Running and Training Smarter
by Dave Casillas

    I have long noted, that since I became a runner years ago, that there is 'no justice' in the world/running! By that I mean, sometimes we can train until we're blue in the face. Often we are told, that more miles/faster/hills/intervals, etc,, will get us the desired results. Well, as I've stated, there are no guarantees in running!

    Thus, I titled this segment, 'running and training smarter'! Since we all lead busy lives, with work, family and friends, it's essential to use our time wisely. We have many tools today to help us 'train smarter'. Take for example, heart rate monitors. HR monitors help take the guess work out helping us calculate our running efforts. By knowing our limits, we can safely train without risking going too fast or slow.

    Years ago, when I was a beginner, more mileage did make me stronger and ultimately faster. Like any other activity, my body acclimated to the added stress of training. From 30-miles a week, to 50, and then upwards to over a 100 a week, my body usually responded well. I got much stronger and was even able to complete a marathon while in high school!

    Later, in college I was able to enjoy some very fast times and win quite a few races. I thought, wow, this high mileage/speed work/hills is great stuff! However, and this is the part we all eventually will discover, I was highly prone to over-use injuries. If this high mileage was my 'secret' to winning races, what was going to happen if I had to stop? Again, this was the part, where there was no justice in the world! I only wanted to continue doing 'my thing' and win races!

    Needless to say, I was a 'dedicated'/stubborn runner. I wasn't going to let a few injuries get in the way of my success I thought! Initially, my stubbornness would win out and I was able to 'gut it out'. However as I aged, my body was less and less resilient.Then almost, by accident/injury, I discovered a method to be stronger, flexible, and just as fast.

    Initially, this step, was a huge 'leap of faith' as I had been quite successful for sometime with my high mileage program. So, not until I found repeated success, that I was convinced, 'running and training smarter' was indeed much better! Plus, I now had more time to spend with family, friends and work!...and best of all, I wasn't sore all of the time.

    So, what was the key element that it took years for me to discover? In part, it's a device I already mentioned, Heart rate monitors help in that it takes the guess work out of where and how fast we should train. The HR monitors don't lie, no matter how we 'feel'! When I first strapped this bad boy to my chest, I thought how can this be? The suggested pace for my age, seemed to be way too slow! I was convinced I was faster than that heart rate monitor!

    
    Now for part two of my new discovery was the need to get stronger. You might not like reading the fact that as we age, we loose muscle mass. When you loose muscle, you lose power. Power/muscle helps get us from point a to point be-faster! Thus, as I was turning 40, I was shocked to learn that we lost muscle by huge portions. No wonder I was getting slower and weaker! Not to mention-FATTER! I had often wondered why despite running high mileage I had, what my ex-girlfriend called 'love-handles'!

So, almost immediately, I joined a gym. I started lifting weights at the ripe old age of 40! It took time, as I was pretty weak. However, in time, I got stronger and lost those 'love handles'. One of the 'secrets' I learned was that as we lost muscle, the demand for calories also shrunk! See, idle muscle, even when sleeping, burns more calories!

    
    Just ask any dietitian, and they will tell you as did my ex-girlfriend, "it's all about the calories stupid!"

The final, and perhaps most important key to my success was training 'smarter'! By this, I will be a bit more specific. I already mentioned, that more miles/faster miles won't guarantee you better results. I have discovered that if you use your HR monitor and incorporate a few 'tempo runs' during the week, you can improve.

Tempo runs are runs ranging from 30-60 minutes. These are runs in which you will run just a bit faster than your average daily runs. In other words, you will be pushing your body a bit. For example: my normal easy pace for say, 5 miles is 40minutes. Now, on my tempo run, I will complete my run in 35minutes. The key here is not to go over 60 minutes. Tempo runs are basically quality workouts and you don't want to over do it. Again, I've achieved excellent results with doing consistent 35-minute tempo runs.

    Finally, let's bring all of the above together. Our goal here is to achieve maximum results safely and soundly. We have the tools to help us train smart, By incorporating the HR monitors, our local gym/weights, we can only get faster and stronger. Again, high mileage will achieve limited success, and all at the risk of injury. Our goal is to have an enjoyable experience and strive to be efficient with our time. As we've learned high mileage guarantees nobody results, only a very sore and tired body at the end of the day. Often, there is another factor which I didn't even cover and that is God-given ability...which is beyond our control.

    What we can control though is using our 'smarts' to be as efficient as possible to achieve the desired results. To achieve the desired results takes careful planning and a good solid training base. Next time, we will dive further into just what constitutes a good solid training base. Until then, you might consider incorporating a few tempo runs a week. It won't hurt you and can be started at anytime. Just a gentle reminder not to do more than two tempo runs per week!