Hot Tip: How Micro-Periodization Leads To Max Performance
Everyone knows that you can’t train hard every day. As a result, we have developed many varieties of “periodization” in training.
The simplest works like this: Alternate hard days and easy days. Some would say, “Take two easy days after every hard day.” (Or three, or … ???) Your age and fitness determine the number of recovery days you need.
Marathon coaches and runners often take entire “cutback weeks” during their 12- to 16-week buildups. These allow you to build your weekly mileage and long-run distance without hitting the wall pre-race. I’ve always supported this schema.
However, new technologies might provide a better way. Instead of using heavy-handed, non-physiological math to determine training patterns--take a cutback week once every month--you could monitor your stress-fatigue more precisely.
That’s the argument made in a recent editorial on “the new frontier of micro periodization for endurance.” The authors, a team of endurance-training experts, believe that older periodization systems are wasteful and limiting.
Why? Because they ask athletes to take too many easy days that aren’t necessary according to daily biological data. Instead, if body measurements say, “I’m good to go,” the athlete can train hard. Even if (s)he trained hard the previous day.
In this system, you forget about the calendar. Instead, you use objective tools like heart rate variability, sleep, muscle-damage enzymes, and hormone fluctuations. These can help you “eliminate unnecessary unloading weeks, which entail an unjustified reduction in training load.”
The authors believe this system allows for “maximizing the training load and achievable adaptations” while also limiting injuries and overtraining.
Conclusion: “Microperiodization emerges as a new frontier in periodization of endurance disciplines.” This is indeed an exciting new frontier.
At the same time, I still like cutback weeks. If you’re not aiming for Olympic gold or a Marathon Majors win, it’s better to be safe than sorry. More at The J of Sports Medicine & Physical Fitness. More details in this great podcast at KoopCast.
Complete Guide To Headwinds & Tailwinds
We runners love tailwinds and hate headwinds. There’s a good scientific explanation for this, as performance PhD and blogger John Davis points out here.
He writes: “A headwind will slow you down by two or three times as much as the equivalent tailwind will speed you up.” So whenever you qualify for the Boston Marathon, you’d better hope you don’t get a headwind blowing against you from the East.
On the other hand, a circular urban marathon can give you some protection from the wind. Davis says: “In a dense urban area, the actual wind speed you encounter might be less than half the nominal wind speed measured by a weather station.”
His article on tailwinds and headwinds is longer, more technical, and more mathematical than most will care to read in full. But you can jump down to his “Recap” for the summary. Then you’ll want to head over to his amazing Calculator.
First, set it to your expected running pace in minutes/mile (other units available). The default wind is a headwind, which you can adjust with the < > buttons. To see the effect of a tailwind, grab the blue wind infographic (set at “N” for north) with your cursor, and rotate it to “S.” Now you can play with various tailwinds.
In either case, the Calculator instantly adjusts your pace depending on the headwind or tailwind you selected. It’s a very clever tool.
You can’t do much to change the winds you encounter on race day. But this tool makes it easy to adjust race outcomes, if you want. It also helps you understand why drafting makes a difference, since it cuts down headwinds. More at Running Writings.
Face It: Strange Facial Expressions Can Boost Endurance
Top U.S. distance runner Colleen Quigley, a 2016 Olympian in the steeplechase, caused more than a few raised eyebrows with a recent post on Instagram. She shared a video of herself doing a tongue-pulling exercise intended to relieve tension in the pelvis. This, in turn, improves her running.
Quigley does this tongue-pulling before hard workouts and races. “1000% the weirdest muscle release I’ve ever done, but I swear it works,” she wrote.
Most respondents got a good laugh from the unusual reel, while a few said they had done the same thing in their operatic careers, or when working with horses.
Here’s an explanatory article on Quigley’s tongue exercise with a link to the original Instagram post. I couldn’t find any evidence-based support for Quigley’s practice, but that doesn’t mean none exists. Some in the strength-training world advocate that that tongue placement in the mouth--towards the roof of the mouth vs lower--affects muscle performance.
Quigley reminded me of faces I’ve seen among Maori rugby players. I think a bit of tongue pulling and haka on road race starting lines could liven things up a bit.
In addition, we’ve heard that a smile can help you run faster. Also, we’ve all seen runners wearing nasal strips, while some research has supported jaw-repositioning mouthguards “for performance enhancement in both aerobic and anaerobic performances.” Maybe the face, tongue, and jaw deserve more attention.
SHORT STUFF You Don’t Want To Miss
HERE’S WHAT ELSE YOU WOULD HAVE RECEIVED this week if you were a subscriber to the complete, full-text edition of “Run Long, Run Healthy.” SUBSCRIBE HERE.
# The single best high-intensity workout for your lifetime of running
# Which is better--caffeine vs sodium bicarbonate?
# 5 evidence-based tips for successful run-walk training
# How to decrease triathlon-training injuries
# Don’t be carb-smart and carb-dumb at the same time
# Lacking runner confidence? Not any more
# How aerobic fitness makes your heart 20 years younger
# What Australian great Rob de Castella can tell you about marathon running
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading. See you again next week. Amby