The Hills Are Alive!

The hills are alive,

With the sound of footsteps

With grunts they have born for a thousand years

The hills fill my ears,

With the groans of runners

My gut wants to puke

Every step I take

-

My heart wants to beat

Like in spastic shock

As I lie on the ground looking up to the trees

My lungs give a sigh

As they wheeze and collapse

From the torture they've endured

Okay, Okay, I'll stop. I'm guessing you know what I'm talking about. And no it's not the Von Trapp Family singers. Although, you know, Julie Andrews did do an awful lot or running with that brood of kids she tended. I'm thinking they probably were there first to wear team uniforms. I'm thinking that curtain fabric didn't' have much on today's techno-fabrics though. But I digress.... the point of this post is to talk about hills.

When you mention speed workouts, things like intervals, repeats, fartleks, Kenyan Out-and-backs, and tempo runs come to mind for many runners. But hill workouts are often overlooked by the average runner. Now this could be on purpose. You know, kind of like when Maria chose to have the kids sing even after the Captain strictly forbid music in the house. Sometimes, like in the case of Maria, it's for the good and then other times it's more of an avoidance which can be more for the bad. Many runners avoid hills because, well dang-it, they're tough. They make you sweat. Your heart races. You feel like you're going to pass out. And you ache all over. Man, those symptoms could be for either someone in love or someone with the flu.

Anywho...it's time we stop avoiding such a great workout. I read in Matt Fitzgerald's book, Run: The Mind-Body Method of Running By Feel, about famous distance runner, Haile Gebrselassie's (aka: Geb) favorite workout. It happens to be a hill workout. Well in this case, it's actually a Mountain workout. Let me clarify a bit more...it's a 90-minute run straight up Entoto Mountain. He says he likes it because it's his toughest workout. He also likes it because once he gets to the top, he loves the feeling of accomplishment that he's conquered the mountain.

Well, you don't have to go to Africa and run a mountain to get in some good hill workouts. A moderate hill with just a 5-7% incline will do nicely. Doesn't have to be long either—100m, 200m, 400m, any length will do.

Okay, Geb's story may have motivated you just a little and you may be pondering where the hills are in your neighborhood by now, but you may still be wondering why you should subject yourself to such a hard workout. Well, hill work provides a whole bunch of benefits (almost as many as there are Von Trap kids).

• Help increase your VO2Max (how well your body takes in and utilizes oxygen)
• Strengthens your calf muscles which help propel you forward
• Increases your power and speed
• Helps increase endurance (especially longer hills like Geb's mountain)
• Can help increase your stride or foot turnover
• Helps improve arm movement which is key in helping drive you forward develops maximum

So how do you do a hill workout? Well, there are very formal workouts that you can research and follow, but it really doesn't have to be that complicated for us Maria's of the running world. Typically shorter distance runners stick with short hills (something up to 100m) and distance runners may run hills that are 100m, 200m, 400m or longer. But you know, if you're a distance runner and the only hill near you is 50m, you can still get in a good workout.

The hills don't have to be very steep either. A modest grade of 5-7% is good. You should be able to carry out a fairly normal stride when running the hill. You'll exert more energy, but it shouldn't be so steep that you look like you're doing the Olympic ski jump. Find a moderate hill with a distance that will allow about a 30sec+ run.

So find a good hill and run up it. That's pretty much it. Well, okay, run up it more than once. Well actually run up it about 6-10 times. Start small and over time, work your way up to the higher number of repeats. Basically, treat the workout like an interval workout at the track. Kind of like a 6x200m. Run the hill at a brisk pace (depending on the grade of the hill, your 5K or 10K pace). Then walk or jog back down the hill and repeat. If you're running a long hill try running uphill for 30secs, and then walk down for 30 secs, then run up for 30 secs, then down again for 30 secs. Gradually you'll make your way up to the top of the hill covering the entire length of the hill.

Don't limit yourself to just running one hill either. If you live in an area with hills, plan one of your hill workouts to be a continuous run that's along a route with numerous hills of different grades. There's a park near my neighborhood that has a 1.5-mile loop around a small lake and half of the route is very hilly. Two or three loops around the lake makes for a great hill-run.

Don't have any hills where you live? Then hop on a treadmill and set the incline to 5-7% and run for 30 secs then reduce the grade to 1% and walk or jog for 30secs and then repeat for 6-10 times. Ta dah! Hill work!

So, get out and run some hills! Make those hills come alive with the sound of footsteps!

Full-Body Circuit Workout for Runners

Last week, I posted a workout video clip for strengthening a runner's core. This week I have a full-body circuit workout to share with you. It's funny sometimes how timely things can be. The day I taped the workout, I received the newest issue Runner's World and right on the cover it says in big letters, "Totally Fit: 10 Ways to Improve Core Strength, Flexibility, Endurance, and More." So, I guess, I'm on the right track.

Runners have strong conditioned legs as well as strong aerobic fitness, but to help prevent injury as well as to become an overall stronger and more efficient runner, some attention to all the muscles groups is important. The tiny little stabilizer muscles in the upper and lower legs are often overlooked as well as the adductor and abductor (inner/outer thigh) muscles. When a runner stumbles, steps off a curb the wrong way, or hits a pothole in the road, those little muscles and rarely used muscles are slow to react, because much hasn't been required of them in the past. The old say, "Don't use it, you lose it." applies here. That's when injuries often pop up and usually at the most inopportune times.

Runners that don't incorporate other forms of exercise (i.e., cross-training and/or resistance training) often have an imbalance between their hamstrings and quads (quads usually being too dominant) which can lead to pulled hamstrings and even knee issues. Weak anterior tibialis muscles (the little muscle running down the front of the lower leg) can often lead to shin splints. The exercises in my full-body circuit involve several lower body unilateral movements (1-legged exercises). Unilateral exercises require those little stabilizer muscles to kick-in to help keep your balance. There's also some plyometrics to help increase leg power as well as upper-body and core exercises to help you keep a strong running form and fight off fatigue.

The circuit is designed to be used during the base-building phase (that period of time when you're building a solid base of mileage) before you begin your official fall marathon race training. The circuit is intense and should not be used during the training phase when you'll be doing more intense aerobic workouts. Used during the base-building phase, however, the circuit can get you into tip-top muscular and endurance shape prior to your training. Start out by one cycle of the circuit. Over a period of several session, try to work up to three complete cycles of the circuit.

So, give it a try and let me know what you think.

Go Faster Food!

I've mentioned it before, but Twitter is such an awesome tool for meeting people from all over the world that you'd otherwise never have the opportunity to get to know. One such person is Kate Percy. Kate lives in the UK in Bristol with her husband, Mark, and their three children, Helena, James and Will. Like many, Kate decided to get into running because her spouse was a "sports fanatic" and always training for this marathon and that. She found that she really loved running and set a goal of running the New York City Marathon. After successfully completing NYC, she was hooked and has since completed marathons all over the world including Amsterdam, Berlin, and London. She's also reached the goal that many runners strive for—achieving a qualifying time for Boston.

Even though she was thoroughly enjoying her running, Kate found it a constant challenge to fuel her body adequately. Being an avid runner as well as a cook, Kate decided to explore recipes that would increase her stamina and achieve her personal best. The result of her exploration is a collection of over 100 delicious, nutritionally-balanced, energy-boosting recipes compiled in her new book, Go Faster Food (Vermilion, 2009).

During her exploration, Kate not only discovered that certain foods are better than others for helping with endurance and aiding in recovery, she also discovered that how much and when you eat are important factors.

Go Faster Food is packed with user-friendly information that's a must have for any endurance athlete. This is not one of those books you'll read and think, "that's cool" and then never pick it up again. I foresee this book becoming a dog-eared, coffee-stained, tattered staple of many a runner's library.

The book is organized into two main sections—"Nutrition and Training" and "Go Faster Recipes." The first section is broken into six chapters each focusing on a different topic such as carbohydrates, what to eat and when, and hydration. The layout of each chapter is very user-friendly and will make using the book as an ongoing reference very easy. The get-it-at-a glance call-out boxes for tips, lists, and examples make finding key information in each chapter quick and simple.

The second portion of the book provides over 100 recipes endorsed by a nutritionist to help amateur and elite athletes improve their endurance and fitness. Each recipe provides a general overview of the dish's health benefits as well as a detailed breakdown of energy (kcal), carb, salt, fat, protein and fiber content. The recipes are divided into 9 categories:

• Breakfast

• Soups and Light Meals

• Pasta

• Rice

• Polenta and Gnocchi

• Couscous

• Lentils and Pulses

• Desserts, Cakes and Energy Bars

• Drinks and Smoothies

Each recipe is marked with one or more of three different icons so you can quickly tell if the recipe is a "healthy meal for your general training diet" "good for endurance" or "good for recovery."

Some of my favorites include "Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto with Maple Syrup Almonds" and "Date, Apricot and Walnut Flapjacks" and my all-time favorite "Walnut and White Chocolate Chip Brownies."

The only drawback for "us Americans" is that you'll need to do some metric-to-standard measurement conversions, but using a site like World-Wide-Metric will make those conversions a snap!

Kate ends the book with some helpful menu-plan suggestions as well as a shopping list that will make stocking your pantry a breeze with food categories such as dried foods and grains, canned-goods, frozen foods, herbs & spices, and vegetables.

I'm not sure if Go Faster Foods is available in US bookstores yet, but you definitely can order it from Amazon. Be sure to check out Kate's blog and website for more great recipes and nutrition information for endurance athletes.

Don't Drink, Just Dangle

All these years I thought you were supposed to drink Gatorade. Come to find out, all you have to do is look at it! According to an article in Psychology of Sport and Exercise, just looking at a sports drink increases exercise endurance. In a test, members of two different groups of people were asked to raise one leg. One group was shown a bottle of Gatorade and the other was shown a bottle of spring water. People in the group looking at the Gatorade were able to hold their legs up 149% longer than the group looking at the bottle of water. The study's coauthor, Ron Friedman, Ph.D. says the boost most likely occurs because of the inherent association between Gatorade and exercise. This signals the brain that it's time to work. Print and TV ads reinforce this link even more. So for your next marathon, don't drink Gatorade, just carry a stick with a bottle of Gatorade dangling from the end. Extra benefit will be the arm muscles you'll develop.

Getting To The Core

When I was a teenager, my parents were always telling me to stand up straight. You see, I tended to slump. Being a typical teenager, I just thought they were nagging and I ignored them. Plus, it actually felt uncomfortable to stand up straight. So, I slumped. Wasn’t until many years later (when I saw a picture of my bad posture) that I decided to do something about it. This was around the same time that I had joined a local gym. I began to do crunches to strengthen my abs and I began to see my posture improve. I also began to see my endurance while running improve.

Ever have one of those “Ah-hahh!” moments? Took a while but I finally realized that the mid-section or “core” is the support for your entire body. A strong core provides good posture as well as a solid base for the rest of your body to do its job properly. When you run, the power your legs receive originates in your core and moves down to your legs. I initially thought working your abs was how you strengthened your core. It definitely plays a part, but you need to go beyond the abs to optimize your core strength. The goal shouldn’t be to have a 6- or 8-pack but to have a solid core. If you get a “pack” in the process that’s cool (I’m still waiting for mine, LOL!) but it shouldn't be the goal.

There are a lot more muscles than just the abdominals that make up the core. Core muscles consist of the muscles that run along the trunk and torso and generally include the following:
Rectus Abdominis—the "six-pack" muscles that everyone strives for Erector Spinae—three muscles that run from your neck to your lower back
Multifidus—found beneath the erector spinae
External Obliques—positioned on the side and front of the abdomen
Internal Obliques—found beneath the external obliques, running in the opposite direction
Transverse Abdominis—muscles that protect your spine and provide stability; found beneath the obliques
Hip Flexors—a group of muscles (psoas major, illiacus, rectus femoris, pectineus, and sartorius) found in front of the pelvis and upper thigh
Gluteus medius and minimus—found at the side of the hip
Gluteus maximus, hamstring group, piriformis—found at the back of the hip and upper thigh
Hip Adductors—found at medial thigh.

The great thing about building core strength, is that it doesn't take a lot of equipment. There are many exercises that involve no equipment such as crunches, plank exercises, push ups, V-sits, lunges, and squats. Others require basic equipment such as dumbells, a medicine ball, a ballance ball, and other equipement found at any gym. I recently purchased a medicne ball (8lbs.) and have begun to incorporate exercises using the ball into my weekly routine. The December 2008 issue of Men's Health has a great pull-out poster featuring 10 medicine ball exercises from the UNC Tarheel Basketball team training handbook. At first the exercises seem too simple, but the next day you'll discover just how effective the exercises are. Stick with it though and you'll start to see and feel the benefits of the work you're doing. Fitness guru, Mark Verstegen, has a book on building core strength, Core Performance, that I highly recommend. Blue Benadum also has a great routine for building core strength. It’s tough, but it’s good. Check it out at trainingbybluebenadum.com. For a core routine designed for runners try this plan from RunningPlanet.com.