by Coach Adolfo Salgueiro | Jun 14, 2022 | Article, Reflection, Science
By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro
As athletes, we have become so accustomed to technology that is has become an intrinsic part of our daily activity. Our GPS watches capture more data about more metrics than we even know what to do with. Even worse, we feel the need to share every single mile, every single plank and every single cross training session with the world, via our social media channels.
Your GPS Watch can measure many parameters, but only you can measure your effort.
As great as it is to have all our metrics a screen-tap away, the need to impress running friends and strangers with our daily achievements could be in detriment of your progress as runners. We know that slow runs are not sexy, they donât get as many likes. We understand that running 11-minutes miles when you are a well-known Sub-4 marathoner is not what your brand is all about. But, when 80% of your training is supposed to be done at an easy pace, you either make peace with it or stop posting your easy runs. But I digress.
The time has come for us runners to understand that pace and effort are two different parameters. The primary measuring boundary is not how fast you are running, but how hard your body is working at any given time. The latter measurement is called the Perceived Rate of Exertion (PRE). It is also known as Rate of Perceived Effort (RPE).
According to the CDC, Perceived Exertion is how hard you feel like your body is working. It is based on the physical sensations a person experiences during physical activity, including increased heart rate, increased respiration or breathing rate, increased sweating, and muscle fatigue.
PRE can fluctuate dramatically depending on the athlete and the circumstances of any particular run. A 50% effort after a restful, full night of sleep, on a flat surface, at sea level during a cool, dry spring day, will have you running faster than if you ran a hilly course, at noon, in the middle of the summer, at 90% humidity, right after a big fight with your spouse.
There are a handful of scales to measure your PRE, and regardless of the one you prefer, they are all subjective and they end up evaluating the same thing, just using a different label. The most prominent are the Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale and the RPE Scale.
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The Borg scale was developed by Swedish researcher Gunnar Borg, as a tool for measuring an individual\’s effort and exertion, breathlessness and fatigue during physical work. Its scale goes from 6 through 20 and it is set to roughly correlate heart rate. But, as revolutionary as it was when first proposed, that 6-20 range results very awkward to visualize. Plus, not everyoneâs heart rate rests at 60 nor it maxes out at 200. Even experienced athletes have a challenging time figuring out where they are from 6-20 at any given moment when 6 is sitting/resting while 20 is maximal exertion. See the accompanying chart.
I personally prefer and recommend to my trained runners, an RPE Scale that goes from 1 to 10. This is nothing but a modification of Borg, but much easier to visualize both in theory and in practice. A Training at 5/10 RPE is at 50% of maximum effort instead of a 12/20 PRE. When you need to do a hill repeat at 7/10 RPE it is easy to figure out where 70% of maximum effort is, rather than a 16/20. See accompanying graphic.
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Because the cardinal sin of running is going too hard on easy days, the key to these scales is to figure out where your easy pace fits in. When your coach asks you to ârun easyâ, understand that you are asked to run at a 4-5/10 effort (40 to 50% of maximum effort), or whatever other parameter your coach has set up for that day. This is the sweet spot. It will feel like walking if you are not used to easy running but, with time, it will serve you well. Guaranteed.
As clichĂŠ as it sounds, always remember the GPS watch is an indicator of your performance, not the director of your training. It is the GPS watch that serves you, not the other way around. Stick to your plan and donât get exerted more than prescribed. It is the key to maintaining yourself fresh, rested, injury-free and ready for hard workouts.
Have faith in the process. In a Runnerâs World article from October 2021, Grete Waitz, former marathon world-record holder, Olympic medalist and nine-time winner of the New York City Marathon, was quoted stating: âHurry slowlyâ. Believe me, she knew what she was talking about.
by Coach Adolfo Salgueiro | May 31, 2022 | Article, List, Reflection, Science
By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro
Since the majority of my readers and trainees are in the Northern Hemisphere and the weather is warming up rapidly despite being three weeks away from the Summer Solstice, the time has come to remind all athletes that running during the hottest times of the year requires purposeful and intentional adjustments. These modifications are not optional. If you donât alter your habits, you will not only be unable to maintain or increase your fitness, but you could get seriously hurt.
Heat related injuries wonât break your bones, but they could have lasting effects on your body, and thus, on the future of running.
So, here are 5 tips to adjust to summer running.
1 – Understand what is happening – There are two basic things that happen when you run in a hot and/or humid environment. They just are, so there is no use in fighting them.
1A – The first one is basic physics: Humid air is denser than dry air, so it takes more effort to displace a heavier mass of air, thus enhancing the effort it takes to run at the same speed.
1B – The second one is basic biology: The human body cools off by sweating and the blood contains about 92% water. The more you sweat without replenishing fluids, the more water gets sucked out of your bloodstream and the ticker blood becomes, making it more difficult to circulate. That alone, spells deep trouble.
If you canât adjust the time of your tun, you may end up on the dreaded treadmill (Julia Larson, Pexels)
2 – Adjust the time of your running – If you live in places like Florida, Texas or similar, your two options are adjusting to run in the heat/humidity or not running at all. If you want to continue running, you must do it at the coolest time possible, when it is gentler to the body. Before sunrise or after sunset are the basic choices. Wake up earlier or wait until later. If you canât then the dreaded treadmill seems like your option, but that comes with its own set of particularities that you will have to deal with.
A good hack is to keep your running shirt and hat in the freezer and put them on right before you hit the road. This will cool off your core and provide you with a few comfortable initial miles before the inevitable sets in.
3 – Slow your race â There is a reason most mainstream races take place in the fall or the spring. Who wants their goal race in the thick of the scorching summer? So, since summer is usually the time to get ready for the upcoming season, it is the perfect time to take care of the feared strength training and to build up your aerobic engine, which is done by running slower than usual. Your fall and spring PRs are built during the summer. Take advantage of it. Donât worry about what the fast people in your running group may say or what your Instagram followers may think.
Hydration during the summer months is key, but overhydration can be a life threatening condition (Ketut Subiyanto, Pexels)
4 â Careful about overhydration: Hydration is key during the summer, but hydration is not only what you consume as you run. Hydration should be a 24/7 habit that will put you as close to fully hydrated when you start your GPS watch. Your body is designed to lose fluids and run without replenishing every single drop of water you lose. Donât fall into the temptation of overindulging on water or sports drinks or you could experience hyponatremia, a condition in which the sodium levels are so diluted that it could cause seizures, coma and even death. For more on hyponatremia, I invite you to read what the Cleveland Clinic website has to say about this serious condition.
5 – Beware of the signs â Running during the summer has challenges that go beyond having to run earlier, later or slower. Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are two of the most serious perils from running in inhospitable climates. It is important to know and recognize the symptoms of each one, so you can adjust properly and avoid a mishap that with luck, it will only keep you out for a few weeks, without it, it could kill you. I wrote an earlier post on heat exhaustion vs. heat stroke. I invite you to revisit it by clicking here.
Running in the heat and humidity is no joke. Please be careful out there. Never lose sight that you need to live to run another day. The line between toughness and doing something stupid is very thin and if you cross it, you can get seriously hurt.
There are no medals or podiums during training, so, be smart out there and remember you are only getting ready for next season.
by Coach Adolfo Salgueiro | May 17, 2022 | Article, List, Reflection
By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro
A good friend of mine shared a post in LinkedIn, last week, where 10 tips for CEO success were listed. The further I read, the more I felt this advice could perfectly translate into our running lives. After all, everybody should the CEO of their own running.
Obstacles are inevitable whether in business or in running. You better be prepared to face them (Photo: Ann-H, Pexels)
It is important to note that my friend specified he could not find the source of these tips, so neither him nor I are claiming ownership of them.
Below, I am duplicating the tips for CEOs as I got them (though translated from Spanish) and then sharing how they apply to taking charge of your running life. Letâs get started.
1 â Focus on the important issues â There are way too many diversions fighting for your attention. Too many goals, too many races, too many social media platforms competing for your likes, etc. If you are to take charge of your running life, you need to pick your direction and your goals, so you know what you are working towards. Setting up PRs in all the distances, every race, every season, is unfeasible. So, choose where youâre going and start focusing on it, now!
2 â Make quick decisions and apply them as soon as possible â Just as in running a company, there are multiple options to choose from, but you must stop procrastinating and pick the one youâll pursue. You canât wait for the stars to align before you define if you are changing your season goal to a marathon when youâve been training for a 5K PR.
3 â Use few rules, as too many rules prevent flexibility, change and innovation â A training plan must be dynamic and everchanging. Donât overthink every single aspect of your training to the point that youâd rather get injured than adjust. Focus on the main parameters, not on the minutiae. Be openminded enough to realize when your plan needs adjustment.
4 â Learn to say No â When you decide to go for a running goal, you are to be 100% focused. So, to continue your progress you may have to skip certain parties, happy hours or comfort foods for a while. Nobody expects you to miss your best friendâs wedding because you have a long run, but you should not get drunk out of your mind at the party if your goal marathon is in two weeks. Focus now, party later!
5 â Keep a goal in mind, even if it is difficult to achieve. Have a long-term vision âRunning is a journey, not a quick weekend road trip. Your goal may take more than a race or a season to achieve. Some runners have worked 10+ years towards their BQ. Accept that there will be bumps along the road, learn from them, and keep running towards that goal.
Your goal may take more than one race and more than one season, but if you keep focused, you may achieve it (Photo: Iconcom, Pexels)
6 â You should be willing to spend many hours at work â Hard work require long hours. It is that simple. There are no shortcuts, simply hard work.
7 â Study, learn, update your knowledge â You wonât be able to improve if you keep doing the same thing over and over. Thereâs new science being published every month, there are books, articles, podcasts and magazines to guide you through your journey. And, if you donât feel like doing this part of the job, hire a coach who will do it for you.
8 â Be courageous when facing adversity because you will find obstacles â It wonât be easy. Face it and accept it. It will require sweat, pain, funds and sacrifice. Sometimes, even injury. Be ready to work through it because these obstacles are coming fast at you, so you better be ready to confront them.
9 â Put passion into your work â You canât run a marathon or train year-round just to please someone else. You must enjoy it and be willing to invest the time and sweat this requires. If you are not passionate about it, do yourself a favor and find another hobby.
10 â Develop communicational skills â Even though ours is not a team sport, running in a group or a team can ad so much to your running life. Sharing your journey with friends, or through social media groups specifically created for this purpose, can boost your confidence, knowledge and experience. Donât go solo in your running life, especially in the 21st Century.
Take charge of your running in the same fashion as you would take charge of your own business. If you visualize it, focus and work hard towards your goals, there is a good chance you will achieve them. Nobody will do it on your behalf.
Any thoughts?
Â
by Coach Adolfo Salgueiro | May 10, 2022 | Article, Book Review, Science
Written by Christie Aschwanden
Reviewed by Coach Adolfo Salgueiro
I heard of Christie Aschwanden a few months ago when she was as a guest on a running podcast that I follow. She was talking about recovery and she seemed very well versed in the subject. Not only that, but her experience in high-performance athletics as well as her background as an award-winning science journalist at The Washington Post and The New York Times, made me feel she was legit. The host also mentioned she had written a book on recovery, so I immediately ordered it.
A good book worth the money and time investment for anyone wanting to know more about athletic recovery.
As weekend warriors we tend to forget that our hard workouts, our weightlifting sessions, or our long runs will do nothing for us unless we allow our bodies to recover and adapt to what we just put them through. There will be no adaptation if we donât rest and fuel ourselves properly. âGood to Go. What the Athlete in All of Us Can Learn from the Strange Science of Recoveryâ will help you gauge the different elements of recovery and put them in the right perspective.
The book is a tour through the many aspects of athletic recovery. It covers the things âeverybody knowsâ through the ones that seem kind of way out there in the âsnake oilâ category. You can discern her journalistic and scientific background in her writing as she explored the many angles of each aspect of the science of recovery. I am not going to say that I read the papers she quotes to make up my mind on any aspect of what she presents, but if you start from the premise she is a solid researcher, as she seems to be, and an honest journalist, you will be impressed with what she presents in her book.
âGood to Goâ is divided into 11 chapters. Each one goes in depth about an aspect of recovery. Nutrition, hydration, rest, compression, ice therapy, sleep, etc. They are individually treated and from several angles. With pros and cons, science research to back everything up, and the authorâs personal experience trying many of the techniques and fads. Because the book was published in 2019, the author had access to the latest science and updates available, so you can learn a lot of new things.
The hydration chapter is fascinating. It goes through the history of the development of hydration as a science and how the sports drinks industry has taken over to popularize many myths that have become gospel in the endurance sports world. It is not that Gatorade doesnât work, but it is not what it is marketed out to be either. You need to adapt your body to use its fluid resources wisely and then assist it with hydration while it works. A certain level of dehydration is perfectly normal. You donât need to replenish every drop you sweat.
The author is an award-winning science journalist at The Washington Post and The New York Times.
As for fueling, I found was very interested in her debunking of the myth that there is a window of opportunity to feed your body after you wrap up your training. Weâve all heard that the magic window is the first hour, or even 30 minutes. She explains the science behind this and concludes that there is no âwindow of opportunityâ but a âbarn door of opportunityâ. Your body is not going to reject the nutrient it needs just because they were offered too late for them to be absorbed. She concludes that unless you are to work out or compete again in a short period of time, there is no necessity to start refueling right away.
When it comes to sleep, there is one paragraph that blew my mind: âThe benefits of sleep cannot be overstated. It is hands-down the most powerful recovery tool known to science. Nothing else comes close to sleepâs enhancing-recovery powers. You could add together every other recovery aid ever discovered, and they wouldnât stack up. Going to sleep is like taking your body to the repair shop. While you doze, your bodyâs recovery processes ramp up to fix the damage you did during the day and get you ready to perform againâ. Do you need to know anything else?
Of course I am synopsizing in one paragraph what I liked the most about entire chapters of about 20+ pages, with scientific quotations, personal experiences and field studies. What I am stating here is by no means the entire book, just a few comments to whet your appetite if you would like to learn more about these subjects.
The author also goes into detail on issues such as nutritional supplements, overtraining syndrome, and the placebo effect, providing you with scientific based information from several angles. These subjects, in conjunction with the other ones, will make you question some pre-conceived concepts you may have, and make you wonder if youâve been approaching your recovery all wrong.
By the way, the bookâs conclusion is that good sleep trumps every other aspect of recovery, so focus on that first. The rest is just icing on the cake.
âGood to Go. What the Athlete in All of Us Can Learn from the Strange Science of Recoveryâ is not only a good book, worth the money and time invested in it. It is also well written, very entertaining, and will leave you with valuable lessons that will make you a better athlete.
by Coach Adolfo Salgueiro | Apr 26, 2022 | Article, Coaching
By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro
In our training, it is not if life will get on the way but when. It has happened to all of us regardless of how committed we may be. Whether to alter an entire training plan or to screw up a single run, if life events havenât gotten in your way yet, keep running and they will. Being confronted with a constant barrage of personal challenges is part of the human experience. Adjusting ourselves to such reality is what keeps us moving forward.
It is important to note that just because life got in the way, quitting your goal-race, or even running altogether, is unnecessary. If we wait for perfect circumstances, we would still be waiting to start our running journey. The key is being smart enough to adapt to the reality you are confronted with so you can make sure you enjoy the benefits of whatever work you were able to stitch together during these grim times.
A well adjusted training plan and a smartly executed race, earned my trainee his coveted unicorn medal.
Letâs keep things in perspective here. If you undergo emergency triple-bypass surgery in the middle of your marathon training or if you split your femur in two, you are not running that race, period.
I started thinking of this concept because I had a trainee in last weekâs Boston Marathon who was forced to make such adjustments. And despite running 14 minutes over his PR, he had a spectacular experience in the premier world marathon. His journey was worth a few tears at the finish line. A result to be proud of.
This runner worked on his BQ for a couple of years and finally got it last year. As the training was about to start, he found himself moving to another state to start a new business. Settling in a new area, changing schools for the kids, finding a home, adjusting his family to a new routine and working longer hours became the priorities. As they should have. No one expected him not to provide for his family because he had to train for Boston. Early in the training cycle it became evident that the marathon training was becoming a challenge. What to do?
Well, runner and coach had lengthy phone conversations in which matters were put into the right perspective. The runner realized that the BQ was taken care of, and he was already in the Boston Marathon. So, instead of feeling annoyed because he wouldnât be able to run at his top capacity, we shifted the focus into finishing the race and enjoying the experience. Completing as many sessions as possible, focusing on distance instead of speed, and working towards a race to remember.
And that is exactly what happened. A well-executed race plan allowed him to finish strong, happy, smiling, with a unicorn medal around his neck and, most importantly, uninjured.
If you are about to start todayâs run and you feel like the person in this image by Engin Ekyurt, from Pexels, you better adjust your expectations, or skip it altogether.
But life not only gets in the way when training for a Marathon Major. Sometimes it is the petty things that can screw up training on any given day. And we better adjust, too.
Last week, one of my trainees had a 6-mile run scheduled but got to the start with indigestion. He had eaten a hotdog about 5 hours earlier and it was giving him stomach trouble. Like the trooper he is, he went for it but at Mile 3, everything unraveled. He felt tired, dizzy and started walking.
As I always preach, we need to take the inevitable bad days as an opportunity. If we donât learn from them, weâll never accumulate the experience needed to confront a similar challenge the next time it is facing us. And it is a matter of when, not if.
On a bad day, you must adapt to the reality of what your body has available at that given moment. Regardless of the reason this is happening. You ate bad food, you didnât eat at all, you just had a rift with your spouse, stressful day at work, you just got bad news, or fill in the blank. It doesnât matter why. Accept that you just donât have it today. If you decide to take the macho route and decide to push through when your body is not ready, you are in for trouble.
You are better off downgrading those 6 miles to 3, intervals to an easy trot, a long run to a mid-distance effort or a tempo to a comfortable walk; than forcing yourself and ending up exerting yourself beyond your limit, thus requiring extra days of recovery. Or even worse, getting injured. That will set you further behind than cutting short one day, or even skipping it.
Remember: It is all about training smarter, not necessarily training harder. Harder is important, but smarter will keep you running.
Live to run another day.
by Coach Adolfo Salgueiro | Apr 5, 2022 | Article, Reflection
By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro
As adults with a full life, alcohol is a ubiquitous part of most of our lives. Some of us enjoy the occasional drink in a social setting, some have one every day, some canât stop consuming it, and some finally overcame alcoholism.
As far as I have read, thereâs no proof that the occasional post-run beer will wreck your recovery, nor that it will help it either. Yet, alcohol has undeniable social benefits associated with consuming responsibly it with your buddies, like after a run. I am not a scientist or a wine drinker, but Iâve read about the benefits of a glass of wine when it comes to HDL cholesterol and antioxidants. Iâve also read how more is not necessarily better. You should not be having 3 or 4 glasses because it the positive effects donât necessarily compound.
A post-run beer has many social benefits and wonât ruin your recovery. The operating word here is âAâ, meaning âoneâ.
I am not here to proselytize on alcohol consumption, which is a personal choice. But as athletes wanting to improve on our fitness and/or racing times, we need to be aware what are the negative effects that too much alcohol can have on our recovery, which is half of our training (Work + Recovery = Training).
For starters, alcohol is a diuretic. A diuretic is a substance that promotes the increased production of urine. This means that it produces dehydration, a big problem for runners. The consequences of moderate dehydration are, among others, cramps and fatigue. Severe dehydration, which can occur after combining drinking and running, include urinary and kidney complications, low blood volume, heat-related injuries and even seizures. As if that werenât enough, I am sure that running with a hungover must suck all the joy we could get of the sport.
As I was researching this topic, I googled âalcohol and runningâ and, among the 812 million results I got, the very first one was this paragraph, which resumes most of what I wanted to say: Alcohol is a powerful diuretic, and dehydration is never a runner\’s friend. The risk for muscle cramps, muscle pulls, muscle strains and general fatigue increases when dehydrated, so drinking extra water after a night of hitting the bars is more than necessary to regulate your body for your next run.â
As we have mentioned in this blog, many times before, the number one recovery tool in your arsenal is sleep, which is the time your body uses to repair itself from the pounding of your training and the stress of your day. Alcohol consumption affects and impairs your sleep. Donât let anyone fool you by telling you that drinking makes them sleepy like a baby, so it doesnât affect them. Even if you are asleep, drinking in excess will affect your REM sleep, which restores your brain and is good for your memory and learning. Sounds kind of important to me.
Wine has plenty of documented benefits, but they do not compound the more your drink.
Consuming alcohol in excess, also affects your fitness, which is the capacity of your body to recover so you can do it again. If your liver is too busy processing the excess alcohol you consumed, it would not be able to assist repairing of your body, which is needed after every training session, regardless of how easy it was.
The definition of âexcessâ is personal and individual. What is suitable for a fit, 200-pound male, may not be suitable for a 115-pound female recovering from Covid. Each runner must understand what is good for their lifestyle and make sure they can live with their decisions.
In a podcast I recently listened, Coach Jonathan Marcus made a comparison between two separate issues. One of those fits perfectly in what the last paragraph was explaining: âYou can down a whole bottle of wine in 45 minutes. You can do it. You can, physically, get the liquid into your stomach. But what is going to happen afterwards is not going to be pretty. Or, you can have half a glass of wine in an-hour period, sipping on it though dinner, multiple nights in a row and enjoy it as part of a meal. Your body can extract the nutrients, flavors, etc. from that, versus being overly consumed by the poison of the alcohol that then forces a harsh and severe, nasty metabolic responseâ.
This post is not for pointing fingers, preaching on lifestyle or proselytizing on the virtuosity of abstention. Just make sure you understand what the consequences of mixing running with alcohol are for both your body and your training, so you can make the right choices when the time comes.
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