Training Trends

Distance running training philosophy has changed throughout the years. Well, really, it goes back and forth between two "schools"- more distance vs. more intensity.

• Late 1800's [time on your feet]: long walks with the occasional bout of sprinting for a short distance
• Early 1900's [distance]: long runs + walks and a little bit of short, high intensity intervals
• 40's and 50's [intensity]: lots and lots of shorter intervals (i.e., 80x200m) or lots of longer intervals at a higher intensity (i.e., 10x400m run in a descending fashion)... the latest and greatest school of thought was to get your heart rate up to 180bpm during the intervals (basically max out) and recover around 120bpm
• 60's and 70's [hard/easy cycles]: the "base mileage phase" was emphasized again, but interval workouts still had their place in most training schedules. While weekly mileage remained pretty high (owing to a lot of long, easy runs), interval workouts were incorporated to help athletes get used to running at their goal race pace.
• 80's and 90's [science]: the hard/easy philosophy was maintained, except instead of an entire cycle being long, easy miles followed by another cycle of hard, tempo miles, both workouts were incorporated into the weekly training schedule. "Science" made its debut in training, and finding your VO2max became all the rage, which popularized Zone Training (hence hard/easy workouts happily co-existing in the same week!).    
• 2000's [very yes]: a little mix of everything depending upon the athlete, what they're training for, how much time they have, injuries... training has got "all crazy" and even begun incorporating hard/easy paces into the same workout [known as The Progression Run - i.e., the runs from hell that coach has us do sometimes where we start off at marathon pace and descend to 10k pace].

7/28-29 Race Reports

Jennifer C. was 3rd female overall, and Jonathan W. (4th OA) and Mike C. (8th OA) both placed 1st in their age groups at the Run with Heart 5k (results)! Kari M. was 2nd female at the Battle at the Buckhorn Tri, with the fastest run split of the day (results)! CONGRATS EVERYONE!

And we had fun at the Galloway Maple Syrup (I mean pancake breakfast) run at Raleigh Running Outfitters on Sat.! Good weekend... made even better by the fact that the Olympics have started... now there's actually something good to watch on TV!

Gold - Top 5 Lists

Winning one gold medal is a huge accomplishment. Winning multiple gold medals is a wicked huge accomplishment!

• All-Time: Michael Phelps- 14; Larisa Latynina- 9; Paano Nurmi- 9; Mark Spitz- 9; Carl Lewis- 9
• Male: Michael Phelps- 14; Paano Nurmi- 9; Mark Spitz- 9; Carl Lewis- 9; Bjorn Daehlie- 8
• Female: Larisa Latynina- 9; Birgit Fischer- 8; Jenny Thompson- 8; Vera Caslavska- 7; Lyubov Yegorova- 6
• Country (looked at top the 25): US: 56; USSR: 30; Norway: 14; Germany: 14; Japan: 14
• Sport (looked at the top 25): Gymnastics: 57; Swimming: 39; Track & Field: 26; Cross Country Skiing: 14; Canoeing: 14

*** Ties were broken by looking at silver medal count, then bronze medal count.

Weekend Outlook

Three local races to choose from this weekend- Run With HEART 5k (Morrisville, Sat. @ 8AM), Battle at Buckhorn Tri (Wilson, Sat. @ 8AM), and UNC Wellness Super Sprint Triathlon (Chapel Hill, Sun. @ 7AM). We also have a couple of E3 events coming up, so spread the word!

• Beer Run (Sat. 8/4 @ 7PM)
• Golf Tournament (Fri. 8/17 @ 8AM)

AND AND AND... OLYMPIC TIME!!!

Olympic TV Coverage

So is anyone else sick of watching re-runs of the shows that were on this spring, but don't start with new episodes until the fall? I know I am! The trials were a nice break, but I'm ready for the "real thing". Sooo... opening ceremonies are tomorrow night, and NBC will be covering the Olympics (full schedule). Track starts up a week from tomorrow (event schedule), but swimming and cycling are on in Week 1 (schedule by sport)!

The Dollar Menu

You know what I like about the dollar menu? You can get a pretty filling meal for like $2 as long as you don't mind drinking water. You know what I don't like about the dollar menu? The "healthier" options are a total rip off. I mean, I am not playing $1 for like three pieces of lettuce and a pale looking tomato wedge... there's more vegetables on the hamburger! So, what can you eat for a dollar or less? Found this. Unfortunately, it's not as convenient as some fast food options, but there's usually a grocery store within a few miles...

Q: Age on race day or age you were when you ran that time?

Km: This question was asked in reference to qualifying for the Boston Marathon. Basically, you can qualify for the race 13 months before you actually run it (i.e., for 2014, the qualification period begins on Sept. 22, 2012). So, what happens if you qualify in 2012, don't run to 2014, and manage to hop up an age group in that time? You only have to worry about hitting the qualifying time for the age that you'll be on race day, so run fast while you're still young!