Run to Win

This week last year I wrote the counterpoint to my intervals FAQ by describing answering questions about tempo runs. The tempo run is not a very well defined term and can mean different things to different people, so sometimes it helps to have a definition of what somebody means when they are talking about them when you first run with them.

In running news, there were 2 big stories. The first was that Asafa Powell had recovered from his tendonitis and was back on the track and ready to compete.

The other big story that broke was about the proposed IAAF ban on prosthetics in international competition, which was a ruling made specifically to address the case of Oscar Pistorius. I ultimately decided that prosthetics should be banned, a decision that the IAAF ultimately agreed with but then had to overturn in appeal over the past year. Now a year removed from when this whole situation began, I feel that Oscar probably does have an advantage over able-bodied athletes due to his prosthetics, but I highly doubt that any advantages he has outweigh the huge disadvantage of not having any legs or the additional blood volume that having legs would allow him.

This week 2 years ago I ran The Vermont City Marathon, followed a few days later by the Back Cove 5k.

Once again, I seemed to miss a week for looking back. Last week last year was busy, with quite a few news notes, training tips, and discussions on research findings.

• I discussed some research on the merits of tempo workouts vs. interval workouts. Personally, I prefer a good mix of different types of workouts in my regimen.
• I recommended that you should watch for falling objects when you run, especially at this time of year. As ice melts in the trees or off of power lines, it can come crashing down quite forcefully. It also helps to spot any tree limbs that might be coming down or anything that the breeze picks up and throws towards you.
• After a close call in poor visibility, I reminded you to never play chicken with a car, mostly because a car is much more massive and will usually win. It just isn’t worth the bother. Having been hit by a car before, I actively take steps to avoid getting hit by car again.
• In response to an article at Complete Running, I disputed 7 sleeping myths and facts that were presented with my own thoughts on the matter. There were a few points that I agreed with up to a point, so they weren’t all wrong (from my point of view.)
• I pointed out an article at Free Money Finance that described how the author improved his life through exercise. Having never not exercised, one reason that I keep it up is to keep from degrading my life.
• In racing news, the men’s 8k championship was in Central Park, which had a few hitches but still provided some good entertainment for spectators. A couple of my college teammates were competing. I also began preparations for the Boston Marathon, spending the weekend shoveling snow and getting in a fast long run.
• In sports news, the Spanish doping raid’s charges against elite cyclists were dropped after they were deemed unlawful. At the time of the infractions, there was no Spanish law that made the specific practices at that clinic illegal. Just unethical
• Last week two years ago, I continued the animated lifting series with a demonstration of how to do a triceps extension using a pulleyand suggested that you flex at the lowest point of your pull. Running Dog Sports closed their doors for good, which was a shame. There was some research that pointed to the lack of brain benefits when running by yourself, but I think that that research was flawed. It did lead to pondering whether the time of day affects the clarity of your mind while running, though. I also continued the weekly series about the New Rules of Lifting, exploring the second and third rules.

2007 has been a really busy year here at Run to Win. The website has really grown. I wrote more this year than I did last year, and received about half again as many comments and trackbacks. More than twice as many people visited me this year than did in 2006, and there are about 4 times as many people subscribing to this website this year than there were towards the end of last year.

I am really happy with those numbers.

The popular content on the site this year was not quite as surprising as last year. First, I have been paying a lot more attention to what has been going on this year than I did in years past, so I had a good idea about what was popular. Second, I predicted last year what would be the most popular content this year, because the articles had not had enough time to gain traction and take the top spots last year.

My Marathon Preparation Series article list was viewed more times than any other page besides my home page last year. I knew that it would be. More people actually visited the article about what to do the week before the marathon than the series page, but the series page was viewed multiple times as people jumped around within the series.

A few of the other articles from the marathon preparation series made the top 10 in both people reading the article and unique visitors over the past year. Almost all of the articles made the top 25. The popularity of this series is a big reason why I am writing a more in-depth book about the subject which will be available in less than a month.

The one big surprise on the list this year was a random article that I wrote about Tom Brady’s NFL Contract, which had a lot of people come to visit it. It was the only popular article that was more sports than running related, and I did not promote it at all.

The articles that dealt with running shoe frequently asked questions and tempo running were also quite popular and made it into the top 10. The environmental impact of running and describing the difference between running on a track and running on a treadmill were close to making that top 10 but just missed it.

Some of last year’s favorite articles are still really popular, though. My video about how to tie your shoes so that they don’t come untied has been bringing in a steady stream of traffic. The New Rules of Lifting is also just as popular, being the 11^th most viewed page on the site (including the home page!) I highly recommend the book if you are considering cross training.

A second surprise, although not as large of one since I did promote the page a little, was an article that I published this month. Just over two weeks ago, I began offering a free special report, The 3 Components of an Effective Workout. I started publishing a running tips newsletter, and you can download the report when you sign up. It is pretty amazing to me that it was the 15^th most popular page when it has had so little time or exposure. This must mean that if you haven’t signed up for my newsletter yet, you better hurry up and do so! (I’ll be releasing some new goodies in the near future to people that are on the list.)

Since 2007 has shown nothing but improvements to both the website and my satisfaction with it, I see no reason that this trend won’t continue into the new year. I believe that 2008 will see even more and faster growth, especially since I formed a company a few months ago and will be opening the doors to my new business, Run to Win LLC, in January. I hope that you stick around for another exciting year!

In a continuing collaboration with Scott over at Straight to the Bar, we will be writing about timeless exercises in different disciplines throughout the month of May. This week I would like to talk about another of important type of workout for any competitive runner.

What is a tempo run?
A tempo run, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (see tempo and pace), is “a rate of performance at a steady pace.”

Tempo runs are workouts where you run at a steady pace that is around 70% to 80% of your max aerobic capacity. Tempo runs are just past the point where you begin to build up waste product in your legs at a rapid rate during a run, which is called the lactate-threshold velocity.
(Click here to continue reading…)

Which type of workout is going to produce better results, tempo training or intervals? According to research done by Peter Snell (Olympic sprinter of 1960 and 1964) at the University of Texas Southwestern Human Performance Center, priority should be given to interval training. His research consisted of comparing performance gains between two control groups of runners, one of which did tempo training twice a week and one group that did interval training.

[...] the interval-trained runners gained considerably more physiological and competitive fitness. A key lesson to be learned here is that intensity is always the most-potent producer of fitness; it is a much-stronger stimulus for improvement than training volume and workout frequency. When you conduct your intervals at 90 to 100 percent of VO2max (and at higher intensities, too), the amount of fitness gained per minute will always be greater, compared with the running capacity accrued at lower intensities. As you can see from Snell’s research, each minute of high-quality work can sometimes produce twice as much gain in fitness as double the amount of lower-quality exertion.

For myself, I strive for a good mix. When I am building an aerobic base towards the beginning of a season or after a marathon, I tend to stick to tempo training and easy runs. When I am aiming to peak for a specific race and to get into top-shape, I will mix interval and fartlek work in as well. It seems to work out fairly well. The priority certainly goes to the interval training, but tempo runs are easier to fit in. This is especially true at this time of year when it can be dark and the footing is less than favorable at the times that I run.

(Sources: Tom Ryan - Run Coach - Running Research News)