Runnerās World Magazine, the reference media outlet for the running community for over 50 years, ran an article on April 27, titled āHow to Pace a 5K So You Can Hit Your PRā. It was written by Stephen Sheehan. The expert quoted throughout the narrative was Coach Adolfo Salgueiro, head coach at Foultips.Run.
āI have been a Runnerās World reader since the early 1980s,ā Stated Coach Salgueiro. āBeing able to contribute to one of their articles is a dream come true. The fact they wanted my expertise on the subject is a statement to the value of the decades of experience and preparation Iāve put into this passion of mine.ā
This is the second time Coach Adolfo has been in Runnerās World. A summary on his running career ran back in March 2021.
To read the full Runnerās World article you may click here.
Be aware that Runnerās World has a limit on the number of free articles non-members can read a month. If you have exceeded such a number, you may have to come back next month to read it. Or contact me and I will send you a PDF version.
Runnerās World Magazine, the reference media outlet for the running community for over 50 years, ran an article on April 27, titled āHow to Pace a 5K So You Can Hit Your PRā. It was written by Stephen Sheehan. The expert quoted throughout the narrative was Coach Adolfo Salgueiro, head coach at Foultips.Run.
Ā āI have been a Runnerās World reader since the early 1980s,ā Stated Coach Salgueiro. āBeing able to contribute to one of their articles is a dream come true. The fact they wanted my expertise on the subject is a statement to the value of the decades of experience and preparation Iāve put into this passion of mine.ā
Ā This is the second time Coach Adolfo has been in Runnerās World. A summary on his running career ran back in March 2021.
To read the full Runnerās World article you may click here.
Ā Be aware that Runnerās World has a limit on the number of free articles non-members can read a month. If you have exceeded such a number, you may have to come back next month to read it. Or contact me and I will send you a PDF version.
Most likely youāve heard the term before. Proprioception has become a sports buzz word whose use has increased exponentially within the last 10 years. If you practice yoga or martial arts, you may have noticed.
Somehow, I associate it with Vo2Max. We hear it, talk about it but most donāt know exactly what it is or what it is good for. Proprioception is important for runners, and I will dig into why. But first, letās define it.
Our body has hundreds of thousands of sensors that tell the brain where we are with respect with our environment (Photo: Pexels)
According to JL Taylorā in the 2009 Encyclopedia of Neuroscience: āProprioception, or kinesthesia, is the sense that lets us perceive the location, movement, and action of parts of the body. It encompasses a complex of sensations, including perception of joint position and movement, muscle force, and effort. These sensations arise from signals of sensory receptors in the muscle, skin, and joints, and from central signals related to motor output. Proprioception enables us to judge limb movements and positions, force, heaviness, stiffness, and viscosity. It combines with other senses to locate external objects relative to the body and contributes to body image. Proprioception is closely tied to the control of movement.ā
Yes, a dense definition, but worth reading a couple of times if necessary so you understand it. When we run, we are jumping from one leg to the other, so we must be in balance and aware of the position of our body in relation to its surroundings. Here is where improving it comes into play.
Every time your foot strikes the ground, hundreds of thousands of sensors throughout the body send instantaneous feedback to the brain, which immediately responds with adjustments. This is why when we step on something, instinctively your foot goes around it to avoid unpleasantries. The right response/reaction optimizes the control of your motor skills and allows you to work several sections of your body at once, finding the most effective and energy saving paths for motion.
Proprioception is fundamental for runners because it allows us to:
improve balance.
upgrade control and awareness of our body.
enhance responsiveness.
improve leg injury recovery.
boost stability on uneven surfaces or when avoiding obstacles.
regain balance quickly to avoid falls.
create stability in our joints.
enhances postural and joint stability.
coordinates tendons and ligaments working in unison with the muscles to thoroughly absorb the impact of each step.
expand our running efficiency to boost speed and endurance.
Walking barefoot is one of the best ways to improve your proprioception (Photo Pexels)
All this sounds great, sure, but how do we get better at proprioception, so we become better runners? Here are a handful of tips:
walk barefoot.
balance exercises with closed eyes.
cross training such as yoga or tai chi.
exercises over unstable surfaces.
add movement and weight to floor exercises.
one-leg exercises to challenge your balance.
sitting and stability exercises on a Swiss ball.
strength and plyometric exercises.
Since running is an exercise where we are in contact with the ground one leg at a time, balance is one of the most important aspects of the sport. One that gets lost amid the chit-chat about speed, distance and PRs. Yet, none of the previous conversations can occur if we donāt master our balance, which is done through proprioception. So, letās work on it continuously so we may become better runners avoid injuries, especially those caused by falls that could have been prevented with proper balance.
As a runner who seldom, if ever, runs with music, I usually get deep in my thoughts. This doesnāt necessarily mean that my thoughts are too deep, but they do accompany me through my miles. When you come back from a 2+ hour run alone, you canāt believe how many things crossed your mind. Some thoughts were ephemeral, some were transcendental, some dark and some, just bizarre.
I was pondering this last week and decided to recall some of the thoughts that usually cross my mind when I run alone. Maybe some readers can relate, some may think I am crazy and some may want to add their 2-cents to the list. So, here I go:
1.Ā Ā Ā What a wonderful day for a run. Beautiful weather to get lost in my thoughts and enjoy the sport I love.
2.Ā Ā Ā This sucks! Why am I running today? The weather is awful, I am tired and I donāt want to be here. But I know that when I get back home I will feel better about it, so letās keep moving.
3.Ā Ā Ā It broke! Iāve been running for at least 45 minutes and this stupid Garmin says itās only been nine.
Shoes. Running shoes is the answer to most of our running thoughts (Photo: Pexels)
4.Ā Ā Ā I canāt believe my run is over! It was so quick, and I felt so good. I could have gone longer.
5.Ā Ā Ā Oh no! Iām back to my car/home and my watch says 8.87. Iām not done yet.
6.Ā Ā Ā Who had the brilliant idea of registering for a fall marathon so we could train in the Florida summer?
7.Ā Ā Ā This pace is too fast to qualify as easy. I always point this out to my trainees. Screw it! I feel great!
8.Ā Ā Ā I knew I had to go to the bathroom before I left. Let me find a bush.
9.Ā Ā Ā Almost done! It is the equivalent of once around the park plus twice my neighborhoodās short loop.
10. That was an amazing run. Some people need drugs to feel like this.
11. What a spectacular sunrise! This is why I wake up at 5AM on a Saturday and run long.
12. I am 10 miles in and have 10 to go. Why couldnāt I take a sport for normal people, like billiards or ping pong.
13. No! Not another gel. I think Iāll puke.
14. I get it now! Thatās how trigonometry works. Now the world makes sense.
15. Ok, I made it to the bench where I was to take a walk break, but I will run until the next light pole and reassess.
16. I am beat up and ready for a walk. But too many people know me here. It will be embarrassing.
Running math in your head while you run, may not bring exact results (Photo: George Becker, Pexels)
17. Letās see. It will be ham and mushrooms on that pizza, washed down with a beer. No, with two beersā¦ But Iāll get donuts first.
18. Come on!! Ditch those negative thoughts. I run because I like it, not because I have to.
19. Iāve run nine miles so far. So, I donāt need to do 13. Nine is a ton of miles. But 13 is better. How about we compromise at 11? Stop negotiating with yourself and run those 13!
20. This is the 3rd time I have crossed paths with this runner. I wonder what marathon sheās training for.
21. I will kill it next season. I will set up PR in every distance. I am going to train so hard that I will never feel this crappy again.
22. It will be so impressive when I cross the finish line in that race. I will smile and raise my arms just like this.
23. If I keep this pace for 26.2 miles, I will set a PR by 22 minutes. WOW!! Noā¦ wait a minute. Thatās wrong. Maybe I shouldnāt be running math in my head at mile 16.
24. I love these shoes. Maybe I should buy myself another pair.
25. I hate these shoes. Maybe I should buy myself another pair.
26. These shoes are just OK. Maybe I should buy myself another pair.
27. Do I really need another pair of running shoes? Of course, I do!
In the last post I dissected the phases of the racing off-season. Through these you can properly prepare for next season and be ready in time to achieve your goals. If you havenāt read the post yet, you can do so by clicking here.
The nature of the post didnāt allow me to go in depth, so this week I want to dig deeper into the first phase: Rest and Recovery. I firmly believe this phase is the key for whatever goals you may set forth the next racing season. It is what will allow you to reset and restart working towards them. It is what will make them achievable.
A great time to hit the gym and start working on your strength training. Not having enough time is no longer an excuse (Photo: Andrea Piacquardio, Pexels)
I have identified six areas in which to focus during your Rest and Recovery phase. These will allow you to decompress, rest, recover, prevent burnout and make you tougher against injuries. It is not a complete list, just a handful of suggestions on which you may want to focus for a month or two (or three) so you can reset all the systems.
1 ā Focus on life balance: We all love running. We chose this sport. Thereās no PT teacher timing us on the mile. We run because we want to. Even if you are doing it on doctorās orders, you have other exercise options. For most of us, running is an essential part of our lives. Our therapy, our steam relief valve, our social time outside home/work. Yet, unless we are professionals or we are planning to qualify for the Olympics Trials, it is not what brings home the bacon. Our families, jobs, other hobbies and home responsibilities require our attention and presence. An elite Kenyan runner may not be able to take two weeks off if a child gets sick, because winning his marathon is not just payday but āpay-yearā. I am sure 99.9% of my readership are not in the same boat. So, keep life balanced.
2 ā Work on your running form: There is not one way of doing it right. Your form is unique to you and you alone. Changing form is not needed unless itās getting you injured but it doesnāt mean thereās no room for improvement. There is always an adjustment or two that may get you more efficient, less injury-prone, improve your breathing, avoid aches and pains or make your joints stronger. Figure out the tweaks you need and take advantage of this time to work on them. Four weeks prior to your goal marathon is not the time to work on your overstriding.
I canāt stress enough how important it is to catch up on your sleep as a recovery tool (Photo: Ketuf Subiyanto, Pexels)
3 ā Catch up on your sleep: If you are one of my recurrent readers, you read this advice plenty of times. But if you can grasp the concept that humans have been on this earth for 200-300 thousand years and have not yet evolved to stop sleeping, then you will understand that sleep is a non-negotiable activity to keep yourself healthy. If that wasnāt enough, there is no number of massages, compression socks, percussion guns or cold plunges that match sleep as recovery tool. And I donāt mean one individually. I mean all combined. This is science. It is not open to debate.
4 ā Partake in other physical activities: Since you may (and should) be running less than during training season, you could take a yoga class, go for a swim, a bike ride, a hike, or whatever else will complement your physical activity requirements. Running is a highly repetitive, high-impact activity. A 10K alone will have each leg hitting the surface about 5000 times at 2.5-4 times your weight load. Getting your movement benefits from other sources will not only help you heal and get stronger but will facilitate your brain to vary from the same moving patterns, which also provides neurological benefits.
5 ā Run at a low heart rate: Running slow so you can run fast is one of the toughest concepts for a runner to comprehend. Hopefully, now that you donāt need to run fast for some months, you may take time to apply this concept and verify its benefits. When you run at a slow heart rate, and thus pace, your body will learn to burn more fat as fuel, will increase your aerobic capacity, increase your mitochondrial density and your fuel consumption economy. None of this is possible when running fast, because your body requires so much energy, and it needs it right now, that all these benefits are negated. Sure, you can run faster, but thereās a cost to that. Your body will be invoicing you for it later, during race training.
6 ā Of course, strength training: Yes, I know. It is boring, challenging and takes time. I donāt like it either, it is one of the weakest points of my training. But I do it anyway. You donāt need to spend 3 hours in the gym 5 times a week. Start easily and increase from there. Thirty minutes sessions, 3 times a week during the off-season will make you stronger, more resistant to injury, increase your power and your speed. As you increase your running mileage, once you are strong, you can decrease it to two times a week. I canāt stress enough the importance and the benefits of a strengths training program. The the time to implement it is now.
Any thoughts? Please let me know in the comment box, below.
![\"\"](\"https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c2e49f525bf02ce9657df92/4cce3966-dcaa-475d-b4aa-ca0ec53f7b0d/RW+-+5K+article+a.jpeg\")
