Why do we train?
To gain physical and mental benefits.
To get stronger.
To get faster.

All this requires something called “progressive overload.” Simply put, we slowly introduce more volume and intensity so that our muscles will respond by getting stronger and more accustomed to our efforts. Then we repeat the cycle, hoping to coax more out of our bodies.

As endurance athletes, the volume of training can get quite significant. Our competitive nature has us bumping up the intensity fairly regularly as well. All this can end with us feeling “wasted.” Since we are often more fit than our average couch potato friends, it is tempting to think we are somehow super-human. I have news…we are not!

The fact that we often lose sight of is that exercise breaks muscle fibres down so that they can be rebuilt to deal with the extra demand we are placing them under. That rebuilding takes place after the exercise is finished. This time should be treated as top priority if we want to realize the gains we’ve worked so hard for. There are three areas I think are important to concentrate on here so that training is not “wasted”:

Rest – Sleep and time away from training need to be a priority. Be honest with yourself and your sleep needs. If you are constantly tired, try to find a way to schedule more rest. You may find you need even more sleep as the volume and intensity increase.

Nutrition – Stay hydrated. We’ve all been guilty of going for coffee when we should be drinking water, juice or sports drink after a workout. The same goes for nutrition. Find out your recommended intake from a nutritionist or knowledgeable coach. In a nutshell, endurance athletes need more carbohydrates than sedentary people, among other nutritional considerations. Try to find quality food that is less processed wherever possible. Start with Canada’s Food Guide (see link on the right).

Self-help – If you are able to, get massage for those sore muscles. There are also self-therapy ideas you can try. Elevating your legs after a bike ride or run. Wearing compression socks after long runs. Ten minutes in a cold water bathtub after a run. These can all help speed recovery and have you feeling ready for your next workout.

I’d like to leave you with a challenge: Get a logbook and each day, rate your rest, nutrition and self-help on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being best). A little awareness will help develop good habits of taking care of yourself.

When preparing for an event, there is no replacement for the physical preparation in the preceding months. You do the best you can in this time to be prepared. Sure, you miss the odd workout for one reason or another, but generally speaking, the work is done and you are ready.

So why is it that in the days immediately before the event, doubts about our fitness and ability begin to show themselves? It’s called “fear of failure”. We’ve spent so much energy in gearing up that we now are afraid it might all fall apart and we will either not finish or be much slower than expected. Enter the Head Games.

Head Game #1 – Use imagery. I know, this sounds kind of flaky to some of you but trust me it works. In the days before the race, imagine the finish line and how elated you are as you cross it. See an image of yourself running comfortable and strong. It is helpful to form this image on a training run when you are feeling strong. Soak up that feeling so you can bring it back to your mind when you need it. During the race, when you’re hurting or doubting yourself, bring back those mental images.

Head Game #2 – Talk to yourself (Try not to answer yourself or they may lock you up). Self-talk is a great way to get yourself in a positive vibe. “I WILL finish”, I AM strong”; whatever works for you. I recall someone once told me to repeat “breathe in strength; breathe out fear”. I thought it sounded stupid, but it made me laugh enough to get me thinking positive thoughts anyway.

Head Game #3 – The Grim Reaper. This game is especially fun. The rules are that anyone who passes you is inconsequential. Anyone you pass is considered another head for the Grim Reaper (that’s you). Count heads as you pass people since it makes you feel so fast each time you do.

Head Game #4 – Smiley Gloves. As seen in the photo above, I sometimes race with a pair of gloves that have a smiley face on the back of the hand. When I feel lousy, I look at them and force myself to smile or say something nice to a volunteer or someone who is cheering. You can use anything you like to remind you to “get happy”, a ribbon, a hat, whatever. If you fake a smile or say something kind, it’s hard not to feel a little better.

You can even try a combo of the Head Games. For instance, use #2 and #3 and repeat, “I am the Grim Reaper” as you pass people. Try not to let anyone hear you.

Running at its most rudimentary level is pretty simple; put one foot in front of the other, repeat. You don’t need a lot of extra equipment like you do on the bike and you don’t have to wait to breathe like you do in the water.

Painting at its most rudimentary level is pretty simple. You get a brush and some paint; Dip, apply, repeat. Ah, but there’s a difference between throwing a gallon of Benjamin-Moore on the garage walls and creating art.

The same goes for running. The purpose of this article is to look beyond the simple footsteps that go into running and look at running more efficiently, preventing injury and extending your running career.

The run portion of triathlon is at least five kilometers, up to marathon distance, so we are talking about a substantial number of footsteps. It is generally considered favorable to have 180 foot strikes per minute while running longer distances (90 per foot). This will vary from person to person and often requires a conscious change in stride length, but that’s another subject. Assuming 180 foot strikes per minute, a person running five kilometers in 30 minutes will take 5400 steps. A person running a 4 ½ half hour marathon would take 48600 steps. Consider the force of the weight of our body and our momentum and it’s not a wonder that running takes its toll on our bodies.

A great place to start is by running with a “quiet” body. A nice smooth, even stride gets the job done more efficiently than a bouncing or overly long stride. A good time to work on this is during a track workout. The terrain is flat and predictable. Here you can also work on keeping your posture upright with a slight forward tilt. Several other parts of your running form can be honed while enjoying the benefits of a good interval session.

Now that we’re all running efficiently, the next step is to add a longer run to the mix, especially if you are planning on racing Olympic distance and longer. These long runs will amount to between 10000 and 40000 steps depending how far you go. It pays to be aware of where you take those steps. The softer the landing, the better. This can often be difficult while running in the city, but I know several seasoned runners who will choose the grass beside a sidewalk (when it’s flat), even if it’s only for a few steps, to lessen the cumulative impact. Trail running is also popular for similar reasons. Shoes should also be replaced regularly, so that you’re getting the cushioning you need. The lifespan of your running shoe will vary depending upon your running style and the particular shoe, but 600 kilometers is a ballpark figure.

So before the next time you put one foot in front of the other, replace those worn out shoes, plan to come out to track, a pace run, a trail run or a long run and think about running well for years to come. Oh, and try not to run into anything while you’re counting foot strikes.

There are three factors I like to consider when climbing: Position, gearing and pacing. There are other factors to consider, but for the sake of simplicity, these three are a good place to start.

Position

Start with good bike fit. Is the saddle at the correct height, such that your hips don’t rock? A ballpark check is while holding yourself against a wall while on your bike, put your heels on the pedals and pedal backward. You want to just lose contact at the bottom of the pedal stroke without dropping your hips. Is the saddle setback correct? With crankarms at 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock, a plumb line from the front of your front knee should intersect your pedal spindle. These are ballparks for a road position. Each individual may vary and there are other disciplines such as time trial and triathlon that would have a different position. A professional bike fit is really the best place to start.

Gearing

It is considered optimum to have a cadence of 90-95rpm over the course of a ride. For hills, this will drop, but it is important to limit the amount with correct gearing. Most bikes come with a 39-tooth as the smallest ring up front and a 23-tooth as the biggest on the back. This may be suitable for you, but if you try these gears on your chosen hill and your cadence is below 50, it’s time to consider alternatives. For some, changing to a cassette with a 25 or 27 will do the trick. You could also opt for a compact crankset, which will have a 34 as the smallest ring. You may even do both. There are also road triple cranksets available to give even easier gears. It’s best to try training on hills first since there is some expense to making these changes.

Pacing

This is the part that most people get wrong. It seems in our nature to want to conquer hills as aggressively as possible. The quickest way up over the long haul is to go slow and steady. For hill repeats, I’d suggest going very slowly for the first repeat. Feel as if you could carry on a conversation. Let subsequent repeats feel only slightly harder each time. Learning to climb easily will make hills not seem so bad. As you get stronger, you can add harder repeats to the mix. I like climbing alone. Having others with me can make pacing difficult since there is a tendency to try to keep up with that person in front. Ride at YOUR pace. For longer climbs, the pace should also start out easy. Let it feel almost too easy. Then it’s all about rhythm. If you climb at the correct pace, your breathing and pedal strokes will become rhythmic and the long hill won’t feel so insurmountable.

There are numerous reasons why someone would choose to be more active. For some it is to lose some weight. Others may have friends who are into a sport like running and they’d like to give it a try. Whatever your reason for getting started, I want to talk about ways to keep at it and keep improving.

As a kid, I loved to run. For me, it was all about the competition. During gym class when we had to run outdoors, I would try to be the fastest. I didn’t often succeed, but I sure tried hard. This continued until high school where my circle of friends informed me that athletics weren’t very cool. If I wanted to be cool, I should smoke cigarettes and drive a cool car, so I did. I thought I was the Fonz or James Dean or something. I even had the black leather jacket. Once school was done and I entered the working world, I worked in the restaurant industry. Long hours, lots of cigarettes and now the addition of rich food and world-class wine. For a few years, I enjoyed what I thought was the good life.

It was during this time that I began to notice more of my friends and relatives developing heart disease, diabetes and a host of other ailments, many caused by “the good life”. It became very clear to me that if I didn’t change my lifestyle, I would be heading down this same path. So about fifteen years ago, I started making changes. I cut back on the rich food and alcohol. I stopped smoking. I started running.

Have I faithfully exercised every week since then? No. Have I eaten perfect meals every day? Of course not, but what I’ve managed to do through the advice of others and a lot of trial and error is gain a balanced lifestyle.

So what is a balanced lifestyle? Well it starts with a step in the right direction. You all have taken that step by signing up to train for a goal event. For that, you all deserve credit. What comes next is crucial in achieving balance.

It starts with something I call A.S.A.P. Appointments, Small Steps, Appreciation and People.

Appointments – Some people employ a personal trainer or coach, because they know the trainer is expecting them to show up on certain days at certain times. The trainer designs an appropriate program for them, but beyond that, they know someone is checking up on them. My wife, when she first began her running career, hired a personal trainer. She admits to being a naturally lazy person when it comes to exercise. So she hired a personal trainer and met with him twice a week. She knew he would expect her to be there and to have done her homework. In time, she was into a routine and didn’t feel she needed a trainer. She had developed new habits that she was able to stick with. You could accomplish a similar effect by promising to meet a friend or co-worker for a run on a certain day every week. They are expecting you and you are expecting them. That’s an appointment worth making.

Small steps – Once I tried abruptly switching to nothing but undressed chicken breast, unbuttered vegetables and brown rice. I wanted to eat perfect meals. It lasted about three days. Then I tried an approach that has actually worked. I took small steps with my diet. I printed a copy of the food guide for Canada. I started with eating a couple pieces of fruit a day. Once I was used to that, I increased a serving of something I should be eating and decreased something I shouldn’t be eating. I changed slowly over a few weeks. I allow myself occasional treats. I enjoy food and I try to eat well eighty percent of the time. I’m still making minor modifications all the time, but the bottom line is, I’m balancing my food lifestyle, not dieting. The same goes for how far and how fast you run. I lined up for my first Ironman triathlon in 2002 having trained appropriately and feeling ready for the distance. For those who don’t know, Ironman is a 4-kilometer swim, followed by a 180-kilometer bike and then a full marathon. I met someone before the race who had never done an Ironman. He hadn’t even done a triathlon before. He said he hadn’t trained all that much, but he was signed up and was going to “give it a shot”. I only hope he actually knew how to swim. He would be a good example of too large a leap. So remember, small steps.

Appreciation – Running is an enjoyable thing to do if you let yourself enjoy it. Several years ago, a friend of mine, worried that I was working too hard, told me I should “stop and smell the coffee”. I think she meant roses, but I actually like coffee too so what the heck. Her point is a good one. We live in a beautiful city with countless scenic running routes. Enjoy them all. Plan coffee shop runs with your friends where you end up at a café for a post-run treat. Stop in the middle of a run to look at the scenery. We always seem to stop only when we are near a bathroom. Next time, stop in the middle of the Lion’s Gate Bridge for two minutes (don’t do this in your car). It’s a gorgeous view. Appreciate it.

People – Surround yourself with people of like mind. Is there someone at work who also runs? Seek them out and maybe you two can run together. Socialize with people who are also athletes. Encourage your family to stay fit. Join a running club. Find out about what group runs your local running store offers. These are all ways to surround yourself with people who will encourage you and inspire you to stick with a healthy lifestyle. These same people will congratulate you and share in your joy as you accomplish all your fitness goals.

So live a balanced lifestyle. You need to do this ASAP.