Run News for March 13, 2025

Sacrificing relationships to run

In a new documentary, I’m Carl Lewis!, the track and field star shares that he’s never been in a long-term relationship because he feared it would affect his professional goals. Running dominated the track star’s life. Everything else was secondary.

Now 63 years old, Carl said, “I’ve never had really a private adult life, and I haven’t really had an in-depth, long-term relationship to this day. I thought that it would hurt my career. I’m sure I’ve met 50 people that were incredible in my lifetime. But because of that, I had to shun them away. And I know that on the outside, it can be kind of sad, and I can understand that, but that’s just the way it is.”

Between 1984 and 1996, Carl won 9 Olympic gold medals.

Read more here.

Walk to run better

Long walks are a valuable training tool. Beyond activating muscles and improving cardiovascular endurance, walking helps to maintain the mental habit of moving our bodies. On days when we do not want to run, walking can be a more achievable way to log miles and stay accountable to our goals.

Active recovery techniques like walking can help flush lactic acid out of your system and ease delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) following a tough workout. Plus, walking helps to prevent injuries as mileage increases.

Pro tips for your next long walk:

• Warm up your feet and ankles beforehand: rotate your ankles to make circles and/or the letters of the alphabet to loosen up.

• Bring plenty of water: walks are low-stakes opportunities to test out new hydration and energy gels.

• Pack light: avoid bags or backpacks that will throw off your mechanics.

• Wear comfortable sneakers: keep feet blister-free.

• Stay engaged: keep your arms pumping and your core tight during training walks. Seek out hills, steps, or bridges to add intensity.

Read More Here.

Fix knee pain by walking backward

When running and walking, we typically move forward. However, when dealing with knee pain, walking backward on an incline has been shown to reduce pain by improving knee extension and strengthening the quadricep muscles.

Benefits of walking backward:

Increased quad strength: your quads will be engaged throughout the full movement, but will be working the hardest at the point where your trailing leg is fully extended, pushing off the ground. Just like running up a hill, the incline will increase the difficulty of the exercise.

Improved knee extension: during forward walking, your body isn’t working hard to achieve full leg extension–it just happens during the natural stride pattern with momentum. Strengthening your quads by focusing on achieving full leg extension improves the knee’s range of motion.

Engaged glute stabilizers: in the hinged position, the glute of the planted leg will fire with each step to stabilize and support the movement.

Great for rehab: some exercises for improving knee extension, such as the leg extension machine, can put a lot of stress on the knee. Backward walking is a much more controlled and stable movement, which makes it ideal for rehabbing an injury.

Walking backward on a treadmill:

1. Set the treadmill to an incline of 5 and an easy walking speed.

2. Face backward and hold onto the hand rails for support.

3. Lead with your glutes by hinging forward at your hips and engage your core.

4. Use a toe-to-heel walking pattern, and power through your trailing leg as it straightens out to push off the ground.

5. To increase the difficulty of the movement, increase the treadmill’s incline.

Read more here.

Cursing boosts workout performance

Studies show that swearing can lead to increased pain tolerance, which enhances physical performance. Repeating a swear word has had positive effects on anerobic power tests that are short and intense.

The impact of swearing:

• Cycling sprint power increased by 4.5%

• Grip strength increased by 9%

• Plank duration increased by 12%

• Push-up endurance increased by 15%

• Wall sit duration increased by 22%

Read more here.

Battling fatigue

The old view on how to calculate a runner’s predicted finishing time was to measure an athlete’s:

1. VO2 max

2. Lactate threshold,

3. Running economy (or efficiency)

A new insight is that a runner’s final miles depend on how steeply these 3 factors have declined over the course of the race. This is called “fatigue resistance.”

Since the 3 main factors change more in some people than others, having a good “fatigue resistance” is an important 4th element of performing well in endurance events.

How do we improve our fatigue resistance?

Heavy weight training and explosive plyometric training: Heavy weight training such as 3-6 rep sets of resistance exercises like back squats, single-leg presses and seated isometric calf raises. Explosive plyometric exercises like pogo jumps and drop jumps as well as horizontal exercises like hopping and bounding. Both heavy weights and plyometric training improve fatigue resistance by making fast-twitch muscle fibers more efficient and improving strength to maintain good running form for longer.

Increase training: Improve fatigue resistance by going on more long runs (while including sections at race pace) and participating in more intense interval sessions.

Supershoes: Heavy cushioning of supershoes reduces muscle damage and enables smooth strides through the later stages of a marathon. Since the shoes allow for training mileage to increase safely, they improve fatigue resistance over time in more ways than one.

Read more here.

POV: running a half marathon

@goruntheday

Ian’s 2025 colchester half marathon. Thank you to Rick, Charlie and everyone who made the event possible! #fyp #running #halfmarathon #runtheday @Ian

Your Daily Dose Of Usain⚡️

Words To Run By 🏃‍♀️🏃🏽‍♂️