Training
Rethinking the cool down AND XC coach at University of Houston
The Cool down- what does it do? I’ve contemplated for a while writing about the role and function of cooling down after a workout or race, but never I have never fully been able to put all the pieces together to do so. The cool down seems like such a normal/given thing. It’s a rite…
Read MorePhysiological Model of Training- Why it and “zone training” are outdated
I hate zone training. It’s a pet peeve of mine. I hate the idea and the concept behind it. But so many coaches out there use it, and in actuality we all tend to classify workouts into different zones. I’ve wrestled with trying to explain my hatred for zone training and what I’d call the…
Read MoreTraining to Kick
How to train a kick: In the last post, we took a look at the physiology behind the kick. That’s all well and good but it’s pretty much useless unless we can translate that knowledge into something practical. So let’s give that a go based on theory and practical experience. Here’s my guide to creating…
Read MoreThe Science of the finishing kick
Kicking it into gear. I’ve explored the phenomenon of the kick a little before but with recent research and with the fact worlds has just happened, let’s explore the kick phenomenon a bit more. First, let’s look at what actually happens physiologically, and then what we can do about it. The Physiology of the Kick…
Read MoreStress Fractures in Runners: Risk Factors and Prevention
I thought I’d pass along a journal article I wrote back in grad school that just got published in the July issue of the International Journal of Athletic Therapy and Training. It’s a quick practical article looking at tibial stress fractures and runners. In particular, what the possible causes may be and some potential things…
Read MoreKenenisa Bekele’s workout: How do we get there?
Here’s a selected workout that Kenenisa Bekele did around 10 days before his 2007 10k world championship win, the same race which I wrote about on an earlier blog. (This comes from a presentation from Barry Fudge, who is a sports scientists who was doing work with Bekele during this workout) 8x (400 in 52-54,…
Read MoreGoing to the well and Seeing God- How hard should workouts be?
Going to the well and seeing God: As runners we take pride on pushing through pain and testing our limits. It is essentially what the sport is about. However, there seems to be a finite number of times that we can dig as deep as we can and pull out all the stops. Obviously on…
Read MoreStrength Endurance Presentation
I’ve been doing a lot of research and writing lately as I’ve got a series of articles I’m working on for Running Times online, so I thought I’d take a break from the heavy science based articles and running form and give you visual learners something slightly different. I’ve covered the topic of the importance of…
Read MoreGoing from Mono to State Champ
As always, I try to be up front and open about what I believe in coaching runners. There are no secret workouts, it has all been done at some time during the past, what changes is how all the ingredients are put together. It forces me to be a better coach and innovate more if…
Read MoreMore on Strength Training for Runners, including core/stability…
I’d like to highlight a “comment” that my friend and fellow Grad Student Matt Andre was going to post on the Strength Training post. It’s a great supplementation to that post and adds some good references and insight from a different person, so I figured it would be useful for readers if it was a…
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