Dear Blaine,

I have been reading your newsletter for some time now and i love all your tips. My question however is this: Is it possible that running is a sport that will never develop for some people?

I am a triathlete with running as my weaker discipline. I am training for my first half- marathon and have started running many more miles than ever before. My frustration is that it never feels easier and my assumption that long runs of 8-10 miles would instantly translate to more comfortable or maybe even faster 5k times. No such luck for me.

I also incorporate hill runs, intervals on the treadmill, striders/sprints at the end. It still feels tough, like my body is tired. I try to eat as healthy as possible to fuel the machine, but alas I struggle with running. Any suggestions for those of us who want to run happy, but just feel genetically doomed?

Thanks,
Heather

Heather,

That’s a great question!

It is definitely true that some people are more genetically programmed to be good runners than others, and that only a small percentage of them actually go out and run (but that’s another subject…)

If your body is feeling tired while you are running, then there is probably something wrong with your training that isn’t right for you. I’m going to go on an assumption that you feeling run down for most of your run (and for the majority of them) based on how I read your email, so the first thing I think of is that it may be related to food.

Food, Diet & Running

You say that you are eating a healthy diet, which is always good, but when are you eating your meals? Do you eat anything before your runs so that you have some fuel while you are working out? Are you eating anything shortly after your workouts so that your body will have the fuel it needs to repair your muscles rather than just shutting down and leaving you sore? What foods are you eating before & after?

My next thought after singling out food would be that perhaps you are over training.

Overtraining and Hammering Workouts

How fast are you running? How hard are your other workouts during the week?

Are all of your runs some sort of hill workout or treadmill intervals or striders or sprints?

I have quite a few triathlete friends that have burnt themselves out by hammering 6 speed workouts a week (2 swimming, 2 biking and 2 running) plus doing a long run and then wondering why they’re so run-down and tired.

Their thinking is that if they use different muscle groups then they are still getting the chance to recover, and when they were younger that might even have been the case but now they are all having to start to slow down a little for at least half of those workouts or else switch up which discipline they concentrate on from week to week.

My first advice here might be to look at your overall schedule to see if you are trying to do back to back hard workouts (even if they are different disciplines) and also to look at whether it might be in your best interest to slow down on your runs.

Rest and Recovery

The third thing, which is very closely related, is how much rest are you getting each week? If you don’t recover from your workouts, you can’t improve.

Recovery is the process of repairing the damage done to your muscles during a workout, and every athlete needs some down time to give their muscles a chance before stressing them out again.

That doesn’t necessarily mean taking a day off completely, but it does mean that you do need some less intense workouts now and again.

(I go into a lot more detail on all 3 of those suggestions in my 3 Components of an Effective Workout report…)

The Effects of Boredom

The last suggestion I have without more details would be to look at where you are running. If you aren’t enjoying yourself, then maybe you should try changing things up.

If you are on a treadmill most of the time, try getting outside instead.

If you are always on the roads, then try finding some trails to run on.

If you usually run alone, join a club and find some running partners (just make sure they aren’t too fast for you if you are trying to slow down!)

What are your thoughts?

What advice would you give to Heather, or to another triathlete that might be having the same problem with her running (or swimming or biking for that matter?)

By the way, I did hear back from Heather, and she said that she is guilty of hammering 6 times a week (although one of those workouts was her long run) and that her pre-workout nutrition is basically non-existant.

(Photo Credits: Jimmy Harris & Matt Coats)

If you are a Cape Elizabeth resident, you can register tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. and can avoid trying to beat the rush of the other 10,000 people that want to run for 24 hours (or at least until the 600 reserved slots are registered.)

Everybody else can try to register on Saturday morning.

Here are the full details direct from the folks at B2B:

Andy is the voice of the Mount Washington Road Race and has announced other premier events such as the Beach to Beacon 10k.

He is very well known in the New England area and always does a great job with any race he’s involved with.

Unfortunately, I’ll be out of town to watch the Boston Marathon (and possibly run Exeter) that weekend so I won’t get a chance to say hi and welcome him to Portland.

(Patriot’s Day 5 Miler)

However, if you put on a non-championship RRCA race, then you can now benefit from discounted rates when purchasing Gatorade products for your race.

Products available through the purchase program include:

• Gatorade Thirst Quencher lemon-lime powder in 14-51 oz. cased – $86.00/case
• 8 oz. cups – $79.50 per case
• 7-gallon coolers – $54/unit

The new program can help race directors save about a third of the cost on aid station supplies.

(More info: RRCA)

Hours on the roads, quick stops at restaurants, and bad hotel food served to captive audiences can easily lend itself to a “not quite right” feeling in your gut even a week after you get home and back to your normal diet.

There are a few tactics you can follow to improve matters, though.

First, bring a canteen with you and refill it with water regularly. If you have to, even bottled water beats drinking nothing but soda or coffee, but the more water you can drink the better off you will be no matter where you are.

Second, bring some fresh fruit with you or stop and buy some when you get where you are going. Apples and bananas can travel well, especially if you are driving.

Third, have plenty of healthy snacks to get you through your day.

I was at a seminar last week that had the usual bland and not particularly healthy food easily available at the hotel. There were a few restaurants around the hotel, but none within quick walking distance so the hotel had it made.

Thankfully, I had a barrel of pretzels, a few different types of dried fruit and nut mixes, and my trusty canteen to get me through most of the days so that I wasn’t starving come meal times and could take the time to find some better options for at least a few of the meals.

Normally I’d have made some beef jerky or apple leathers to bring with me as well but I hadn’t had time before the conference so I had to make do.

What are your strategies for when you are eating on the go?

(Photo Credit: Nemo’s Great Uncle)

Here’s a news clip prior to his run from last week:

Gary has now run 60 marathons, and plans to still be running them under 3 hours in 10 years so that he can add another decade onto his feat. His secret?

“It’s probably luck and I was probably born with some genes that keep me going, but I’m also a real persistent and stubborn runner,” he says.

Congratulations, Gary!

The city of Houston will be investing $1.7 million dollars to manage the event logistics, athlete support, travel and prize money. The Marathon Trials will be held a day before the Houston Marathon on January 14, 2012, with the top 3 runners of both races getting a slot on the London Olympic Team.

The timing for Houston provides enough time to recover from the race before the Olympics, but is close enough to the early August start of the London Games for the race to still be relevant.

“As we expected, all three bids were remarkable, and all three bids had qualities that made each unique,” USATF CEO Doug Logan. “Ultimately, we feel that hosting the Olympic Trials at Houston will afford our athletes the best opportunity to succeed in London. What was most striking about Houston’s bid was their ability to integrate the Olympic Trials into their weekend of racing in a way that benefitted all parties, but first and foremost, the athletes.”

Houston last hosted the Olympic Marathon Trials in 1992, when they determined which women would be traveling to Barcelona.

Houston is a little more difficult for me to travel to then either Boston or New York (or Boston and New York, as the case was in 2008) but I think that it will be a good venue and I hope that I can get down there to watch.

I’ve already got 2 friends who have qualified and a group of my college teammates are currently training for the Trials so I really hope that I’ll be able to see at least a few of them competing as well.

There are normally 2 qualifying standards, an “A” standard that is all expenses paid and a “B” standard that allows you into the race. For 2012, the men only have an “A” standard of 2:19:00 in the marathon, although they can also qualify with a 1:05:00 half marathon or a 28:30 10k.

The women’s “A” standard for the marathon is 2:39:00, although they can run a “B” standard time of 2:46:00 in the marathon, or 1:15:00 in the half marathon, or 33:00 in the 10k.

(More Info: USATF – Qualifying Standards: Men – Women – Image Courtesy: London 2012)

Go here if you want to see my photos from the 2008 Women’s Trials:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/45929840@N00/sets/72157604682112162

Very motivational; it makes me want to go outside and run right now. (Not that I usually need very much to make me want to do that, heheh…)

Here’s the video:

(Hat Tip: David Hananburg)

They are a more effective way to get some traction in slick conditions and cost a lot less than some other solutions such as Stabilicers or Yak Trax.

Can there be anything better?

Well, maybe.

The folks that make Ice Spikes sent some trial packages over to a friend of mine so I got to test some out (and they were nice enough to give a few sets away during my 1 More Mile for Sunshine Challenge) so myself and the other Trail Monsters have been testing them out for the past month and a half.

Here is the claim:

ICESPIKE™ is a simple, effective and lightweight solution to inadequate traction devices. ICESPIKE™ ends frustration with clumsy and cumbersome strap-on attachments. ICESPIKE™ ice spikes are easily installed on the sole of any shoe or boot. Each ice spike provides outstanding traction and is unsurpassed in hardness and durability. The ICESPIKE™ system includes thirty-two patented ice spikes and one precision ICESPIKE™ tool for installation. ICESPIKE™ is a semi-permanent non-slip grip shoe system that can’t fall off, break, get lost or left behind. Outfitted with ICESPIKE™, any footwear can be winterized into ice safety shoes or ice safety boots. Don’t be discouraged by winter ice and snow – with ICESPIKE™ you are always ready and able to navigate any conditions with confidence.

Click here to skip straight to my comparison of the two options.

To give the Ice Spikes a good and fair test, I wanted to compare them directly against a normal pair of screw shoes.

Since I had recently purchased 2 new pairs of my favorite trail shoes, I outfitted one pair with screws and one with the Ice Spikes.

The Ice Spikes come with a “precision ICESPIKE™ tool for installation”, which is basically just a screwdriver with a hex head.

A cordless drill is much easier and faster than using the screwdriver that comes with them, but I got to test both methods since the battery in my cordless dies after about 3 minutes of use and I made the screw shoes first.

A screwdriver is much more time consuming than using the drill. But, it works fine.

So, the next question is, how good is the grip of the ice spikes? They look much more aggressive than the standard #6 hex head screws that I normally use, but how much better grip can it give you?

Running Conditions

On dry pavement, they clicked and clacked the same as the sheet metal screws, but weren’t really noticeable under my feet. This is no different than the sheet metal screws.
Advantage: Both

In powdery snow conditions, both the sheet metal screws and the Ice Spikes provided plenty of grip and I had no trouble running through those conditions.
Advantage: Both

In sheer ice conditions, the real beauty of the Ice Spikes came through. While running next to friends using normal screw shoes during 1 More Fat Ass for Sunshine (a 50k run I organized at the end of the challenge) I had no trouble while they were still slipping and sliding around. Conditions were very slick. I also found I had no trouble lake running a few weeks ago despite the slick conditions, and have done quite a bit of slipping and sliding on the occasions that I’ve gone out with the normal screw shoes now that the ice is only patchy.
Advantage: Ice Spike

On non-snow covered trails, the sheet metal screws and the Ice Spikes seem to both dig up the ground; I’m guessing that the sheet metal screws are causing less of an impact but I didn’t look to closely on the few times I’ve run through open fields that weren’t frozen solid with either pair.
Advantage: Neither

Cost

When considering the cost, sheet metal screws are certainly much cheaper. If you buy screws by the hundred (which I do since I provide screws to the folks I coach when the roads are slick) then it costs about 50 cents to a dollar per shoe. If you go and just buy the individual screws, then it won’t cost more than $2 per shoe unless you are really getting ripped off. Ice Spikes cost $25 for an intro pack with 32 spikes and the screwdriver, or $15 for a refill pack of spikes, which comes to about $5 per shoe.
Advantage: Sheet Metal Screws

Mileage

Now, that isn’t the whole story, of course…Ice Spikes are supposed to last longer than sheet metal screws, so depending upon how many you lose and how many miles you run, the effective price may actually be less.

During this test, I did not lose any Ice Spikes and only lost 1 sheet metal screw.

However, at least 2 of my friends have lost most of their Ice Spikes. I think that a lot of that has to do with putting them into shoes that had previously had sheet metal screws in them.

As for why that is, my guess is that the screws were thicker so that is why their spikes got lost so easily.

I’ve only had them this one season so I can’t say with certainty yet if removing them and then replacing them will cause the same issue with the spikes falling out. I know that I’ve not had that trouble with normal sheet metal screws.

So, if you want to put something into shoes which have previously had screws, you are probably better off using sheet metal screws again. If it is a new pair of shoes, you can choose either without having to worry. If the shoes previously had Ice Spikes, then let me know how it works out for you, you’ll probably be fine with more Ice Spikes.
Advantage: Neither

So how fast do the Ice Spikes wear down compared to the sheet metal screws?

Is it realistic to expect to get the 500 miles their website claims they’ll last? How long do sheet metal screws last?

When I took these photos, I had about 90 miles on the Ice Spikes and about 79 miles on the sheet metal screws.

I’ve found that my sheet metal screws usually last around 100-150 miles depending upon which part of my foot they are on; now that the pair of shoes with sheet metal screws has around 115 miles on them I’ve already replaced about a half dozen screws per shoe and just haven’t found the time to replace the rest.

You can see in the pictures how much less wear there has been on the Ice Spikes. Even the ones that have seen the most wear are still providing plenty of grip. Based on what I’ve seen, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect 200-500 miles depending upon placement and the terrain you run on.
Advantage: Ice Spikes

Summary 

So which are you better off purchasing, sheet metal screws or Ice Spikes?

They seem to be pretty equivalent when you count the features, so you need to see what’s more important to you.

Both products will help you keep your feet when it’s slick, but Ice Spikes will provide more traction in the icier conditions.

From a price standpoint, sheet metal screws will probably be cheaper, especially if you don’t run very far during the Winters and can get through an entire season without having to replace any screws. If you rotate shoes or have different shoes for different conditions, then sheet metal screws will almost certainly save you money.

If you do run a lot, though, the Ice Spikes might be the better choice because even if they come out a little more expensive than the sheet metal screws, they will give you more even traction throughout the season and will save you the hassle of having to replace them constantly. As sheet metal screws wear down (providing less traction) and have to be replaced the price does begin to even out.

Sheet metal screws can be bought online at Amazon.com or by going to your local hardware store. You can learn more about Ice Spikes or purchase a set at their website: www.icespike.net

Have you ever bought a bad pair of shoes? I got an updated version of my favorite pair of shoes, which were only supposed to have had very minor changes. I went out for a long run, and had really tired and sore feet afterwards. They claimed they only made very minor changes, but my old pair with 500 miles feels more cushioned. Usually, the new pair leaves my feet and legs feeling happy.

I have gotten a bad pair of shoes before.

I bought a pair of my favorite trail shoes that didn’t last too long. I’ve got about 700 miles on my first pair and am still using them, and only got about 80 miles out of the second pair before the tread on the sole ripped apart.

I’ve gotten a few new pairs since then that have 60 miles and 100 miles on them and they seem like they are going to last just as long as the first pair.

That second pair clearly had some manufacturing problems because they had started showing signs they wouldn’t last within about 30 or 40 miles.

That said – I don’t usually have a problem going right into a long run or a race with a new pair of shoes of a model I know my feet like, but the problem here is more likely because you bought an updated version your shoes.

There’s no such thing as an updated version (no matter how minimal the changes) that shouldn’t be considered and distrusted like any other new shoe you try out. The shoe industry makes it’s money by constantly changing shoes up so that people have to stock up on the old models they like and buy new models to have the latest and greatest.

Obviously, there are some small shoes companies such as Loco or Vitruvian that you can be reasonably confident aren’t going to change their shoes from one model to the next, but they are the exception to the rule and base their marketing around that.

If you do get a defective pair of shoes, you can usually bring them back to the store you bought them from or contact the manufacturer for a refund or replacement pair. Especially if the shoes are obviously defective, you shouldn’t have too much of an argument with trading them in.