coachjoeenglish's Comments

Running Advice and News : Training -- Should I be "forefoot running"?

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 22:51:04 +0000

Good luck Dave!

Running Advice and News : Training: the first-time marathon runner 20-miler mental anguish

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 23:15:04 +0000

That will get un-done when you start your taper and begin to recover. Don't worry, you're not going backward!

Running Advice and News : Training: the first-time marathon runner 20-miler mental anguish

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 23:07:04 +0000

No, it's not. It's all relative!

Running Advice and News : Commentary -- Embracing the Isolation of running and racing

Thu, 4 Mar 2010 19:12:05 +0000

Thanks for the comment.

You may enjoy the book:Running the Spiritual Path: A Runner's Guide to Breathing, Meditating, and Exploring the Prayerful Dimension of the Sportby Roger D. Joslin. It's been awhile since I read it, but it might be a good read for you.

Running Advice and News : Marathoning -- The slow ones; they're hard too.

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:48:07 +0000

Chris -- I could see how you might think that this wasn't slow enough. I didn't include a key piece of information in the post. My training pace this season has been for a 2:36:00 marathon. I was attempting 2:40:00 in the previous marathon and had some issues in that race. So the difference between my training pace this season (2:36:00) and my Portland Marathon pace (2:57:00) is actually more than 20 minutes. It probably could have been slower, but this was a decent reduction in the pace for me.

Running Advice and News : Triathlon -- Alexander, Wellington win Ironman Triathlon World Championships

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:50:04 +0000

In a good way, of course!

Running Advice and News : Training: How should I feel after running 20 miles?

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:30:08 +0000

What we normally suggest is that you alternate weeks between an long run at easier pace (in the range that you suggest below) and then a long goal paced run the next week at a slightly shorter distance. For example, you might run 20 miles at the slower pace one weekend and then 18 miles at goal pace the next. Regarding your fluids, what I might suggest is that on your goal paced runs, you leave bottles somewhere and do multiple 4-5 mile loops passing those bottles, so that you don't have to carry them with you. Finally, with regards to being tired at the end of the training week that's to be expected, but try to build in either one rest day or an easy cross-training day before your goal paced runs, so that you are at least fresh enough to run them at goal pace. If you aren't able to do the runs at goal pace, then you are either not recovered enough or the pace is too fast for you. Good Luck!

Running Advice and News : Training -- Reflections on a marathon experience

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 23:08:04 +0000

Very well put Jake!

Running Advice and News : Racing -- Chebor & Gelan win Rock N Roll Half Marathon at Virginia Beach

Wed, 9 Sep 2009 14:48:05 +0000

Isn't that so awesome (and kind of scary)!

Running Advice and News : Races -- Liza Hunter-Galvan wins Disney's Princess Half Marathon

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:04:21 +0000

Thanks for the note Grant.

Here's the story from the AP:

(8-28-09)
<p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; \">WELLINGTON, New Zealand — U.S.-based New Zealand Olympic marathoner Liza Hunter-Galvin was banned from competition for two years Friday after admitting using the banned performance-enhancing substance EPO.
<p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; \">Hunter-Galvin, 40, a mother of four, admitted using EPO on three occasions — in February, March and in May, only three days before she returned a positive doping test.
<p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; \">Hunter-Galvin, a teacher who lives in San Antonio, Texas, represented New Zealand at the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Olympics. On both occasions she had been rejected for selection but appealed on the basis of her personal best marathon time of 2 hours, 30 minutes, 39 seconds.
<p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; \">She finished 51st in the Athens marathon and 35th in Beijing last August.
<p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; \">\"Everybody is incredibly annoyed,\" Athletics New Zealand chief executive Scott Newman said. \"It's very sad that one of our elite would choose to do this but we're not naive.
<p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; \">\"We don't imagine that our athletes aren't exposed to this at most major international competitions and I guess some will be tempted for some reason. In this case Liza was tempted and we're incredibly disappointed about that.\"
<p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; \">There was no immediate comment from Hunter-Galvin.

Running Advice and News : Races: Final tips for the Hood to Coast Relay

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:09:05 +0000

Good luck in the race everyone. I will see you out there!

Running Advice and News : Video -- The pain episode!

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 05:14:05 +0000

Reto -- Thanks for the note. I have received some comments from people having this episode lock-up in the fifth minute at various times. I re-uploaded the file before your comment, so I am re-rendering the file now and will upload it again. I hope to have this fixed shortly. Thanks for watching! Joe

Running Advice and News : Training: why do I get side-aches when I run?

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:59:22 +0000

Lauren, Really interesting question here. Here's what you need to do: first, in your general run workouts, you need to slow down so that your breathing is easier and more relaxed. Don't worry about the step ratios, just relax so that you're getting enough air. Take deep breaths from your belly. Second, you want to start doing shorter workouts that are done at higher speeds (they can start with very short segments -- as short as 200M). This speed work is going to increase your running efficiency, which is your ability to run economically in terms of your oxygen needs. Third, don't worry about anaerobic vs. aerobic running at all. All of the running that you do is aerobic. Only bursts of speed lasting perhaps 10-30 seconds (sprinting) are done anaerobically (meaning without the use of oxygen for muscular fuel). Focus on improving your running efficiency and you'll feel better as your speed increases. Coach Joe

Running Advice and News : Training: Will I lose weight when I start running?

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:48:22 +0000

Leslie, This is a great question and one that I plan to write more about. You're seeing something that I call the "Sophomore 10" (I know it doesn't rhyme like the "Freshman 15" that you've heard of when people go to college. Here's the thing, after the initial changes to your body due to the start of exercise, things may sort of balance out after about a season. Your body gets more efficient at running and may be burning less calories per workout. Also, if you've been doing the same workouts over and over for the past year, your body may have done all that it can in terms of adaptation to the workload -- this is what we call a plateau -- and in this case, the runs aren't as requiring as much of you as they once were. In these cases, the best advice is to mix up your workout patterns and increase the amount of higher-intensity workouts (such as speed work, spinning for cross-training, or intense hill training). These workouts will require more of the body and start to get a response again. There is also another potential cause to this. If you are doing heavy and intense training, the weight gain could be the result of the stress created by your workouts. Weight gain is a response to times of heavy stress. Although we mostly know this in terms of stress from work or social situations, it also applies to the physical stress you are placing on yourself in your workouts. If this is the case, then your focus needs to be on increasing your recovery time between your workouts and potentially improving your nutrition to reduce the stress on the body and allow it to properly deal with the training load. Either of these might apply to you, so it will depend on your situation. If you need further consultation, drop me a note as I would be happy to help. Coach Joe

Running Advice and News : Training -- How much should my legs hurt after a long run?

Fri, 7 Aug 2009 15:56:06 +0000

Well keep up the good work.

The one thing I forogt to say in my last e-mail was \"don't quit\". Work through it. These are problems people have all of the time and if they keep at it they evetually get to a good place where it doesn't hurt. So don't give up!

Coach Joe

Running Advice and News : Training -- How much should my legs hurt after a long run?

Fri, 7 Aug 2009 15:30:11 +0000

I'll give you a few extra pointers here, because there could be a couple of things going on:

First, take a look at the article on recovery by clicking here. Eating and hydrating after your runs will help reduce soreness.

Second, your reference to the symptoms 3 and 5 might be something slightly different. I do think that patience is a good thing and I'm glad to hear that you are seeing some improvement. With lower-leg pain, the pain does often go away after awhile because what's happening is that you're gradually building the strength that you need in those lower-legs to take care of whatever is causing the pain in the first place. With that said, I would encourage you to start treating the symptom of the pain and investigating what's causing it. It could be one of the following:
-- Weak lower-leg muscles -- start doing strengthening exercises such as toe lifts and heel dips
-- Shoes that are not providing enough cushion -- get yourself fitted for shoes and make sure they are well cushioned
-- Inflexible calf and foot muscles -- make sure you are stretching your lower-legs and feet, especially the calf muscles.

Read the following article for more on shin splints and shin pain by clicking here.

Adding these steps in will make your stronger and more flexible and speed along the process of helping clear this up.

I hope that helps.

Coach Joe

Running Advice and News : Question: What causes runners to look unhealthy?

Tue, 4 Aug 2009 18:17:05 +0000

Joe -- I tend to agree with your comment. Depending how hard someone pushes themselves and how dehydrated they may get during a race could make them look rough at the end of a race. But an hour later, they usually look fine.

Thanks for the comment!

Joe

Running Advice and News : Nutrition -- What's the best food or drink to recover after long runs?

Mon, 3 Aug 2009 21:41:04 +0000

Yes, red rice protein is another great source of plant-based protein.

Thanks for sharing the brand name, I will check it out.

Joe

Running Advice and News : Racing -- Goucher storms to victory at Rock N Roll Chicago Half-marathon

Mon, 3 Aug 2009 17:48:05 +0000

Beth -- you're right that was an excellent result. Unfortunately overshadowed by that bullet at the front of the field that turned everyone's heads and even beat all of the guys.

Good job to you!

Joe

Running Advice and News : Nutrition -- What's the best food or drink to recover after long runs?

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:58:05 +0000

Thanks Greg.

That is so WEIRD. I just came from Whole Foods and the checker (noting the contents of my lunch no doubt) asked if I had tried the new SO Delicious Kefir products. I guess will have to try them!

Thanks!

Coach Joe