Specific movements that help improve running ability. Start with slow dynamic stretching & work your way into faster movements. Form drills are designed to help loosen the body up, warm the body up for faster running, & improve form. Focus on staying strong, engage your core, & move efficiently. Do them all or pick some favorites & fit them in your schedule where they work best for you.
Benefits:
Performing drills consistently can help improve speed & running form, strengthen muscles & joints, & help with injury prevention.
When do to them:
There are many different ways to fit running drills in to your training. Some of my suggestions are
After 5-10 minutes into an easy run use these drills to help loosen up if you are feeling tight or stiff, then continue the rest of your easy run.
After an easy run perform these drills before doing strides (strides are 15-20 seconds of gradually picking up your pace to a hard effort)
After a running warm-up complete the drills before doing your hard speed intervals (track sessions, fartlek, tempo, hills, etc.).
You can also incorporate form drills into your cross training routine. After a short warm up (bike, elliptical, etc.) perform the drills and get back to the cross training OR perform the drills when you have completed your cross training session. Even while cross training, drills are a great way to work on running form without stressing the body.
How often:
I suggest form drills 1-3 times per week and performing 5-10 repetitions of each movement. You can spend anywhere from 5-20 minutes on these drills.
Arm Swings:
Slow skip & swing arms across the body.
Forward Arm Circles:
Slow skip & swing arms in forward circles.
Backward Arm Circles:
Slow skip & swing arms in backward circles.
Hamstring Stretch:
Reach opposite hand to foot.
Quad Stretch:
Swing leg behind & grab foot
Hip Stretch:
Squeeze knee to chest.
Side Shuffle:
Swing arms above head & move sideways.
Forward Leg Swing:
Swing leg forward & back, keep knee slightly bent & reach opposite hand towards foot.
Sideways Leg Swing:
Keep knee slightly bent.
Forward Hip Rotation:
Move leg backwards, Use hip to rotate leg, & bring forward, keep knee bent.
Backward Hip Rotation:
Move leg forward, use hip to rotate leg & bring backwards, keep knee bent.
A Skip Slow:
Bring knee towards chest & use “running arms.”
B Skip Slow:
Bring heel towards glute, swing leg through, & quickly snap the ground.
A Skip Fast:
Move quickly, focus on strong arms & core.
B Skip Fast:
Move quickly, focus on strong arms & core.
Butt Kicks:
Quickly bring heel to glute & use “running arms”.
High Knees:
Move quickly, keep good posture, bring knee towards chest, & use “running arms.”
Carioca:
Moving sideways, right leg goes up and over left, then behind left. Switch directions.
We asked several of the mom coaches on the team for their input on what it was like running during pregnancy and running postpartum. We were all first-time moms at some point, learning to juggle running and pregnancy and then running and momming, and I myself found it particularly helpful to read about others’ experiences so I could help shape my own. Keep in mind these are personal stories, not medical advice, so talk to your doctor, listen to your body, and make your own decisions. Everyone is different, as you’ll see, but we all have something in common – we’re all moms and we’re all runners. ~Julie Urbanski
I ran on a pretty normal schedule through the 5 month mark. I went in with no expectations and simply committed to going with the flow. If running was something I wasn’t enjoying anymore for one reason or another, I simply wouldn’t run. At 5 months I ran the Seattle Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon with my dad. He was hoping to run around 1:40 so the plan was to run with him and try to pace him through it. The end result was 1:38. I felt great and ran completely within myself, but I remember when I finished I had the thought “this is the first time I’ve noticed a significant change in how my body felt while running”. I never really ran over 30 minutes after that point in time. I only ran to get moving and get some fresh air. Once I hit about 8 months, I pretty much stopped running. It was never a conscious decision, but it just didn’t feel good to me to be running anymore at a certain point. I’d have aches and discomfort afterwards that didn’t feel great so I’d opt for a walk instead.
What time of year were you running?
I was mainly running in Spring/Summer. I’ve never been great about hydrating, but that was something I focused on more because I was pregnant.
What changes did you make to your running routine throughout the pregnancy?
I really took it one day at a time. I knew things would change, but I didn’t know when and how much they would change. I also know that everyone is different and their experience and circumstances are different. So I didn’t try to plan ahead, I instead focused on getting outside each day and paying attention to how I felt before, during and after. There’s an enormous hill outside of our house and I usually start my runs by going up it (to get it over with!)…and I can remember one day when I started chugging up the hill to start my run. I was breathing much harder than normal and my heart rate seemed to be going through the roof. It’s not my style to ever stop in a run, and I definitely had an internal debate in my mind whether I should stop or not…but I reminded myself that this is a day to day endeavor and that I needed to listen to my body. So I stopped and started walking and continued on for 45 min – I never did run that day. Maturity in action!
Any changes in diet?
No.
What changes in your body affected you the most?
First of all (sorry if this grosses anyone out haha!), I pee’d my pants every time I ran from about 5 months and on. The first time it happened was in my half marathon and I couldn’t believe it. I’d never had that issue before in my life, but there I was every step, my shorts got a little more soaked. Thank goodness I wore black. The only other issue I had was some pelvic discomfort after I ran which eventually stopped me from running the last couple months. I probably could have run through it, but it wasn’t worth it to me. At that point I was enjoying a walk as much as a run so I found other ways to be active and get outside.
Any tips you’d give to newly pregnant runners?
From my experience, I think it’s really important to trust yourself. There are a lot of people with opinions and comments on running during pregnancy and they will undoubtedly throw them your way, but in the end if you listen to your body and don’t run through any consistent discomfort you will be just fine. YOU know how YOU feel – as long as you listen to that you get to write your own plan that will evolve – go with the flow, have fun and do what you can without going overboard.
If you didn’t run, anything you did instead that worked/didn’t work for you?
Casual walks once I stopped running.
When were you able to start running again?
6 weeks after I went for my first 15min run (it was slow and scary). A couple days later a friend talked me into running the Seattle Jingle Bell Run 5k in an elf costume and I couldn’t say no (it went better than expected – and we jingled all the way!).
How were those first few weeks, months of running?
It was really slow going. As with pregnancy, I went into my return to post-partum running with no expectations and vowed to listen to my body and take it day by day. While I did run a 5k 6 weeks post-partum…things didn’t move quickly from there. Thankfully, I was gifted an awesome BOB stroller to run around town in but as most new parents know it’s not recommended you run with your kiddo until they’re strong enough to support themselves and sit in the stroller without the carseat. It’s really difficult to find the time to get out on your own – there’s so much going on and running seemed to be the last thing on my mind a lot of the time, which was OK! If I learned anything in those early months, it’s that pushing around those strollers is a workout in itself. So an hour, hour and a half walk will still do a lot for your mind, body and soul early on. I have a friend who helped me with my pee problem (it’s a problem) and provided me with strengthening exercises specific to mom’s post-partum (plug for Kailey at Magnolia PT! 🙂 ). I recommend visiting a PT in the first few months to all new mom’s getting back into their fitness routines!
When did you run your first goal race after giving birth?
I’m 13 months out and haven’t set my sights on a specific race just yet, but I have run a few 5k’s in the last year. I will be training with the BOB when the time comes and I’m sure I’ll be stronger mentally and physically because of it – Team #MakeItWork over here 🙂
How do you figure out childcare so you can work towards consistency?
I bring baby with me everywhere (even to the XC and running club practices I coach at). If there’s a will there’s a way! Don’t be afraid to ask a friend, family member to watch your kiddo when you’re in a pinch – worst they can say is no!
Did you have any expectations of your running improving postpartum? (There’s lot of evidence out there showing some women improve after childbirth)
I’ve heard about this evidence! I remember reading about marathoners who made Olympic teams within a year of having their kids. Holy Smokes. Let’s just say this was NOT me in any way, shape or form. But again, everyone is different. What I do believe is that everyone can be stronger and faster than they were before, however long that takes is different for everyone. Things were slow going for me early on, but once I reached the 10 month mark I started to feel more like myself. While I haven’t trained for anything specifically, I’m confident that if I did I would be just as fast if not faster than I was the year before I had my son. Having a kiddo makes you prioritize and focus!
Anything that was especially helpful in getting back into running?
A good running stroller is essential.
Located in Seattle, Washington, Coach Anita specializes in beginner to advanced runners, both on the roads and the track, having run track and cross country at the University of Washington. She has a 33:40 10k PR and a 1:22 half marathon PR, and can incorporate strength training and nutrition, along with returning to running programs and racing strategies. Check out her coach bio for more details.
Annelie Stockton
Photo: Bloomsday Run
How long did you run while pregnant?
Running during both of my pregnancies was very similar. The first trimester of both pregnancies was difficult. I felt tired all the time and just talking myself into getting out the door was exhausting. Once I mustered up the energy to get going I found that I ended up feeling a lot better. What I found helpful was telling myself things like “you don’t have to go far, you don’t have to go fast, it’s ok to walk.” After the first trimester I felt so much better and resumed my normal running routine (5-6 days a week, about 40-50 miles per week). As my bump started to grow my mileage decreased and my pace slowed (about 2-3 minutes per mile). Running during pregnancy kept me healthy and happy, and I was able to run up until the day I went into labor with both pregnancies.
What time of year were you running?
During my first pregnancy I was running from June-March. During the winter months I mostly ran on the treadmill not to risk slipping on ice.
My second pregnancy was October-July. At this time I was living in Spokane WA, where we have very hot summers! I had to be careful during the summer months not to get too overheated.
What changes did you make to your running routine throughout the pregnancy?
I did have any rules, I ran as far and fast as I wanted on each given day, and if I needed a break that was ok!
Any changes in diet?
During both pregnancies I had acid reflex, I had to be careful what I ate before a run and make sure I didn’t eat too close to a run. Some things I couldn’t have were peanut butter, apples, and coffee.
What changes in your body affected you the most?
Boobs LOL, I went from a B to a DD, fast! This was something I was not used to with running. It was painful and I had a problem with chafing.
At first I was really nervous and self conscious about running while pregnant, especially in the later months when my bump was definitely noticeable. I had quite a few random people tell me it wasn’t healthy, that it was bad for the baby, etc. I realized not to care what other people think, running made my happy, made pregnancy better, and helped me with larbor/delivery/recovery. If you can’t run, I think walking and or cross training is a great option. Talk with your doctor, they will tell you what is ok!
Photo: Jon Jonckers
When were you able to start running again?
Both pregnancies I was about to start running again at 3.5 weeks. The first few runs back were only a mile of 1 minute jog 1 minute walk. Once I started feeling better and ready for more the duration of running increased and I took 3-4 days rest between my runs.
How were those first few weeks, months of running?
Those first few weeks of running were awkward and uncomfortable. My body changed so much during pregnancy and I got used to running a certain way, I felt like I had to start over with my form. I focused on adding form drills and strengthening routine (Daily Dozen https://www.oiselle.com/blog/core-routine-runners-dozen). I found that really helpful in getting my body back to feeling more normal.
When did you run your first goal race after giving birth?
My first race back after my first pregnancy was 7 months later and first race back after my second pregnancy was 5 months later.
How do you figure out childcare so you can work towards consistency?
On days when my husband can’t watch the kids I will either run with the stroller or go to my gym that has childcare and run on the treadmill.
Did you have any expectations of your running improving postpartum?
Yes and no. Before pregnancy, I had sciatica off and on for months at a time which made it difficult to train. Luckily for me, during and after pregnancy I haven’t had this issue anymore! So because of this I have been able to train more consistently, after my first pregnancy I was able to PR in the half marathon, and after my second pregnancy I was about to run my first full marathon and PR in the 15k. I also think, if you are able to run or cross train during pregnancy it can only help you in the long run. During pregnancy you can still build you endurance, speed, and become a stronger runner!
Photo: Jon Jonckers
Located in Spokane, Washington, Coach Annelie specializes in beginner runners, yoga for runners, injury prevention, pregnancy and postpartum running. She has a 1:25 half marathon PR and a 3:10 full marathon PR, and coaches beginners on the road and track in distances up to the half marathon. To learn more about Annelie, check out her coach bio.
Ashley Nordell
Photo: Todd Rowe
How long did you run while pregnant?
For both my pregnancies I could only run the first 20 weeks. For my first daughter it was due to medical reasons, and with my second daughter I got weird cramps every time I tried to run right around 18 weeks (this actually started with my first daughter too, but I was told to stop anyway for other reasons, so I never knew if it would have improved over time.) I always envisioned myself being that person who is 8 months pregnant and still running, so it was hard to accept that my pregnancy was going to be very different than how I had imagined. My first pregnancy was very stressful, and running was how I always dealt with anxiety, so it was extra hard to not be able to run and sort out the worries we were dealing with with that pregnancy. I exercised through both my pregnancies- once I couldn’t run I biked, cross country skied, swam, and walked. I had to stop all exercise the final three weeks before my first daughter was born because I was on bed rest.
What time of year were you running?
I had a May and August baby, so I ran through winter and spring. I only did one short race (knowingly) while pregnant, but I actually found out I was pregnant with my first daughter after a 50k and my second daughter after running my years in miles for my birthday, so in reality I ran ultras with both girls, though that was not planned.
What changes did you make to your running routine throughout the pregnancy?
I ran by feel, took it easy, and was extra careful on the technical trails.
Any changes in diet?
Took out the coffee and wine. The coffee was harder to give up. I felt nauseous the first trimester of both, and different foods felt good at the time, so my diet sort of changed based on what sounded good (and didn’t!)
What changes in your body affected you the most?
My stomach – the weird cramping I got with both girls right around the half way mark.
Any tips you’d give to newly pregnant runners?
I think the biggest is to not compare yourself with others. Luckily with my first daughter, I was not on any social media while pregnant, so I did not see all the pictures of gals with baby bumps out running and have that as a comparison tool. But every person and pregnancy is different, and you have to do what is right for you.
If you didn’t run, anything you did instead that worked/didn’t work for you?
Any sort of exercise helped me feel a bit more myself. I did what the doctors allowed and what felt good to me.
When were you able to start running again?
With both my daughters I had C Sections. The first one was after 32 hours of induced labor and was a quick emergency C Section, so I felt like that one took a bigger toll on my body. Though with my second daughter, I had a new born baby AND a three year old, so I was not able to recover as well post surgery trying to meet everyone’s needs. I started running again 6 weeks postpartum, but interestingly with both, I quickly had issues due to the relaxin in my body. With my first daughter, I had knee issues for a few weeks shortly after I started running and with my second, it was back issues. So it took about 2.5 months before I was able to get more into a groove. I bounced back significantly faster after my first daughter than my second.
How were those first few weeks, months of running?
So hard. Looking back, I am actually glad I was not able to run during my whole pregnancy because it gave me a forced rest period that I think helped me in the long run. I paced my friend Darla Askew for 25 miles of Waldo 100k three months post first baby and it was a terrible idea. I struggled so hard to keep up, had no idea how to pump while running, and I finished pacing that race feeling like a total failure. A month later I started to feel so much stronger. I just jumped back too soon.
When did you run your first goal race after giving birth?
First baby, I ran a trail half marathon 4 weeks post baby, followed a week later by a marathon. I actually felt great and had two super strong runs. With my second baby there is no way I would have been ready for those races 4 months post baby. My first BIG race after my first daughter was Leona Divide 50, 10 months post baby. I was super nervous about it because I was not even sure I could run 50 miles, and ended up having a great race and getting a golden ticket to WS, so I ended up running a 100 a bit sooner that I was planning (12 months post baby.) It was probably one of my best 100s, largely due to me being so conservative and relaxed I ended up running smarter than I might have if it had been a planned goal race. The training for and racing ultras while nursing was probably the biggest challenge I had. My husband would meet me on long runs with my daughter so I could nurse and then keep running. But even more than the logistics was the guilt in being gone for very long while I had a baby. I could not really relax and always felt like I needed to be home.
How did you figure out childcare?
This was a hard one. I never really was super comfortable using sitters when my girls were little. I used my parents or my husband’s mom when she was visiting, but I tried to do more of my training early, pushing a stroller, or when my husband was available to watch the kids.
Any running improvement postpartum?
Not sure. I felt really good from about 4-18 months post baby with my first, but then I had a really rough next year (first and only two DNFs in my 16 years of ultras), and wonder if I did too much too soon. I was way more aware of this after my second daughter and became more selective in how much I raced while nursing. Its interesting, but I actually felt like I raced my best while nursing – it also kept my weight super low while eating whatever I wanted, so not sure if that was related. I did not have the same phenomenon as much with my second daughter, but with my first, I had a magical 9 or so months of feeling super strong. The downside though was being able to eat enough while racing 100s, because nursing made me need to eat so much more, but I struggle to eat in ultras. The sleep deprivation was never a benefit either!!
Anything that was especially helpful in getting back into running?
A breastpump and running stroller!!
Located in Sisters, Oregon, Coach Ashley specializes in beginner to advanced runners on the road and on the trails, including new moms getting back into training. She’s run over 60 ultramarathons and has at least 8 course records to her name, along with a Top 10 Western States 100 finish and a 3rd place Leadville 100 finish. To learn more about Ashley, check out her coach bio.
Julie Urbanski
How long did you run while pregnant?
For the first pregnancy, I made it 16 weeks. The first trimester was fairly easy for me to run through, as I had very few signs of pregnancy other than fatigue, so I still ran ~40 miles a week with a long run of about 10-12 miles. No nausea or anything and even though a run tired me out, I could just take a nap or catch up on the weekends since I didn’t have any other kids already. I started getting a little bump around the 16 week mark and we went on a week vacation where it was harder to keep up my routine, and that’s mainly how I fell off. By the time we got home, I had lost my mojo for running much longer and started to get scared about tripping and falling, and each run became a little more uncomfortable and slower each time.
The second pregnancy has been a whole different story, especially with having a toddler as well (I’m 24 weeks pregnant as I write this). I had nausea the first trimester and vertigo from about 6-8 weeks, where I could barely stand, much less run or walk, so all running screeched to a halt. After the vertigo passed, I resumed running but really cut down the distance and aimed for frequency. My goal was 5k a day for however long I could keep that up. The fatigue factor was for real that first trimester as well, as I’d run 3 miles and need a 45 minute nap afterwards, which with a toddler was rarely possible. I think it was that much more tiring because I couldn’t just rest or nap after a run with a little one to chase all over the place. I ended up napping just as much as my 2.5 year old when he napped midday. I also started showing way sooner with #2, which I wasn’t expecting, even though I heard that happened, so at 14 weeks I already felt big, we were in the thick of moving from Seattle to Boulder, CO, and my running quickly dwindled.
Both pregnancies, I totally thought I’d run longer! I always pictured myself as someone who would run as long as possible, but once that bump came in and the rest of my body started to change in preparation of growing and birthing a human, all expectations were out the window.
What time of year were you running?
With the first pregnancy I was running mainly through spring and summer. My main concern was getting overheated on a run, so I was careful to run early in the day and rarely at midday. There was only one long run, a 10 miler, that I started too late in the morning and really regretted because it really warmed up. I slowed down on the second half of the run and increased my fluids intake, and rested the rest of the day after that one.
With my second, I got pregnant in June, so again, running mainly through summer and a little in the fall, so just making sure I never overheated. I stopped running before winter came on both pregnancies, so no real hazards like snow and ice.
What changes did you make to your running routine throughout the pregnancy?
I read a lot about other women maintaining speed workouts throughout and while I was tempted to keep up my regular routine with workouts, to me, it wasn’t worth any risks of overexerting myself. I kept up the frequency as much as I could for both pregnancies, aiming for 5-6 days a week, but mileage and intensity gradually decreased over time. My pace naturally slowed as well and so with feeling more uncomfortable with a bump, slowing down, and doing less miles, the routine sort of naturally took care of itself.
Any changes in diet?
I never had any major cravings with the first pregnancy and didn’t have nausea, so not much changed with the first one. I was eating a vegan diet pre-pregnancy and incorporated eggs and greek yogurt while pregnant, both of which tasted really good, so I went with it. This second time around I had major nausea and food aversions based on smell, so whatever smelled good is what I ate! I’ve kept a vegan diet so far on this one and mainly only crave avocados and anything with potatoes. I’ve had a hard time stomaching kale. And goodness, do I miss coffee!
What changes in your body affected you the most?
The one thing I didn’t really understand until I was pregnant myself is that it’s more than just a growing belly. Your whole body is adjusting and preparing for growing a human and for giving birth. It’s a really big deal! There’s a reason we’re tired a lot! I pictured myself running far through pregnancy because I didn’t know that you had to account for so many more changes than just that bump. I call it the 3 growing B’s – Boobs, Belly, and Butt, and all 3 grew significantly for me! That’s a lot to account for not only in regular life, but also in running. None of my sports bras fit any more while pregnant and we’re not even talking breastfeeding yet (I’m normally barely an A cup, so imagine my shock when I go into Victoria’s Secret for a new bra after 14 weeks and they tell me I’m a C cup!). I found it hard to find the right running clothes to account for my bump yet still support it, and that butt, oh man, so different than the flat distance runner’s butt. This second pregnancy I finally bought maternity underwear and I’m so glad I did! I can’t believe I held out this long!
Any tips you’d give to newly pregnant runners?
Drop all expectations and just go with the flow. If you can’t run, at least move, whether it’s walking, swimming, hiking, etc. If you can keep up your regular routine, then great, and if it stops abruptly because of life circumstances or health, then so be it. Be kind to yourself, your body, and that growing human inside of you, because in the grand scheme of things, the time that you are pregnant is such a small blip on the screen, that it will be over before you know it.
If you didn’t run, anything you did instead that worked/didn’t work for you?
Once I stopped running in the first pregnancy, I got a pedometer and tracked my steps, aiming for 10,000 steps each day. That usually meant about 4-5 miles for me, so I made sure I walked that every day, without fail. I loved it. I usually broke up the miles between walking during my work lunch break and then walking after work. I ended up calling my mom on most evening walks to just catch up, and it was often my favorite part of the day, since I could never talk on the phone while running. I walked 10,000 steps all the way until my due date, as I remember taking a 4 mile walk on a Sunday, my water broke that night, and my son was born the next morning.
This second pregnancy has been much harder to keep any kind of routine going. I walk 30-60 minutes when I make the time for it, which is admittedly only a few days a week. I’d love to be walking more, but with a 3 year old at home and other stuff to stay busy, it’s been hard.
When were you able to start running again?
I had a surprise C-Section with the first one, so I started much later than I originally envisioned. At around 8 weeks I felt comfortable walking and then at 12 weeks I started a run/walk routine, starting out with 1 minute of running, 1 minute of walking. Wow, it felt like running through mud and thick sand. Not sure if that’s starting late or not given a C-Section, but it was the earliest I felt comfortable doing it given how major of a surgery a C-Section is and all the recovery that goes into it.
I’m hoping for a VBAC this second time around, but I’m also fully prepared for another C-Section, so I’m not even setting a timeline goal for this one!
How were those first few weeks, months of running?
Those first few weeks were really difficult, both mentally and physically. None of my clothes really fit very well, I was so slow, and so sleep deprived! And I was still breastfeeding quite a bit, so I had to completely revamp my sports bra wardrobe, as my boobs were beyond a D cup and leaked a ton. I swear I could have fed triplets with my milk supply. It was hard to be in a sports bra more than 30 minutes with how uncomfortable it would get, so long runs were out of the picture for a long time.
By about 5 months, I was regularly running 3-5 miles and just aiming for consistency. Mentally, I dreaded any kind of long run so I didn’t fight it and just kept it short and frequent. From about 6-9 months, I was running around 5-7 miles, 5-6 days a week, and that’s when I really started feeling like I was getting my normal running rhythm again. I still wasn’t doing workouts but around 8 months I started getting back into long runs, doing anywhere from 10-15 miles. My boobs were still screaming for freedom by the end of those long runs, but I could usually go 2-3 hours max and still be ok.
When did you run your first goal race after giving birth?
Around 7-8 months I signed up for the Columbus marathon (Ohio), which was 10 months postpartum. I had done a few long runs of 10+ miles and felt good, and wanted a goal race to aim for, just for distance. I knew my time would be way off my PR and it definitely was! I really enjoyed running the race just to run it and enjoy it. It was the longest time I was away from my son on race day since his birth!
When my son was 13 months I ran a 50k which went super well, and then at 14 months I ran a 50 mile, Rocky Raccoon, and really struggled mentally, as I just wasn’t into it. I also had major nausea, both issues being a little worrisome, as I was a training run for a 100 miler a couple months later. When I ran the Umstead 100 miler in April (16 months postpartum), I dropped at 50 miles. It was mainly for mental reasons and physically, I felt nauseous the whole time. I had a hard time convincing myself push for that long and since then I’ve had zero desire for another ultra. I’ve done 3 other road marathons since then but none of them have been major goal races.
What’s surprised me the most about running since given birth is my motivation and the reasons I run. I’ve been motivated to run, to keep up consistency, and the stay in good shape and maintain a good weight, but beyond that, I haven’t found the motivation to race hard, to shoot for a PR (most notably the marathon, where I’d love to PR), or to run anything beyond 50 miles. When I was walking so much that first pregnancy, the thing I missed the most was the social aspect of running and being able to just chat away through a long run, so running with others and just being a part of races but not racing them has been way more gratifying than I originally expected. There hasn’t been much desire to train or race beyond a marathon, so that’s been a bit weird to get used to.
Since I’m mid-pregnancy now with #2, I can’t say what will happen this second time around in terms of timing and motivation towards different goals, so we’ll see!
How do you figure out childcare so you can work towards consistency?
My husband and I both coach for Team RunRun, so we both work from home. We take turns throughout the day getting in our runs, our work, and anything else that needs to be done. Oftentimes it still means running early, running late, or squeezing it in during nap time, but we both respect each other’s runs and the need to get them done each day. What was harder for me was figuring out breastfeeding that first year. I didn’t pump, so I had to run right after a feeding, as that’s when my boobs were the smallest and least full, but that wasn’t always easy to time, and long runs were even harder to time.
Did you have any expectations of your running improving postpartum?
I had definitely read about this and had a secret hope of knocking out a marathon PR, but alas, nothing has come to fruition! I always knew in the back of my mind that we’d likely have a second kid (but definitely not a third!), so I’m wondering if after this pregnancy I’ll feel like I’m “free” from pregnancy and breastfeeding for good and can focus on a new PR, knowing I won’t have to account for another baby again.
Anything that was especially helpful in getting back into running?
As for training, aiming for consistency really resonated with me. I didn’t care if I ran 10 minutes or 10 miles, if I got out the door, that was a success. It was really hard to get out the door at first because I still felt so needed in those first 6 months when I was the sole food source, being the only one with the boobs! But damn that time alone was so good for me, to be in my own head, to sweat away the baby weight, and to feel so proud of myself by the end of each run. It helped I really didn’t worry about upcoming goals or races and just focused on getting my routine back and giving myself that daily time alone, where anyone on the street saw me as a runner, not as a new mom who was sleep deprived and unsure of what the hell I was doing. It felt good to put on the runner hat, so to speak, and to take off the mom hat, just for that brief time each day.
For clothing, I struggled a bit with what to wear at first given I still had weight to lose and had the C-section scar to think about. I didn’t invest in great sports bras, so that will change this second time around, but I did get a good pair of tights and shorts that had a nice, thick band around my lower abs and belly, so I felt supported yet not restrained. I have one pair of Lululemon tights that a friend gave me, and the belly band on them saved me, as well as the band on the Oiselle Long Roga shorts.
While we bought a running stroller, we barely used it for running and I used it a lot for walking. I just never found a good, comfortable stride will pushing a stroller, and twice I tweaked my knee while running with it, so that just never worked for me. Plus, I really liked the alone time on a run and wanted to keep my runs as simple as possible, without any distractions or mom duties.
Lastly, something I never really focused on was losing weight. I gained 40 pounds during my 1st pregnancy and am easily on track for that with #2, and while I lost about 15 pounds immediately after giving birth, I never focused on the rest. I just focused on consistency and the rest took care of itself. I was also scared of messing up my milk supply by focusing on weight loss, so I never risked it and thankfully had an amazing milk supply right up until we weaned at a year. When my son was 4 months we traveled abroad from 4-10 months and didn’t have a car, so we walked everywhere we went. I think coupling walking with running really helped with fitness and weight loss as well, and doing it really gradually. By the time my son was 9 months, I was close to my pre-pregnancy weight, within about 5-7 pounds, and then once we weaned him at a year the rest of the weight loss happened.
No idea if that will be the story the second time around, but most of all, I’ve learned that there’s only so much I can control, so just go with the flow, keep myself as rested as possible, and keep these little humans as well-fed, well-rested, and as safe as possible!
Located in Boulder, Colorado, Coach Julie is also the Co-Founder of Team RunRun with Coach Matt Urbanski, and she specializes in beginners in distances up to the marathon. She’s run 29 marathons with a handful of ultras up to a 100 miler, and loves working with people looking to improve their half and full marathon PRs. To learn more about Julie, check out her coach bio.
Megan Gayman
How long did you run while pregnant?
I made it to about 20 weeks before it got too uncomfortable
What time of year were you running?
Winter into spring, but it was a very mild winter that year
What changes did you make to your running routine throughout the pregnancy?
I was more focused on CrossFit and was running lots of trails and random races, not truly training for PRs in running before I got pregnant so, the trails got nixed really quickly (plus it was winter so there weren’t that many opportunities) and I was jogging more to stay with it for a bit. I stopped running completely at 20 weeks and took to the Erg and crossfitted up until about 30 weeks.
Any changes in diet?
I cut out sushi and craved iced tea but that was about it
What changes in your body affected you the most?
The constant movement from inside was the biggest change that I disliked the most. My son was very active and quite the kicker. Gaining weight was also a big difference, I had never put that much more weight on my body before, gaining 20lbs felt odd and out of place for me.
Any tips you’d give to newly pregnant runners?
Realize that you’re breathing may be different. I was surprised at how quickly I would get winded. Go at your own pace and don’t feel pressure to run or not to run. It’s up to you. There are plenty of women on Instagram who don’t back off very much when they’re far into their pregnancies. That doesn’t have to be you if you don’t feel up to it. Nor do you have to stop all activity. Find your place and do not compare your journey with anyone else’s.
If you didn’t run, anything you did instead that worked/didn’t work for you?
Once I stopped running getting on the erg helped me a bit as well as modified CrossFit workouts
When were you able to start running again?
About 8 weeks after he was born, he was a C-section so I was definitely not rushing it
How were those first few weeks, months of running?
Tough to start, like anytime you take off from running, it feels like a slow process to find your fitness again. I had to take it slow because my job was stressful and having a new infant who I was breastfeeding was all very time-consuming. It got a little easier over time, but I didn’t feel like my old running self until after he turned a year old.
When did you run your first goal race after giving birth?
I decided that I was going to do the Northwest Trail Running series through the summer, which was 10 months postpartum. I had been in no hurry to get back to road racing, so the trails were a nice place to start since there was less internal pressure on a time for me there.
How do you figure out childcare so you can work towards consistency?
My husband and I knew that it was important for me to get back to the gym and to running as soon as I felt good enough for it so that I could be a better mom. He sacrificed a lot of his gym time so that I could get my workouts in. My husband would sometimes push the running stroller for our short easy runs, which helped out during weekends to get my son to nap. My in-laws also live close by and were able to take my son from an early age so that we could both have a break and sometimes get in a run together.
Did you have any expectations of your running improving postpartum?
I had heard all these things about women who bounced back quickly, and how much their running improved postpartum. But once I had a C-section I realized that my recovery was going to be longer and that I was going to have to take it much easier than I originally anticipated. My expectation came through in the long run though because having a kid made it so that I had to be more disciplined in my training. I had to schedule things out in advance and there were no missing a workout in the morning and making it up at a later time. Everything had to be scheduled around childcare so the limits gave me more structure, which resulted in me being more consistent.
Anything that was especially helpful in getting back into running?
I wasn’t huge into stroller running, but I’m happy we got the Thule Urban Glide, it actually came in handy more as my son grew. The mental trick was to just realize that it was good for me to get time away from my infant so that I could be me again.
Photo: Glenn Tachiyama
Located in Seattle, Washington, Coach Meg specializes in beginner to intermediate runners looking for that PR in the half marathon. She also specializes in incorporating strength training, and has several years of experience as a CrossFit trainer. Her half marathon PR is 1:30 and 3:21 in the full, and still continues to work on PRs from the 800 to the marathon. To learn more about Meg, check out her coach bio.
Sleep is necessary for life and plays a critical role in brain function and systemic physiology, including metabolism, appetite regulation, and the functioning of immune, hormonal, and cardiovascular systems.48,49 Normal healthy sleep is characterized by duration lasting 7 to 9 hours for most adults with good quality, appropriate timing and regularity, and the absence of sleep disturbances and disorders.50 Additionally, less than 7 hours of sleep per night is associated with adverse health outcomes, including weight gain and obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and stroke, depression, and increased risk of death.50,52 Sleep disorders are categorized into 3 subjects: failure to obtain the necessary amount or quality of sleep (sleep deprivation), an inability to maintain sleep continuity (disrupted sleep, also called sleep fragmentation, difficulty maintaining sleep, and middle insomnia), and events that occur during sleep (eg, sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome).49 This article will explore sleep deprivation and sleep continuity, with specific analysis related to athletes and exercise performance.
For a bulleted summary of recommendations by Dr. Bross according to his review of the research, please see the final section titled Ways to Optimize Sleep Quantity and Quality.
THE ATHLETE’S RELATIONSHIP TO SLEEP
Athletes may require more sleep than the average human for adequate physiological and psychological recovery.5,54Exercise and sleep appear to have cyclic effects on one another, with exercise promoting sleep efficiency and duration regardless of the intensity or mode of activity.53 However, many athletes experience inadequate sleep.2,35 Compared with non-athletes, athletes tend to sleep less (6.5–6.7 h per night) and the quality of their sleep is lower.4,5,6,7,8 Barriers to quality and quantity of sleep prior to performance includes demanding training schedules, available practice times, lengthy travel to competitions, jet lag, and pre-competition anxiety.5,8,9
FACTORS AFFECTING SLEEP
NEGATIVELY AFFECTING SLEEP
Lifestyle, sleep environment and pre-sleep behaviors can greatly affect the quality and quantity of sleep achieved in athletes. The circadian rhythm in cooperation with melatonin directs signals in the body for both drowsiness and wakefulness. Disruption of the circadian rhythm negatively impacts sleep duration and efficiency as well as athletic performance.68,69 Sleep environments that are too warm or too light can disrupt sleep,58,59 with optimal sleep environments being cool, quiet, and dark. Similarly, exposure to bright light in the late evening and use of LED screen devices can impact melatonin release and increase sleep latency, making it more difficult to fall asleep.65,66 Higher altitudes negatively impact sleep quality and duration due to reduced oxygen availability with effects seen at altitudes as low as 1,630 m (5,347 ft).75,76 Also, diets higher in fat intake are associated with sleep disorders 33 and shorter sleep duration 82 and low-carbohydrate diets are associated with decreased REM sleep.34 Likewise, higher saturated fat and lower fiber intakes may produce less slow-wave sleep, increase nighttime arousals, and a reduce overall sleep quality.35 The timing of meals also affects sleep, and eating within 30-60 minutes of sleeping has been shown to decrease sleep quality.36 Mental health is another important factor for quality and quantity of sleep with likely cyclical effects, including anxiety which has a negative impact on sleep in athletes 1 and depression, which worsens sleep quality and shortens sleep duration.84,85
SUBSTANCES AND SLEEP
Both alcohol and cannabis have detrimental effects on sleep quality when used habitually for chronic periods and in excess with effects worsening in withdrawal states but improving after periods of abstinence.47 Caffeinated beverages correlate with poor quality sleep, including increased sleep latency and decreased quality of non-REM sleep.64 Caffeine is quickly absorbed in the GI tract with 99% absorption after approximately 45 minutes,63 and often has a long half-life, between 2.5 and 4.5 hours in humans.60 Caffeine content of various food items ranges from 40 to 180 mg/150 ml for coffee to 24 to 50 mg/150 ml for tea, 15 to 29 mg/180 ml for cola, 2 to 7 mg/150 ml for cocoa, and 1 to 36 mg/28 g for chocolate.61,62
POSITIVELY AFFECTING SLEEP
Measures can be taken to positively affect the quality and duration of sleep. Maintaining a regular sleep-wake cycle helps to optimize the biological process of sleep, and a 30-60 minute period with decreased mental stimulation prior to lying down is beneficial.67 Additionally, the most effective way to optimize the circadian rhythm is with a consistent wake time.67 However, exercise has been shown to effectively modulate the circadian rhythm, inhibiting this “wind-down” period for 2-4 hours post-activity; thus, early to late afternoon has been shown to be the optimal time for exercise.70 Hydration status is linked to exercise and performance, and increased daily water intake is shown to benefit sleep.83 Aside from melatonin, supplements have not been shown to have much of an effect on sleep, but Vitamin D status positively correlates to improved sleep quality and efficiency 37,83 and increased Vitamin C intake is related to better quality sleep.83 The Mediterranean diet has been shown to be beneficial for sleep, with intake of fruits and vegetables correlating with improved sleep duration,78 higher sleep quality,80 fewer sleep changes 80 and fewer sleep disorders.79,81 This also correlates to findings suggesting diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol obtain more restorative sleep and less daytime sleepiness.83 Likewise, various fruits, including kiwi-fruit and tart cherries, have been shown to increase sleep quality and demonstrated increases in melatonin,38,39,40 with tart cherries also reducing inflammation following bouts of endurance exercise.41,42 Finally, mind-body practices, including yoga and tai-chi, have been shown to positively impact sleep quality.45,46
RELATIONSHIP OF SLEEP AND PERFORMANCE
The majority of components of sports performance, e.g. flexibility, muscle strength, short-term high power output, etc. vary with time of day in a sinusoidal manner and peak in the early evening close to the daily maximum in body temperature.10 Thus, sports performance is affected by time of day, but the optimal time can be altered, with the greatest adaptations to training occurring when exercise is performed at routine times.11,51Of note, is the relationship between time of sleep onset and waking with weight and activity status. Late bedtimes with late wake-up times are associated with less moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and higher BMIs, independent of sleep duration.86 The effects of sleep deprivation during performance are extensive and heavily concentrated on cognitive functioning with effects ranging from increased response time to visual hallucinations.71 It has been shown that increasing sleep time and quality prior to race-day can improve performance, but runners napping during an ultramarathon tend to require more time to complete the distance.27,72 Additionally, the combination of sleep deprivation and exercise makes athletes more vulnerable to negative mood disturbances and decreased cognitive performance only during periods of rest; however, during exercise cognitive functioning is maintained.73
SLEEP DEPRIVATION AND POOR SLEEP QUALITY
Individuals poorly assess their own level of sleep impairment and greater sleep loss worsens these deficits.16 Sleep deprivation produces cognitive impairments similar to that of alcohol intoxication, with 28 hours of wakefulness equating to 0.10% BAC.17 Specifically, sleep deprivation effects cognitive functioning with greatest effect on alertness and attention, and a lesser effect on working memory.18 From a physiological standpoint, perceived exertion and neuromuscular fatigue are increased by sleep deprivation,19 with minimal effect on cardiorespiratory centers, only decreasing minute ventilation.23 Previous studies show that isolated mental fatigue does not physiologically reduce maximal muscle exertion,20 but exercise performance has both cognitive and physical inputs. In this way, it makes sense that sleep deprivation negatively impacts both speed and endurance, and has been shown to produce reductions in muscle glycogen due to poor recovery, all of which contribute to lower performance.21,22 Power activities seem less affected by sleep deprivation than endurance sports,24,25 which may be due to the increased psychobiological effect on endurance activities.57 Additionally, poor sleep can acutely affect an athlete’s health. Insomnia is correlated with psychiatric illness, including depression and anxiety, among others, and treatment-refractory psychiatric cases are associated with decreased sleep.84 Sleep deprived athletes are at increased risk for injury 29 likely due to deficits in cognitive functioning, and are more susceptible to infection in sleep deprived states, with those getting >7 hours of sleep proving to be most resilient.30,31 Finally, sleep impacts the body’s ability to manage pain, which is often cited among endurance athletes as a necessary ability for high performance in such sports. Individuals were shown to have a lower pain tolerance in states of sleep deprivation.32
COUNTERMEASURES FOR SLEEP DEPRIVATION
When optimal sleep cannot be obtained and athletes are competing in sleep-deprived states, countermeasures can be used to reduce the impact of poor sleep on performance. Napping has been shown to improve performance for sleep deprived athletes in skill-based sports by improving cognitive functioning,26 but did not show a similar positive effect on overall ultra-distance performance.27 It should be noted that performance measures for napping during activity have received little attention in endurance sports, without conclusion for pre- versus post-nap performance, focusing on the total performance outcome. Naps have otherwise been shown to be most beneficial when lasting 10 minutes, improving sleep latency, subjective sleepiness, fatigue, vigor, and cognitive performance. Napping shows decreasing positive effects when lasting 20 minutes and even negative effects when lasting 35 minutes,74 likely due to sleep inertia. Also, caffeine has been shown to reduce the impact of sleep deprivation on cognitive functioning 28 and may improve athletic performance in such states. Furthermore, the combination of a nap and caffeine may maintain high level cognitive performance even during states of severe sleep deprivation.63Finally, exercise is positively correlated with melatonin concentration,14,15 and may be helpful in alleviating jet lag symptoms of travelers 12 and in preserving muscle glycogen stores during exercise.13
SLEEP MEDICATIONS
There has been a steady rise in the percentage of hypnotic medications being prescribed for sleep,43 even with risk of tolerance and dependence and an increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease with benzodiazepine use.44 Sleep medications should only be used for short term therapy of less than 6 weeks, if at all, while the causation for any sleep disorder is determined.
SLEEP TRACKING DEVICES
Athletes should seek to optimize their sleep duration and quality. A variety of devices can be used to measure sleep duration and efficiency including Basis Health Tracker, Misfit Shine, Fitbit Flex, Withings Pulse O2, and Actiwatch Spectrum. These devices demonstrate high accuracy for measuring sleep duration but only the Actiwath Spectrum shows accurate sleep efficiency measures.55 Additionally, the Sleep Cycle App has not demonstrated accurate measures of sleep quality.56 A few of these apps or devices use “Smart Alarms” to wake the user during periods of light sleep. These devices tend to underestimate light sleep, the targeted waking period, but may offer some benefit to prevent sleep inertia or “grogginess”.55
WAYS TO OPTIMIZE SLEEP QUALITY AND QUANTITY
The following measures are recommended to optimize sleep in athletes:
Obtain adequate total sleep duration
Strategy from Simpson, et al.77
Track sleep for x2 weeks using a sleep diary or wrist actinigraphy
Gradually increase sleep duration by 15 min every few nights
Consider increasing sleep by 30-60 min/night, especially is total sleep duration is less than 7 h/night
Increase nighttime sleep with progressively earlier bedtimes and consistent, early awakening
Incorporate naps when nighttime sleep is constrained
Revitalizing naps should last between 10 and 20 minutes
Longer naps may be beneficial, but require adequate time to return to full alertness
Optimize sleep environments
Sleeping quarters should be cool, quiet and dark
Remove devices and screens from the bedroom
Initiate a 30-60 minute period of decreased stimulation in sleeping quarters prior to sleep onset
Promote a healthy mental and emotional mindset
Perform mind-body activities regularly
Consider meditation as a form of stress relief
Promote a healthy circadian rhythm
Decrease caffeine intake
No afternoon caffeine
Decrease LED screen time
Perform exercise at minimum 3-5 hours prior to sleep
Set a consistent wake-time, maintain even on weekends
Use melatonin supplementation in instances of travel across more than 3 time zones
Eat a sleep-promoting diet
Intake of high vegetables and fiber
Intake of low saturated fat
Intake of EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids
Prevent eating within 30-60 minutes of sleep
Limit eating to a 10-12-hour interval each day
Maintain adequate hydration
Maintain adequate vitamin D levels, consider supplementation especially during winter months
Limit intake of substances
Limit alcohol intake to ~7 standard drinks or less per week consumed over 3 or more days
Limit or eliminate cannabis use
The following measures are recommended to counteract sleep deprivation in athletes:
Prevent glycogen depletion
Maintain carbohydrate intake during activity
Higher than normal intake of simple and complex carbohydrates may be beneficial
Prevent cognitive decline
Increase frequency of positive reinforcement from outside sources
Consume caffeine in adequate amounts
Consider naps of 10 minutes in duration during “skill-based” activity in which cognitive functioning is crucial to performance
For less cognitive demanding sports, consider naps of 10 minutes in duration as a last resort to help with cognitive functioning and emotional liability
Adjust performance objectively
Rely on external measures of performance over internal measures of effort and fatigue
Wearable technology, support persons and coaching
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Teddy Bross, MD is a runner with Team RunRun who recently completed the 2018 Run Rabbit Run 100mi and is a Family Medicine Resident living in Boulder, CO.
This is the second post in a four part series geared directly to runners, prepared for us by Allison Feldt, DPT Physical Therapist and Owner of Body Motion Physical Therapy.
The Importance of Mobility Training for Performance and Injury Prevention
Let’s talk mobility. As a runner your body is used to enduring, and let’s be honest, the longer, harder, and faster you go gives your brain that little extra releases of dopamine that reinforces the hard work. While mobility training and self-release might lack the “hit” or commonly known as the “runners high,” it can give you the ability to train harder, longer, and stay injury free while improving your performance.
One of the most common self-mobility type of work is foam rolling. A well-known release technique is using the foam roll for the IT band (iliotibial band). The importance of doing this is that you help loosen the attachment between your iliac crest and your knee. When tight, the IT band can cause knee, hip, and back pain, among other issues. The pressure that the foam roll places on the IT band allows it to loosen. It’s simply like giving yourself a massage. You will come across stretches for the IT band but in reality this is an extremely hard area to stretch as it is just a fascial band and not a muscle.
That brings me to what is fascia. Fascia is what encases the muscles and helps tie those muscles to the bone. There are multiple layers of tissue but let’s consider muscles, fascia, and skin when talking about self-release and mobility work. I like to describe fascia as wearing a really tight shirt or pants – if there is an area that is knotted up, that is going to affect the range of motion and mobility of the whole system. Imagine putting on a jacket that is too small and is so tight that you can’t even raise your arms over your head. You’re going to have trouble getting something in a cupboard or maybe even driving. So imagine you have areas of tightness like this jacket in your fascia from all the training. Just imagine how much better it would feel to not have to work against that resistance. Those areas of continued resistance often lead to pain and dysfunction throughout the body.
As a physical therapist and someone who’s trained for their fair share of races, I would like to share some of the key mobility releases that can be done to limit injuries and improve performance. Realistically, if you can fit mobility work into your routine at least three days per week, you will notice positive effects and ward off unwanted injuries.
ILIOTIBIAL BAND RELEASE
Using the foam roller, place the roller horizontally along the outside portion of your leg (perpendicular to your leg). Roll up and down from the hip bone to the knee. As you roll up and down you can stop and hold painful and sore areas for 30-60 seconds. It is also important to roll your body forward and backward to get all boarders of the IT Band. It is good practice to complete this techniques on each leg for 1-2 minutes per day.
CALF RELEASE
This can be done on a foam roll or a lacrosse ball. I want to note the importance of this release before telling you how to complete it. If you struggle running up hills and you feel tightness in the back of your legs this is going to be your best friend. You can actually improve your ability to tackle hills by working on elongating your calf muscles (gastrocnemius and soleus muscles). These muscles join to create the Achilles tendon and attach on the back of your heel. Take the lacrosse ball and place it in the center of your calf. You can then roll the ball up and down the calf muscles to work on elongating the muscles and loosening up the fascia. You also want to take the ball and roll it horizontally across the muscle (in a side to side motion). Again, this can be done for 1-2 minutes per leg.
PIRIFORMIS RELEASE
Runners notoriously have very tight hip muscles because the hips are use to going in only one plane of motion and that is forward and backward (hip flexion and extension). Therefore, loosening up the hip stabilizer muscles is very important in keeping the proper stride length throughout your run, which is going to help you maintain a consistent pace and help you ward off additional aches and pains that are associated with tight hips. Here you will sit on the foam roller. Cross one leg over the bent knee, shift your weight to the leg that is crossed and roll up and down releasing the hip muscles. You can hold if you find a particularly tight place. You can complete 1-2 minutes on each hip.
If you need additional guidance please contact [email protected]. We are very excited to offer SCRAPE & STRETCH sessions and packages to help athletes improve body recovery and enhance performance. If you find yourself sore, stiff or fatigued and are craving recovery, this can be very beneficial. It includes muscle release tailored to your specific body, myofascial release including manual techniques, cupping and instrument assisted massage and stretching.
Allison Feldt, DPT, is the Owner of Body Motion Physical Therapy, where she specializes in sports, orthopedics, and women’s health. Her practice services the Greater Seattle area and Northern suburbs, with a focus on accelerating the rehabilitation process by bringing the physical therapy experience to your home or office, with a significant focus on manual techniques to help restore the body’s function.
This is the first post in a four part series geared directly to runners, prepared for us by Allison Feldt, DPT Physical Therapist and Owner of Body Motion Physical Therapy.
Body Maintenance Post Run
Running is a major time commitment. When you are committed to running, especially if training for long distances, most of your time training is spent hitting the pavement, trails or track. So the goal with these four posts is to give you some ideas on how to keep your motor running injury free and how to enhance the motor performance come race day.
Let’s be honest, most people prepare for a run by simply tying their shoes, maybe they have made sure they are adequately hydrated, have used the toilet and eaten something, if that’s part of their routine. You may pull a leg up to your bottom to stretch your thigh for a few seconds but that’s probably it. After the run you might do the same stretch and hop into the shower. I am going to come back to the pre-run warm up on the next post. But let me share with you the crucial elements to incorporate post-run.
After the run is the best time to incorporate static stretching. Static stretching is a prolonged hold so the muscle fibers can elongate. This is going to improve circulation to tired muscles, and enhance range of motion and flexibility. The holds should be maintained for 30 to 60 seconds. What this means to you as a runner who is probably short on time, and in a rush to jump in the shower is that you want to get into a position that will stretch the most possible structures in the shortest amount of time.
Let me share with you my absolute favorite “must do” stretches post run. Please note, sometimes post-run you may just jump in the shower and forget to stretch, but as luck would have it, these are shower safe. Much of the time that is where my post-run stretches occur. Also if you are feeling tightness in a place that was not addressed with these recommended stretches, you should absolutely stretch that area. These are just general guidelines to address the muscles most utilized during the run. If you need assistance in identifying how to stretch what feels tight, simply e-mail [email protected] for free guidance.
These stretches may have to be adapted if the ground is wet or raining and you’re not in the mood to get soaked. The targeted muscle groups: hamstrings, hip flexors/quadriceps, gluteal muscles, calves/feet. Running uses muscles in 1 plane of motion front to back, so that is why the muscles on the front and back of our body must be stretched post run. It is also nice to incorporate the gluteal muscles which are muscles on the lateral (outside) part of the leg as these are working to stabilize you.
Hip Flexor Stretch with the Quadriceps addition: This can be done on a couch as shown, or I have been able to do this on a bumper of a car. The side of the bath tub may work too. The idea is to start with one leg supported on couch/surface, other knee is bent to 90 deg (this will allow for a stretch at the top of the hamstring). Press chest off of couch or supported surface to feel the stretch on the front of the hip and thigh (of the leg supported on the surface). The adaptation is to also bend the knee to get a quadriceps stretch. Hold 30-60 seconds and repeat 2-3x. BUT even 1 round is better than nothing.
Hip External Rotation – Piriformis Stretching
Start on hands and knees. Lift up and bring the leg to be stretched up into a figure 4 position. Scoot back to increase the stretch. Roll a little to adjust the location of the stretch, but try to keep your pelvis square to the front. Bringing your foot closer to your elbow which will also increase the stretch. You should feel this in your gluteal muscles on the side of the bent leg. Support yourself on your elbows or hands.
Toe Stretch: (Modification to a half kneeling or standing can be done to improve tolerance).
In kneeling, place your toes on the floor so that they bend upwards. Next sit back on your calves to increase the stretch in your toes. This is also stretching the arch of the foot and is great for toe mobility (which improves the force absorption capacity of the foot). Lean forward to lessen the stretch and lean back to increase the stretch. Hold 30-60 seconds.
Hamstring Stretch: This is excellent for hamstrings, Achilles and the back. Begin facing downward in a push up position. Bend at the hips and walk your feet toward your hands until you have maximally flexed your hips while maintaining your palms on the ground. To increase the stretch, reach your hips toward the wall behind you. Attempt to maintain contact with heels to floor. Modification would be to put your hands on elevated surface such as a on a counter top and complete the same stretch.
Allison Feldt, DPT, is the Owner of Body Motion Physical Therapy, where she specializes in sports, orthopedics, and women’s health. Her practice services the Greater Seattle area and Northern suburbs, with a focus on accelerating the rehabilitation process by bringing the physical therapy experience to your home or office, with a significant focus on manual techniques to help restore the body’s function.
“Go, Go, Go…we can make it!” I yelled, as the train slowly steamed towards the intersect with the road at mile seventeen. I had been coaching my sister for the past couple years. She wasn’t really a runner when we started, but she decided she wanted to get into it and I agreed to coach her. She started with a half marathon, then a marathon, and then a trail 50k, and she was getting faster too. She got it in her head to qualify for Boston (she was about fifteen minutes shy of it in her first marathon). I wrote her up a training plan to go after that goal and also agreed to pace her for it. And now here we were about five minutes up on qualifying pace, seventeen miles in, but with the toughest section coming up and a train about to cut us off for who knows how long.
The red and white striped bar came falling down on my sister’s dream of qualifying for Boston and we hesitated for a moment. The train was very close, but I knew we could make it given how slowly it was rolling, so I shouted those words and we sprinted, along with about half the runners in the pack, around the fallen crossing gate and we beat the train. We were in a rather large group, most were trying to qualify for Boston as well; and this train was the cut off. The conductor was quite angry and blew his horn understandably, but everyone who made it across was ecstatic and high-fiving one another. She still had her chance at her goal because of that decision and she did end up qualifying with an almost twenty minute pr.
While a coach’s purpose is not necessarily to yell at you to sprint in front of a moving train, it is a hyperbolic (but true) metaphor of how a coach can help you make decisions to meet your goals. Most coaches have run or coached in tons of different scenarios and have experience with lots of different kinds of “trains about to cut you off”. They know how to navigate different situations that can derail a runner and how to inspire when training isn’t going well. Coaches know the causes and effects of different stimuli, can detect problems and solutions, and understand how to get the most out of a runner with patience and by applying adjustments as needed. A coach’s first goal is to set you up with a plan for success, but then more importantly, guide you and encourage you through the tweaking injuries, busy schedules, lack of confidence, exhaustion, missed days, and any other metaphorical (or literal) trains coming down the track. These things are inevitable obstacles to the pursuit of running or any challenge for that matter. A coach is there to shout “Go, Go, Go” when needed, or, had the train been going faster, give the advice to stop and wait (because sometimes you have to stop and wait too) and help figure out the best way to get the time back and still qualify.
I also coached another friend for the same race. While my sister had been running for a couple years at this point, this was his first-as in first race ever…no 5k, 10k, half marathon, anything. He just went straight for the big one right away and I was happy to give him a training plan and guide him through it. I understood as a coach though that he was starting from a completely different place than my sister and thus his plan was completely different. Sure there are online marathon training plans that anyone can get for free, but my sister’s plan and my friend’s plan looked completely different based on their experience and goals. He was simply trying to finish running 26.2 miles-about 20 miles more than he had ever run and my sister was trying to run it at a certain time. A coach is capable of taking a person’s experience, ability, lifestyle, and goals into account in a way that no general plan can. A coach is like a personal tailor for your fit(ness). My friend finished and ran it in a respectable four hours; he was happy and ready for another one, which was my goal as his coach.
A coach isn’t for everyone, but if you are new to running, going after a specific goal, or just looking to improve, a coach is someone that will give you personalized access to knowledge, experience, support, accountability, and encouragement that can make running easier, more fun, and hopefully faster so when a train (literal or otherwise) does come, you’ll be fast enough to sprint in front of it.
Disclaimer: Don’t run in front of moving trains.
Check out Brian’s Coaching page for more info about his experience as a runner and a coach.
Runners are always looking for an edge. We’ve recently become connected with Nutrition Coach and dietician Heidi Strickler. She kindly took the time to answer some of the more commonly asked questions by Team RunRun athletes. My hunch is that we’re all going to be interested in learning more! If you have more questions or are interested in working more in depth with a Nutrition Coach, her contact info and bio are included below!
What is something you hear often by nutritionists or from athletes regarding nutrition that you disagree with and why?
That there is one way of eating or diet that works for everyone. Paleo, vegan, HCLF … there are constantly new “diets” and it really comes down to eating mostly unprocessed foods. There are always hokey things in the media – some examples of misconceptions I hear a lot: don’t eat fruit with meals, eggs will increase your cholesterol, don’t eat after 8pm … when it comes to athletes, a common misconception is that cramping can be fixed mid-run by taking in electrolytes.
GI issues are one of the main reasons runners DNF ultra marathons. How do you go about solving this common problem for ultra runners?
Spending a lot of time on this topic during training. It is a combination of nutritional science and metabolism + personal individual variation. Folks tolerate different things – the key is finding what works for you. The other key is mimicking race scenario in training – in duration, climate and intensity.
The two most common causes of GI issues are incorrect hydration and lack of absorption of the type/amount of carbs
What is one or two big changes a runner could make with their day to day eating that could have the biggest positive impact on performance? (of course we’re all different, but think about the general runner population and one or two changes or tweaks we could all benefit from making)?
Timing of meals & Hydrate properly
What are your “go-to” fueling sources during competitions? (or recommendations). How do these fueling sources vary depending on the events you’re competing in or coaching?
It depends on the distance.
Water and Hammer Endurolytes fizz as a baseline.
I like to stick to real foods as much as possible, especially on longer stuff – Larabars, dates, Justin’s almond butter packets, homemade items, avocado, Lays Stax, plain white rice with miso and avocado on longer stuff.
If I use a company – I use Hammer. I respect their dedication to quality, and their science is spot on. I like their gels, their Raw Energy bars, their Endurolytes, and their Perpetuem.
We’ve seen lots of runners have low iron/anemia issues. What are some strategies for avoiding this?
Knowing whether or not you are susceptible, and strategizing your iron intake through food. There are certain times of day that are better/worse for eating high-iron foods, and there are certain foods/nutrients that can either help or hinder iron absorption.
Along the lines of iron, do you recommend supplements? Any supplements that you think the general runner population should be considering? (again, I know we’re all different, but what are some generalities regarding supplements?)
It depends – gender, age, ethnicity, geography. Food first, but if you do supplement, it needs to be quality.
I recommend every runner take vitamin D. Omega-3’s and probiotics are also high on the list. Women should take magnesium. B complex is good.
Help us make heads or tails in terms of “carbo loading”. What does it mean? Is it a myth? Is there anything in particular we should be considering in the days leading up to a big endurance event?
What we used to practice as carb loading is a huge no-no – eating a ton of carbs the day before your race is going to do nothing but cause you to feel heavy, sluggish, sleepy, and create GI issues. We do recommend carb loading for events over 90 minutes, but now the protocol starts about a week out from your race.
If you could give us endurance runners one piece of advice relating to food and diet, what is the mindset, mantra, advice that you would impart on us?
Balance, variety, moderation. Eat unprocessed foods as much as possible, and drink at least half of your body weight in fluid ounces of water daily.
Heidi Strickler, RDN CD is a Registered Dietitian with a focus in Sports and Performance Nutrition – Endurance Sports (Running, Cycling, Triathalons); Team/Field Sports (soccer, basketball, hockey, football, etc.); Strength-based Sports (CrossFit).
Heidi has been working as a Registered Dietitian in Seattle since 2014. Most of her practice was spent as a part of the multi-disciplinary sports medicine team at Experience Momentum, Inc., in Lynnwood, WA, where she worked from January 2015-January 2018, providing nutrition counseling, grocery store tours, body composition testing, and presentations on various nutrition topics to organizations, sports teams, schools, and the general public. She also coached cycling classes.
Professionally, Heidi specializes in sports and performance nutrition, and sees athletes ages 14 to 84. She works with high school, collegiate, and adult team sports, recreational runners, professional triathletes and cyclists, and obstacle course racers.
Currently, Heidi also writes monthly blogs for Trail and Ultra-Running (http://trailandultrarunning.com/community/), and offers a live Q&A on the groups Facebook page on Mondays. She also provides athlete meal plans and nutrition counseling services for interested members.
Heidi graduated with a triple degree in Dietetics, Nutrition in Sports & Exercise, and Exercise Science, from Seattle Pacific University. She finished up her nutrition schooling in Illinois, and moved back to Seattle in early 2014 to begin her career. In January 2015, she began a one-year understudy with International Olympic Committee as a part of their Sports Nutrition Diploma program. In order to advance her career and better serve her clients, Heidi is currently studying to become a Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD), which she will complete in February, and will be pursuing her Masters of Science in Sports & Exercise Nutrition in the fall of 2018. Have questions or interested in more info? Contact her at [email protected]
For the first 3 years of my running career I suffered from sciatica on the left side of my body. It would come and go and there were times that the pain was so bad I could barely walk. I tried everything to help my sciatica but nothing seemed to work. It wasn’t until I found yoga that I noticed a difference. I have been practicing Vinyasa Yoga 2-4 times per week for about 4 years now and my sciatica has not come back. Yoga has allowed my body to recover quickly from running, stay injury free, enabled me to run higher mileage, train harder, and most importantly train consistently.
There are many benefits of yoga for runners. Yoga improves flexibility, core strength, stability, mental toughness and focus. My favorite type of yoga is Vinyasa Yoga. It is a fast-paced class, the room is usually heated (not hot), and focuses on stretching and strengthening your entire body. Because it is faster paced, it is another way to get in some extra cardio instead of pounding the pavement. Vinyasa Yoga is great to do after an easy run or as a cross training workout.
In yoga, poses are done on both the right and left side, this exposes areas that may be weaker and helps you to strengthen these areas to create a balanced body. Although I had sciatica on my left side only, after practicing yoga I noticed my right side was actually the side that was weak and tight. The balancing poses and deep stretching postures in yoga are what really helped me build strength and stay injury free.
Yoga helps you develop a strong core; there will be various ab exercises, plank poses, and you will engage your core in all of the standing and balancing postures. A strong core is the center of a yoga practice and is also one of the most important parts of being a healthy and strong runner. There are poses in class that can be very challenging. You learn to hold poses, breathe through postures that are uncomfortable, stay focused, and to push yourself. These are all important tools that can be applied to your running.
From my experience, the minimum effective dose of yoga is 2 days per week in an hour Vinyasa class. My favorite time to practice yoga is after an easy run, this could be immediately after or later in the day. After a hard speed session or long run I prefer to do some gentle yoga poses at home (see below). There are some days where I don’t have a full hour or access to a yoga class so I will do 15-30 minutes on my own with poses depending on what my body is needing (see below). Developing an at home practice is a great option because it can be done at any time.
As someone who loves running, I used to struggle with making time for cross training workouts. I have now realized how important it is to build a strong body for running with other forms of exercise. What I love about yoga is that it’s so effective even if it’s only done a couple times a week and it doesn’t require a huge time commitment. With yoga you get your strength training, core work, stretching, and recovery all in one.
If you are interested in incorporating yoga into your running routine, the Mind Body App on your phone is a great resource. The app will show you locations, class schedules, and pricing for nearby studios. Here you can find the right studio that best suits your needs.
Below are some yoga poses and sequences I like to use. You can do them as I have listed or take a little from each section. Find what works best for you ????
My Favorite Poses for Running
My favorite yoga poses that have been the most beneficial with my running are hip openers. These poses help hip flexors, glutes, and low back. I try to hold each of these poses for about a minute and take deep, slow breaths with equal inhales and exhales. I find it helpful to count to 5 for each inhale and exhale. These poses might feel a little uncomfortable, however, you should not feel any pinching, pulling, or pain.
Yogi Squat
Lizard
Lizard with Quad Stretch
Pigeon
Cow Face
Child’s Pose, here I like to walk my fingertips to the left and right to find a deeper stretch.
1.2.34.5.6.
Vinyasa Flow
This can be used as a basic yoga practice to help you with strength, flexibility, and cardio. In this flow you will notice that your breath leads your movement. Focus on your inhales and exhales to get the most out of your practice.
(inhale) Start in Down Dog.
(exhale) step or hop between your hands to forward fold.
(inhale) half lift to a flat back, either hands on floor or shins, neck is long.
(exhale) forward fold.
(inhale) sweep your arms up overhead as you stand.
(exhale) bring your hands together, bend your knees, and fold forward.
(inhale) lift to a flat back.
(exhale) forward fold
(inhale) plant your hands step or hop back to a plank, or modified plank on knees.
(exhale) lower to Chaturanga, this can be done on your knees. Engage your core, keep your elbows in at your ribcage as you lower.
(inhale) Upward Facing Dog.
(exhale)Down Dog.
This can be a warmup for other sequences or done as its own workout. You can add variations to this flow to make it more challenging such as moving faster, hopping to the front and back, holding plank longer, and or adding chaturanga pushups. You can repeat this flow a few times or add it in with other stretches and poses depending on your needs.
1.2.3.4.5.6.7.
8.9.10.11.12.
Gentle Yoga
This can be done after speedwork and long runs. I like to hold each of these poses for 5-10 deep, long breaths.
Start in Down Dog, bend one knee at a time to stretch your calves.
Step your right leg forward between your hands and lower your back knee down for a low lunge. Keep your front knee stacked over your ankle.
From low lunge you can keep your hands on the ground or bring them up to deepen the stretch.
Straighten your right leg and press your hips back for half splits. Stay here or fold over your right leg to deepen the stretch.
Come back to your low lunge.
From low lunge, bend your left knee and reach back with your right hand to grab your foot for a quad stretch. If you cannot reach your foot use a towel to wrap around the foot and grab the towel.
Release your left foot and come back to a low lunge.
Walk your right foot to the left for pigeon pose.
Come back to Down Dog and repeat on your left side. If you are looking for a little extra you can add in Vinyasa Flow between poses (see above).
Once you have completed both sides, come back to your Down Dog. Walk your hands back towards your feet for a forward fold. Bend your knees as much as you need to find a nice stretch along your hamstrings. Here you can reach for opposite elbows and sway side to side, shake your head yes and no, and try to relax into this posture.
From your forward fold, turn your toes out and sit down to yogi squat. Separate your feet as much as you need to get your feet flat on the floor. Bring your hands to your heart, sink your hips, use your elbows to press your thighs out and try to get your spine straight. This pose can be very uncomfortable depending on how tight your hips and low back are, take some big deep breaths in and out your nose. I find it helpful to inhale and imagine all the new space I am creating in my body, and exhale to release all the tension and tightness I am feeling.
1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.
Yoga for strength and core
This can be done in addition to the other sequences and or after any type of run. I like to add in core specific work at least twice a week.
Start in Down Dog or Child’s Pose if you will be staying on your knees.
Shift forward to Plank and hold 5-10 breaths.
1-5 Chaturanga pushups, this can be done on your knees.
Press back to Down Dog or Child’s Pose.
Shift forward to Plank and hold 5-10 breaths.
If you are in a full plank squeeze right knee to the center, right elbow, and left elbow 5 times. Repeat on left side.
1-5 Chaturanga pushups.
Come back to plank and hold 5-10 breaths.
Side plank, hold or lift your top leg 5 times. Switch to other side.
1-5 Chaturanga pushups.
Come back to plank and hold 5-10 breaths.
Come back to Down Dog.
Step your right foot between your hands, lift to a Crescent Lunge. Right knee is bent, knee is stacked right over your ankle, and left leg is strong and straight. Straighten right leg and reach arms up. Bend back in to lunge and bend arms, 3-5 times. Repeat on left side.
Down Dog or Child’s Pose to finish off.
1.2.3.4.5.6.7.
8.8.9.10.11.12.13.16.
Take breaks as you need, coming back to Down Dog or Child’s Pose. If you are wanting a little more of a challenge, hold the poses for longer and or add in more repetitions.
Yoga for Balance and Stability
I like to do this sequence after easy runs or on recovery days in place of a run.
Start in Down Dog
Warrior A, step right foot between hands, bend right knee, left leg is straight and left foot turned slightly out. Reach arms up overhead, hold for 5 breaths.
Release hands behind your back and interlace fingers for a shoulder opener.
Humble Warrior, fold forward with fingers interlaced, right shoulder should come inside the right knee and gently press the knee out to keep hips square, relax you head. Hold for 5 breaths.
Lift back up, place hands down and come back to Down Dog, repeat on the left side.
Down Dog.
Crescent Lunge, step your right foot between your hands, keep your front knee bent and back leg straight.
Sweep your chest to thigh, hold here, engage your core, lengthen through your neck and spine.
Shift forward to Airplane. Balance on your right foot, lift your left leg, flex your left foot, reach your arms back, and keep your hips square.
Lift your arms up over head as you bring your left knee to your chest, take one breath here.
Take your left leg back for airplane. Repeat 3-6 times.
Come back to Crescent Lunge. Plant your hands, come back to Down Dog, and repeat on the left side.
Down Dog
Step or hop your feet between your hands for a forward fold.
Sweep your hands up over head and come to a standing position.
Hug your right knee to your chest, you can hold your knee or reach for your big toe.
Extend your leg or knee to the right, reach your left arm out and take your gaze to the left. Come back to the center and repeat on your left side.
From standing, bring your right foot in for Tree Pose. Your right foot can be placed on your left ankle, calf, or inner thigh (the most important thing in this pose is to not place your foot on your knee). From here bring your hands together at your chest. For an extra challenge you can close your eyes; notice all those little muscles working and strengthening in your foot and ankle.
1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.
Happy Running & Namaste!
Annelie
Team RunRun coach Annelie Stockton is a yoga instructor, a 3:10 marathoner, and a mother of two young kids, James and Mia
That was my mantra for the Indiana Trails 100. I had plenty of reasons to think I might not do well leading up to the race. I’d picked up a nasty cold/flu that sidelined my training 3 weeks out from the race. Just as I began to recover and a little over a week before the race I had some stressful family issues which resulted in a last-minute flight change and further limited my training. I was convinced leading up to the race not to let these things impact my performance. After talking about the importance of staying in the moment with Matt I decided to use it as my mantra for the race. All you can do on any given day is the best you can with the cards you’ve been dealt, and I hoped that the months of consistent training prior to my rough taper would carry me through.
I must have repeated my mantra thousands of times over the course of the race, both in my head and out loud. Every time a thought took me out of the moment, I’d interrupt it with “in the moment” and focus on what actions I could take to better ensure the success of my race.
I repeated “In the moment” whether I had a positive or negative thought, and I had plenty of both. The beginning of the race went well. I was on course record pace with two other runners, and it felt effortless. At twelve miles in I was on my own, despite slowing my pace considerably. It would have been easy to let my thoughts wander to what it would be like to win, or to break the course record. I wouldn’t let myself go there. I said “In the moment” out loud to interrupt the line of thought. While it was positive, it would be too easy to let myself get carried away with it and let it lead to decisions that could negatively impact my race. I could start pushing the pace more than necessary, or if another runner came from behind I could start racing them in trying to maintain the narrative I’d built. No, the smartest thing was to roll with what the day gave me and to stay in the moment, making the best choices I could in each moment with the information I had.
35 miles into the race my hips started to tighten and limit my mobility. It may have been the slick mud on the course causing an unnatural movement, or maybe it was just chance. As I started to panic, I told myself to stay in the moment, and tried to assess what I could do. I tried walking, and even stopped to stretch. It didn’t help. Adam, one of the runners I had shared the first 12 miles with, caught up to me and passed me. A voice inside my head started to say “catch up to…”, but I repeated my mantra before the thought was complete. No, I would deal with this and get healthy. I stopped at the 40 mile aid station and took some ibuprofen. It was only 3 miles to the next, so I decided to keep moving and see if it helped. It continued to get worse, and I even started to get nerve pain in my lower back. I walked most of that 3 miles, and had Jami try massaging my upper hamstrings and glutes when I arrived. Another runner passed me as I was being massaged. I suppressed an urge to go after him, repeating “In the moment”. I took more ibuprofen. It felt a little better. Eventually I could run again! Not as well as before, and not the steeper hills, but it was better! At mile 52 they had mats on the ground with foam rollers. I laid down and let Jami dig deep.
As the day wore on I continued to stay in the moment. I passed Adam at mile 86, after hearing he was more than 30 minutes ahead of me earlier. After checking to make sure he was OK my only thought was, does it make sense to stay with him and his pacer for some company? No, “In the moment”, they were moving more slowly than I needed to go. A storm threatened to stop or postpone the race. “In the moment!” Things outside of my control didn’t warrant spending time on or stressing over. The question was what, if anything could I do about it to better ensure my success? I took a heavier rain jacket and gloves from the next aid station, and continued on. The storm came at about 93 miles. A deluge of blinding rain, thunder, lightning, and wind. I could barely see and branches were falling on the trail. I decided to walk to make sure I didn’t run off the course, but before long I could tell I was losing body heat too quickly. There were still at least 4 miles to the next aid station. I started running the uphills to generate heat. I found sections of more predictable terrain I could run on. I was present in every moment, weighing my options and making the best choice I could. I finally made it to the aid station at mile 97.3. Just 2.7 miles to go! Runners were crowded in the race tent, trying to warm themselves around a heater. I grabbed some chicken broth and tried to do the same. It didn’t feel very warm. I weighed my options, and decided to fill my handheld bottle full of hot water to use it as a hand heater and headed back out into the storm.
That last 2.7 miles felt amazing. I knew I’d done it. I’d made great choices all day and I was reaping the rewards. My legs found extra energy, and I found a way to run the entire way to the finish, uphill and down. I finished in second place overall, and first masters. It was a much slower race than I wanted or than I believe I’m capable of, but I’m still incredibly proud of it. I’m also glad I finished in second place, but would have been just as happy with my performance had it been 20th. Placings are largely luck, usually dependent on who shows up and who has the most things go right. “In the moment” helped me make more things go right, and is one of the most effective tools I’ve found for success in ultra running. Try it yourself in your next race!
Last year mid 90 degree heat brought me to my knees and significantly impacted my performance on the second day of the Fat Dog 120. After two days in these temperatures and running for over 24 hours I felt like I could barely move under the oppressive blanket of heat. I had to lay down on the side of the trail to try and recover, catch my breath, and compose myself. I was in the last 20 miles of the gruelling 120+ mile race, but I just couldn’t push myself any harder to get to the finish. In the end I dropped back from 6th place to finish in 32nd. Others didn’t seem to be affected as badly. Many thoughts went through my head at the time. Could it be that heat affected me differently? Did I push harder than others the day before and was paying for it now? Did the relatively cool temperatures in Seattle not prepare me for this? What should I have done differently? How do you run in the heat?
Since that race I’ve been thinking about incorporating heat training into my own race preparation. I’ve also heard of people using heat training to prepare for altitude or even to improve their performance in cooler temperatures. I’ve heard a lot of anecdotal accounts, but I was curious what the research has shown. With this paper I have set out to determine what proof there is for heat training’s benefits, and how best I might incorporate it into my training plan and those of our athletes.
What I found
The impact of heat on running performance can be significant. Around 40 degrees fahrenheit is optimal, and performance quickly declines starting at only 50 (http://fellrnr.com/wiki/Impact_of_Heat_on_Marathon_Performance ). On average, a 4 hour marathoner at 40 degrees can expect to run about 10 minutes slower at 50 degrees, and almost 40 minutes slower at 80 degrees! Blood vessels expand, causing a reduction in available blood for muscles and added stress on the cardiovascular system. Also, dehydration and electrolyte loss beyond a certain point starts to cause additional negative performance impacts.
Heat acclimation training has been shown to have multiple benefits for endurance athletes. Becoming acclimatized to heat will reduce the negative affects of racing in the heat, and has also been shown to improve performance in cooler conditions and at altitude.
Here’s a list of the various specific benefits I’ve found throughout the articles I’ve read. I’ve included all of my primary sources for this information at the end of the article if you’d like to read more. This is an impressive list of benefits, and as I pulled it together I began to think that heat training might be a valuable addition whether or not I had a hot race coming up.
Plasma and red cell volume increase (up to an 8.7% and 8.1% increase, respectively)
Vo2Max increase (average of 5% in cool, and 8% in hot conditions, primarily due to blood volume increase)
Left ventricle changes increasing oxygen delivery to muscles
Reduced blood lactate
More effective perspiration
Reduced electrolyte loss through sweat
Better heat regulation and cooler resting body temperature
Higher volume of “heat shock” protein cells (HSP72)
Psychological preparedness
In summary, heat training boosts your blood and body for endurance and makes you more effective, both physically and mentally, in hot conditions. See this figure from a study published in The Journal of Physiology for a great demonstration of the benefits, both in hot and cool conditions compared to a control group.
How long do the benefits last? Some physiological adaptations have been shown to disappear after around 3 weeks post heat training, although there is some evidence that the performance benefits last longer.
Older athletes tend to naturally do worse in hot conditions, which also means they’ll see the biggest benefit from heat training. The disparities in age disappear after training.
Comparison to and combining with Altitude Training
As I listed the benefits of heat training above, it was clear to me that there were some similarities to altitude training. I’ve also heard anecdotal accounts of people effectively using heat training to prepare for altitude. That was intriguing, and I was curious how I should choose between them, and possibly if it would be good to combine them and boost the benefits even higher.
Research shows that the principle of specificity in training (i.e. training for the specific sport or conditions you’ll be competing in is better) applies in deciding to use heat vs altitude training. What conditions will there be in the event you’re training for? If you’ll be competing at altitude in cool temperatures, then Altitude Training is your best bet. In this case natural altitude is the best, followed by Hypoxic (reduced oxygen to imitate altitude) methods. If you’ll be in hot conditions at a low altitude, then heat training will be best. But what do you do if your event has both altitude and heat? That’s a question best answered by a coach with knowledge of the race and your strengths and weaknesses. If forced to pick based on the available research, I’d lean toward heat training. Heat training produces many of the same benefits, some that altitude doesn’t produce, is easier and typically less expensive to incorporate, and has fewer negative impacts. Another thing to keep in mind is that heat training has been shown to have positive effects in elite athletes, while artificial altitude training hasn’t (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19203133 ).
If heat training is so good, then why not combine it with altitude training and get twice the benefit? There is limited research on this, and so far studies indicate that the positive effects may even be negated by doing so (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/articles/27787334/). This may be due to the increased physiological stress of heat and hypoxic training reducing the running specific training load or recovery possible in those conditions. This is combined with the fact that altitude training has been shown to reduce blood plasma levels, thereby negating one of heat training’s positive effects. The main differential benefit with altitude compared to heat training is an increase in hemoglobin levels, and while this was shown to occur in the combined study cited above, the performance improvement anticipated did not occur. This chart in the Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise shows clearly that on average the combination of heat training and altitude tracked very closely to doing nothing at all, while heat training alone resulted in significantly faster time trial performance. This appears conclusive, but it’s also interesting to note the wide disparity in individuals (the lighter grey lines). I think there is room for more research here, and there could be methods that do take advantage of both. Until it’s tested further I’d recommend caution.
Methods
I found two primary methods for heat training.
The first, which sounds horrible to me, is to wear a heat suit or to run in hot conditions for some of your runs each week. A heat suit is just a bunch of extra clothing to contain the body heat you produce during your run. Yuck! That sounds both painful, and like a huge inconvenience, not to mention I’m sure you’d be running a lot slower! If you live in a hot area it would be much easier to run in the midday heat, and while this is an effective method of heat acclimation it will negatively impact your running specific training. Think of it as making a tradeoff of giving up a bit of running fitness or neuromuscular gains to get the heat specific benefits.
The second, and in my eyes preferred method, is to sit in a sauna a few times each week after you run. That sounds doable, and like it wouldn’t have too much of an impact on the running specific training you do each week. Great! This could be challenging if you don’t have easy access to a sauna.
Here is a summary of each method:
Quick – wear heat suit while training for 60-100mins, or run in the middle of hot days (3-4 times per week)
Results in 5 days-3 weeks
Gradual – 20-30min dry sauna sessions after running (3-4 times per week). Allow the body to naturally and gradually regain equilibrium after session.
Results in 3-12 weeks
Obviously there are risks with either method. Heat stroke is no joke, so don’t push yourself beyond your limits!
Recommendations
Is heat training right for you? If you have a coach I’d discuss with them first. There appear to be significant benefits, but it wouldn’t be worth reducing the time or intensity of your running specific training unless you have a race with very demanding conditions (such as Badwater). If you have time and recover well enough from your workouts as is, then give it a try!
I’ve already started to integrate the gradual method into my own training. My sweat appears less salty, but it’s too early to share any other benefits I’ve seen for myself.
My Approach
I’m starting with 3-4 sauna sessions per week. Once I feel adapted (measured by time to pre Sauna heart rate after leaving the Sauna) I’ll reduce that to 1-3 to maintain the adaptation.
I setup a “Sauna” setting on my Garmin watch to aid with and keep track of my heat training. To do this I created a new ‘other’ workout type, disabled GPS, and configured a training screen with time, temperature and heart rate (the temperature isn’t very accurate, and may not be available on your watch, so isn’t necessary). I stay in the sauna for 20-30 minutes and hit the lap button when I leave. This allows me to keep track of how long it takes to recover (feel better and reduce my heart rate) and track my adaptation over time.
I’m careful to let my body cool naturally after leaving the sauna, and not to take a cool shower or drink until I’m recovered. This is a critical part of the process that causes your adaptation to heat. Your body is forced to practice recovering naturally, which is similar to what it will have to do during a race. One measurable aspect of this is dehydration. We usually think of dehydration as a bad thing, but it has been shown to improve race performances at lower percentages, and stresses your body enough to help create some of the adaptations we’re looking for. I target around 3% dehydration between my run and the sauna. I weigh myself before I go for my run, then again after leaving the sauna. I’m 150lbs and target losing around 4-5 lbs (4.5lbs is 3% of 150). It’s important not to push yourself much beyond that point, as it could be damaging or require longer recovery.
Unanswered Questions
There isn’t a ton of research out there on heat training at this point, so I’m excited to see what comes from new studies. Here are a few questions I was unable to answer in my research.
What about adding a sauna session before or in the middle of a running workout? On the downside I could see this being more impactful to the quality of your run. It could also provide more realistic conditions for your body to cool itself, and would utilize systems differently, such as the increased air exchange from breathing harder.
How can someone best measure their adaptation at home? Blood tests can be expensive and inconvenient, so it would be good to have a method to measure the adaptation at home. Measuring time to recovery post heat exposure (i.e. return to near pre-exposure heart rate) should be a good indicator, but I haven’t seen anything called out in research.
Why is a dry sauna better? I found clear preference for dry sauna vs wet sauna or steam room, but no comparison on the difference in benefit. How does this translate into humid outdoor conditions? It would be good to understand the details of these differences to make better training decisions.
Could alternating between heat and altitude avoid the negative effects of combining them at the same time, and potentially boost performance higher?
What are Form Drills?
What are Form Drills?
This is the second post in a four part series geared directly to runners, prepared for us by Allison Feldt, DPT Physical Therapist and Owner of Body Motion Physical Therapy.
Allison Feldt, DPT, is the Owner of Body Motion Physical Therapy, where she specializes in sports, orthopedics, and women’s health. Her practice services the Greater Seattle area and Northern suburbs, with a focus on accelerating the rehabilitation process by bringing the physical therapy experience to your home or office, with a significant focus on manual techniques to help restore the body’s function.
Heidi Strickler, RDN CD is a Registered Dietitian with a focus in Sports and Performance Nutrition – Endurance Sports (Running, Cycling, Triathalons); Team/Field Sports (soccer, basketball, hockey, football, etc.); Strength-based Sports (CrossFit).
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