I’ve mentioned before on the blog that I participate in a running group at work. Each season’s session ends in a race, meant to be the culmination of the now-complete training regime. I was looking forward to the race just as much as I always do, though I knew I’d missed more training runs than I would have liked.
The race was scheduled for Friday, December 7th, and on Thursday night I dreamt of running. I was going fast, and it felt good… effortless. Which is a great way to head into a race day, I have to tell you. I was still struggling with the right way to wear my Jaybird Freedoms, but I did get lucky, and though I was nearly late for the race start, I got them locked in, and was able to focus on running instead of fiddling with electronics.
We started the race, and I got off to a fast start. Maybe a little too fast, but it’s hard to beat yourself up (even after the fact) because I was having fun. Around the 1.8km mark (the course is approximately 2.5km out and back performed twice) this unfortunate scene was visible. Luckily, I had seen the crime scene tape on my commute in, Googled it, and warned everybody that it would be there so nobody would waste time rubbernecking.
Completing the first leg, I still felt good, though I realised my speed would need to be adjusted to keep from crashing. I also took off my hat and gloves and had a few sips of water from the cups provided (I was wearing a water belt, with an empty water bottle – OOOPS). Off I went on the second half; I soon realised it was only men who were braving the 10k – BOO! One of our faster runners Mr. N (who recommended me the Jaybird Freedoms) had been acting as a pace bunny for another runner, but apparently that was only for 5k, so he soon passed me; what are you going to do? The guy’s an Ironman! I had been chased by Mr. B for the entire race. Mr. B has been faster than me on just about every training run, but our speeds are comparable, and I like and admire the guy because he doesn’t seem like a ‘natural’ runner and has built up his speed through hard work… he’s gone from being a non-runner to 10k in a little over a year (I think). At any rate, I still wanted to beat him that day.
For me, being chased is better motivation than being the chaser, so I managed to keep a lead. Mr. B told me later that he felt like he was 100 yards behind me the entire time – from my perspective the lead varied more than that, still we were both happy to finish around 49 minutes… me just under that, him seconds over.
It was a great day to be outside running, a day when all the little elements you need for a good run (body, music, gear) came together, and the perfect springboard to launch into training for the Chilly Half-Marathon!
Winter Running Tips and Reality Checks
If you’re near the 49th parallel or North of there, you probably have a better idea of what real cold is, and all the extra challenges that come from it.
With the holidays I had a chance to take my eldest son (2 years old, and will be known from here on out as ‘Shark Boy’) out in the Chariot on a run. It was pretty cold, so precautions needed to be taken. Around this time of year there are plenty of articles about how to accommodate the colder temperatures, and most of them repeat a lot of the same good advice. I’ll take this one from Active.com and look at some of the tips while adding what they really entail:
- Gear Up: Wear trail shoes or a traction device like Yak Trax. They will give you better traction and stability in the snow. The problem with this advice is that traction devices work best when there is ice and snow, but that isn’t the case for 100% of your run. Sometimes the sidewalks are clear due to diligent neighbours, so wearing your traction devices on concrete is uncomfortable and you’re better off without them… until you hit that patch of snow/ice than hasn’t been cleared. The best option I’ve found is to be able to take them off or put them on as needed. When you’re not using them, you have to be able to carry them: run a belt through them or stick them in a pack you’re carrying.
- Take Extra Time To Warm Up: Your body will warm up more slowly in cold weather, especially if you run in the morning. Take at least five minutes to walk briskly before you start to run. It’s especially true if it’s been a while since you ran and you need to get used to extra pounds you’ve put on from the holidays, or simply the different equipment you might be wearing/carrying due to the season. Don’t rush, take your time (this will come up again).
- Accessorize: Having the right apparel makes all the difference in the world. Layering is the key to avoiding over- or under-dressing. Putting on all that extra gear takes extra time; you’ve got to integrate it with your iPod/phone/whatever and any other running accessories. Same thing when you’re done, it takes that much longer to strip and hit the shower so budget for that extra time. It will probably come out of your time to actually run, when you take real life into account.
- Run During Light and Warmer Times of Day: If possible, run during daylight hours so you can absorb that needed sunshine we rarely get in the winter. Sure, this works great if you have the day off like I did on the 27th. Otherwise, that might mean running at lunch, where time is already way too limited. You will probably run in the dark.
- Hydrate: It is just as important to drink fluids in your winter runs as it is in the summer. Bring a bottle of water along with you, especially if you’re like me and the only drink you had before dashing out was a cup of coffee (which dehydrates).
For all that extra time and effort, I’d still rather be out there than on a treadmill; I want the 2012 Winter season to have as much running as I can fit in!
Winter Cross-training through Cross Country Skiing
If you’re a triathlete living in a more northern climate, the odds of keeping in shape to the degree you’d like are somewhat daunting. Each of the separate disciplines are impacted; and the warm outdoors affords you the best opportunities to have longer workouts that will increase endurance and distance. There are indoor possibilities that can be limiting. Indoor pools are crowded and not often the size you’d like; it’s not uncommon for gyms to have a mere 10-12m pool. Spinning classes have helped me up my biking endurance, but the technical aspects such as aero-position and gear shifting are lacking. Running on a treadmill is an option; but my main objection to using indoor solutions is boredom. Without a change of scenery, most cardiovascular activity descends into repetitive tedium, and you wind up wondering if the couch potatoes are right.
You do see people braving the elements to run outside, and I applaud these individuals (those that bike in the snow, earn nothing but scathing contempt – it’s just not safe). Braving the cold is about having the right number of layers and the right equipment at each layer. Cold temperatures are only part of the problem of running in snowy weather; park trails are closed and poorly maintained, sidewalks can be inconsistently shoveled, and the roads are narrower and more crowded thanks to snowbanks, shorter days mean a lack of sunlight. If you’re like me, and find these obstacles ruin the fun of endurance training, allow me to present a solution. The benefits of cross-training are well documented. Using our muscles in different ways makes them more resilient and more efficient, making us faster in races and less prone to injury. A triathlete’s free time for training, however, is already split between 3 disciplines, so extra time for sports that don’t benefit us directly is thin on the ground. Cross-country skiing (sometimes known as Nordic skiing) is one of the most difficult endurance sports, burning the most calories per hour. Cross-country skiing gives triathletes several benefits that vary depending on the technique used.
Basic Technique for Beginners
The first few times someone straps on a pair of cross-country skis, their motion tends to approximate an exaggerated walk. The skier strides their legs back and forth with opposing motions in the arms (left foot and right pole/arm forward while the right foot and left pole/arm are backwards). The strides use the hip flexors and glutes, while the arm motion creates a nice approximation of the front crawl swimming stroke, exercising the same shoulder muscles needed for a powerful drive forward in the water. With both upper and lower body in use, it’s easy to see why cross-country skiing is such a great whole body exercise.
Advanced Classic Technique: Diagonal Stride
Whether through lessons or the comfort that comes with practice, skiers who want to get a little more speed involved in their technique will find themselves leaning further forward, shifting their weight onto the forward ski, and enforcing a glide time with each stride. The forward lean and weight shift result in increased power and friction on the kick, driving the skier forward with more power. This also engages other leg muscles especially the calves and quadriceps. Maintaining balance with the forward lean works the core muscles, especially the lower back. As the skier discovers how to use generated momentum to increase average speed and conserve energy, the fun of the sport really shows itself. You coast after building up a head of steam (or coming off a downhill stretch) and there are techniques that can extend that coast time or increase speed, such as the marathon stride, marathon skate, or simply double-poling. While the former 2 techniques are a little complex to explain here, the double-pole technique involves using the poles to get an extra burst of power by bending at the waist rather than pushing solely with the arms and shoulders. It will use the abdominal muscles, but it’s also a good opportunity to fight a cramp building by forcefully exhaling on the bend.
Ultimate Workout: Skating Technique
I think of skating and classic techniques as analogous to front crawl and breast stroke. The former is simply faster and better if you have the strength and fitness to pull it off for the required distance, though it can cause you to run out of gas early and be forced to stop if you don’t. The latter is slower and more conservative and well suited to a pace that doesn’t up the heart rate toward those aerobic threshold maximums. There are many different sub-techniques for skating, but I’ll concentrate on illustrating the benefits of the Gear 4 (V2 alternate, Open Field Skate, 2-Skate) technique where you double pole on every other leg stride. For example, I double pole while my weight is on my left ski, and bring my arms forward again while my weight is back on the right. The skating motion uses the glutes even more and the abductor and adductor hip flexors work through the action of pushing off the skate leg and bringing it back (closing the space between the legs) again. Double poling works the core and shoulders as in the classic technique.
Getting out there
I have long held the view that the only way to really love living in Canada is to embrace the opportunities winter affords us, otherwise it’s just 4-5 months of misery. Downhill skiing is fun, but endurance athletes need a bigger, better, badder workout to get the most out of the so-called ‘off-season’. Cross-country skiing is cheaper, better exercise, and has a reduced environmental impact by comparison. There is a small (and in my opinion, too well hidden) community of serious cross-country skiers in South and Central Ontario, and they could use some company from the multi-sport community. Find a resort with rentals and take a lesson, or buy an old pair used and go to your nearest provincial or national park one weekend. It’s the ultimate cardiovascular exercise, how can you pass it up?