Healthy Running -

Common Scenario: A month into training, as miles start to pickup, enthusiasm picks up, and you are finally feeling in the groove, something starts to hurt. Now its up to you to figure out what the next step will be. Click on the article "Foot Notes" from Runnersworld that spells out some of the warning signs of foot issues and what course of action you should take. An injury is not always an end to your race, but you definitely need to listen to your body and address any issues you have before they turn into something more serious. A great way to minimize or avoid some of these overuse and mechanical issues is to follow these steps:
1. Proper equipment - make sure you get fitted for a good pair of running shoes from a store that specializes in long distance running.
2. Warm up - take the time to go through a dynamic warm up routine to prime your body for your running workout.
3. Perfect your running form - Practice the pose running drills and concentrate on maintaining good form throughout your runs.
4. Cool Down, stretch, and work on mobility - the workout does not end when you stop running. Take the time to stretch thoroughly and use a foam roller to work out any areas that need some extra attention.
5. Strength training - strong muscles will translate into a strong runner. Work specifically on your core for midline stabilization, your posterior chain (hamstrings, glutes, calves) where you derive your power, and all those tiny muscles in your feet and ankles.

Thursday Run Workout: There will be only one workout tomorrow at 5:15am. Meet at the track for a 40 minute run where we will work on pacing.

Tabata Tuesday at the track this morning and everyone did great! I know the drills get old after awhile, but by repeating these and perfecting our form we are going to be much more efficient runners and will be able to channel that saved energy into faster running. If you missed the workout this morning we did a couple of tabata drills along with our tabata run and then finished off with 4 - 400 meter runs with 40 squats after each lap.

Upcoming Races: Summit High School will be hosting a 5k race on their Homecoming weekend and I encourage you all to participate and support the school. Click on SUMMIT 5k for all info and online registration.

Wednesday at home workout: If you are not making it to class you should definitely be doing these at home workouts as part of your endurance training program. Here it goes for Wednesday, no weights needed:

5 Rounds of

• 20 squats


• 20 pushups


• 20 situps


• 20 jumping lunges


• 20 mountain climbers

Fantastic run in Valley Park this morning - way to go Julie, Amy, Dawn, Gary, Bhairavi, Laurie!! Here is a funny marathon video that I thought you might all appreciate. Enjoy your day off tomorrow and I will see you all next week for more fitness fun.

Today was a tough hill workout, but exactly what is in order to make you stronger and faster. A couple of form reminders (taken from Runnersworld.com) to get you up the hills efficiently:
This Way Up

1 DRIVE HARD WITH YOUR ARMS.
Increase your armswing as if you're pulling yourself quickly up a rope, says Indiviglia.

2 PRESS FORWARD WITH YOUR HIPS.
As you run up, think about pressing your hips into the hill to avoid bending at the waist.

3 RUN WITH HIGH KNEES.
This will help increase your stride rate and further help you maintain good posture.

4 SPRING UP FROM YOUR TOES.
Push off your toes to create an upward lift that will help propel you forward.

Weekend Run: This weekend we are planning on meeting Saturday morning at the Valley Park Trail head at 6:30am for 6-8 miles. Comment to this post if you can make it.

Friday at home workout: We are dusting off the steps in class on friday and doing an old school stepping class with weights. If you can't make it go grab your dumbells and find a flight of stairs:
1.weights by your side - run up stairs and do 10 Thrusters (squat with weights at shoulders then press overhead as you stand up) walk down with weights and do 10 pushups(on step, on ground, on ground with feet on steps - pick your level)
2.walk up stairs with weights as fast as possible - every other step. 10 jumping jacks without weights, back down with weights and 10 tricep dips off of step.
Alternate this two step sequence for 20 minutes.

******NEW BOOT CAMP CLASS ADDED******

Starting this Friday Boot Camp will be offered at 5:15am, 6:15am, and 8:15am on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at Anytime Fitness. You are welcome to attend any day or time, so feel free to shake it up if you need to alter your times to make sure you get in to class.

Wednesday at home workout: If you missed class today you missed burpees and bear crawls. Only fair that you share in the misery - 10 burpee broad jumps, 20 walking lunges, 10 burpee broad jumps, 20 air squats, 10 burpee broad jumps, 10-30 ft bear crawls
Descriptions:
Burpee Broad Jump - Burpee, chest to ground, come up and broad jump as far as you can
Bear Crawls - Crawling on hands and feet, butt in the air

Thursday Run Workout: 5x hill run and walk down backwards then 5x backward hill run and walk down forwards, end with 4x side shuffle up and walk down (alternate directions)

Hope everyone was able to get in their run over the weekend with the storms on Saturday. This week we will be at the High School both Tuesday and Thursday. I am hoping to start an 8:15am bootcamp class this week, so I will keep you posted if there is enough interest. Please have anyone interested contact me.

Monday at home workout: 10,9,8,7....1 of each of the following - overhead press on swiss ball, bent over row, chest flys, swiss ball crunches. Grab a swiss ball and some weights (I used 8lbs)


Tuesday Run Workout: 9 rounds of 1 minute hard, 1 minute easy (hard is 85-90% effort, easy is slow recovery jog)

It is already Friday and we are nearing the end of the third week of training for the half marathon. Time to reflect and check yourself to make sure you are not slacking in any areas of the training program.
1.Speed work
2. Weekend long run
3. Strength and Conditioning workouts
4. Proper Nutrition
5. Sleep, recovery, and mobility/stretching

If you are struggling with one or more of these areas let me know and we can see what needs to be done to correct the situation.

If you missed class today we spent the morning working with Kettlebells. Kettlebells are a fantastic tool for overall conditioning and there are endless exercises that can be done with them to challenge every major muscle in your body! I am posting a video of the turkish get up that we went over today and if you don't have a kettlebell, use a dumbell to practice - 5 to 10 on each side. Make sure you keep your eye on the weight at all times and keep that arm locked out.

Friday at Home Workout: 5 turkish getups on each side. Rest 2 minutes then 100 jump squats (deep squat and explosive jump in the air). Each time you need to stop and rest do 2 pushups. End with 50 situps(knees bent, feet on the floor - touch hands to floor behind head and then come up into a full situp and touch the floor by your feet).

Last but not least: Bhairavi is organizing the weekend run since I will be out of town. Anyone who is interested can meet them at the Valley Park Trailhead at 6:30am on Saturday for your 5-7 miles.

Only meeting at 5:15 tomorrow morning - hope to see you then!

Took a bit of film today at our 6:15 class and wanted to share Julie's great Pose running form. Notice the foot landing underneath her and the pull with her leg. She also does a great job of keeping her midline stable and pumping her arms efficiently. Julie vs. Usain Bolt - I see the similarities! Click Here to see Julie and Watch Usain below for the ultimate lesson in Pose running.


Wednesday's At Home Workout: Go find a jump rope and complete as many rounds as possible in 15 minutes: Jump rope 1 minute, 5 pushups, 10 situps, 15 air squats (then right back to the jump rope)

Thursday Run workout - meet at the track at 5:15 or 6:15 4x800 repeats, walk a lap in between.

Great run today at Valley Park Trail. The weather was perfect and it looks like it is supposed to continue all week.

Monday at home workout: 10 cone touches (30 feet in between cones), 30 swings, 10 cone touches, 30 Sumo Deadlift High Pulls, 10 cone touches, 30 tricep kickbacks with an alternating rear lunge, 10 cone touches, 30 in-and-out situps

Tuesday Run workout: Meet at 5:15am or 6:15a at Summit Track 8X200 repeats, starting at the top of every 3 minutes (keep a running clock and faster your 200's are the more time you have to rest) ***Reminder - only 5:15am track workout on Thursday

GROUP RUN THIS SUNDAY 6:30 a.m. - Meet at Valley Park Trailhead parking lot (141N to left on Marshall Left up the hill to the lot) Planning on running 4-6 miles all paces welcome!

Nice to see most of you at the track this morning for 400 repeats. If you didn't come this morning make sure you hit the track sometime today and get your speedwork in. (Who is missing in this picture??)

Friday's workout is all about Kettlebells. Try to get to class but if you can't I am posting your at home workout option:

Friday at Home Workout: 1 minute plank, 1 minute air squats, 50 sec plank, 50 seconds side to side jumps over hurdle, 40 sec plank, 40 seconds mountain climbers, 30 seconds plank, 30 seconds burpees. Rest 3 minutes and repeat same sequence with side plank (switching 1/2 way through). Rest 3 minutes and repeat with pilates V hold.

Week 2 of German Volume Training today on the bench press - great job guys! If you didn't make it in to class this morning follow the at home option posted below. Also, thinking about starting an 8am bootcamp class on mondays, wednesdays, and fridays. Anyone have friends that may be interested?

Wednesday At Home Workout Option: Grab some dumbells and work through this circuit 5 times. 10 alternating forward lunges with bicep curls, 10 thrusters (squat with weights at shoulders and press weights overhead as you stand), 5 manmakers (plank on weights and row one arm, pushup, and row the other arm, 10 mountain climbers. Don't laugh at my first attempt at a demo video - working on music/sound next.


Thursday Run Workout: Back at Summit Track. 4-6X400 repeats with a 200 meter recovery walk in between

New week and looks like we will have a break in the weather, so no excuses - get to class and get those workouts in! Don't forget, we will be at the middle school tomorrow morning for hill work.

Monday at Home Workout: 50 lunge walks, 10 pushups, 40 lunge walks, 20 burpees, 30 lunge walks, 30 situps, 20 lunge walks, 40 mountain climbers, 10 lunge walks, 50 jumping jacks - complete for time, no slacking!

Tuesday Run Workout: 10 hill repeats at middle school hill or 40-50 second hill, run up and walk down to recover keeping runs within 3 seconds of each other. Watch the Pose Running for Hills video on the side bar**

GERMAN VOLUME TRAINING
I've had some questions regarding German Volume Training and I wanted to share with you a little more info on why we are weaving elements of this method into our weekly work. Fitness guru, Charles Poliquin, speaks volumes (no pun intended) on this subject. Click Here to read all the details on GV Training. I think he sums it up best by explaining:

"The program works because it targets a group of motor units, exposing them to an extensive volume of repeated efforts, specifically, 10 sets of a single exercise. The body adapts to the extraordinary stress by hypertrophying the targeted fibers. To say this program adds muscle fast is probably an understatement. Gains of ten pounds or more in six weeks are not uncommon, even in experienced lifters!" - Charles Poliquin

I believe this method is worth a try because it is great for athletes of all levels, it is simple to follow (thought tough to do!), it's effects are felt immediately, and results are seen very fast. So, prepare to get strong like the Germans!

Friday at home workout: 30 seconds on, 30 seconds rest X 6 of each exercise:
1. jump rope
2. plank
3. jumping lunges
4. wall sit (in squat - don't cheat and hold on to your legs or the wall)
5. burpees
6. hold dumbells overhead, arms straight, core tight or hold a handstand against the wall

Have a great weekend and make sure to get your run in early before it gets too hot!

The focus of our track workout today was midline stabilization. Maintaining a strong core as you run is essential in keeping good form and keeping your energy focused on the only parts of your body that should be moving - your legs, feet and arms. Remember that your lean forward should come from your ankles and not your hips. Watch video for example



We also touched on Myo-Fascial Release with a pvc pipe in place of a foam roller. Haven't tried a foam roller yet? Check out the this page at Sports Fitness Advisor for a great explanation of why you should be spending some time with the foam roller.

Details for the 5K Run on Saturday:
5K Run/Walk: Rain or shine, the route will begin at the top of the Meramec Levee – Arnold’s Grove

Trailhead near Highway 141. 1st 25 registrants will receive a T-shirt. Bring the whole family

Time: Event starts at 7:30am

Cost: $15.00/person

Hope everyone got there one mile time trial in this morning. Keep track of your times so you can see your improvement over the next 12 weeks. It will also help you in predicting your pacing for future workouts. Thursday we will meet at the Summit track again, and your weekend run is a timed 5k. If you are looking for a race to run Karen has informed me that Sacred Heart is holding a 5K Saturday morning. I will post the details as soon as I get them.

Wednesday, August 3rd: We are going to start a German Volume Training Series in Bootcamp this week - intrigued? Make sure to hit class every Wednesday over the next 6 weeks to work on increasing our bench press strength. At Home Workout Option:
Run up stairs holding 8-10 lb dumbells. At the top do 10 overhead presses and 10 bent over rows. Leave the weights at the top and run down the stairs. Do 10 pushups at the bottom (hands on the lowest step you can perform with good form). Run back up and get weights and run back down. Rest 30 seconds and repeat this sequence for a total of 5 Rounds.

Thursday, August 4th: Meet at the Summit Track at 5:15am or 6:15am for 4X400 repeats and more POSE instruction.

******OFFICIAL ROCK N ROLL TRAINING BEGINS THIS WEEK*******

It is Monday, August 1st and we are ready to RockN Roll into our official training program. As a reminder, this program is modeled off of the CrossFit Endurance methodology which means higher intensity and lower miles, perfect pose running technique, strength and conditioning atleast 3 days a week, and good fuel and good rest. Spread the word and bring a friend to the Summit Track tomorrow to get started with our 1 mile time trial.

Monday S&C: Push up Waves, L-Sit Waves, and Pull up Waves in class today.
At home option: 5 Rounds of:

• 30 seconds from forearm plank to hand plank and back


• 30 sec plyo lunges


• 30 sec rest


• 30 sec crab walk


• 30 sec squat jumps


• 30 seconds rest

Tuesday Run: Meet at the Summit Track for 1 mile time trial and Intro to Pose Running

Looking for a good Post Workout Breakfast? Check out my High Protein Banana Bread recipe on the Paleo Food Blog.