RunCast Blog

Runcast 66 - How to hydrate before, during and after the run /...

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 15:56:49 -0400

Runcast 66 - How to hydrate before, during and after the run / Training and nutrition while fasting

Today, we talk about hydration in details, explaining what to drink to hydrate before, during and after the run. Also, we’ll mention different ways to carry drinks with you while running. In the second segment we’ll talk about training while fasting. This segment is an answer to a listeners question - Fairy from Malaysia asked about nutrition and training during the fasting month of Ramadan, observed by Muslims worldwide. The topic is mostly dealing with the challenges of training for athletes who are fasting during the daylight hours. But, don’t just skip that part, there are some useful information about benefits of running on an empty tank.

Runcast 65 – Runners live longer / fighting side stitch and...

Sun, 13 May 2012 16:37:03 -0400

Runcast 65 – Runners live longer / fighting side stitch and sleep issues

Today on the podcast: a study proves that people who run live longer than people who don’t. The study was done over a long period of time and gives an insight on how much running may be too much. Next, the sleep issues which can prevent you from getting enough deep sleep your body needs for rest and recovery. Finally, we give you four tips on things you can do to stop the side stitch.

Runcast 64 – How to wash your gear / Running in...

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 21:00:21 -0400

Runcast 64 – How to wash your gear / Running in pregnancy

Today’s episode will mostly interest female listeners. We’re exploring whether it’s safe to run during pregnancy, with a few tips for pregnant runners. Before that, we briefly talk about washing and maintaining your special running clothing so it lasts longer, look nice and smell fresh.

Coffee and running

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 11:32:00 -0400

The good and the bad of caffeine effect

My article on Canadian Running magazine web site:

On a weekend morning before a long run, while the sky slowly lightens up, you can find me leaning on a kitchen counter in my running gear, with a steaming cup of coffee in hand. It is a ritual as certain as a run itself. Coffee wakes me up and warms me up, helping me prepare for the workout I’m about to start. But how much of it is real, and how much of this feeling is just in my head?

Read the whole article at Canadian Running

Runcast 63 - Trail running and safety Mihira Lakshman, editor in...

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 17:14:20 -0400

Runcast 63 - Trail running and safety

Mihira Lakshman, editor in chief of Canadian Running magazine, talks about trail running and how it compares to road running. He also tells a story about a bizarre kind of extreme trail running in which prospectors in Northern Ontario hire trail runners to stake valuable mining claims. The story sounds like something from a western movie. Finally, we talk about safety when running on trails alone and we’ll give you some tips to help you run and return safely from your trail run.

Correction: In the podcast I wrongly state that Micah True, “Caballo Blanco” was found dead in Texas, while in fact his body was found in New Mexico.

Runcast 62 - Understanding running pain / Alternatives to...

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 23:06:00 -0400

Runcast 62 - Understanding running pain / Alternatives to sold-out big races

For all of you who run for training, you know that with it comes certain amount of pain. I will tell you about the “good pain, the bad pain and the ugly pain,” what they mean and what to do about them.

As marathons get more and more popular, it’s getting really difficult to register for some of the big races. But, there could be alternatives, and I will tell you about them

Runcast 61 - Afternoon naps are not good for you / Become a...

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 21:14:34 -0400

Runcast 61 - Afternoon naps are not good for you / Become a morning runner

A sleep doctor tells us why napping in the afternoon is not good for an athlete. Then, another doctor helps us adjust our lifestyle to become a morning runner.

Runcast 60 - Finding your happy pace / Running with period Today...

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 21:37:07 -0500

Runcast 60 - Finding your happy pace / Running with period

Today we help you to find your happy pace. That’s the pace when you feel like you could run forever and more, when you body runs on auto-pilot and when there’s almost no effort in maintaining your speed.

After that, we try to answer a very womanly question - how to train and run during period. We borrowed heavily from the writing of the renowned running coach and Runner’s World magazine columnist Jenny Hadfield.

This run is fueled by Anger and Frustration

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 11:23:00 -0500

Is it healthy to run yourself to exhaustion when you’re feeling angry?

Rough days. We all have those. Sometimes the frustration builds throughout the day and we can hardly wait to vent it out. At least, as runners, we have a perfect “venting” solution - we can go for a run, blast it until we can run no more. But - is that really the right thing to do?

I am having a difficult week. Three days ago I was involved in a minor car accident. No injuries and I wasn’t at fault. The stress level should have been at the lower end of the scale, right? Unfortunately, the trouble with my insurance company - which decided to declare my car a total loss, and therefore forced me to buy a new vehicle, despite my old one being perfectly and cheaply fixable - managed to bring the stress levels to the boiling point. So, I dealt with it the way I always do - I went out for a 10k run. I ran until my legs turned into rubber and lungs couldn’t fill with enough air. I ran the anger out of me. There wasn’t enough energy left after the run to feel angry any longer. And, after two sleepless nights, I slept again.

Then I considered what I’ve done - emotionally, it was a right thing to do. Physically, it was a bit silly. I ran way above my race pace and pushed myself to the limit. Something could have snapped - a muscle fibre, a tendon…

According to this article, there’s a chemical explanation to what I’ve done: serotonin, which is a neurotransmitter in the brain, is associated with the mood - low levels of serotonin are associated with aggression in lab rats, and mood disorders in humans. Exercise increases the serotonin level in the brain and therefore improves the mood.

Although there is no proof that mood-triggered physiological reactions can protect your muscles or joints from injury, studies of elite runners who used anger as a motivation strategy in races concluded that running angry can increase the pain tolerance.

So, if you need to run off some bad emotions, and before the fire of rightful anger consumes the reason, remember this - warm up properly before you blast on your angriest run. And, while you’re flying on your path to redemption and anger-management, listen what your body tells you underneath the stormy emotions. If it hurts from exhaustion, you’re fine. But, if there are pangs of pain in muscles, or joints, do the right thing - stop, or slow down, and try to walk out negative emotions instead, so you can be healthy for an angry run some other time.

~ Zoran

Runcast 59 - Prevent back pain when running / Pacing and racing...

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:35:56 -0500

Runcast 59 - Prevent back pain when running / Pacing and racing tips

Today I talk about preventing back pain when running. Some statistics show that almost a third of working men and more than two out of ten working women in North America suffer from some form of back pain. While running itself is rarely the cause of it, there are things good to know about your back if you’re a runner.

Later I will share a few running tips from an Ironman coach which will help you improve your pacing and racing.

Runcast 58 - Is marathon harmful for the heart, or not? /...

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 23:40:25 -0500

Runcast 58 - Is marathon harmful for the heart, or not? / Vitamin D

There have been lot of controversy lately whether running a marathon is going to kill you or not. In the wake of recent deaths during marathon and half-marathon races, two studies were published, with exactly opposite conclusions as to how harmful is an endurance race to your heart. I will talk about both.

Later, I’ll tell you how important vitamin D is for everyone, but especially for runners. Did you know it can help prevent overuse injuries and inflammation? Listen on and I will explain how it works.

Links: Distance Running and Endurance Sports Can Be Hard on the Heart

Running marathons isn’t bad for your heart, study finds

Men’s Health: Can Running Kill You?

How to run when you can't run? ElliptiGO could be the answer...

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:12:00 -0500

When constant impact of hitting the ground on your runs gets the best of you, there’s a tool that can keep you running and in shape.

Photo: Margaret Bozicevic

I’m a runner — the kind that runs outdoors, in rain or shine. Or snow. Or even deep freeze. The neighbours look at me in awe, with a dose of sympathy. They regard me as one would a daredevil, a guy who jumps on a motorbike over 10 cars set ablaze: It’s entertaining to watch, but you’d never try it yourself. So, when the temperature falls to -20C, and I plod through the snowdrifts up to my knees, my breath freezing in my eyebrows, I sometimes catch a sympathetic look behind a fogged up window, with a steaming mug in hand, and an uncertain wave of encouragement. But here’s the thing: I can’t stand the gym. It repels me; its stench of sweat, crowds of people in various stages of corpulence, lineups for treadmills and ellipticals, and time limits on how long you can use them … I just can’t do it. I’d rather put on another layer or three and head outside.

Constant running on the pavement, though, can take its toll on the joints. No matter how smart you train, if you always run on the pavement, sooner or later you’ll get injured. On those occasions you’ll have to take it easy on your joints and resort to lower-impact training. That means going to a gym and holding your breath for about 30 minutes, until your time on an elliptical is up, or else cashing out about a grand to park a machine in your own basement, so you can train as long as you want, staring at the wall. Or a TV. Neither of those will do much to motivate your training.

Imagine if there was a way to take your elliptical outside, to have a workout with no impact on your sore joints, yet to be able to move as if you were running. As it turns out, there is a way. Right from a fairy-tale runners’ dream comes ElliptiGO, an elliptical bicycle. And just like in dreams, I was offered one to test-drive.

ElliptiGO is the brainchild of two U.S. triathletes, Brent Teal and Bryan Pate. They used to train together, but over time, Pate had to stop running due to hip and knee injuries. He tried elliptical trainers, but soon got bored with the stationary workout machines. So, in 2005, he went to Teal, who has a mechanical engineering background, and asked him to design a low-impact running device that could be used on the street. Five years and about half a dozen prototypes later, ElliptiGO was introduced to the public. Jenny Hadfield, a running coach and columnist for Runners World magazine, brought the first ElliptiGO to Canada in September 2010, when she rode it from Chicago to Toronto — a trip of more than 800 kilometres — in six days.

In Canada, ElliptiGO is being sold by Bruce Raymer, a former national marathon team member who also had to cut down on mileage spent running due to injuries. For him, it’s a godsend device that lets him do his workout without dealing with the strain of impact. As he points out, after a two-hour training session on ElliptiGO, he can still walk down the stairs without pain the next day. After two hours running, he would generally feel pain for days after.

I met Raymer a few weeks after he returned from San Diego, Calif., where he won the bronze medal in the second-ever World Championship on the ElliptiGO. The race was held on Palomar Mountain near San Diego; it was an 11-mile race with 4,500 feet vertical climb, which means uphill all the way. It showed ElliptiGO as a great climbing vehicle. In team competition, Team Canada won the gold ahead of the Team USA.

ELLIPTIGO TEST DRIVE

First impressions
As I hop on ElliptiGO – like starting on a scooter, it takes a few hops to get it going – the first weird thing I notice is that there’s no seat. Riding at first feels like riding a bike while standing, except there’s no respite from sitting down once the quads start burning; you’re compelled to remain standing. The footpads move in smooth cyclical motion, just like on a stationary elliptical.

Gearing up
Because I’m standing, I have a better view of traffic than I would on a bicycle. After a minute, I am already used to it, and I shift into a higher gear – yes, like on a bicycle, it has gears – to speed up. Immediately, I’m the main attraction. Passersby point and wave, kids run after me, cars tailgate to get a better look.

Tackling hills
It takes a few hills until I get it right, the slow downshifting of the gears and the increased cadence of legwork, then it dawns on me – it truly is like running: you shorten the steps and increase the frequency when you go uphill. When I hop off the ElliptiGO, it feels like after a fun long run, except there are no little aches in my feet, shins and knees.

Climate control
I hear you saying, “Wait a minute, we’re in Canada, the land of winter and snow, what do I do when it’s too cold to ride outside?” Raymer explains that ElliptiGO fits on a bicycle trainer frame to use indoors. So it really is like a traditional elliptical you can take outside for a fun training ride.

Pricing
The model I tried is an 8-gear model, which retails for $2,599 CDN. There is also a 3-gear model which sells for $1,799. If the prices seem steep, bear in mind they are comparable to a stationary elliptical trainer which—it being stationary—you can’t take out for a spin on a sunny day.

This article was first published in National Post on Jan. 10, 2012. No part of it can be reproduced or re-used in any manner without author’s permission.