerald
Runners need a lot of carbohydrate. Why? Because your muscles are fueled primarily on carbohydrate when you run hard. Thus, sports nutrition experts generally recommend that runners get approximately 60 percent of their daily calories from carbohydrate.
Read Full Story »
“It’s the long run that puts the tiger in the cat.” – Coach Bill Squires
Written by: Mario Fraioli
At the 1979 Boston Marathon, four runners from the Greater Boston Track Club placed amongst the top 10 finishers in the race, led of course by Bill Rodgers, who broke the tape in 2:09:27.
Read Full Story »
High volume doesn’t always have to mean high mileage.
Written by: Courtney Baird
There are no real secrets when it comes to improving your running. To get faster, you run. A lot.
Read Full Story »
In the second installment of our new Recovery video series, Sage Rountree explains why it’s important to track your recovery in addition to logging your training. Click here to watch the video.
Read Full Story »
Q.
Dear Experts,
Last year I weighed in at 274 lbs, was on beta blockers, and had numerous issues with my knees and shoulders. Since September of last year, I have been training regularly, and have made some great strides, including finishing the Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicago ½ Marathon in 2 hours, 45 minutes and 45 seconds. In addition, I now weigh 193 lbs, and I no longer need to take the beta blockers.
Anyway, a majority of my running is on a treadmill. I am not, and I do not ever expect to be, a fast runner. But I think that I can keep a respectable pace on the treadmill. I am able to do my workouts (all but my long runs) with an average pace of 5.7 [mph] on the treadmill, and I hit sustained speeds of 6.2 [mph] for 5 minutes. What I am having a hard time doing is transitioning to running outside. My outside running times are significantly slower, and as a result, I seem to tire out much more quickly. I can run for an hour and a half straight on the treadmill (and longer), but there are times when I run outside that I can’t run for 40 minutes straight.
So how is it that I can make that transition? And how should I pace myself? Should I find a pace on the treadmill, and get used to that pace, and then attempt to do that outside? I will be running the Rock ‘n’ Roll ½ Marathon in Vegas in December, and I really want to be able to break the 2 hour and 30 minute time.
Greg
Read Full Story »
This week, Tim Crowley and friends demonstrate the Side T Reverse Fly, a strength-training exercise for runners that combines the side bridge with the reverse fly. This exercise will build core strength and get your glute medius firing, lessening the likelihood of injury. Click here to watch the video.
Read Full Story »
T.J. has 13 weeks and less than 10 pounds to go to reach his goals!
Read Full Story »
Q.
Hello Mario:
I am a newer runner starting this year. I started running for my health and before I knew it I fell in love with running and decided to train for and run a marathon. I’m in the home stretch of my goals and the 325 pound me has melted to a 239 pound physique, still getting leaner and I can now run 13.1 miles in 2:08 and getting faster. I’ve had so much success I think because I have kept tracking this goal of completing a marathon.
Well, there are only 44 days until the running of the San Jose Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon, the first of three races I am running, culminating in the California International Marathon in December. So, I’m starting to wonder, what next? I have no idea what to set my sights on and how to keep going after I reach my goal. I don’t want to cross the finish line and be tempted to revert into my old couch potato self. I want to set a goal that is attainable (I think the Western States 100 miles is definitely out of the question) but at the same time I want to set a goal of doing something that is one step beyond the marathon I am running. Any ideas?
Thanks!
-Travis C.
Read Full Story »
A month of pigging out could result in a lifetime of weight gain.
Written by: Matt Fitzgerald
If you haven’t seen it, you’ve at least heard of Supersize Me, the documentary film in which Morgan Spurlock stops exercising and lives on McDonald’s food for one month. The consequences to his health were predictably disastrous. It was hardly a scientific experiment, of course, but one had little doubt that the results of Spurlock’s turn as his own guinea pig were fundamentally truthful.
Read Full Story »