Recovery runs: Breaking the myth
If you’re a serious runner you know that by definition training is the application of stress to the body followed by a period of rest so the body can eventually adapt to continued applications of...
View ArticleSix tips to make your recovery runs boost your training
Today I’ll give you some tips on recovery runs as a follow-up to last week’s post on the subject, but first let me come back to a topic raised last week, that of running every day. Alexander Pope, who...
View ArticleSpareribs’ running quiz: Here’s the winner and the answers!
My running quiz generated a lot of mail in the quest to win a pair of Feetures! Elite socks, but I goofed big time with this idea, simply because some of the questions were way too hard for most...
View ArticleRunning trivia quiz answers: Part II
Here’s Part II of the running quiz answers. By the way, honorable mention goes to Belynda Warner, Hari Garimella, Bill Borowski and Martina Crevecoeur with great scores. 4. VO2 max is best described...
View ArticleAbebe Bikila “the Barefoot Ethiopian,” and other fun stuff
When the great Ethiopian runner Abebe Bikila arrived in Rome in 1960 to run the Olympic Marathon, he was promised that Adidas would have shoes for him. But he found in trying on various pairs of...
View ArticleA surefire tip to ramp up miles without fatigue or injury
Last week, to celebrate my 66th birthday, I decided to see if I could run 66 miles, significantly more than the 40 I run each week. So I ran 12 miles last Sunday morning, and then ran 9 miles a day...
View ArticleWatch for falling objects: Neighborsgo editor gets shiner on running trail
I’ve been putting in a lot of running miles lately, so I suppose a black eye was bound to happen, right? Back in July, I signed up for the Dallas Half Marathon on a whim. I’ve never really considered...
View ArticleA reader’s interesting letter: how would you have answered?
Last year I wrote three pieces that I believed would be useful to runners who are training to improve their performance. I got a ton of feedback and I shared it with you at the time. (Go back in the...
View ArticleBest Places to Get Training Advice; Webcast with Scott Jurek
Last week someone asked me what running books have I recently read that I would recommend. My response: None. They all say the same thing. You’ve read one, you’ve read them all. You need a long, slow...
View ArticleHe was a brave man who first ate an oyster
I remember this line from James Michener’s “Chesapeake.” If you had no familiarity with oysters and had never seen one on the half-shell, you would likely not have the courage to suck it down. But...
View ArticleThe toughest post-race workout ever, and other random thoughts
Dear Spareribs, I know you’re pretty serious about your post-race workout routine. What is the toughest exercise you do? Fitness Guru Dear Fitness Guru: The toughest exercise I do after a race is so...
View ArticleSeven ways to get more from your running in 2013
As we close out 2012, let me share this poem by Robert Frost, “The Pasture.” “I’m going out to clean the pasture spring; I’ll only stop to rake the leaves away (And wait to watch the water clear, I...
View ArticleFive more tips to improve your running in 2013
On Monday I showed you the first two ideas on how to have an improved running experience in 2013. Here are the final five. Log your miles online I post all my workouts on the RunningAhead training...
View ArticleSpecificity of Exercise—a distance running training tip
Many of you know that I make my living teaching people how to sell things, and in my workshops I use a lot of role play. “You be the salesperson and I’ll be the customer. Go!” Those who really...
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Run with Olympian Alan Culpepper, Receive injury prevention tips
Alan Culpepper Parker University and Competitor Group are teaming up for a kick-off fun run with two-time U.S. … [visit site to read more]
View ArticleTop training tip: This is no time for Juan Agosto!
The year is 1989, and I’m listening to a Mets-Astros baseball game on a New York radio station, the FAN, with my son Garrison. I’m from NY and a big Met fan. Three years before this game the Mets...
View ArticleHow much quality is too much? Here’s a useful tip.
For years I’ve read that a good guide on how many quality miles you can safely do in a week is 10% to 15%. I see this advice on running forums and in books on running all the time, but it’s imprecise...
View ArticleHow to fire up your speed in just 4 weeks!
With the Oklahoma City Marathon behind us, the marathon season is pretty much over for us down south. It’s going to get hot now and most runners will continue to race, but choose shorter distances....
View ArticleHow do you know when you’ve put on a good race?
Look at the race calendar in any week during the spring and fall and you’ll find dozens of choices. I’m often confused about which one to go to. Is it the right distance? Is the price reasonable?...
View ArticleA tip from Lydiard on speed and some shout-outs from the weekend
Let’s suppose I ask you to get down and give me 50 pushups. You do, and when finished, your arms are tired, but the rest of your body is just fine. Hold this thought because it contains a key premise...
View ArticleA great spy thriller story and marathon training reminder
If you already like characters such as Jack Reacher, Harry Bosch, Elvis Cole and the like, you’re going to love Alex Berenson’s books. Alex has written eight spy novels, all featuring the same...
View ArticleWhat exactly are “Junk Miles”?
While running with a friend a couple of weeks ago we got on the subject of the benefits the runner gains from long runs, as they build strength and endurance. But then she said that a friend of hers...
View ArticleResting before racing: How much and when?
Yesterday I had a nice long run of 19 miles, and today I did a slow recovery run of about 3 miles. But tomorrow, I’ll struggle. My legs will feel stiff and I’ll feel tired. I know this is how it’s...
View ArticleThe best tip for improving your ultra performance
Some years ago when my son Travis was a senior at Cistercian, he was called to a meeting with his adviser and English teacher, Father Gregory Schweers. When Travis arrived at his office, Father Greg...
View ArticleAnimal lovers, I’m sorry to break your heart today
“An audible groan went up from the crowd of over 50,000 when the beautiful black filly’s right foreleg shattered, and she was brought to a stop by her jockey Jacinto Vasquez.” I’m a bit older than...
View ArticleRunning fads and diet books come and go
There are some laws in running that despite continued argument, remain immutable. One of them is that mileage volume is a key to running success. If you were to make a list of all runners, from best...
View ArticleThe two biggest reasons why you’re running slower
Every dedicated runner I know laments the fact that as we age we get slower. Some are good-natured about it and accept it as fate. Other reactions run from surprised to bitterness. I do a bit of...
View ArticleRunning for weight loss? Two helpful tips
Thinking of taking up running as a way to reduce or control your weight now that the holidays are here? Let me give you some advice based on what I’ve seen over many years. I often hear, “I need to...
View Article3 big reasons why you can’t qualify for Boston
For years you’ve dreamed of a Boston Qualifier (BQ) and come oh so close. Based on your shorter races, the McMillan calculator has you pegged for a time that would send you to Boston by 3 minutes,...
View ArticleA sure-fire tip to improve speed and race times
Follow along with me while I point out a simple bio-mechanical principle that if followed carefully will add speed to your running and greatly reduce your race times from the fiveK to the marathon....
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Injured? Learn first, then recover
Let me share a story with you about my friend Bob Fowler, an outstanding sports medicine doctor and a fast, strong runner. In addition to his sports medicine practice in Grapevine, Bob is also the...
View ArticleRunning “rules of thumb” and a Boston Marathon Quiz!
Let’s suppose that you are a young math wizard and looking to develop your talent as best you can. You need a gifted math teacher who knows more than you do and can help you improve. Problem is,...
View ArticleRunning “rules of thumb” Part II: The ideal stride rate
Some years ago the well-known running coach Jack Daniels stated that “almost all elite distance runners (both men and women) tend to stride at about the same rate: 180 or more steps per minute…a rate...
View ArticleRunning “rules of thumb” Part III: weight, speed and time
One rule of thumb that makes perfect sense states that the lighter you are the faster you’ll go. Trouble is, there are a bunch of rules within this basic notion that are difficult to prove. Years ago...
View ArticleRunning “rules of thumb” Part IV: Bogey Golfers
Regarding the rule of thumb that ideally a marathoner’s weight should be 2 lbs per inch of height, I asked you to write to me if you were heavier than that standard and ran a BQ, and I got a ton of...
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