30 Mar 09: Tour of DHS Stadium: Episode 1 "Home Stands"

Workout:
"Tour of DHS Stadium: Episode I--Home Stands"

• .85 mile warm-up lap
• 300 the Hard Way--10 x 30-yard sprints in groups
  
• 8 min. band work--upright rows, curls, side raises, shoulder press
• 40 yards of lunge steps
• 5 min. of stadium stairs
• 8 min. of 45/15 bench squat jumps, dips, burpees, line jumps

. . . all while taking a relaxing jaunt around DHS Stadium!
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Now that the ING is over (congratulations to all who ran in it by the way!), we can really get down to business with you runners.

Take note: Grant Park Jill (my girlfriend) decided to run the race last Wednesday--4 days before the race. Her longest run in recent months was 7 miles. Only 7 miles. Her official time for the 13.1 miler was 2:24 (her actual time was closer to 2:15 because she walked the first 9 min. due to the crowded start).

Quote from nearly everyone: "Wow, Jill! You did amazing and you didn't even train for it!"

Bologna. She trained. Sher trained her butt off four times per week at FitWit. She works hard, but she has no super-human running ability. In fact, almost all distance running destroys her body--(as it does yours, but that's another post). Her body really doesn't like endurance tests. But alas, she ran the race and ran well. Today of course, she is very sore. The bottom line is that Jill has been training hard and training smart. Hard enough and smart enough to go 13.1 miles.

Eric Cressey helps explain why this isn't so shocking after all. This quote pulled from the article hints at the importance of learning the proper mechanics of running (i.e. ball-of-the-foot running):

" . . . They are simply trying to finish their exercise in the most efficient way possible. In other words, complete the task with as little discomfort as possible.

And here, we have the problem. Sally takes up running because she thinks she’ll lose some body fat. And, initially, she does lose weight . . . However, over time, that activity injures Sally and fosters bad movement patterns, meaning that she’ll miss more exercise sessions down the road. And, she quickly starts searching for the most efficient means of completing her runs, so her body gets more and more efficient - meaning that it burns fewer calories to accomplish the same task. Whether it is three miles or 13 miles, it’s always about just finishing. Quantity always takes precedence over quality . . . "

Quantity over quality? By now, you really should know how we feel about that . . . if not, let's spend some quality time looking at your squat form.

Q: How was Jill able to get into the race so late?
A: Jill purchased her number from another FitWitter--a FitWitter who had been training at long slow distances--forced out of running the race because of a running-related injury.

Note, I'm not saying that every FitWitter can go out and do a half marathon right now. What I am saying is that fitness is holistic; the more complete your abilities are across all fitness components, the better your performance will be at any fitness test.

Bottom line:

• Running is a skill. You need to learn to do it correctly if you're going to do it.
• Fast and hard is better than long and slow. Power and strength contribute directly to stamina, speed, and cardiovascular endurance. Running slow and long contributes directly to running slow and long.