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| Biltmore Estate Bass Pond |
In order to reverse this trend, I stuck my head in the books to hopefully come up with a remedy or plan to correct the situation I found myself in. Along with the writings of Lydiard, I had at my disposal the experience and recommendations of Arthur Newton, Dr. Phil Maffetone, Stu Mittleman, Ernst Van Aaken and John Douillard. At the conclusion of my amateur research, I came up with what I believe was a remedy that so far is proving successful, just as it did in the past for the aforementioned authors. The common denominator, if you will, of each of the six men allowed me to create a list, guidelines or seven rules I had to follow if health was to be restored.
Those seven rules are as follows:
1) Avoid sugar burning intensities completely and focus solely on teaching my body to burn fat.
2) Keep my running intensity at 1/4 to 1/2 effort as recommended by Lydiard. (This is confirmed by Newton, Maffetone, Mittleman, Van Aaken and Doulliard.)
3) Focus at all time on form (gait, posture, cadence), breathing and relaxation.
4) "Focus on the process and the experience you are having, not on the results you want later." - Mittleman
5) "The more you focus on the process the faster the results will come." - Mittleman
6) It's healthier to be 10 percent under trained than to be 1 percent over trained.
7) Learn to use auditory, visual and kinesthetic references to determine the proper running intensity on any given day.
These seven rules have allowed me to build myself back up to where I can now run 20 miles and longer and still arrive home ready to tackle any task or chore the day demands. Most importantly I am remaining healthy, fully able to enjoy running, while I continue to gain strength and condition once again.
Be aware that the above recommendations are not a quick fix. They represent a long slow tedious process. However, if you decide to follow these or similar recommendations, coupled with patience and perseverance, health and fitness will ultimately be yours. Granted, there are training guidelines and schedules galore that will provide quick results along with the never ending cycle of PR's, injuries, sickness, declining health and the ultimate destruction of that precious commodity, the enjoyment of running. Indeed John Douillard said it best when he wrote, "I believe the human body is unlimited in its potential, but if we continually break it down to build it up, we will be drowned in the damage of free radicals and never see our full potential."
Happy Running!
Bartman
References:
"Running With Lydiard", by Arthur Lydiard
"The Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing", by Dr. Phil Maffetone
"Slow Burn" by Stu Mittleman
"Van Aaken Method", by Ernst Van Aaken M.D.
"Body, Mind and Sport", by John Douillard.
"Tea With Mr. Newton", by Rob Hadgraft
Hey! I didn't realise you guys had a blog as well! I was going through all the blogs nominated for the 2014 running awards. Great post. I'm going to follow the 7 rules above :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Ian! Glad you found our little blog. We voted for yours on the the running awards :-) it's going to be tough for anyone to beat I Run Far :-(. I just read your recipe for the watercress sweet potato soup! Sounds great! We're going to try it tonight. We really enjoy reading your blog!
ReplyDeleteFor anyone reading this, Ian's blog is...
Runningokintheuk.blogspot.com
Too kind, thank you :-)
DeleteBart, what a great blog. One question: do you mind explaining how you measure 1/4 to 1/2 effort? Thanks so much.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great Blog, Bart & Eve. How do you measure your intensity to keep it at 1/4 to 1/2 max? Slower time, heart rate, ...?
ReplyDeleteHi Norm, Glad you like the blog. Bart's had some computer issues this week. I'll make sure he sees your question, so he can get back to you. :-)
Delete~Eve
Great! Sorry for the double post -- first one didn't show up so I re-entered it. I just got a heart monitor so I'm hoping to learn how to monitor my intensity more closely. I think I tend to overtrain, so I need to learn more. Thanks so much.
DeleteHello Norm,
DeleteGlad you enjoyed the post. We have had some computer problems the past of couple of days, so please excuse the delay in getting back to you.
The heart rate monitors seem to work good for a lot of people, but I found it personally to be an unreliable indicator and a source of frustration. Just one example, the read out was, at times, influenced by the amount of static electricity I had in my running attire for that day.
The ¼ and ½ levels of intensity described in the post are referring to “perceived” levels of effort, rather than measured heart rate or pace per mile/km. In other words, your perceived level of effort in relation to your maximum effort for the distance you intend to cover on that particular day. Quarter to half effort is a very comfortable pace in which you can easily carry on a continuous verbal conversation with a fellow runner or with yourself. Just be aware to keep in mind that talking to yourself could raise concerns among those you might be passing along the way so simply cup one hand over your ear as if you are holding a cell phone, just to put everyone at ease :-)
The perceived efforts described by Arthur Lydiard are in relation to maximum effort for the same distance. Pace per mile/km can be influenced on a number of life’s factors, but perceived effort is truly learning how to listen to the body. ¼ and ½ effort was generally the level of perceived effort that Lydiard recommended for the base building phase of his program, and in this phase, he found that fitness and health were elevated to their highest levels. At this level of intensity, the runner should feel relaxed and in tune with him/herself and their surroundings. Good, positive, and problem solving thoughts will naturally flow through the mind as the run progresses. Pace wise this level of intensity can vary considerably. When sleep, diet, hydration and life in general are favorable, the runner will find him/herself running at a fairly good pace, relaxed and breathing completely under control. On other day, for example, right after an exhausting race or dealing with personal problems or heavy work load, the runner might discover a brisk 15 minute/mile walk ideal for the day. Either way, the runner is up and moving and building aerobic fitness and health.
“Keep always in mind that you can never run too slowly but you can run too fast.” –Arthur Lydiard
Hope this is helpful in explaining running in accordance with perceived effort as described by the books that are listed under references at the end of the post.
Happy Running!
Bart
That's a great approach. It's important to feel we excel but we need to be smart. I ran my first Full marathon last November and intentionally trained at a slow pace -- my best Half had been an 8:38 pace, but I tended to get hammy cramps so I thought I should back off that for the Full. So, I trained around 11 m/m, still cramped on my training long runs, and actually ran the race at 11:30, cramping around miles 22 through 24 but ran through them and finished feeling fine and strong. Needless to say, I didn't push myself. Regardless, I'd love to figure out if it's nutrition (don't think so -- I load up on Nuun tabs and Honey Stingers while running) or just muscle stress (I think that's it.) So, thanks for the info and the resources, which I can't wait to look into.
ReplyDeleteNorm