Here's the free but abridged version of this week's RLRH newsletter. Please consider subscribing, below, to receive the full-text version. Amby
Run Without Injuries--A Research-Based Plan
Much of our most interesting training information is buried in the hands of Strava, Garmin, and similar bigtime “athlete tracking” companies. They share this information with researchers occasionally, but not as much as I would like to see.
Here’s a pleasant exception. Garmin recently allowed a team of Dutch researchers to analyze its data from more than 7000 runners. They hoped to discover if some “subgroups of runners might be more susceptible to running-related injuries than others.”
That’s one of the most important questions in running, of course, and the Garmin-based study moves the needle a bit. It’s one piece of an ongoing project called the Garmin-RUNSAFE Running Health Study.
Here’s what the researchers concluded: Injuries were most frequent among “those with few (< 1) or many (> 40) years of running experience, those with a weekly running frequency of 1 or less running session per week, those who have a weekly running distance of less than 25 km, and those who did not use a structured running program.”
Restated in a positive vein, this becomes: Runners are less likely to get injured if they run consistently, run more than 15 miles per week, and follow a training program that provides easy/rest days as well as harder days.
Sounds good, don’t you think? More at Scandinavian J of Medicine & Science in Sports with free full text.
Optimize Your TrainingTime: The Perfect 30-Minute Workout
It’s winter in the Northern Hemisphere, and not the best season for fast, timed workouts. Still, you don’t want to lose all that summer-fall fitness. You’ve got to include something in your training, right?
Here’s a workout that comes with the claim that “a surprising number of studies have compared this specific routine to other common threshold workouts and this one frequently produces the highest percent gains.”
The context here is cycling, but the session is just as effective on the run. It doesn’t matter your pace. You just go moderately hard for 5 minutes, take a 60 second break, and then repeat until you have logged five 5-minute repeats.
You can do it indoors on a treadmill, or outdoors on cold and even blustery roads. Again, pace doesn’t matter. It’s all about the effort.
The workout also fits neatly into a short 30-minute time period. Got more time? Add 10 to 15 minutes to your warmup and cooldown.
The author says, “Done right, the first interval will feel a little too easy. The last one will be a struggle.” I’d rather avoid the struggle part in winter running. Strive for “hard but controlled.”
Also, it’s fine to start with fewer than 5 of those 5-minute intervals. And you could take 2-minute recoveries if you feel the need. More at Fast Talk Labs.
What You Don’t Know--And Might Like--About Robo Running
Recently, several robo runner prototypes have “participated” in big Chinese races. They have been programmed to pace other runners, play music, offer weather updates, and otherwise encourage the human runners in their vicinity.
A completely different type of robo device could soon be available to help runners with injuries or weaknesses. Many runners are already using tape, athletic wrap, rubbery support bands, and even thick braces or straps to support their stride. And potentially limit or heal various muscle and joint injuries.
Almost anything that assists your healthy running, or allows you to continue healthy movement, is a good thing. The newest idea involves exoskeletons. An exo-skeleton is any mechanism outside the body that assists the body’s internal support system.
Here’s one--an ankle “exoskeleton”--that’s specifically designed for runners. It supports the Achilles tendon--often a weak link. It attaches to your running shoes and to the top of your lower leg, just below the knees. See small photo below.
To ensure that their exoskeleton was acceptable to runners, researchers at Vanderbilt University used a “multi-month, iterative, user-centric design process.” They wanted this “holistic” approach to help them design a lightweight, flexible tool with a “primary emphasis on usability and comfort while still providing musculoskeletal offloading.”
Result: 90% of runner subjects found the the Robo Achilles [my name, not theirs] acceptable. It did not impede normal ankle dorsiflexion during the stride, and reduced load on the Achilles tendon by up to 12% “on most participants” (but not all).
Conclusion: “This work demonstrates how an unpowered ankle exo could be designed to facilitate real world running. The ankle exo presented is low-profile, lightweight, intrinsically adapts to different speeds and slopes, can offload the Achilles tendon, and minimally restricts ankle motion in swing phase. This could open new opportunities for use during return to sport or recovery from an Achilles tendon injury.” More at J of Biomechanical Engineering.
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.”
# Unlocked at last--Data-backed secrets of marathon training
# Cutting-edge science: The latest results with beet juice & hydrogel
# Compression tights can produce “a reduction of the rate of fatigue development” in runners
# Does long term running diminish your bone strength?
# Injury risks of regular super-shoe use
# How air pollution particles affect your marathon time
# Dress for cold-weather success this winter.
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading. See you again next week. Amby