Speed Development for Running, Biking and Swimming

A fellow MFP member recommended I write about speed development. I was pretty excited at this suggestion, as it's something I am currently working on right now for myself. As a note, even though speed work is used in speed development, speed development is not speed work. With that, enjoy!

What is Speed Development

Generically speaking, speed development is improving your max speed that you can go in a given sport; I'll focus mostly on running and cycling, but it can probably apply to many other sports, but I don't do them, so I am only able to speak to what I know.

I was originally a sprinter, so speed development was what I ate, slept and lived. When you are sprinting 100 meters or heading down the runway for the long jump, you need to some serious speed. You need your fast-twitch muscles going at full blast. And there are tons of workouts, both cardiovascular and strength, to build this. However, my focus here, as with most of articles, is on endurance sports. The concept is still the same, but the execution is a bit different.

Slow-Twitch and Fast-Twitch Muscle Fibers

Everyone has at least some slow- and fast-twitch muscle fibers. Some people are genetically lucky and have large amounts of one or the others; hence Usain Bolt and his outrageous fast-twitch fibers. For the rest of us, there is typically more of a balance, with each person leaning more on one side or another.

Slow-twitch muscle fibers contract slowly but allow you to sustain an activity for a longer period of time. Conversely, fast-twitch muscle fibers contract quickly allowing for powerful bursts of speed, but fatigue quickly. This is why you won't be running that marathon at the same speed you just ran down the basketball court on a break-away. If you are, then you probably aren't reading this and are winning lots of marathons.

As an endurance athlete, you rely heavily on your slow-twitch muscle fibers. There are many instances where you need to use your fast-twitch though, and most endurance athletes focus too much on their slow-twitch. As a quick note, there are technically two types of fast-twitch, but I am just going to focus generically on fast-twitch.

The Key in "Fast"

So, with all of that said, the goal is to force an endurance athlete to engage the fast-twitch fibers more often and for longer duration. The generic running plan will have mostly easy and long runs, with hopefully some tempo and interval work included. However, these plans still don't really force you to use those fast-twitch fibers. Most training is designed to make sure you can handle the load for the duration of your event, so the plans focus on slow-twitch fibers.

But if you want be faster, you need those fast-twitch built up. There are many ways to do this, but cardiovascular training is where we focus. There are strength routines to help build your muscles so you can sustain the load and have that extra "umph" of power.

But why is speed work not speed development? Well, quite simply, speed work is running a certain pace for a set period of time. Yes, it can force you to improve your overall time, which does mean you are going to get faster. But that isn't speed development, that is just improving your overall time.

Speed development is all about being able to engage your fast-twitch fibers when you need them. It's also about having your body functions coordinating at all levels; metabolic, cardiovascular, mechanics, etc. This coordination conditions your body to be more efficient at higher levels of energy expenditure, which translates into great speed gains because you can now engage and sustain longer.

How to Build - Start with Your Core

If you are coming off injury or typically just run. bike or swim just for the sake of doing so, then you may be lacking the muscles you need to do the workouts for this. For example, tossing in hill work on your run or ride is huge, but you need strong glutes, lower back, hamstrings and quadriceps. Basically your high impact support muscles, or core, needs to be well built. If it's not, you are easily prone to injury and you MUST build them up FIRST!

As I have mentioned before, a simple way to build core that I use is NTC (Nike Training Club app) workouts. However, you can do whatever you prefer to build up your core. But once you have a good base, you are ready to start developing your speed.

Intermittent Intervals in Longer Workouts

One of the easiest methods to implement is adding burst intervals into your activities. For example, for a 2-hour bike ride, you might have a segment in the first 30-minutes where you do some very fast intervals of going at a certain power level, cadence or heart rate for short bursts, say 5 x 1-minute with some short rest between each interval. Then at 1 hour 45 minutes so that again. For an hour run or ride, you might do this once at the early part or latter part of your activity. I personally steer clear of pace-based anything, as I believe it restricts your potential, both physically and mentally. This is my opinion however, and many coaches, plans and books out there will focus on a pace.

However, you MUST switch this up. Don't always do your intervals at the beginning or just at the end. Yes, it's nice to build that kick in your run to cross that finish line looking like an Olympic sprinter, but we are working on building your speed, not just finishing strong.

The Hills Pay the Bills

Do you love running on that flat path with the pretty nature? Me too, but that isn't going to develop my speed. Just doing hill workouts isn't going to either, although it's going to make me one strong runner. Adding hills (up and down) into a longer duration workout is key. For example, you might do an hour run, where the "flats" you keep a consistent and relaxed speed, keep a consistent but fast pace downhill (I emphasize CONSISTENT because it really forces good muscle control and form), and then do gradual increase in speed for the uphill. As a note, I am not recommending doing super long hills in this scenario. Also, if you are in a hilly area with very steep grades, then you will need to adjust accordingly.

Other Information

I could write about this forever, and in a lot more detail. However, I like getting people interested in concepts. If you are looking for more specific workouts, Runner's World is always a good place to get some workout ideas, as is just going to a search engine and searching for Speed Development.

There aren't many new books I like, but some decent one I have used in the past are as follows:

• Developing Speed (Sport Performance Series)
• Developing the Core (Sport Performance Series)
• Runner's World The Cutting-Edge Runner: How to Use the Latest Science and Technology to Run Longer, Stronger, and Faster
• Explosive Running: Using the Science of Kinesiology to Improve Your Performance - Mostly have this book here because it has great dynamic warm-ups
• Runner's World The Runner's Body: How the Latest Exercise Science Can Help You Run Stronger, Longer, and Faster

Disney Training - Week 11 and 12

With our other cat going through all of these medical issues with his kidney and us trying to keep him stable for surgery, I fell victim again to there just being no time for much of anything, as I was not around much. It will be like this for another week, but I will keep trying to get my long runs and other supporting runs in as much as possible. The end is in sight for training though, and even though it has not been to my liking, or very consistent or successful in regards to my goals, I know I am ready for the first three races with no problem, and I know I'll be able to complete the marathon without injury.

Swimming
Like the last two weeks, I had no time for swimming.

Cycling
Like the last two weeks, I had no time for cycling.

Running
Week 11 was not a good running week at all. Plus with no strength training, stretching, or cross training, my 5-mile run was a lot tougher than it should have been. In addition, I did my 20-mile long run, which was extremely difficult to complete. I was able to walk around after the run and my legs seemed to bounce back better than expected, but during the run was another story. I hit the wall around mile 16, and I struggled a lot until 20. However, with adding some walk breaks, I know completing 26.2 will be no problem.

Week 12 was another horrible week for running consistency. In addition, I ended up having some serious DOMS from my 20-miler because I never did enough proper follow-up stretching or cross training. I know, this is a recurring theme. Anyway, I got in a 4-mile treadmill run, which again felt tougher than it should have. I also didn't get my long run in, but at least managed to get in my 10-miler on Sunday. However, I should have stretched more before, but I was treadmill running at LA Fitness and was on a time crunch for their closing time. So, around mile 6 my back tightened up and I had trouble the rest of the time. As I write this up today, my back is killing me. However, I will NOT be missing my daily stretches. In addition, I will be adding core work to my daily routine, which I'll cover in the strength session below.

Strength
As I mentioned, I didn't get in my stretching or any other strength training. However, I have a plan going forward to help out with my back and legs. Starting Monday, I will be doing my usually daily stretches, plus I will be adding planks, push-ups, superman, bird dogs, and clam shells. I want to add pull-ups, but I cannot do them during breaks at work, so I'll be sticking with something I know I can accomplish during the short breaks I get.

Nutrition
Overall, I am still doing well with weight loss, despite not always eating some of the healthiest snacks. I did have an issue during week 12 though where I ran out of my usual snacks and found myself visiting the vending machine at work a lot, which did not help at all. I made sure to get out and get my snacks, so that won't happen again.

Final Thoughts
As I mentioned, I am not happy with how training has gone or progressed, but I content in knowing I will be able to complete all four races and that I will have a great base for running when I start my Ironman training 2 weeks after the races. Plus with my cat coming home in a week, I'll be able to have a lot more time to focus on my workouts.

Disney Training - Week 4

With my foot doing much better, I decided before I got running that I would work on some endurance and continued with my TrainerRoad program. I completed all three TrainerRoad workouts, although one did not go very well. I was pleased to end my week with getting in a run, which I will go into more detail below. I also got in a strength session, as well as a stretch and light cardio session, which really helped me out as well. Overall, an awesome recovery week for my foot that ended with me ready to get back into my Disney training.

Swimming
I didn't get any swimming in, which, as usual, bothers me and I need to improve on this.

Cycling
I got in three TrainerRoad workouts in. I can honestly say I have never been so taxed on riding my trainer before. This has really opened my eyes to structured indoor training and I love it! My Friday session did not go well though. It had nothing to do with the ride, but rather me. I had not slept well the night before and I consumed an insane amount of caffeine that day, which bit me hard for my ride. I was having severe shakes and my heart was going nuts. Therefore, I had to cut my ride short. Sunday went much better. I am not sure I'll be able to get all three sessions in each week, but I hope to get at least two.

Running
My foot was feeling good at the beginning of the week, but I didn't want to risk anything. However, by the weekend I felt 100% so I went out for a run. It was mostly hills and it felt amazing! For the first time in a long time I not only felt good during and after my run, but nothing bothered me; knees, feet, back, or shoulder. I am definitely ready to get back to my Disney training. Although, I will make sure to alter the distance to ease back into it.

Strength
I was able to get in one actual strength session. It was full body strength with a focus on core. It was challenging and I was definitely a bit sore the following two days. This is just further evidence I need to be getting in more strength sessions because I should not have been sore like I was.

Nutrition
I seem to continue to fight the nutrition monster; myself. Things are starting to get a little more normal with the move-in, and we have some Blue Apron meals planned for next week, so I am hoping to get my nutrition a little more on track.

Final Thoughts
A very good week as I mentioned. I know I have said this before, but I really need to get swimming again and must incorporate more strength training. In addition, I think I need to do actual strength workouts, not just HiiT-style full body workouts. I will probably continue with mostly body-weight strength, but it will be a lot more focused on specific muscle groups.

Disney Training - Week 2

The week started off really well. My runs felt much better and recovery was very fast. However, the weekend did not fair so well. Even though it was move-in weekend to my new house, I still have planned out time for my two runs. However, Friday when I was working from home, I fell down the stairs and my foot and ankle were bothering me all weekend. So I decided I couldn't afford to risk re-fracturing my right foot, which is where I had landed from my fall. As I am writing this post today, my foot feels a little worse so I may be shifting the next couple weeks around to help recover. After feeling my toe and injury area, it feels very similar to when I had fractured it last. However, it does not hurt like it did, so I am hoping a couple weeks should have me good to go.

Swimming
I got in my usual Monday swim. Even though it was under 20 minutes of swimming, I was completely exhausted. I will need to get myself up to two or more swims a week if I want to stop feeling so drained each time. With my current foot injury, I'll be planning to up my swimming to 3 times a week minimum.

Cycling
I didn't have any cycling sessions, but with my foot, I will be setting up my trainer and starting to cycle a good bit to help keep up my endurance. I don't really have any plans for any major cycling workouts during my training; just the occasional cross training session.

Running
With my latest foot injury, although I am sure I could run, I am not risking it. The last time I was stupid I was out of commission for over 2 years. So I'll be focusing on swimming and cycling to keep up endurance.

Strength
I have been meaning to get my strength routines going, and with the injury, it's just a bigger excuse to roll out my strength plans. Therefore, I'll be doing about 2-4 strength sessions per week. My main focus will be legs, hips and core.

Nutrition
I have not done well at all with portion control or staying away from snacks. With my new move however, I am not stocking anything bad, so I really expect to start turning things around.

Final Thoughts
Overall a great week because I am now living in my new house and I have quick and easy access to lots of fitness facilities and areas. However, a bad week since I hurt myself; although I am happy it wasn't from working out. Now to mend myself so I don't miss too much training.

Half Marathon Training - Week 10

Another horrible week. Aside from a few strength sessions, I got in zero running and zero cardio. I had closing for my new house and my cat had a bunch of ER visits. Barely got any sleep either. Fortunately my eating wasn't too terrible, although I didn't log anything due to other higher priorities.

Swimming
No sessions.

Cycling
No sessions.

Running
No sessions.

Strength
I didn't have time to get in any structured workouts, but I made sure to do my stretches for my back and did core work almost everyday.

Nutrition
Overall I ate pretty well, even though mostly at maintenance calorie levels. I got very little sleep all week, however, and felt pretty awful and sluggish all week.

Final Thoughts
Not feeling too confident right now for a good time due to the amount of training I have missed. I know I will complete the half marathon, but I am not sure I will come anywhere near the time I wanted. However, life events were far more important, so I'll just have to make due and try to have a decent Week 11 if possible.

Half Marathon Training - Week 6 & 7

And back to the cat not doing well again. What a roller coaster! Plus a lot of stuff in prep for closing for our new house. So, that's why I am behind on my training blog. Week 6 went alright, with me only missing 1 run and 1 strength session. Week 7 was pretty bad. I was able to at least salvage the week by getting in a training ride for my century event. I am not sure what new adventures this week will have in store, but as usual I will be doing my best to get in as many training sessions as possible.

Swimming
I did not get any swimming sessions in.

Cycling
I got in one training ride each week. Week 6's ride went well for the most part. There were amazing headwinds though, which I had to battle for over an hour of the ride. I was completely drained and exhausted, but wow was that a great training session. Yesterday I got in another ride, just under three hours. I will be shooting for a 4 hour ride this upcoming weekend as a benchmark for my endurance for my Ironman.

Running
Week 6 I got in 3 of my 4 runs. All went pretty well. My back was a bit tight though for my long run, the day after my intense bike ride. Since I didn't stretch enough, this run was a bit more difficult than I had anticipated. I still did fairly well considering though. I got in no runs for Week 7, which is definitely going to hurt my progress, but I will resume training this week and adjust accordingly.

Strength
I only got in one of two sessions for Week 6 and none for Week 7. My lack of consistency with strength is starting to show a lot in my training and day-to-day life. I will be incorporating daily strength sessions of about 5-10 minutes twice a day, in addition to my 2-3 strength sessions per week. I really need to build up my core to prevent injuries.

Nutrition
I tried logging my food as best as I could, but it was tough keeping consistent with everything going on. I did alright on nutrition overall though. I have a lot to improve on, which I will continue to make strides towards.

Final Thoughts
Overall a really rough two weeks. Week 6 was good overall from a training standpoint at least. In addition to everything else, I will be trying to my hardest to get more sleep, as my 4.5 hour average sleep time per night is really starting to weigh heavily on me. Good luck everyone!

Building Plan: Week 11 Complete

So this was a rough week. Monday was an incredibly challenging strength routine. I thought I was doing well on Tuesday, so instead of cycling I ran. Well, I hurt myself a little. Nothing major, but I couldn't do anything for the following two days. I adjusted my schedule though, recovered, and finished out the week on a good note.

Swimming
My shake-out swim was rough. I was spent after my run, but I still managed to get in 800 yards. Had to pound 2 nuun tabs after though to keep me from passing out. Although my swims are designed to just help with my recovery and push myself a little extra, I am happy with how my swims are going. My form has been much better, especially my arm rotation along with my pull and push. It will be exciting later in the year when I start my actual swim training to see what I can do on a fresh swim.

Cycling
I got in a cadence ride this week and it was awesome! I was shocked I could hold my cadence for 45 minutes, which is 15 minutes longer than my previous rides. In addition, I had been having trouble keeping that cadence. I am going to hopefully have another successful cycling week and then I am going to bump up the resistance.

Running
As I noted, my first run was really bad. I started my new cadence training week, 7/8. So aside from it being a lot tougher from that, my legs and body were not remotely recovered from my Monday strength session. Therefore, I was having terrible heart rate spikes and pains all over. My foot is still bugging me slightly. So, I took off 2 days and I waited until Sunday to do another run. My Sunday run was awesome though! I completed it and overall my cadence wasn't too bad. However, it wasn't as good as it could have been because my foot still was slightly bothering me from Tuesday. The gym was also so hot and humid that I was having trouble cooling myself and staying hydrated enough. Looking forward to smarter running and more of Week 7/8.

Strength
Even though I hurt myself, I still got in two of my three strength sessions. They were great as always and I keep seeing more improvement every week!

Nutrition
I am getting better with logging my food. Still not 100% there yet. I have not been too good at quality of food in some cases, but I'll get there.

Final Thoughts
Overall a tough week for me, especially since I don't handle being injured very well. However, I fought through my mental hurdle, recovered, and finished out the week strong. I am so proud of myself for accomplishing that. I look to keep the momentum going into next week!

Building Plan: Week 10 Complete

And another one bites the dust! I completed Week 10 and feel awesome. I took 2 rest days, but I am really excited that the second rest day didn't really feel necessary, and in hindsight, I should have at least tried doing some stretching or yoga. I had an amazing running week, and I continue to make strides in my strength training.

Swimming

I was able to get a longer swim in after my Sunday run. As usual, I felt amazing afterwards. To my surprise, my shoulders and legs were not as fatigued as they usually are after my run. I was therefore able to double my normal swim distance. Granted, it was only 800 yards, but I am a fan of improvement. Although my arms felt better, my rotation was much slower than usual, which made my pace a bit slow. It's always interesting how perceived progress and how one feels can be very different than the truth. This is one reason I really like technology. It helps keep me in check.

Cycling

Not much to say here. I got in no rides this week. My rest days fell on the cycling days. I am hoping to get at least one of my cycling sessions in this upcoming week.

Running

I not only got all three of my runs in, but I have dramatically lowered my overall effort during the runs. I felt good during and after each run, and recovery was amazingly fast. I definitely attribute my stretching and strength training to this, in addition to my new running form. If you don't remember what I am referring to, you can see my Running Recovery Plan - Cadence. I will be moving onto Week 7/8 of the plan. I am going to try the optional plan to see if I can handle it or not. If I can't, I'll revert to the normal Week 7/8 plan. My cadence has dropped slightly from 180 to upper 170's, so this is something I will need to focus on this upcoming week.

Strength

Again I got two of my three sessions in. My third session fell on a rest day, although I probably could have done this workout. This is actually exciting, since most weeks I need that second rest day. This is the first week I have not. As a note, my strength training is still focused mainly on functional strength. Once my recovery plan is completed, I will be starting to focus on muscle strength.

Nutrition

I missed some meal logging over the weekend, but for the most part I got everything logged. I did have a pretty bad binge weekend though due to some severe stress. I know stress eating is not an excuse, but until I can fully alter that habit, it's what I am stuck with. Sadly, it's usually an unconscious thing that I only realize after I have already started or done it.

Final Thoughts

I am looking forward to an awesome week. With any luck, my recovery plan has 4 weeks or less left. I am so excited to be back running and I can't wait to get back into triathlon training. Hope everyone is doing well with their goals!

Building Plan: Week 9 Complete

Another solid week of workouts. I had some extra muscle soreness during the week, so I had to take 2 rest days, but aside from that, I did really well with my workouts. I also did much better with nutrition and logging my meals. I am really pleased with my continued progress.

Swimming

I still have not been able to find time yet to get more swims into my schedule. As my body gets used to my actual planned training schedule demands and my cat gets healthier, I will be able to schedule more time to swim. I was able to get in one swim in this week, although it was short and intended to both push myself after already being exhausted from my run, as well as act as a shake-out to aid in recovery. And it served its purpose perfectly! As I am writing this, I feel amazing. And that was just after a tiny 4 x 100 yd swim. Although, that swim felt like a nightmare though. I was struggling to rotate my arms and kick my legs. I had wanted to get in at least 800-1200 yds, but I had to stop because I felt like I was going to pass out.

Cycling

I got in no cycling this week. It fell on the 2 days I needed to take as rest days. This is fine, however, as my reason for cycling right now is to just cycle and lightly work on cadence.

Running

I got in all three runs! I am so pumped about this. I am also psyched that I did fairly well. I was a bit disappointed that my cadence was so much lower than I really wanted it to be, but that is why my plan is designed to extend an extra week or so if needed. I am expecting my cadence to get closer to my range during Week 10. One thing I am noticing though is that the increased speed and duration are starting to see some strain on my knees. However, it only occurs when I drag my leg back in my kick-back for my stride. This shows a breakdown in my form and thankfully is easy to immediately correct. Once my cadence training is over, I will be starting to adjust the treadmill to incline of 0.5, and then to 1 to more closely mimic the resistance of self-propelling myself forward when running outside on a flat course or track. This might actually be a good article to explain in more detail later.

Strength

I got in 2 out of 3 sessions in this week. I had to skip my 3rd because I had used that as a rest day. My first session of the week was highly focused on legs. And man did that wreck me. I literally could not do a single thing on Tuesday, as my legs were shot. Not going to lie, it was a glorious feeling. I am so excited my legs are slowly getting stronger and I love pushing myself to the max. My second session was mostly hip and back stretches mixed with core strength. I also did a fitness test for my program. It was supposed to take 5 minutes, and it took me 15 and I was having trouble breathing. These fit tests are brutal. I was supposed to end with another leg focus routine, but I was too exhausted from my Friday run. I am going to repeat this program, as it is working really well. I am hoping one more 4 week session of this body weight program and I will be able to start moving to weighted routines.

Nutrition

I logged my meals every day! I didn't really meet my goals much, but I didn't really care about this. I am a stress eater and with the constant trips to the vet hospital every day, I am not going to remove my outlet right now. Once my cat is well, I will be working on changing my stress outlet to something more productive and beneficial.

Sleep

I am adding this section because it's so important. However, my sleep is awful. I have pretty much been passing out from mental exhaustion and my sleep quality is horrible. I don't expect this to change until my cat is better.

Final Thoughts

I going to be shooting for 3/3 for both strength and running for Week 10. Also going to be making sure to keep up with my food logging. Hope everyone is doing well with their goals!

My Running Recovery Plan - Cadence

As a little background, I had a stress fracture in my right foot and have been struggling with various knee injuries over the years. My stress fracture was a couple years ago, and I pretty much hadn't run since. I had been on crutches for over 6 months and the slightest activity would still cause my foot to swell up. However, I was able to start slowly building some strength back, but then my knees started to have lots of issues. Therefore, I had no choice but to head to a physical therapist. From my road to recovery in PT, spawned a running training plan.

Photo from runnersconnect.net

Going back in time, I used to be a sprinter and short distance runner. I was mostly a forefoot runner, with me being a little more mid foot during the "longer" distances. After college, I was in a severe car accident, followed by another bad car accident a couple years later. When I finally was able to run again, my pace was more than twice as slow as the past and I had lost all of my muscle and gained a substantial amount of weight. Ever since this, I have been a heel striker. To make matters worse, even though I did not over-stride, my foot never rolled all the way through, causing all of the impact to go to my knees. Therefore, all of the core strength I had worked on was worthless.

Why Cadence Training?

Cadence is how many steps per minutes, SPM, you take. The gold standard is 180 SPM. If you want more detail, I had a blog post about Running Cadence. When I was given the green light to start running again in mid 2016, the first thing I did was get my running form analyzed. Although my stride length was good and my upper body form was great, my foot strike was terrible. There are many ways to correct how you land or your foot strike, but the one I went with was cadence, as I only became a heel striker after being injured. For me, mid foot striking is more ideal. Keep in mind this is different for everyone. Meb, for example, is a heel striker and is a world-class runner. However, I have terrible joints from all of my prior injuries. Therefore, I need the impact from running to go onto my muscles, not my joints. Therefore, forefoot or mid foot is what I needed.

Cadence training is a great method to use for this, as typically the faster a person runs while keeping the same stride, the more your body will naturally go from a heel strike to a more mid or forefoot strike. This isn't the case 100% of the time, but is usually the case. As a note, cadence training is much easier to start out training on a treadmill, because the moving belt helps with kickback. But it's best to move outside when you can be more consistent.

My Cadence

My cadence was measured around 150. Therefore, going by the golden 180 SPM rule was the plan. As I have progressed in my initial training, I was able to get up to almost 10 minutes straight at just under 180 SPM while on a treadmill. Therefore, it was time for my plan!

My Plan

The plan is technically an 8-week plan. However, it's designed to with the idea that typically it will take 1-2 weeks of each progression. Therefore, the plan is designed to range from 8 weeks to 16 weeks.

Legend: WU = Warm-up | CD = Cooldown

Week 1/2

• WU walk 2 min
• (Run 5 min, walk 1 min) - 3 Sets
• CD walk 2 min

Week 2/3

• WU walk 2 min
• Run 10 min, walk 1 min
• Run 5 min
• CD walk 2 min

Week 3/4

• WU walk 2 min
• Run 10 min, walk 1 min
• Run 5 min, walk 1-2 min
• Run 5 min
• CD walk 2 min

Week 4/5

• WU walk 2 min
• Run 15 min, walk 1-2 min
• Run 5 min
• CD walk 2 min

Week 5/6

• WU walk 2 min
• Run 15 min, walk 1 min
• Run 5 min, walk 2 min
• Run 5 min
• CD walk 2 min

Week 6/7

• WU walk 2 min
• Run 20 min, walk 1 min
• Run 5 min
• CD walk 2 min

Week 7/8

• WU walk 2 min
• Run 20 min, walk 1 min
• Run 5 min, walk 1-2 min
• Run 5 min
• CD walk 2 min

If you feel this will be too easy or not challenging enough, then you can do:

• WU walk 2 min
• Run 25 min, walk 1 min
• Run 5 min
• CD walk 2 min

Week 8/9

• WU walk 2 min
• Run 25 min, walk 1 min
• Run 5 min
• CD walk 2 min

If you feel this will be too easy or not challenging enough, then you can do:

• WU walk 2 min
• Run 30 min, walk 1 min
• Run 5 min
• CD walk 2 min

Again, this plan was to just fix my foot strike. However, the concept of this plan can be used to help run faster, longer. Good luck with your training!

Building Plan: Week 7 Complete

What a week! Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, are enjoying Hanukkah, or just enjoying some time off from work. I had one of my most successful workout weeks in a while, and I am hoping to keep this momentum. I had great running sessions, although my strength sessions were lacking again. I also did much better with cross training.

Strength Training

I only got in 1 of 3 full sessions. I did my usual daily stretches, but that doesn't make up for the 2 days missed. I will be making a bigger effort to make sure I am getting these strength days, as I feel this week was successful because of strength from last week.

Running

I hit all 3 runs this week! I continued my cadence week 5/6 plan. I'll make a post later showing the training progression plan. However, I will note now, and when I post, that this plan was specifically to help correct a running form issue I developed over the last few years due to my injuries and is not a plan I'll be building on. I will be building on my mileage, but this program was focused on my stride and foot strike.

Sunday I was able to get outside and run at a local track. It was an extremely tough run though because I have not run outside in a long time, so my SPM was much lower than I wanted. I was excited to learn the only open-to-public track in my county is the one somewhat near me. I'll be going here a lot more, as there is no substitute for outside running. Don't get me wrong, I have been making incredible strides with the treadmill, and it has been really good to get me going, but I need to wind, extreme temperature changes, and soon, hills.

Cycling

I was got in a cadence ride on my trainer. These rides are still destroying me. I am not too concerned though, as I have no been focusing on cycling or my cycling cadence much. However, I am not going to just hop on the bike to ride and burn calories, so I chose cadence. I am still hoping that once I get my running and strength consistent, I'll be able to bump up to at least 2 cadence sessions a week.

Swimming

I only did a short swim after one of my runs. It was 10 minutes and I was focused on form, especially arm rotation. I did this for two reasons. The first is that I usually recover exponentially quicker when i swim after my runs. Secondly, I wanted to push my shoulders, as they were already tired from my run. I think I did pretty well, and my goal is to always get in a swim after at least one of my runs, if not more.

Final Thoughts

Overall this is one of the best weeks I have had in a while. I plan on continuing this momentum. I'll definitely be adding another week of my Cadence Week 5/6 to my schedule. Although I don't have any running races or triathlons planned for 2017 yet, my dad wants to do the City to Shore ride again, but with the Century distance (100 miles or 160 km). So I'll be training for that.

Building Plan: Week 6 Complete

Well, this ended up being another week of struggle. Constantly exhausted despite getting more sleep. On a good note, I am still seeing improvements in strength and running.

Strength Training

Got 2 of my 3 sessions completed. NTC really knows how to kick my butt. Since legs and core are so important to me, it's really nice that their programs all have that as the focus. They don't neglect other areas, but the focus is core and legs. I am definitely getting better with more of the advanced routines. I still have a ways to go, but it's nice I can do them now, as I couldn't even partially complete them a couple weeks ago.

Running

I use my Garmin 920xt's workout calendar feature to do my workouts because I easily forget what I am doing each day. It turns out my sync for last week didn't work, and I was supposed to be continuing my Week 4/5 running. I hopped on the treadmill, and started my run. After my 2nd interval, I was expecting to be done after my 2 min cool-down. Nope! Beep, beep, and go! Turns out I had my Week 5/6 schedule in there. Aside from the 41 hour recovery recommendation, I totally killed the run! I averaged 180-181 spm for all three intervals. I will definitely be doing Week 5/6 another week or so though, as I should not have that crazy of a recovery period after the run. I felt really good afterwards and nothing hurt.

Everything Else

I hopped on the spin bike a little and mostly did stretches and foam rolling. I was happy I did that much considering how exhausted and busy I was.

Final Thoughts

As usual, I will be trying to improve consistency. I have been having a heck of a time adjusting my workout schedule to all of the random chaos going on. I came up with a rolling weekly plan that should adjust pretty well to this. Now I just need time and energy. Hope everyone is doing well!

Building Plan: Week 5 Complete

What a week. I was at the vet hospital a ton, I got sick, and I aggravated my knees and right foot. I still pushed through and got workouts in, but I was overly cautious and conservative. I'll go into detail, but I am pretty happy with my decisions. To make thing frustrating though, I have been dealing with some sort of joint or some other issue in my left thumb for months, and it's getting worse. Probably will have to head to get x-rays on it.

Running

I only got my first run in for the week. The following day both knees and my foot were so bad I was limping. I thought maybe I went too hard on the treadmill. However, it's a lot simpler than that. The past couple weeks I have been slacking on my strength training, core strength, and stretching. As I have noted before, these things are imperative to long term injury prevention for myself and keeping my knee and foot issues at bay. I had a nice reminder last Tuesday of this fact. Fortunately, I didn't try and doing any running until my knees and foot were feeling good again.

Cycling

I got in some spin sessions, as well as a trainer session. I am just going to emphasize how ridiculously useless spin bikes are in regards to real bike training. I am going to write a blog article on this later in the week, so you can read more about that then. Anyway, I had, what I thought, were two amazing spin sessions where I was easily hitting 90 rpm at a very decent resistance. But my trainer ride showed me how inaccurate those sessions were. To achieve only 85 rpm average, I was going at a fraction of the resistance and worked at least twice as hard. That is fine though, I will continue to use the spin bike for warm-ups when I need breaks from my running warm-ups. Also, when I don't have time to get trainer rides in I'll use spin bikes for 1-legged drills and sit-stand strength training.

Swimming

It didn't happen. I literally had no time to get over to LA Fitness to get into the pool. Until my cat's health issues are more under control and he has his surgery, I expect this to be an ongoing issue.

Strength Training

I am embarrassed to say I got in 1 strength session, which was just core strength. Not only that but I overdid the session and my left deltoid and trapezius muscles were completely messed up for 2 days afterwards, even with stretching and using a lacrosse ball. This will not be happening again, as I cannot afford to have knees, foot, and other injuries like I did this week.

Final Thoughts

I will be revamping my training schedule to be a lot more basic and not worry about doubles just to get all of my training in. My original intent was to build my strength, get a consistent stretching and core routine, and to build my running back up. I have strayed from this by trying to get cycling and swimming in, causing me to focus on cardio more, strength less, and ultimately scope creep from my plans. Week 6 will be much more structured, but simple. I will probably follow this until real life gets a little less crazy, then I'll start adding back my other cardio.

Building Plan: Week 4 Complete

What a week! Had to be at the hospital a bunch for my cat, so I missed some workouts. However, I got most of my other planned workouts in. I even got myself back in the pool! My eating suffered a lot though.

Strength
I only got in 1 full strength session. I got a partial session in as well, but it was more stretching than anything, as I was completely wrecked from my Thursday cadence run. It was my first real attempt at my Week 3/4 cadence plan. I definitely went too fast on the treadmill. But I'll get into this shortly. Anyway, my strength session was a monster! I had a faster-than-usual warm-up run, so I started my strength session at a fairly elevated heart rate. This session was also continuous sets-focused, so my heart rate stayed rather elevated, with points where I was hitting close to max HR. I had to lay down and foam roll for a good 10 minutes after. Sadly, this was my only real strength workout, which I am extremely disappointed about, as my main focus is improving my strength. This will not happen again!

Running
So, my first attempt at the Cadence Week 3/4 plan was the day after my above strength session. My legs were not fully recovered from that session, but I did the run anyway. I set a whole bunch of PR's, but almost passed out after my run from pushing myself to the absolute max. Happily though, I am pushing myself to my limits, but not going over. I need to keep being vigilant of my form, as I will easily get injured at this level of training. I did my second run over the weekend, on Sunday instead of Saturday. Although I was exhausted, it went much better than my prior run. I was able to maintain a higher belt speed for all 3 intervals while maintaining close to my goal cadence. However, my HR is still way too high and my average cadence is not at 180 yet. Therefore, I will be continuing my Week 3/4 cadence running into Week 5. I could technically move to Week 4/5, but I am not trying to build as quickly as possible...I am trying to make major gains that will stick.

Cycling
I had a nice leg-loosening session the day after my first run. It was pure awfulness, but I felt so much better later that day and especially the following day. I am making it my mission that I never miss some sort of shake-out workout after an intense workout day because this will promote faster healing and recovery. Sadly, I did not get in my long trainer ride.

Swimming
I finally got in the pool. I did this after my 2nd run session, which was Sunday. I swam 800 yards...which felt like 10 miles and I thought I was in the pool for a couple hours. I did 100 WU, 3 x 200, then 100 CD. I needed a full 60 seconds rest between each set. I honestly can't remember the last time I swam and it felt that tough for swimming so little. But guess what? I felt amazing when I got home and today I feel almost 100%. I cannot emphasize how much proper cross training is helping me.

Final Thoughts
I am going to keep trying to be more consistent with my workout volume. I altered my plan a little to be more realistic with my schedule. I am hoping I will be able to succeed more now. I don't think I need another 3 run sessions of the Week 3/4 Cadence plan, but I am going to get them done for good measure. As a note, I am down to a 6:08 mile now!!!!! With my walks between intervals, I am also at a 22:07 5k as well. However, I am not really counting this 5k pace until I can do a 5k with no stops.

My eating is still amazingly awful and I have not only regained all of my lost weight, but I am up a couple pounds again. I am not too worried about it though, as this is still not my major focus yet. Hope everyone is working hard with their goals!

Building Plan: Week 2 Complete

Last week was Week 2 of my training plan. Overall, I saw a good amount of improvement in my workout consistency. I still missed a cadence run workout, which I really did not want to miss. However, I let getting ready for Thanksgiving be my excuse for not getting it done. Shame on me, but I'll be good this week no matter what.

My strength sessions keep improving. I did a fit challenge last week and pretty much passed out afterwards. I am really impressed with the improvements NTC (Nike Training Club) has made to the workouts and the app. I am really enjoying using it and seeing great gains each week, both in strength and mobility.

My running keeps improving. I was able to get complete my cadence runs at 180 spm for all 3 reps. I will be moving on to Week 2/3 of my plan. Words cannot express my excitement!

I did not get my other cross training in, which was disappointing, but I will focus on that this week. I am not going to let a holiday be an excuse. It's my job to make the time!

I am still having trouble with my weight, but my main goal was to get consistent with my workouts first. I am almost there, so I will be focusing on weight next.

Anyway, hope everyone is doing well with their goals and have a wonderful, happy and safe Thanksgiving!

Week 1 Progress

So, MyFitnessPal isn't working for posting my fitness Blog there. I am pretty angry at them, but it can't be helped. Therefore, I will just post everything here. As a note, I am now on Week 2, but it's been almost 2 weeks with MFP support having no clue how to fix the issue.

Last week was week 1 of my training plan. My current focus is rebuilding my running, which involves cadence training and complementary strength and cross training. 

So, I was not as successful as I would have liked, but I still made the effort. I missed 2 of my runs, which I was no happy about, but I got in all of my strength sessions and the long bike trainer session. 

Compared to prior weeks where I was doing 10 minute cadence runs, my run this week saw an improvement in cadence, which was awesome. I was so dead afterwards though. I am in the avg HR zone of 78% max hr for my runs, and peak at 98%.  However, I recover within 30 minutes, post-run, so I am pushing myself but not past my limits. This is why I am currently seeing week-over-week progress. I am really shooting to not have more than 1 session of plateau. 

For my strength, I am seeing constant improvement in strength and flexibility. However, I still have a ton of core muscle groups that are insanely weak. I will keep focusing on them. I am starting a Nike Training Club (NTC+) 4-week workout routine that is going to help with this. 

For my bike trainer session, it was rough; really rough. I had a super active day doing yard work and carrying many heavy things up and down stairs for most of the day. And this was also my first cadence ride on my trainer. I was over 10 rpm below my goal average, and I thought I was going to die in the 30-minute session. But that's fine; the sky is practically the limit for how much improvement I can make on my cycling.

Looking forward to more consistency in Week 2 of my program. Hope everyone is working at their goals! 

Why So Many Knee Issues?

So what's the deal with those knee issues? I mean, come on, it's not like you are on them all of the time. Sorry, had to do a Seinfeld-esque statement there. But seriously, why does it seem there are increasingly more and more knee injuries and people with knee problems? Just get to the record straight, I am not going into hereditary, low bone density, arthritis, old age, and similar causes of knee problems. I am focused on people who were fine for most of their lives until one day they all of the sudden had knee problems.

The common issue is usually plain and simple; a person injured their knee from a sports activity or falling down for one reason or another. This person needs to get usually needs rehab, and maybe some pins, maybe some bio-gel do fill in lost cartilage, or maybe some surgery.

So what about everyone else? I personally never had knee injuries until I got into long distance running and multi-sports. I hate to admit this, but I figured it was just the extra impact on my knees from the extra distances I was going. I was so wrong...and this is a common way to think for most people. I therefore had to do some root cause analysis and figure out how this could have happened. In short, in 2012, the year after I recovered from my second car accident, I got back into running and wanted to do long distance; 10ks and half marathons. I had knee issues for my first triathlon during the running segment. I ignored this issue because I just assumed it was from me just swimming 1.5km and cycling 24.8 miles. However, later that year I collapsed 3 times during the Philly Half Marathon. Was it from overuse, bad running form, something else?

I went to a sport medicine doctor and he said there were two issues; 1) I had extremely high collapsing arches, but with each foot collapsing differently. 2) My leg strength and flexibility were atrocious (the doctor used a harsher explanation than this...which is good because I needed to hear it). The arch issue was easily resolved by insanely expensive custom orthotics. They are definitely not a solution for everyone, but they worked miracles for me...and still do. The surprise to me was leg strength and flexibility.

Flexibility and Your Knees

When it comes to your knees, the range of motion is fixed; straight through bent all of the way back where your heel touches your butt. Sadly, I could not get my knee to bend that far. But that actually doesn't matter as much, since I don't need to ever bend my knee like that for any activity I am doing. This was still an issue that needed to be addressed (exercises and stretches will be in another article). There is more of course; the rest of my legs. My hips and legs were also not very flexible and extremely tight all of the time. Even after doing basic dynamic stretches, I was still always tight. When your muscles are tight, they do not handle impact very well. This causes more impact to be distributed to your bones, which results in lots of problems. The buffer between your muscles and bones are the tendons. Their elasticity makes them an extremely efficient buffer for everyday activity and impact. However, they can only handle so much. Therefore, you need to make sure you are lose before exercising. Yes, some people are naturally loose, but I am focusing on the majority of people. It is recommended that you perform dynamic stretches before you workout, followed by static stretches after you are done working out. Your stretches should not only be focused on the areas you worked out, but rather your whole body. Yoga is a great after-workout routine for getting full body stretching. Things like lunges, jumping jacks, arm rolls, and many more are good examples of dynamic stretches.

Leg Strength is Vital

When it comes to impact, it goes in the following order: muscles, then tendons, then bones. Your tendons can be strengthened via your standard core and leg strength training routines. Most leg workouts, especially for your thigh and calf muscles, will strengthen your tendons in your legs. A lot of people with knee issues will focus on reducing leg strength training during cardio training in order to keep their legs from getting too sore...but this is counterproductive. Your knee is the final point for impact to end. For example, if you jump in the air and land, assuming you land on your toes, you will start with impact dispersion via the feet, lower leg, then upper leg, then lower back, and then you knees. The less muscle you have in those other areas, the more impact the knees will take. An extremely cushioned shoe may help a little more, but ultimately, you need to build up your leg muscles. During my training season, I fit in 1-2 strength training sessions just for legs. This is an addition to the cardio work to strengthen legs, such as hill work. During off-season, which is typically late fall and winter, I will work my legs at 3 times a week in addition to any cardio I am doing.

So, there is even more you need to worry about for leg strength. You also need strength balance between your upper and lower legs. For example, one of my issues with my knees was that my calf muscles were really strong, but my thighs and quadriceps were extremely weak. So, this caused an imbalance for when I took impact. So, because my upper legs did not balance out the impact that the lower legs were taking, my knees ended up taking extra impact. Fortunately, striking a balance is pretty easy. All you need to do is make sure your leg workouts target calves, glutes, hips (abductor and adductor muscles), quads, thighs, and hamstrings. Basically you need to be doing a full leg and lower core routine. Lower core is defined as your stabilizer muscles and primary muscles for your abs and lower back.

Other Common Reasons for Knee Issues

I am a BeachBody coach, yes. But that doesn't stop me from stressing how awful workout programs like Insanity are for your knees. If done properly, Insanity is a killer program and has awesome results. However, it shouldn't be done by someone just getting back into working out. Also, even fit people commonly get hurt in exercise programs such as this, or aerobic classes that focus on a lot of jumping exercises (examples are box jumps and burpees). The reason is pretty simple; form and technique. So many exercise classes and routines focus on the exercise, but usually very little on proper form and technique. I recommend asking your instructor or watching videos online to see proper form. Always watch more than one video, as even professionals can tend to use improper form, even if they know what the proper form should be.

The other big reason is improper gear. Many people think they are experts on their bodies. Maybe you can judge how you feel and if you are pushing yourself too hard, but that is usually the extent of an individual's expertise on themselves. Therefore, for runners and other cardio athletes, you need to make sure you are wearing properly fitting socks, and have a professional make sure you are using the proper shoes. If you look at my feet, it appears I have a normal foot. On closer inspection you can see I have a collapsing high arch. However, it took an X-Ray to see how severe my high arch actually was. In addition, it took analysis of each of my feet to see that they collapse and roll differently.

Summing It All Up

If you plan on being a distance runner or a multi-sport athlete, then your legs are vital to your success and avoidance of unwanted injuries. All of your cardio training is easily wasted if your leg muscles overall are not strong enough. Yes, there people who have always had strong legs and don't need to strength train to keep their leg muscles strong. As I stated before, this is the exception, not the norm. I'll be following up this article with workouts to help with stretching, legs, and lower core.