Archives for November 2014

I’m always training for something

OperationMove · November 21, 2014 · Leave a Comment

Did you know there is a running off-season? There is! And it’s now! That’s not to say that there aren’t a few events in December and January. There are. I appear to be running 50km in December here. Who’s idea was that? But the vast majority of the bigger running events tend to be between March and October. Because HEAT. And although this might be less of an issue for certain Ballarat-dwellers who I have it on good authority were actually cold on their run on the weekend, around where I live I can look forward to temperatures of 25 degrees at 5am. Delicious.

It’s common to question what the plan is over the summer period for a whole heap of reasons.

1) It’s so hot. Like seriously gross.
2) You have that 6 week chunk of school holidays to deal with if you have kids.
3) There’s Christmas. You have to go and shop at all of these places that are not Lululemon or Nike.
4) There’s not much to train for anyway, so you might as well take it easy.

It’s true. It is hot, it is gross. I will probably have to reduce my running and crossfit over the school break because it’s just harder to get to. It’s a busy time of year. But the things I like to keep in mind are the fact that any training you do in gross heat is going to show big dividends that you probably won’t even notice until it cools down. Because there are no races to interrupt your training it is an awesome time of year to do exactly that, train. For me racing with the recovery and tapering can interrupt the flow of my training – so the summer period gives me months of uninterrupted time to train.

Top things to train for over Summer:

1) Aerobic base. I’m doing that at the moment with low heart rate training. Not having high intensity running in the heat is not something I overly miss.
2) Short distance. A great way to build towards a longer distance is to really consolidate your short distance. If you speed up your 5k run, your 10k distance is going to benefit from that. And the cool thing about training for a 5k is that most of your runs will be pretty short.
3) Strength training. Great time to focus on your cross-training efforts without being interrupted by pesky races. I’m really looking forward to spending more time at Crossfit over the next few months.

Part of what keeps me motivated is always having something to train for. Not everyone operates this way, but i certainly do. If I wasn’t training for something, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself. I thrive on the structure of it. If I am moving forward, I am moving in the right direction.

So, what are you training for?

Interpreting running jargon

OperationMove · November 19, 2014 · 2 Comments

If I had a dollar for every time someone said to me ‘I have no idea what you just said’ I’d have about $20. That’s a decent amount of coffee. One of the cool things about any sub-culture is that it has its own language – but that’s also the kind of thing that can intimidate people from being part of it which is definitely not a good thing at all. The ultimate goal of any coach is to have as many people engaged in the sport for as long as possible. That’s pretty much it. You don’t want to be scaring people off by using words like ‘tempo’, or ‘anaerobic threshold’ to describe a type of run to new runners. Because lets face it for the most part, to new runners, all runs feel EXACTLY the same, a bit like you are dying. Until you finish and then you are Queen of the universe.

So here it is a quick guide to runners jargon.

Aerobic

Running at an intensity that is easy enough for your respiratory and cardiovascular systems to deliver all or most of the oxygen required by your muscles and slow enough that lactic acid doesn’t build up. You will here people refer to it as a ‘conversational pace’. This means you should be able to hold a full conversation while running at this pace. It is supposed to be slow. If you have the endurance, you could run at this pace for a very long period of time.

Anaerobic

Running at an intensity where your body can’t deliver the oxygen needed by your muscles and fast enough that lactic acid begins to build up. This can’t be sustained for very long.

Anaerobic Threshold

The transition between aerobic and anaerobic running where your body is creating lactic acid but is still able to remove it. This type of running will teach your muscles to use the oxygen it does receive more efficiently.

Bonk

Hitting the wall. When your glycogen stores become so depleted that you hit a wall of fatigue. Not an issue in short races but can be a a common experience in the marathon distance.

Cadence

The number of steps per minute. Believe it or not, for efficient running you are looking at 180 steps per minute. Fast feet!

Chip Time

During most races your bib will have a chip to record when you cross the start line and when you cross the finish line to give you your chip time. This gives you an accurate time for your race. When you are reading results you’ll often see ‘gun time’ vs ‘net time’. Net time is the actual time, whereas gun time is from the start of the race. They can be several minutes apart, depending on how long it takes you to get to the start line!

DNF

Did not finish

DNS

Did not start

DOMS

Delayed onset muscle soreness. This usually peaks around 48 hours after a high intensity effort, weight training or a long run.

Fartlek

Swedish word meaning ‘speed play’ – a mixture of slow running, steady running and fast running.

Foot Strike

Describes the first part of the foot that hits the ground when running. Some people will be heel strikers because the heel hits the ground first. Others will be forefoot or midfoot strikers.

Intervals

Intervals are typically shorter sprint distances (commonly 400m or 800m) followed by a period of recovery running. They build speed and endurance.

LSD

Typical abbreviation for the long run – long, slow distance.

Negative splits

Running the second half of a race faster than the first half.

Splits

Your time for each kilometre.

Strides

Short and fast accelerations to maximum speed, followed by a deceleration. A stride would generally be 50m-150m.

Taper

Runners reduce mileage (or taper) anywhere in between one day to three weeks depending on their race distance. This helps your body to recover to be at peak performance on race day.

Tempo Runs

Tempo runs are often described as a comfortably hard effort. In reality it’s about half way between your interval speed and your easy speed. You should be able to talk in short phrases on a tempo run. A tempo run is designed to get you comfortable sitting on your lactate threshold and should raise your lactate threshold so you can run faster.

VO2Max

This is a measure of aerobic fitness and is the maximum rate of oxygen consumption.

Any other words that we should add to the list?

5 Things you might not know about Crossfit

OperationMove · November 14, 2014 · 2 Comments

1. It’s not as intimidating as it seems

A lot of people have an impression of Crossfit as a place that they are not coordinated enough for or fit enough for or that it would be too scary for someone who has never done weights before. The reality is that nothing could be further from the truth. There’s always a modification to an exercise that you can do so you are still getting the benefit of the movement. I can’t do pull ups. I can’t do negative pull ups. But I can do ring rows.

2. You are just as likely to be encouraged to go down in weight as you are up

I often get told to go down in weight. You go up as long as the technique is still good. But once the technique suffers, you go down.

3. People are competitive with themselves but it’s a team environment

It doesn’t matter what level you are at, you are going to receive just as much encouragement as everyone else and people are going to celebrate your achievements with you. One of the things I really enjoy about Crossfit is the community aspect.

4. There is more to it than the high intensity workout

The high intensity workout will often only last for ten minutes or so and is done at the end. But the part that I most enjoy is the Skill/Strength section that you do before that. That’s where you build up to a heavy weight doing a dead lift or work on the technique of a particular lift. That is fast becoming my favourite part.

5. It’s no more or less risky than other types of exercise

Risk is a comparative thing really. But in terms of injury it’s pretty much on par with any other type of training you would do. I guess the benefit of Crossfit is that when I’m doing something with poor form there is someone there to tell me that. Don’t have the same benefit when I’m out on a run and my core isn’t engaged.

How weight loss might be sabotaging your training

OperationMove · November 12, 2014 · 1 Comment

You would think that running (or any form of training) and weight loss would be happy partners, but actually they are not. It seems like they would be great friends at first. If you are lighter, you can run faster, right? And often you feel a bit healthier being a bit lighter too and that’s bound to be a good thing, surely?

The problem is that for performance you need to eat quite a lot. That’s true for running and that’s true of weight training. If your body isn’t getting the nutrients it needs then you are going to feel tired and sluggish and you aren’t going to get the results out of your workouts that you want. I find particularly for me as a vegetarian getting all the nutrients I need can be quite challenging. Some days it feels like I eat all the time! Getting all the carbohydrates, protein and fats to get me to peak performance means that I can’t really afford to cut any calories out.

So what do I do when I want to get down to racing weight?

1) I aim for a calorie deficit, but it’s a really small calorie deficit. So on days when I do no exercise I try to keep myself at about 1900 calories – which is about 100-200 below my maintenance. On days when I do exercise I add those calories on, so I still only have a very small deficit. On a day where I do crossfit and go for a run eating 2,500-3,000 calories would not be unusual.

2) I put a higher priority on nutrient dense foods than on staying under a calorie limit. I keep track of the calories more to make sure that I’m getting enough protein and carbohydrates and so I’m being mindful in my food choices. Ultimately, I know I am in a better position for performance in training and for weight loss if I eat 3,000 calories of nutrient dense food as opposed to 1,500 calories of processed food.

3) I eat six meals a day and I focus on eating soon after I’ve gone for a run or been to crossfit. Food for me during the day might be a green smoothie, a fruit salad with greek yoghurt and LSA, a chickpea salad, vege sticks with hummus, a tofu and vegetable stir fry and a protein shake. Like I said, it’s a lot of food.

4) To keep track of my progress I pay more attention to measurements than to the scale. Because I’m lifting weights I’ll often lose centimetres but gain weight.

5) I stay focused on what my goal is. The goal is what my body can do. Performance is more important than what I look like. The changes in my body are just icing on the cake.

6) I don’t stay overly rigid. Last weekend I had a date night that involved dinner and a movie. I had entree. I had main. I had dessert. And I had a huge amount of popcorn and ice cream. And I enjoyed every minute of it.

I’m happy for my progress to be slow. Because the number I really care about is the one on my running watch and the weight on my bar.

Meet a Mover Monday – Sara

OperationMove · November 10, 2014 · 7 Comments

Welcome to Meet a Mover Monday! Everyone has a story, and each week we will introduce you to one of our OpMovers so you can learn a little bit about theirs. We are all at different stages of our journeys, but we all started in the same place.

This week, say hi to Sara.

Hi, I’m Sara, I’m a 32 year old wife, mother of 1 (3 year old Worm) and a full time working banker.

I tend to have so many balls up in the air that describing who I am is honestly the most difficult question to ask. I am a runner, I am a triathlete, I am a mother and I am a friend.

When did you start running and why?

I started running many many years ago, I always remember running a little bit, but more seriously about 5 years ago, when I decided I was going to lose weight, and get fit. I was horrified at the photos taken of myself in a bikini on my honeymoon, and immediately knew that I needed to change something if I wanted to bring a family into this world.

Since then I have entered many half marathons, countless 10 & 5 km events, and I’ve even completed a couple of half ironman triathlons.

I have enjoyed pushing my daughter in her pram (I restarted running when Worm was 6 weeks old, so she & I have done many runs together) and I have enjoyed running solo – Running is my time.

What is your favourite distance?

I LOVE the half marathon distance, I’ve done 3 half’s and a couple more as part of triathlons. I probably call myself more a triathlete than a runner though, the art of juggling 3 sports, with work, and children is the challenge. I love racing. I don’t love training!

Top 3 must have gear?

Sports BRA – like a mega supportive my girls will NEVER move when I’m wearing type bra. My long term favourite is the Berlei ProElite underwire crop. It’s supportive, plus can be worn as a bikini top if you chose to strip off at the beach.

Good Shoes – don’t skimp on the footwear, whatever you chose to go with I highly recommend going to a specialist running store and getting fitted propertly. Leave the kids with someone else as the fitting will take 30-60mins and wear your sports bra as you will be running on a treadmill & seeing how the shoes feel in action, not just the colour!

Fave run post fuel?

I don’t have any kind of post workout routine – I am usually handed the Worm after a race, and if I get 5 minutes of stretching I’ll be happy. I drink water like I’m a fish, and tend to stick to basic electrolytes like Endura or Hyrdalyte on hot days when I’ve sweated a lot.

What do you listen to when you run?

I honestly don’t know… it changes so frequently, I like the Ministry of Sound Running Trax, but a good podcast can also help the kilometres go by. Because I do a lot on my treadmill I love The Sufferfest running video workouts – great music, video footage of amazing races and a structured workout (they don’t lie – the workouts are a true sufferefest!).

Tech lover or naked runner?

I go through stages…. I’ve been naked for the past few months whilst I’ve been between coaches, just exercising for myself, but I did get my Garmin out for my triathlon on the weekend. So I think I’m headed more into techno land again, just to have the information to analyse each workout.

Words of wisdom to new runners?

A run is a run

A jog is a run

A shuffle is a run

Don’t get caught up on the speed, slow it down and focus on keeping the running action going.

ALSO – you can’t compare yourself to others, everyone started with that first few kilometres of struggle, so be proud of every step you take, as each one is setting you up for the next and the next.

I am most proud of…

I’m really proud of getting the CQ Spin Sisters going in Rockhampton when we lived up there & also getting ParkRun off the ground where I live now in Murray Bridge. I embrace most opportunities to set a good example for busy women to get active and I believe I show them that it’s okay to prioritise YOU time along with family and work commitments.

If you’d like to share your moving story, please email your answers and a photo that you love to editor@operationmove.com.au

You never know who you might inspire to get moving!