Here's the free but abridged version of this week's RLRH newsletter. I hope you enjoy it, and learn something new. You can SUBSCRIBE HERE to begin receiving the full-text version every week in your in-box. Amby
Race Faster By Running Like Hannibal Lecter
Two of the biggest trends in endurance performance are heat training and cold racing. They are obviously flip sides of the same coin.
In training, runners are using multiple layers of sweat clothes as well as saunas, hot tubs, hot baths, and relatively low cost “sauna blankets” like this one (not an endorsement; I haven’t tried it.)
In racing, elites have turned to pre-start ice vests along with plenty of ice during events (under caps, in shirts, in bras, in shorts, etc). This is especially true in some of the hotter, ultra runs.
Here’s a new one--the Hannibal Lecter approach. It’s a cryo-facial mask--an ice mask.
A paper titled “Effects of Cryo-Facial Mask on Running Performance in Amateur Middle-Distance Runners” used a randomized, cross-over design to test the effects of an ice mask on running performance.
Result: After wearing the ice mask vs no mask, runners lasted 13% longer in a time-to-exhaustion test. In a second, “constant load” test, they had a lower heart rate after wearing the ice mask.
Conclusion: A pre-run ice mask potentially lowers “the negative effects of heat stress during running.” Therefore, it could “offer a practical and convenient method to optimize performance and enhance overall training outcomes.”
An Internet search turns up many ice mask products that seem mostly intended to reduce face wrinkles headaches. Take a look on your own. I can’t wait to see who becomes the first runner to wear a Hannibal Lecter ice mask during a race. More at Cryobiology.
Ironman Triathlete Kristian Blummenfelt Sets Total-Training Record
Five years ago, a research report garnered a lot of attention when it postulated an upper limit to human daily energy expenditure (calories burned). This wasn’t a topic much explored previously, and the paper argued that humans couldn’t exceed about 2.5 x our basal metabolic rate. At least not over long time frames.
The research included an analysis of participants in the Race Across the USA (six marathons per week for 20 weeks) and other endurance feats.
Some exercise scientists didn't accept the upper-limits theory. Now a Norwegian group has published contrary findings based on 3 years of training data from top triathlete Kristian Blummenfelt, both an Olympic champion and an Ironman champion. They used the gold standard “doubly labeled water” technique to assure the accuracy of their findings.
Result: Blummenfelt’s daily energy expenditure ranged from 7,019 to 8,506 calories per day as he trained anywhere from 1308 hours to 1,480 hours per year. That’s 25 hours per week to 28.5 hours per week.
Conclusion: This amount of training “likely exceeds the proposed metabolic ceiling for sustained total energy expenditure.” Therefore, “This not only questions the validity of the current metabolic limits but also suggests a new perspective on what is physiologically achievable in world-class athletes.” More at J of Applied Physiology.
Ladies: Build Your Strength At Every Age
Here’s a simple, powerful study that measured knee flexor strength of women runners vs nonrunners, and also of women under age 50 and over 50.
I’d argue that knee flexor strength is one of the most important muscle measurements we’ve got. Your knees get you up and down, and move you around. Also, the stronger your knees, the better your balance and stability. What’s more critical than these functions, especially in midlife and beyond?
The study included 147 women. Among them, 85 were runners.
Result: In both groups, younger women had stronger knee flexor muscle than older women. This is what we’d expect. However, whether under age 50 or over 50, the runners “had greater strength and higher muscle quality than inactive women” relative to body mass.
That is, the runners might not have had more total muscle, but they had more for their relative weight. This is “a better predictor of physical function than absolute muscle strength” and hence “more practical than absolute strength data.”
Conclusion: “Continuing an aerobic and strengthening training routine is a viable choice for improving muscular strength and quality in both young and old women.” More at Geriatrics.
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
# Training breakthroughs from Northern Europe (mostly Scandanavia)
# Why you should be eating more oat bran
# Are you built for speed or endurance?
# Can a running-form change boost your running economy?
# Listen to your brain. Mostly. (But not always.)
# Deena Kastor’s advice about finding the cheerleader in your brain
# How exercise can reduce alcohol addiction, and improve physical & mental states
# The smart way to add more miles to your weekly schedule
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading. See you again next week. Amby