I just returned from a great family vacation to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. While vacations these days are a bit different now that I have a one year old, it was still a great time to relax with my daughter and in-laws. The house where we stayed was right on the beach and there were few roads, save the busy main one that runs along the island. This set up was great for beach time, but was a bit of a struggle for running. It was also incredibly hot and humid down there so I had to employ some tips from Windsor Running’s recent Running in the Heat blog. That being said, my brother in-law and I found some great little loops and got creative so that we could get a few miles in before returning to the crazy toddlers and the amazing food and drink that dominated the week.

The big takeaway from the week is that you shouldn’t take a vacation from your running plan…even when you’re on vacation. In fact, running on vacation should be treated as a reprieve from your everyday routine. Here are a few reasons to stay motivated and consider your running being an important part of your vacation: 

I am a big fan of reading Steve Magness’ Science of Running blog and book. He is a former coach of the Nike Oregon Project and current distance coach at the University of Houston. Steve is the consummate academic and is always looking outside of traditional running literature for different approaches to training distance runners. As a result, one of his recent blogs inspired me to write about what I have learned coaching sprinters that has translated into making changes in how I coach distance runners.
 
When I first started coaching, I never thought that I would go anywhere near the sprints. I had an antiquated thought that when it came to pure speed, “you can’t put in what God left out.” I had a great sprints coach on staff and he was passionate about working with that group of athletes. But as with many moments in life, we are sometimes forced to step outside of our comfort zone, and into uncharted waters, and when my sprints coach left for graduate school, I stepped into the role. What has been revelatory about the experience is learning about the physiology and psychology of coaching different types of athletes. I won’t say that I’m as passionate about the sprints as I am about the longer distances quite yet, but my team won the DC "state" 4 by 100 meter title this spring so I think we’re doing something right!

​My wife and I were walking the other day and we were enveloped in the humidity that defines Washington, DC summers. As a native of North Carolina, she refers to the humidity as a comforting blanket. Because I grew up in Connecticut, I tend to have a different view and have a really hard time running in the heat in humidity. But because it’s not only my job to make sure that I am in shape so that I can keep up with the kids I coach come fall, but I also love running, I had to find some ways to adjust in the heat of the summer.
            While I’ll get into the science behind how heat affects exercise below, I want to start with a personal story. In 2012, I was training for the National Marathon (now Rock ‘n Roll DC). My buddy and I trained through a winter that saw snowstorms and frigid temperatures. Having run in college in upstate New York, I have to say I reveled in it. While this could be a bit of a revisionist history of the weather, we dutifully completed our long runs regardless of the temperature or weather conditions. As race day approached, there were some perfectly cool days leading up to the race that would have been awesome for marathon running.
            Of course race day arrived and it was in the high 60s at the start and when I crossed the finish line, it was 77 degrees. Needless to say, the heat had a significant effect on how I ran that day. Even though I came away with a PR, I was always left wondering what could have been if the race had been run in cooler temperatures.
            The important take away from the race and the subsequent disappointment with the weather is we have to do the best we can with what we are given. That day was warm and I tried to drink fluids constantly. And while I wish it had been cooler, I did my best to control the variables I could. 

​​Recently, I have been in a running rut. It’s rare, but there are just times when I struggle to get out the door and even put in a mile or two on the roads. I tell myself that I’ll run later or that I deserve the time off because I worked out yesterday. Because I am surrounded by runners and coaches, when I am in a rut, the idea that I am struggling to get out the door is amplified. Even when I am telling my athletes the importance of consistency in training, I know in the back of my mind that I am not practicing what I am preaching!
 
Over the years, I have noticed a pattern to the influences or events in my life, and in the lives of the athletes I coach, that lead to running ruts. As a result, I have a few tips and tricks to help you get out of your rut. If you have a particular question, make sure to reach out!
           
The I’m So Stressed At Work Rut: This one is the worst. It’s ironic that I do the least amount of running during the outdoor track season. I am so focused on helping my athletes and getting the team to contend for league and state titles that I tend to forget about my own fitness. In the back of my mind, I know that I am a better coach, father and husband when I am running regularly, but coming off of the stress of the spring days is really hard! 

As a result, my fix is always to run to or from work. I am fortunate that I live four miles from work so I can commute by foot. But I know other coaches who run from their jobs to the train or even park their car two miles from work so they are forced to get a little time in!

Every runner has their favorite routes. Whether it is your after-work loop, your Sunday long run or an out-and-back from home, we all have roads and trails that bring comfort and good memories from miles logged in the past. But the routes that inspire us the most are the original runs that helped shape our identity as runners.
            Recently, I was visiting my parent’s house in Connecticut and laced up my Asics to put in a few miles before dinner. I had been coming off of injuries that had prevented the winter training I was used to and this was going to be my entry back into what would hopefully be some more consistent training. While I knew I was only going to be able to manage three or four miles before I needed to be back, getting my legs moving and my mind back into the training mindset was more important to me than logging more mileage.
            So I set out from home and took a left up a hill that, at one time, had seemed insurmountable. When I was a freshman in high school lacing up my first pair of running shoes, my endurance and strength was in its infancy. And while powering up the small incline was easier than it was 18 years ago, the memories of those early struggles and subsequent triumphs were vivid. As I crested the slope and headed back downhill, my confidence grew as my cadence increased. When I run the routes that made me fall in love with running, my mind always returns to the same topics: old races, friends I’ve made through running, and races I hope to run in the future. 

​One of the cornerstones of any marathon program in the United States is the 20-mile run. It’s commonly prescribed on Sundays in order to give those training for a marathon time to get those miles in, enjoy their Sunday brunch, and recover with family and friends. But if the 20-mile run is so essential, why do coaches from countries on the metric system prescribe a run that is slightly shorter than 20 miles? Is that run any less beneficial when trying to set a personal best? Are Europeans going to be slightly slower because they didn't get the sacred 20 miles in?

Another question coaches and runners should be asking is why do generic training plans leave out the fact that a 20 mile run for someone training at 8:00 min per mile is a significantly different workout than the same workout run at 10:00 min per mile? The answer is generic training plans are built for the “average” runner. And while they do work for some, you will get more benefit from an individualized plan.
 
This is why Windsor Running plans will routinely use time instead of distance because the human body has no idea whether it is using the metric or imperial system and a mile to one person is very different than a mile to another. What our bodies do recognize is time spent at an elevated heart rate. Workouts based on time will ultimately allow you to see bigger improvements in your training and you will have fewer injuries because your body won’t be forced to fit into a cookie-cutter plan that wasn’t written for you.
 
We have included some of the other great benefits to running for time versus distance below. 

It is no secret that RUNNING is the key to success when it comes to improving your ability to RUN.  While strength training is a vital component to get faster, if you aren’t actually practicing the skill of running, you will not improve. Tom Brady didn’t develop the ability to throw tight spirals by solely doing wrist curls – he practiced the actual skill repeatedly over time.  Without that regular, practical, application of the skill in practice, he’d just have strong, well-defined forearms! Great for bodybuilding, not for quarterbacking. 
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Point being, if you want to improve your running, RUN!  As athletes, unless you are a bodybuilder, powerlifter, or weightlifter (Olympic lifts), strength training is a tool that supplements your actual activity and makes you better at whatever it is you’re trying to improve upon.  Whether that is running, riding a bike, or tossing your kid as high in the air as possible while freaking your spouse out (my personal favorite), the time spent strength training is utilized to improve our abilities at all of those things. 

So how do we balance the two?