Friday, September 30, 2016

Weekly RunDown #4 (Sept. 30, 2026)

Ben Greenfield's article relating Warren Pole’s 3 Practical Tips To Keep A Long Road Trip From Making You Fat, Sick And Unhealthy.  Warren & Erica Pole are founders of 33Shake.


2 great podcasts from Endurance Planet on the FASTER Study and Optomised Fat Metabolism:  

Great website for Ultra-News: UltraRunner Podcast.com -  lots of great information; Commentary, Gear, Podcasts and more.  Also, I suggest you sign up for the newsletter and get some great links 5 days a week.  Just go down the right side of the page and enter your email where is asks you to Subscribe to URP.


DC Rainmaker is a great place to find out info on GPS watches and other devises.


Interesting from Strava; If you want to try out a pair of New Balance shoes, Just run a negative split Marathon between Oct 9th and Dec 4th and follow the rules at the link: The Strava Back Half Challenge.  I guess they are hoping not too many would sandbag the first half of a marathon just for free shoes:)  Here is an article by Mario Fraioli that was written for this promo:  Negative Split, Positive Results


Video of Jeff Browning's attempt to break 43h and 33m for a combined time running both the Western States 100 and Hardrock 100 with only 19 days ret between them.



Moments at Elevation – Leadville 100Miler

Moments at Elevation from Isaiah Jay on Vimeo.


Kenenisa Bekele wins the Berlin Marathon and narrowly misses the world record of 2:02:57 with his run of 2:03:03




Friday, September 23, 2016

Weekly RunDown #3 (Sept. 23, 2016)

Here are 11 Plank Exercises to help work on your core


Jeff Browning is a beast, as he just got 4th in the Run Rabbit Run 100 Miler in Steamboat Springs Co. (9/16-17/2016).  On top of that here are some results for him this year:
  • HURT 100M (HI) - 1st - Jan 16th, 2016
  • Free State Trail Run 100k (KS) 1st - April 16th, 2016
  • Western States 100M (CA) 3rd - June 25th, 2016
  • Hardrock 100M (CO) - 4th - July 15th, 2016
As some of you may, or may not know, Jeff utilizes Optimizing Fat Metabolism and here are some great resources:


If you live in Kentucky, as I do, here is a source to look up local races: John’s Run/Walk Shop


Phil Maffetone writes on The Running Trifecta :  Better Training, More Racing and Getting Faster and the added benefit of Improved Health


Here is a great resource for Ultra Running information: IRunFar


A good article by Peter Defty (President VESPA) on The Emerging Science on Fat Adaption


Nice video on The Bob Graham Round.  If you have not read about this run that covers 66 miles and taking in 42 of the highest peaks in the Lake District area with an ascent total of 27,000ft and a time limit of 24 hours you can read about it here: The Round: In Bob Graham's Footsteps




Highlights of Lavaredo Ultra-Trail race 2016 – Dolomites-Italy




Highlights of the Madeira Island Ultra-Trail race2016 – Off the coast of Portugal and Morocco



Friday, September 16, 2016

Weekly RunDown #2 (Sept. 16, 2016)

As I look forward to the Indy Monumental Marathon in November and my first 50 miler (Land Between the Lakes) in March of 2017 I am trying to figure out the nutrition part of things so as to be best prepared.  One of the nutritional resources I have been trying is 33Shake, a Chia gel that only contains 4 ingredients:  Chia Seeds (Salvia Hispanica), coconut palm sugar,  organic Madagascan vanilla, Himalayan pink salt.  To these ingredients, so as to preserve freshness you  “add water for a traditional blend, fruit juice for increased carbs, or even fresh coffee for a caffeine hit.   Bottom line is they taste great and to date they seem to work great as well.  No energy spikes as I get with many gels or GI stress.  I will be doing a more thorough review as I use them more.


Want to get a marathon PR and qualify for Boston this may be the marathon for you:  Jack and Jill’s Downhill Marathon and Half


Are you traveling and want to find if there are any races where you are going, check out this site: Running in the USA


Great info from Dr. Mark Cucuzzella and the Natural Running Center:  Dr. Mark’s Desk


Evan Jager at the Brussels Diamond League race.  Not sure there are many people that can run as fast as he does and make it look so easy.




The Transgrancanria Ultra Trail Race in Gran Canaria, one of Spain’s Canary Islands  - 6 Races from 17K to 265K

2016 Race



2015 Race

Friday, September 9, 2016

Weekly RunDown #1 (Sept 9th, 2016)

I am starting a weekly post called - Weekly RunDown - to link to posts, articles, websites and videos related to running.  I will try and post things that I hope will benefit ones running in some manner, even if it is simply to inspire, as with the UTMB video below:

This is a good article that asks the question: Athletes: Fit but Unhealthy?  All too often we equate the two as the same but is it so?


Phil Maffetone article for the week, Phil writes on aging in his post: Don’t Get Old!


Speaking of getting older, do you want info on Masters Track and Field, you can find it here: MastersTrack.com .  Also, here is a link to the Runner's World Master page.  If you have any other links let me know.


While not a new article this is a good one on fat burning from Sunny Blende - Fat Burning: How to Guide.   We often so focus on carbs that we miss out on our greatest resource for energy, fat.


Some highlights of UTMB.  While I am pretty certain I will not be able to run this one it is still a race I think would be on everyone’s bucket list, if you have one.




Not the best resolution but you have to have a subscription to USATF.TV to get the better video of the 2016 NB 5th Ave Mile from September 3rd:

Men’s Race


Women’s Race





More to come next week.

Thursday, September 8, 2016

MAF: What is it?

If you have seen my Strava data you often see that a run of mine was an MAF run.  While I have Maximum Aerobic Function, what does that mean.  MAF is dealt with in this article by Phil Maffetone:  Want Speed? Slow Down but in essence is the heart rate at which you build your aerobic capacity and your body burns fat most effectively.  Thus, training regularly at MAF allows one to build a great aerobic base and train ones body to use fat as a fuel over the carbohydrates it desires when one runs faster.  Of course there is more to the fat burning side of things than just HR but it is part of it.  More on diet in a future post.
added in the past what the acronym  stands for,

MAF training for those who have been around a while, as I have,  is not really a new concept but is a modernized version of principles others such as Arthur Lydiard put forth many years ago.  Phil Maffetone on his website talks much about this method of training and you can read the basics of the method here:  MAF Methodology & in The Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing

As Phil states on his site MAF deals with three key lifestyle aspects:
  1. Diet & Nutrition: Eat real foods, find your optimal carbohydrate intake, and improve your balance of healthy fats.
  2. Exercise: Train at the appropriate intensity to develop your fat-burning aerobic system, improve health and perform better.
  3. Stress management: Assess your physical, biochemical, and mental-emotional stressors, and learn to manage them.
What makes MAF different than just being about Heart Rate training is that the focus is on health and not simply just getting faster and being able to run farther.  While I do believe that via MAF you can do both that is not its focus.  So often in running we sacrifice health for the sport and while that may bring short-term pleasure, I say might; it is not prime for long term health.  Let me add that I do understand why many who are competitive may see this method being for the slower runner since you will indeed run slower, at last to begin with, or for Ultra-Runners let me share that this is not so.  As a personal anecdote, since I have taken up this method of training my 5K has come down and other than a couple ankle injuries from trails rather than from over training I have been injury free and for sure am less fatigued than I usually am with my faster is better method I usually trained with.  Might my times have gone down with my old method, sure, but usually what happened is that they went down then I crashed and burned either with an injury or a bad cold brought on by over training at too high an intensity.

As another proof, if it is needed, of the efficacy of MAF for even the faster among us Phil Maffetone coached Mark Allen, interview with Mark Allen, who was one of the best triathletes of his time, maybe of all time, and did so using the MAF principles.  Yes Mark Allen was fit and fast when he met up with Phil but the change in training allowed Mark to do what most others could not do and that was to have longevity in the sport - and at a high level.

MAF is not a get fast quick method and it is not necessary a run slow to get fast plan, as speed work is allowed, but a holistic approach that looks to health in the midst of training.  Thus, while I think you could run better just using the MAF heart Rate formula I do think you benefit the most by also working to adapt ones diet as well since the MAF pace is ideal for being a fat adapted athlete.

OK, all that but what is MAF?  Well first, as it relates to running and pace, it is that the majority of training is done at a pace that equates to 180 minus your age as a baseline.  There are some additions and subtractions you can do such as:

  1. If you have or are recovering from a major illness (heart disease, any operation or hospital stay, etc.) or are on any regular medication, subtract an additional 10.
  2. If you are injured, have regressed in training or competition, get more than two colds or bouts of flu per year, have allergies or asthma, or if you have been inconsistent or are just getting back into training, subtract an additional 5.
  3. If you have been training consistently (at least four times weekly) for up to two years without any of the problems just mentioned, keep the number (180–age) the same
  4. If you have been training for more than two years without any of the problems listed above, and have made progress in competition without injury, add 5.

If you are older, 65 or above, elsewhere it talks of adding another 5 beats.  Based on this and the math involved I figure that once you turn 60 you can keep your HR pace the same till 66, unless you need to make adjustments based on the above criteria.  Here is a link to the 180 Formula

As far as training this means that, if I use myself as an example, I run all my MAF runs at 128 (180-57+5) or slower.  Thus on hills, into a headwind or later in runs it does mean slowing down to maintain the desired HR.  What I personally do is to set my watch to alarm at 126 so I get a warning to slow down before I am already over.  And if I do go over I slow down right away, if you have to walk to get it down then do so.

What about speed work and races?  Well, here is how I deal with the speed work part of things:

I try and do 3 months of MAF only  running, unless I have a race then I do not run at MAF but I try and keep that at no more than 1 race a month.  Then I do 3-4 months, depends of what race I am doing, at MAF except for 2 days a week of non-MAF and also any races I may do at non-MAF. For speed work I basically do two days a week where I do not use my HR monitor, but have it on to see how I did. On those days I do a number of types of runs: harder trail runs, tempo runs of 3-6 miles with every now and then a longer one from 10-13, longer intervals like 3-4 X 2miles with mile rest, and fartlek. I do shorter intervals once in a while but not as much.

While many that do MAF run for time I still like to track mileage.  In doing this I also run mileage in 5-6 week cycles with higher millage for 4 weeks, presently about 50 miles,  then run 1-2 weeks at lower miles and all at MAF or if I do speed work it will be shorter stuff, presently around 30 miles a week in this section.

Once I have done this 6 month, or so, cycle I repeat it or adjust for a particular race.  I my case this year, into next, I will start in November doing only MAF for 4 months as I have a 50 miler in March and do not feel I need much in the way of speed work except what I may get in a race or two..

The above is how I organize my MAF training  but things may work differently for you based on goals and the base you come into MAF with. I have been running for 43+ years so have a pretty good base .  If you are newer to running you may want to just stay at MAF for 6 months, even up to a year to build that base as it is critical to being injury free and being a healthy runner.

Keep in mind when you start this it will seem slow, for most people, and the initial inclination after a week is that you want to stop.  My encouragement is to persevere.  Perseverance is a trait being lost in our microwave culture but it is critical to MAF and in truth is critical to all of life.  How long it takes for the light to come on varies for everyone as it can be as soon as three months to more than a year, again all contingent on your past training experience, level of fitness, health. and other areas

Another part of the MAF method is diet and I think this is as important a part as the HR training and will talk on this in a later post.  That said, one can begin MAF training without making the jump to a changed diet even though, again, I think a modified diet for most would be very beneficial.

As I have already mentioned, can one run faster with other methods, yes.  Could someone even run using the “faster and farther” mentality and have longevity, yes again.  But I would say longevity is not very common among those that burn the running candle at both ends.

I am sure this does not answer all your questions on MAF, probably just created more, so I encourage you to read the supplied links to Phil Mafetone’s articles.  But also do your own investigation by searching out: MAF, Maximum Aerobic Function, Mark Allen and others.  If you are on Facebook I am one of  the Admins on a Maffetone Method FB page so you can ask to join and we have a pinned post with many resources.  Another good resource is Mark Sisson’s new book Primal Endurance.

Also, here are some good Podcast sources that have talks on MAF and realted subjects:

Sunday, September 4, 2016

The Big Picture: Injuries

I had thought about a series of blog posts that deal with the “Big Picture” and deal any number of
areas from Faith, Family, Training, Diet, Racing, Injuries and other topics as they relate to Running and the “Big Picture.”  That said I did not contemplate that my first “Big Picture” post would on injuries.  The truth is I would rather not speak of them, what runner does, but providentially I had a foot injury this past week so here we are.

Injuries and how you deal with them are largely influenced by how one views their running and the “Big Picture” you have with regards to your running.  I guess having a “Big Picture” outlook depends on if you have taken the time to formulate one.  As my posts I am sure will be read, if read at all, by the average runner and not the people who run as a living that will be where I will tend to direct this post, and future ones.  I should add that the significance of having a greater view of why one runs is that it helps with how one deals with running’s relationship to the rest of life.  I will post a separate post on developing a “Big Picture” outlook at a later date.  Probably should have done it first but that is not how things have fallen into place so let’s look at “The Big Picture and Injuries.”

Recently, I was running a couple loops (11.3 miles and 2100 FT) of a trail run that while having a fair amount of vertical, 1000+FT in 5.65 miles, is far from technical but is steep in areas, basically on dirt roads.  On the second loop I was letting things just go running down hill and suddenly my right foot starting hurting when it landed.  I did not hit a rut or a rock that I could tell but basically it seems something just went.  So I hobbled the rest of the way through the run and finished up in some pain.  The next day my foot was swollen below the ankle and it hurt to walk on so decided there would be no running for a few days to see how it would be.  

As I had a ½ marathon trail run coming up, The Rugged Red, I figured it would be best to rest up if I even wanted the possibility of running it, around 11 days from when I hurt my foot.  3 days after hurting my foot it was still swollen, see the picture on this page, and hurt when doing other than walking, which itself was not comfortable.  On writing this post it has been 6 days and it is still swollen and sore.  Not sure how it will be for running in the up coming week so I have decided to get an X-ray in a couple days to make sure it is not more than a strain before I run on it again.  I foresee some riding in the future to keep in shape for other up coming races and runs.

So how does this all relate to the “Big Picture?”  First, I need to share at least part of what I consider my “Big Picture” view of my running.  I have to remember that running, at my stage in life especially, is a part of my life that keeps me in shape and helps as a relaxing, yes relaxing, activity that I enjoy but it is not all there is.  While I enjoy racing and do so when I can I need to make sure that when faced with decisions related to injuries and races I think about how the decision will affect other areas of my life as well as my future running and racing.  Let me also add here that I do not believe in accidents or coincidences and while I may not know why things happen I do understand that they happen for a purpose, again even if I do not at the moment understand the purpose.  So this all becomes part of my “Big Picture” view of running.

So as I face what to do about a trail race I have been looking forward to do since I ran it a year ago, running a less than stellar race, I have to keep in mind how doing it with an injury fits with my overall view of running and life.  With that in mind while I might be able to gut out and suffer through the trail race with my foot still sore less than a week out and not knowing how injured it is going through with a race such as the The Rugged Race would be less than wise. The Rugged Red is not only a ½ marathon trail race it also has in many places technical sections, both up and downhill, that would put lots of stress where it is not needed.  Thus, with the possibility of not only hurting myself more and not being able to run for even longer but also, as it is a point to point race, being stuck out there if I injured it even more, I will hold off running it this year and hope to run it next year.

Not sure about everyone else but holding off going to a race is not the top of my list.  Having a “Big Picture” view of my running helps in making such as decision as I have made.  It does not make it easy but does help in making the correct decision.   Usually I first struggle with the fact I have paid for the race so need to run it.  The fault there is that while it is paid for the funds are gone and thus not running really does not cost any more monetarily but may cost from a health perspective.  Secondly, when I enter races they are ones I enjoy and want to do since I find little reason just to enter races.  This is especially true of trail races as I very much enjoy the challenge of running trails thus making this decision even more difficult.

While I still would like to run and being 6 days out I keep telling myself I may be OK it is best to just decide now so that I can make a long term plan for what to do now to get over this injury.  With having a couple 5Ks on the schedule over the next two months, the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon in Early November along with my first 50 miler in March of 2017 wisdom, and seeing the “Big Picture ,” allows me to be comfortable with taking time off to get well and then training in such a manner as to be ready for those up coming races. 

While I will write more on the idea of having a “Big Picture” I encourage you to work to formulate one for yourself as it truly does make dealing with injuries easier, not easy but easier.

Update: Sept 6th, 2016
Got in to see my doctor today and got a couple X-rays.  The good news is nothing is broken, the bad news is I still need to rest it for the rest of the week so The Rugged Red  1/2 Trail Marathon is for sure out.  The good news is I can set my bike up in the basement and at least get some activity in for the rest of the week.  Also, looks like with 2.5 weeks till my next 5K I should be OK.   Gives me plenty of time before my 5K in October and Indy Marathon November 5th as well.  Now to just rest it up and get back to training and not hurt it again.  I know my penchant is to jump right back in where I ended but I need to ease back in to stop it from flaring up and creating more problems.