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HowBStrong Heart Seminar

9/29/2013

I went to the HowBStrong heart seminar today over at the Cape Codder in Hyannis. I had lots to do and almost didn't go. I knew the organizer(s) as well as most of the speakers...and to be honest...I wasn't expecting all that much...because well...how much are your friends going to know? Yuck...yuck...yuck...just kidding.

As it turned out...this thing was brilliant. They managed to pack all kinds of useful information from various individuals into 3 hours. I thought the talk was going to be more general. Instead it was chock full of useful tools...things you could integrate into your life almost immediately.

Each person attending the seminar was tested for cardiovascular health and given a personal report with the findings...a $45 value. The test was called "autonomic balance & accelerated photoplethysmograph." Say that five times fast. It sounds fancy...and I supposed it is...but it only took a couple of minutes and the report itself had all sorts of useful information. Not only did it assess cardiovascular risk...it detailed both physical and mental stress levels as well as the balance between the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous systems.

My report showed excellent cardiovascular health but very high mental stress levels and a seriously overactive sympathetic (flight or fight response) nervous system. It's all dead accurate.

If they do another one...and you're in the area...I'd recommend going.

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Weekend Glory

9/29/2013

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Some friends tested themselves today. Here's what happened...

Big congratulations to Bill Lord who ran his 50th marathon today at the
age of 69. He completed the Clarence DeMar marathon, in Keene, NH. You can see results here. Bill has been running for decades and has a 2:59 marathon PR.
He also coaches a group that meets every Wednesday evening at the Barnstable HS track.

Erik Swanson...also running Clarence DeMar...posted a nifty 2:51:07 for 8th overall and 2nd in the 40-49 age group. I suspect Erik was looking to run slightly faster but he's in the midst of
Ironman training so he might not have been in peak form.

Sue Eastman ran the Zooma half marathon in Falmouth today in a time of 1:57:35...9th in her age group. Nice. Results of the race can be found here.

Amber Crowley also ran the Zooma half marathon in Falmouth. She ran 1:49:07 and finished 2nd in her age group. Amber has been coming to the Wednesday night workouts and feels they helped her performance today. I don't know if that's true but the last several Wednesday workouts have been well-suited to half-marathon and marathon preparation...so maybe it helped a bit. But Amber has been working very hard...just like so many others...and today she got to demonstrate the effects of all the work.

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Understanding people helps

9/28/2013

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People usually want to be special. Specialness is sort of like an addictive drug...a drug for the ego. Just look at the lengths we go to in order to be elevated or just stand out. Many us will do just about anything.

Some try to win things. Others seek power. Others take up a cause. Others simply behave badly. Some advertise their victimization in order to be special...while others identify with a group and then try to make the group special. I'm of this religion or political party or race or sexuality or country. I have this ailment. I'm short. I'm depressed. I'm the biggest. I'm the strongest. I'm the fittest. Aren't I special? It's comical...kind of sad...but comical.

We want to be special because we think special people do not die.

Why am I writing this here? Well...probably to be ever so special...hee hee. But besides that...it applies to the fitness world. Whenever anyone is promoting a certain type of fitness program, system or technique...which is all the time...it's important to keep in mind that they are very often driven...at least partially...by the need to be special.   Whether it be Crossfit or P90X or Insanity or Pose Running or Chi Running or Zumba or the Galloway Method or Pilates or simply certain "experts" and their individual philosophies...keep in mind that everything they are putting out is likely tainted...even if it's just a little bit...by the owner's or originator's need to be different and special.

Let's take Crossfit for example. It's near and dear to my heart and it's easy to pick on because it's such a good example of what I'm saying. Crossfit describes the winner of the annual Crossfit Games as the "Fittest on Earth." How transparent can you get? They essentially come right out and say we want to be the most special of all fitness systems. Because this is their driving factor, they come out with all sorts of claims and advice that are a bit silly and are nothing more than attempts to make the Crossfit method different and special.  Most of what comes from Crossfit HQ (Headquarters) is slanted in this way. It's presented as fact and science but it's often nothing more than hype and bluster.

The ironic part of this is that Crossfit has no need to brag or make outlandish claims. It offers plenty without all the BS. It can be loads of fun. There's no need to make the workouts so difficult that onlookers will ooh and aah. Crossfit teaches all sorts of new interesting movements. It gets you thinking creatively. It highlights movement deficiencies and provides methods to fix them. For many of us...it opens up a whole new world. You learn to appreciate just how incredibly strong, fluid, flexible and lightening quick Olympic weightlifters are...along with the immense talents of other athletes such as gymnasts or dancers. I could go on and on. It has so much going for it.   Many Crossfit trainers...more and more in fact...are using their own common sense and are borrowing the best of Crossfit without buying into all the hype...and without destroying their clients with savagely difficult workouts.

Pose running is another technique with which I have experience. It has valuable suggestions regarding running form; get off your heels...lean forward a little...more onto the balls of your feet...don't overstride...work on quick contact time...wear a bit less shoe...strengthen your hamstrings and hips. But they've made it into so much more than that. Geez...I bought the book on Pose Running and there must have been 500 different exercises suggested. I was lost. Holy crap! It was so damn complicated. I must need to attend one of their seminars to learn all this. Ugh!

I've rarely read a training method or tool that does not have any value. In my opinion, everything is worth a look. There's almost always something to be learned. Like Dan Millman always said..."The mind is like a parachute. It works best when it's open." I spent close to an hour the other day listening to an interview of a fellow whose philosophy on endurance was diametrically opposed to everything I have been taught and experienced. What's more...I don't really like the guy. But I listened anyway. And to be fair...he was very interesting and I learned things...and our different outlooks were largely due to different experiences, priorities, time frames...and ages.

There's no need to close down to the world and shun anything new. Quite the contrary.  Try things. But simply remember that everything you read or hear needs to be taken with a grain of salt because ...whether we can help it or not...we are drawn to specialness.

Develop your sensitivity. Develop your concentration. Be aware. Learn how to discern what's what. This will let you try new things and avoid running into trouble.

In the meantime...beware the trap of specialness.

Note: Special thanks to Stuart Wilde

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Marathon taper

9/26/2013

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Quick note to those doing marathons this Fall...Careful not to Over-Taper. It's one of the more common mistakes. Tapering refers to reducing your training load in order to go into a race with full energy reserves.

I feel as though the marathon schedules that are promoted today are just scaled down versions of what the old top level marathoners did back when marathons first became popular. In those days...runners often did 120-140 miles per week...and more...in order to prepare for marathons. Even top local runners would think nothing of putting in 100+ miles per week. Because of the stress of the training, runners often needed a taper (reduction in training load) that lasted at least several weeks. It took that long to completely recover and rebuild from all the heavy training. Elite marathoners still train this way...for the most part.

Today...many of the marathon training schedules are designed for folks with jobs and time constraints and much more modest goals than those of the professional marathoner. Often these schedule have weekly mileage peaking at 50-55 miles per week. There's nothing wrong with this. The trouble is these schedules often use the same timeline that the elite marathoners use. They start tapering 3-4 weeks out. This is usually too soon for someone training at this level. Instead of tapering, what you end up doing is simply losing fitness.

When I was doing marathons more regularly, I would do 75-85 miles per week. This was a good amount of running, but I really only needed to cut back my long run the week before the race and then pull back my training in the last 3-5 days in order to be fresh and ready to go. Any longer than that and I was flat as a pancake. This was admittedly a pretty short taper but it worked for me.

Here is a good article by Tom Schwartz regarding peaking for the marathon. He makes the interesting observation that endurance oriented runners do better with a short taper while speed oriented runners need a bit longer.

This article by Jeff Gaudette also does a great job of explaining how to avoid tapering too soon...along with a lot more.

If you are dead set on your schedule...don't let any of this throw you. No need to stress. Most training plans will at least have you avoid running too long too close to the race...and that's good. Also, they usually have you ease up on the intensity the last 3-5 days. That's also good. However, you might consider keeping your overall running volume up a bit...especially if you have found yourself flat in previous marathon efforts.

Please use the "Comments" function to ask any questions about your specific situation.

All the best...

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Wednesday Night at the Track

9/25/2013

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The gang did a fairly challenging workout at the Barnstable HS tonight. We had about 17 runners. The workout was as follows:

2+mi warm-up around high school grounds,
then on track - 5-8 x 4mins @~30min race pace with ~90secs recovery/re-grouping periods
Cool-down

The shorter distance folks generally stuck with 5-6 reps while the marathoners did 7-8 reps. Good thing there were lights from the Pee Wee Football practice.

Here's a litte "excerpt."

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Big Dreams...Little Goals

9/23/2013

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It is wonderful to dream big dreams. Our dreams are precious. They must be guarded like a treasure. There is virtually no limit to what we can do and become.

However...when it comes to actually fulfilling our dreams...small, sure steps work best. The little intermediate goals on the road to our dreams need to be reachable.

"Inch by inch, life's a cinch. Yard by yard, life's hard.”
   - John Bytheway

Here's an excellent article by Jeff Gaudette...a 2:22 marathoner and running coach...discussing how shooting for an overly optimistic time goal can actually prevent you from running faster. I was actually about to write a little bit on this but then I discovered Jeff's article. He does a much better job than I ever could.

Jeff explains how you must train to your current level of fitness...as opposed to training to your goal. This is absolutely vital...and this applies to all athletes. We don't want to get ahead of ourselves. We need to train based on where we are now...and simply take the next step.

Now...here's a little extra tip...one that has taken me a long time to understand and practice; When it comes to your making dreams come true...BE SILENT. Don't tell anyone about your dreams. And if you do tell anyone...make absolutely sure they love you dearly. But don't talk big. It seems the moment you tell someone about your most heartfelt visions, a little bit of air goes out of the balloon. I'm not sure any of you have experienced this or are aware that this happens...but it does.

The odds of fulfilling your heart's desire will increase if you employ silence.  It is golden after all...silence that is.

“Each moment of our life, we either invoke or destroy our dreams.” -Stuart Wilde

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Take a Breath

9/22/2013

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"Beware the barrenness of a busy life."

Socrates

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Movie Making 101

9/21/2013

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Here's some footage of the cross country meet between Cape Cod Academy (CCA) and the Barnstable HS JV Boys. The CCA girls ran just for fun.

Please forgive the amateur movie-making skills and the nice song which will likely drive you crazy by the third or fourth time it plays. Sorry...sorry...ugh!!

I promise to get better at this. In the meantime, see the video below:

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You Got to Have Heart

9/20/2013

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The Team of HOWBSTRONG is presenting a seminar on the "Pyramid for a Healthy Heart" on Sunday, September 29th, 2013 - 1:00-4:00PM - Registration at 12:30PM - at Cape Codder Resort, 1225 Iyannough Rd, Route 132, Hyannis, MA 02601 - Registration fee: $25 - Register here.

Featured speakers include Tammy Smith, Keith Rosary, Pernille and Dr Thomas Bober. I know several of the speakers personally...as well as the host David Sauro...and while I have no idea what they are talking about, they are kind folks with big Hearts.

Since we're on the subject of the heart. Here's a very interesting article regarding unlocking the intuitive intelligence of the human heart. The article contains a short video explaining the importance of heart connection and how each of us contributes to the whole.

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Tip on planning workouts

9/20/2013

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Yesterday, my friend Bobby and I were discussing planning workouts and it reminded me of a little trick I've learned over the years. Actually...it's not my trick...loads of experienced athletes use it. I find it works very well for me. It's crafty. I'll share it with you.

When planning out a workout...or workout schedule...don't be afraid to undershoot. Set the bar a little lower. Plan to do less than what you consider the ideal. Take what you want to do and reduce it a bit. Instead of a two hour run, you might make the goal 90-100 minutes with the qualifier that if you are feeling good, you will go a little farther. In this example, you make getting to 90 minutes a success and everything extra a bonus.

The perfect time to utilize this strategy is when you feel a workout is particularly daunting. You won't have to do this all the time. It's for when you are starting to dread the workout so much that you can feel the weight of it before you've even started. In these cases, just cut the goal down to something more manageable. But then...and this is important too...be ready and willing to forge ahead and do a little more if all systems are "go."

Obviously, if you are training for something in particular, you may have to really hold yourself to completing certain specific goal workouts. And if you are the kind of person who is always backing down from a challenge, you may need more practice following through to a definite, set-in-stone goal.

But for the most part, it's best to stay flexible and avoid biting off more than you can chew. My favorite method is to set a range for what I want to accomplish. The low end of the range is the minimum and high end is the ideal...with anything over the minimum being a success. You can plan running workouts with a time range such as 30-45mins rather than just 45mins. You can plan 8-12 repetitions of 400 meter repeats instead of fixing on 12 x 400m repeats. If you are doing circuit training you might say you'll do 3-5 rounds of the circuit depending on how it's going.

The absolute best test for whether or not you've planned a workout that is simply too much is if you are considering not doing it...or you are simply procrastinating. It doesn't matter if we're talking about a 10 minute walk or a 100 mile bike ride. It you are finding it to daunting...cut it down...or set an easier minimum.

It's always good to remind ourselves...it's what we actually do that matters...not we say we are going to do. Writing big fancy training schedules down on paper doesn't mean much unless you actually do it.

Therefore, avoid the psychological trap of continously planning workouts that are too much. Much of successful training involves a soft coaxing of your body to cooperate. Again...it's a gentle tenacity.

You can use this method to accomplish virtually anything that involves work.

All the best...

"Nothing in the world is as soft and yielding as water.
Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible, nothing can surpass it.

The soft overcomes the hard;
the gentle overcomes the rigid.
Everyone knows this is true,
but few can put it into practice."

from the Tao Te Ching
Written by Lao-tzu
From a translation by S. Mitchell
Last updated 20 July 1995

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HowBStrong Heart Seminar

Weekend Glory

Understanding people helps

Marathon taper

Wednesday Night at the Track

Big Dreams...Little Goals

Take a Breath

Movie Making 101

You Got to Have Heart

Tip on planning workouts

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