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The Easiest Way to Run 2.6 Minutes Faster
Good morning and Happy New Year!
We wish you a lot of new PR's and happiness this year.
This week: 5 reasons to consider run commuting, a simple way to run 2.6 minutes faster in your next marathon, and why endurance athletes should avoid anti-inflammatories
Happy running 😁
PERFORMANCE
Endurance Athletes Should Avoid Anti-Inflammatories
Many runners will take an anti-inflammatory pill such as Advil, Naproxen, Aleve or Ibuprofen, either before or after a run, to try to dull pain or maybe even improve performance.
But for many reasons, this is strongly discouraged by healthcare professionals. Why? Because anti-inflammatories can:
Mask pain which can cause you to run when you shouldn’t, ultimately worsening your injury symptoms.
Negatively affect the healing process which can prolong your injury troubles.
Increase the risk of acute kidney injury when taken regularly.
There’s also no evidence to show that anti-inflammatories actually help improve performance in any way.
Unfortunately, many runners continue to take anti-inflammatories regularly throughout their training.
What should you do instead of reaching for medications if you’re hurting?
This article has a few suggestions for managing the most common injuries.
And if the pain persists after a few days, consult with a healthcare professional who has an extensive background in treating running injuries! Get to the root cause of your pain. Then come back stronger and pain-free!
RACING
The Art of Drafting to Run Faster
Live racing is back, and we are all super excited. Let’s just hope it’s not as awkward as when we got back to socializing.
And if you want to shave a few seconds, even minutes of your time, without any extra training, you need to learn to draft.
When you draft behind other runners, you reduce the drag or stop the force of the wind. You can think of drafting as a way to get rid of the wind, partially, at least.
Eliud Kipchogue used a highly complex formation of pacers to reduce his drag when he ran the famous sub-2-hour marathon. But you don’t need 40 professional runners to see significant benefits from dragging.
According to this study (click to see impressive image representations), there is a simple way to reduce drag by up to 75.6%.
What’s the perfect way to draft?
Let’s start by saying that it’s not in the middle of a bunch of runners -having runners at your sides doesn’t help at all.
The best way to draft is to place yourself right behind a runner and in front of another.
With this formation, you can improve your running economy by up to 3.5%, leading to velocity gains of 2.3%. This translates to 154 s (≈ 2.6 min) saved over a marathon distance.
2.6 minutes for free, yes, please! Just remember, one runner in front and one in the back, and you are good to go.
TRAINING
Top 5 Reasons to Consider Run Commuting!
If you enjoy running but you struggle to fit it into your weekly routine due to work and family commitments, consider run commuting!
It can be a great way to get your easy runs in. Then you just need to worry about scheduling in a long run and speed work (if you’re doing speed).
5 Benefits of run commuting?
1. Beat the traffic.
If you run to/from work at times when traffic is heavy, you may actually be running faster than the vehicles stuck slowly moving forwards.
2. Start and finish your day right.
If you have a desk job (like most people do), run commuting is a fantastic way to start and finish your day! If you are sitting for 8 hours/day at work, it's great if you can avoid spending even more time sitting in a car to get to and from your job.
3. It's cheap!
You save money on gas. And if you live too far from your work to run, you can take the bus to a certain point and then hop off.
4. Minimal equipment needed.
If you already have running shoes, you just need a running backpack that can hold your change of clothes and lunch.
5. No excuses.
It’s easy to skip exercise if you’re too busy or you're tired. But if it’s your mode of transportation, you must do it. And you then don’t need to find time early in the morning or late at night to exercise because it’s done.
And if you start run commuting to work, why stop there?
If you forgot something at the grocery store and it's within running distance, why not strap on your backpack and run there? It's nice to make running a part of your lifestyle!
PODCAST
Top 10 Lessons and Tips from the First 10 Episodes
In this episode, we'll discuss the importance of long-term goals in achieving success as a runner. We also discuss the importance of being careful about who you listen to and the dangers of taking on too much too soon, which can lead to injuries.
We share some tips on maximizing recovery, including the importance of sleep and the benefits of slowing down during the off-season. We also talk about the importance of investing in good winter runners and the importance of patience and consistency in going from being injured to running personal bests.
Finally, we discuss the power of a positive attitude in achieving new personal records.
Listen today!!!
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