All articles written by local runners or members
TRAINING FOR THE FIREKRACKER 5K by Jonathan Zeif
Many members will be running in the FireKracker 5k on July 4th at City Park and have been traing and focusing on it as a key race for the season. The course is flat and fast with a big field and spectators on hand. I have outlined below some things you can do to make sure you have your best race possible. This information can really be used for any big race that you may be training for.
In the days leading up to the race is time your workouts should become focused so you can stay sharp. Track workouts are the best for 5K training. Another option is the Fort Collins bike trail system where there are quarter mile distances (approximately 400 meters) marked off which you can use as well.
Warm up for all workouts with 800 to 1600 meters of easy jogging, and follow up with an easy cool down of about 800 meters. Her's a sample of the final week's workout:
6 days to go: 6x400 at race pace with a 400 meter recovery jog between each repeat.
5 days to go: rest
4 days to go: 4x400 at race pace
3 days to go: 3x400 at race pace
2 days to go: 1x800 at race pace
1 day to go: Rest! If you really feel that you need to burn off some nervous energy, you can go out for an easy 1 mile jog just to loosen up.
These workouts will also help you get the feeling of your race pace. Another thing that you can do to improve your race performance is visualization. What this involves is rehearsing in your mind what will unfold and / or how you want to feel during the race. Visualization is also called guided imagery.
Close your eyes and picture yourself at the starting line. Look around. Try and imagine as much as you can about the scene. What emotions are you experiencing? Choose the way you want to feel. After the starter's gun goes off, see each part of the course unfolding as you want it to. Perhaps you want to see yourself closing in and passing that runner in your age group that you haven't been able to catch lately. You make the final turn and the finish line is ahead. You are finishing fast and strong!
Starting one week out, repeat this visualization each day as well as the morning of the race. You might want to do it immediately after your workouts while you are still on the track, or you can try it as you fall off to sleep at night. Include as much detail as possible. It actually has been documented that visualization can potentially improve your 5K race time and might be well worth the investment of time.
Jonathan has been running for over 25 years and has completed races from 1 to 100 miles, as well as many triathlons and bicycle races. He has a Master Degree in nutrition and is available for personal coaching to help you reach your fitness goals. He can be reached at 493-5220.
RUNNING MYTHS by Selby Treth
Muscles recover more quickly if I sit in a hot tub, right? WRONG! Although we will not deny that it feels wonderful to sink into a hot bath after a hard workout on a cold winter's day, you might want to reconsider. When your muscles have been active, they have been already heated up. Cold reduces swelling and intially restricts blood flow, providing a natural compress on the microscopic tears in the tissue that are leaking blood into the traumatized area. Shortly, the body will recruit new blood to the cold area that flushes out metabolic wastes and lactic acid.
If I am constantly getting injured on one side, that must mean that I have a leg length discrepancy, right? WRONG! Significant leg length discrepancies are not that common. A tight hamstring on one side can jack the other side of the pelvis up, as can a tight IT band. When the pelvis is free floating and flexible, the leg length discrepancy may mysteriously disappear.
Resting or immobilizing an exhausted or injured muscle will speed healing, right? WRONG! Immobilizing an injury shuts the muscle down and restricts blow flow. Opening a muscle or joint up and encouraging blood flow to oxygenate the area and flush out waste is usually the way to go. The best way to treat a non-serious injury is MICE. Move it, Ice it, Compress it, and Elevate it.
I always must warm up before I stretch, right? WRONG! Stretching is warming up. As you stretch you are pumping blood to the muscles. Following a workout, an identical routine can help flush metabolic waste such as lactic acid that accumulate in a stressed muscle.
Drink when I'm thirsty, right? WRONG! If you've waited to drink until you feel thirsty, it's too late. Thirst is a symptom of dehydration. You should plan to hydrate before, during, and after your run. Plain water is good, but some athletes prefer sports drinks that hydrate as well as replace electrolytes lost in sweating and carbohydrates such as glucose, sucrose, fructose, and glucose polymers. It is best to drink water before your run to hydrate you, and sports drinks later during your workout when your body needs the carbs and is prepared to handle and use the sugars you are taking in.
The older I get, the less flexible I'll become, right? WRONG! There is an acknowledged biological decrease in flexibility as a person ages. However, there is increasing evidence that the decreases in physical function we commonly associate with aging are not entirely related to advancing years, but to sedintary lifestyle. When aging is coupled with an increasingly sedintary lifestyle, muscle atrophy is the result. The axiom "Move it or lose it" may mean your life - literally. It is never too late to start aerobic, strength, and flexibility training.
Improvement of performance comes from working harder, right? WRONG! You need to rest. The sports performance cycle works like this: first you stress a muscle or system, literally tearing it down. The muscle rebuilds, coming back a little stronger. When you repeat, it rebuilds even more strongly. If the interval between workouts is insufficient, you don't give your body time to rebuild. The key to a successful progression in getting stronger is to honor the interval of time needed for your body to rebuild - roughly 48 hours. This doesn't mean that you can be active only every other day. It just means that you must do different things at different intensities on sequential days. The rest in between hard runs will allow the rebuilding and you'll get full benefit from your workout. Good clues of over-training include soreness, tightness, unexplained colds, sleep disorders, and lack of progress.
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