My weekly training and the "4-Hour Body" book

A recently popular book is the 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferriss.  Personally, I think he is a bit of a freak, and much of his conclusions are a result of experimenting on his own body as well as data gleaned through case studies of other people.  Some of his self-experimenting is a bit disturbing, but to each his own.  His first book "The 4-Hour Work Week" is a stroke of genius and I have begun to incorporate elements of this books teaching into my life.  I'll touch more on this in a later blog.

While I'm not training for an ultramarathon (yet) or a thru-hike, I have adopted some training elements from the 4 Hour Body into my weekly training routine.  My running injuries (pre and post minimalist shoes) are centered around a weak core (Physical Therapist basically told me I have a weak butt!) and lack of balance.  Thus, I have incorporated his Critical (M)Ass: The Kiwi's Complete A/B workout into my routine (Monday and Friday).  Tim Ferris is a lot of hype and yet, I think there are some pretty good nuggets in his book.

My interpretation of his approach/suggestions is that if you only have a limited amount of time to work out, then do these things as they will be the most physiologically inclusive/advantageous.  Reference this link on his blog for more information on the Critical (M)Ass workout.  He talks a lot about the kettlebell swing in his book which is included in the Critical (M)Ass workout.  He has detailed instructions on his blog for this as well.

My training approach for running specifically is to slowly build up my long weekend run until I can comfortably do a 12-14 mile trail run on the weekend as prep for the Superior Trail 25k race in May (I'm at 6-7 miles now) and then 20+ miles over the summer for my goal of doing the Superior Trail Marathon in the fall.  That's my goal for this year.  We'll see where that takes me and what next year will hold.  My goal is only to finish and to not finish last... my competitive nature will probably propel me better than last.  If my body starts to reject this training, then I will back off and only train for 5k and 10k trail races for this year.

To summarize my weekly routine, Monday: Kiwi's Workout A, Tuesday: rest, Wed: Interval or Fartlek run, Thurs: rest, Friday: Kiwi's Workout B, Saturday: Long Run, Sunday: easy run or rest depending on how I feel.  My plan is to not increase my long run by more than 10% with a step-back once per month.  Yes, that's only running 2-3 times/week.  Is this enough running to train for a marathon?  I don't know, but it is all I have time as I feel I have a greater need for building my core strength than to get lots of weekly miles in.  At this phase in my life, time is limited so I'm going to give it a try...  I'm curious to see what others think.

Here's my detailed workout

Monday
Double Leg Glute Activation - (Bridge) x15
Single Leg Glute Activation x15 each
1. Heavy dumbbell front squat to press (ass to heels)
2. One-arm, one-leg DB row
3. Walking Lunges with sprinter knee raise
4. Wide-grip push-ups
5. Two-arm kettlebell swings x20-25
--Repeat sequence (1-5) 2-4 times

Wednesday
Double Leg Glute Activation - (Bridge) x15
Single Leg Glute Activation x15 each
Bicycle Crunches
Interval or Fartlek Training Run (3-5 miles including warm-up and cool-down)
Yin Yoga - Butterfly Pose (3-5 min)
Yin Yoga - Sleeping Swan Pose (3-5 min each side)
Quad/Hip Flexor Stretch (3-5 min each side)

Friday
Double Leg Glute Activation - (Bridge) x15
Single Leg Glute Activation x15 each
1. One leg Romanian Deadlift (10-12 reps each side)
2. Chin-ups (4s negative lowering portion only) x 10
3. One-leg hamstring curls on a ball (6-12 reps each leg)
4a. Myotatic Crunch (on a Swiss ball)
4b. Front Plank and Side Plank - 30s front, 30s each side
5. Reverse hyper on a bench and Swiss Ball x 15-25
--Repeat sequence (1-5) 2-4 times

Saturday or Sunday
Double Leg Glute Activation - (Bridge) x15
Single Leg Glute Activation x15 each
Bicycle Crunches
Long Trail Run with Hill Work (1-2 hours)
Yin Yoga - Butterfly Pose (3-5 min)
Yin Yoga - Sleeping Swan Pose (3-5 min each side)
Quad/Hip Flexor Stretch (3-5 min each side)

TC Running Company: Embrace Winter

I really enjoy running outside in the winter and I'm sure that makes me an odd duck! I enjoy the challenge of determining what I'm going to wear from my footwear all the way to my headwear. I enjoy the serenity of the trails and even the sidewalks as most stay inside to keep warm. It turns out I'm not the only one. Check out the blog post below from the TC Running Company located a short distance away from my office:

TC Running Company: Embrace Winter

Enjoy the fresh snow!!

Forefoot Striking and Pronation: Insight from an Ultrarunning Podiatry Student | Runblogger

More and more studies are being completed on how running barefoot or in a minimalist shoe affects our running form. Here's an interesting article that was just posted on runblogger.com. I have been running in minimalist shoes and barefoot for over a year and have found that the 6 month adaptation period it talks about in the article is pretty accurate.  Click on the link below to read the article:

Forefoot Striking and Pronation: Insight from an Ultrarunning Podiatry Student | Runblogger

Running Update and My Shoe Lineup

Knee issues (patellar-femoral syndrome initially diagnosed in summer of 2007) sent me down a path of re-evaluating the active side of my life... I have fully converted to minimalist footwear and when warm enough (and not dark out), barefoot running. Running in a minimalist shoe has gotten me back into running and I enjoy it for the first time in my life. Running in a minimalist shoe retrained me how to run with the correct form and now I know how terrible my form used to be. I used to be a heavy heel striker, so it's now wonder I've always had some sort of knee, ankle or hip issue.

My minimalist shoe line-up started off with VFF KSO's (Oct 2009) and then I added Feelmax Kuuva Boots (Dec 2009), Feelmax Osmas (Feb 2010), Terra Plana Oaks (Dec 2010) and recently won a pair of Vivobarefoot Neos (or Evos depending on availability) through Donald's Running and Rambling blog. I love testing out new shoes and have pretty completely only wear a minimalist shoe whenever possible.

I do have a pair of Inov-8 295s (Almost 3 years old and ready to retire) and recently purchased a pair of New Balance MT 101's. These don't fall under my definition of minimalist (however, they are minimalist compared to the majority of running shoes used by the general population), but have worked well for me for trail running, running in snow and hiking/backpacking. The elevated heal of these trail runners doesn't seem to affect my gait too much on an uneven surface like trails and snow.

But alas, my new enthusiasm with running caused me to overtrain for a 25k trail race last spring and since then have been wrestling with IT Band issues. After much research and testing to keep it from flairing up, my plan for my training will now consist of 1 long run per week and cross-training (core exercises, hiking, biking, weight-training, etc.) I've also found that the slow-to-medium pace running seems to irritate my knee the most, so I've adopted a modified Fartlek method of running. It seems that my knee doesn't seem to bother me when I run fast and it doesn't bother me when I walk. So after I warm up, I run hard and then power walk (to catch my breath), run hard and then power walk, repeat, repeat.... This seems to be the ticket for now and maybe at some point I can reintroduce longer runs with consistent slower running. This and icing my knee after every run seems to be the key to keeping the knee from flaring up from the IT Band irritating it.

Does cushioning in your shoes affect your running?

A blog I follow has a really good synopsis on the potential affects of cushioning in your running shoes. I know that for me, eliminating cushioning in my shoes drastically changed how I run for the better. I feel that I run much more efficiently and am less prone to injuries in my knees and hips because my muscles now absorb the impact instead of my shoes and joints. Check it out:

My Tree of Life (Just One Step at a time): Is cushion the devil?

Trail Mix 25k Race Report

This being my first race ever, I had no idea what to expect going into it.  Fortunately this one is pretty low-key, so I just went with the flow.

The 50k race was scheduled to start at 7:00 am and the 25k race at 7:30 am.  Race numbers were available for pick-up at 5:30 am.  I was there around 5:45 am and there was hardly anybody there yet, so I picked up my race number and then wandered around for a bit.  Not finding anything to do or anybody to talk to, I moved my car down closer to the race start.  Most everyone that was there was hanging out in their vehicles at the time.


At about 6:30 or so, I walked back over to the Visitor Center to the restroom.  After doing my business there, I had my first and only VFF siting of the day.  I tried to strike up a conversation with him and he ended up taking off while I ended up chatting ti up with a couple other guys about them.  One guy had a pair that he wears off and on for training for the last three years but hasn't run a race in them.  The other guy I chatted with a little longer as we walked back to the race starting area.  He seemed pretty knowledgeable about the VFF's, but did not have his own pair.  He was running the 50k and took off to finish prepping for the race as it was only minutes away.

I cheered on the start of the 50k and noticed there was a guy wearing a World Vision shirt.  I had thought about running this race as a World Vision sponsor, but just never got my logistics together to do it.  Maybe I will get this set up for the Superior Trail Race.  It's a great cause that I have supported in the past.

I took off my "warmth" layers, grabbed my water bottle, gloves and headed for the race start.  It was warming up nicely and I suspected I wouldn't have to wear my stocking cap for very long.  I hung around the back third of the pack or so and couldn't hear anything the race director was saying.  There seemed to be some confusion as they were trying to line us all up behind the race start.  All of a sudden the starting horn bellowed and we were off.  Somewhat anti-climatic and unexpected start, but I guess that's the way it goes for such a low profile race such as this one.  In the excitement of the start, I forgot to start my watch until over a quarter mile into the race.  Oops, now my splits are going to be a little off.

I really had to hold myself back the first few miles and still felt like I was going out too fast.  I can't stand running on the heels of other people, so I found myself pushing hard to get around several groups as it was really cluttered.  After the third mile or so, I fell into a groove and stayed there for quite a while.  Turns out that miles 2-3 was my second fastest split, but no harm done looking hindsight at my overall splits.

There were places where the trail was a bit wet and muddy, so I picked my way through those trying to keep my feet dry as long as I could.  Inevitably, my feet got a bit wet and muddy.  Wet feet has not bothered me yet in any of my running except for a little discomfort.  Didn't even phase me during the race.

The 25k race consisted of two loops and at the beginning of the second loop, I was feeling pretty good.  I felt I had maintained a pretty consistent pace throughout the race thus far and was content with continuing that.  Fortunately I remembered to suck down a gel between miles 8-9, otherwise I probably would have crashed pretty hard.

I struck up a conversation with a couple guys at around mile 9 and the three of us yo-yo'ed with each other for most of the rest of the race.  It was nice to hear their perspectives as they were both experienced runners.  One of the guys at a couple titanium rods put in his leg a few years ago as a result of a hockey injury, so it was pretty impressive he was out running this race and maintaining this pace.

At about mile 12, I hit the wall as a small hill loomed in front of me.  I walked up the hill hoping that it would give my legs enough rest to push hard through to the end.  This was the ticket and I was able to push through to the end after the walk.  The last mile was my fastest split at 7:43 and I was able to pass several people and got passed by one, a girl.  I fought my pride and let her push on ahead.  ;-)

Here's a pic of me coming into the finish line taken by my beautiful wife who was cheering me on and my little boys watching.

My overall official time was 2:16:11 resulting in a pace of 8:47 for the 15.5 miles.  I am very happy with that for my first race ever and am looking forward to the next race!!

Here are the top 5 finishers for the 25k and 50k races below.  Their times are absolutely amazing to me!!

25k Race

Place Name Age S City St Time Pace

===== =================== === = =============== == ======= ===== 

    1 Fish Wilson          25 M Onamia          MN 1:35:25  6:09 
    2 Brett Busacker       24 M Orono           MN 1:37:38  6:18 
    3 Kirk Walztoni        38 M Eagan           MN 1:38:05  6:19 
    4 Josh Riff            35 M Edina           MN 1:38:23  6:21 
    5 Alex Hooke           26 M Rochester       MN 1:40:12  6:28

50k Race

Place Name                Age S City            St Time    Pace  
===== =================== === = =============== == ======= ===== 

    1 Brian Peterson       25 M Minneapolis     MN 3:16:52  6:21 
    2 Chris Gardner        33 M Duluth          MN 3:28:34  6:43 
    3 Kelly Mortenson      38 M St Paul         MN 3:37:40  7:01 
    4 Aaron Drevlow        36 M Woodbury        MN 3:42:14  7:10 
    5 Jim Ramacier         46 M White Bear Lake MN 3:43:51  7:13 


Thanks to O.C. Williams (the race director) and all the volunteers for putting on such a great race!!

irunfar.com gear giveaway

In honor of earth week, irunfar.com is giving away a bunch of running gear.  Go check it out.

The Case for Avoiding Pavement of any Kind!!

Combining variety in your running surfaces with barefoot or primal running seems to be a great combination!!  Allowing your feet to be strengthened by removing all support and improving your form by removing all cushion will give you more of a full body work out than you would think could come from running.  One advantage to running in MN in the winter is you can run on snow.  My most recent run was 6.5 miles and about 2/3rds of it was in 4-6" of snow along side of the asphalt trail.  It really slowed my pace, but I did feel it was much more of a full body workout.  The key is to completely relax your body and let your feet speak to you.  I was wearing my Feelmax Kuuvas and the flexible minimalist bottom allows me to sense the ground under me and as my foot lands, by whole body automatically adjusts accordingly.  I have found that if I am not relaxed, my back muscles in particular get really sore.   As Ken Bob Saxton says "RELAX, RELAX, RELAX!"




The following is an excerpt from Always Running the Same Way - The trouble with running on concrete and asphalt by Paul Ingraham, RMT

The body is an all-terrain vehicle. We cannot run on concrete for long without consequences. In the case of running, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting to get away with it! Although most runners believe that the rigidity of concrete is the main problem, it may be that the continuity of the surface is just as bad or worse.

Lack of variety in running surface

Unfortunately, most recreational runners are running on sidewalks. Any sunny morning, you can see hundreds of them on the seawall in downtown Vancouver. They never touch the grass or the sand. They have succumbed to the illusion that a hard, constant surface is the path of least resistance. But on an unvarying surface, your body is subjected to exactly the same forces with every strike of the foot. Not only is the stress of impact exaggerated by the hard surface, but it is also repeated excessively because the mechanics of every step are exactly the same.

Worse still, the body is given no chance to adapt to other stresses. At best, same-surface and hard-surface runners become strong in one way, but weak in all the others — and therefore vulnerable to injury.

The solution to most running problems is to get off the concrete.

A classic runner’s injury, for instance, is a kind of tendinitis called iliotibial band syndrome. It is caused by muscle imbalance, by a relative weakness of the gluteus maximus and minimus. These muscles are lateral stabilizers; they control side-to-side movement of the hips. On a flat surface, they aren’t needed much — it’s easy to stay upright on a flat surface. They don’t exactly atrophy, but the other leg muscles get disproportionately stronger. When you see people running sideways, this is partly what they are trying to prevent. It’s a good idea, but it’s futile unless they do at least half the run that way.

The alternatives to running on hard, even surfaces

The solution to most running problems is to get off the concrete. Even trail running (chip trails and other groomed trails) is not adequate — it may be soft, but it is still same-surface running. We have evolved miraculously complex reflexes and musculature that can keep us upright on virtually any surface, even shifting surfaces like the deck of a ship. To develop and maintain a well-rounded fitness, all of those reflexes and musculature need to be constantly stimulated and challenged!

Ideally, everyone should do true trail running, or cross-country running. Your run should be on soft, constantly changing and unstable surfaces. For instance, I live in downtown Vancouver, which is runner’s Heaven: miles of scenic seawall running. The seawall itself is paved. But for most of its length, you can stay off of it, and run on beaches or grass, hop over logs and benches, go up and down hills, scramble over rocks. This is perfect!

The sidewalk is not your path: everything else is.

Alas, most people don’t have the option of running on the beach. The solution is what I call “urban cross-country.” The key to urban cross-country is creativity: do anything you can to vary your running surface, and to get off the concrete every chance you get. Put parks on your route whenever possible. If it’s a small one, run around it on the grass five times before continuing. No park? Run on people’s lawns! The sidewalk is not your path: everything else is. Look for stairs and steep hills, and put them in your route. Run with one foot on the curb and one foot off for a block.

Author's Original Post with Footnotes:

Running on Pavement

More Reading:
Why you Should Run on Uneven Ground

Research Article on Natural Surface Running

Go Wagon and Buckeye Outdoors Training Site

I found a couple cool websites that will help me with my training.  GoWagon.com is a community website for training that integrates the Buckeye Outdoors Training Calendar in it.  I was using DailyMile.com but I think GoWagon.com will be nicer in that I can include a workout log in this blog.  Check it out in the column on the lefthand side.

You Walk Wrong

Fascinating Article from New York Magazine that sums up the whole minimalist shoe approach.

http://nymag.com/health/features/46213/