A Book Recommendation for Runners

A great snippet from the NY Times on the evolution of the runner's high:

"Liking to run, it seems, may have helped to make humans what they are...our evolutionary history appears to have included this kind of endurance activity and rewarded it. And as a result, we continue to have a biological imperative to move."

This reminded me of the book Why We Run, an easy-to-read, fascinating biological perspective of how humans have survived and evolved because of running. Our ancestors were able to hunt by out-running animals who have fewer sweat glands and as a result, significantly less endurance capacity. Humans also evolved with physiological traits to enable efficient running, such as the stretchy nuchal ligament in our neck, long Achilles tendon and plantar arch in our foot.

Why We Run: A Natural History

$8.76

By Bernd Heinrich

Buy on Amazon

Before a Race

Tapering is common practice.  This consists of reduced mileage and calories but still a few anaerobic workouts.  Similar to the belief in easy jogging the day after a marathon, it can be good to do light running or exercise, one or two days before a race, for mental and physical confidence.

Avoid experimenting with meaty, gassy, spicy or hard-to-digest foods. Stick to carbs (pasta!), veggies and some good fats and protein for a normal size meal. A lot of dairy generally doesn't sit well prior to racing.

The most obvious and important ritual is to hydrate as early as 48 hours before, mainly water plus electrolytes, to help prevent dehydration, cramping, and any heat-related conditions.  

Double check race logistics, gear and transport. Finally, sleep early for 7+ hours but don't stress if you end up getting less...adrenaline and a little caffeine will make up for it!

Cycling Tip from a Pro

I got a chance to connect with Heather Jackson, former Princeton varsity hockey player turned professional triathlete and Ironman. Only in her 4th full season, she has been on several Ironman podiums including wins at the inaugural Princeton 70.3 and on the hilly Wildflower 70.3 course. Heather was recently featured on the cover of Lava Magazine.

Heather's advice: go ice skating and get into the weight room.  In particular, "lots of high reps and low weights for exercises like squats." And by "high" she means 100 reps until failure to really mimic pedaling on the bike.

Why is Everyone Running a Marathon?

In 2003, it took over 8 months for the Chicago marathon to sell out. In 2011, that time length was down to 31 days. And In 2012, it sold out in only 6 days. Perhaps it's not with surprise that the Chicago Marathon sold out in just a few hours in 2013, accompanied by technical problems that suspended registration for 2 days. The race has since moved to a lottery system, along with a few others including the Berlin Marathon.

Chicago was established in 1977 and one of the 5 world marathon majors, among Boston, London, NY and Berlin. The marathon as a race has been around for centuries.  

So why all of a sudden are we seeing huge increases in registrations and sell-out rates? 

Surely with improvements in health research and awareness, there is more emphasis on healthier lifestyles and daily exercise, but national obesity rates continue to creep up (~30% of the US).  As you can see from the chart below, the # marathon finishers has steadily increased over the past 30 years, as running grows in popularity and new races are launched.

I speculate that the rise is largely due to social networks and the ability to easily share intent with family and friends.  The event itself can efficiently market to today's tech-savvy runners as advertising moves away from TV & print to online channels. 

A few other interesting stats about the Chicago marathon: it creates $150million of economic activity, ~1k jobs and $70million+ for charities.  Maybe it shouldn't happen only once a year!

Chrissie Wellington

Chrissie Wellington is quite possibly the greatest triathlete to have graced the sport: holder of all Ironman world and championship records, undefeated in 13/13 Ironman-distance races, and 4-time Kona winner, with the first being less than a year after turning pro in 2007.  She never thought of becoming a professional triathlete, and instead focused on succeeding academically and pursuing international development as a career.  

After her first marathon at the age of 25 and her first triathlon a couple of years later, Chrissie trained "obsessively and compulsively" to reach where she is today.  Chrissie's determination, inspiring smile and remarkable class remind us why we love the sport.  

Some of Chrissie's advice:

"On my race wristband, and on all my water bottles, I write some simple words. One is 'smile' and the other 'never give up'.  I always say that Ironman is 50% physical and 50% mental.  To plunder the words of Mohammed Ali, 'the will must be stronger than the skill."

The Benefits of Stair Workouts

I was intrigued when I heard about the 30-year old race up the Empire State. There is apparently a whole class of stair running professionals and several "run-up" races, including the Willis Tower in Chicago, CN Tower in Toronto, and the Sydney Tower.

One veteran Empire State participant told me, "they are really fun in a sort of sick way."  

The coolest part is reaching the top, often an observatory deck, and looking down to grasp the vertical climb you accomplished.

As a workout in your training program, stair climbing is one of the best ways to improve your VO2 max and strengthen oft-neglected lower leg muscles. Especially if you don't have easy access to hills, it mimics uphill running with less impact, but also less ventilation! If done at lower intensity for a longer duration, it can be used to effectively increase your aerobic capacity.

But descending can be more stressful on the legs, so slow down and use it as recovery ;).