BELLIN 10K RUN
JUNE 12, 2010
Training (20)
Strategizing your plan of attack for a great experience at the Bellin Run starts long before you lace up your running shoes.
Bellin Health running professional Nate Vandervest – he did this year’s Green Bay Marathon in 3 hours and 5 minutes so he knows a little about running – offers tips on how to get the best out of your Bellin Run experience.
First, pick up your bib. The night before the race, make sure you set out your running attire along with your bib attached to your shirt and timing chip already fixed to your shoe. Eat a normal meal the night before – don’t try anything new. Like always, make sure to hydrate properly throughout the day. Go to bed at a normal time; maybe even get some shut-eye a bit early.
On race day morning. Get up early and go through your typical morning routine. This tends to keep your nerves down a little. Eat something for breakfast and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Once again do not try something new. Get dressed and double-check your bib and timing chip and out the door you go. Try to arrive at the run event a little early so you have time to park, use the bathroom and warm up before the race. Find your corral and line up. Stay loose as best you can.
Bang! And they’re off! Chances are you’ll experience a short delay before you can really start running. That’s normal for everyone. Be patient. Do not weave in and out of people or run up on anyone’s heels. Not cool. Stay calm and conserve your energy for later. Eventually the race will thin out and you will have all the space you need. Find your stride and get into your game plan. Enjoy the people, places and music as you fly through the course.
Huh, that wasn’t so bad. You make the turn back onto Webster Avenue and you are giving it your all. Wave to the cameras, my friend. It’s your time to shine. After you cross the finish line the first thing that you will want to do is stop. Don’t. Keep moving through the chute. Refreshments await you down the road on the way to Astor Park. Meet up with your family and friends and re-live the race with all of them.
Congratulations on a job well done. Savor the moment and start thinking about next year’s event.
So you’ve trained hard for the Bellin Run and you’re coming to the last couple of weeks. What do you need to do to make sure you’re going to have your best race?
You need to taper properly. In other words, you need to cut back on how much you’re running/walking.
For this year’s race, your biggest mileage week should be the last week of May. The first week of June you will want to cut back on your total weekly mileage by up to 15 percent. Keep in mind that your intensity for any tempo or interval runs should remain the same.
The week of the race, cut your total weekly miles by an additional 10-15 percent (make sure to include the 6.2 miles you’ll be running on race day).
Do only one intense workout the week of the race and do it preferably on Monday or Tuesday.
By tapering, your body will have the time that it needs to heal any little aches and pains, not to mention, it will leave you feeling rested and pretty speedy come race day.
You don’t have to let the recent stifling hot temperatures (or future sweaty days) melt your training plans for the upcoming Bellin Run. There are a number of ways you can stay on track with your training regimen.
Nate Vandervest, a strength and conditioning specialist at Bellin Health, offers five tips for hot weather training for your next road race:
Replenish your fluids – frequently: Drink before you head out on a training run. Drink while on the training run. Drink after your training run. Keeping hydrated is critical when training in hot weather. Water is great for replenishing your fluids and staying hydrated, but don’t forget to chug down some of your favorite sports drink for the carbohydrates and sodium, which aid in your body’s recovery and in restoring lost electrolytes. And remember, being thirsty isn’t the best indicator of hydration levels. If you’re out running and you feel pretty thirsty, your body’s probably already dehydrated. Be careful.
Run early in the morning or late in the evening: Running early in the morning typically means you’ll experience the coolest temperatures of the first half of the day but also more humidity. Running later in the evening usually means the temperature is a little cooler but the humidity tends to be less. Overall you should avoid running from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on hot days.
Slow down: If you aren’t used to the heat you need to give your body a chance to acclimate to it. Slow your pace down. If it’s really hot out, consider training indoors –activities like cross-training, core work or flexibility training.
Ditch the cotton T-shirt: Wicking material is the in-thing now. Most running attire is made of some form of moisture-wicking fabric. These fabrics keep sweat away from your skin and help keep you cool. Cotton retains the moisture, gets heavy, and isn’t going to cool you down as well as these new wicking materials can.
Protect your eyes and skin: Wear sunscreen and sunglasses, they’ll help protect your skin and your eyes, respectively. Also, try wearing light-colored clothing or get a tech shirt that has UV protection already in it. That will help reflect some of the sunlight on a bright, hot day.
Listen to your body: The heat can be dangerous so listen to your body. If you start to experience the signs of a heat-related illness – dizziness, clammy skin, nausea, sudden headache, confusion, etc. – stop and immediately get out of the sun or into the shade, take a cool (not cold) bath or call your doctor for further advice.
Stretching, Flexibility are Important for Your Bellin Run Training
Written by Bellin RunnerIf you’re an avid runner or walker, chances are you occasionally have some tight muscles.
Many runners don’t devote enough time to stretching because they’d much rather log an extra mile than put themselves through the pain of stretching. However, a tight muscle is a weak muscle so if you’re aiming for an all-around positive Bellin Run performance, you might want to consider including stretches in your training regimen.
The Bellin Run is Saturday, June 12. The race – which drew a record-breaking 16,746 registrants last year – will start at 8 a.m.
Strengthening those weaker muscles and stretching your overworked muscles can lead you to a body better equipped to handle the upcoming Bellin Run 10K, as well as other road race events during the course of the year. Such strengthening will lead to better performances. That being said, let’s check out three techniques that are sure to enhance your Bellin Run race-day experience.
Dynamic stretches: The goal of the dynamic stretch is to put your body through the different ranges of motion that mimic the activity you are preparing for. Trainers and coaches have used dynamic stretching to help athletes increase their flexibility and lessen the likelihood of injury. Slow, controlled arm swings or torso twists are examples of dynamic stretches.
Static Stretches: These stretches are meant for post-workout or if your muscles are extremely tight in a specific area before you participate in a sporting or physically active event. These are your classic “touch your toes and hold it” stretches. Hold your stretches for at least 30 seconds and do multiple sets depending on how tight you are.
Foam Roller: Although most people use this tool when trying to recover from injury, we’re advising you to use it all the time. It’s basically a self-massager and works wonders for getting the knots out by stretching your muscles and tendons.
In general, work diligently on your flexibility. You’ll recover faster and become a more efficient runner. A combination of all three of the aforementioned stretching techniques is best, but be sure to work on your flexibility. You’ll see your running and walking improve.
As always, if you need professional guidance, consult a fitness expert to help you get on the correct flexibility program.
Blisters are a pain. You Bellin Run veterans know what we’re talking about. And you newbies to the Bellin Run just might find out – the hard way – if you don’t take the following advice from Nate Vandervest, a strength and conditioning specialist at Bellin Health Sports Medicine.
“Just do what you can to avoid them,” Vandervest says. “Getting one or several during race day, especially when you’re already pushing your body to the limit, can be detrimental to your Bellin Run experience.”
What’s a Blister?
A blister is a painful, small pocket of fluid formed on the outer layer of the skin. Most blisters are filled with a clear fluid, although in some cases fluid color can range from clear to red or even blue.
“Blisters can be painful enough to stop you from running or walking. That’s not something you want happening after weeks of training diligently for your big day,” Vandervest said.
We’ve provided some information to help you avoid blisters. If you still have questions, feel free to contact Nate Vandervest or any of our running experts at Bellin Health Sports Medicine at (920) 430-4756.
What Causes Blisters?
• Ill-fitting shoes: If your shoes don’t fit properly, you’re a likely candidate for blisters. Your foot will move around. Friction comes to play. Voila! You’ve got a blister.
• The Wrong Socks: Poorly-fitting socks or ones that are made of an irritating material (like cotton that soaks up moisture) can lead to blisters. Wearing no socks at all is even worse.
• Heat: Leads to sweat, leads to moisture, leads to … you guessed it, blisters.
• Moisture: Softens your skin, creating ripe conditions for blisters.
• Sand or gravel: Irritates your skin and creates friction which can lead to blisters.
Prevention
• Reduce friction by spreading conservative amounts of Vaseline on areas most susceptible to blisters.
• Use socks made of nylon. Synthetic material absorbs sweat and dries up fast.
• Pad blister “hot spots” on your foot with moleskin or athletic tape.
• Relieve pressure points with shoe modifications or orthotics.
So you’ve been training hard for the Bellin Run and in your training routines you kind of hurt yourself a little … ok, a lot. What do you do?
It is almost inevitable that if you run/walk enough you will get some sort of an injury. It might be a blister from a new pair of shoes or something worse like a stress fracture.
Whatever the injury, you need to step back and think about what your next plan of action is going to be. Something simple like a blister can easily be handled with little training downtime. If you’ve had a serious setback like a stress fracture, shin splints, IT band syndrome, runner’s knee or plantar fasciitis, you’ll need to take some time off from training.
Your best bet is to see your doctor or physical therapist so that they can get you on the road to recovery. You may even have to hire a personal trainer or strength and conditioning specialist.
There are a ton of options to keep yourself in shape while you heal.
First, get on a good strength program. Every runner/walker I know could use a good strength program to get stronger and ward off injuries that occur due to weakness and instability.
The next step would be to hit the bike, elliptical or pool. Most running and walking injuries are aggravated by the pounding of the pavement. Stick to cardio machines or the pool where there are no impact forces. By doing this you’ll give your body time to heal but still stay in good cardiovascular shape.
So now the day has come where you feel great and have no lingering pain anywhere. It’s time to get back out on the road and pick up the training program where you left off, right? Not necessarily.
Start off nice and easy for the first week back. You might even mix in cross training for run/walk days at this point. The last thing that you want to do is start up with what your training program is calling for that week. If after a week things feel good, continue to add mileage at about 10% a week until you are back on schedule.
At this point depending on when you were injured you might need to rethink your goal for the race. See how the rest of your training goes but make a realistic goal and stick with it. Go out and do your best on race day and consider saving the personal record for next year.
Don’t Buy Apparel the Day Before Your Big Event
Getting a new pair of running shoes the day before the Bellin Run might be a recipe for disaster, according to running pro Nate Vandervest of Bellin Health.
“One of the cardinal sins of running is wearing something new on race day, like new shoes, shorts and a T-shirt,” Vandervest said. “My recommendation is to go out and get exactly what you are going to wear on race day and start using it now so that by the time the race comes you know for certain that it works for you.”
Vandervest’s other recommendations:
• Make sure your shoes are a couple of weeks old before racing in them
• Go out and get a nice technical fabric T-shirt, shorts and socks. The new fabrics out there for runners and walkers are amazing.
• Make sure before race day that you’ve run or walked with your headband, hat, iPod or whatever other apparel you might wear on race day
“Remember, once you have your gear picked out, do a test run or two with your race apparel and make sure you feel comfortable in your chosen outfit,” Vandervest said. “Consider the weather conditions, too on race day. Think about whether you might need to make attire adjustments and make sure your bad weather outfit doesn’t affect your performance and comfort level.”
Think – what will you do if it rains or if it’s cold? Are you going to need sunscreen or bodyglide/Vaseline? What are you going to eat for breakfast and how long before the race should you eat?
“Just remember to practice how you play and you will have a very enjoyable experience,” he said.
The 34th annual Bellin Run is five weeks away. For those who have yet to begin serious training for the 10K (6.2-mile) run/walk, there’s still time, but the clock is ticking.
The 2010 Bellin Run will take place at 8 a.m. Saturday, June 12. The run/walk winds through the streets of Green Bay and Allouez. It drew a record 16,746 registrants in 2009.
Bellin Run participants beginning their training at this late stage should focus their efforts on getting their bodies conditioned to finish the run/walk and not necessarily break any personal bests, said Nate Vandervest, a strength and conditioning specialist at Bellin Health Sports Medicine.
“It’s going to be a challenge to really break a personal best time or anything of that nature right now if you haven’t already been seriously training,” he said. “The main thing at this point in time is to just get out there and do something to prepare yourself for the June 12 race. Anything you do now is better than doing nothing.”
Vandervest advises easing into a training regimen, ramping it up as race day approaches.
“Start fairly simple, say, three to four runs per week,” he said. “Put in a mile or two each training day and add mileage each week as you progress. So, say you put in eight miles the first week, the next week you should amp that up by one to three additional miles and keep doing that up until race week. At this stage, that is the best training option for participants getting a late start in their training efforts.”
A minor tweak on the course this year is the inclusion of an additional wave start. There were seven waves of runners and walkers last year. The June 12 event will have eight.
“It’s a proactive move,” Bellin Run executive director Randy Van Straten said. “We’re adding another runner wave to accommodate continued growth and keep congestion in the start corrals to a minimum for the safety and overall enjoyment of our participants.”
The change will separate the stroller division from walkers, race organizers say. After six initial runner waves start the race, a seventh wave of strollers followed by an eighth wave of walkers will begin the run/walk event.
“It’s all geared toward making this an increasingly pleasurable experience for all Bellin Run participants,” Van Straten said.
It’s never too late to establish good safety habits when running or walking, organizers of the Bellin Run’s Kids for Running program say.
“Running, walking and exercise in general will benefit your kids’ overall health,” said Tia DeLeers, Kids for Running program coordinator. “But as with all activities, you and the kids should be acutely aware of any safety issues and do your best to guard against injury.”
Practice the following safety tips and they’ll become lifelong habits. And if you can think of more, go ahead and add them to your list.
• Try to run or walk with a partner.
• Let someone know where you plan to run and when you will return.
• Carry some form of identification.
• On roads where bike paths or sidewalks are unavailable, always run or walk facing oncoming traffic.
• When a car approaches from a side street, always make eye contact with the driver before crossing in front of the vehicle.
• Be a defensive walker or runner. Most drivers know that runners and walkers have the right-of-way, but don’t always assume every driver abides by the rules.
• When running or walking against traffic, always pay attention to the oncoming cars. There are many drivers on cell phones that can be distracted and can slowly swerve to the shoulder. Again, be defensive.
• If chased by a dog, slow your run to a walk and, if possible, avoid eye contact with the animal. If the dog approaches, turn away and stand still; the less movement from you, the greater chance the dog will lose interest.
• Avoid walking or running along railroad tracks or on bridges. They are not designed to be sidewalks or pedestrian bridges.
The Bellin Run Kids for Running program prepares local kids in grades 3-8 to run or walk the 10K (6.2-mile) course. Many students training for the 34th annual Bellin Run will do so through Kids for Running as part of their after-school activities or running programs.
Kids from 57 area schools are taking part in the 2010 Bellin Run Kids for Running program. More than 2,660 kids and trainers from 41 area schools took part in last year’s program.
“The numbers have steadily increased in each of the last five years,” DeLeers said. “In 2005 we had 1,486 program participants. In 2006 we had 1,955. In 2007 and 2008 we had 2,217 and 2,452 participants, respectively. Last year’s total continued that trend of increasing participation. This year is much of the same.”
In order to successfully complete the 8 a.m. Saturday, June 12 Bellin Run, most participants train well in advance using their own personal techniques or any number of special training guides like the one provided on the Bellin Run website.
The question we have to ask is, “Why am I about to do the workout or training I have picked for today?” I want you to know why you are doing your training runs and what benefit each type of training run will offer your body.
The first thing we’ve got to do when it comes to training is to build a base. This simply means get out the door and run at an easy pace and at a distance you can easily handle. Building a base should last you anywhere from 4-6 weeks depending on your starting fitness level. As a note, there are about six weeks left until the Bellin Run.
Next, start adding mileage or time depending on your preference. There are two rules to follow when doing this. First, the 10% Rule. Simply stated, take whatever you did last week and add 10 percent to it to find out how far or how long to go this week.
A second option is to simply add 1 mile for every number of days you ran the week before. For example, if I ran three times for a total of 12 miles one week that means next week I can run 15 miles.
Now lets talk about different types of runs. The easy run is the most common of all runs. It should make up a majority of your total miles. This type of running is for warm-ups, cool-downs, recovery runs and recovery between intervals. This type of running will increase blood flow to muscles and help cardiovascular development.
Intervals are very intense workouts. They should be about 3-5 minutes long followed by equal recovery – a light jog or complete rest – between each one. This type of training is meant to boost your aerobic system which makes your body more efficient.
Tempo runs are less intense than intervals but are longer in duration. You are running for a longer period of time with no breaks. Depending on the distance of the race, a tempo workout might be 1 to 10 miles. The goal for this type of run is to improve endurance at a faster pace which once again will make you more efficient.
Long runs are slightly faster than easy runs, offering much of the same benefits. This type of run helps create more capillaries for blood flow to the muscles. The muscles will also start to better adapt to handling waste products. They will also build more cells that create energy so that there will be more to use. This will lead to you being able to run longer and faster without working much harder.
Sprints are simple. Run at a comfortably fast pace for 20-40 seconds and then rest until fully recovered. This will build speed and the “kick” that you want for the end of a race.
Each of these runs has a purpose if implemented correctly in your training regimen. It’s not about training hard all the time, it’s about training smart.
Consult a running specialist if you have questions on what you should be doing to get the most out of your training.