Category: Racing

Running stairs is a great way to get yourself into shape, and these sessions are by no means limited to runners. In fact, rumour has it that stair sessions are what keep celebrities such as J-Lo in shape! The most important thing to remember is that these sessions must be attempted with great caution. If stairs are not run correctly, you could injure yourself badly. Running stairs takes some practice and concentration, because the slightest misstep and you could end up taking a nasty tumble.

The bottom line is that when adding anything new to your training, it is crucial to add it gradually and to ease into it. If you experience any sharp pains while running stairs, stop immediately and give your body a few days to recover before attempting the workout again. Before any stair workouts, make sure you warm up properly with an easy 20 to 30min jog, then start by walking up and down the stairs a few times before you begin the stair workout.

BENEFITS

There are a number of benefits that you will enjoy by running stairs:

?         It’s a great cardio workout and won’t take much to put your lungs into oxygen debt.

?         Because you go into debt quickly, you’ll be working hard to keep your rhythm, pace and form, which is great mind training for the last few kilometres of your next race.

?         Leg power is a key ingredient in many sports, not just running, so you will certainly benefit in your other disciplines.

GETTING STARTED

1. Find a suitable set of stairs: If you are a Gautenger and live close to Westcliff, then the 400m Westcliff stairs are a good choice. Other options would be a stadium or school in your area (just make sure you get permission first.) If you travel a lot, use the hotel stairs, because most people in a hotel will take the lift, which leaves the stairs traffic-free for your workout.

2. Focus on your form: Running stairs is about building leg strength and power, so focus on leg extension and driving yourself up the stairs with a high knee-lift while pumping your arms. Don’t lean forward from your hips, rather keep an upright posture with a slight lean forward from your ankles, almost like you’re falling into the stairs.

3. What goes up, must come down: Be very careful coming down the stairs, because it’s the descent that can cause damage and injury if too much strain is put on your knees and lower back. When running back down the stairs, try to focus on using your quads and hips to absorb the impact and not your knees. For the first few sessions, rather walk back down. You can start jogging down the stairs once you start getting fitter and more comfortable and confident on the stairs. The walk down is a good recovery before you go bounding back to the top.

It is not necessary to include a stair session every week in your training, but these sessions are a great way to mix things up every now and then by replacing a hill session.

WORKOUTS

Here are some workouts to try, but feel free to let your imagination run wild:

Ray has run five Comrades Marathons, with a PB of 7:18. He was club captain at Bedfordview Running Club from 2009 to 2011, then became captain of the Bedfordview Performance Squad.

SWIM
EXPERT: Erhard Wolfaardt, professional South African triathlete and former African triathlon champion and u/23 SA triathlon champion.

SESSION: This is a speed session designed to improve lactate threshold and increase strength. I normally use this set towards the end of a hard week. It is only 2.4km, but an effective way to boost your swimming.

WARM-UP:
• 100m backstroke, 200m freestyle, 100m backstroke
• Two sets of 4x50m with 30sec rest in between, and roughly 60sec rest between sets.

MAIN SET: Two rounds of the following:
• 100m at maximum effort, rest 90sec.
• 2x50m at maximum effort, rest 60sec.
• 4x25m at maximum effort, rest 30sec.
Do an easy 200m of mixed strokes before tackling the next round.
Finish with a kick set: 8x50m freestyle kick with 30sec rest. Alternate doing one easy and one hard.

COOL-DOWN: 100m backstroke, 200m freestyle, 100m backstroke

TIP: If you are a stronger swimmer, do three rounds of the main set.

CYCLE
EXPERTS: Malcolm Lange, South African cycling great with 409 major road race victories and Dr. Jeroen Swart, Team Bonitas Coach.

SESSION: Neuromuscular efficiency
One of the key components of top cyclists is the ability to utilise a large group of muscles throughout the pedalling action. This requires strengthening the small muscles such as the hip flexors and calf muscle and also improving the co-ordination of the contraction so that muscles that oppose each other don’t co-contract and waste energy.

WARM-UP: 10min at low intensity at a self selected cadence

MAIN SET:
• 4min at a low cadence (40-50rpm) in a heavy gear. Just enough resistance to need to pull the pedal up on the back of the pedal stroke and up and over into the power phase. You should just be getting breathless at the end of the 4min.
• Follow with 6min at very high cadence (100-120rpm), but against very low resistance. This stimulates the nervous system into developing the correct speed and co-ordination of the contraction.
• Repeat 4 times.

COOL-DOWN: 10min at low intensity and self selected cadence

RUN
EXPERT: Ray Orchison, Captain of the Bedfordview Performance Squad with a Comrades PB of 7:18.

SESSION: The key to getting faster is to develop leg strength and power. A great way to achieve this is to find a short, steep hill (approximately 100m) and do quick short bursts up the incline. This will build leg power and strength while giving you a speed session at the same time.

WARM-UP: Easy 15-20min jog

MAIN SET:
• 8-12 repeats up the hill (100m). Run hard and pump your arms in order to work up the hill, focus on correct running form (slight lean from the ankles into the hill, head up).
• Once at the top, walk or jog very slowly back to the bottom and repeat.

COOL-DOWN: Very easy 15-20min jog

Looking for that one sure-fire session that’s going to help you run that elusive PB? Then make sure you include hill work in your training programme, as it will boost your strength, endurance and speed. – BY RAY ORCHISON

Hill training is a session that includes a number of short repetitions run up or down a specific hill or section of a hill. A typical hill session would start with an easy 15 to 20-minute warm-up jog, followed by running 100m up the hill at a fast pace before turning around and jogging very slowly back to your starting position, and then repeating a number of times. Your session would end with an easy cool-down run. It’s hard work, but a fairly simple concept, and you will reap the running benefits.

1. Strength: Hill training develops strength and power, which are the foundation for developing speed. For strength training, the length of the hill should be kept short (a maximum of 180m). Longer than this and you’re no longer achieving the purpose of the strength session, so look for a steeper hill instead of a longer hill. An example would be sprinting up the hill 15 to 20 times for 20 seconds, focused on a high knee-lift, with a slow jog or walk back to the bottom.

2. Endurance: Hill training also builds endurance, and this type of session would typically be done on a gradual or a moderately steep hill, with the length of the repeat between 300m and 600m. In most cases, 300m is more than adequate for building your form. However, for someone training for a 100km mountain trail run, a few sessions consisting of 600m hill repeats might better meet their needs.

An example of an endurance hill session would be two sets of five repeats of 300m with three to five minutes rest between sets. The speed at which you run the hill should be somewhere between 5km and 10km race pace, and your focus should be on maintaining correct form by leaning into the hill from your ankles, letting the hill come to you and allowing you to land on the forefoot and under your centre of gravity, head looking forward and shoulders relaxed with arms moving comfortably with each stride. Keep a good rhythm, control your breathing, and keep the pace constant.

3. Eccentric and speed development: To build eccentric strength – when the muscle is lengthening and contracting at the same time – find a gradual downhill, one so gentle that if you were running up this hill during a race you wouldn’t even consider it a climb, then run fast down the hill, concentrating on leaning forward from the ankles and shortening your stride to ensure that you land on the forefoot. You need to make sure that you’re not leaning backwards and landing on the heel, as is our tendency. A typical session would be three to six repeats of 300m to 600m.

THE HILLS ARE CALLING
When training for an upcoming hilly race, include a few endurance sets and one or two eccentric hill sessions, and for races where you want to push times and go for that PB, include some strength hill sessions. Also, if you’re looking to get faster by introducing track workouts to your programme, first start by including one hill session per week for six weeks, to develop the necessary base strength and speed for the track. Just make sure you don’t do too many hill sessions, thus risking injury, with downhill repetitions being especially tough on the body.

Jogging or running is a popular form of physical activity. Running is an appealing exercise to most due to the fact that it doesn't cost a lot to take part and you can run at any time you feel necessary.Some runners choose to participate in fun runs, while others tend to be more serious and take part in track events or marathons.

Regular running or jogging offers various health benefits. Running tends to build strong bones due to the fact that it is a weight bearing exercise. While running, muscle strength is increased along with cardiovascular fitness. On the lighter side, running burns calories and helps maintain a healthy weight.

The difference between running and jogging is the intensity at which the activity is done. Running is much faster than jogging, uses more kilojoules and demands a whole lot more effort from the heart, lungs and muscles. Running also requires a higher level of overall fitness.

However, having said that. Both running and jogging are forms of aerobic exercise. Aerobic meaning ‘with oxygen’ – the term ‘aerobic exercise’ means any physical activity that produces energy by combining oxygen with blood glucose or body fat.

Goal Setting for Running or Jogging:

1.     Think about what you want to achieve from running or jogging.

2.     If you are a beginner, you should start with brisk walking, progress to jogging and then eventually running.

3.     Mix your running with other forms of exercise such as swimming or team sports. This will maximise your overall fitness.

4.     Adjust your diet to include plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables, lean meats, wholegrain cereals and low fat dairy products. Cut back on the takeaway foods and soft drinks and sugar.

5.     Run with a friend. If you don’t have any friends, join a running club!

Start with brisk walking. Aim for 30 minutes per session. Allow a minimum of six weeks to build up to regular running. Aim to increase your jogging time each session, and alternate between walking and jogging.

Make sure you warm up and stretch thoroughly before you head out. Cool your body down with light stretches when you return and make sure you have plenty of fluids. Take a water bottle with you on your run and try to drink lots of water before, during and after any activity.

Allow at least two complete rest days per week to avoid overtraining, which may cause injury. Consider other low impact activities, such as swimming, at least once each week. Plan your route and if possible, choose flat, grassy areas rather than hard or loose surfaces to reduce the risk of injury.

Avoid running near roads. This is especially important if you have a pre-existing condition such as asthma. Vehicle exhaust fumes can increase your risk of various cardiovascular and respiratory complaints or illnesses. Avoid the 'peak hour' periods to reduce your risk of inhaling air pollution from motor vehicles.

Wear loose cotton clothing. Dress your upper body in layers of clothing so that you can take off layers as required. Apply sunscreen to exposed skin areas and ensure that you have bought an appropriate pair of shoes.

Don't wear your old sneakers. Poorly fitted shoes are a common cause of injuries and your running shoe should bend easily, feel comfortable and have a wedge of shock-absorbing material in the heel. The fit should not be too snug otherwise your foot will splay as it impacts with the ground.

When buying the shoes, wear the socks you intend to wear while running. Have your shoes professionally fitted.

It can be difficult to stay motivated to run when the mornings and evenings are dark and the temperatures are low at this time of year, especially with a fair number of the SA running community in post-Comrades hibernation, but one effective way to keep your fitness up in preparation for spring is by introducing strength work and cross-training. – BY RAY ORCHISON

It's dark and cold, and as you grudgingly plod through your morning run in tracksuit, gloves, beanie and thermal underwear, one question remains: “Am I crazy?” Fortunately, our winters are not that bad – there are very few parts of our country that require us to run through snow and temperatures below freezing – but it's still a challenge to stay inspired to run instead of waiting for warmer days!

KEEP TICKING

The Comrades Marathon effectively marks the end of the main running season in this country, with the new season starting round about September/October. As runners, we all know that two to three weeks of no exercise will have a very small effect, if any, on our base fitness. We'll probably lose a bit of our racing 'sharpness,' but that comes back very quickly. The problem is missing two to three months of training. That's a long time to be doing nothing, and by the time we get started again, we basically have to start from scratch in order to build our fitness back to a reasonable level.

Now wouldn't it be nice to come out of winter ready to start hitting some quality training and with the possibility of going for a PB before the end of the year? It's possible if we simply keep our base fitness intact through winter, and tree or four runs a week with a weekly average of around 30 to 40km is more than enough to keep you ticking over.

BUILDING POWER

Having adequate upper body and especially core strength is a critical part of running, ensuring that we're able to take on high mileage injury-free, but one of the areas that most runners ignore – or don't find the time for once the running season is fully underway – is strength work. Now I'm not saying we need to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger, because having strength does not mean having bulky muscles. Just look at the Kenyan and Ethiopian middle and long distance runners – they're very thin and light, but if you look at their muscle definition, you'll see that they're incredibly strong. As middle and long distance athletes we want to be light and strong, so we should aim for muscle strength as opposed to muscle bulk.

The dark winter months offer you a great opportunity to slip into the warmth of a local gym and to start building and developing your strength. If you're new to it, start light and concentrate on doing the exercise correctly, with proper form. Doing strength work incorrectly is not only a waste of time and energy, but can also lead to injury. Once you've mastered the exercise and you can feel it working the areas you are expecting to work, then gradually start increasing the weight while reducing the number of reps. For example, you might start with a light 5kgweight and do 12 to 15 reps per set. As you begin to master the exercise, you can increase the weight to 10kgand reduce the reps to 10. Eventually you might build up to 30 or 40kgwith only six reps.

Some cross-training is also a great way to keep your cardio fitness up and to work your muscles in a different way to running. Swimming, spinning and rowing are great cross-training sessions for a runner, both in and out of season. But most of all, enjoy the winter running, strength work and cross-training, and hang in there, because spring is not far off.

Treadmill Training

You can train for a road race mostly on a treadmill, but you’ll have to make a few tweaks. For starters, increase the incline and ‘run hills’ once or twice a week, for balanced fitness. The slower uphill workouts build strength and power, while faster flat workouts build stamina, endurance and foot speed. Better yet, keep adjusting both speed and incline during your workouts, to simulate the changing terrain of an outdoor run.

Also, because treadmill belts offer a relatively soft landing, prepare your body for racing on harder surfaces:

·         Strength-train twice a week (lunges, squats, hip extensions, planks, push-ups).

·         Run outdoors at least once each week during the last four weeks of training.

During your race, walk for a minute at every refreshment station, to ease the overall impact on your body and give you a chance to hydrate.

Ray Orchison is a Johannesburg-based USATF and NAASFP certified coach. Find him at www.runetics.comor [email protected].

The main ultra-marathon season is just about behind us, with thousands of runners building to peak fitness for the Comrades Marathon, but you may be plotting a personal best (PB) at another ultra distance event in the coming months. Here’s what you need to know now in order to go after that new PB. – BY RAY ORCHISON

In SA, the huge ultra-running community revolves around two main events: The Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon and the Comrades Marathon. Of course, there are several other ultras on the calendar for the months to come, and this would be the ideal time to take your Comrades fitness to the next level by building up to an even longer event, or perhaps a PB attempt at another ultra (or even the marathon distance).

For example, you could try a 50km classic at the City2City in Gauteng in September, a 100km at the Hewat Festival of Running in Cape Town (also September), or a 100 Miler (161km) at the Washie in July in the Border area. If circuit racing sounds like fun, you could opt for the ORAK 12-hour in the Cape in July, or choose between the Jannas 9-hour/18-hour and the Gold Reef 100 mile/12-hour – both in Central Gauteng in October.

However, keep in mind that the ultra is there to challenge us, both mentally and physically, and anyone who thinks that an ultra is simply going to roll over and hand out PB’s is horribly mistaken! So here are some essential tips to follow when chasing that new best beyond the 42km mark.

1. Get going:

One of the biggest mistakes runners make is to go into hibernation for four or five months (and sometimes longer) after Comrades, and by the time you get back onto the road you have to rebuild from scratch. The better approach is to give yourself enough rest – anything from two to six weeks – and then get going again. The benefit is that you’re able to use that base that you’ve built as a stepping stone to become a stronger and faster ultra-runner, and that stronger base will push you to that PB.

2. Get your head in the game:

This doesn’t require hours on the couch talking to your shrink. Start by committing 100% to your goal. Make sure it’s realistic but challenging, and start believing that you can achieve it.

3. Planning is crucial:

The difficulty with an ultra is that because of the toll it places on the body and the amount of recovery required post-race, you only have one bite at the cherry. If you build up and train to run a fast 10km and things don’t work out on race day, picking another race the following week is not a problem, but if things don’t quite go according to plan in an ultra, you can’t simply choose to run another one soon thereafter. This makes planning a crucial part of success, and you’ll need to answer these questions when doing your planning:

•   What do I need to do to achieve my goal?

•   Do I have enough time to build up injury-free?

•   Which races am I going to do between now and then that will help me reach my goal?

•   What do I need to do differently this year?

4. Adapt:

Training is all about adapting the body physically, metabolically and biomechanically in order to achieve your goals. Make sure that you’re training for your goal race and nothing else. If you’re training for an ultra, then you need to be running at paces that will best prepare you for it, and not training at a pace that will prepare you for a marathon, or an even faster pace for shorter distances.

The strength of your quads and hamstrings should be equal in order for you to increase your running economy, allowing you to go further and faster. – BY SEAN FALCONER

Most training programmes recommend some gym work or cross-training for distance runners, to build power, improve balance between muscle groups, and perhaps reduce the chance of injury. Therefore, runners often do a lot of work on their legs in the gym, especially on their quadriceps, hoping that stronger muscles in their thighs will reduce the chances of knee injuries. However, most runners focus on the quads and neglect their hamstrings, and as a result, many runners have quads that are up to 40% stronger than their hamstrings – and this could be detrimental to their running.

The two muscle groups should ideally work in conjunction with each other during running, so the quads lengthen when the hammies shorten, and vice-versa – and the two muscle groups work most efficiently together when their strength is about the same. Therefore, runners should aim to include hamstring muscle-strengthening exercises that imitate running while they add some resistance. For example, steep hill bouncing or running, fast downhill running, or horizontal bouncing manoeuvres such as repeated single-leg long jumps.

Hammie Heaven

In the gym, a terrific running-specific hamstring strengthening exercise is the hamstring hip lift: Lie on your back with your feet hip-width apart and the soles of your feet on a small bench or step. Now push down into the bench with your feet, lifting your hips up high, and you will feel your hamstrings working. Do not lift your shoulders, neck or upper back off the floor. Then lower the hips until your bottom is just off the floor, and repeat. Do three sets of 15 repetitions, with 45 seconds of rest between sets.

Once you can do 3 x 20 raises, progress to one-legged hamstring hip lifts on the bench. Start with 3 x 10 and build up to 3 x 20. After that, progress to using the Swiss ball instead of the bench or step. The instability of the ball automatically makes it harder, so build up via two-footed lifts to completing 3 x 20 reps of one-leg hamstring hip lifts on the Swiss ball.