If one is only interested in hard statistics, of course he’s right. The time commitment is high, the injury rates are discouraging, and at the end, you hobble home with little more than a cheap medal and blisters to show for your months of preparation.

But there are benefits to training for and completing a marathon that aren’t measured in university studies. Things like self-discovery and discipline, camaraderie and human spirit. Anyone who has completed a marathon will tell you that it’s not about the race itself; it’s about the sum of the experience, from that first Saturday morning training run, to the celebratory dinner with friends after the race.

If you think that sore legs are all you get from running a marathon, you’re missing the point. [Photo courtesy of Pixabay]

Training for a marathon also teaches you how to challenge and train yourself physically. A skill which, given our nation’s epidemic of diseases related to sedentarism, is a good bit more useful than, say, speaking Arabic. Granted, marathon training is hardly a holistic fitness program in itself, and many who take up the sport to lose weight will find their increased appetite an added challenge. But it is a far better program than you’ll get with your average $10 a month gym membership, and can light the way to endless future fitness pursuits.

Marathons have also become philanthropic engines driving significant contributions to charity. Every marathon in a major city has at least one charity partner, sometimes several. Runners in the Boston Marathon alone raised more than $15 million in 2015. Marathon runners are particularly motivated and tenacious people, so when thousands of them at a time focus their attention on fundraising, it’s no surprise that they are hugely successful.

And runners are hardly “going against the grain.” Road running is in the midst of a boom not seen since the jogging craze of the 1970s, with competitive road races seeing a 170% increase in participation between 1991 and 2011. Much of that increase has been from the boom of the half marathon, but the number of full marathon finishers has also more than doubled over the same period.

People don’t run marathons, or climb Everest, or take on any other arbitrary and difficult endeavor simply “because they are there,” or for the Facebook likes. They do them to find out what they’re made of. And until you have bent yourself against that which you formerly considered impossible, you can never really know. If improving yourself physically and mentally while supporting medical research and childrens’ health sounds like a waste of time to you, I’m guessing you also hate puppies and rainbows. But if those things appeal to you, then maybe running a marathon this year is the absolute best thing you can do.

The post Running a Marathon Is the Best Thing You Can Do appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

If you’re a runner who thinks that 5km and 10km races are best reserved for beginners, or for tune-up purposes only, then keep reading. Below is a list of reasons to consider diverting your focus – at least temporarily – from endurance races to shorter-distance races.

No More Long Runs

Some runners have the desire and ability to train for endurance races, but they just don’t have the time. Failure to meet all the training demands of an endurance event typically results in less than satisfactory race results or, worse still, the possibility of injury if the race effort exceeds the athlete’s level of readiness.

Opting to prepare for a 5km race versus a marathon eliminates the need to spend excessive amounts of time training. An advanced runner may complete several long runs of up to ninety minutes in training, but the intermediate-level runner can afford to limit long runs to sixty or 75 minutes and still perform well.

A further advantage of shorter “long” runs is that training is not terribly impacted during the colder or warmer months. It’s difficult to complete long training runs in extreme weather conditions, but shorter runs can usually be tolerated.

Greater Opportunity to Focus on HIIT Workouts

The purpose of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) for runners is to boost speed and fitness, but it’s important to note that any type of speed-work increases the risk of injury. HIIT workouts should therefore be approached with caution and ideally by advanced runners only (tempo and fartlek runs would be safer for less experienced runners).

The great thing about HIIT workouts is that they can yield maximum benefits in the shortest amount of time. While there are various definitions of what a HIIT workout entails, most follow a set number of short, hard intervals, followed by easy recovery periods. When translated into running workouts, an example might be ten minutes of easy warm-up jogging, followed by several sets of alternating twenty-second sprints and ten-second recovery jogs, with the entire HIIT session lasting as little as four minutes and no longer than ten minutes. A ten-minute cool-down jog would complete the workout.

Besides the benefits of speed and fitness, HIIT workouts also help to improve fat-burning ability (more fat and calories are burned in the 24 hours after a HIIT workout than after a longer, steady-state run), heart health (from greater exertion in the anaerobic training zone), and muscle toning ability (steady-state training often results in weight-loss, along with loss of desirable muscle mass).

Enjoyment of Faster Recovery and More Races

Generally speaking, a safe amount of recovery time after running a marathon is approximately four weeks, versus only two or three days after running a 5km race at hard effort. In addition to the longer recovery time, the training period for marathon runners is also significantly longer – for some as long as six months.

Training for and recovering from shorter 5km and 10km races involves far less investment in time, allowing runners the opportunity and flexibility to sign up for several races a year and have fun challenging themselves.

Turning Your Weaknesses Into Strengths

A good friend of mine has had several foot surgeries, resulting in a decline in marathon performance. At one time she was able to run a sub 3:20 marathon but three surgeries later, breaking four hours is a challenge. She still has tremendous strength and speed though, so rather than let her frustration get the better of her, she turned her main focus to 5km and 10km races and has since been sweeping up age group and master’s division awards.

If endurance training has taken a toll on your body either physically or mentally, consider taking a break and reducing the volume of your training without sacrificing your fitness. You can do this by doing what my friend did – by changing your training strategy to one that will enable you to race more frequently but over much shorter distances.

Save Money on Long Run Fuels and Accessories

Since most 5km training runs take less than an hour to complete, there’s no need to stock up on energy fuels or long run accessories. Your natural energy stores are more than adequate for shorter-duration workouts, and besides your running shoes and maybe a GPS watch, there’s really nothing you need to carry.

So get out there and give your run routine an overhaul if endurance training isn’t working for you at this time. The rewards of seeing yourself get faster, fitter, and leaner by doing shorter and higher-intensity workouts and races might be just what you need.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Why You Should Drop the Marathons for 5K Races appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

But what does really work? Here are some of my suggestions for pre-race “rituals” that can be helpful. I would suggest you try them out and see if they do or do not do the trick for you.

Do: Figure Out Your Race Day Nutrition Plan

If perfect practice makes perfect, how can you expect to perform your best on race day if you don’t practice what you would actually do on race day? You may have this “sound and solid” nutrition plan, but if you don’t practice it, then how would you know it is the best for you? Someone else may have suggested you eat this way, but it doesn’t mean it will work for you.

I tell my athletes to begin practicing what they would eat and drink on race day at least four to six months in advance. Being able to comfortably say what you will be having the day of the race can be quite calming, especially when compared to the athlete purchasing race day nutrition at the race expo.

Do: Plan Out Your Outfit and Bike Setup Before the Race

The day of or day before your race is not the time to figure out how you will set up your bike. This causes headaches, stress, and unneeded worry going into your event. You’ve trained hard and put in the long and dedicated work, so why would you leave this part of race day up to chance and figure it out at 11:00pm when you should be in bed?

One to two months out from your race you should be planning and prepping what you will wear and how you will set up your gear. This goes for running events, cycling events, and triathlon events. Each has it’s own way to set up needed equipment. From the correct running shoes, to your tires being pumped up, as well as your personal hydration needed for a triathlon – figure out how you will be setting up your gear and practice this before race day.

Do: Have a Race Day Checklist

Make a checklist. There are hundreds of them out there already if you do a quick search on Google – and there is a reason for this. Checklists work and they force you to not forget anything. I have created a checklist on my website which is pretty in-depth and most of the time the athletes that use it won’t actually need half of the stuff on the list, but it gets them thinking about things they might need. Make a checklist and stick to it. Don’t be like me and forget a helmet on race day.

Do: Mentally Prepare

Athletes all physically prepare and understand the emotional turmoil they will go through, but how many do the psychological preparation needed for success? Olympic athletes are starting to see the benefit and are seeking qualified sports therapists to help them build the mental toughness and mindset needed for victory.

So, if Olympians are doing this, why aren’t you? While I am not an expert in mental preparation, I know that biggest tool is visualizing your race. Visualize your race. Include every small detail, down to how the water will feel when you jump in and how tightly your shoes will be when you put them on. Think about your perfect race and it will prepare you significantly on race day.

Do: Warm Up

Something I absolutely believe you need to do before race day is practice a pre-race warm-up. For my athletes, I let their first race be a smaller or less competitive race where they should can try everything and see what works and what doesn’t. The biggest reason why I say this to my athletes is because I also want them to discover their perfect warm-up so they are not figuring out what they should do on a truly meaningful race day. Practice your warm-up at a smaller race to determine if it will work for your biggest race of the year. Warming up is important and needs to be addressed prior to getting to the start line.

This is part one of the pre-race dos and don’ts. In the next installment, we’ll talk about what you should avoid doing on race day. These are all simple ideas, but can set you up for a fantastic race day regardless if you are swimming, biking, or running, or all three.

What do you do before a race that you think makes a difference? Post your thoughts to the comments below.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post How to Perfect Your Pre-Race Ritual Before Race Day appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Along with Andrew Read and Narisa Wild, Julie Warren will be sharing her training experiences for upcoming endurance challenges. Follow Julie as she prepares for her next adventure – the Great Wall of China Marathon! Julie’s journals will be posted on Saturdays.

Athlete Journal: Julie Warren, Entry 4 – Training for the Great Wall

Wow, it’s been an insane couple of months! After taking some time off of training to allow injuries to heal, not to mention switching careers and moving half way across the country, I’m finally back in the swing of things with new goals in sight. Let’s face it, as an endurance athlete, having a race on the calendar is what keeps me motivated. Lack of motivation leads to boredom and complacency, and that’s how I end up watching an entire season of Breaking Bad in a weekend and not leaving my couch. Obviously this isn’t so good for the fitness and it’s a gateway drug that will lead me right back to my fat jeans.

To avoid those slumps in my training and fitness, I like to keep big goals on the horizon. Smaller goals are necessary too, but one or two big lofty goals that elicit an “I’m exchanging your Christmas presents for a psychiatric evaluation” response from my mom are what I need to keep my focus and drive. I think The Great Wall of China Marathon fits the bill perfectly. Not many people can say they’ve run across one of the 7 Wonders of the World. So this May, my friends and I will be heading to China and running up and down large sections of the wall, while also running though some of the local countryside. I am beyond excited for this experience, and it poses a really interesting training challenge. This is a fairly intense marathon course, mostly due to the extreme uphill and downhill sections on the wall (course altitude chart can be viewed here). Additionally, according to the event website, the well-prepared runners will finish in 5-6 hours. That’s a lot of time on your feet when you’re used to cranking out a marathon in under 4 hours.

To tackle this challenge, I’m planning to loosely follow the CrossFit Endurance training methodology. I say “loosely” because to be honest, even though I have my certification in CrossFit Endurance, I don’t know that following it to the letter is what’s best for me. I really get a lot of enjoyment out of going for a nice long run, and so the thought of cutting those out of my training plan is depressing. On the flip side, I’ve finally conquered plantar fasciitis after 2 years, and I think less time running long distances will help my running longevity. So I’m aiming for a happy medium. Long runs will happen every other weekend. On a few of the weekends when I’m not running long, I plan to go for long hikes. It won’t necessarily get the heart pounding (barring any wildlife encounters), but it will theoretically help me get used to being on my feet for long periods of time.

Where I think CrossFit Endurance hits the nail on the head is the incorporation of strength work (in this case CrossFit) into the endurance athlete’s training regimen. I can’t speak for everyone, but in the few months I’ve been doing CrossFit religiously, I’ve seen notable improvements in my fitness across the board. My plan is to continue with 4-5 CrossFit workouts per week throughout my training. I really enjoy the workouts and they appear to be producing results, so I’m moving forward with them. In addition, I will be doing 3-4 CrossFit Endurance workouts per week. These workouts will serve the specific purpose of getting faster and more efficient as a runner. Like many distance runners, I settle into a comfortable (see also: slow) pace quite easily. To break that habit and get my turnover speed a little higher, I’m relying on these speed workouts.

So what about hill work? Now that I once again live in Colorado Springs, I am in the perfect hill training area. My personal favorite hill challenge is something called the Manitou Incline (pictured above). It’s a trail that gains just over 2000 vertical feet in just .8mi. It’s essentially an old railroad track that runs up the side of a mountain with grades as steep as 60% in some areas. Perfect training for the Great Wall! I’ve been climbing this every week since I’ve moved back and will continue to do so throughout my training, and perhaps throw it into some of my long runs to simulate the actual race course. Hill work, check.

So as you can see, my training is really going to be a controlled experiment on myself. Thanks to injuries over the past few years I’ve realized that in order to continue to enjoy endurance sports for many years to come, my approach to training needs to change. I think this plan will provide a solid start in a positive direction. I’ve also realized that training is really only part of preparing for this race. In future articles, I’ll keep you posted on how I’m tackling running-induced flexibility/range of motion issues, modifying my nutrition intake, and conquering any speed bumps that are sure to come up during my next four months of training. I’m looking forward to sharing my experiences and lessons learned with you once again!

The post Athlete Journal: Julie Warren, Entry 4 – Training For the Great Wall appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Ever wonder what happens to your brain when you exercise? No? Well that might perhaps be because you exercise too much and it’s killing your brain.

Okay, now that I’ve gotten that bit of extreme journalistic sensationalism out of the way, I’ll admit what I know about the effects of exercise on the brain are somewhat limited. Exercise is generally healthy for the brain, this we know. Working out can also strengthen the connections of your nerves, improve your mood, and keep the right kind of nutrients flowing into your brain. In a recent article I wrote about how many sports associated with impact can also be detrimental to your brain, but that’s the only potential problem with exercising and my brain, right? So long as I don’t play football or soccer I should be good.

Well that might not be the whole picture, especially for long distance runners. In a recent study in BMC Medicine, researchers wanted to look at some of the effects of endurance training on the brain. Apparently, it is fairly well documented that exercise induced hyponatremia can cause acute encephalopathy and brain edema. That sounded terrifying to me, but mainly because I needed to look up a few of those words. Basically, low salt in your blood can reduce brain function and cause excessive fluid or swelling in the brain. This can be worsened by taking an NSAID (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug) such as Ibuprofen which many endurance athletes make a (bad) habit of. In some cases the edema has killed marathon runners. But that’s not all. Embolism and even brain lesions are possible, but less common from endurance exercise. And here I was considering hitting a treadmill later on.

The researchers in this recent study looked at participants in an extreme ultramarathon. This race took two months to complete and was nearing 3,000 miles in length. If brain damage was going to be caused by any kind of race, it would be this one. They then compared the results of the participants’ MRIs with other populations who experience brain volume changes and lesions. The average person loses about 0.2% of their gray matter annually as a byproduct of aging. Those with multiple sclerosis experience about 0.5% loss, and Alzheimer’s disease has been associated with up to 2% gray matter loss per year. The runners of this ultramarathon lost 6%. That’s not a typo. Six percent in two months. Not a year, two months. They also lost about the same amount of body weight incidentally.

This change wasn’t due solely to losses in water, as you may expect. While water loss could account for both changes in the athlete’s body weight and brain volume, they can only account for a fraction of what was shown.

Here’s the silver lining in that cloud. Researchers also looked at brain lesions, and found no new brain lesions at all in any of the athletes studied. Also, after a six-month follow up, the brain volume had returned to normal, so the issue was thankfully reversible. Changes in sodium, catabolism (the breakdown of tissue), and disturbances in proteins were all cited as possible causes of the findings among other things, but nothing conclusive was determined.

Going forward, if you are a marathoner yourself it is wise to ensure proper nutrition while you are running marathon distances. Keep yourself hydrated, keep an intake of sodium and proteins, and stay healthy. Although some of the aspects of the article may sound frightening keep in mind the bottom line: all exercise is ultimately good for the brain. Make sure you are exercising responsibly and keep checking back for follow ups to this study.

References:

1. Wolfgang Freund, et. al., “Substantial and reversible brain gray matter reduction but no acute brain lesions in ultramarathon runners: experience from the TransEurope-FootRace Project,” BMC Medicine 2012, 10:170

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Does Endurance Running Destroy Your Brain Matter? appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

My obsession with the poster caused Kellie Smirnoff, one of the athletes from the film, to reach out to me. She was one of the women in the poster; her twin sister Carrie next to her. I wrote Kellie back, “Can I be the triplet? I want to be just like you when I grow up athletically.” Almost single-handedly, Kellie inspired my surge back to athleticism. We’ve been friends ever since.

A lot has happened to Kellie, now 40, since the documentary. Though she still holds a 50-hour-a-week job, she concentrates almost solely on endurance races now. And most incredibly this last December Kellie won the first inaugural EPICMAN race, which is three continuous ironman triathlons. You read correctly. A 7.2 mile swim, 336 mile bike, 78.6 mile run done back to back to back. Sleep is optional, though not recommended if one wants to make the sixty-hour cutoff. The race is an invite-only event and Kellie was the only woman to compete. At barely 5-foot tall, her competitors towered over her. I’m sure the fellas had no idea this little powerhouse was about to smoke them all, and do so with a signature, ever-present smile.

I had a chance to speak to Kellie about her training, her ambassadorship at GoTribal, her best marathon advice and exactly why she does these crazy events.

DR: After the movie and after all your great performances, do you still consider yourself an everyday athlete?

KS: Oh definitely! I work 50-60 hours a week so it’s hard to really be competitive. I try to do just a couple events a year so I can involve my family. [Kellie’s younger sister Heather is her coach. Kellie’s dad and sister Carrie are usual components of her team]. This allows me to see my family throughout the year. Ultraman Canada has been my favorite event so far just because both my sisters and my dad were part of my team. That made the event extra special. We felt this amazing sense of joy crossing the finish line, all holding hands.

DR: I love the photos of your family as your crew. And for not being competitive, you still manage to perform amazingly. You work 50-60 hours a week? When do you fit in your training?

I’m up at four in the morning to train, before work. During the weekend, I put in the longer hours. Working with Heather is great because she puts my schedule together knowing that I won’t do more than two and a half hours of training on a work day, and she stacks my heavy stuff during the weekend. When I’m training for the longer events, I put in about 7-8 hours each day on the weekends.

DR: Your performance in EPICMAN was incredible. How did that event come about?

KS: Well, the directors of the race knew me from Ultraman Canada [A double ironman where Kellie did well, especially in the run.] Twenty-one athletes submitted their race resumes for EPICMAN and only ten were invited.

DR: What did these guys say to you when they saw you on the start line?

KS: They were really great. All the guys I was competing against were all accomplished athletes in the endurance world, too, and we’ve all given up a lot to train so when you go to something like this you already have a lot of mutual respect for each other, whether you’re male or female. But when they see someone my size they think, “Wow she’s a bundle of energy, Let’s see what she can do out there.” I never really knew what their actual thoughts were (laughs), but they were really nice to me and treated me like the other athletes.

DR: Going into the run, you were not in first, but third, right?

KS: The lead guy was a few hours ahead of me and the second guy was an hour and a half ahead of me, but I heard he was doing a lot of walking, so I was pretty confident I could catch him. Running’s my thing! When I realized I was close to the end, I pounded a soda and Heather and I – she was pacing me – kicked it into high gear and ran sub-nine-minute splits for the last seven miles [after 71 miles!].

DR: Wow! That’s amazing. Did your training change much for EPICMAN?

KS: Since the event is so long, I didn’t work on speed work at all. There were just really long, slow training days. My longest weeks I put in 26 hours. That was the hardest part, those long weeks.

DR: Tell me a little about your nutrition, during a race and training.

KS: During a race, I eat every hour. I took in about 300 calories an hour. I try to eat whole foods during a race, as opposed to gels and things like that. I do better with whole foods. I very, very rarely eat meat, and I know what you’re going to ask next, so yes, I can totally train well on an all plant-based diet. The majority of the time I do!

DR: Ha! You know me well. Then let’s talk about GoTribal. I know this is close to your heart.

KS: Yea, I’m an ambassador for GoTribal. This website gives women the opportunity to have other women athletes at their disposal to ask any question about training, racing, and being an athlete. Someone running their first 5k or their first marathon or ironman can tap into this pool of experience. It’s scary and expensive to get into these events and it’s nice to have a network of women for mentorship. It gives a new athlete confidence and inspires them to pay it forward, too. And it’s free! It’s amazing.

DR: For sure, GoTribal is a fantastic resource. What personally drives you to be this amazing athlete even though you consider yourself “everyday”?

KS: I’ve always been the type of person to wonder how far I can push myself. In college, running started as a stress release and a way to stay in shape. But every time I did longer events, women would come up to me and say, you inspired me to do my first 5k or whatever it was, and I realized maybe this is my gift. I love helping women set goals, showing them how to persevere, showing them they can accomplish anything they set their minds to. I use the long events as a catalyst to pay it forward. My ability to give back pushes me.

DR: Every photo I’ve ever seen of you during an event, whether crossing the finish line or the random, mid-course photo, you’re smiling!

KS: Smiling gets me through the tough parts. The joy of the experience is what I love, including everything I have to do to get ready for a race. I love having five months of real dedication for an endurance race. Five months is a long time, so I might as well enjoy it! Then it all accumulates at the start line. I love that.

DR: What’s next for you?

KS: I have a 12-hour race coming up in May. Then the EPICMAN directors are developing another race called EPIC5, which is five ironmen, on five Hawaiian islands over five days and I would love to do that in the next few years. I don’t see myself quitting my job any time soon because I’m also very proud that I’ve done well for myself in corporate America, but eventually I’d like to retire and work under my sister at Jonesing For Fitness as a coach and do more for women in sports.

DR: Lastly, the LA Marathon is coming up March 18th, what advice can you give marathoners?

KS: The number one thing is to go out and have fun. Also, at the start of every race, about thirty seconds before they say “Go!”, I reflect on everything I did to get there and on all the people who helped me get there. When the race gets tough I use that reflection to push me forward. But definitely enjoy the hell out it!

Kellie lives in Jacksonville Beach, FL and just finished a 110K race with Heather to raise money for breast cancer through the 110% Give Harder Foundation. You can follow her on her blog, Finding Your Limits.

The post Racing (to Pay) Forward – An Interview with Kellie Smirnoff, Endurance Athlete appeared first on Breaking Muscle.