EAT TO RUN

HEALTHY EATING WHILE YOU TRAIN

Most athletes, including walkers, need large amounts of food to fuel their active lifestyle. Choosing the most nutritious foods that provide the broadest range of nutrients will give you the best possible results. Here are a few guidelines to follow.

• Don’t dismiss Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating. It is a very good guide to how we should eat and it does work for athletes.
• Be sure to eat low fat, high fibre, full grain choices whenever possible.
• Don’t confuse fuel with nutrition. During long walks and events you will need quickly available fuel. The goal is to get sugar into the system efficiently for the activity. The rest of the time (i.e. when not exercising) the goal is to get the best nutrients into the body.
• BREAKFAST: It is very important to have a healthy breakfast. Choose whole grain breads and cereals with low fat and sugar and high fibre. Have a serving of fruit, milk and protein each morning. (Ex Shredded Wheat, skim milk, whole grain toast with peanut butter, half cup of melon and a cup of coffee)
• SNACKS: Snacks are an important part of the training diet and should be eaten morning, afternoon and evening. Try to have at least two food groups at each snack with one being complex carbohydrate. (Ex Whole Grain crackers and cheese; an apple and some almonds; grilled cheese sandwich on whole wheat and a glass of OJ)
• LUNCH: One of the underrated meals for athletes. Using the training plate below as a guide will help ensure you get a balanced meal.
• SUPPER: Again use the training plate as a guide

The TRAINING PLATE is a great easy way to plan your meals

TRAIN TO RUN

Training Tips

The key to successful training is like the old joke about Election Day, when they say vote early, vote often. When preparing for a long distance event the key is to train early, train often. Don’t wait until a month or two before the event. The Marathon by the Sea Programs are 20 weeks in duration to be sure you have adequate training.

Almost all endurance events have the same key workouts, here is a great summary:

TYPES OF RUNS:

Easy Runs
Top coaches and exercise physiologists believe that most runners should do 80 to 90 percent of their weekly training at the easy run pace (this includes your long runs, done at approximately the same pace). Easy runs build your aerobic fitness, and your muscular and skeletal strength. They also help you burn more calories and recover for harder workouts.

Tempo Runs
Tempo runs help you improve your running economy and your running form. They are often described as “hard but controlled” runs, and they will help you prepare for races of 10,000 meters to the marathon. Tempo workouts generally fall into one of two categories: steady runs of 4 to 8kms; or long intervals with short recoveries. Here’s an example of the latter: 4x1km at tempo run pace with 2 minutes of recovery jogging between repeats. You should do tempo runs no more than once a week and they should make up no more than 10 to 15 percent of your total training.

Maximum-oxygen runs
Maximum-oxygen workouts help you improve your running economy and your racing sharpness. These workouts are often called “interval workouts,” and are most useful when you are preparing for a race of 5000 meters to half-marathon. Here’s an example of a good maximum-oxygen workout: 6 x 800 meters at maximum-oxygen pace with 1-4 minutes of recovery jogging between repeats. You should do maximum-oxygen workouts no more than once a week and they should make up no more than 6 to 10 percent of your total training. (When you run these workouts, you are running at or near 100 percent of your maximum oxygen capacity, which scientist cal max VO2; hence the name for these runs.)

Speed-form runs
Speed-form workouts help you improve your running economy, form and leg speed. These are also interval workouts tailored to help you prepare for races of 800 meters to 5000 meters. Here’s an example of a good speed-form workout: 8 x 400 meters at speed-form pace with 3 to 4 minutes of recovery jogging between repeats. You should do speed-form workouts no more than once a week and they should make up no more than 4 to 8 percent of your total training. Since our focus is the half-marathon and marathon, you won’t see these very often in the Marathon by the Sea programs.

Yasso 800s
Yasson 800s are an invention of Runner’s World staffer Bart Yasso, who has run more than 50 marathons and ultra-marathons. Because of their simplicity, Yasso 800s have proven popular and useful for marathoners worldwide. Basically, Bart says that if you want to run a marathon in 2:45, 3:29 or 4:11, you should train to the point that you can run 10 repeats of 800 meters in the same time: 2:45, 3:29 or 4:11. The only difference is that your marathon time is hours:minutes and your 800 time is minutes:seconds. Bart suggests doing Yasson 800s once a week as part of your marathon training. Start with perhaps 4 x 800 and build up to 10 x 800. Between the 800s, take a recovery jog that lasts as long as your 800s. (Additional hint: Yasso 800s are a great workout for any runner. Because they are “strong but controlled,” they’re basically a form of tempo training.) A good Yasso 800 workout: 6 x 800 at Yasson pace with recovery jobs between the 800s.

Long Runs
Long runs form the foundation of all marathon training programs. Long runs build everything from your confidence to your discipline to your fat-burning. So, even when you’re not training for a specific marathon, it’s a good idea to do at least one semi-long run a week. Because long runs are done at a relaxed pace, there’s great latitude in how fast you actually run. In general, we believe that slower is better than faster. Let your long runs be your slow runs, and save your legs for other days of the week when you might do tempo runs or maximum-oxygen runs. But there are a thousand theories about how to do long runs, none of which have yet been proven superior to the others. The important thing is building up the distance and training your body to keep going for 3,4,5 or however many hours it’s going to take you.

Putting it all Together

Just because there are lots of different workouts doesn’t mean that you should do them all every week. Just the opposite in fact. Please consider the following:

Hard days
We recommend that most beginning and intermediate runners do just two hard days a week. More advanced runners can do three hard days if they’re very careful. Each of the following is a hard day workout: tempo runs, maximum-oxygen runs, speed-form workouts, Yasso 800s, long runs.

Hard days/Easy days
A hard day workout should usually be followed by one or (even better) two easy day workouts. Easy days can of course include rest days and cross-training days.

Rest days
Most beginning and intermediate runners should run 4 to 6 days a week. We recommend one or two rest days, when you do no training at all (or just take a relaxed 30-minute walk) and one or two cross-training days.

Cross-Training days
With the boom in triathlons and exotic fitness equipment, the world of cross-training has expanded dramatically in recent years. While research indicates the cross-training probably won’t make you a faster runner, we believe it can make you a stronger and healthier and less injury-prone runner. We believe that runners do best with cross-training exercises that are non-weight-bearing. This includes swimming and aqua-running, strength-training, bicycling and rowing. We also like non-impact exercises, which include Nordic skiing, elliptical training and step climbing.

Core and Stability Work

This section is designed to give you balance and a strong central core to build your swing around. The balances are to be held for 3 sets of 10-30 seconds each. The core work is to be done as 3 sets of 5 building to 3 sets of 15 repetitions. The leg work is again 3 sets of 5 building to 3 sets of 15. These are new muscles so respect them and start slowly. They creep up on you the next day.

1. Balances (four point, two point, sitting balance)
2. Core work (ab crunch, prone knee tuck, kneeling prone hypers)
3. Leg Work (wall squats[front and back], one leg squat, supine leg curls)

BALANCES

CORE WORK

LEG WORK

BEGINNING TO RUN

Running Can Be Fun!

For years we have seen people slogging in misery trying to get in shape. Running doesn’t have to be that way. With proper training and a good approach running can be FUN.

The goal of this plan is to help you learn to run in an enjoyable way that will have you looking forward to lacing on your running shoes. Follow these simple steps and you will have years of running fun!

1. Walk before you Run
Behind every good running program is a walking program. If you are new to running start here. You want to start with a base of walking. Begin where you are and try to walk four times per week for 10-30 minutes depending on your current fitness level. When you can walk 4 times per week for 30 minutes, pick one walk to be your big one. Add 5 minutes each week until it is 60 minutes. You are now ready for a little running.

2. Add Running in little bits!
Take your walking base and pick two walks to be your faster ones. Imagine the 30 minutes as 6 sets of 5 minutes. Try running the last minute of each set; it will go like this, walk 4 minutes, run 1 minute, walk 4 minutes, run 1 minute and so on. When this gets easy, make it 2 minutes of running, then three, then four. When you can run 4 min, walk 1 min stay with that for a few weeks (or forever if you want).

3. Want more running?
If you have tried the run 4 minutes walk 1 minute for a while and want to do more running try this. Start with 2 minutes walking 6 minutes running, 2 minutes walking 6 minutes running and so on for 32 minutes. Gradually go to 2 and 7; 2 and 8; then try 9 minutes running 1 minute walking. This is a very common pattern that people use to enjoy running and stay healthy.

* Walk/Run means that walking or slow running is the key part. * Run/Walk means fast walking or running is the key part. * All sets can be done with all walking OR all running if you choose.

Children and Exercise

Elementary school children are not just small adults and respond differently to exercise. They will function much better when rest periods are frequent and they have ample water. Watch for signs of overheating on longer runs or walks.

Children in grade two or younger are best suited for fun activity with repeated short bursts of activities and frequent rest periods. Formal training is probably not required to prepare them for family involvement in the Hustle. The best approach is to consider this as a family event rather than an athletic or fitness activity. See our "Planting the Seed" program for tips on getting your young children ready to go.

Children in grades 3-5 can usual handle a basic training program and can participate in races of a few kilometres. The Harbour Hustle is a great way to introduce running or to help a child build confidence and experience following previous running activities. For more details check out our "Moving Along" program.

Clinics

Visit www.events.runningroom.com/hm2/ for a listing of walking and running clinics available

Training Log

There is nothing like writing it down to keep you on track. Download our training log and get off on the right foot from the start. It’s a great way to stay motivated, and recognize the amazing journey few will accomplish in a life time.

Download here

Training Races

A great way to do your long runs on the weekend is to participate in the many great race weekends leading up to Marathon By The Sea. Experience the camaraderie of the running event, the hospitality of the host communities, the joy of new friends, and of course – the thrill of celebrating your accomplishment with others. RunNB provides the most comprehensive list of road racing in New Brunswick. Visit today and plan your next weekend run getting acquainted with New Brunswick and its growing community of runners. RUN WITH IT!