FitSugar

Running Tip: Keep Track of Your Mileage

FitSugar — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 03:30:00 -0700

If you run for fun or just to stay healthy, you probably aren't too concerned about how many miles you rack up, but you should be. Not to brag to your friends and family, but to help figure out when you need to purchase new shoes. You should be springing for new sneaks after you've completed between 300 and 400 miles.

Here are some ways to keep track:

Wear a pedometer. About 2,000 steps is equivalent to one mile. Keep track of your miles each week by writing them down in a fitness journal.
Use an iPod Nano and the Nike + iPod Sports Kit to track your mileage per workout. Then you can upload your data to the NikePlus.com website, and they'll keep track of your mileage for you.
Run on a track. It's easy to know how much you've run since four laps equals one mile. Jot down your mileage each time you run.
If you like to run outside but aren't sure how long your favorite neighborhood route is, use Google Maps Gmaps Pedometer to help you figure it out.
Use another techy device like a handheld GPS or watch/heart rate monitor that has a mileage feature to figure out the distance you've traveled per run.

Source

Running How-To: Upping Your Mileage Without Exhaustion

FitSugar — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 07:26:49 -0800

If 2009 is your year to run a half marathon or a full marathon, you're probably upping your weekly mileage, but you want to be smart about it. Increasing your weekly mileage too quickly leads to overtraining, exhaustion, and overuse injuries - things we are definitely all trying to avoid. Here are a few guidelines to follow as you train for your goal race:

Increase your weekly mileage by no more than 10 percent. A gradual build-up is best for acclimating your body, lungs, and ligaments to the added distance.
Add only a mile a week to your long run. Your training regimen should include one endurance run a week, but don't be tempted to up mileage. Remember to keep your long runs easy, slower than your anticipated race pace. Once again, I think a heart rate monitor is a great tool for this.
When adding mileage to your regimen, make sure to cross train and run every other day. Spinning or working out on an elliptical is a great way to increase your cardiovascular fitness level without straining your joints.

To find out about rest days, just read more.

Rest days and recovery weeks are important. You should have at least one complete rest day a week or even two. These are great days for walking or working on your flexibility training with some yoga. Yoga and running are wonderful complements to one another. Recovery weeks should come every three to four weeks in your training schedule. During these weeks decrease the mileage on your long run and your overall number of runs. Don't think of yourself as slacking on these weeks - you're taking care of yourself.

Source

When You're a Pro, What Does Time Off Mean?

FitSugar — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:00:49 -0700

Runner Kara Goucher made her marathon debut a year ago in the Big Apple, but she's skipping the New York Marathon this year. At the Nike Running Summit, she explained she wasn't planning on racing again until Boston because she's doing some planning of a different nature - family planning.

When you're an elite runner, skipping an event doesn't go unnoticed, making it difficult to keep it a secret that you're trying to get pregnant. Kara explained to me in a short but sweet interview that she's "taking a few months off to see what happens in her personal life."

But what does "time off" mean after running 120 miles a week? For Kara it means only running 30 miles a week, a number I would love to have as my hard-core weekly mileage. Although she does admit to getting a little softer now that she's only running a quarter of what she's used to, Kara's relationship with food hasn't changed, since she has always been "a healthy eater." Body fat is an issue for runners, but her attitude is pretty simple: "It is just weight and it will come off." Which is great since this runner, a proclaimed "queen of the 30-minute meal," is spending her newly found free time cooking, mostly Italian, and making sauces from scratch.

To see how Kara answered when I asked her if she could be an elite athlete in another sport, what would it be, just read more.

She admitted that this was a tough question, but that she has always leaned toward tennis. Kara finds the combination of individual strength and one-on-one competition quite compelling. Then there's the fashion side of things: "They wear cool outfits."

Kara's long-term goal: racing in the London Olympics in 2012 and bringing home the gold. Go Kara!

Pearl Izumi Gets Technical

FitSugar — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:30:06 -0700

Pearl Izumi ruffled some feathers with its ad campaign pitting runner against joggers, but regardless they make amazing biking gear. Recently, the company released clothing made with four technical fabrics designed to reduce drag, regulate body temperature, and address the problems of moisture. They sent me a few items to check out, which meant a couple of bike rides and a spin class over the course of a few days - any excuse to hop on my bike.

The fabric used to construct P.R.O. Octane Shorts ($225) feels more luxurious than anything I have ever worn for a workout. These lightweight shorts feel great on as well. The technical fabric used in their construction is designed to keep a rider cool during a hot competition. In the hot spin I took wearing them, they did just that. Honestly, the price of these shorts indicates they are truly made for elite high mileage riders or serious competitors. I hope to wear them soon for a distance ride, but don't think I would ever drop that much dough on shorts.

To read about the other two more affordable items, just read more.

The W's Transfer Short Sleeve Baselayer ($50) worked well on a cold, yet sweaty ride. My core stayed warm and dry as I powered up hills and sped down the descents. It's made with Pearl Izumi trademarked Minerale fabric, a polyester fortified with carbon based minerals to improve wicking and keep the stink out of the shirt. After a three hour, sweaty ride the smelled only a little bit and the small amount of smell washed out easily. A short sleeve base layer for Autumn biking worked well for me. This shirt is seriously lightweight and tailored to fit the female form.

My favorite piece is the P.R.O. Barrier Lite Jacket ($95.00). A solid windbreaker can save you on a cold and blustery ride, and this windbreaker did just that. Should the sun come out and the wind dies down, this jacket packs down small to easily fit in a the back pocket of a biking jersey. I am impressed with how thin the material was yet how much wind protection it offered. This jacket might be pricey, but as long as it is not raining I think I can wear it all year long. I would wear it to run too.

All three items are available at the Pearl Izumi website. Look for them at your local bike shop too.

Running 101: Recovery Run

FitSugar — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:00:48 -0700

When you start to go deep with running, you slowly begin to encounter the jargon of the sport. One such term you might skim over is recovery run. Though the terms might seem simple, the concept is important. A recovery run follows a hard workout day of intervals or speed work or a tempo run, and you run slowly at conversational pace. Think of a recovery run as an active recovery to get the blood flowing into your muscles to ease stiffness. Some people refer to these runs as junk miles, especially when a running is working to meet weekly or monthly mileage goals. When training for endurance events, these long slow runs help folks build a solid base of fitness.

Do you take recovery runs? Do you think of them as junk miles?

Flickr User yourdon

Do You Consider Yourself a Runner?

FitSugar — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 08:00:46 -0700

When I dropped my daughter off at Summer camp, I was all suited up in my running gear. So was another mom, so I asked, "Are you a runner?" She replied, "Oh no, I'm not a runner. I only run about three miles, a few times a week." I was surprised, because anyone who runs consistently is considered a runner in my book, but I guess because she doesn't run marathons or other races, she doesn't think so. So it got me thinking . . .

Share your weekly mileage in the comments section below.

You Asked: What's the 10 Percent Rule?

FitSugar — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 10:00:00 -0700

Recently, I wrote about how to increase your mileage when running without exhausting or injuring yourself. I mentioned the 10 percent rule, and FitSugar reader TidalWave asked,

"Can someone give me an example of the 10 percent rule? I read it over and over and over but don't know how to implement it into my training."

This is a great question, especially considering many people's enthusiasm for running has probably increased just as the temps have. Plus the wide trails and fresh Spring air make you feel like you can run forever. So before you go from 10 miles last week to 30 miles this week, you must obey the 10 percent rule. It's a way to gradually increase your mileage while preventing overuse injury and allowing your body time to adapt.

If you need to see what this rule means when it comes to how many miles you run, then see the chart I made after you read more.

The 10 percent rule states: Never increase your weekly mileage by more than 10 percent as compared to the previous week. Let's say you're starting off with running 10 miles (two miles each day). Check out the chart below to see how many miles you should increase each week. Most people run about 12 to 20 miles a week, so you can stop increasing once you reach your weekly mileage amount.

Week 11

	Amount for 10% increase	Total Weekly Mileage
Week 1	starting point	10 miles
Week 2	1 mile	11 miles
Week 3	1.1 miles	12.1 miles
Week 4	1.2 miles	13.3 miles
Week 5	1.3 miles	14.6 miles
Week 6	1.5 miles	16.1 miles
Week 7	1.6 miles	17.7 miles
Week 8	1.8 miles	19.5 miles
Week 9	2 miles	21.5 miles
Week 10	2.2 miles	23.7 miles
2.4 miles	26.1 miles
Week 12	2.6 miles	28.7 miles

Source

Beginner's Half Marathon Training Schedule

FitSugar — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 13:30:00 -0800

So you've run a few 5Ks and maybe have a 10K under your belt. Now you're ready to tackle your first half marathon. You'll need a training schedule to get your mileage up, but it's hard to find time to train when you have a full-time job, family, etc. So this schedule from About: Running is just what you need. It allows you to train moderately throughout the week, while working on your longer runs on Saturdays, when most people have free time.

To see this basic 12-week training schedule read more.

Before looking over the schedule, here are some important notes.

Mondays: Rest to prevent injury.
Tuesdays and Thursdays: After warming up, run at a moderate pace for the designated mileage.
Wednesdays: Rest on rest days. On run days, after warming up, run at a comfortable pace for the designated mileage.
Fridays: Do a cross-training (CT) activity (biking, swimming, elliptical trainer, etc.) at easy to moderate effort for 30 to 45 minutes. If you're feeling tired or sore, then rest.
Saturdays: Run the designated mileage at an easy, conversational pace.
Sundays: Recover on this day with easy runs to loosen up your muscles.

Week	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Friday	Sat	Sun	Total Miles Run
1	Rest	2 miles	Rest	2.5 miles	Rest	3 miles	2 easy miles	9.5 miles
2	Rest	2 miles	Rest	3 miles	CT or Rest	4 miles	2.5 easy miles	11.5 miles
3	Rest	2.5 miles	2 miles	3 miles	CT or Rest	5 miles	2 easy miles	14.5 miles
4	Rest	3 miles	Rest	4 miles	CT or Rest	6 miles	3 easy miles	16 miles
5	Rest	3 miles	3 miles	3 miles	CT or Rest	7 miles	3 easy miles	19 miles
6	Rest	4 miles	3 miles	4 miles	CT or Rest	8 miles	3 easy miles	22 miles
7	Rest	4 miles	Rest	4 miles	CT or Rest	9 miles	3 easy miles	20 miles
8	Rest	4 miles	3 miles	3 miles	CT or Rest	10 miles	3 easy miles	23 miles
9	Rest	5 miles	3 miles	4 miles	CT or Rest	11 miles	Rest	23 miles
10	3 easy miles	4 miles	Rest	3 miles	CT or Rest	12 miles	3 easy miles	25 miles
11	Rest	4 miles	Rest	3 miles	CT or Rest	5 miles	2.5 easy miles	14.5 miles
12	Rest	2 miles	20 minutes	Rest	20 minutes	Race Day! 13.1 miles	Rest	15.1 miles + 40 minutes

Source

FitSugar Roundup

FitSugar — Sat, 16 May 2009 04:30:00 -0700

Aside from wonderfully sunny days, I enjoy Spring for the seasonal produce. This roasted red pepper Romesco sauce is not only tasty and easy to make, it's healthy too. Part of the Mediterranean diet, its ingredient list includes healthy fats from nuts and olive oil as well as two red super foods: bell peppers and tomatoes. Aside from covering tasty foods, this week we discussed topics from the possibility of running creating bulky thighs and Victoria Beckham's daily treadmill mileage.

View Slideshow ›

Running Tip: Progress by Minutes, Not Miles

FitSugar — Thu, 14 May 2009 12:00:00 -0700

Whether you're first starting out running, or have been doing it for years, we all want to be better runners. We gauge "better" as running longer, and we tend to have mileage on our minds. If you ran three miles yesterday, you think, "I'll run four miles tomorrow." Increasing by mile increments may be too much for your body though. Doing too much too soon may put you at risk for injury or may set you up for failure. Making goals to increase your distance per workout is great, but do so in minute increments instead. It's a more gradual progression that will be easier on your joints and muscles, but also on your mind.

Source