Bummer of a week. ZERO running due to the interwoven back, L hip, R quad injuries. I did stretch and ice as I could but with no improvement noticed. As it looks now the big effort I was going to throw at a fall ½ marathon may not happen. The positive for last week was I did attend a UASTF Level 2 course.
I am not medically knowledgeable but did find some interest in this slide on the location of red blood cells as a person ages and thought it may have some benefit for Ken’s project.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Hematopoesis_EN.svg
The instructor reasons that load bearing exercise (and manual labor) may increase red blood cell production in the legs for some persons and noted by the green and yellow dotted lines.
Combining thoughts on a few topics you guys have posted up over the past few days...
'Form', I prefer 'running posture', can be changed. I use sprint drills for this and am currently reviewing my program because of, as was noted, AlSal is changing the game at the elite level. I now know we all should become efficient sprinters near the end of a race. But not all change leads to improvement. Mark Everett, the 800m guy, would flail his R arm due to training and competition while wearing a cast one summer. When his college coach attempted to 'fix' the problem, he slowed.
I have found over 30 formulas and protocols designed to predict Max HR, many of which can be found here:
http://faculty.css.edu/tboone2/asep/Robergs2.pdf
. I have determined a range of almost 30 bpm when the highest and lowest results are compared. Many unique variables including hydration, diet, stress, fatigue, elevation, altitude, air temperature, humidity, terrain, and many more affect an athlete’s HR. Even if the zone is accurately predicted, these factors will influence the effort required to obtain and maintain the zone. I choose to train on perceived effort but do check Resting HR each morning to monitor fatigue and recovery.
While the buzzword of the late 1980’s was ‘cross-training’ and now appears to be ‘cross-fit’ I do think overall fitness may be better for running than I ever believed. I’m not a fan of some of the current fad programs but basketball may be ideal for WOC (I’m a 5’4” guy with no outside shot so that’s not an option for me). I am becoming a bigger fan of balance in life and reducing stress and other ‘stuff’ that gets in the way. Grete, DrT and Mike L had career changes that had a positive effect on their running.
Enjoy the WC ya’ll,
Edgewood