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Thanks Eric and 100 Mile Plan Update

Posted by Thomas Orf on June 29, 2009 at 6:22pm
I just wanted to thank you Eric, for all the work, knowledge, and advice you share with all of us runners. It's obvious that you put in a lot of work in all of this, including your training, websites, and answering our questions, and I hope you know you're efforts are appreciated more than you know.I'm on week 8 of your 24 week 100 mile plan, and I'm loving it. Things are going great and I feel the plan is working very well. I'm seeing very noticable improvements right now with being able to hold faster paces while being in lower heart rate zones like 1 and 2. At first, I was frustrated by running so slow to stay in these low zones because I could run faster, but I think staying with your plan is show some benefits at this point. I'm guessing it's because of the slow twitch muscles being built. I actually did a heart rate half marathon plan when I first started running, and I went from running an 11 minute pace while holding zone 1, to being able to run in the high 8's, low 9's while being in zone 1. I'm seeing those same results come back.After this weekends long run days, which are two hours each, I get into the 30 and 30+ miles. I'm looking forward to it and all the results I'll see. Like I've said before, because of your plan, I'm expecting to have a great finish for my 100 mile race in October.If anyone is looking to do a 100 mile race, I'd really recommend Eric's plan.
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Progress and sponsors

Posted by Dustin Hucks on June 26, 2009 at 12:37am
Not sure how many people actually read this, but writing like running is therapy to me. If I don't do either very often, I start to feel crazy.First, my new nickname could be "Dead Legs". Man, is that ever something I'm trying to get over. Slowly but surely, with the help of way more food than I'm used to eating at this point, I'm crawling out of the dead leg hole and feeling strong again. It's a confidence booster to hit a stride and feel good halfway through a run when you started out feeling like your legs were made out of granite. This and next week are big tests, and if I can handle them, I'm confident I'll be prepared for the big run in August. If I had to go today, I think I could gut it out. That said, man...I'm glad I don't have to go today.Also, I picked up three sponsors at followtherun.org!Lightlife is a veggie food company that has been very receptive to my ACS event and are sending along some goodies for the trip. Awesome.Second, Gringo Bandito hot sauce. Yeah, it seems like a funny one, but it's really right up my alley. As great as some soy products are, they sometimes lack in the excitement department. I love hot sauce, and I prefer the kind that will burn your face off. That said, those sauces generally do not mix well with running. Gringo Bandito, however, isn't hot...but has a lot of flavor. It was created by Dexter Holland, the lead vocalist for the band the Offspring. I shot them an e-mail, and a few days later I recieved a message from the folks at Gringo Bandito saying that Dexter was stoked about my run and they were happy to send me along some cases of hot sauce. Again, awesome.Finally however, is the big one. GU Energy picked me up late this evening. I was so excited I was dancing around my living room. That's pretty impressive considering the beating my legs have been taking! It only takes one, and I get the feeling that with GU onboard, the other sponsors are going to be much easier to pursue.The RV is coming together, so next is the team. Tricky, but I'm hopeful. Hey, if any of you folks are available, give me a nudge!I have one newspaper story under my belt, a local television interview, and a radio interview as well. Jumping on the big dogs Monday. I'm going national as soon as possible. Eric has been awesome, sending me lots of tips and reminding me of very obvious things, like...you know, how I need to be putting way more food in my face. I really feel like everything is coming together.August is right around the corner. Cannot wait to step out onto that road and begin this journey.-Dustin
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Chia Power Gel

Posted by Eric Orton on June 24, 2009 at 4:35pm
So, I have finally "Americanized" the Chia seed into a performance enhancement power gel. Here is my recipe: 1/3 cup chia seeds 2 cups water one packet of Emergen-C (your favorite flavor) Mix the chia seeds and water in a big bowl using a wisk. Place in the refrigerator and wisk every 5-10 minutes until the mixture starts to solidify and form a gel. Then take one of your gel flasks that you use on your long runs ~ 8-9 ounce container. Pour in the Emergen-C packet and add JUST enough water to mix the Emergen-C powder. At this point, spoon in the Chia gel and shake. Experiment with the amount of water and Emergen-C to create the strength of flavor and gel consistency to your liking. Try it out on your next run.
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1975 Sauvie Island Marathon

Posted by Keith Peters on June 18, 2009 at 8:30pm

Since the photo on my page is a relatively current picture of me cycling, I thought I should post an old running photo, just to feel a little more a part of the Running With Eric team. The photo was taken at the 1975 Island Marathon on Sauvie Island, just north of Portland, Oregon. The shoes: Nike Cortez. (I actually did a lot of my "training" for this race in a pair of high top, green suede Nike Bruin basketball shoes -- such was the level of my running sophistication, back in the day.)Full disclosure: I only ran one lap of Sauvie Island, in just under an hour and forty minutes; I had to go to work that afternoon ... and I wasn't adequately trained to run a full marathon anyway.My best guess is that I've run about 40,000 miles in the last 25 years, many of them with some ache, pain or full blown injury. I wish I'd known Eric back then, even though he would have only been a teen-ager. After having worked with him the past few years on my cycling, I'm convinced I would have run faster and with fewer injuries had I only had the benefit of his counsel.Bottom line: I encourage you all to explore Eric's training philosophy and programs. I've got just over six weeks to go until the National Senior Olympics, then I'm going to see if Eric can help me get back to a reasonable semblance of running.Stay tuned.
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Nike Free 5.0

Posted by Kelly Hester on June 18, 2009 at 12:01pm
I tried out my Nike Frees yesterday for the first time...it's been a while since I tried any running so I just did 2-3 min runs followed by 2 min walking on the treadmill for 20 mins.. I could feel a difference when I ran, it seemed that my heels were coming up higher than I remember before and I was taking shorter strides. ...It's been almost 24 hours now and my shins have not started hurting yet.... I'm going to try it again tomorrow and see how if feels...still waiting on my heart monitor watch to arrive so I can get started on the 6 week beginner plan....if I had known it would be so slow getting here I would have just gone to a local store.... who knew I would be so anxious to get running... :)
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Coming together...

Posted by Dustin Hucks on June 18, 2009 at 3:00am
Been a while since I've written anything, which I intend to remedy.My website is up.followtherun.orgPretty proud of it, and I hope it grows. I had my first interview in what I hope is many this morning. Got to talk about the training, how excited I am about the run, why I'm doing it. I think about these things often, but it's nice to verbalize them every once in a while. It makes it feel more real when I'm telling another human being who is then going to tell many more that I'm doing this. I'm sure it's just in my head, but I feel like it gives it more substance....makes it more of an event.All of my media contacts from Los Angeles all the way to Lubbock are lined up, and I expect I'll be on the phone quite a bit in the morning. In all this, I fit my training, which is going well.I had my first three hour run in a long time this last weekend! I can't tell you how much I enjoyed that. I totally understand the purpose of my short runs, and appreciate them for what they are. They're preparing me not just for the run home, but to be a better and stronger runner in general. That said, man...do I ever love a long run. I get to put my headphones on, and go somplace else for three hours. I listen to the beat, my footfalls, check my striking once in a while to make sure I'm not backsliding into beating my heels up...but otherwise, it's a nice zone out.I felt great, I varied my pace, I ended stronger than I began. I've got two more to look forward to this week. I enjoy all of my training (minus the track.....MAN it's dull running the track), and I've really gotten a lot out of the mini-barefoot runs. I'm a convert. I can't wait until I can put in some real barefoot miles.Things are good. August is coming, slowly but surely. I do believe this is going to be the best birthday I have ever had, with the best gift I could possibly recieve....-Dustin
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Long Run Endurance Myth

Posted by Eric Orton on June 17, 2009 at 10:44pm
Endurance athletes and coaches usually say that they perform long workouts for three key reasons: to build strength, boost endurance and add volume to the overall training load, presumably leading to significant gains in physiological fitness. VO2max, for example, is generally considered to increase directly and predictably in response to increased training mileage. Unfortunately, these popular assumptions are slightly misleading. Taking the notion that long sessions build strength, for example, it is important to remember that strength is always speed-specific; that is, if you utilize slow movements in your effort to improve your strength, your strength will be improved during slow movements but not fast ones – and vice versa. Of course, long workouts are almost always carried out at moderate-to-low intensities and so, while they do build strength, it is not the kind of strength needed at competitive intensities, which tend to be high. For endurance runners, for example, even a prolonged event like the marathon is usually completed at an intensity of 85% VO2max-or-so – well above a typical long-run intensity of 70-75% VO2max. Long sessions primarily build the strength needed to complete more long sessions, not the strength needed during competition. A similar argument can be constructed against the belief that long efforts favor endurance. The problem is that endurance is also intensity-specific, and thus the building of endurance at prolonged-effort intensities does not ensure endurance at competitive intensities. Do long workouts work any better in relation to their third presumed benefit – of enhancing fitness via the volume effect? It would be nice to give prolonged efforts a glowing review in this area, but my most truthful and accurate answer would have to be: it depends. The problem is that the relationship between fitness and training volume is a perfect example of the law of diminishing returns; specifically, as volume increases to higher levels, the gains in fitness become smaller and smaller. Eventually, in fact, fitness does not respond at all to advances in volume. Thus, adding a two-hour workout to an existing eight-hour week wouldn’t do much for VO2max. Worse still, long workouts do little for lactate threshold, since they are conducted at below-lactate-threshold intensity, and they probably improve economy primarily at the relatively low intensities chosen for the long workouts. In addition, they are poor producers of power, and they offer true specific preparation only for ultra-type events. However, long workouts can work well if you are currently training well below your normal work load or a beginner to your sport. If you can add more to such a program without adding TOO much fatigue, you can probably upgrade your velocity at VO2max. Note, though, that there is no scientific evidence to support the idea that a two-hour workout is better than two separate one-hour sessions; in fact, one might argue that breaking a two-hour workout into one-hour chunks would actually be better, since it would permit higher average training intensities. To summarize, we can say that prolonged workouts are not actually necessary for optimizing VO2max; the process can occur without the need to have a ‘biggie’ in your workout bag. Perhaps the greatest benefit of long efforts is that they do steel the mind for exhausting exercise, and such preparation can be very useful in competitive situations. If during a long run you can keep on going at a reasonable pace when your mind and muscles are screaming ‘no’, your confidence in your toughness and ability will be enhanced, and you will be more likely to keep on going at the ends of tough races. This is done in the Specific Phase.
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Long Run Hill Workout (100 Mile Plan)

Posted by Thomas Orf on June 17, 2009 at 8:19pm
I'm a little confused on how to do the hill workout mentioned on week 8 of your 100 mile plan. It says, MS1: 4 X 8 min. hill climbs in high zone 4 with 2-3 min. RI.Am I supposed to have a hill tall enough where I can run for 8 minutes up it, or do I go up and down a hill and do this for 8 minutes?I also want to add that I thoroughly am enjoying your 100 mile plan. It's structured in a great way and all the workouts I feel have a very specific purpose, and no wasted time. I feel everything I'm doing is going toward great benefits and my next race will be my most successful one thanks to this plan.If anyone else is training with Eric's 100 mile plan, I'd love to hear how your workouts are going and maybe I can get some pointers from you.
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The dreaded PF

Posted by Clark Kent on June 17, 2009 at 1:54pm
Hi Eric,I have been dealing with low-level plantar fasciitis for a year or two. It isn't debilitating, but it does seem to be exacerbated by running. This is unacceptable to me, as there is nothing I'd rather do than run through the trails near my home in Northern California. I stopped running for two months (and did a lot of swimming), but it didn't seem to have any real effect. I just signed up for a trail marathon in December (and will likely use your training program), and I was wondering if your training specifically addresses this problem. From BtR, is sounds as if the author had similar issues.cv: Running off and on for 20 or 25 years (I just turned 50), but only somewhat seriously for the last few years. Two marathons completed; no danger of qualifying for Boston (unless I'm still running the same speed at 70). Would love to run a 50k in the next year or so.Thanks for creating this forum.
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THANKS ERIC

Posted by Margot Watters on June 16, 2009 at 6:36am
I have been working with Eric for a few years and he has helped me thru injuries and 2 operations. He has the ability to put a positive spin on a negative situation and kept me going during the tough times. This past weekend I was able to TRUST my training, race HARD, and have a little FUN.THANKS ERIC!!!
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Variety is the Spice of Your Running Life - Part 2

Posted by Eric Orton on June 10, 2009 at 8:30pm
This is what I mean by variety: just when your body is getting pretty smug about how fit it is getting, you pull the rug out from under it and give it something uniquely challenging. Instead of running the same hill at your best pace, for example, you turn on the heat with very short hill repetitions. Instead of focusing completely on the repetitive movements associated with running, you embark on an intense six-week program of whole-body proprioceptive work to improve your overall coordination and efficiency. Or, instead of relying on ‘tempo’ workouts to lift your lactate threshold, you substitute much shorter – but more intense – intervals to give your lactate-processing abilities a boost. Overall, you prod your body into continuing the improvement process instead of resting on its laurels. Note, however, that using variety in your training does not always mean making your workouts tougher; in fact, sometimes you should make them easier. Instead of your usual 60-minute run, you might go out for just 30 minutes; and instead of training for eight hours per week, you might cut back to four. Again, you are prodding your body into continuing its improvement, but this time you are doing so by letting it recover from the hard work you have done. In effect, the training stimulus is drastically reduced, but the stimulus to synthesize new things within your neuromuscular and cardiovascular systems is accentuated. A period of 5-7 days of very light training often does a great job of augmenting fitness; and you can add these periods of lightness to your training every 3-5 weeks, or whenever sluggishness and fatigue hang around for more than a day or so.
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Variety is the Spice of Your Running Life - Part 1

Posted by Eric Orton on June 5, 2009 at 5:30pm
As a runner, you are constantly confronted with a basic problem: there are literally dozens of different workouts to choose from, which differ dramatically from each other in nature, intensity, and duration. How is it possible to know which workout is the optimal one for a particular day? Take tomorrow, for example: are you really sure that your planned workout is the absolute-best option? Might it not be preferable to carry out a more prolonged session at a lower average intensity? Would your fitness profit to a greater extent from a shorter, more intense effort? Should you add a bit of strength training to your day’s effort? Spend the day cross-training instead of engaging exclusively in your preferred sport? The answers to these questions depend, of course, on what has gone before in your training schedule – and what you have planned for the future. Although single workouts can produce dramatic effects on fitness, they cannot be considered in isolation; they can synergize with other workouts in unique and positive ways, or they can ruin the progression to higher fitness because of the inappropriate way in which they are blended with their companion efforts. This unavoidable interdependence of training sessions means that it is seldom easy to answer the basic question about what to do on a given day. Finding the answer is a bit less difficult, however, if you bear in mind a few principles about what workouts actually do and how they react to each other. The first principle is that variety is incredibly good for athletes. If you do fairly similar things in training over extended periods of time, your body will adapt to the challenge you are giving it in a way which is specific to the challenge – and then will adapt no further. Once your body can respond to a particular workout with relative physiological ease, it will stop changing and improving; it will cease its efforts to make your heart bigger or your stockpiles of intramuscular aerobic enzymes greater, and it will stop the process of fine-tuning your nervous system so that your nerves do a better job of controlling movement patterns at the intensities you have selected for your workouts. Of course, you might say that all this is obvious – that everyone knows that training must be varied. If such awareness truly is universal, the gap between knowledge and action is a breathtaking chasm. In my years as a coach, I have noticed that the majority of athletes complete the same basic workouts month after month, year after year, and yet expect to achieve major breakthroughs in performance. When the breakthroughs do not occur (because the athletes’ bodies have adapted completely to the basic workout plan and have not been properly stimulated to tack on additional improvements), a typical response is to attempt to complete even more work, but of the same basic type. Unfortunately, this pursuit of volume at the expense of variety can often lead to overtraining and injury.
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Training thus far...

Posted by Dustin Hucks on June 4, 2009 at 6:30pm
Wanted to update. First, it's good to see so many people joining. Twelve on Tuesday! That's awesome.So, training. Eric has really shifted me away from what I thought running was about, which was pushing myself...the wrong way. Granted, at the time, I had no idea I was approaching things backwards. Eric is pushing me to run stronger, not harder. When I first looked at my running schedule, I was sort of let down by the puny run times. One hour? Fifteen minutes of barefoot jogging? Pffft...While I still miss setting out for hours and and sort of losing myself in the run, I've really come to appreciate this training and understand why I'm doing it. Endurance without strength means I'm going to end up back where I started, which is hurt and upset. Form, paying attention to cadence, not attacking every running obstacle like I have something against it...it's paying off already. And, hey...in the end, I'll be getting hours of running time back in spades when I hit the road in August.Also, I love my barefoot runs. We have a golf course across the street here, and I head over at night and hit the fareway for a very comfortable jog. I can't wait to be able to put more distance under my feet minus shoes. It really does feel just....right. Running at different intervals at the track is also a new thing for me, and it really is amazing how different changing the run up in that time shifts how you approach the time you have for that particular run.I'm really having a blast, and enjoying every day that gets me closer to my ultimate goal. It's a real motivator, and the running plan Eric has me on is that much more exciting because when I step out onto the trail, I feel like even now...I'm running towards something.Hope everyone is happy and healthy, and welcome to all you new folks!-Dustin
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Running with the Tarahumara Indians - Part 2

Posted by Eric Orton on May 27, 2009 at 11:52pm
Once we had arrived in the canyon and got that first run in our legs, life started to slow down a bit and for the first time I was able to thinking about what was about to happen. For years now I had been researching as much as I could about the Running People of the Copper Canyon. Now I was about to trek 30 miles in their company. You could tell Caballo Blanco was getting a little anxious for the trek and how the Indians would react to us. We left Batopilas early in the morning and headed down the road and onto dirt. This was the quietest the group had been the entire trip and you could feel the anticipation. The plan was to trek to the homes of the Batopilas Tribe who were planning to race and journey the 30 miles with them up and over the canyon walls into the town of Urique, the race site. The following pictures were taken during our ascent up the canyon:

Ironically, I took this shot of the same rock, just moments after Luis capture the shot for the cover of Born To Run

As we ascended the canyon with the Tarahumara runners, it was very quiet and everyone just hiked. You could here whispers every once in a while, but for the most part, all you could hear was respect! Once we hit the top of the canyon, you could see for miles and how expansive the canyon(s) were. On the ridge we stopped for fuel and Jenn broke the ice with her trademark handstand. This got everyone smiling and just like that, the air was lifted and the group started to talk and laugh and interact. This was the first time I felt comfortable taking out my camera and here are the shots I took as we ate and became friends with the indians.

Scott, Luis, and Barefoot Ted's sunburned shoulders.

Jenn and Billy - All is Good!

Scott and Caballo Blanco fueling up for the descent into Urique

Luis and Arnolfo

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Amazon Exclusive: A Q&A with Christopher McDougall

Posted by Eric Orton on May 25, 2009 at 11:08pm
Question: Born to Run explores the life and running habits of the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico’s Copper Canyon, arguably the greatest distance runners in the world. What are some of the secrets you learned from them? Christopher McDougall: The key secret hit me like a thunderbolt. It was so simple, yet such a jolt. It was this: everything I’d been taught about running was wrong. We treat running in the modern world the same way we treat childbirth—it’s going to hurt, and requires special exercises and equipment, and the best you can hope for is to get it over with quickly with minimal damage. Then I meet the Tarahumara, and they’re having a blast. They remember what it’s like to love running, and it lets them blaze through the canyons like dolphins rocketing through waves. For them, running isn’t work. It isn’t a punishment for eating. It’s fine art, like it was for our ancestors. Way before we were scratching pictures on caves or beating rhythms on hollow trees, we were perfecting the art of combining our breath and mind and muscles into fluid self-propulsion over wild terrain. And when our ancestors finally did make their first cave paintings, what were the first designs? A downward slash, lightning bolts through the bottom and middle—behold, the Running Man. The Tarahumara have a saying: “Children run before they can walk.” Watch any four-year-old—they do everything at full speed, and it’s all about fun. That’s the most important thing I picked up from my time in the Copper Canyons, the understanding that running can be fast and fun and spontaneous, and when it is, you feel like you can go forever. But all of that begins with your feet. Strange as it sounds, the Tarahumara taught me to change my relationship with the ground. Instead of hammering down on my heels, the way I’d been taught all my life, I learned to run lightly and gently on the balls of my feet. The day I mastered it was the last day I was ever injured. Q: You trained for your first ultramarathon—a race organized by the mysterious gringo expat Caballo Blanco between the Tarahumara and some of America’s top ultrarunners—while researching and writing this book. What was your training like? CM: It really started as kind of a dare. Just by chance, I’d met an adventure-sports coach from Jackson Hole, Wyoming named Eric Orton. Eric’s specialty is tearing endurance sports down to their basic components and looking for transferable skills. He studies rock climbing to find shoulder techniques for kayakers, and applies Nordic skiing’s smooth propulsion to mountain biking. What he’s looking for are basic engineering principles, because he’s convinced that the next big leap forward in fitness won’t come from strength or technology, but plain, simple durability. With some 70% of all runners getting hurt every year, the athlete who can stay healthy and avoid injury will leave the competition behind. So naturally, Eric idolized the Tarahumara. Any tribe that has 90-year-old men running across mountaintops obviously has a few training tips up its sleeve. But since Eric had never actually met the Tarahumara, he had to deduce their methods by pure reasoning. His starting point was uncertainty; he assumed that the Tarahumara step into the unknown every time they leave their caves, because they never know how fast they’ll have to sprint after a rabbit or how tricky the climbing will be if they’re caught in a storm. They never even know how long a race will be until they step up to the starting line—the distance is only determined in a last-minute bout of negotiating and could stretch anywhere from 50 miles to 200-plus. Eric figured shock and awe was the best way for me to build durability and mimic Tarahumara-style running. He’d throw something new at me every day—hopping drills, lunges, mile intervals—and lots and lots of hills. There was no such thing, really, as long, slow distance—he’d have me mix lots of hill repeats and short bursts of speed into every mega-long run. I didn’t think I could do it without breaking down, and I told Eric that from the start. I basically defied him to turn me into a runner. And by the end of nine months, I was cranking out four hour runs without a problem. Q: You’re a six-foot four-inches tall, 200-plus pound guy—not anyone’s typical vision of a distance runner, yet you’ve completed ultra marathons and are training for more. Is there a body type for running, as many of us assume, or are all humans built to run? CM: Yeah, I’m a big’un. But isn’t it sad that’s even a reasonable question? I bought into that bull for a loooong time. Why wouldn’t I? I was constantly being told by people who should know better that “some bodies aren’t designed for running.” One of the best sports medicine physicians in the country told me exactly that—that the reason I was constantly getting hurt is because I was too big to handle the impact shock from my feet hitting the ground. Just recently, I interviewed a nationally-known sports podiatrist who said, “You know, we didn’t ALL evolve to run away from saber-toothed tigers.” Meaning, what? That anyone who isn’t sleek as a Kenyan marathoner should be extinct? It’s such illogical blather—all kinds of body types exist today, so obviously they DID evolve to move quickly on their feet. It’s really awful that so many doctors are reinforcing this learned helplessness, this idea that you have to be some kind of elite being to handle such a basic, universal movement. Q: If humans are born to run, as you argue, what’s your advice for a runner who is looking to make the leap from shorter road races to marathons, or marathons to ultramarathons? Is running really for everyone? CM: I think ultrarunning is America’s hope for the future. Honestly. The ultrarunners have got a hold of some powerful wisdom. You can see it at the starting line of any ultra race. I showed up at the Leadville Trail 100 expecting to see a bunch of hollow-eyed Skeletors, and instead it was, “Whoah! Get a load of the hotties!” Ultra runners tend to be amazingly healthy, youthful and—believe it or not—good looking. I couldn’t figure out why, until one runner explained that throughout history, the four basic ingredients for optimal health have been clean air, good food, fresh water and low stress. And that, to a T, describes the daily life of an ultrarunner. They’re out in the woods for hours at a time, breathing pine-scented breezes, eating small bursts of digestible food, downing water by the gallons, and feeling their stress melt away with the miles. But here’s the real key to that kingdom: you have to relax and enjoy the run. No one cares how fast you run 50 miles, so ultrarunners don’t really stress about times. They’re out to enjoy the run and finish strong, not shave a few inconsequential seconds off a personal best. And that’s the best way to transition up to big mileage races: as coach Eric told me, “If it feels like work, you’re working too hard.” Q: You write that distance running is the great equalizer of age and gender. Can you explain? CM: Okay, I’ll answer that question with a question: Starting at age nineteen, runners get faster every year until they hit their peak at twenty-seven. After twenty-seven, they start to decline. So if it takes you eight years to reach your peak, how many years does it take for you to regress back to the same speed you were running at nineteen? Go ahead, guess all you want. No one I’ve asked has ever come close. It’s in the book, so I won’t give it away, but I guarantee when you hear the answer, you’ll say, “No way. THAT old?” Now, factor in this: ultra races are the only sport in the world in which women can go toe-to-toe with men and hand them their heads. Ann Trason and Krissy Moehl often beat every man in the field in some ultraraces, while Emily Baer recently finished in the Top 10 at the Hardrock 100 while stopping to breastfeed her baby at the water stations. So how’s that possible? According to a new body of research, it’s because humans are the greatest distance runners on earth. We may not be fast, but we’re born with such remarkable natural endurance that humans are fully capable of outrunning horses, cheetahs and antelopes. That’s because we once hunted in packs and on foot; all of us, men and women alike, young and old together. Q: One of the fascinating parts of Born to Run is your report on how the ultrarunners eat—salad for breakfast, wraps with hummus mid-run, or pizza and beer the night before a run. As a runner with a lot of miles behind him, what are your thoughts on nutrition for running? CM: Live every day like you’re on the lam. If you’ve got to be ready to pick up and haul butt at a moment’s notice, you’re not going to be loading up on gut-busting meals. I thought I’d have to go on some kind of prison-camp diet to get ready for an ultra, but the best advice I got came from coach Eric, who told me to just worry about the running and the eating would take care of itself. And he was right, sort of. I instinctively began eating smaller, more digestible meals as my miles increased, but then I went behind his back and consulted with the great Dr. Ruth Heidrich, an Ironman triathlete who lives on a vegan diet. She’s the one who gave me the idea of having salad for breakfast, and it’s a fantastic tip. The truth is, many of the greatest endurance athletes of all time lived on fruits and vegetables. You can get away with garbage for a while, but you pay for it in the long haul. In the book, I describe how Jenn Shelton and Billy “Bonehead” Barnett like to chow pizza and Mountain Dew in the middle of 100-mile races, but Jenn is also a vegetarian who most days lives on veggie burgers and grapes. Q: In this difficult financial time, we’re experiencing yet another surge in the popularity of running. Can you explain this? CM: When things look worst, we run the most. Three times, America has seen distance-running skyrocket and it’s always in the midst of a national crisis. The first boom came during the Great Depression; the next was in the ‘70s, when we were struggling to recover from a recession, race riots, assassinations, a criminal President and an awful war. And the third boom? One year after the Sept. 11 attacks, trailrunning suddenly became the fastest-growing outdoor sport in the country. I think there’s a trigger in the human psyche that activates our first and greatest survival skill whenever we see the shadow of approaching raptors.
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Combo Workout for Strength and Running Form

Posted by Eric Orton on May 22, 2009 at 10:00pm
I have been getting quite a few question regarding strength training and good running form. First of all, the majority of strength work that I have my athletes do is running. This is accomplished quite simply by doing very short, steep hill repeats. They do not need to be a max effort, nor should they. Your run effort should just be strong. In my workouts I say, "train, don't strain" and this type of training run should refect this. Hard and strong, AND consistent. Too many runners will run too hard during the first few reps or repeats, only to end up too fatigued to remain cosnsistent with their effort and they eventually run slower, but at a higher effort. This is diminishing returns and straining. And something you will dread...ultimately not do!

So, getting back to the point of strength training hill repeats. Keep these short, 10-15 seconds long, no longer. If you extend this time, they will be too slow. Today, I went out to the hill behind my house and did 10 X 15 second repeats.

Here's The Hill:

I finished all ten at the same spot, which means I stayed consistent with my effort. When running hills, lean into the hill with your hips, not your shoulders and notice how this body lean seems to make your effort easier. This type of workout will help recruit your gluts, more specifically your glut medius which is instrumental in run stability. Which plays a crucial role in having good running form.

I performed my run in Vibram Fivefingers to help build my foot strength. Foot strength I feel is paramount in developing natural running form and in staying injury free. Everything starts at the feet and works up from there. So if you develop great foot strength you build a natural arch for yourself which will help create lateral stability when your foot strikes the ground. But most importantly, when we run barefoot, not only our feet, but our entire leg fires appropriately. By this I mean, all of your muscles are recruited in the proper pattern and used how our body was meant to use it while running. I am so much faster climbing this hill barefoot than with shoes because I am so economical. Everything flows.

Here is a look at the trail...pretty rugged, but no problem for the fivefingers. The only thing you feel is your foot muscles working overtime.

When executing this strength run workout, be sure to take lots of recovery between each repetition. Recovery is important because this is a strength workout and not a cardiovascular workout. You want your legs to recover so your effort remains consistent. So a 2-3 minute rest between reps is ideal. Look around and enjoy being out while you rest.

This run can be done once per week year round. Start out with 4-5 X 10 seconds and progress each week. As you develop strength, increase your effort and not the length of the interval. Then hit the FORUM and tell me how much you enjoy feeling leg and glut muscles you never thought you had.

E

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Running Free

Posted by Margot Watters on May 22, 2009 at 5:57pm
My story begins in college. I started running because I loved team sports. I played field hockey and lacrosse. My injuries also began in college. I sprained my ankle a few times and to solve the problem I was taped before every practice and game. My therapy was a bucket of ice water.I didn't start running again until after I had my kids. At this point I ran to have some time to myself. Running helped with the stresses of raising 5 kids. I also liked having a goal so I started doing 5k and 10k races. I quickly turned to triathlons and have been focusing on Ironman for the last few years.I have been injured on and off since I started running again. I first had a partial tear in my achilles which landed me in a boot for 6 weeks. After that I continued to have problems and have tried a variety of running shoes, orthotics, braces, a cortisone shot, physical therapy, and acupuncture. I was determined to run. I thought I needed to run because otherwise I would go crazy!!!! To make things worse, a doctor found that I had ruptured a few ligaments in my ankle ( from my college days) and had a bone spur that was digging into my tendon. I was operated on last October.There was a period of time during my recovery that I wasn't able to do anything. During that time I struggled mentally and didn't know what to do with myself without running or working out. Thanks to Eric, I began to realize that I don't need to run to be happy or sane. I began to be ok with doing nothing!!! It has been a valuable part of my recovery.Today, I run Free both mentally and physically. I have been working with Eric on strengthening my feet and ankles. I do not wear orthotics or shoes with any type of stability or motion control. I run in Nike Frees and my run is up to 2 hours. I plan to race the Boise 1/2 Ironman in 3 weeks.
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A Tale of Two Cities

Posted by Keith Peters on May 19, 2009 at 7:00pm
As you might guess from my photo, I'm more of a cyclist than a runner these days. But that wasn't always the case -- I hope to rediscover running later this summer, as soon as I compete in the National Senior Olympics in cycling in August. Until then, Coach Eric and I are working on a long-term build to deliver me to the starting line(s) in Palo Alto fit as a fiddle ...There was a time, however, when running was my focus. Here's a running story from my running past (1994) ago that I hope y'all will enjoy:When you spend fifteen weeks training for a marathon you've got to be flexible. A lot can happen in fifteen weeks: business travel can lead you to long runs into uncharted territory and speedwork on a hotel treadmill for lack of a track; a niggling pain begs decision -- when is it better to rest than run? After fourteen weeks of great training, what happens when work gets in the way?All year long I looked forward to running the Berlin Marathon -- so much so that I talked a friend into running it as well. Never mind that he was trying to run sub-2:20 while I was hoping to complete my first "organized" marathon since 1982. We were both looking forward to the race, then spending a few days traveling through the "new" eastern part of Europe.So what do you do when it becomes very apparent, on the day prior to your scheduled departure for Berlin, that it's not exactly the right time to take ten days off from work? First, you scour the running magazines for alternative races that weekend. Second, you call your friend (already in Berlin) to wish him luck in his quest of an Olympic Trials qualifying time. Third, you call the race director of the Equinox Marathon in Fairbanks, Alaska and beg your way into what he describes as THE toughest trail marathon in the United States -- tougher even than Pikes Peak. And fourth, you buy a last minute, very expensive round trip coach ticket to Fairbanks -- and hope Delta will re-deposit all those frequent flyer miles you cashed in for that free business class ticket to Berlin.North to Alaska ... the rush is on. To the Fairbanks Princess and room service rather than the Grand Kempinsky and a few pils in the biergarten across the street from the hotel. To the parking lot of the Fairbanks Princess to chip heavy frost off your rental car's windshield, using your Hertz Gold card. To the start/finish area at the University of Alaska Fairbanks' Patty Center rather than the Brandenburg Gate.The Equinox Marathon is older than all but a handful of North American races, and on race day the weather is a brisk 28 degrees and overcast. (For the first time in three years, however, there'll be no snow on the trail.) Just prior to the start, race director Dave Bloom offers a few words to the wise: "Beware of Moose on the trail." Moose on the trail? "You'll cross train tracks at 7.8 and 24.7 miles and there's a train scheduled through at 9:30, so some people at the back of the pack may be delayed." Trains on the course? "If there's another train later in the race, the first runner to the crossing will be the winner."With the blast of an air horn, the race begins. Three hundred and four runners lope a cross a soccer field and up the ski hill, onto better running trails than Wildwood Trail in Portland, Oregon. Hillier than Wildwood too! The course profile depicts a climb from 480' at the Patty Center to the 2400' summit of Ester Dome 12 miles away; then a diabolical out-and-back descent and climb (500' down, and up) over the middle miles of the race; followed by the steeeeepest 1/2 mile descent under power lines I've ever seen; which leaves you a very gradual, runnable last 6-8 miles back to the Patty Center -- for a grand total 4500' and 4500' down.Maybe I never hit the wall because I was so busy walking down the powerline "chute" trying not to fall. It was that steep. And, the woman who passed me going down the chute was right. The turn at the bottom led to the most vibrant yellow, soft, Aspen leafed trail I've ever run. Who could find a wall amidst all that beauty.The rigors of the course never really hit until that last, little, cruel uphill at 25 miles. Reduced to walking, I found time to reflect upon the adventure I was having, rather than the adventure I'd planned.I'd planned to run about an hour longer than my friend in Berlin; about 1:10 longer than the race winner. Instead, I ran about fifty minutes longer than a friend I discovered on the starting line in Fairbanks; about 1:10 longer than the race winner. OK, alright, time to fess up -- I ran the very tough, hilly trails of the Equinox Marathon in 4:10. And loved every minute of it.It wasn't what I visualized while training on the trails in Forest Park in Portland, or around Kelly, Wyoming. And it certainly wasn't what I had in mind when I talked my friend into planning his year around an assault on the Olympic Trials qualifying time (he dropped out just past 30k). But, it was just what the doctor ordered; a weekend running adventure -- away from the office.
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Why I'm here...

Posted by Dustin Hucks on May 19, 2009 at 4:00am
So, first blog post.I'll jump right into the why and how I'm here. To the point is good, yes?I joined the service in '99, and during bootcamp realized that while everyone else dreaded the one to twice daily five mile runs, I really dug them. I actually looked forward to them because it was a vacation from being there. I wasn't being smoked on the quarterdeck, being bellowed at by red faced DIs, or doing pushups unitl I couldn't breath. Running was escape, and I was good at it. When I graduated bootcamp and hit the fleet, I was leaving my taller, thinner running buddies in the dust. I come from short, stocky German folk, by the way.When I got out of the service, I had nagging injuries (I beat the tar out of my ankles, and often) that kept me from running...and sadly, I forgot that I loved it. I'm not sure how that happened, but it's a crying shame that it did. I developed a pretty severe case of clinical depression over the years, and inactivity became an even larger part of my life. It was difficult to get out of bed, much less even consider putting on a pair of running shoes. When I actually did convince myself to attempt running again, my form was terrible, I hurt, I sucked. It was demoralizing. I had starts and stops over the years, all of them ending with shin splints, pulled muscles and a lot of misery.Fast forward to a few long months ago. The expectations I had for how my life was going to be shifted drastically, and I found myself completely lost. Everything that I was used to and made sense to me was just...gone. I'm not entirely sure where the transition came from, but instead of falling apart, I started coming together in every way. I started taking care of myself again. I started using the free weights that had been collecting dust in my workout room every other day. I hit the treadmill at UC Santa Barbara's gym, which I hated...but I needed as a springboard to "real" running. A few months later, I was in a place I'd not been in years, running six days a week, going longer and faster than I had in years. Running was my therapy. It was like bumping into a close friend I'd lost track of.When I was good, I was pretty great. I would give myself a goal, accomplish it and still feel like I had the juice to keep going. Seven miles from my house to UCSB and back? Done. Eight miles if I added the loop around campus? Done. I'd put a little extra trail, sidewalk, asphalt under my feet each week. Finally, I was running half marathon distances with little wear and tear.Fast forward once again, to last month. I started hurting myself every few runs. I'm not sure what it was, but when I started trying to push, I'd do something unpleasant to my hip. I'd feel knots in my calves. I'd have to take a day off...two days. I was incredibly frustrated. I'd run in spite of the pain because after a while, it would fade away and I could enjoy the run. Yeah, it would hurt the next day, and for the first half mile or so when I started again, but I figured as long as it faded I was good to go. Anyhow, hurting was a part of running so far as I was concerned. That's how you knew you were doing it right...RIGHT?It didn't take me long to realize that I couldn't swing that method or mindset anymore. I knew I was going to put myself out of action if I didn't take a week to recover from the last injury. I couldn't break my hobble and turn it into a simple jog.Now, a detour that ties into my introduction to Eric Orton, my trainer. I'd recently found out that my Aunt Debbie has stage four lymphoma. She's a pretty incredible lady. She's always worked in spite of her treatment, even doing so after her first round of real chemotherapy. She's dealt with her cancer for a while now, using less intensive treatments in the hopes that they'd send her into remission. Unfortunately, they did not. Cancer is pretty common in both sides of my family, and the closest I'd been to it emotionally was seeing it take the mother of a close friend of mine a few years ago. My Aunt though, that was new to me. I'd never had a close relationship with or even knew most of the people in my family who had passed from or had cancer. I grew up with my Aunt. I basically lived with her and my cousins.A few weeks ago I decided to stop feeling sorry for myself and head to the bookstore to sit with a stack of running books on form. I figured if I wanted to get better, keep going, and not hurt as bad...I'd have to do something. Without really thinking about it, or evening meaning to honestly, I added Born to Run by Christopher McDougall as my last book. Every book said something different. Lean forward while you run, run with your arms almost limp at your side, wear these shoes, meditate and center your Chi (ugh...), on and on. I was as demoralized as ever after watching these books basically yell liar at one another.So...I gave up, and picked up Born to Run. Yeah, it's a running book...but it's really more like a great novel. The Tarahumara Indians in Copper Canyon in Mexico run everyday for miles, everywhere...well into old age. They run and they love it. The story in Christopher's book covers lots of ground, but it all leads to an incredible foot race in the unforgiving terrain of Copper Canyon, following folks that seem like characters you'd have to create in your head, rather than the amazing people that they are in reality. My trainer Eric was one of those people. I put it down three days later, and was happier than I had been in months. I was actually closer to giddy, but that's not very manly. So, happy. Yeah. I always felt like part of running was kind of like penance. "You ate WHAT?!? Six miles, you'll run through a terrible hitch in your side halfway through and your knee will start to hurt a mile before you're done. It'll suck, but do it." It was always worth it to me, because in the end...you feel electric. I never even considered the concept that I could feel that during an entire run, that I could keep going, and going...and going. It was such a foreign thought that it sort of amazed me when I realized that some subconscious part of me had always wanted that. Just to keep going, keep digging the hell out of the run, and feel that electricity the entire time.As I sat there that last night when I finished up the book, I knew I wanted this for a reason. I had a goal, something I thought would always be great to do but had to that point simply been a fantasty. I always wanted to run across the country. I was never sure how far, but I'd daydream about it while I was putting one foot in front of the other over and over again. "Wouldn't it be GREAT if I could run past the city limit sign and simply keep going?" Again, I'd always seen this as pure fantasy. It was up there with doing a guitar solo in front of my senior class at a talent show and getting all of the chicks, and being a space man. After reading about the Tarahumara, and that last extraordinary race (it's not fun trying to hide getting choked up from the cute girl sitting next to you), I knew I could do it. I knew I was going to do it. It just hit me. I was going to run across the country. I was. I am.My aunt had her first chemotherapy treatment after Mother's Day. Her and my mother talked not long before and she asked my mother how bad it would be. She's a nurse, who has worked in oncology for a long time. She was blunt...it would be pretty awful. I had talked to my grandmother eariler that day, and in between reflecting on things that I had read, the book sort of blended with my thoughts for my aunt and our family in general. The fact that the Tarahumara don't really deal with heart disease, high blood pressure....cancer. They live well, they run, and they love it.The idea that had me writing an e-mail to Eric Orton late that night really came to me fully formed, all at once."I'm going to run home to West Texas, and I'm going to do it for charity. American Cancer Society. That's what I'm going to do."That's it...that's why I'm here. I wrote Eric, he wrote me back, and the next day we were talking about training. I intend to kick this run in the ass in August, and enjoy every second of it. I can't wait. I have a lot to do in the meantime. I need a team to follow me to make sure I'm fueled, safe, and not going to run screaming into the desert somewhere between here and Texas. I don't have a lot of resources, but hey...a few weeks ago I didn't have a trainer, and shortly before that I had no idea this was even a possibility for me. I thought there was a good chance I'd hit my wall, and I'd be stuck running ten to fifteen miles six days a week from here on out, and it was going to hurt half the time. Nothing wrong with that by the way, other than the hurting part....it's just not what I've wanted in my heart. It doesn't satisfy my goals.I get the chance to answer that now very much NOT subconscious desire. I'm going to run far...very far. Scratch the hell out of that itch whenever I want. This time in particular though, I get to raise some cash (hopefully a substantial sum) for a cause close to my heart. I get to run home and see my family and friends. That's awesome. This, to me, is the real start to my story as a runner.Exciting times...
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Could ONE muscle be the culprit to your IT Band issues?

Posted by Eric Orton on April 28, 2009 at 5:00pm
I have executed well over a thousand one-on-one training sessions with runners of all abilites. Seeing good and bad, it has become very evident to me that the number one culprit in biomechanical and gait disfunction, IT band issues, knee pain, and over all lack of run stability is a poor firing glut meduis. This is your smaller glut muscle that is located to the side of your gluts. This is a very important muscle for runners because it helps your lateral stability when on one foot, running. This muscle tends to go dormant through time due to various reason. When this happens and the muscle is not being used very well, you will over work your hip flexors, low back, and place a lot of stress on the quad, which can lead to IT touble. How many times have you ended a long run and your hip flexors are so worked? Or, have you noticed that you can stretch the heck out of your hip flexors, without much progress? This is because they are being over worked and stretching will not hold until you deal with the problem, poor glut medius activity. Needless to say, this I feel is the most important muscle for running economy, effieciency, and long term run health. Now let me back up and say that it is my belief this all originates from a lack of foot strength, leading to excessive, unhealthy pronation, which keeps the knee unstable, ultimately not firing your glut medius. OK...that is a mouth full. But I think you get the idea, foot strength lays the foundation, but from my experience, most runners need to activate the glut medius for proper running performance. Here is a great way to do it. Position a flex band around both knees, and then balance on one leg. From this position, perform 3/4 depth, one leg squats. Work up to doing 2-3 X 20-30 reps. These will burn and if you did not understand where your glut medius was before, you will after. To add a performance challenge, perform these on a BOSU, as demonstrated in the images below. These are great to do PRIOR to a run, activating your muscles before you head out.

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