Range of Motion

Uh oh

What has this picture got to do with the title of this post? For that matter, what does "range of motion" refer to?

The picture is of my Mac charger after my father-in-law's dog chewed through it at the weekend. Incredibly, I was able to find a replacement charger the next day in a shop on the way home from work. Incredible, because I both work and live "in the sticks". However, yesterday, as I was getting ready to do my series of 20 minutes hard running on the treadmill, the new charger started acting up. Rob needs the charger to charge my Mac, to play the film that Rob needs, to be able to suffer the run. The days when I leave my workout until the evening I tend to get a little nervous; for me, the best time is at lunch time when I am neither straight out of bed nor am I spending time when I could otherwise be with my family. I got especially nervous that I wouldn't be able to do my workout unless I could watch some kind of slasher-flick to distract me as I have been doing lately. In the end, not only did I manage to solve the problem but I had the best workout I have perhaps ever had.

I need to qualify that. The thing is, either I was running much faster for less effort than usual, or the treadmill was broken. I'm really not sure which. It felt as though I was running fast but the difference was (and here the title of the post will become clear) that I was kicking my legs up much higher under my butt. The back of my hamstrings started to get warm from the contact with my lower leg and it felt like the leg was rebounding of my bum. I ran the first set of twenty minutes at 16 kph and didn't even go over 160 bpm (for comparison, my recommended heart rate for running a Marathon is 163 bpm). The next set I did at 16.5 kph and the last 20 I did half at the same speed before dropping down to 16 kph for the end (my heart rate was now where it should be, just below the anaerobic threshold at 178 bpm).

By kicking my leg up higher (larger range of motion) my cadence was lower than it would usually be running at that speed. I may try to measure it to see whether it was lower than my cadence at my cruising speed of 13.5 kph. All the schools of efficient running advocate a high cadence of around 180 footsteps per minute - some even suggest you run with a metronome, others simply say that the high cadence is the result of doing everything else right. The Pose Method, which I followed in order to run more efficiently, talks a lot about the range of motion and essentially says that the drills help us find an optimal range of motion. Too high a range of motion and you are wastefully moving your legs; too low and the cadence becomes too high and the extra steps taken are similarly wasteful. This is also related to the stride length and how much we bounce up and down in each stride. Much has been made of the importance of not bouncing up and down too much - this is needless work done against gravity - but it is also clear that this up and down movement muust be optimized not necessarily minimized. A study that was cited in the "Iron War" book that I read over the weekend came to the conclusion that the "bounce" wasn't a determining factor in the efficiency of the runners it tested but, what was critical, was the acceleration / deceleration of each footstep. In other words, the braking effect which is especially exacerbated by heel striking but is also determined by your skill and elasticity as a runner. So maybe I was bounding more by lifting my leg higher, maybe I was bouncing up and down a little more as a result, but perhaps I was running more efficiently. After all, I have long, powerful (and heavy) legs.

If I get a chance I may try a little scientific experiment of one on myself in order to determine my optimal cadence (the measurable consequence of running with one range of motion or another). The problem, of course, is that many other factors influence the heart rate, in particular, how tired you are. Anyway, something to think about...

Urban cycling

After just having got back from London, which has done a pretty good job of retro-fitting facilities for cyclists to an old, crowded city, I was struck by the amount of newspaper print dedicated to a tragic bike accident in Barcelona. Please don't misunderstand me: it was a terrible thing to happen but it is also something that happens (unfortunately) every so often in London. Meaningless statistics were quoted claiming that riding a bike was 5 times as safe as going by car, given that the number of accidents relative to the population of bike users is five times less than it is in the car world. This would only be a fair comparison if it were restricted to inter-urban journeys: to compare road accidents at 120 kph on the motorway with those incurred while cycling to the local corner shop doesn't make much sense.

However, this particular type of accident is worryingly common. The cyclist rides is on the inside of a large truck, the truck decides to turn right (left in the UK) without having seen the cyclist and drags him or her under the wheels. Actually, I read that this more commonly befalls women than men. The reason that was speculatively put forward is that women tend not to be such aggressive riders as men and prefer to tuck themselves into the side, rather than confidently claiming the road ahead. In fact the same person that made this comment said that the common advice given by road safety authorities to keep in as close to the curb as possible (while watching for opening car doors) is actually wrong: cyclists have to be more assertive and claim a (reasonable) part of the road for themselves and BE SEEN if they are going to survive as equals.

Many steps have been taken in the UK to avoid this type of accident, perhaps the best of these being the Advance Stop Line (ASL) which is the box just behind the traffic lights which only cyclists are allowed to use. This makes sure that they are clearly seen by the motorists behind. Another innovation is for some trucks to have written on the side - "If you are here I can't see you in my mirror".

Still, the best defense against road accidents is to gain critical mass. Once cyclists become a common sight rather than a rarity, motorists will be sure to look out for them. Until then and even after, we have to ride imagining every possible scenario. Please be safe...

Iron War book by Matt Fitzgerald

I'm sure much has been written about the epic battle between Mark Allen and Dave Scott to win the Hawaii Ironman World Championships in 1989 but it can only be a reflection of the recent rise in popularity of ultra endurance tests that it has taken 22 years for someone to write a book on the topic. That "someone" is none other than Matt Fitzgerald, a fairly prolific sports science writer, here slightly out of his usual terrain. Nevertheless, it makes for a gripping read, as the fact that I managed to read it from cover to cover over the (long) weekend testifies.

Matt's thorough research is very evident as he brings back to life the events in such detail as if they were being told the day after by those involved. True to his science background, he is sure to cite all the references he used in the appendix so it is possible to discern what was actually said and done (supposing those interviewed have not since embellished things) from journalistic dramatization.

The book took the predictable but no less valid tack of contrasting the "No Pain No Gain" sheer brute force approach of Dave Scott with the holistic and meditational approach of Mark Allen. At times it seems like the book is biased towards Dave Scott - it certainly shows sympathy for this larger than life character who was prone to periods of self doubt and binging - but I suspect that this is more due to the fact that Dave wears his heart on his sleeve while Mark is battling his personal demons behind the privacy of his outer mask and is therefore much more difficult to read let alone write about.

In my opinion Matt overstretches his analysis in applying current theories of exercise science to an event that happened nearly a quarter of a century ago. While it was a gargantuan feat (Mark Allen still holds the record from that year for the Marathon split in an Ironman) I think the author is a bit presumptuous to paint it as the pinnacle of suffering across all sports. Still, I found some of the ideas quite interesting. While I was familiar with Tim Noakes' "Central Governor" theory - that fatigue is a mechanism that the brain uses to avoid overexertion, rather than a message that the muscles send back - I was not aware of a part of the brain that is apparently activated whenever an "impulse" has to be overridden. This is the same part of the brain that lights up when we are asked to perform a "Stroop test" - in which we have to name the colour in which words are printed, made more difficult by the fact that the words themselves are the names of (other) colours. For this we have to override our impulse to read the word as opposed to saying it's colour. According to research cited by the author, this is the same part of the brain - the Anterior Cingulate Cortex - that is invoked when we override fatigue. He goes on to postulate that Dave Scott was born with a powerful ACC which allowed him to push himself harder than anyone else, while Mark Allen developed this through his difficult relationship with his father. This is an entertaining idea (nurture versus nature) but perhaps taking things a bit too far. But wouldn't it be great if we could substitute running hard series for doing a Stroop test or two?

All joking aside, after two decades in which sport science seems to have finally equated "No Pain No Gain" with "No Brain", it seems as though a return to basics might be worthwhile. After all, to win a race (or even just beat a personal best time) takes mental toughness and this mental toughness is built up through training. Dave Scott trained intuitively, trying to build into his workouts as many challenges as he could so that he would have the confidence come race day to face anything that was thrown at him. Mark Allen would rest his body so that he could perform his hard workouts more effectively; Dave would relish doing hard workouts when he was most tired, so that he could build that mental toughness. It's also true that Dave got injured a lot more often.

In summary, definitely well worth reading. I have seen several videos of the Ironman World Championships and yet, only after reading the descriptions in this book, I feel for the first time the seeds of desire to compete in Hawaii. I will keep it in mind for when I make the 50+ age group (except, by then, the standards will no doubt have sky rocketed).

Week 4 / 10

Another pretty solid week of training safely under the belt: two sessions of series, a long run, a medium cycle ride and some weights and swimming as "fillers". I was quite pleased with the long run which was, as usual, at the end of a fairly tiring week. To be fair, its hard to say where one week starts and another ends because, when I am training for Triathlon, I don't seem to get any days off: the idea is that biking is a rest from running and swimming a rest from biking. We were in Ciudad Real with my in-laws to celebrate "the Kings" who, in spite of the crisis, are still competing fairly aggressively with Santa Claus. The weather was perfect running weather: blue skies, sun (I'm getting asked if I have been skiing these days) and a bracing cold air. I think I went further in this two hour run than I have ever done before, even further than the one I did in London (at sea level) a few weeks ago, covering 26.88 km (pace 4:27, only 12 seconds per kilometer slower than 3 hour Marathon pace). It also felt really easy (actually, I assumed I was running too slowly but decided to stick to my pulse rate of 150 bpm). I really think that the fast running (series) that I am doing is having a trickle down effect and helping me to run faster and bio-mechanically more efficiently at lower intensities.

I'm also trying to ride about half an hour a day on the Triathlon bike (on the turbo trainer) in the aero position, so as to get used to the position. It's still hard to maintain but I notice it getting more and more tolerable. When I ride on the aerobars on my road bike in the less aggressive position that I am able to attain on it, it feels like a doddle. So I'm not sure that the investment in the Triathlon bike will necessarily make holding the aero position any easier but it is certainly a much more aero position unless, of course, I have to keep sitting up to give my arms a rest. The test will be the Half Ironman in April although the profile looks about as "flat" as the roads around here...

NY Marathon 2012 here I come!!

Week 3 / 10

Not much to say about this week that hasn't been said before. Apart from the two races I did on Saturday, I think the only workout worth mentioning was the cycle ride I did on Sunday. It was a beautiful sunny day and just the right temperature that gloves were not necessary, neither did I work up much of a sweat. I took the road bike although it is always a temptation to go with the tri bike. In the end, the fact that I would have to swap the wheels around or risk getting a flat tubular and most likely having to call my wife to come and rescue me, tipped the balance in its favour. It was a two and a half hour session so I got well beyond Brunete, about 45 minutes away from my house, which seems to be the epicenter of the world and the point through which all cycling routes round my neck of the woods have to pass. Once out on the relatively flat road to Navalcarnero, I was able to zip along at a pretty handy speed without going above my aerobic threshold and get my average for the whole ride up to 30kph. I have to say I really enjoyed it, in spite of it being the last thing I felt like doing on New Year's Day. Just as well that I like riding because I expect there will be a lot more from where that came from between now and the Half Ironman in Marbella in May.

Oh, by the way, I've been asked to write an article on minimalist running shoes for a Spanish sports magazine.. Watch this space!

San Silvestre(s)

I'm right in the middle, starting more or less where I finished

I can actually remember taking this step (I didn't get wet by the way)

I said I was going as "Abba" not as "un haba" (bean)

With my wife just before the race

People throwing away the extra layers of clothes

As I already mentioned, I was quite pleased with coming 21st out of 800 runners in the San Silvestre race in Las Rozas in the morning. But it was even more pleasing to see that my wife not only managed to finish the San Silvestre Vallecana race in the afternoon (she'd never run more than 5k before in her life) but that she enjoyed it and is even talking about the possibility of putting her name down for some more races. It was quite an experience running at the back (especially dressed the way I was). It was very crowded pretty much the whole way and I got - ahem - a lot of compliments both from the crowd and from the other runners. I really think it is a great event - many people just run this race and nothing else. We finished in just under 1:15 and there were even those who sprinted for the line, presumably to beat their own personal best times. It's not a race, it's a party.