Stride Out in Outer Space

Strideouts provide benefits for all distances from the 5k to the Marathon

Stride outs are a beneficial and enjoyable workout that can improve both leg speed and running form.

These should be done after a good warm up, or can be done at the end of an easy run and on the road, grass or track. During the cold winter months it can be difficult to find a safe outdoor surface to perform this workout. When the grounds are snow and ice-covered it is best to do them at an indoor track such as the one we rent at WMU. Treadmills don’t work as well for stride outs as other kinds of workouts because they are so short, and the speed adjustments don’t keep pace. As soon as the treadmill attains the desired pace, it is time to adjust back down again.

Stride outs are accelerations of approximately 100 meters each with a jog recovery of about 100 meters in between. If you heart rate train, it is not necessary to monitor heart rate for these workouts as your accelerations are short enough that your heart rate is still increasing when you slow to a jog.

The key to these is to accelerate smoothly up to full speed, then hold maximal speed for 40 – 50 meters. It is important not to run so fast, however, that you start to tighten up. This is not an all out 100 meter dash! During striders, you don’t want to strain, but practice running relaxed. The first part of each stride out will be used to gradually build to maximal speed.

During the stride out, concentrate on maintaining good running form and staying relaxed. Avoid tensing up in the neck, shoulders and arms. Since it can be difficult to concentrate on all aspects of good running form at once, focus on one element during each stride out. During one stride out, focus on keeping your jaw loose. During another, practice driving with your arms forward and backward. Practice pushing off from the balls of your feet during one, maintaining good posture during another, and keeping your shoulders relaxed during yet another.

You’ll obtain the greatest benefits from doing stride outs by performing them during a moderate training session. It is best not to do them the day after a hard track session or the day after a long run. Plan them a couple of days after your last hard workout, or at least a day before your next hard one. It is ok to do them the day before a long run; many runners feel better on their long runs when they have done a set of stride outs the day before.

Reference: Pfitzinger, P., and S. Douglas. 1999. Road Racing for Serious Runners. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Extra-Terrestrial Enquirer 2nd Edition!

A holiday spirit award winner...caught eating with chop sticks from a Pineapple!.

We’ve heard the hype and it’s finally here; THE movie for the marathon addict in us is coming to the big screen. The Spirit of the Marathon will be showing at the Kalamazoo 10 Theater on Thursday, January 24, 2008 only! More information and online tickets are available at Spirit of the Marathon.

What a spectacle to behold! The holiday spirit was alive and well at last Saturday’s Beyond Training run as runners arrived decked out in tinsel, Santa hats, blinking lights, reindeer antlers, festive ties and other holiday trimmings. The winners of the holiday dress up contest were Kayla Kling, Tim Kling and Pat Johnson! Congratulations all!

Hey, I know you from somewhere! What a small world it is indeed. Unbeknownst to either of them, Mark Breuer and Jeff Datillo both landed in outer space after completing the same MBA program. Jeff Datillo and his wife are expecting their first child and Jeff is trying to get in his spring marathon during the winter before his new arrival! Mark already has kids.

Speaking of Mark Breuer, there are many multi-sport enthusiasts lurking in the Beyond including Mark, top tri-athlete Megan James, Chris Roach, Andrew Vidor and Mandy Prior. Mark is a strong advocate of the FIRST training program from Run Less, Run Faster by Pierce et al. The FIRST program incorporates 3 quality run workouts a week, with the remaining days as rest or cross training days.

Tim Bredahl has been named the Beyond’s leading experimental guinea pig after dabbling in numerous training methodologies and goals. This time Tim is shifting his focus from faster running to longer running, and will be training to run the Kal-Haven Trail 33.6 mile run, and possibly his first ultra! Bob Poznanski and Giti Henrie are neck to neck in the in the running for the Beyond's unofficial "Most Improved Space Traveler" award. Mark Breuer will be presented with the first official "Warm Helping Hands" award for his display of cold weather volunteerism.

SHufflers leader Dan Sarkipato is Boston bound and double dipping by participating in the Beyond Marathon Training Program and leading the Galloway based SHufflers program. Rob Lillie, Julie Pomeroy and Tessa Emenheiser are exploring the reaches of outer space before heading to their posts at Borgess Run Camp.

Did you know members of a National Championship team lurk within the Beyond? S-Pace Leader Peggy Zeeb and Mission Commander Bonnie Sexton ploughed through muck and slush December 8 to compete with some of the top women’s masters runners in the country at the USATF Masters National Cross Country Championships in Westchester, Ohio. Peggy Zeeb brought home the hardware as part of the first place Front Line Racing A team, and reigning women’s masters National Champions. Bonnie was the second scoring woman as part of the 6th place Front Line Racing B Team! You can check out the ladies in action at USATF Women's National XC Championships on You Tube.

Hey Space Travelers; feel free to share your stories for the Extra-terrestrial Enquirer at any time! All stories in good taste are accepted for publication!

The Inside Story on Tempo and Lactate Threshold Training

A 10k race time can be used to predict training paces as well as times for other race distances using the Greg McMillan Running Calculator.
Pictured here are Julie and Jon Steeby running the Kalamazoo Klassic.

We are all aware that long runs are a staple of marathon training success. Lactate Threshold training is also a key ingredient and will stimulate the physiological changes to enable you to build stamina, run faster, and feel more comfortable at marathon pace. You will notice these are incorporated into your training schedule on Tuesdays. Lactate Threshold training is accomplished via Tempo (T) runs and Lactate Threshold (LT) or “Cruise” intervals

Tempo Runs are steady runs at lactate threshold pace that last 20 minutes or more. You should be able to maintain this pace for up to an hour in a race. In order to maintain a steady rhythm, it is recommended that tempo runs are done in mild weather conditions on flat even terrain; the goal is to maintain an even intensity of effort for a long period of time. Hills, uneven footing and poor weather conditions all interfere. A tempo run should be sandwiched between a good warm up and a cool down. Because they involve running at lactate threshold pace for a longer, concentrated period of time, tempo runs are a better use of training time than lactate threshold runs.

Lactate Threshold or “Cruise” Intervals are repeated runs at lactate threshold pace that last anywhere from 3 – 15 minutes and are broken up by short recovery periods. The brief recovery periods, which usually last about a minute, allow blood lactate levels to remain fairly constant and extend the training session a bit longer than a tempo run. Lactate threshold intervals can be anywhere from 800 meters to 2 miles in length and should also be sandwiched between a warm-up and cool down. The advantage of lactate threshold intervals is that they provide a break from the demands of the longer tempo run while still allowing an opportunity to benefit from a full lactate threshold session. They are easier to do. Like tempo runs, these should be done on a flat, even surface in mild weather conditions.

How fast should you run your Tempo and Lactate Threshold runs? After “renegade” camp leaders conferred on best marathon training secrets, we opted to lay aside the VDOT chart of yesteryear and point you to the Greg McMillan Running Calculator suggested by Dan Sarkipato. After testing by Beyond authorities, it was determined the tool provides similar results to Jack Daniel's VDOT chart. It provides not only Tempo (T)and Lactate Threshold (LT) (Cruise Interval) training pace, but also your Easy Long Run (E), Recovery Run and VO2 Max (VO2)(Speed) workout training paces as well. To use the Greg McMillan Running Calculator simply input a recent time for any race distance run while fit, and it will provide a personal calculation of your recommended training paces as well as predicted race times.

If you need to reference the VDOT chart or a number of other great training articles, check out the Kalamazoo Area Runners website Training Articles Page.

Extra-Terrestrial Enquirer Volume I

The Beyond's "Honorary" Mission Commander

Welcome to the Extra-Terrestrial Enquirer, the galaxy’s one and only marathon training tabloid. Read closely as you never know when you may find your name buried between the lines. Most of our tales are fact, some fiction and we always issue a huge disclaimer due to the inevitability of human error, omissions and just pure conjecture. We encourage anyone and everyone from the Beyond to share their stories (in good taste of course as this isn't your typical rag mag) Why, you ask do we publish the Enquirer? It's a great way to get to know each other!

It is fact that we welcome several relative newcomers to this corner of the Milky Way. Brian Abbot landed in Portage after taking off from the Saginaw area. We learned he has never run the near-by Carrollton Marathon, but he has ventured to Duluth to run Grandmas. Brian is also an expert in journalism and an attempt has already been made to recruit him to use his talents in the running world. Jim Murray (we think we have the right Jim) recently relocated from Cincinnatti to Kalamazoo. He reports he has never run the Flying Pig Marathon and is considering blasting off this spring to Toledo's Glass City marathon. Please extend a warm welcome to Brian and Jim! If anyone else is new to kzoo please let us know so we can welcome you!

The Beyond is now 85 participants strong and still growing. What planets are some of our other travelers targeting? We won’t hold anyone to the below as this falls under the realm of pure speculation. Plans change, people move, get injured, find a new target, a new job, a new interest, a new life, etcetera. We did think it would be fun, however, to know who is targeting where in the galaxy.

Once again we have an entourage of Boston qualifiers headed for Beantown and Heartbreak Hill, many for the very first time: Francine Bangs, Carole Bolthouse, Mark Breuer, Brian Dobbie, Giti Henrie, Angie Jonas, Edie Lane, Michelle Neel, Joel Pennington, Bob Poznanski, Ralph Meyer, Shufflers guru Dan Sarkipato, Julie Steeby, Brenda Stoddard and Mark Sigfrids. There are several other qualifiers considering the trip, but haven’t made the commitment yet. Sherri Defouw, Larry Defouw, Susan Miller and Kathy Neal are headed for destination Big Sur. Bill Barnhard, Trish Downard, Tessa Emenheiser, Rob Lillie and Cindi MacDonald are among those considering Bayshore. Katie Nelson, Steve Rice, Peggy Zeeb, Eric Zeeb are hoping to fly with the Pigs in Cincinatti, while Ron Reid is contemplating racing with the horses at Kentucky Derby. Marathon wine distributer Peter Gower is headed back for wine country at Napa Valley, Tammy Jewell for Country Music and Gale Fischer and Chris Roach the trails of Pinckney in April. Many others are undecided, half marathon training or just out there for the pure fun and cameraderie of it all.

Absent in body, with us in spirit, we have made Bob Smola an honorary Mission Commander. Bob will be missing in action from early Beyond misadventures due to recent surgery, but in typical Smola style leaves us with a story to share. This one is oh so very far out outer space but straight from the horse’s mouth....

“OK, I'll admit, I finally over did it this time! You can chew me out later, everyone else has. At the time, I didn't think it was a big deal. I unexpectedly caused quite a stir at Bronson Hospital yesterday morning (Tuesday). Let me explain. I wanted to get in one last long "easy" run prior to surgery. Sooooo! Yes, I actually "ran" to Bronson (32.7 miles). What a great workout! The only hard part was running on an empty stomach, since I had to fast the 12 hours before the procedure. No food or drink (not even water). That was a little tough. After my "Pre-Op", IV, EKG, etc, the nurses couldn't understand why my electrolytes and magnesium levels were extremely low. Also, every 5 or 6 seconds my heart was giving out a "double beat". That's when I mentioned the run. Boy! did that get the place buzzing!! After more tests, they found that everything was caused by dehydration. Needless to say, they postponed the surgery until today. As far as the operation itself, I was told everything went very well. However, my surgeon didn't think it was very funny when I asked if I could just "run" back home. Some doctors have no sense of humor! This rehab-recovery time should be interesting. He did mention something about a "straight jacket". I think he was kidding. I know now what I did was pretty silly. Live and Learn. Call me Crazy? Call me Stubborn?? Call me Dedicated??? Just never boring!! I'll be thinking of "ALL" of you while I'm "not running". Throw in a couple extra miles for me. "HAPPY HOLIDAYS" to everyone.
Take Care

Press On...

Bob (What the "HELL" were you thinking) Smola

Ease On Down, Ease On Down the Road

As you drift through outer space, set the cruise control, enjoy the scenery, engage in conversation and don’t forget to crack a few good jokes. Even during a group training run the adrenaline can flow and motivate you to run much faster than you need to. The purpose of easy runs and long endurance runs is to build aerobic conditioning and train the body to conserve fuel. These runs are done at about 45 – 1:30 min/mile slower than marathon race pace, 1:00 – 2:00 slower than half marathon race pace or 1:30 – 2:30 slower than 5k race pace. This should correlate to 65 – 80 percent of your maximum heart rate. You should be able to easily carry on a conversation.

Aerobic conditioning can be any distance run (or run/walk) of 20 minutes to three hours in duration. Depending on your goal time, fitness level, experience and race distance, the distance of your aerobic conditioning runs will vary quite significantly. Regardless of what distance you are training for, aerobic conditioning represents the majority of your training program. Endurance long & easy runs will:

*Increase the number of capillaries that can bring oxygen-rich blood to your muscles

*Increase the amount of oxidative enzymes within the muscle cells that help to use oxygen more efficiently

*Train the body to conserve valuable muscle glycogen supplies and use fat as fuelStrengthen the tendons and connective tissues

*Improve pulmonary capacity

If you repeatedly run your easy runs too fast, you will soon eventually find yourself in the black hole known as overtraining or on the injury list. Not only that, but the lingering fatigue from a long run done too hard will make it more challenging to complete quality lactate threshold workouts. The best benefit of all is that you will be able to carry on a conversation, get to know your training partners, enjoy the exploration of new territories and have fun on the run!

Don't Space Out on Space Safety!

Wear Winter Brights not Winter Whites!

Danger lurks everywhere and you are responsible for your own safety in life not to mention flying through outer space or along the roads of planet earth. Because we truly do care about all our running friends and the blog editor happens to be an overprotective mothership, we do serve up a few nifty safety tips as we begin our winter marathon training adventure. If you have ever dreamed of dressing up as a Christmas tree now is your chance. You will need to dress to be VISIBLE and run as though you are INVISIBLE! Runners are hit by cars and even bikes in many different settings and it is important to practice “defensive running” especially out on the roads! Here are some tips to help reduce your risk:

When running the roads, remember to run against traffic and stay far, far away from cars. When running in a herd, run one or two abreast. Don’t fill the road and certainly don’t run down the middle of the road. Whether we like it or not, the streets belong to vehicles, not runners! Watch especially for vehicles making a right hand turn and make sure you make eye contact with the driver. Most of the training program mishaps we have experienced in the past have occurred when a driver making a right hand turn is watching traffic approaching from the left. They don’t expect a runner approaching from the right. Always have an escape route planned should a vehicle appear to be at risk for hitting you.

Wear brightly colored clothing at all times and reflective clothing early in the morning or in the evening when it is dark. Lightweight reflective vests, blinking lights and even a headlamp are accessories that will help approaching vehicles see you. You will notice the difference when you wear a reflective vest or other accessories….more drivers dim their brights and move over because they see you much sooner! This is especially important during the Beyond Marathon Training Program when our runs begin before dawn.

Tune into the environment, not out! Stay alert to the sounds of approaching vehicles or cyclists. Obey traffic crossing signals. Turn off the IPOD or MP3 player. It is recommended you don’t wear headphones unless you are running in an area free of traffic. Save them for the runs on the trails! Enjoy a chat with running friends instead. After all, that is partly the rationale as to why we join a program such as the Beyond.

Whenever possible, try to stay off roads when driving conditions are slippery or visibility is poor. Avoid high speed roads, especially those with no shoulder. Evaluate weather conditions. In the case of extreme weather such as a blizzard or ice storm we may cancel the run, but it is your responsibility to evaluate conditions in your own area. As a general rule of thumb, if it is too dangerous to drive, it is usually too dangerous to run outdoors. Carry ID and money. In case of an accident you will need to be identified. Road ID is a great option. Also bring cash in case of emergencies or if you need to stop for food and drink.

Last of all, use the buddy system when you are running with a large group such as the Beyond. Have a running partner or small group of running friends hold each other accountable to make sure everyone returns. If someone gets lost or injured, please let your S-pace leader or a Mission Commander know the location the runner was last seen and the nature of the injury and if the runner was walking. Be aware of the symptoms of hypothermia as indicated in this Runner World Article. In cold, windy conditions a runner can become hypothermic very quickly, especially if they stop and walk.

Many of the Beyond runners training for earlier marathons will need to add on additional miles. Stay on course and add extra mileage on at the end of the run rather than go off the mapped course. If something happened off course it would be very difficult to locate you. Run safe, run smart and it will bring you one step closer to the finish line of your spring marathon. Take care of each other out there!