FAST TRAX THREE SPEED SYSTEM UPDATED

The 2008 Fast Trax training program is very simple in design with intensity not being monitored by heart rate or pace but by mental effort and by listening to your body. Fast Trax uses a three speed system, to monitor pace;

Three Speed System ~ Based on mental effort

• Pace 1 ~ Easy effort
• Your aim is to run as easy as possible to aid recovery.
• Pace 2 ~ Moderate effort or slightly under your anaerobic threshold or 10mile race pace.
• Your aim is to find your best aerobic speed over various distances.
• If you find you have to ease back to recover, you have pushed to hard into your anaerobic phase.
• Over time you will find you can run faster and faster while working aerobically.
• Pace 3 ~ Hard effort or slightly over your anaerobic threshold or 10km race pace.

With the 3 Speed System, you simply allow your body to gain the right feeling from the workout and you avoid the opportunity to over or under train. On a day when you are feeling strong you my run a Speed 2 workout at a pace 3:30/km and on a day when you feel tired you may run at a pace of 3:45/km.

Because the 3 Speed System is based on mental energy, Speed 2 pace will be different for different workouts, 10 minute Speed 2 intervals will be a faster pace than 20 minute Speed 2 intervals due to the length of the effort. Ultimately the aim is to complete each interval or workout as fast as you can on that particular day while staying relaxed and wintin your comfort zone, without forcing the pace.

By using this system your body can relax and enjoy running, eliminating the need to force the body to run the "right pace". As your training progresses Speed 2 and Speed 3 paces will naturally increase as your fitness increases, but this increase in pace will happen as your body responds to the training load, reducing the risk of over training, under training and / or injury.

Progressive Speed

The 3 Speed system is also progressive in nature, when starting a Speed 2 or Speed 3 workout you would start out very easy and relaxed, increasing the pace only when the body feels ready, never forcing, always listening to the body, the pace will naturally increase as the body warm ups.

Monitoring Pace
The best way to monitor pace is to run out and back courses for your intervals. For 15minute intervals, run out for your first interval marking your finishing line, take the prescribe rest break and then return to original start line trying to maintain the same pace without forcing yourself. If it takes 16 minutes to return you did the first interval too hard, if you return in 14 minutes you did not do the first interval hard enough. Periodically, you can repeat courses to see if you can increase the distance you cover, but you must exercise discipline remain just below your anaerobic threshold and continue to work aerobically for Speed 2 workouts.

ENDURANCE NUTRITION

Once your core strength is solid and your running form is effortless it is now time to take a look at your nutrition so that you can maximize your long runs. It is a wise runner who develops a solid base of threshold training, proper running form and ideal body weight before setting off the long run portion of their program.

Proper nutrition is an essential part of your overall program.  I would suggest you follow an eating plan, based on my experimentation and testing out of the TCR Sports Lab in Calgary, ,which is especially rich in fruits, vegetables, and low GI foods.  Try to eat as many anti-inflammatory foods (brightly colored fruits and vegetables, flaxseed oil, and oily fish) as you possibly can.

Eating low-GI foods means you avoid those spikes and dramatic falls in blood-glucose so you get a much steadier stream of energy. Insulin is a storage hormone that stockpiles nutrients for later use by the body. A high-GI diet causes a lot of insulin to be produced and when you have too much insulin in your body too much of the time, it makes it easier to store fat and harder to burn it.

Don't be worried into thinking you need to know the GI value of every food. Healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, except potatoes, should be eaten daily regardless of their GI. Simply knowing the low, medium and high varieties of the major carbohydrate foods in your diet — breakfast cereals, breads, rice, pasta — and choosing the low-GI ones is sufficient to produce healthy benefits.

For long workouts / races I would suggest the following the low GI approach to your pre long run/race meal, long run/race nutrition and post run meal to access your fat stores and provide consistent energy;

Evening before long run / race ~ between 6 & 8pm

• Fish and salad

Breakfast ~ 90mins prior to event

• Three egg omelet
• Green tea

Pre event ~ 30mins prior to event

• Water

First 90mins of event

• Water to access fat stores
• Two regular swallows every ten minutes for the first 90mins

After 90mins

• Electrolyte based sports drink without sugar
• Two regular swallows every ten minutes for the duration of the event
• Small piece of beef jerky(protein) every 90mins for the duration of the event
• Use gel (carbohydrate) for the last 60mins of the event for finishing kick

Post Long Run

• Delay eating for 60 to 90mins to continue to burn fat

Post Long Run Meal ~ 90mins after completion of event

• Fish and salad

Good luck with your training.

Special Warm Up          

Many runners simply jog easily, stretch, and carry out some fairly non-specific drills to warm up, but the value of a warm-up can be enhanced if it does more than just elevate your heart rate and loosen up your muscles a little.  It’s good to turn the warm-up into a small-scale strength workout, too, so that you are improving your strength while you are getting ready to run.  It’s also good to wake up your nervous system, not just your heart, during a warm-up, and the SWU accomplishes that, too.  After a couple of times, the SWU will become routine – and fun (hopefully) to carry out.  Here’s how the SWU works:

          (1) Jog easily for about 10 minutes to “loosen up.”

          (2) Walk on your toes with your toes pointed straight ahead for about 20 meters, getting as high up on your toes as you possibly can.  Your legs should be relatively straight as you do this, and you should take fairly small steps.  Then, cover another 20 meters high up on your toes, but with your toes pointed outward about 45 degrees or so.  Your legs should rotate outward from the hips when you perform this movement.  Your whole leg should be involved in the rotation.  Finally, walk another 20 meters high on your toes, but with your toes pointed inward.  As you do so, rotate your legs inward at the hips. Repeat each of these activities (toes pointed ahead for 20 meters, toes pointed out for 20 meters, toes pointed in for 20 meters) one more time before moving on to the next exercise.

          (3) Walk on your heels with your toes pointed straight ahead for about 20 meters, getting as high up on your heels as you possibly can.  Your legs should be relatively straight as you do this, and you should – at least initially – take fairly small steps.  Then, simply do what you did with the toe walks, walking 20 meters on your heels with your toes pointed outward and then 20 meters on your heels with your toes pointed inward.  Repeat each of the heel walks (toes straight ahead, toes pointed outward, toes headed in) one more time.

          (4) Next, skip for about 20 meters, landing in the mid-foot area with each contact with the ground, and with your toes pointed straight ahead.  Then skip for 20 meters with your toes pointed out, followed by 20 meters with your toes pointed in.

          (5) Repeat step # 4, but this time carry out the skipping on your toes (later, we can add skipping on your heels – on a soft surface).

          (6) Begin “spring-jogging” along with short, very springy steps, landing in the mid-foot area with each contact and springing upward after impact.  As you do this, your ankles should act like coiled springs, compressing slightly as you make your mid-foot landing and then recoiling quickly – causing you to bound upward and forward.  Please keep your legs relatively straight as you do this – don’t allow your hips and knees to flex significantly; the idea is to get all of the propulsive action from your ankles.  Move along in this manner for one minute with quick, little, spring-like strides, alternating your right and left foot as you would do during regular running.  After this minute is completed, jog in your regular manner for about 10 seconds, and then “spring-jog” for about 20 meters, alternating three consecutive spring-like contacts with your right foot with three contacts with your left (i. e., three hops on your right foot and then three hops on your left, three more on your right, etc., until you have traveled 20 meters).  Jog in your usual manner again for 10 seconds, and then hop along for 20 meters on your right foot only, before shifting over to your left foot for 20 meters (make certain you land in the mid-foot area with each ground contact).  As you become stronger and more skilled at this, you can increase the length, amplitude (vertical height), and quickness of each hop.

          (7) Next, carry out dorsiflexion bounces.  To do these, simply begin jumping vertically and repetitively to a moderate height, landing in the mid-foot area with both feet and then springing upward quickly after each contact with the ground.  The interesting part of this exercise is that you should “dorsiflex” your ankles – pulling your toes toward your shins – on each ascent, before you begin falling back toward terra firma (you should plantar-flex your ankles slightly, i. e., point your toes, just before making contact with the ground).  Complete 12 dorsiflexion bounces, rest for 10 seconds, and then carry out 12 more.  Later, you will do this exercise on one foot at a time.

          (8) Complete some rhythm bouncing.  Start by completing 10 jumps in place at a moderately fast speed, with medium height (don’t try for maximum verticality).  Utilize maximal motion and action at the ankles – but very little flexion and extension at the knees and hips.  After resting for a few seconds, change the amplitude (height) of your jumps to less than an inch, and complete 20 jumps as fast as you possibly can (pretend that your feet are hitting a hot stove, so that you must minimize ground-contact time).  Again, almost all of the action should be taking place at your ankles, not at your knees and hips.

          (9) Jog easily for a minute or so, and then complete four 100-meter reps of speed bounding.  Jog easily for 20 to 30 seconds between the speed-bound reps.  Speed bounding involves moving along quickly while focusing on pushing against the ground with more force than usual with each step (while keeping footstrike time characteristically short) and thus taking longer strides than normal.  Don’t lengthen your strides by reaching out with your swing leg; rather, increase stride length by pushing harder with each contact with the ground.  Finally, jog lightly for one more minute, and then proceed to the main portion of your workout.

          Here are some key pointers about the SWU:

          (1) Stay relaxed as you do the exercises.
          (2) Don’t look at your feet as you do the various drills.  Look ahead, as you would do during running.  Try to always maintain a good running posture, with your torso and head relaxed and well-balanced.
          (3) Once you have completed the last component of the SWU, move immediately into the rest of the workout.  If you rest for more than a minute or so between the FWU and the body of your training session, some of the benefits of the SWU will be lost.
          (4) When you first begin carrying out the SWU, make sure that all of your bouncing, hopping, and skipping is completed on a “forgiving” surface such as grass, soft dirt, a carpet, or a resilient gym floor.  Avoid concrete and tarmac, at least for the first few weeks.
          (5) In general, you will complete the SWU (or something like it) before all quality workouts and before your competitions, but not before easy runs.

Marathon Test
To complete a Marathon Test you would complete a 2.5km warm up and then progress to a 20km to 30km test run where you would aim to run goal marathon pace for the full 20km to 30km on similar terrain as your goal race.

Timing: You would complete a marathon test workout three to four weeks before your goal race.

Terrain: Carry out test on similar terrain and surface as your goal race .

Hydration: The key for these workouts is the proper use of sports drink, only water before workout to access fat burning system and then two regular swallows of water every 10 minutes for the first 90mins and then two regular swallows of sports drink every 10 minutes from then on.

Fast Trax Test Runs: Fast Trax hosts a Marathon Test Run every four weeks on Sundays out of the shop. Check shop news page for dates and times.

Next Test: Saturday March 29th at 8:00am out of the shop ~ Note special date and time due to Jack giving a training seminar in Calgary on the 30th

Progressive Interval Workout
To complete a Progressive Interval Workout you would complete a 2.5km warm up and then start your workout . Transition from your warm up to your workout without stopping to maintain the substance of the workout. Start each interval relaxed and increase your pace as your body adjusts. You should never strain at any point during the interval and you should only progress the pace based on how you are feeling on that particular day.

Terrain: Carry out your workout on rolling to hilly terrain, which simultaneously increase your leg-muscle strength and save your legs from too much hard pounding.

Hydration: The key for these workouts is the proper use of sports drink - six to eight ounces 10 minutes before you begin your workout and then two regular swallows every 10mins as you workout.

Progressive Long Workout
How to do it: When completing a progressive long workout, start relaxed and slowly increase the pace as your body adapts. You should never strain at any point during the workout and you should only progress the pace based on how you are feeling on that particular day. As your fitness increases, the pace of these workouts will also increase. You should never force the pace, allow the pace to increase naturally as your fitness increases.

Goal: The goal of the long workout would be to progressively increase your pace every 5km's until you reach your goal marathon pace for the last 5 to 8km's of your run.

Warm Down: Follow your 5 to 8km's at goal pace with a very easy 15min easy cool down of easy skiing or running.

Terrain: Carry out workout on rolling trails, which simultaneously increase your leg-muscle strength.

Hydration: The key for these workouts is the proper use of sports drink - six to eight ounces 10 minutes before you begin your workout and then two regular swallows every 10mins as you workout.

Easy Days are Easy.

It can't be stressed enough: While the marathon and ultra marathoning requires extreme mileage, you must know the value of easy days. Recovery days are no time for pride. There is a reason they are called "recovery" days. If you run too hard on your easy days it will reduce the quality of your hard days.

Out and Back Courses:

Out and back courses serve several purposes. One, at least logistically, it is easier to set up water and special drinks and keep the team together while training and two by running an out and back course you get an excellent sense of pacing, a key to marathon success. One my favorite workouts is 2 x 20min with 4min recovery. With this workout we run along the river valley towards the Kinsmen and at the end of 20mins mark where we have managed to run to. After 4mins of active recovery we see if we can make it back to where we started in the same time, if we cannot get back it shows we went too hard on the first interval, so we can adjust for the next interval.

Running Fast When Tired:

To run a fast marathon or ultra marathon you need a enormously high pain threshold. You can use a variety of tools to develop this toughness. At Fast Trax we use runs called build-ups as basic units of training. A build up is no more than a short warm-up followed by a steady increase in pace. For a marathoner the build-up will be done in 5K blocks, with each 5K split becoming progressively faster. Another good format is to finish up your long runs with 2 x 3min with 1 min recovery at speed 3. With the long run complete, rest a bit, do a few strides,and then set off on your first of two intervals. With this we are trying to replicate race conditions, to be able to run fast even when we are tired. When you already have fatigue in your legs, you have to change speed. We also had another workout where we would go on a 5-hour walk one day, then the next morning do something with speed, such as a build-up. These are the workouts that accustom us to running fast when tired"

SIMPLE MARATHON / ULTRA MARATHON TRAINING

Having designed and studied training programs over the past 20 years it seems when it comes to designing a quality training program simple is best. Simple for two reasons, the body responds better and if the program is simple you seem to follow it more closely and more consistently.

Simple Marathon Training Zones

• Speed 1 ~ Easy
• Speed 2 ~ Moderate or Goal Marathon Pace + 5secs per km
  • Speed 2b ~ Goal Marathon Pace
• Speed 3 ~ Hard or Goal Marathon pace - 5secs per km

Simple Marathon Training Program

• Monday ~ Rest Day
• Tuesday ~ 4 x 10min @ Speed 3
• Wednesday ~ 30 to 90min Speed 1
• Thursday ~ 3 x 15min @ Speed 3
• Friday ~ 30 to 90min Speed 1
• Saturday ~ 2 x 20min @ Speed 3
• Sunday ~ 90 to 180min Speed 2

Simple Marathon Training Double Workouts ~ If so inclined:-)

• Monday ~ Rest Day
• Tuesday ~ 30 to 90min Speed 1
• Wednesday ~ 30 to 90min Speed 1
• Thursday ~ 30 to 90min Speed 1
• Friday ~ 30 to 90min Speed 1
• Saturday ~ 30 to 90min Speed 1
• Sunday ~ 30min Speed 1

Simple Marathon Training Strength Program

• Complete a quality 15min core strength program 5 x week at any time during the day when it fits into your schedule.

WINTER RUNNING TRAINING

Over the winter it is important to set a spring goal to keep your sites set. After a two to three week break you will want to return to running at least three times per week and maintain threshold training one to two times per week with the one of the following workouts;

1. Tuesday ~ 4 x 10mins with 2 min recovery at speed 3
2. Thursday ~ 3 x 15min with 4min recovery at speed 3
3. Saturday ~ 2 x 20min with 5min recovery at speed 3

An extended break from threshold runs over the winter can lead to reduced fitness over the winter.

WINTER NORDIC TRAINING

With the arrival of snow your main focus should be threshold training and ski specific strength and then add a intensity block in four weeks once you feel comfortable on snow and your ski specific threshold base is solid.

Week 1, 2 & 3

1. Tuesday ~ 4 x 10mins with 2 min recovery
2. Thursday ~ 3 x 15min with 4min recovery
3. Saturday ~ 2 x 20min with 5min recovery or 10km time trial

Week 4

1. Tuesday ~ 4 x 4min with 3min recovery
2. Thursday ~ 4 x 4min with 3min recovery
3. Saturday ~ 4 x 4min with 3min recovery

Ski Specific Strength

1. Wednesday ~ 20min double poling in rolling terrain with 6 x 15secs in steep terrain
2. Friday ~ 20min skiing without poles in rolling terrain with 6 x 15secs in steep terrain

INTERVALS ARTICLE

Here is an interesting article on how interval training can be beneficial for all levels of athletes. It is interesting to note, that by focusing on quality you increase your level of fitness while at the same time spending less time training so that you can spend more time with family and friends, now that sounds good to me:-)

Full Article

TRAINING GOALS

Create a goal for each workout, having a goal gives purpose and a chance for success each day. A workout goal can be as simple as finishing your entire water bottle by the end of the workout; the point is to be effective and eliminate mindless training. You may not win the race, lose the weight or make the team in this workout, but if you achieve your workout goal, you have taken a step closer.

Warm up well, you cannot shift your car from first to 4th gear, so don’t expect your body to shift from an easy warm-up to intervals. By warming up all of the gears, you will prevent injury and increase your interval success. This is my favorite routine: 10-15 minutes easy, followed by 5 x 15 seconds. These are pretty fast, but I am still not feeling any burn in my muscles. I let myself recover for 15 seconds between each pick-up.

Train efficiently, after your warm-up, get right to work. If you are doing an interval session that includes 4x4 minutes with 3 minutes of rest, you should be finished in 28 minutes. When you complete your workout, go directly into your 15 minute cool-down and call it a day. If you dilly-dally during your workout, you might be adding time to your training log, but you are decreasing the value of your intervals. Stick to your goal and accomplish it. Stay focused and efficient; get it done and do it well.

Give your body the opportunity to recover. A workout breaks your muscles down. When you finish a workout, you are weaker than you were when you started. The time that you are stronger/faster is once your muscles heal. You can aid this healing by eating (10g protein and 50g carbohydrates) within 30 minutes after your workout. My favorite recovery treat is low-fat chocolate milk, which has 9 grams of protein and 30g of carbohydrates with only 3 grams of fat in a 1-cup serving.

Stretching is another important aspect of muscle recovery. When you break your muscles down (workout), they grow back stronger. They will also grow back denser if left un-stretched. Eventually, tight muscles will lead to serious pain and injury. 10 minutes of stretching after your workout will allow your muscles have room to grow properly.

Above all, have fun with it. Enjoy, live it up!

MARATHON TRAINING

When training for a marathon or ultra marathon it would seem to be two main components, volume, and the intensity you complete that volume of training. As with any research on any subject the outcome of that research tends to advocate one form of training over another, but it would seem ultimately all forms of training are beneficial, and it is most likely more appropriate to create a program utilizing all forms of training, be it intervals, tempo runs, long runs, ext. Most importantly though it is important to look at the event you are looking at preparing for, 10km, half marathon, marathon ext.

When preparing for a marathon the first detail is to look at how fast you would like to run the event and then convert that time into pace per kilometer and then with that info you can devise your training program. To be marathon specific you would complete your tempo runs at goal race pace and your intervals at goal race pace - 5 seconds per kilometer and then your long workouts at goal marathon pace workouts at goal marathon pace + 5 seconds per kilometer.

The secret to marathon specific training is to reduce the intensity of your quality workouts ever so slightly and increase your mileage and the quality of your mileage. I will aim to expand on this throughout the week.

FAST TRAX THREE SPEED SYSTEM

The new 2008 Fast Trax training program, "Marathon Club" is very simple in design with intensity not being monitored by heart rate or pace but by mental effort and by listening to your body. Inspired by Chasing KIMbia, Fast Trax will be using a three speed system, to monitor pace this season;

• Speed 1 ~ Easy effort
• Speed 2 ~ Moderate effort
• Speed 3 ~ Hard effort

With the 3 Speed System, you simply allow your body to gain the right feeling from the workout and you avoid the opportunity to over or under train. On a day when you are feeling strong you my run a Speed 3 workout at a pace 3:30/km and on a day when you feel tired you may run at a pace of 3:45/km.

Because the 3 Speed System is based on mental energy, Speed 3 pace will be different for different workouts, Speed 3 intervals will be a faster pace than a Speed 3 endurance run due to the length of the effort. So, for example, 10 minute intervals done at speed 3 may be at a pace of 3:30/km and a 90min workout done at speed 3 may be done at a pace of 4:00/km.

By using this system your body can relax and enjoy running eliminating the need to force the body to run the "right pace". As your training progresses Speed 3 pace will naturally increase as your fitness increases, but this increase in pace will happen as your body responds to the training load, reducing the risk of over training, under training and / or injury.

If you're feeling too tired or don't think you have enough time to train, complete a 15min warm up and then do one or two 6min intervals with 3min recoveries as fast as you can, and then finish with a 15min cool down, hot shower, light dinner and you are done for the day.

There is some surprising research on resistance/weight training that shows that, contrary to what everyone believes, the MOST benefit to the trainer comes from the FIRST set of exercises, not the third, or the one you do "to exhaustion."

Putting this together with some other observations it may be possible to suggest that when it comes to running, it is likely that the first high-quality interval of an interval workout is the most crucial one in the entire session. That is, the mere fact that one has 'shouted' at one's muscles, 'Hey, wake up down there! I expect you to be able to handle this kind of intensity', produces much more rumbling within the muscle than the next repeat (or repeats) of the 'message.

Connecting a few more dots, it is possible to suggest that two reps of 6 minutes with 3 minutes recovery will do a great job to boost fitness at a time when you didn't think you had enough time to train. Well, I'm not so busy that I can't get myself out of the door to do a 15-minute warm-up and blast one and maybe two reps, finish up with a 15min cool down and at the end of the day, you will love the idea that you just accomplish that.

Workout

• 15min ~ 15min Warn Up with 3 x 20sec strides with 10 sec recoveries ~ The strides at the start help to prepare the legs for the 6min interval
• 6min to 15min ~ 1 to 2 x 6min with 3min recovery
• 15min ~ 15min Warn Down with 3 x 20sec strides with 10 sec recoveries ~ The strides at the end helps flush the legs
  • Total Time 36 to 45mins

Exploding the myth of ‘hard training’

Carrying out great training is not just a matter of conducting tough, high-quality workouts. If reaching one’s potential depended solely on training very hard, all resolute athletes would be in top form. But just a small percentage of them actually reach their pinnacle of fitness. The reason is not that athletes are lazy; most work very hard. The real problem is that high-quality work is a double-edged sword: it can lead you to your highest-possible level of performance, or it can destroy your ability to perform as well as you can. Doing too much hard training can devastate your muscles, harass your hormonal system and implode your immune system. Strenuous training must be balanced optimally with rest and recovery in order to reach the mountain-top.

Unfortunately, identifying the right balance of hard work and recovery is the most difficult part of serious training. If your training program has too much recovery, you won’t be able to carry out enough quality work to reach your peak. If your schedule has too little recovery, muscles won’t be able to repair themselves properly after workouts. Performances actually worsen instead of getting better.

Run Specific Strength Training ~ Plyometrics

Warm up with 15mins of easy barefoot running on grass or treadmill, and then complete the following:

(1) Alternate-leg ankle bounces: 30 meters straight forward.  As you bounce along from foot to foot, keep your legs relatively straight at your hips and knees and concentrate on making movement occur as the result of springy ankle actions only.  “Pop” off your feet after each impact with the ground - aiming for minimal ground-contact times and explosive forward pushes.  Please preserve your standing-tall alignment as you move forward.  Things to avoid: Bending your legs at the knees, sinking into each step, getting forward thrust from your knees and hips, not using lightning-quick ankle action

(2) Falls to earth with soft landings: 6 falls per leg.  Take three running steps up to a low bench or stable stool (about four to six inches in height).  Continue running as you stride up onto the bench with one foot.  Take a normal running step forward off the bench and land on the other side (on the ground or floor) with your opposite foot.  Bend your knee slightly as you land to soften landing, and “soak up” impact energy with your ankle, knee, and hip joints.  Don’t let your upper body incline forward after landing, and end each “fall” in a balanced pose with arms in a running stance and non-support leg lifted (ready to swing forward).  Avoid lateral movements of your support leg after landing.  Throughout the overall movement, maintain running-specific action with your arms.  Things to avoid: Landing with a straight leg, flailing arms or using arms for balance (arms should retain running-specific motion), landing on other side of bench on heel instead of mid-foot, leaping vertically off the bench, failing to hold the landing pose, with standing-tall alignment for a few seconds.

(3) Pistol squats: 8 squats per leg.  Position yourself so that a mid-thigh-height bench or chair is directly behind you.  Stand on one leg with a standing-tall alignment, and flex the hip of your non-support leg slightly so that your (straight), non-support leg is angled directly in front of you.  Go into a squat, gradually moving your buttocks toward the top of the bench or chair, while maintaining relatively upright body posture (avoid significant forward lean of your upper body - keep your back straight).  Move smoothly at all times, and sit down on the bench or chair.  Don’t, however, let buttocks slam down on the surface.  Return to a standing position by powering through your hips and quads, keeping your non-support leg in front of your body.  Avoid: Using a bench/chair which is impossibly low, letting your support knee move ahead of your support foot, not returning to standing-tall alignment after each squat, lateral movements of your support leg, and rapid, out-of-control descents by your buttocks to the bench or chair.

(4) Single-leg chop shops: 10 chops per leg.  Squat on one foot, angling (with straight arms) a medicine ball down to the side of the support leg.  Return to a standing position while keeping back straight, extending arms across body up and diagonally until the ball is high above the shoulder on the non-support-leg side of the body.  Keep back extended – not rounded – during overall movement (including the squat and the movement of the ball down to the side).  Things to avoid: Not keeping arms straight, not squatting low enough (not enough knee bend), rounding the back, not lifting the ball high on the ascent, using so much weight that stability is lost

(5) Backward dip squats to poses: 12 reps per leg, with 20-lb dumbbells in hands.  Begin with standing-tall alignment.  Keep your torso nearly upright as you squat and lower your non-support leg behind the curb/step/bench.  Lightly touch toes of non-support leg to ground behind bench, and then extend your support leg powerfully at the knee, raising body and bringing back leg forward and up into a pose position with hip flexed at 90 degrees, knee flexed at 90 degrees, and foot flexed up toward shin.  Pause for a second and repeat.  Use appropriate arm action (left arm swings forward and right arm moves back when right leg swings up, for example).
Things to avoid: Torso and/or head falling forward during descent, too much push with the rear foot (all upward-moving, knee-extending, hip-extending power must come from support leg), failure to straighten support leg at top of movement

(6) Single-leg hand walking to triceps push-ups: 8 push-ups per leg.  Raise your non-support leg off the ground, squat down and bend forward at your hips to touch the floor with straight arms.  Then, hand-walk to a straight-arm, body-straight, “plank position” (while keeping just one foot in contact with ground), with arms close to ribs (elbows in).  Bend elbows to perform a triceps push-up, hand-walk back, and use glutes and low-back muscles to return to a standing, erect posture.  Balance on support leg as you return to original standing-tall alignment, and switch legs after each rep.  Things to avoid: Throwing upper body forward onto ground (not using appropriate squat and hip flexion),  not hand-walking far enough to achieve standing-tall (horizontal) alignment, incorrect position of hands for push-ups, arching back on push-ups, letting head fall down during push-ups, not pausing for balance at the end of each rep

(7) One-leg live dead lifts: 8 lifts per leg.  Begin with one-leg standing-tall alignment, and then bend at the hips while keeping back perfectly straight, until torso is roughly parallel with the ground.  Use your glutes to power your way back to an upright position, and use opposite-arm-to-leg action.  Things to avoid: Flexing knee to bend forward instead of flexing hip, rounding the back, not returning to standing-tall alignment at top of movement

(8) Single-leg lunge squats with jumps: 12 jumps per leg with 5-lb dumbbells in hands.  Begin with one-leg standing-tall alignment, and place toes of non-support foot on four- to eight-inch block, step, or curb behind you.  Perform a one-leg squat, and then immediately explode upward, pushing through support foot and straightening leg.  Don’t let your torso fall forward during squat, and keep your back straight (no rounding of back!).  Don’t let your support knee move well ahead of your support foot (“sit” back slightly as you squat to avoid this), keep your head pointed straight forward, avoid lateral wobbles of your support leg as you squat, keep weight on the ball of the support foot, and squat until thigh is approximately parallel with floor.  The toes of your rear foot are atop a curb, step, or bench behind your body; no weight-bearing is permitted on the rear foot.  Achieve the jump from the bottom of each squat by pushing with maximum force on floor while straightening leg at knee – not by lifting leg from the hip.  Movement is continuous: After landing on support foot after one jump you should immediately proceed into next squat.  Things to avoid: Support foot too far out (like over striding) or too far in (like under striding) (during deepest point of squat, rear (non-support) knee should be about zero to four inches behind an imaginary line drawn perpendicular to the support foot at the heel).  Also avoid: Bench too high (pushes body forward, can be uncomfortable for quads of non-support leg), letting back foot come off step (it should remain in place)

Core Program

          You should spend a fair amount of time strengthening and improving the endurance of your “core” muscles (the muscles in your abdominal and low-back areas).  Basically, your core muscles stabilize your spine and torso when you run, provide a strong anchor point for the vigorous contractions of your upper leg and hip muscles, and improve your economy of running. So, you would carry out the following routine six times a week (every day except your rest day):

          A. Simply lie down on the ground or floor and stretch out in a prone position (with face and stomach pointing downward).  Then, lift up your body so that you are balanced only on your forearms and toes.  Your elbows should be on the ground and should be directly below your shoulders.  Your forearms and hands are pointed straight ahead, resting on the ground.  Your toes (and feet) are about shoulder-width apart, and your toes are the only part of your lower body which is touching the ground.  Your whole body is supported only by your forearms and toes.

          B. Now, “tuck” your pelvis.  This basically means rotating your pelvic girdle by pushing the lower part of your pelvic area toward the ground while the upper part of the pelvis rotates away from the ground.  Your hip area does not actually come any closer to the ground (your whole body should be in a fairly straight line from your toes up to your shoulders).  When you tuck your pelvis, you are simply rotating your pelvis, not moving it up or down.  If you were standing as you did this, you would be directing the lower part of your pelvis forward and pulling the top part of your pelvic girdle backward.  It’s important to complete this exercise in this way.

          C. Hold the basic position (body supported only on forearms and toes, pelvis tucked) for 15 seconds, and then lift your right arm off the ground, straighten it, and point it straight ahead, holding it in the air for 10 seconds (at this point your body will be supported only by your left forearm and the toes of your two feet).  After 10 seconds, return to the basic position.

          D. Now, lift your left arm off the ground and point it straight ahead, holding it in the air for 10 seconds.  Return to the starting, basic position.

          E. Without taking a break, lift your right leg into the air and hold it there for 10 seconds (your body will now be supported by your two forearms and the toes on your left foot).  Return to the basic position.

          F. Lift your left leg in the air for 10 seconds, and then return to the basic position.

          G. Here’s a move you will never forget: From the starting position, lift your right arm and left leg in the air simultaneously.  Hold them up for 10 seconds while keeping your body stable and aligned, and then return to the basic position.

          H. Next, lift your left arm and right leg simultaneously, and hold them in the air for 10 seconds.  Return to the starting position.

          I. Take a one-minute break, and then repeat steps A-H one more time.  Once you have completed the second set, remain in the basic position for one additional minute.  As you do so, please remember to keep your pelvis tucked and your body in a straight line.

          J. Now, flip over on your back and lift yourself up so that your body is supported only by your forearms and your heels.  Again, your body should be linear, your pelvis should be tucked, and your elbows should be approximately below your shoulders.  Stay in this new basic position for 15 seconds, and then lift your right leg off the ground for 10 seconds.

          K. Return your right heel to the ground, and lift your left leg in the air for 10 seconds (you will be balanced only on your forearms and right heel).  Then, return your left leg to the ground and hold the basic position for 30 seconds.

          L. Take a short break, and then repeat steps J & K.

          M. Now, flip over on your right side and support your whole body with only your right forearm and the outside, lower edge of your right foot.  Your body should be a straight line, inclined upward from the foot to the shoulder – and completely off the ground (don’t let your leg touch the floor).  Your left foot should simply be lying on top of the right foot.  Hold this basic position, while remaining relaxed and stable, for 10 seconds, and then lift your left leg straight up (abducting the hip) for 10 seconds, before returning to this third basic position.
         
          N. Flip over to your left side, and repeat step M, but with your body weight supported by your left forearm and the lower, outside edge of your left foot (this time you will raise your right leg in the air).  Hold your right leg up for 10 seconds, and return to the third basic position.

          O. Repeat steps M & N one more time, and the core routine is over!  Incidentally, these side positions (steps M & N) do a terrific job of developing your oblique abdominal muscles, which are critically important for proper control of the trunk during running.

IMPORTANT POINTS ABOUT THE CORE ROUTINE

          (1) The core routine does not take long to complete, and it can be conducted before workouts or at any convenient time of the day.  Many runners find it convenient to perform the core routine upon arising in the morning or just before going to bed at night.

          (2) One advantage of doing the core routine after getting up in the morning or just before going to bed is that it can be combined with a great exercise for your feet – “toe pulls.”  To carry out toe pulls, stand barefooted with your feet hip-width apart.  In an alternating pattern, curl the toes of your right foot and then the toes of your left foot down and under, as though you were grasping something with your feet.  Repeat this action (right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot, etc.) for a total of 50 repetitions with each foot.  Rest for a moment, and then complete one more set.  Try pulling yourself across the floor with your grasping (smooth surfaces work best) for a distance of three to six feet as you become more skilled with the exercise.  Like the core routine, toe pulls can be completed six times a week.  They strengthen your feet, make the arches of your feet springier, improve your running economy, and reduce your risk of plantar fasciitis.

Vary your training intensity to boost your performance