As runners, our main goal is to get the finish line as fast as we can and in most cases, ahead of as many people as possible. To achieve this goal, we set up complex training plans which include: long runs, shorter aerobic runs, tempo/threshold intervals, speed intervals and hill repeats.

Now, what if I told you that you could also get faster by investing some extra time in ‘NON-running’ workouts?

No, I am not referring to hitting the pool or jumping on your bike! I am suggesting that you can get faster as a runner by hitting the gym for strength and resistance training.

You have probably heard many times that RESISTANCE TRAINING can improve run performance. Some cite reasons such as ‘increased strength’ or ‘increased power’ or even ‘fatigue resistance’ for improved performance. Although many of these outcomes do lead to performance enhancement, resistance training, if done properly, has the most profound impact on performance because of its effect on run economy.

RUN ECONOMY is formally defined as the amount of oxygen consumed to run a given speed for a given distance. To illustrate: Erin may require 49ml of oxygen to run a 4:30 km, while it may cost Wes 54ml of oxygen to run his 4:30 km, making him ‘less economical’. With all things being equal, who do you expect to get to the finish line first? I bet you wish you were Erin!

You can also understand this concept by comparing your body to a car, and oxygen to gas; the more economical your car, the less gas you require to get from A to B at a given speed. And since gas (oxygen) is one of the limiting factors of performance, you want be as economical as possible.

Interestingly, most recreational (and even professional) runners loose a great deal of economy through their RUN MECHANICS. Below are some of the more common mechanical flaws:

1. Hip instability
2. Slow foot contact time
3. Poor hamstring activation
4. Insufficient knee drive

Therefore, a sound (run-specific) strength and resistance program that focuses on improving hip & core strength, foot contract time, hamstring activation and knee drive will inevitably make you a faster, more economical runner.

Below are examples of exercises that might be seen in such a program:

1)     Hip raise with hip abduction against resistance

- lie on you back, knees bent and feet firmly planted on the ground with resistance band around your knees

- raise your hips forming an incline bridge while pushing your knees out against resistance

*Start with 1 set of 12, move to 2 sets of 12-10 then 3 sets of 12-10-8

2)   Plank on swiss ball – “Stir the pot”

- form a plank on your elbows on a medium sized swiss ball

- contract your core while ensuring the integrity of your back stays strong

- use your forearms to ‘stir’ the swiss ball to the right and then to left while keep plank stable

* Start with 1 sets of 6xeach way; 2 sets of 6x each way; 3 sets of 6x each way 

3)     Hip raise with single straight leg

-        Lie on your back with your left knee bent and foot firm planted on the ground and right leg straight on the ground

-        Raise your hip (as in #1) while keeping your right leg straight; focus on leading the movement with your right leg so that your right hip is parallel with left hip and the end of the movement

-        Lower hip (and right leg) + repeat

-        To add a challenge, you can have the foot of your bent leg on a medicine ball creating an unstable surface

*Start with 1 set of 12x each leg then 2sets of 12xeach leg + 10xeach leg

4)     Running A’s against resistance 

-        Anchor a strong looped resistance band around a stable pole or piece of equipment  

-        With your back to equipment and the resistance band at waist level, run as hard as you can forward against the resistance

-        If done properly, the resistance band should keep you running in one spot despite your efforts to power forward

-        Continue to lean slightly forward and drive your knees, executing a perfect running motion

-        5-8 sets of 10sec; powerful running with high knees and perfect body condition

Thanks Megan Brown for providing us with this awesome article about run economy. Megan is a multiple-time Canadian cross country running champion and the current Canadian 1/2 marathon champion.  She coaches a wide array of runners in Toronto as part of MB Performance and can be reached at megan.brown2012@gmail.com. 

Here are seven simple things you can do to decrease the chances you will get sick.

1. Get More Sleep

It sounds simple but we seem to be moving away from the one fundamental type of recovery that has sustained us since birth; sleep!  Have you ever noticed how much animals sleep?  Animals are typically much more in tune with their bodies and their need for sleep.  They are not bound by the daily routines that we take on, nor do they rely on an endless supply of stimulants such as caffeine and sugar to make it through the day.  If they are tired, they sleep.  Most people could use more sleep.  It is the safest, most productive way to recover and help your immune system stay strong.

2. Great Nutrition

Eating well sounds easy but too often we default to foods that generate more stress in our systems than provide quality nutrients for life.  Foods that are high in refined sugars or bad fat sources take energy to deal with rather than provide energy to live with.  Too much of these food sources can leave your immune system and your body in general, starving for the building blocks of sound health.

3. Micronutrients and other powerful body support

Micronutrients are nutrients required by humans for many different physiological functions.  It doesn’t take much to become deficient in one of the many micronutrients we depend on for basic body health and immune support.  Antioxidants for example are molecules capable of inhibiting the oxidation of other molecules.  When oxidation occurs the resulting molecule can become a free radical or charged molecule that can cause detrimental reactions within the cells of the body.  Micronutrients such as vitamin C, Vitamin E and Beta Carotene all contain antioxidant properties and are easily found in most North American diets or supplement products.

Ginseng is another powerful body supporter that has been used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years.  Ginseng is most noted as being an adaptogen.  Adaptogens are herbal products that are believed to increase resistance to stress, trauma, anxiety and fatigue.  Ginseng is commonly used to help boost the immune system as a result of its adaptogenic properties.

7SYSTEMS endurance sports supplement is so effective in helping you stay healthy because it contains all these micro-nutrients, and many more ingredients.  

4. Rejuvenating Exercise

Instill some healthy, rejuvenating exercise into your life.  There are things you can do that may not be scientifically proven to boost your immune system but can definitely mitigate some of the stressors.  A great example is yoga.  Yoga is a very restorative type of exercise meaning it doesn’t beat you down but works to rejuvenate and regenerate.  Yoga poses can increase blood flow, circulation and general well being which all contribute to a healthier body, mind and nervous system.

5. Less Stress

Stress can come in any form and typically our bodies can’t really tell the difference between stressors.  Whether it’s job related, relationships, travel, overexertion, extreme exercise or pathogens, the body can only handle so much before it cracks.  Too much stress can leave your immune system compromised.  It’s important to periodically step outside your life and evaluate where you can eliminate stress.

6. Wash your hands

Most cold and flu pathogens are spread through simple contact.  Washing your hands regularly can be a very simple way to decrease the spread of a pathogen from one host to another.

7. Stay Hydrated

One of the most common issues athletes can run into during the winter months is dehydration.  Often in the winter we underestimate fluid loss.  In the summer we are typically more diligent about hydrating because we are constantly reminded to do it.  Hotter temperatures and visible sweating are clear indicators that we need to hydrate.  In the winter we still sweat and experience fluid loss and often at very significant levels but we don’t have the outside stimulus to remind us.  Dehydration is another form of stress on the body that can inevitably lower your defenses.

My road to Kona this year actually started in the summer of 2010.  After a difficult race in Kona in 2009 I decided to not “chase a spot” for 2010, but instead to focus my training on having an “A” race at Ironman Florida in November.  While racing at the end of the season gives the benefit of having a full summer of training, it also means some time inside cycling and running once the poor weather hits. Being in close contact with others during inside training sessions can often lead to ill health, but I made it to IMFlorida healthy and ready to have a great race, which I did in finishing in 9:58 – 2nd amateur woman and 10th woman overall.

Fast forward to the summer of 2011, and the European Ironman Championship was the next marker in my trajectory towards Kona.  Unfortunately, Germany was not having the best weather and race week, as well as race day, was cold, wet and windy.  Again, my health stood up to the test, and I finished that race with a time of 10:17 which was fast enough to win my new age-group, place 10th amateur woman, and 20th woman overall.

And so came Kona 2011.  Despite a longer than normal (for me) recovery time from Ironman German, I arrived in Kona ready to chase my long-standing goal – to have a podium finish.  Race day was a mixed bag of conditions with swim currents and waves that resulted in a slower times for a lot of racers, but with advantages to be found on the bike with less wind than normal.  The run was hot and with little wind made it difficult for many competitors.  While I suffered the symptoms of heat exhaustion in the last 9 miles of the run, I was able to keep my position having moved up progressively during the day to finish in 2nd in my AG!!!

7 SYSTEMS has been a constant in my preparation, recovery and overall maintenance of health over the past 12 months and an important part of my successes.  Thanks 7 SYSTEMS!

Fall usually means one of two types of training cycles for multisport athletes in North America.  Some will continue to compete and focus on running or cycle cross. The second group may take time off and eventually start rebuilding their sport specific fitness.

Both groups should be using water workouts as part of their training and recovery.

For triathletes it is incredibly important to swim 12 months of the year.  Many elite swimmers never take time off out of the water. Losing your ‘feel’ (or proprioception) in the water happens more quickly in swimming than other sports so it is imperative that triathletes swim on a weekly basis.  I recommend that my athletes swim at least twice a week.  Swim workouts do not need to be hard or long during the fall season.  In fact, I would recommend quite the opposite.  The fall season is a great time to make technical changes to your stroke that you put off during the heavy training months. Investing time to get videotaped, either by a friend or coach, could ensure that you are putting your focus in the areas that will give you the biggest speed payback. If you train in a group setting, this is the time of year to drop down to a slower lane to reduce the pressure to swim fast.  This way you can concentrate on proper technique.  It is also the time of year to be the squeaky wheel and to ask your coach for help with your stroke.

For the athlete that chooses to do leg based races in the fall the pool should also be incorporated into their training plan as part of their recovery strategy.  Recovery is accelerated when it is active.  Blood is returned to the heart with the help of muscle contractions and by the chest’s ‘pumping’ action when breathing. Your veins are squeezed between your muscles when they contract and the blood is forced upwards towards the heart. The blood is prevented from returning due to gravity thanks to one-way valves in your veins.  Muscle movement results in a larger volume of circulating blood which means that more nutrients and oxygen are delivered to your tissues for repair.  Swimming and water running are two of the best types of recovery exercise because they increase muscle contraction and breathing rates without eccentrically loading leg muscles.  Eccentric exercises involve any exercise where a muscle is weight bearing in a lengthened position.  An example is the eccentric load on the hamstring when the foot strikes while running. The hamstring is in the lengthened position but it is bearing the weight of your body. Eccentric muscular-skeletal loading can further damage muscle tissue and delay recovery.  To best use swimming and water running as recovery strategies you should get to the pool within 24 hours of a hard leg workout.

The idea of heading to the pool to get wet may not be enticing when the weather starts throwing snow and rain at you.  Convince yourself to make the trip with the promise of a hot shower, a sauna or a steam bath after your session.  Bring a warm sweater, joggers and your warmest toque to snuggle into post practice.  However you motivate yourself to do it, get to the pool at this time of year. Your body will be the better for it.

Active prep time is 30 minutes, Total time is 45 minutes.
Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ cup dried apricots, coarsely chopped
• 2 cups water
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup Moroccan-spiced Lemon Dressing, divided
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 8 cups baby spinach or Swiss chard
• ¼ cup sliced almonds, toasted

1. Toast quinoa in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until it becomes aromatic and begins to crackle, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a fine sieve and rinse thoroughly.
2. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until golden, about 1 minute. Add apricots and the quinoa; continue cooking, stirring often, until the quinoa has dried out and turned light golden, 3-4 minutes. Add water and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to med-low and simmer uncovered, until the quinoa is tender and the liquid id absorbed, 15-18 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, make Moroccan-Spiced Lemon Dressing. Transfer the quinoa to a medium bowl and toss with 2/3 cup of the dressing. Let cool for 10 minutes.
4. Just before serving, add tomatoes and onion to the quinoa; toss to coat. Toss spinach with the remaining 1/3 cup dressing in a large bowl. Divide the spinach among 4 plates. Mound the quinoa salad on the spinach and sprinkle with almond.

For the Moroccan-Spiced Lemon Dressing:

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons nonfat plain yogurt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin, cinnamon and giner
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Whisk all ingredients in a bowl ,except the extra virgin olive oil, until all blended.
2. Slowly whisk in ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil so the dressing becomes smooth and emulsified.
3. Season with ¼ teaspoons salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Ingredients

• 4oz unsweetened chocolate
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 3large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup quinoa flour
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1. Preheat oven 350 F and grease a 9 inch pan
2. In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate and butter together on a low heat.
3. Add sugar to the saucepan slowly, stirring constantly
4. Once mixture is all blended, transfer to a bowl and add eggs and vanilla. Blend well
5. Stir in flour and milk.
6. Add nuts and bake for 20 to 22 minutes. Be careful not to overbake.

Your road bike is a bit of a prima donna; it likes warm weather, clean streets and the energy of a good group. Your tri bike is even more of a snob, craving long open stretches of road in the blazing sun, you can’t even think about taking that out in the fall months without serious attitude. Your mountain bike is always eager to go out but it craves the trail networks, some mud and a few decent jumps. Granted the fall months are great for this but what if you just want to get out and do some long consistent riding?

Well there is a solution and it’s the cyclocross bike. Yes it’s totally fine to justify the purchase of yet another bike. If you already have three then why not four? Four is a nice round number if you’re a cyclist. You cover off all your conceivable bases unless of course you live in a city whereby you will probably need to purchase a really cool cruiser bike for those trendy jaunts about town.

Cyclocross has grown significantly in North America over the past few years. A good example is a small weekly race series here in Victoria that started several years ago with attendance around 15 people. Now there are close to 100 people ever week who race around various parks in town as the sun is setting on cool fall evenings.

Cyclocross offers the perfect balance between road riding and mountain biking and is ideal for semi off road adventures. Cross bikes typically take the shape of a normal road bike with a few small tweaks including a higher bottom bracket for greater clearance and tires that literally cross between road and mountain. Similar to a road bike, they are thin but with small treads like a mountain bike.

The main benefits to riding a cross bike at this time of year are numerous. You can access any type of road or bike path or just stay on the road. You won’t be moving as fast as when you are on a road bike so generally cooler conditions don’t affect you as much. Cross bikes generally have more clearance for fenders which is a good thing if you are planning on doing a fair bit on the road in wet conditions. In places like Victoria where we ride all winter most people are on cross bikes for this reason.

Cross bikes are typically cost effective unless you are fanatic about the component group you chose to run. Usually the frames are a little heavier and the components are not so high end so you can get into it for about a thousand dollars, which is not bad in todays often high-priced bike world. If you are really thrifty you will realize that your cross bike can essentially be transformed into a road bike with a $50 tire change and voila you’ve got a bike for all seasons.

So if you are sitting there thinking of all kinds of lame excuses why you can’t ride this fall why not dig into the cross scene? Most bike companies have cross bikes in their line up at very reasonable prices. Who knows, you’ll probably venture out onto some roads you would never dare touch with your road or triathlon bike. Have fun!

Glenn and I raced the European Ironman Championship in Frankfurt on July 24th.  Not only did I win my AG, but I was first Master’s, and 9th amateur woman over all.  Oh, and Glenn proposed at the finish line!

(Congrats to both Linnea Humphrey and Glenn Rossitter)

Paula started swimming when she was 10 years old and during high school, at age 15 she started to run. In 2006 Paula began her first competitive season and competed at the World Junior Championships. She then made Canada’s Junior squad in 2007 and 2008. In 2008 she won both the junior and senior national championships. Her next big accomplishment was a third at the Under-23 world championships in 2009.

Not only was she the first Canadian triathlete to win a World Championship series event but she was also the only women to win back-to-back in 2010.

If you don’t know her now, you will. She will no doubt continue to impress leading up to to London for the 2012 Olympic Summer Games.

When Paula is not training she is studying at the University of Alberta where her goal is to be accepted to medicine and become a doctor.

We asked Ironman Champion Jasper Blake to share five tips on how to make Ironman Canada your best race of the season.

1- Don’t Change

The biggest mistake I see people making when they get close to an Ironman is the sudden urge to make significant changes to their plan. It is normal to get anxious and have small panic attacks leading up to the race but it is a mistake to suddenly think you need to change your whole game plan. It’s hard not to be influenced by others- race week everyone is walking around, talking about what they are going to do pace wise or nutritionally and it’s hard to not get sucked into different ideas. The biggest advice I can offer is to stick to your game plan. If you have practiced something in training and it has worked then stick to your plan. The time to make big changes is not race week.

2- Break the bike course up mentally

Ironman can always seem daunting- it is a long way and a long day- so break it up into manageable pieces. Ironman Canada is a great course to break up especially on the bike. The first leg involves a fast ride down to Osoyoos. Once you are there you are already a third of the way through the bike portion. The next piece is the climb up Richters pass and the rollers, which can be a welcome break after 60km of flat time trialing. The next piece is the out and back which can discourage people because you literally head straight back to where you came from but remember, 180km is 180km- it’s just a piece of that. The next piece is the climb up Yellow Lake- again a nice break from the flat time trial efforts. And finally you get to descend down into Penticton- 20km downhill, which is a great way to finish off the bike.

3- Pace yourself up Richters Pass

Richters pass is the first significant climb at Ironman Canada. It comes about 60km into the race and is often the place where people make the biggest tactical error. At 60km everyone feels good and many people go way too hard up Richters. If you overextend yourself on Richters it will haunt you going up Yellow Lake. The people who are smart on Richters are always doing the passing up Yellow Lake.

4- Run one mile at a time

A marathon after all that biking is not the best way to think about the run. Instead, think of it as one mile repeats. The aid stations are typically one mile apart so make it your goal to simply run from aid station to aid station. The brain prefers small chunks- everyone can run a mile so run a mile at a time.

5- Think Ahead

When the run starts getting tough (which it does for everyone), remember that you are not alone. Everyone is basically experiencing the same thing you are- the steps can be downright painful. A good mental trick is to simply think ahead to the end. The last mile in Penticton is along Lakeshore drive where there are literally thousands of people screaming and cheering. It will be the best mile of your life! So if you find yourself at mile 14 and you are struggling- zip ahead in your mind and get excited about what’s coming at mile 25. Sometimes this little mental boost can get you through a tough spell.