Woke up early at 4.30am this morning with the eagerness and excitement to do a good quality LSD at Bkt. Aman. This is part of my preparation for the upcoming Penang Bridge Half-marathon with only 3 weeks to go. However to my dissapoinment, I was greeted by the sound of heavy rain which can be heard from the window of my room. Arghh... *crying out in my heart*. I'm lacking in LSDs and there's only 3 weeks left for me to prepare. Recently, my training has been focused mostly on speed training without much emphasis on long distance. Well, just hope that my stamina is not affected by much due to the lack of distance training.
So, after resumed sleeping for another 3hrs, I turned to the Plan B training program. It is the resistant band which I've bought from Julie a few weeks ago. This has been a reliable tool for me so far especially in times when running is not possible, just like today.
Here's something you need to know about the resistant band. According to some sports researchers recently, performing an hour of exercise with a resistant band offers much higher benefits and improvement to our core muscles and strength development as compared to weights. This is because resistant training doesn't require the aid of gravity. In weights, usually it is the lifting which makes it difficult for us and too much weights makes our joints prone to injury as well.
The extension and retraction motions of resistant band simultaneously works out our muscles where the further the band is extended, the more resistant it is being applied to our body. With some creativity, many different forms of exercise can be performed with it where total body workout can be easily achieved.
Praise God for another beautiful day.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Improve your running speed & performance
By Matt Fitzgerald
There are literally dozens of different variables that are relevant to running performance. Among the more familiar ones are VO2max, lactate threshold speed and running economy (or the rate of oxygen consumption at a given speed—the lower the better). One of the most under-appreciated performance-related running variables is ground contact time, or the amount of time your foot is in contact with the ground on each stride.
Ground contact time always decreases as running pace increases. If you accelerate from 6 miles/hour to 8 miles/per hour in the middle of a run, your ground contact time will decrease as your stride length increases and you spend more time airborne. But not all runners have the same ground contact times at the same speeds, and not all runners are able to reduce their ground contact time to the same level when trying to run fast. The fastest runners tend to have the shortest ground contact times. Training specifically to reduce your ground contact time is an effective way to improve your running.
Some interesting studies have demonstrated the importance of minimal ground contact to running performance. For example, a study by Finnish researchers investigated the relationships between running mechanics, top running speed and economy in young runners. Twenty-five runners performed two separate tests on an indoor track. The first test was 8 x 30m at increasing speeds, up to maximal sprint speed. The second test was 5-6 x 1,000m at increasing speeds. In the first test, ground reaction forces and stride characteristics were measured at each running speed. In the second test, running economy at the speed of 3.89 meters per second and maximal oxygen uptake were determined. The researchers found that, of all the stride characteristics measured in the short sprints, only ground contact correlated significantly with both running economy and maximal running speed. The authors of the study wrote, “It is concluded that the short contact times required in economical and high-speed running suggest that fast force production is important for both economical running and high top running speed in distance runners.”
Why is short ground contact so beneficial to running performance? When your foot is in contact with the ground during running, you are not moving forward. You are only moving forward when airborne. So the more time you spend airborne and the less time you spend on the ground, the faster you run. Ground contact time is determined by three main factors: the ability to apply force to the ground very quickly (that is, power), by the stiffness of the leg at the moment of footstrike (a stiffer leg is able to capture more “free” energy from the ground and then reuse it), and by biomechanical characteristics such as the position of the foot in relation to the center of gravity at footstrike (a foot that lands in front of the body’s center of gravity acts as a brake and thus increases ground contact time).
So how do you train to reduce your ground contact time? Simple: You train to increase your stride power and leg stiffness and improve your biomechanics. The most basic way to add power to your stride is to regularly include some very fast running in your training. Once a week, after completing an easy run, do a set of short sprints—say, 6 x 60m at full speed. To minimize the risk of pulling a hamstring, do these sprints on a steep hill, if possible. Also include regular submaximal running in the 5K-1500m race pace range. At least once every 10 days, complete an interval run with at least 2 total miles of running in this pace range (e.g. 6 x 600m @ 3K race pace with 400m jogging recoveries).
--- Read more --
There are literally dozens of different variables that are relevant to running performance. Among the more familiar ones are VO2max, lactate threshold speed and running economy (or the rate of oxygen consumption at a given speed—the lower the better). One of the most under-appreciated performance-related running variables is ground contact time, or the amount of time your foot is in contact with the ground on each stride.
Ground contact time always decreases as running pace increases. If you accelerate from 6 miles/hour to 8 miles/per hour in the middle of a run, your ground contact time will decrease as your stride length increases and you spend more time airborne. But not all runners have the same ground contact times at the same speeds, and not all runners are able to reduce their ground contact time to the same level when trying to run fast. The fastest runners tend to have the shortest ground contact times. Training specifically to reduce your ground contact time is an effective way to improve your running.
Some interesting studies have demonstrated the importance of minimal ground contact to running performance. For example, a study by Finnish researchers investigated the relationships between running mechanics, top running speed and economy in young runners. Twenty-five runners performed two separate tests on an indoor track. The first test was 8 x 30m at increasing speeds, up to maximal sprint speed. The second test was 5-6 x 1,000m at increasing speeds. In the first test, ground reaction forces and stride characteristics were measured at each running speed. In the second test, running economy at the speed of 3.89 meters per second and maximal oxygen uptake were determined. The researchers found that, of all the stride characteristics measured in the short sprints, only ground contact correlated significantly with both running economy and maximal running speed. The authors of the study wrote, “It is concluded that the short contact times required in economical and high-speed running suggest that fast force production is important for both economical running and high top running speed in distance runners.”
Why is short ground contact so beneficial to running performance? When your foot is in contact with the ground during running, you are not moving forward. You are only moving forward when airborne. So the more time you spend airborne and the less time you spend on the ground, the faster you run. Ground contact time is determined by three main factors: the ability to apply force to the ground very quickly (that is, power), by the stiffness of the leg at the moment of footstrike (a stiffer leg is able to capture more “free” energy from the ground and then reuse it), and by biomechanical characteristics such as the position of the foot in relation to the center of gravity at footstrike (a foot that lands in front of the body’s center of gravity acts as a brake and thus increases ground contact time).
So how do you train to reduce your ground contact time? Simple: You train to increase your stride power and leg stiffness and improve your biomechanics. The most basic way to add power to your stride is to regularly include some very fast running in your training. Once a week, after completing an easy run, do a set of short sprints—say, 6 x 60m at full speed. To minimize the risk of pulling a hamstring, do these sprints on a steep hill, if possible. Also include regular submaximal running in the 5K-1500m race pace range. At least once every 10 days, complete an interval run with at least 2 total miles of running in this pace range (e.g. 6 x 600m @ 3K race pace with 400m jogging recoveries).
--- Read more --
This Week Training
When : 29th Nov 2009, Thursday
Place : Lake Gardens
Time : 7pm
Menu : 2.3km x 4 loops
Target time to achieve: sub 40min
Time: 39'48 (PB)
Split Time: 9'49 / 9'57 / 10'08 / 9'52
Place : Lake Gardens
Time : 7pm
Menu : 2.3km x 4 loops
Target time to achieve: sub 40min
Time: 39'48 (PB)
Split Time: 9'49 / 9'57 / 10'08 / 9'52
The best I did previously was a time of 39'59min. Glad that I'm able to bring it down by 11 sec eventhough I failed to achieve negative splits for each loop. The speedwork on Tuesday seemed to have taken it's toll on my legs.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
This Week Training
When : 27th Nov 2009, Thursday
Place : Deer Park Hill at Lake Gardens
Time : 7pm
Menu : 450m x 8 sets (40 degree steepness)
This is one of my favourite route for hill training. It is quite tough to complete the targeted 8 sets with no rest in between where the only time to relax is during the slow jog down the hill back to the starting point. Each sets caused my heart to pound real hard and I'm glad that I'm able to complete them within a satisfying time.
Will continue to train hard in order to be a better runner.
My Split Time :
1'40 /1'43 /1'42 /1'42 /1'44 /1'44 /146 /1'42
Place : Deer Park Hill at Lake Gardens
Time : 7pm
Menu : 450m x 8 sets (40 degree steepness)
This is one of my favourite route for hill training. It is quite tough to complete the targeted 8 sets with no rest in between where the only time to relax is during the slow jog down the hill back to the starting point. Each sets caused my heart to pound real hard and I'm glad that I'm able to complete them within a satisfying time.
Will continue to train hard in order to be a better runner.
My Split Time :
1'40 /1'43 /1'42 /1'42 /1'44 /1'44 /146 /1'42
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Welcome to my blog
It's been some time since I started thinking of starting a blog of my own, finally my dream has been realized and this will be the start of an exciting journey of sharing. Hope that this blog will in one way or another be a blessing to the readers. To my beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, let us continue to encourage and spur each other on to greater heights for God. To my fellow friends in the running world, thanks for staying firm in your interest and passion in running. This is because the world needs more healthy people like us to be an example, showing the rest of the world just how important it is to live an active and healthy lifestyle by exercising regularly. Running is one of the best form of exercises available.
God bless.
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