Day 2:

• Dr. Carwyn Sharp – Role of Strength Training & the Endurance Athlete
  • Factors determining successful endurance performance
    • VO2Max – Not nearly as important as we’ve thought for years
    • Lactate/Anaerobic Threshold
    • Economy of Movement
    • Velocity at onset of blood lactate accumulation (vOBLA) – This may be the most important.
    • We need to think of ways to increase performance, not just measurements like VO2Max.
  • Improving Running Economy (RE)/Economy of Movement (EM):
    • strength
    • speed
    • power
    • More force into the ground/pedals/water = speed
    • More force comes from more strength
    • Heavy strength training and plyometrics are best
    • Both are shown to improve vOBLA
    • Plyometrics need to look like running: 1-leg hops, bounds, skipping.  This is SPORT SPECIFIC TRAINING.
  • Good idea to cut strength training during a taper.
  • Strength training guidelines
    • heavy weight training:
    • 3-5 sets of 3-6 RM
    • with 3-5 minutes rest between sets
  • Plyometrics: most convincing performance results.
    • varies depending on training status, mode and intensity
    • work: rest of 1:5 to 1:10
    • 80-140 foot contacts per session; fewer for beginners
      • 2-foot landing counts as 2 contacts
      • 1-foot landing is 1 contact
    • FIRST THERE MUST BE A SOLID STRENGTH BASE!
    • Donald Chu, Jumping Into Plyometrics
• Coach Jay Johnson, MS – The Strength & Conditioning Coach Meets the Running Coach
  • former collegiate runner and running coach at CU Boulder
  • coached 3 U.S. Track & Field champions
  • 6 main points
    • Athleticism
    • Runners (and everyone else) need to first have a base of athleticism
    • good movement in 3 planes of movement
    • full ROM at the joints
    • strength
    • He builds aerobic metabolism on top of this foundation of athleticism.
    • The idea of athleticism is massively important!
  • Why did your athlete/client get better?
    • Did they simply go from being sedentary to being active?
    • Or did they get better because of the program you designed?
  • Understand the role of glycogen
    • The body must be trained to use lipids as fuel
    • This syncs with Seebohar’s discussion on glycogen.
  • Development of the aerobic metabolism is the most important factor for peak running performance.
  • Runners must  do non-running work to stay healthy.
    • GSM (General Strength & Mobility Work)
    • Gary Gray’s 3D lunge matrix.  I’ve played with this in the past.  I’ve returned to it.  Here’s a video

• Wharton’s AIF (Active Integrated Flexibility)
• I’ve been playing with the AIF and seeing some very impressive results.  Here’s a video

• Keep the easy days easy and the hard days hard.
  • Do the intense strength/plyometric work on the hard running days.
  • Take it easy on the off days.
  • This is a key part of the periodized plan
  • His discussion on periodization was very helpful to me
  • Macrocycle
    • When it’s time to progress the runs, do so on the hard days.
    • Run easy or rest on the easy days.  Never up the intensity of easy days.
    • A complete day off every 14 days is a good idea
    • Take an active rest week after every 5k, 10k, and half-marathon
    • He takes three weeks after a marathon.
  • Microcycle
    • 4 days/week running
    • Monday – recovery day: Do strides on Monday; 4-5 x 20-30 seconds at 5k pace with 1 minute easy jogging between reps.
    • Tuesday – workout: High level aerobic workout or race pace workout.  Can include:
      • Threshold/tempo run or
      • Fartlek run or
      • Progression run or
      • Long repetitions or
      • Alternate the above with race pace workouts week to week
    • Wednesday – aerobic cross-training
    • Thursday – off or cross-training
    • Friday – easy run day w/strides
    • Saturday – long run
    • Sunday – brisk walk
  • The lunge matrix is done before every run
  • Runs follow with general strength and mobility work and Active Isolated Stretching
  • Here’s a link to Johnson’s 8-week strength progression.
  • This may have been my favorite lecture.  Johnson did a fantastic job of taking academic information (physiology, periodization, race pace training) and telling us in simple terms how he implements these things.  His point on athleticism was HUGE to me. I plan to contact him for coaching this coming season.
• Nick Clayton, MS, MBA, CSCS,*D, RSCC – Functional Training for the Endurance Athlete
  • This was an active demonstration in the performance center, not a lecture.
  • Sport specific movement that mimics body position, speed of contraction contraction type of said sport
  • trains the body as an integrated unit
  • Primal movement patterns
    • squat
    • lunge
    • lift
    • push
    • pull
    • twist
    • Squat progression
      • 1-leg balance
      • 1-leg squat
      • 1-leg squat in multiple planes and with other body movement
      • 1-leg squat jump to deceleration
    • Lunge progression
      • stationary with narrow base
      • multi-planar
      • multi-planar with reaching
      • split squat jumps with focus on quiet deceleration
    • Lift (deadlift related movements)
      • hip hinge and balance progression
      • 1-leg Romanian deadlift/deadlift
      • kettlebell swings
    • Push/Press: Discussed mainly addressing the postural and scapular considerations of safe and effective pushing in sport training
    • Pull:
      • Shoulder stability patterns:
      • Y, T, I, W, stability ball roll-out
      • I liked these patterns.  I’m using them now as part of the warm-up or as correctives as needed.
    • split stance dumbbell row
    • cable “lawnmower”
      • It’s a single-leg cable row with a hip hinge.
      • This is a running pattern. Here’s a demo

Prior to the strength and plyo demos, we went through a really cool walking/lunging mobility process. Nick said he was going to email out videos of the warm-up and when/if he does, I’ll post them here.  I may video it myself.

Getting out on the floor to play with these exercises was a lot of fun.  I really liked the 1-leg plyo work.  I definitely got some valuable ideas that I’ll implement in my own training and with my clients. I also liked the shoulder patterns a lot.  I’ve seen the Y, T, I, W patterns before but I understand them better now.  I think it’s key to KEEP THE SHOULDERS AWAY FROM THE EARS WHILE YOU DO THESE.

• Randall Wilber – Training and Competing in a Hot and Humid Environment
  • Dr. Wilber discussed in great detail how he helped Deena Castor (bronze) and Meb Keflezighi (silver)  prepare for the Athens Olympic marathons in 2004.
  • While not terribly important to my goals, some of this information was new and very interesting.
  • 2 ways to prepare for heat/humidity:
    • Natural acclimatization
    • Arrive 10 days to two weeks out
    • Gradually adjust timing of high-intensity and low-intensity workouts (two-a-days)
    • Gradually creep the workouts towards the heat of the day such that the final day has a HI workout near noon and a LI intensity workout in the evening.
    • Pre-acclimatization (Deena and Meb both did this prior to Athens.)
      • Very simple: Train in more clothing to make the body hot and thus approximate the hot conditions in which you’re to compete.
      • Arrive a few days ahead of the event and do your final workouts.
    • Cooling strategies
    • clothing
      • no cotton
      • lightweight and light color
    • sunscreen: avoid it as much as possible as it clogs pores and inhibits sweating
    • ice packs/towels
    • ice vest
    • Apply cold/ice to hands and feet: I’ve noticed on my own how  in cold weather, I can put on gloves or take off gloves and experience a significant change in my overall temperature.
    • whole body immersion: showers, tubs
    • ice drinks (like Slurpees)
    • Stay as cool as possible right up to the event.
    • Consume more sodium while training in the heat.
• David Bertrand – Managing the Endurance Athlete
  • MS, USA Triathlon Level II Coach, lectures at SMU in the Applied Physiology Dept, head of DFI Tri Club, Dallas
  • Athlete selection:
    • Very important to coach people with whom you mesh
    • You may not be the best coach for everyone
    • Curiosity: He needs to feel curious about his clients and their goals.
    • “Training with David” document: This was very insightful
      • What does training with David bring…
      • coaching philosophy
      • requirements
      • rates
      • weekly training availability
      • how training is delivered
      • training jargon and abbreviations
      • I need to develop a document like this w/my name in place of David’s
  • Coaching styles and methodologies
    • autocratic: best for groups with both high and low cohesion
    • democratic: best for groups with moderate cohesion
    • Display a vision.  Express belief in the athlete
    • Buy-in: “Here’s how were going to do it.”
  • Communication
    • How am I most effective?  1-on-1?  Small groups?  Big groups?  Ask my clients.
    • LISTENING IS VITAL!
  • Training intensities
    • Most people go too hard.
    • This is in sync with Wilber’s advice that a little undertrained is far better than a little overtrained.
    • HR monitor can help keep athletes in check.
  • Writing and adjusting the plan
    • Adjusting the plan: This is your greatest value to them.  This separates you from the cookie cutter programs.
    • Most people need MORE RECOVERY, not more work.
  • Best practices
    • Don’t over-coach: Take 1 or 2 things and ask, “What did we focus on today?”  Less is more
    • Strive to learn.  Stay curious.  He told a great story about Jon Wooden.
    • Select days of the week for specific tasks.  Get organized.
    • Help athletes with something beyond just training.  Can you inspire them?
  • David gave a really superb lecture on what I call “filling in the cracks.”  That is, he spoke to issues beyond just physiology, heart rate, strength programs and other science. He talked about his time in the trade and how to actually work with human beings. I got a lot out of the lecture even though I’m not a tri coach nor do I plan on becoming one.