Racing hurts. No matter if you are an elite athlete with the perfect form, world records under your belt, and making it look like you're not even working. Anyone out there testing their limits will inevitably experience a certain degree of pain before you cross that finish line, it's just a part of racing. Athletes that take part in racing sports, be it running, speed skating, swimming or cycling, when they toe the line they know they are going to be demanding everything from their bodies and to do that will have to push past the pain barrier, testing their threshold.

The pain you feel when you are going at a hard effort is actually a safety mechanism put up by your brain; it senses that your muscles are tiring and will inform you that they are much closer to failing than they ever actually are. You will think you can't possibly go one step further but physiologically you are not in danger the second that your brain starts yelling at you to stop, or even soon thereafter. Everyone has a different pain threshold and some athletes have become famous for their grit, determination, and seem to actually thrive on the pain. Athletes are continually working against that pain to outlast their competitors; the first one to break and give in is going to be finishing behind.

Pushing back your own pain barrier is possible and this will come with practice and also by shifting how you think and interpret those messages coming in from your brain. You don't actually have to like that pain to ignore it or at least be able to partially numb it; and most likely even people who say they like it don't really but have just changed how they think about it. They may not necessarily enjoy the burning in their legs but they tell themselves that the burning represents their ability to inflict the same kind of pain on their competitors and that they will be able to outlast them. They also recognize that by pushing onward when their brain begs them to ease back is going to allow them to achieve their goals. This post alone won't cover all of the tips and ways you can increase your pain threshold but it will be an ongoing topic, and here are a few ways you can start to embrace and push through that pain.

1) Practice. You simulate the pain you will feel on race day in your hard workouts. These are great ways to practice pushing through the uncomfort and still do your best to hit the times and intervals as you tire and your brain tells you to stop. As you continually do this you will get used to ignoring the messages and your tolerance for them will grow.
2) Take confidence from your workouts. As you continue to improve in your workouts and push past the pain cite those especially grueling workouts that you completed as a source of confidence. That way when you do get to the point in a race when you are temped to give up, you can think back to those times and workouts and tell yourself you've already been through this kind of pain before, were able to fight through it then, and you can do it again this time.
3) Think of your goals. Yes, your brain will tell you that it doesn't really matter if you slow down and just take it easy now, so what if you don't hit your intended time or placing, that's okay. But I'll assure you that if you do cave into that voice after the race you will be kicking yourself for doing that. A race is painful, yes, but it doesn't last forever; think of how proud you will be when you finish and know that you gave it your all. Envision that feeling and use it to combat that weak voice telling you to stop.
4) Chant your way to the end. Come up with a mantra that you can focus on when the going gets painful. It should be something rather short, simple, and can even be as corny as, "I think I can." When you block out all other thoughts with a repetitive line you will not only be encouraging yourself but giving that nagging voice tell you to stop less space in your thoughts.

These are just a few ways you can begin working on breaking your own pain barrier and there are many others unique to each individual. As you keep training you will come up with your own mental devices; test out various ones and you'll find which works best for you!

All of you who have made it up to this point after completing week 8 of the running training program are doing great! Keep up that momentum and you will be getting the results of a leaner body, faster times, and a more fit you. I hope that last week's tempo run felt controlled but like a hard effort; you should have been able to learn a bit about pacing yourself from that workout too. If you felt like you were fading at the end you most likely were a bit overzealous in the beginning; conversely if you think you may have had a bit too much energy left at the end you could try to go out a bit harder next time. It's all a process and you will get more familiar and in tune with your body with practice...so keep at it.

This week we are going to actually do a little time trial sort of workout so that you can see what kind of shape you are in now and then we will do the same fitness test in a few weeks to mark your improvement. It's always motivating to see in black and white that you've progressed and the clock is your proof. The time trial can be done out at a track for the best of accuracy and that's recommended; but if you don't have access to one you can measure out the distance on the roads. (You can use your car to help you there.) The time trial is going to be like a race, and you can even enlist a fit buddy to help push you if you'd like so it will be all out by the end.

Monday: Weight routine with five minute cardio warm-up
Tuesday: Combined interval workout for total of 40-55 minutes (with a warm-up and cool-down you will do 4 to 5 sets of three minutes hard, two minutes easy, 1 minute hard, two minutes easy)
Wednesday: Easy run or cross train for 40-55 minutes
Thursday: Weight routine with five minute cardio warm-up
Friday: 2 mile time trial (do a warm-up that includes some strides before you start, do 8 laps around a track, and then finish with a cool-down for a total of 35-45 minutes)
Saturday: Easy run for 40-55 minutes; be sure to go easy to allow yourself to recover from the time trial!
Sunday: Long run 45-75 minutes

Finally, you should still be focusing on getting that perfect form for at least the last 10 minutes of each run. Also do a form check periodically to catch yourself if you are lapsing into a bad habit. Keep it up you guys, and it is important to write down your finishing time for the time trial in your running logs so the next time you do it you will have a goal to try to beat!

Training, and especially if you are doing it with the ultimate goal of competing, is something that is quite unique to every individual. That's why anyone you talk to will swear by one technique, coaches have different philosophies, and there are a never ending supply of resource books and tell all's explaining why 'their method' is the best one. The truth is that not everything works the same for each person; that is evident in that an entire team or group could be doing the exact same workouts but there are always going to be those that are 'better.' This isn't only due to the training method, as genetics and other factors most definitely play a role, but there is a truth in stating that what works for one person may not for another.

However, while there are an array of various fitness programs and routines there is still a common line of thought on the general way to improve and stay headed towards your goals. Such as you have to continually be pushing yourself with faster times or heavier weights, you need to address both anaerobic and aerobic fitness capacities, and you do need adequate amounts of rest for your body to restore itself and come back stronger. That last one is up for perhaps one of the biggest points of controversy with some people professing the less is more approach and others that would never cut back unless something short of their entire body being in a cast occurred. But even those with the latter mentality will usually have at least days that are easier preceding a strenuous workout.

When it comes to the top fitness and workout mistakes that people make, here are five of them and ways you can avoid them.

1) Blending your hard and easy days. This happens when you aren't taking your easy days at a pace that is in line with what the purpose of the workout or run is. For long distance running training after a tough workout you'll do an easy run that is still going to maintain your aerobic fitness and keep your mileage up but at the same time you are running at an effort that isn't nearly as taxing as the workouts are so that you are able to recover. What lots of runners fall victim to, I myself have and even professionals sometimes still do too, is that they go too hard on the easy days and then come their workout days they aren't as sharp as they want to be. If you're feel flat on your hard days it could be because you just need to back off on the easy days. If you are blending your easy and hard days there eventually becomes a point where there is not enough distinction between the two and you can't really 'pound out' those tough workouts that are best going to improve your fitness level and ultimately performance.

2) Skimping on that warm-up. Some people either don't like to do a full warm-up because they say they don't have time, others think it will only tire them out, and still other are just too lazy. But whatever the reason is not getting in a proper warm-up is going to impede your performance both in workouts and races. The body works best when it gradually gets into the motion of things and if you jump into a workout with cold muscles you are not only going to be setting yourself up for an injury but you won't be able to hit as fast of times if you had warmed-up. You want to do between 10 and 15 minutes of easy running to get loose and into the groove of things and then do some drills and strides that are going to focus on a faster turn over. You then will be able to go into your workout ready to go; the faster paces will feel easier and in turn your splits and times will be better.

3) Skipping the cool down. So you've done the whole warm-up thing and after the workout you're so beat that you don't feel like taking another step. Even if you are only plodding along on the cool down you need to do it because after an intense effort you've built up plenty of lactic acid in your muscles and if you don't flush that out it will sit there and act like the poison that it is. You'll wake up tomorrow not only with muscles that are sore, tight, and screaming at you but you'll also be much more sluggish and tired in your run the next day. It may seem a bit contrary that doing more after a hard workout will make the next day feel easier and better for you, but it's the truth. To flush out all that lactic acid you have to do at least 10 minutes of easy running after your tough workout, even if it is super slow.

4) Being overly competitive. Okay, so that may sound like something that isn't possible, but anyone who's been around a team or even just that one person who always has to one up everybody else, can attest to the fact that once that mentality starts it's like a loose cannon. It begins with someone always having to one step you and be just a bit ahead and it ends with everyone being out for blood each time they lace up their shoes and go for a run. A healthy amount of competitive energy is necessary to improve and should be a part of the training atmosphere, but when it turns from the mind set of doing what's best for the overall improvement of the group and instead becomes a vicious platform to prove who is the champion of the world that's where the trouble comes in. Usually this will lead to blending those hard and easy days because you won't be taking those easy days at the right pace for you to recover and will be instead trying to race those days along with the workout ones. And it hampers workouts because not all workouts are supposed to be all out race like efforts; while workouts are geared towards preparing you for a race they aren't supposed to be a that same level. The best athletes will work incredibly hard and push themselves plenty but come race day they always rise a bit to the occasion and have one more gear. But if you are racing each of your workouts like that you can only continue to do so for so long before you begin to be overly tired and over worked and your times will soon slow down. It can be tricky to avoid falling into this pattern and group dynamics play the biggest role; it can sometimes mean doing your easy runs on your own so you aren't tempted to go too fast and doing your very best to stick to the intended workout times and paces that you set out to do regardless of what transpires on the track. If you notice this type of racing staring it's best to put an end to it early whether that means talking amongst yourselves or your coach or potentially reevaluating the members of the group.

5) Not refueling or rehydrating afterwards. There is a key window of time after you finish a workout where it is of utmost important to get some food and liquids into your system. That time frame is 30 minutes and it closes rather quickly. The difference between 30 minutes and an hour after may not seem like a big deal but to your body and its ability to recover it is insurmountable. If you don't get in a combination of complex carbohydrates and protein along with a drink containing electrolytes right after you finish you will be only doing yourself a huge disservice. Refueling will speed along the recovery process and there have been numerous studies that prove your endurance and strength will vastly outpace those who skipped doing so; the numbers vary from anything between 45% to 70% but either way it is a big gap.

So if you want to make the very most out of your training program, no matter what specific method it is, make sure you don't fall into one of these workout traps.

One of the top contenders for any point of an injury is a tendon or ligament. Because the tissues or tendons and ligaments lack an abundant blood supply they are slower to heal than a muscle injury and tricky to treat. They are also commonly chronic injuries that once they creep up can nag you on and off for many years. For those that are regular and avid exercisers these can be distressing injuries as they can leave you side lined for quite some time. A common tendon to become inflamed and then limit your exercising ability is the Achilles tendon.

The Achilles tendon is located at the back of your lower leg just above the heel and below the calf. It attaches your heel to your calf muscle and a great way to avoid an Achilles injury is through some calf strengthening moves. By building up the muscles of your calf and by targeting these muscles at different angles you can reduce your chances of being plagued with Achilles pain. This is a short exercise routine that can be done three times a week; start by doing one set of ten for each exercise and then build your way up to two or three sets.

* Forward calf raise. Standing on a raised platform such as a stair you will rest the ball of your foot on the step and let your heel hand off the back of it. You will then begin by lowering yourself down until your heels are below your toes and you feel a stretch in your calf. Slowly raise yourself up onto your tip toes and then back down to the starting position. This will be one repetition.
* Inward calf raise. Just as before you will stand on the stair but this time you will point both of your feet inwards so your toes are angled towards each other. Continue to then lower and raise yourself on the stair.
* Outward calf raise. This time you will point your toes away from each other and your heels will be facing each other. Lower and raise yourself on the stair.

This will target your calves by three angles and by strengthening them this way you can better prepare them for any awkward movements, such as if you were running and slipped on a patch of ice, and then reduce the chances that this would result in an injury.

Way to go for all of you who finished out Week 7 of the running training program. By now you should be getting better at gauging your paces for the workouts and noticing that you are feeling more fluid and faster. Soon you'll be burning up the track and roads, right?! From last week you should be focusing on one aspect of your form that needs improvement. We are going to continue doing that this week, except now you will be extra diligent the last ten minutes of each run.

The goal of this week is to continue to improve your running form and efficiency and develop your aerobic capacity with a tempo run. This will be a continuous, sustained effort that is just below that which you would be running in a race. You want to keep your heart rate around 80% of your maximum and you should feel like you are going hard but still able to maintain your form. It is not all out, but getting near that point. The most successful tempo runs will work on a negative split idea in that you will gradually be getting faster as you go along so that by the end you are at your fastest pace instead of fading from going out too fast. This is hard to do, even pros make the mistake of getting overly zealous at the start and dying by the end.

Monday: Weight routine with a five minute cardio warm-up
Tuesday: Short interval workout for a total of 35-50 minutes (within your run do 8 hard sprints for 30 seconds each; make sure you get at least 2 minutes recovery jog between sprints)
Wednesday: Easy run or cross train for 40-55 minutes
Thursday: Weight routine with a five minute cardio warm-up
Friday: Tempo run workout for total of 35-50 minutes (with a warm-up and cool-down you should do a 'comfortably hard' effort for 20 minutes)
Saturday: Easy run for 40-55 minutes
Sunday: Long run 40-70 minutes easy

Keep notes on how you feel during and after your runs in your training log and be sure to refuel and rehydrate within 30 minutes of completing each workout. This will make sure you recover properly, build muscle, and come back stronger next time!

Week 9

Q: What is the best way to lose weight through running?

A: While competitive athletes may not be using their training and running programs with the purpose to lose weight in mind, it is no secret that running vast amount of miles at high intensities are going to burn some serious calories. If you were to look at any of the top, or any runners who train regularly for that matter, you would see that for the most part they all run on the lean side. Running is perhaps the best cardio activity to burn the most calories per minute of exercise; it uses nearly every muscle in the body and as you are constantly working against gravity you are going to be using more energy than say if you were on a bike.

That being said, many people are tempted to sign up for a marathon because in training for one they believe they will best be able to lose weight. While you probably will naturally be losing weight in doing this kind of training, logging more miles does in essence mean burning more calories, this is sometimes negated because in increasing your miles to an amount necessary for marathon training you will then be much hungrier. After all of those long runs your body will be depleted, you should refuel, but sometimes your level of hunger will in fact cause you to out eat the number of calories you expended. Serious marathon runners have been known to eat thousands of calories a day, they have to in order to sustain their work load, and their goal is not to lose weight at all. If they were to create a caloric deficit they wouldn't have the energy required to get in their next run.

That is why it is sometime difficult to lose weight by simply putting in tons and tons of miles for the sake of calorie burning alone; because you have to eat enough to have enough energy to log all of those miles. What some people then may have more success with is instead of thinking more, more, more, is to think about upping the intensity and quality of your runs.

This would include interval training which alone burns more calories in the same amount of time than a steady run because you are doing bouts of almost all out efforts. This kind of training also revs up your metabolism for hours afterwords and you will burn more calories throughout the rest of the day. What is interesting with high intensity workouts is while it does boost your metabolism, for whatever reason people aren't as likely to be as hungry after should they have done a long run instead. In fact it is far more common for people to lose their appetite after doing harder intervals. This doesn't mean that you should forgo eating after one such workout; quite the opposite as you should force yourself to eat a reasonable amount of something containing protein and complex carbohydrates in order to recover from the workout and come back stronger.

So if your main purpose for running is to lose weight, (although hopefully you have a true passion for it and your underlying motivation is for all of the overall health benefits regular exercise brings) you may want to rethink doing a marathon just for the sake of logging in all those miles. You could wind up losing the weight faster should you set your goals towards quality over quantity.

It sometimes amazes me what people will where when they are doing their workout programs. Today in the gym I saw a man wearing moccasin slippers; this has been one of the odder fitness shoe selections I've seen in quite a while but by no means the weirdest. When I was working in a gym I spotted a woman lifting weights in open toed high heels...no joke. Not only does this look ridiculous, as there really is no need to make such a fashion statement pumping iron, but it is dangerous for a couple of reasons. First, I'll guarantee she isn't able to do all of her moves with the proper form and she is setting herself up for an injury, and secondly if she were to drop one of these dumbbells on her foot she is looking at a nice set of broken toes.

There are other poor fitness clothes choices for when you are working out; I've seen people running in jeans and a belt, I don't even want to think about that kind of chaffing. No doubt that will burn a bit when they go to later take a shower. And while I give them props for getting out there and doing their workouts, should they be wearing the right kind of gym clothing they would not only be more comfortable but their workouts would improve too.

Take for instance someone wearing jeans, they aren't going to be able to get a full range of motion and their strides will be shorter than they should. Instead were they to wear a pair of running shorts they would improve their efficiency, in turn have better form, and thus be able to run faster. Proper fitness clothes could make the difference between cutting a workout short too; if you are wearing hot jeans and cotton shirts that are absorbing and retaining all of your sweat and body heat you could be left stiflingly hot after only a few moments. With clothes that instead breathe and that are made out of a moisture wicking material you could go longer without being left overheating and with huge pit stains.

When it comes to shoes, while I love my Converse they aren't for running. They lack the necessary support that your foot needs. This is especially true if you overpronate and you will soon find yourself with an injury, whether it be knee pain, shin splints, Achilles problems, plantar fasciitis, or another form of tendonitis.

You can still infuse a little fashion and personal flair in your workout clothes; there are plenty of lines that are geared towards just that. Still, while you are working up a sweat your main focus should be at doing your best to then get the very most out of each workout.