Run Suwanee

What Is My Ideal Running Weight?

While no absolute answers to this question exist, it is worth discussing nonetheless.  We are all unique creatures built differently.  This is why no one can look you up and down and say that “X” is your ideal running weight.  What is undisputed, however, is that carrying extra weight adds impact stress to every foot strike and requires additional effort for every stride.  On the other hand, being underweight can lead to a myriad of health problems and won’t allow you sufficient strength to support your training or your immune system.  This is why your ideal running weight is the weight at which you feel best and run most economically.  It is not a magical number reached through a computer-based model. 

 

With that said, some guidelines exist that can help you objectively determine an appropriate weight range for you.  Body Mass Index (BMI) is an objective assessment of one’s weight taking into consideration one’s height.  A BMI of 18.5-24.9 is considered normal.  A BMI on the high end of this range or over may indicate that you are not at an efficient running weight.  Most competitive runners will likely fall at the lower end of this BMI range. 

Do not, however, let BMI solely determine your ideal running weight.  Body composition or body fat percentage is perhaps a more useful self-assessment tool.  The American Council on Exercise provides the following body fat composition guidelines for men and women:

 

	Men	Women
Athletic Range	6-12%	14-20%
Fitness Range	14-17%	21-24%
Acceptable Range	18-25%	25-31%

 

Where you want or need to be on this chart depends on your goals.  Maintaining a body fat percentage in the lower athletic range will certainly allow you to run more economically and reduce your rate of injury.  Nothing is inherently wrong with maintaining a healthy amount of body fat in the fitness or even acceptable range.  Remember, however, that you are a runner and it is your intention to drag your body (including fat) as far as 26.2 miles or more in some circumstances.  With that in mind, I’d rather drag around a lesser percentage of body fat. 

 

In addition to BMI ratings and body fat composition, let your running performance guide you to an ideal running weight.  As you hone-in on your ideal weight and body composition, your performance should improve and rate of injury should decrease.

 

Running with a few extra pounds of body weight is not the end of the earth.  In fact, many of us run simply so we can consume beer and ice cream at will.  If that’s your situation, more power to you.  But if your goal is to run faster and remain injury-free, then reaching and maintaining your ideal running weight and body composition is a part of this equation.

Running for Weight-Loss

One of the benefits of running is that you are allowed to enjoy your favorite foods and beverages without guilt.  If, however, you are serious about improving your race times and reducing your rate of injury, consider putting down the donut and losing a few pounds.  As runners, we focus on our training plans, weekly mileage totals, long runs, and speed workouts.  Sometimes, however, we lose focus on arguably, the single most important contributor to our running success, our weight.  This is the first of a four-part article in which we’ll explore following weighty topics:

 

Part One:     How does weight affect my performance?

Part Two:     What is my ideal running weight?

Part Three:  Training strategies for weight-loss.

Part Four:    Nutritional strategies for weight-loss.

 

Part One:  How does weight affect my performance?

 

Vehicle fuel economy is based on engine type, aerodynamics, tire inflation, and a number of other factors.  Regardless, a lighter vehicle will generally use less fuel per mile than a heavier vehicle.  Running economy is built on a similar premise.  Running economy is the amount of oxygen you utilize at a given speed.  If you are carrying few pounds of extra weight, logically you’ll need to utilize extra oxygen to move that weight.  All things being equal, a runner at his ideal weight will be more economical than a runner that is 10 pounds overweight.  A more economical runner using less oxygen at a given speed will ultimately win the race.

 

In more practical terms, for every pound you lose, you’ll run two seconds faster per mile, according to Tom Osler, author of “The Serious Runner’s Handbook.”   For example, if you lose 10 pounds, you’ll run 1:02 faster in the 5k, 2:04 faster in the 10k, and 8:44 faster in the marathon.  These are huge time improvements that would be difficult with training alone (without weight loss).  Keep in mind that Osler’s two second rule only works until you reach your ideal weight.  As we’ll discuss later, if you drop below your ideal weight, your running and general health will suffer. 

 

Your weight also affects your ability to train consistently and injury-free.  Whoever said that running wasn’t a contact sport?  At impact, every foot-strike generates two to three time your bodyweight of stress on your muscular-skeletal system.  That is a lot of shock and easily explains runner’s knee, skin splints, and other maladies runner’s frequently fact.  Simply put, achieving your ideal running weight will reduce impact stress on your system and will significantly reduce the likelihood of injury.

Who Wants Better Mileage Markers on the Suwanee Creek Greenway?

If you've ever run the length of the Suwanee Creek Greenway, you've probably noticed that the mileage markers are a little off.  A local runner was kind enough to email me about this out a few weeks ago.  Within George Pierce Park, mileage markers are non-existent.  So here's a few questions for Suwanee runners:   

1. Would you like more accurate and frequent mileage markers along the greenway and George Pierce Park?

2. If so, would you be willing to make a small donation of funds or labor to City of Suwanee and/or Gwinnett County in order to have better mileage markers?

Feel free to email your throughts to runsuwanee@yahoo.com or post a comment to this blog entry. 

Storm Damage to Greenway

The storm that blew through Suwanee and most of the Atlanta area on Monday left its mark on the Suwanee Creek Greenway.  Fallen trees and debris were scattered around and on the the greenway.  Unfortunately, two enormous trees fell across the boardwalk section of greenway between Martin Farm Road and McGinnis Ferry Road.   These photographs were taken on Wednesday evening.  Hopefully the City of Suwanee will have the chainsaws out in the next few days to clear the way. 

Looking for a Fun Running Group? - Join the Gwinnett Running Club

The Gwinnett Running Club hosts two different weekly runs for runners of all ages, abilities, and goals.  One group meets at George Pierce Park (basketball courts) in Suwanee on Satuday mornings at 7:30 am.  Another group meets on Wednesdays at 6:30 pm at the Collins Hill Aquatic Center in Lawrenceville.  Run your own distance and pace.  The club has only been around for about a year but is growing quickly and is looking for runners to get involved.  The weekly runs are well attended with runners who are as interested in having fun as they are in running fast or far.  For more information, visit www.gwinnettrunners.com.

Run Circles Around Life’s Challenges with Adaptive Scheduling

You’ve just printed-out the perfect 16-week training schedule from Running Times, Runner’s World, or Hal Higdon’s website.  Just follow the program exactly and you’ll race like a beast and set a personal best.  One small problem – while your training program may be perfect, life is not.  At some point, you’ll face challenges that will throw a wrench in your training plan.  Challenges may come in the form of family, work, illness, or injury.  When these challenges do not allow you to follow your schedule as required, how will you respond?  How you adapt to these challenges will play a large part in your program’s success.  Consider the following guidelines when faced with life’s challenges to your perfect training program.

One Missed Work-Out (Non-Injury):

An occasional missed work-out should have no impact on your training as long as you carefully schedule your important work-outs during the week.  Remember to never schedule consecutive hard days in terms of mileage or intensity.  If your long run is on Saturdays, consider scheduling Mondays and Wednesdays as your hard workout days.  By doing so you’ll create some cushion and flexibility to your schedule for the inevitable missed work-out.  For example, if work gets crazy on Monday, you can always shift your hard workouts to Tuesday and Thursday and have Friday to rest before your long run on Saturday.  If your hard workouts were originally scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday and you have to move them back to Wednesday and Friday, no cushion exists to provide an easy day or day of rest before your Saturday long run.

2-4 Days Off (Non-Injury):

Let’s assume that you miss two or three days of running because you’ve got a deadline at work or your kids are sick.  You have not lost fitness so feel free to resume your program as if you never missed a day.  Do not try to squeeze in extra miles to meet a weekly mileage total.  Do not run back-to-back hard workouts to squeeze in speed-work.  Such efforts may lead to injury.  If Tuesday was your last run and you are unable to run the next three days, simply pick-up your schedule as called for on Saturday.

5-10 Days Off (Non-Injury)

Let’s assume that you fall victim to the flu or another virus and cannot run for 5-10 days.  You may have lost some fitness.  Be careful and try to restart your program where you left it in terms of mileage and intensity.  Don’t skip ahead as your body may not respond well to the increased stress.  For example, let’s assume you completed week 6 of your program and then missed the next week.  Don’t skip ahead to week 8.  Consider restarting your program by repeating week 6 again or carefully moving into week 7.

Slight Aches and Pains:

At some point during your training program, you may encounter an overly tight hamstring or a nagging pain under your knee cap.  Your body is talking to you.  Listen to it.  Take a few days off to rest and treat the minor injury.  Gently stretch tight muscles or elevate and ice an inflamed knee.  Also consider the root cause of the minor injury.  Have you increased your mileage or intensity too quickly?  Consider alternate forms of exercise like swimming or biking that will not aggravate the stressed body part.  If your symptoms have ceased and you have not committed any known training errors, resume your schedule with an easy day and move ahead as planned.  Do not try to meet weekly mileage goals or squeeze in quality workouts that you missed.  Missing a day or two of running will not impact your training significantly.  Allowing a minor ache to blow-up into a major injury, however, will sideline you and force you to start from scratch.

Significant injuries or training interruptions involving more than 10-14 days should be handled with extreme caution.  You cannot run through injuries or disregard basic training principles (hard/easy days, 10 percent rule of weekly mileage progressions, etc.) without catastrophic consequences.  Regardless, by carefully listening to your body and intelligently adapting your training schedule, you can run around life’s minor obstacles on your way to success in your goal race.

Protect Yourself: Running and Skin Cancer

What can be more enjoyable than a nice long run on a beautiful sunny day?  It is truly one of life’s great pleasures.  On days like these, however, your muscles, lungs, and heart are not only parts of your body getting a work-out – so is your skin.  Every year, more than one million cases of skin cancer are diagnosed.  It is by far the most common form of cancer.  Unfortunately, runners may be particularly susceptible to skin cancer, according to a 2006 Austrian study published in The Archives of Dermatology.  The study revealed that long distance runners had higher rates of lesions suggestive of basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma, two forms of skin cancer.  With this knowledge, we runners need to protect ourselves.  Here are some basic steps.

·           Run before 10 am or after 4 pm when the sun’s rays are less powerful.  For particularly fair-skinned runners, there is no shame in running before the sun rises, after it sets, or on a treadmill.

·           If you are going to run outside during daylight hours, apply sunscreen with at least an SPF rating of 15, 30 minutes prior to exposure.  This protection lasts less than two hours so consider reapplication if you are on a very long run.  Use a water and sweat-proof sunscreen.

·           Wear UV-protective clothing.  Many athletic-wear manufacturers are now displaying the UV-rating of their clothing.  As a general rule of thumb, the darker the fabric and tighter the weave, the higher level of protection you’ll receive.  Keep in mind that these fabrics can still be breathable and moisture-wicking.

·           Wear a hat with a wide brim to protect your head and face.  Your face is particularly susceptible to sun damage.

·           Wear UV-blocking sunglasses to protect your eyes and the sensitive skin around your eyes.

·           Reapply sunscreen liberally to extremities and other exposed areas including your hands, face, neck, ears, and scalp (particularly if you have thinning hair). 

·           Most importantly – cover-up with as much clothing as you can comfortably wear.  We know you want to show-off those guns and abs-of-steel that you’ve worked for but it’s just not worth it. 

 

Finally, monitor your skin on a regular basis.  Pay particular attention to changes in skin color, texture, and moles.  These changes may be indications of pre-cancerous skin conditions that can be dealt with easily and early by your dermatologist.

 

Despite these risks, continue to enjoy the occasional long run on a sunny day.  As one of life’s simple pleasure, these runs are worth savoring.  They are simply more enjoyable when your skin is fully protected.  For more information on skin cancer and skin cancer prevention, please visit www.skincancer.org.

Ace Your Base - Base-Building Principles

When asked how he ran so fast, fictional runner Quentin Cassidy responded, “The Trial of Miles; Miles of Trials.”  This quote from John L. Parker’s running cult classic Once a Runner succinctly describes the base-building phase of training.  Months of slow, steady, and unglamorous mileage increases are what prepares us for more progressive training and future success.  Base-building, however, can be the most difficult part of training for many runners.  We runners are an impatient bunch.  We want to increase weekly mileage and long runs quickly.  We also want to blaze because running fast is more fun.  Many of us are currently building mileage for big spring events such as a marathon or half-marathon.  Some of us are building mileage in the hopes of setting PRs in 5k or 10k races.  With these goals in mind, winter is a great time to revisit some common principles and strategies behind effective base-building.

 

Why Build a Base?  Base-building helps increase aerobic endurance and builds running muscles for more demanding training and racing in the future.  By building an adequate base, runners lay down a foundation for injury-free training and racing.  Easy running and gradual mileage increases associated with base-building also provide us with less tangible benefits such as the development of a consistent weekly routine of smart running, adequate sleep, healthy eating habits, stretching, and strength training.  This less-stressful training phase also allows us to work on developing an economical running form and stride rate.

 

Run Your Pace:  The vast majority of your base-building training should be run at an easy, comfortable, and relaxed pace.  Your easy-run pace is based on your current level of fitness (not your goal race pace).  For example, let’s say you just ran the Peachtree Road Race in 50 minutes (8:02 pace).  Your easy run pace is approximately 9:30 to 10:15 minutes per mile.  Generally, your easy runs should be 1:30 to 2:15 per mile slower than your 10k race pace.  In practical terms, easy pace means a pace in which you could carry-on a conversation without getting out of breath.   In technical terms, this means about 65% to 79% of your maximum heart rate or 59% to 74% of your VO2 max.  If your 10k race pace is 8:02 per mile, 9:30 to 10:15 per mile may seem really slow.  That’s the point.  During base-building you are training your aerobic endurance system.  To effectively train your aerobic endurance, logic follows that you’ll need to stay within your aerobic endurance training zone (no more than 79% of your maximum heart rate or 74% of your VO2 max).  If you run faster than your prescribed pace, you are no longer training your aerobic endurance system, you are training your anaerobic energy system.  The sharpening or speed-work phase of training will provide you with plenty of opportunities to train your anaerobic energy system.  So during base-building, stick to your prescribed easy pace based on your current level of fitness.  As your fitness improves, future races and time trials will provide opportunities to reset to a faster easy run pace.

 

10 Percent Rule:  We’ve all heard this rule before because it works.  Runners should avoid increasing weekly mileage by more than 10 percent per week.  So you ran 20 miles last week injury-free.  You may run no more than 22 miles this week.  Older or oft-injured runners may want to increase weekly mileage at an even slower rate.  These mileage progressions are indeed slow and boring but they are meant to protect us.  Our cardiovascular and respiratory systems are highly adaptive, which is why we often prematurely feel ready for greater mileage increases.  Unfortunately, our muscular-skeletal system is slower to adapt to training stress.  Studies have shown that our muscles and connective tissues lag cardio-respiratory systems in adaptation by up to 6-10 weeks.  This is one of the reasons why runners so frequently suffer from overuse injuries like plantar fasciitis, runner’s knee, Achilles tendonitis, hamstring strains, and stress fractures.  We simply don’t allow our muscles and connective tissues enough time to adapt to training stress.  The 10 Percent Rule is a reasonable guideline to help prevent these maladies and allow us to build an effective base and train injury-free.

 

Hills Can Kill:  During base-building, easy runs should be conducted on relatively flat courses.  The goal of these runs is to operate within our aerobic endurance zone.  Even moderate up-hills send our heart rate soaring, pushing us into a counter-productive anaerobic zone.  Up-hills also place enormous stress on our Achilles, calves, and hamstrings.  Down-hills result in tremendous shock to our knee joints.  For these reasons, hills present a significant risk for injury and are best avoided during base-building.  To the extent that hills are unavoidable, consider slowing your pace considerably or walking if necessary.  Don’t get me wrong - hills have an appropriate place most training plans.  Hill training is a form of strength training for runners and serves as an excellent transition from base building to speed-work.  During early base-building, however, hills should be avoided or approached with caution.

 

Daily Mileage Variability:  We’ve all heard that hard training days should be alternated with easy training days (or even rest days).  The training stress of a hard day is followed by an easy day to allow for rest and sought-after physiological adaptations.  During the base-building phase of training, hard and easy days are expressed in terms of mileage – not pace.  If a hard day is a 6-mile run at easy pace, the following easy day might be a 3-mile run at easy pace.  Both runs are conducted at easy pace but one is longer than the other.   Daily mileage variability is also an important in avoiding overtraining and injury.  

 

Runner impatience is a common enemy during the base-building phase.  Runners often feel that running slow is boring and unwisely speed-up their daily training pace.  By doing so, you may be running outside of your target aerobic endurance zone and will not be able to achieve the desired physiological adaptations.  Be patient through your base-building phase.  Buy an iPOD, find a running partner or group, watch your favorite television program while running on the treadmill, or try different running routes.  Bottom line – do whatever it takes to train smart and consistently during the base-building phase.  By staying injury-free through your base-building phase, you’ll lay the foundation for more exciting and progressive training in the future.

Peachtree Ridge Park (Suwanee, GA)

Four to five miles of mostly paved running trails wind through Peachtree Ridge Park in Suwanee.  The park is located near the intersection of Suwanee Creek Road and Wildwood Road near Peachtree Ridge High School.  Peachtree Ridge Park contains more-than-ample parking, restrooms, baseball fields, and playgrounds. 

The paved running trail is an out-and-back shoestring with three loops at the north end.  The winding paved path is a knee-pounding and Achilles-stretching adventure of short but steep and frequent hills.  The south end of the park has a dirt spur trail that leads past Lake Louella towards the school.  This offroad opportunity is only about 1/4 mile long.  The park is a testament to engineering with massive retaining walls shaping the ballfields and trail.  Some of these walls are over one hundred feet high. 

Peachtree Ridge Park is a good option for some hill training or variety from your normal course.  And while its running trail may be inferior to other Suwanee-area parks and trails, the fact that we have such options is a testament to the Gwinnett County Park System.  More information about Peachtree Ridge Park can be found here.

Sims Lake Park (Suwanee, GA)

  In October 2008, Sims Lake Park opened to rave reviews.  The 62 acre park is located on Suwanee Dam Road about one mile west of Peachtree Industrial Boulevard.  The seven acre Sims Lake with its fountain is the centerpiece of the park.  A 1.2 mile paved trail winds through the woods and ultimately circles the lake.  The City of Suwanee must have had runners in mind in the creation of this  trail because each tenth of a mile is marked whether one is traveling clockwise and counter-clockwise.  The trail is moderately hilly.  On the east side of the trail is a spur that connects with the sidewalk on Suwanee Dam Road. 

 Sims Lake Park has adequate parking, water fountains, restrooms, pavilions, and a playground particularly suitable for kids about six and under.  An interesting feature of the park is the rock-enclosed stream that winds through the park to Sims Lake.  Sims Lake Park is another shining example of Suwanee's commitment to parks and greenspace.  And Suwanee's runners are primary beneficiaries of this commitment. 

While a 1.2 mile loop is not particularly long in running terms, it appears that Sims Lake Park will ultimately connect to Town Center, the Suwanee Creek Greenway, and George Pierce Park.  As a result, our running route options will continue to be varied and impressive.   

More information about Sims Lake Park can be found at the City of Suwanee's website here.