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100 Secret Training Ideas For Runners

All Secret Training Ideas

Many of us have discovered training ideas which seem to work for us.  Some are more tested than others.  Best Road Races and The UjENA FIT Club is not endorsing these ideas but just sharing them with you.  Add your Secret Training Ideas here.  Include a photo when you can and be sure to name your idea.  Only do one idea per post and just use enough words to explain the idea.  Use examples of how it worked when possible.  Hal Higdon is offering his Tip of the Day!

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A Word about Strength Training
Posted Friday, October 31st, 2014
Strength training is important for both conditioning and injury prevention. I lifted weights and/or use exercise machines regularly in the... Read Secret Training Idea
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Losing my Edge by RIch Stiller
Posted Tuesday, February 18th, 2014
by Rich StillerI didn’t plan to stop racing. I just meant to take a break. In April of 1995 I... Read Secret Training Idea
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Eating Well for Running
Posted Thursday, March 6th, 2014
By Christine RosenbloomHeading to the gym after work for a quick workout? Out for a morning walk with the dogs?... Read Secret Training Idea
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How many Miles Should I run weekly?
Posted Monday, September 16th, 2013
by Hal HigdonWithin certain limits, the more miles you run the faster you can race. Double your training mileage from... Read Secret Training Idea

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Eating Well for Running
Thursday, March 6th, 2014
Tips for Fueling Your Workout without Over Doing It
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By Christine Rosenbloom

Heading to the gym after work for a quick workout? Out for a morning walk with the dogs? Working out is good for our physical and mental health. Although many individuals workout for weight loss or maintenance, exercising burns fewer calories than you might think. For example, you burn about 100 calories for every mile you walk or run. Yet, the average energy bar provides about 250 calories and a 16-ounce fruit smoothie has 350 to 400 calories, so it is easy to overdo it.

Here are some tips for fueling your workout without sabotaging the calorie-burning effort of exercise.

The Morning Workout
A low-intensity morning workout — such as a walk, bike ride, yoga or round of golf — requires very little fuel. Concentrate on hydration and a small carbohydrate-rich snack, like 16 ounces of water and mini-bagel or a 100-calorie granola bar. That will give you enough energy to compensate for an overnight fast without loading up on calories. After your workout, eat a smart breakfast of quality carbohydrates and protein. This can be a hard-cooked egg, a slice of whole-grain toast and 100-percent fruit juice, or oatmeal with berries and fat-free milk.

In the Evening
If you exercise after work, plan to eat lunch 3 to 4 hours before your workout. Good choices include a grilled chicken salad, a grilled cheese sandwich with a cup of tomato soup, or a turkey sub with baked chips. A healthy lunch will provide enough calories to sustain a late afternoon workout, but give yourself a little energy boost 15 to 30 minutes before your workout by eating a banana, orange slices or a handful of grapes. Concentrate on hydration; water is a good choice for exercise lasting less than an hour, but consider a low-calorie sports drink (about 20 calories per cup) if you are exercising for more than an hour at a higher intensity. If you are working out for more than an hour in a hot, humid climate, consider drinking a sports drink (1 cup) and water for the next fluid break.

Refueling
After a workout, re-hydrate with water. If you are heading home and eating dinner within a couple of hours, there is no need for a post-workout snack. If your meal will be delayed, then recover with 6 to 8 ounces of fat-free chocolate milk, 6 ounces of low-fat Greek yogurt, or a stick of string cheese with a few whole-grain crackers.

Try not to fall into the cycle of skipping breakfast, eating a light lunch and, then, exercising after work with little fuel on board. With this scenario, you are more likely to overeat after your workout because you are so hungry from not eating enough during the day. Another mental trap is rewarding a good workout with high-calorie or fatty foods. Rewarding your workout with food and high-calorie fluids will undo your efforts in the gym; instead, treat yourself to a new pair of sneakers for a job well done.

 

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Losing my Edge by RIch Stiller
Tuesday, February 18th, 2014
The difference between Bob Anderson and myself
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by Rich Stiller

I didn’t plan to stop racing. I just meant to take a break.

 

In April of 1995 I turned fifty. Stretched out behind me were three decades of running which included twenty-five years of serious racing, over 500 races, and God knows how many long runs, intervals, time trials and tempo runs. Throw in the usual rain, sleet, and wind and a break was in order. I didn’t announce I was going to stop racing. Who cared outside of myself?  I just quietly stepped away.

 

I kept going to races whenever the urge grabbed me but I stopped strapping on the heart rate monitor to make sure my training runs were at the right effort.  I could still lay down a sub 20:00 5k and maybe even place in my age group. Every four to five years as I was about to enter a new age group, I would start trying to convince myself that I was ready to go back and race hard again. Fifty-five passed with more of the same threshold races. In the dark of the night when other runners tossed and turned nervously contemplating an all out weekend race effort, I slept like baby knowing that whatever time I ran in my next race the effort would not involve the accumulation of serious lactic acid.  Finally I had to face it. I had lost my edge, the willingness to race hard.

 

One of my good friends is Bob Anderson, the founder of Runner’s World. Bob has been running and racing for fifty-two years. His best racing years took place after he had sold Runner’s World in 1985. (Editor’s Note: Will selling Level Renner make me faster?!) He simply had more time to train. I’ve known Bob since 1973 and even in the years he was working overtime to make his magazine successful he still showed up and raced, and if he raced it was all out every time. It was the only way he knew how.

 

Several years ago at age sixty-four Bob celebrated his fiftieth year of running by setting up a challenge. His rule was simple: run fifty races totaling 350 miles and average under 7:00 pace overall.  To put this in perspective, it’s akin to averaging 5:24 pace at age thirty. Bob ran a smorgasbord of distances, racing 5k one weekend, a half marathon the next, followed by a ten miler after that. The gotcha was that he had to average seven miles per race. A 5k one weekend meant a ten miler or half marathon the next.

 

He asked me to help advise him during the challenge. I was either phoning, emailing. or meeting him in person every week. To me the whole challenge was one of balancing and managing races, the distance and pace. My theory: if you don’t need to run all out to stay under 7:00 pace, then don’t do it. Keep a little in reserve because you would need all you could muster just to get through the fifty races.

 

But while he listened politely to me it soon became obvious that Bob simply approached each race the same. He ran every one of them all out. He ran in heat, cold, wind, and rain all over the country, all out. The concept of tempo running a race to conserve energy was lost on him.  “It’s the only way I know to run,” he told me. In the end Bob made his goal but it came down to his final race. As expected, he gutted it out like he did the previous forty-nine races.

 

It occurred to me that even during my best competitive years in my thirties and forties that I hadn’t raced every race the way Bob did. I had a dozen serious races that I had pointed towards each year and those I ran hard. My other races, while run at a strong tempo effort, were rarely all out. I had practiced tempo racing. I understood it. Bob didn’t.

 

Several times in my sixties I’ve tried to get back into racing. It hasn’t worked out for me. That racer’s edge I had at age fifty, the one that I quietly stepped away from, is pretty much gone. Bob continues on. All he needs is a race and goal. One thing I know for sure: he’ll run hard.

 

Rich Stiller has been running and racing since 1968.  This article first appeared on the Level Renner website.

 

Comments and Feedback
run Interesting insight to my 50 race challenge in 2012. Thanks Rich for always being there and helping me out. Our movie A Long Run is being released in a couple of weeks.
Bob Anderson 3/5/14 3:08 pm
run Richard great article, do we (runners) all have some of the same issues as we go through our lives? I have never trained like I should, I just use the gift God gave me. When I run, or workout I race or max out the workout. It always ends in injury or burnout. Thanks for the story it's going to help, the rest is up to me, and a good coach if I'll listen, and learn.
Brad Chatfield 3/5/14 8:32 pm
run I recommend that you visit the Level Renner website. levelrenner.com
Richard Stiller 3/6/14 7:18 am
run I grew up in a family of 5 boys, I was number 3. Everything we did was a race; how fast can you do that? I run every race knowing I gave it my best effort.
Dan Roddy 3/7/14 7:13 am
run Dan I only had 3 brothers, I was the youngest of the 4; and I out did them all, but I look up to them to this day. Still it was a great day when I kicked their A.
Brad Chatfield 3/7/14 11:46 am
run I am the second of five boys in our family. We were all very competitive even at the dinner table.
Bob Anderson 3/7/14 12:24 pm
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