Running Tips by Coach Julie

Running through the Menopause

Everyone is different and will have a different experience of the menopause, but I thought it might be of interest to share my own personal experience. I’m not quite there yet, but clearly in perimenopause and getting close to flat lining on my hormones, I think.

In everyday life I have noticed that I have gone from being a sound sleeper who could easily drop off by 10pm, to having trouble both getting to sleep and waking up through the night, usually very hot. My periods are getting to be a bit more random, shorter in duration and with more intense pain. My temperature regulation during the day isn’t too bad. I just sometimes find myself getting very cold for no good reason.

Running wise the main thing that I have noticed is I am sweating more, way more! This means that I now need to take a drink on shorter runs. I’m tired during the day from lack of sleep. The tiredness can make it hard to get out of the door, but once I get running I feel fine and get back home feeling much better. I also seem to be more prone to putting on weight.

The menopause is known to make women more prone to put on weight, particularly around the middle, and it slows metabolism. It also changes your hunger and satiety signals. I have found that I have gone from someone who never had to worry about their weight, being naturally skinny, to having to think far more carefully about what I am eating and if I do really need to eat.

In addition to all this, bone density and lean body mass are reduced by the changes in hormones. This is hard to tell if it is a problem, until it is too late, so I think it is safest to assume that doing exercise and having a diet to improve bone density and muscle mass is a good idea. This means heavy weights, plyometrics and more protein.

I’m not running that fast at the moment, but there are lots of possible reasons for that. Covid and the lack of races and training goals is one. Then it could be slightly more weight, or just getting older. The menopause has so many possible symptoms that it is really hard to tell what to put down to it

Overall I would say that running and exercise are a big help to me in getting through the menopause. It helps with preventing weight gain, gets me out of daytime slumps in energy. And, when combined with some yoga and strength work, hopefully combats the worst effects of ageing by maintaining balance, muscle mass and bone density. The menopause may make you feel like lying on the sofa, drinking wine and eating too many carbs, but putting the effort into getting out of the house is worth it.

Dr Stacy Sims recommends “Lift heavy shit—carefully. Do high-intensity interval training and plyometrics. Up your protein. Do less volume and more intensity. Recover longer.” Which looks like great advice!

https://www.fitnchips.com/2019/04/dr-stacy-sims-talks-menopause/

If you want to find out more about what happens during the menopause and hear further experiences, then this is an excellent podcast to listen to: https://femaleathletepodcast.buzzsprout.com/914179/4455224-menopause-and-perimenopause-symptoms-what-to-be-aware-of-bone-health-and-ageing

A guide to Running shoes

Which running shoes do you need? (Or, as my family keep asking me, why I have so many pairs of shoes.). Each of my pairs of shoes has its own function and ideal environment. Below is a summary of the main types of shoes you may come across and what they are most suitable for.

Starting with the basics, you should consider comfort and the running surface you mainly use, as the best way to choose shoes. Research has found that there is no link between how much you spend on shoes and risk of injury. (Although this was carried out before carbon plate, stacked shoes.). Comfort was the best way to pick shoes. A good running shop will be able to offer you impartial advice on wether you need features like motion control, depending on your running style, so I will just concentrate on the various different types of shoes and their use.

If all you do is run on roads, hard surfaces and treadmills, then you just need standard road shoes that are comfortable. It is a good idea to have 2 pairs, as rotating which pair you use will make them last longer and could save you from having to wear wet shoes. If these are the only type of trainers you have, then it can help prevent your feet, ankles and stabilising muscles from become lazy by having two different types of shoes, one more supportive and one less so.

If you start to get in to racing and want to really see how fast you can go, you may want to add a pair of light weight racing flats to your collection. Racing flats are just a light weight version of trainers designed to use on hard surfaces. They will have slightly less support and cushioning to achieve a lighter shoe. Do train in these before using them in a race and for most people they should only be used in races up to 1-1.5 hrs long, due to the lower support and cushioning. They can be of use for longer track races, if spikes cause you injuries due to their low profile.

If you decide to venture off road then you will want some off-road trail shoes. These are designed for the wide variety of surfaces to be found off-road. Trail shoes are fairly similar to road shoes, but with a bit more grip. If your runs are a mix of trail and road, and not too muddy then these are the shoes to get. They tend to have a bit less cushioning than road shoes as they are intended for soft surfaces.

(These are Brooks Cascadia, which I have loved running long trail races in.)

If your runs are just too muddy for trail shoes, or you want to race through mud in cross countries, parkrun and trail races then you may want to purchase a pair of Fell running shoes. These have large rubber studs on the base, to give you great grip in deep mud, they are also fine to run across gravel, but may be slippy on tarmac or wet rocks.

If you need even more grip in mud or want to race on the track then you will want a pair of running spikes. These shoes have a base plate into which you can screw sharp, metal spikes of different lengths. For the track you want spikes up to 6mm, for cross country they can go up to 15mm. (Top Tip for muddy cross country is to put your longest spikes at the front of your shoes and shorter ones further back under the ball of your foot, for added comfort.) More expensive track spikes come designed for specific events, but if you buy a cheaper pair, of all round spikes you can use these for track races and cross country. WARNING: it is horrible to run over tarmac and gravel in spiked shoes!

These are all the running shoes that I have. Now I move on to a couple of others that I haven’t tested myself:

Barefoot shoes– these are designed to be as similar as possible to running barefoot, but with some protection for the sole of your foot. They have no support or cushioning. The reasoning being that they encourage you to run with more of a forefoot strike and landing under your body to prevent jarring. If you decide that this is something you wish to try, then you need to progress to them slowly and working on plenty of foot, ankle and calf conditioning first. If you suddenly make a switch from standard trainers to barefoot shoes for all your runs, you will almost certainly end up injured.

A new addition to the shoe market are the latest carbon plate shoes, like Nike Alphafly Next% and Adidas Adios Pro. These have been helping to rewrite the records for road and track distances. The shoes have a carbon plate and special foam that returns more energy on each foot strike, making most (but not all) people 2-5% quicker. The down side seems to be the cost and the fact that the shoes don’t last very long. Probably only worth considering if it is really important to you to knock a bit of time off your pb, or you might win a race.

So to sum up, getting the right shoes for the surface you want to run on will make training more enjoyable, but go for comfort over fads, price or the latest technology.

Who says I have too many running shoes! These are all my current shoes, but some of them have retired from running and are now walking or gym shoes.

Running Bingo Card for Lockdown

Finding motivation to do more in lockdown than just plod round for a jog is getting harder and harder. One trick I have to help keep training going and plenty of variety in what you do, is my Running Bingo Card:

Strava Segment PR	Long Run >10k	Yoga session	Complete a drills warm up	3k time trial
Take a run selfie with a tree	Balance on 1 leg with eyes closed for 30s	Stretch after finishing your run	long run >14k	Complete a fartlek session of sets of (30s, 1min, 2min) equal time jog recovery
Hill sprint session (6-8 x10s)	S&C session	Watch “Kungsleden with Emelie Forsberg”	6x 100m strides after an easy run	Master a new running drill
Have a healthy, home cooked dinner	Read “Running with the Kenyans” or “Born to Run”	Run a new route	Take a run selfie with an animal	“Naked” Run without a watch
Watch “Where Dreams go to Die”	Top ten on a Strava segment	Climb over 400m in a week	Find all your running medals (and trophies) and find the one you are most proud of.	Write down the reasons why you love running

Running Bingo Card

This contains a few training sessions, challenges, reminders of stuff you should do (like stretching and drills) but probably forget on your own and some fun activities to keep you motivated. See how long it takes you to complete and have fun!

Post Run Yoga Stretching Routine

This is a short sequence of yoga moves that makes a great post run stretching routine to help your body be ready for the next running session.

Each position should be held for 3-5 long, slow breaths and nothing should be painful. If any stretches hurt then back off in the stretch or skip that move. Focus in each position on relax the muscles that feel tight as you breath out.

https://fb.watch/3myEzXjhWY/

The sequence is: Downward dog, lunge, lizard pose, forward hamstring stretch, quod stretch, pigeon pose to seated twist, then repeat on the other side.

Equality in Cross Country

I haven’t posted anything for a while due to getting caught up in heated online debates about equality in cross country races in the UK (except Scotland which already has equal distance for male and female races). I was going to write a post to sum up the debate, but then I found an article online which perfectly addresses the key points; A commentary on Race Distances in XC by Andrew Kirkland who is a coach, sports scientists and university lecturer.

Please have a read as it will help both those who can’t understand why this is even an issue and those who don’t understand why there needs to be change. I know which side I’m on!

Along with race distance, I do believe that there are other issues that cross country racing in the UK should be looking at. The group of athletes attracted to the sport is not as diverse as in other areas of athletics and the U20 age group (and U17 Women) seems to always suffer from very low entry numbers, or end up added in and swallowed up in other races, like the seniors. Cross country does need to move with the times to keep attracting new athletes. It is a fantastic sport to take part in both for your fitness and strength and the joy of taking on whatever nature has to offer with hundreds of other nutters!

Learning to Run with Poles

If you start running hilly Ultras or mountain races, you will probably come across runners with poles, but do you need them and how do you learn to use them?

My introduction to running with poles was to borrow a pair to use in a 64k mountain race. Probably not the best way to learn, but I only got a pole stuck in a hole twice, almost tripped once and I didn’t manage to stab anyone either. I did discover that the poles helped me to set a good rhythm to keep going up hill and added some extra stability on tricky, technical sections, like a river crossing. I also liked to have one available on paths with sharp, vertical drops, but that just my slight vertigo. I must have been using my arms and core, as I could feel those muscles the next day.

I have since purchased my own pair of poles from Harrier (https://harrierrunfree.co.uk/collections/poles) who have a really helpful beginners guide video on their website. I am aiming to do a bit more practice now to make the most of them in my next Ultra, whenever that might be.

A few other tips that I worked on during the race:

Check you at least know how to clip them together and fold them up before setting off in a race with poles.
Don’t have your poles out at the start, wait until the race field thins out and the path heads up steeply. They will just get in the way, and it’s a bit selfish to take up limited space.
It is hard to run naturally with an extended pole in each hand. I found what worked better was either put 2 in one hand, or if it was a longer section of running, fold one up and keep one out for when I need extra balance.
It’s great fun to use them like ski poles to swing around turns on steep zig zag descents!
Don’t pick up the wrong poles at an aid station. (I didn’t do this, but I saw someone else being called back to swap poles.)
I found it quite easy to attach the poles folded to the elastic cord on my backpack, using the velcro on the pole straps.

The latest research on using trekking poles was reviewed by Outside magazine who found that it feels easier when you use poles, they can reduce joint stress, help balance and lead to faster walking. The gains are small, so it’s not worth it for short races (unless that is the World’s toughest vertical k).

Me learning to use poles by taking on 3900m of gain in a day

(UPDATE: On playing around with my new poles today in some UK winter mud, I also found that they help keep you upright on slippy descents and your hands get cold which then can make it difficult to depress the small button to collapse them.)

Should I Walk in a Running Race?

Many people think that walking during a running race is wimping out, but there are times when it is the best race strategy and you do see elite mountain runners using walking on long, steep climbs. Some of the elites use a 1-2 minute walk, 1-2 minute run approach when ascending long climbs. There are also several runners who have used walking breaks in a marathon to achieve sub 3hr times. Marc Burget used a 6min run, 30s walk strategy to run 2:52:39:

https://www.atriathletesdiary.com/sub-3-hour-marathoner-benefits-galloway-method-marc-burget/

It has been found that walking can be faster than running up steep gradients and in studies undertaken at the Locomotion Laboratory at the University of Colorado they found that once a gradient reaches 15 degrees runners naturally switch from running to walking when it was most efficient.

So when should you walk:

If you are going up a steep hill and not catching the people ahead walking. In this case you are just wasting effort.
If you feel that your effort level is unsustainable to finish a climb, or your heart rate is too high. Working too hard on the ups, will burn through your glycogen stores quicker and may lead to having to stop for longer to refuel.
As part of a long race strategy walking can give your legs a break, or be used to eat and drink. On a very hot day making sure you take on enough fluid can make the difference between a DNF and finishing. The same is true for taking in fuel in races over a few hours.
Technical sections that you can’t run, but make sure you get going again when the terrain is runable.

When to run again or keep running;

Just before reaching the top. If you start to push just before a summit you will have more momentum over the top and catch people still walking.
Flatter sections of a long climb. If the terrain does level out then use this to get going again.
If running in a group has advantages e.g. slip streaming into a head wind.
In training runs keep running uphill as far as you are able, even if it is very slow. This will help to improve leg strength and prove to yourself what you are able to run up.

How to make the most of walking;

Make sure that you walk with purpose, don’t just stroll.
Use walking time to refuel.
If you need to stretch out, walk with long strides.
Practice; if you have a steep hill to train on time how long it takes to walk up and compare that to running.

Walking in a race is ok as long as you have purpose.

Taking positives from training during a pandemic

It may be hard to see how all the restrictions and lack of races can possibly help you run better, but there are many positives to be had and you can take advantage of this time. I think every runner will have one or two of these areas below that they can use to improve performance.

There is more time for supplemental training like strength and conditioning work, mobility, drills.
You can use the time to build a big endurance base, as in a Lydiard plan, without any races to distract you.
Or you could use the time to focus on improving your speed, without worrying about mileage.
Another important, perhaps the most important, part of training is recovery, so work on learning to relax and chill. Take up meditation!
Reconnect with why you enjoy running. Knowing any you run and what you enjoy about it will re-motivate you.
Perhaps the biggest bonus to come out of this, is a chance to work on the mental side of training. Coming through all the hardships and sudden changes will build your mental resilience. You need to learn to accept how things are and live in the now.
When you get the chance, really appreciate the time you can run with others and notice how this changes the way training feels.

So in summary, training through a pandemic can be used to work on weaknesses, improve mental resilience and re-motivate yourself. When it all comes to an end make sure you get out and enjoy some tough racing with others.

What’s it like to run an Ultra?

Here are two views from opposite ends of the Western States 100. One showing the journey of a runner going for a top position and the other is the journey of those that just want to make the cut off.

Simple Ways to calculate Training Load, based on Research by Carl Foster

It is easy to add up your weekly mileage or time spent training, but do these really give a true picture of how hard you have trained and enable you to track your training load? It can become even harder if you mix the type of training you do. As with everything else these days, you can find a watch function that will claim it can calculate your training load, but a far simpler, and possibly more accurate way is to use your measure of how hard the training felt and multiply this by how long you were training. It works as follows:

-Multiply the duration of a training session by the RPE (rating of perceived exertion) to give a load score

Work out the daily mean score for your week (total load score for the week divided by 7)
Calculate the standard deviation (you can set up a spreadsheet to work this out.)
Mean/sd = monotony score
Load x monotony = strain

The units are all arbitrary, but enable you to track change. The mean daily score shows you how hard a week has been and enables you to track week to week variation to ensure that you build intensity and have easy, recovery weeks.

The monotony score is a measure of the variation in sessions. A low monotony scores shows that you have a good mixture of hard and easy sessions during the week. A high score is likely to indicate a majority of your running and training is in the middle, ‘black hole’ training zone. In this zone you never run hard enough to push big improvements and you never run easy enough to allow your body to recover. It may be desirable to have a higher monotony score when you are in a base building phase, just looking to build steady miles.

The strain score is an overall score of how hard the week’s training has been on you both physically and mentally. You don’t want this high for too long.

Explanation of RPE ranking:

The Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) is a rating scale ranging from 1-10 that helps you to identify how hard you are working. The perceived exertion is based on how you feel during the whole exercise session. Whilst you’re running, think about your overall levels of physical stress and fatigue. Don’t think about just one thing, such as how your legs feel, or how heavily you are breathing. It’s an overall measure of how hard you are working. Try to concentrate on your overall inner feeling of exertion.

This website has a table explaining each level and also a kids RPE, which you may prefer to use!

What is the Rating of Perceived Exertion (the RPE)

Further information of the ways of monitoring training loads and how the above calculations can be just as useful as complicated laboratory measurements:

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Carl_Foster3/publication/316655977_Monitoring_Training_Loads_The_Past_the_Present_and_the_Future/links/5909fa6f0f7e9b1d0821f468/Monitoring-Training-Loads-The-Past-the-Present-and-the-Future.pdf?origin=publication_detail

(If you want to remind yourself of what a standard deviation is and how to calculate it: https://www.mathsisfun.com/data/standard-deviation-formulas.html )