How to Train for a 15K Race if you have no running motivation

I recently had the pleasure of learning about how to coach runners from Patti and Warren Finke from Team Oregon. They advocate a long-short schedule of running that enables runners to safely and comfortably build an adequate base for sucessfully running 15K, half marathon, marathon and ultramarathon distances.

My Biggest Running Issue - Injury


One of the most difficult parts of training for my first 15K and my first two half marathons was keeping my body uninjured while I increased my mileage. I was running without a coach monitoring my progress, relying only on things I remembered from my high school cross country days.

A Runner That Doesn't Want To Run - How to 'Cure' A Running Rut

This spring and summer, as I dealt with my father's death, I found myself in a running rut. I was running the same 3.5 mile loop on weekdays, uninspired to increase my mileage except for a longer Sunday run that I practically had to guilt myself into every week.


Where was the confident runner that blasted her Half Marathon PR apart last year?
Where was the excited runner that jumped out of bed to exercise before work?

My problem was that I was running every weekday run TOO FAST. I was not building up my aerobic endurance. Instead, I was just tiring myself out without improving my weekly distance or my time. I was not allowing myself aqeuqate time to recover from my runs. My body rebelled and found all too many excuses for me to skip my weekday runs.

Bottom Line: Running should make me feel happy-accomplished-tired, not uugh-gottasleepin-sore-tired.

Learning about the what I call the 'long-short' theory of running has been a godsend, enabling me to double my mileage and start once again proudly entering my runs on my running log.

Ryan Hall shares advice about how he paces his long runs in this Youtube video:
http://youtu.be/5np0CEMjFp8





The Nuts and Bolts

Here is more information on the 'long-short' method and training for a 15K from Team Oregon:
http://www.teamoregon.com/publication/online/race15k.html



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Great Runner's Sports Massage at the Center for Natural Wellness in Albany, NY

I went to the Massage Clinic at the Center for Natural Wellness for a routine massage last night. As soon as I found myself resting comfortably on the massage table, I realized that it has been too long since my last massage, almost a year.

John was my masseur. He was full of energy, and used a mixture of massage strokes, direct pressure and stretching to reduce tension and flush out the lactic acid in my leg muscles.

Massage Is Your Canary In the Mineshaft

I recommend massage because, for me, it sheds light on tension and soreness in my muscles BEFORE they become injuries. During my massage, John found tense muscles in my legs that hadn't yet impacted my workouts. He was able to recommend a stretch for my Psoas muscle, the pigeon pose.


My New Exercise To Strengthen My Psoas Muscle

Yoga instructor Cindy Mastry shows Youtube viewers how to do the pose here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVlX5HNKamw




Why Should Runners Try Sports Massage?

Runner's World gives more information about the importance of sports massage for runners in their article, 'The Lowdowns on Rubdowns.'

What has your experience been with massage?


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How to prevent 'hitting the wall' in a marathon

In the PLoS computational Biology article 'Metabolic Factors Limiting Performance in Marathon Runners,' marathoner and Harvard Ph.D. student Benjamin I. Rapoport states that 40% of marathon runners hit 'the wall.'

His research has found that long distance runners can prevent their bodies from hitting the wall by running at a specific pace and consuming specific amounts of carbohydrates at specific times during the race.


An interesting tidbit from his research is that he cites a study that find the primary risk factors for ‘hitting the wall’ are male gender, running a maximum distance of 20 miles or less during training, and expecting to ‘hit the wall.’

To read the study 'Hitting the wall in the marathon: Phenomenological characteristics and associations with expectancy, gender, and running history,' click here: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1469029207000246

To find out your personalized carbohydrate fueling needs, use Rapoport's running endurance calculator - http://endurancecalculator.com