Science Archives - Page 3 of 7

American Runners are Slower than Ever

by Adolfo Salgueiro | Nov 15, 2022 | Reflection, Science

By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

A couple of weeks ago I came across a statistical mega study that confirmed what the title of this blog post states. Using over 34.6 million results from over 28 thousand races, researchers Jakob Andersen and Vania Andreeva Nikolova, sliced and analyzed the data in multiple ways to reach their conclusion.

The statistical analysis concludes slowing down in males and females in all distances (Photo: Pexels)

As I glanced through the research, I realized I started reading with preconceived notions on what they would find. More runners, unhealthier athletes, aging, gender gaps. The usual. Back in my youth, when I ran marathons in the 3:30s in the mid-1980s, I finished around the 50 percentile of finishers. A stat I just read from the Chicago Marathon stated that 18% of runners finished sub-3:30 this year. An obvious shift. I must say all my biases were addressed in the study and the conclusion still holds.

If after reading my take on this study you want to delve into the minutiae and the data, you can find the research paper in its entirety by clicking here.

This thorough study includes racing in the four most popular distances (5K, 10K, half and marathon), and races with more than 2000 finishers between 1996 and 2016. The reasons why this data was selected, the terminology and methodology of its handling, is detailed in the study, if you are interested. One more thing, researchers state this study took place because the deteriorating health of the American populations is an important topic to be studied and they wanted to find if this reality is reflected in the finishing times of races.

The study could have been a great episode of Discovery Channel’s Mythbusters TV show, as it takes the time to disprove many of the preconceived notions we may have about these numbers. These are:

1 – The proportion of women participants is increasing, and women are slower in general: Men speed is decreasing at a faster rate than the women increment in participation. If this trend continues, by 2045 both sexes will be at an equal average pace.

2 – People with inappropriate fitness level just walk the races: The study found the proportion of participants finishing races on every distance, at a slower than the average brisk walking pace is rather consistent throughout the years, so there is no statistical difference.

3 – Just the slow are getting slower: An easy idea to assume but the study measured the average final time for the 100th, 1000th, 2000th and 5000th finisher on each race throughout the years of the study, on both sexes, and concluded the fastest females have slowed down 9.87% while males have done so at a 9.94% clip.

4 – The average age of the participants is increasing and older equals slower: The average participant age has increased from 37 to 41, so the study analyzed not just the finishing times for these 4-year gap, but for every 4-year gap on all ages as well as every single age and concluded this could not be the sole reason of the slow down.

The study found a direct correlation between the slowing down and Americans getting heavier and unhealthier (Photo Andres Ayrton, Pexels)

So, if these are myths, what are is slowing down American runners?

The study considered the parameters of adult obesity, teenage obesity, diabetes and hypertension, and average annual medical expenditure. It found an across-the-board direct correlation with the slowdown. The authors make sure to emphasize that these are just correlations and by no means they can infer the condition of each runner, yet the numbers are very clear on what is happening as the population is getting heavier and unhealthier.

The study concludes the following:

The average American runner has never been slower (across gender and distance).
This effect is not due to the increase in female participants or people who run slowly or walk the race.
Signs of poor health are highly correlated to the decrease in speed, though they cannot with certainty say that these are the causes for the slowdown. And if they have causal nature that they show the full picture.

The study was led by Jens Jakob Andersen and assisted by Vania Andreeva Nikolova. Andersen is a former competitive runner and statistician from Copenhagen Business School. Nikolova holds a Ph.D. in Mathematical Analysis.

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On Heel Striking

by Adolfo Salgueiro | Oct 18, 2022 | Article, Science

By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

While we would love to run with the grace of an Eliud Kipchoge, or the flawless form of a Shalane Flanagan, or the speed of a Priscah Jeptoo despite her unorthodox mechanics, our individual body structure allows us just a limited and highly individualized path of movement. While there are wrong ways to run, the consensus is that there’s not a uniform right form that everyone should adopt. Our running form is as individual as ourselves.

This includes the way your foot strikes the ground. Just because Kipchoge sets world records running on his forefoot, it doesn’t mean we all should imitate him. It is not like the way his foot strikes the ground is what makes him run a marathon in 2:01:09. That said, you should always work on perfecting your individual running mechanics. The one that is unique to you and your structure. It always starts with you.

This is Kenenisa Bekele on his way to winning the 2019 Berlin Marathon in the 2nd best time ever at the time. Take a look at his left foot.

I am a heel striker. In my decades of running, I’ve tried to “correct that deficiency” multiple times. But the more I try, the weirder I run, the more other body parts suffer and the less fun I have. My eureka moment came when I realized that heel striking has never injured me. I do wear out the heel of my running shoes in 250 miles rather than their usual 300-350 lifespan, but that is an economic consideration, not an orthopedic one.

In a post published this January in the Up and Running Physical Therapy blog, Dr. AJ Cohen, founder of the Up and Running Physical Therapy Clinic in Fort Collins, Colorado, stated that “the vast majority of recreational runners, close to 90% are heel-strikers and around 75% of elite runners. Non-heel strikers are kind of like left-handed people… they do it because it works for them and it’s what their body has determined it does the best with… but it’s not “better” or “more efficient” for the rest of humanity.”

If you haven’t made peace with your heel striking yet, hopefully this statement will put you at ease.

In his book “Your Best Stride” (highly recommended), author Jonathan Beverly emphasizes that “rather than the place on the foot where you land, it seems what is happening on your leg motion and body mass at the moment you touch down is more important.”

The idea is to create a stride that touches lightly without breaking. One that flows smoothly. Landing with your foot far in front of your body, usually with your heel, is what causes trouble. Your foot hits the ground with such force and in such an angle that your entire body breaks, increasing the force up your kinetic chain and multiplying the normal pounding that is intrinsic with the sport. This is where heel striking becomes a problem.

Jay Dicharry, a physical therapist, teacher, biomechanics researcher and author based in Bend, Oregon, says that “it is not rearfoot, or midfoot or forefoot that matters. It is where the foot contacts in relation to the body’s center of mass.” The closer you strike under your center of mass, the smoother your stride will be. It is that simple.

Based on these experts’ testimonies you can see the problem is not the heel but where it hits the ground in relation to your body. If you are overstriding, and here is where injuries may happen, the first thing to do is fix that particular issue, not the heel striking per se. Start by shortening your stride so you can increase your turnover (cadence).

This is the author, heel striking on his way to finishing the 2022 Houston Marathon

“Research shows that when runners increase their turnover, they reduce the impact in the knees and hips and often improve their stride mechanics,” said Dr. Brian Heiderscheit, PhD, Physical Therapist, Professor in the Departments of Orthopedics & Rehabilitation and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Increasing the turnover will help your chances of your foot landing underneath your pelvis, reducing overstriding tendencies, and increase your lower extremity stiffness, with less bounce and breaking in your step.”

This blog post is meant to reduce the stigma of heel striking. For runners not to feel they’re doing something wrong, or that they must change their form to become more efficient, more economic or less prone to injury. Of course, if you are overstriding and landing with your heel, you should be working on it right now. Cut your stride, increase your cadence (turnover) and work on landing as close as possible to under your pelvis. Other than that, have fun running and go for that PR. You have better things to worry about than suffering because you hold the heel striker label.

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9 Marathon Training Mistakes (Repost)

by Adolfo Salgueiro | Sep 27, 2022 | Article, Coaching, List, Science

As the fall and winter marathon season starts heating up, and as the preparation for the spring marathons approaches, I feel appropriate to repost an article I wrote last year, that it is still relevant at this time of the running season. Enjoy!

By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

Tapering time approaches for those about to run the Abbott World Marathon Majors this year. Training time approaches for those eyeing their marathon towards the end of 2021 or start of 2022. So, seems like a good time to review some basic mistakes that runners, from beginners to experts, should avoid. This way they can reap the most benefits out of their efforts.

Training for a marathon is a process that involves multiple moving parts that need to work in sync. It needs to reach a point where the body can be stressed enough to compensate its deficiencies and adjust to the workload-thus improving- but not to a point where it becomes too much, and it can’t recover to do it again. This means overtraining and, most likely, an injury if intend to tough it out and train through it.

No need to overstress yourself if you avoid these basic mistakes in your training (Photo by Pexels.com)

The following are nine of the most common mistakes runners incur into during a marathon training cycle:

1 Running the long runs too fast: There is a time to go fast and there is a time to go slow. The long run has that name because it is designed for you to go long. It is not called the “fast run” for a reason. They are intended to build up your aerobic system, which, for a marathon, it is used 99% of the time, even if you are the world-record holder.

2 Focusing too much on the long run: The long run is an important part of your training, sure, but it is just one element, not the bulk of it. The success in your race will depend on the accumulated effect of all the elements in your training, not just one.

3 Doing the same workouts all the time: Because about 80% of the training needs to be done at a slower speed, there is a small number of hard sessions available, usually no more than two per week, so distance, speed, intensity, and other parameters, need to be worked so the body can benefit and adapt.

4 Poor fueling and hydration plans: if you don’t test strategies during training, you won’t know what works for you. The time to find that out is during training, long runs, especially. The time to realize a certain gel upsets your stomach, is not during the race. Same applies to hydration. What to drink and when needs to be part of race plan, shouldn’t be improvised on race day.

5 Skipping rest days: Not running on a specific day is part of your training. These days should be written into your schedule and followed to the tee. No amount of ice baths, compression socks or protein shakes will do you any good if you don’t give your body a break to recover so it can run again.

Rest is as part of your training as your work. Don’t skip it!

6 Not scheduling cutback weeks: During training you build up endurance, aerobic capacity, Vo2Max, and multiple additional parameters. But you can’t build up forever. Your body has a limit and needs time to actively rest so it can adapt to the benefits provided by your workouts. Programming a week to cut back on your training provides your body with time to adjust and recover, is key.

7 Cutting sleep: Remember you don’t improve when you work out, you improve while you sleep. The long run the tempo, the weightlifting, or the speed session damage your body. It is when you sleep that your body gets repaired. If you skip on sleep, you won’t realize all the benefits of the training, but you will keep the muscle damage.

8 Screwing up the tapering: Physiological adaptations after exercise, take between two and three weeks to adapt. So, there is no benefit on one last long run in the last couple of weeks. You need to actively rest and recover your body so it will be in its best shape for race day. During tapering there is nothing to gain, yet a lot to lose.

9 Following someone else’s training plan: There is nothing wrong with talking to your buddies about what they are doing, but they may not have the same goals as you and you do not have the same physiology as them. Set up YOUR PLAN, adjust as needed, and stick to it. Trust your coach. Trust your plan. Trust yourself.

Of course, there are more than nine mistakes you can incur during a marathon training cycle. These are just some of the most common and they mostly apply to any distance. As you finish your training for your Abbott Marathon Major or get ready for your upcoming goal race, make sure you are on the lookout for the aforementioned mistakes, so you won’t screw up your hard work.

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Basics of Fueling Strategy

by Adolfo Salgueiro | Sep 6, 2022 | Article, Science

By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

When I started running marathons back in the early 1980s, the only fueling strategy available to most weekend warriors was to drink enough water so you wouldn’t dehydrate. Yes, I know. This is not a fueling strategy. But consuming calories during a race was not a thing back then. The most calories I consumed during a marathon were when a friend handed me oranges al mile 15 or my girlfriend waited with a sugary lemonade around Mile 21. No wonder I hit the wall every time.

Carbohydrates with a bit of protein is still the pre race day preferred meal (Photo: Engyn Akyurt, Pexels)

But both science and the running consumer goods industry have developed exponentially in the last 4 decades. Not only do we know that the average body doesn’t have enough resources (beyond fat if you have trained to properly tap into it) to last you 26.2 miles, but we also have dozens of products to assist us on which calories should be consumed and when.

Although fueling consists of both Hydration and calorie intake, this post is only addressing the latter. Hydration was referred to in a previous post, “Hydration Basics for Runners”, which you can read by clicking here.

Despite the average body having enough fat stored to run over 1000 miles, and the first known 100-miler without fueling was recorded just a few months ago, most runners are not trained to run on fat as their prime fuel source. So, we depend on glycogen, of which we have a finite amount, around 2000 calories, which is needed to fuel everything, not just your running muscles, so it is insufficient to last a marathon.

When it comes to fueling, it is not just about the gels you will consume in your race. There are four distinctive phases you need to address. From the list below, the “During Race” segment is not intended for 5K or 10k efforts, as an average well-nourished and well hydrated body should have plenty of resources for those distances. While most intermediate and advanced runners should be able to complete a half marathon with no additional fuel, it isn’t required, either. But when you go for a marathon or an ultra, you must fuel the body, so your tank won’t deplete, and you won’t hit the wall. And yes, it is like hitting aa actual wall.

DAY BEFORE RACE – By this time you should know what works and what doesn’t work for you. As healthy as a big bowl of salad may be, consuming all that fiber right before a race may not be a clever idea. Complex carbs and protein are usually what work best. Fatty foods should be avoided, same as simple carbs. The carbs in a bag of Doritos will be burned way before you need them at the race and are crap. It is obvious that your pre-race fueling strategy is not just a dinner thing, but a full day affair if not a full week one. Also, please, you need to dine at a time that will allow enough time to digest it. Last thing you want is compromising your digestion within hours of the starting gun.

PRE-RACE – Your body consumes glycogen and other resources just by being alive. The brain, the liver, the beating heart, etc. need energy to perform their duties. So, to get to the starting line with your tank topped off you need to replenish whatever was consumed during the night, if you have a morning race, or during the day for an afternoon affair. You can certainly run short races in a fasting state, but when it comes to a half and beyond, why would you start with your tank at 70-75% when you can do so at 98 or 99%? Carbohydrates and a touch of protein is the way to go. And, as usual, this must be perfected during training. Don’t wait until race morning to try it out.

Chocolate milk is the post-race refueling product by excellence. This is my favorite brand.

DURING RACE – Fueling strategy is as personal as your choice in running shoes. It is what works for you, not for your friend. Your fueling strategy on race day is the execution of the plan you’ve already perfected during training. So, apply it! Mile 20 is not the time to figure out a caffeinated gel will send you to the port-a-potty, or that you can’t stomach a 5th serving. Fueling also includes replenishing electrolytes either though a product you already know, trust and you carry yourself, or through whatever your race is serving. Personally, I don’t advise relying on the availability of Gatorade in a race. After you’ve invested so much time, money, emotion and effort on your race, better carry what you’ll need and know works for you.

AFTER RACE – Once your race is over, it is time to splurge, sure, but don’t rehydrate with alcohol and junk food. That comes later. Both carbs and protein need to be consumed as soon as possible to replenish and start the muscle repair process right away. Chocolate milk is the recovery drink for excellence. This is the day to go crazy. Have all the extra beer you want, that fatty burger you passed on during training or go for the entire pizza instead of just a couple of slices. But please do so after you’ve taken care of your initial post-race care recovery.

Now, go for that half or marathon PR!

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The Right Mileage for Me

by Adolfo Salgueiro | Aug 2, 2022 | Coaching, Science

By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

As a running coach, athlets often ask me about weekly mileage. How many miles should I run if I want to complete a marathon? Can I only increase my mileage by up to 10% a week? Why can so-and-so run XX miles a week and I am running only half of that? Am I losing fitness if I lower my mileage for recovery purposes for a week or two? And many, many more.

The right mileage is as individual as each runner. There is not one number that applies to everybody (Photo: Pexels)

Well, the answer to all these questions is the same. It happens to be the same answer to most running questions: It depends.

They key for any runner looking to improve on their times, distance, pace or fitness is to understand that the main goal should be based on performance, not on a pre-set number of miles. It is a matter of achieving your objectives while remaining healthy and injury-free. I recently read that you should run in between “as much as you can get away with and as little as you can get away with”. Genius!

The appropriate mileage for a runner is as individual as each athlete. It depends on a series of variables which need to be dialed appropriately so progress won’t be hindered, and injuries may stay away from the equation. Such variables are:

Goals: Before you figure out what is the right mileage for you, set up your goal. If you want to run your first or your best 5K, you will not run the same mileage as if you were training for a marathon. At the same time, a marathoner may need to run 100+ miles per week if he wants to run 2:20, while that number is a prelude to severe injury for a runner trying to break 4-hours in the same distance.

Age: Even the elites slow down as they age. They still run more than you or me, but they require more recovery in between vigorous efforts. What you could do in your 20s or 30s no longer applies in your 50s or 60s and you must accept it as part of the aging process. Look forward to competition in your age group and to be the best you can be at whatever stage of your life you’re currently at.

Experience: If you have been running for 30 years, your body is adjusted to a certain pounding on its bones and soft tissues. This alone will allow you to run longer. Not because you are holier than thou, but because you have adapted. Understand that not because you have adapted, your body can take unlimited mileage, so don’t overdo it either.

Miles are dictated by the interaction of many variables, such as goal, pace, experience and injuries, among others (Photo: Mikhail Nilov, Pexels)

Pace: Most runners want to run as fast as we can. We would love to set up PRs in every race, but that’s a chimera. So, we adapt to reality. Running slow is the key to running faster, for many physiological reasons that are beyond the scope of this post. Understand that the long run is about spending more time on your feet, pounding the surface, not about running faster. The sooner you’ll grasp and accept this concept, the faster you’ll be running.

Injuries: Certain injuries will require you to stop running altogether. For days, weeks or even months. Others will force you to reduce your mileage but not necessarily stop. Be smart and make sure you understand what your body is communicating. A shorter mileage today may be the key to avoiding zero-mile months down the road because you overdid it and now you are injured.

The 10% Rule: This is an urban myth. This is not a magic number, not even a well-reasoned percentage. If you are an experienced runner and your body has done it recently, you can increase that mileage by as much as you can tolerate it. If you are coming off 10 years on the couch eating Doritos and drinking Coke, it is advisable to take it easier. Less than 10% per week.

Sure, there is always the freak of nature that hit the gene lottery and can do whatever they want, for as long as they want at whatever pace they want, with little to no recovery time. Yes, they exist, but those are outliers. Do not compare yourself to them. It would be like comparing yourself to Eliud Kipchoge and not understanding why you can’t run a sub-2 marathon. So, be smart.

The essentials for a solid running plan are flexibility and adaptability. It must be dynamic. The best is always an individual plan, personalized just for you. But it is understandable that this is not in everybody’s reach. Generic plans downloaded from the internet may be ok, but are dime-a-dozen, with the key operating word being “generic”. If you are to use one of these, make sure you are not so rigid that you’ll end up hurt because you did too much or undertrained at the starting line because you did too little.

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Running by Perceived Effort

by 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 don’t 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.

Click on the image to expand

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 everyone’s 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.

Click on the image to expand

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 “run easy”, 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 cliché 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 don’t 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 Runner’s 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: “Hurry slowly”. Believe me, she knew what she was talking about.

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