Anyone else have certain training concepts, tips, universally accepted truths that you don’t give a crap about? Or things that everyone says are important but you’ve gotten along fine without? Here are my big 3:
Heart rate training-never monitored it
Cadence- boooring I run in the 150s apparently but I don’t care. I’m not sucking the joy out of my favorite thing to do by thinking of how many steps I’m taking
Ice baths- I got along just fine without any injuries for 9 years of running without them. Tried a legit one in college in the training room tub and after 2 minutes I just left.
Parts of running you don’t care about
Training Advice/Discussion
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long runs , intervals, going outside are bummers
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A few things from my standpoint:
1) Distance-based training vs. running by time or feel. I think the latter is preferable
2) Fancy watches & GPS - I think a simple Timex watch gets the job done...you can run timed intervals or pick familiar courses to track intervals
3) Vapor Flys - Expensive and I'm too old for these. Say I set an age personal best for myself...I would just mentally adjust this time upward by the typical advantage that these shoes provide. For example, if I run a 17:00 min 5K, I'll just internalize this as a 17:30 because of the shoes -
Lifting - Just don't enjoy it. I'm always pushed for time so I'd rather run or chill with the wife and kids.
Specific training paces - If it feels like LT, it's LT. Never bother with MP long runs but often do progressive long run with fast finish.
HR Training - as above
Age Gradings - I'm 43 but I never think about being better than younger people based on age grading. -
Icing full stop. It simply doesn't work for me.
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As I get older, I find little pleasure in regimented training plans. I run how far I want, however fast I want, and I don't really worry about it. When I was young, running was all I had to worry about. Now running is a way to escape from the pressures of real adult life, so it's not something I want to be stressing over.
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Overly complex training - keep training focused, simple, and based on your A goal event. I see so many athletes flounder because they get hung up on trying to squeeze a VO2 max, CV, LT, moderately long tempo, MP, heart rate based sub-maximal hill reps, or something else they read or heard about into each week and ultimately end up hurt or they under perform on race day.
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eliminating fast food/soda from diet
don't get me wrong here, i think getting your baseline nutrients is really important, my thing here is that i never stopped eating junk, and drank a soda or two a day. in fact, it was probably good for me calorie-wise. eat your veggies, and a couple of cokes or burritos are not going to ruin your season.
stretching
especially the classic "stand in a circle and hold positions for 10 seconds" kind of static stretching. i feel it does nothing for you and is a waste of time. active rope stretching is useful, but still time consuming.
if i am going for a distance run, the first mile is the warmup. no stretching.
if i am doing track work or racing, i'll do a light jog as a warmup and some skipping drills. 100m to 10k, i have not done a stretch routine before a race since sophomore year of HS.
high mileage for high school runners
this one is more conceptual and no longer applies to me of course. there's no need to train like a 34 year old marathoner as a high schooler who is going to race 800m and 1600m on the track. yes, there is a 5k in cross country. that's as long as it's going to get. let it take a backseat. 4 years of high school is not enough time for meaningful aerobic development off of low intensity.
if you want to compete in HS, you run an intense 40ish mpw, race frequently, and blast 400 repeats just like everyone else. teenagers recover from that stuff. -
Ironically and I’m embarrassed to admit this “ racing”.
What I always liked about running was it’s primal nature.
Just freedom.. run on the roads, run the trails run down the alleyways, hair tied up behind me.. back in the 70’s , 80’s....
Racing was too structured, like a team sport... a place you had to park, a specific time you had to do this, to do that, where to hide your keys, where to use the restroom.. too structured
That being said, I’ve raced an average 14 times a year from 83 on.
Was my least favorite part of being a runner though. -
I never stretch pre-run. I will stretch maybe 30 seconds after a long run while showering.
I don’t like track workouts have probably only averaged 2-3 sessions per year.
I resisted Garmin watches for a long time and was converted last year. Really just an easy way to log the miles. I do monitor my heart rate since I’m now in my 40s and live in a very hot climate.
Never had an ice bath but I’m not really against them.
I’m kind of a purist lightweight shoe guy, even though I’m slow these days.
This all said, I was never competitive outside local small races. I understand elite and sub elite runners need to do many things I don’t enjoy. -
Don't like or adhere to as applies to running: Need to's, must do's, rules, devices, special diets, analyses, over built shoes, cold weather, tracks, large events/races.
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GPS/Strava - I know miles and time by now and do not care to let others know what I am doing. Running is my time off the grid. I don't want people following me.
Form/Foot-Striking - I have dealt with so many terrible runners over the years who obsess about form and foot striking, only to suck. If they spent the energy training, they would have been good. No one cares if you land on your heel or forefoot, and unless you deal with chronic injury, it isn't going to make you faster. Let me be clear, this is exclusive of people who have major physiological problems.
Age Group Awards - There are only three places that matter in a race. -
Supplementing. In high school I tried every supplement under the sun that I thought would help maximize my fitness. Vitamins, beet root juices, corcyceps mushrooms, caffeine supplements, carb powders and snacks. It was all bullsh!t, the only thing that actually worked was the cordyceps but only for a short period before they stopped producing an effect. I know this isn't unique to running, but I know alot of runners like me felt they needed to take a cocktail of drugs in order to feel like they were getting better at running. It's just way overthinking it.
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Also long runs, if you're a speedier mid D guy. If you're a low mileage, 400/800 or 800/mile guy, long runs are probably the least useful workout you could do.
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Ultras. I love running, but I'm just completely uninterested. Yep, beautiful trails, knock yourself out in the mountains, but I'm not doing a 50.
Gear controversy. I love my Vaporflies and I don't care what you think. Wear whatever you like.
Influencers. You know what influences me? People who run fast, especially at my age. Unless you have something useful for me, I don't care about your channel.
I agree with others who mentioned cadence, diet and supplements. I just ate pizza and lemon pie for lunch and it was fabulous.
Honorable mention: marathons, I am this close to deciding there's no need to spend that much time building up to and recovering from a race with so many factors out of your control, and where so much depends on being able to digest sugar at race pace. What a stupid race distance. -
Training log and pre- and post-run stretching.
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Core/stability training. I used to go to a really good pilates class taught by a former professional ballet dancer. I had all sorts of running injuries and chronic issues. My pilates instructor moved to a fancy gym. I quit and started lifting weights instead. Made a huge difference and never did a single core exercise again.
Marathon fueling. My second fastest race, which would have been a PR but for 10-15 mph head winds on a good part of the course, was at a race on a two loop course. On the second loop, they ran out of gatorade and only had room temperature water. I forgot to bring a gel and there were none on the course. I had plenty in the tank and out kicked another masters runner to get a few bucks of old man sympathy prize money. -
nice, i am also a big fan of lifting weights instead of doing "core"
i can fit this in with what i said about stretching. most people are doing it wrong, for the wrong reasons, and WASTING TIME.
i know runners with hour-long core routines that they do multiple times a week, when they could get the same benefit and more from simple weight exercises in 15 minutes. -
Robert E . Lee wrote:
Ironically and I’m embarrassed to admit this “ racing”.
What I always liked about running was it’s primal nature.
Just freedom.. run on the roads, run the trails run down the alleyways, hair tied up behind me.. back in the 70’s , 80’s....
Racing was too structured, like a team sport... a place you had to park, a specific time you had to do this, to do that, where to hide your keys, where to use the restroom.. too structured
That being said, I’ve raced an average 14 times a year from 83 on.
Was my least favorite part of being a runner though.
Agree... I like the idea of racing more than racing -
Don't really care much about all the high tech electronic gizmo's. That goes for heart rate monitors, Starva and the like. When it comes to competing, I don't give a d*mn what your HR monitor says when I'm in front of you leaving you in the dust. A Timex chronograph and I'm good to go.
