Happy Friday!
False alliterations hurt my brain a bit, but the theme of this post plays on the popular format of Friday Five with five things each week that will let your mind and body thrive as the week wraps up. Something light, fun, and positive when we can all use a little bit more of each of those.
Read:
Don’t Be Fooled, Treadmills are Miserable from Outside. I do always appreciate the treadmill for when I can’t safely run outside, but for me, it is a physical slog and a mental struggle. The author sums up why perfectly: “Aside from whatever fitness benefits running outside may provide, the most restorative aspect of the experience for me is the psychological reprieve that comes from setting out on foot and unplugging for an hour or two.”
The more I get into long distance running, the more I crave the time outdoors and the silence of just my footfalls on the road, as well as the physical act of running itself. The treadmill, while it certainly has its benefits (I will run on the treadmill any day if my option is the treadmill or not running at all), but it is a simulacrum for the sheer joy of the forward motion and changing scenery of outdoor running.
Run:
I recently wrote an article for Runkeeper on heart rate monitors: How All Runners Can Benefit from Heart Rate Training. Runners ask me about heart rate monitors frequently – should they use them, how do they use a heart rate monitor, and should they race with them. In short, my answer is: you can benefit from them if you know when to use them and if you know external factors.
Heart rate monitors are most beneficial on easy runs and long runs to monitor intensity. However, research indicates that if you are able to run appropriately by perceived exertion, you see the same performance benefits as if you train by heart rate.
I don’t run with a heart rate monitor, in part because my heart rate spikes slightly every time a cyclist quietly creeps up on me and jostles me out of my thoughts and also in part because the monitor band would probably drive me crazy. I prefer the RPE model with the paces from Daniel’s VDOT calculator as guidance. Ultimately, how you prefer to monitor effort (and how you can accurately monitor effort) is most important – whether it’s heart rate or RPE.
Listen:
The Runners Connect Run to the Top podcast is one of my favorite podcasts. This week’s episode featuring Jay Dicharry (author of Anatomy for Runners) and they discussed biomechanics, strength training, pre-habbing, and more. The episode is technical but it is well worth your listen – I’ve already listened to it twice while driving because there is such a wealth of information in this one hour.
Eat:
As I’ve mentioned several times, I love shawarma but I’m picky about it – it has to be Levantine style. I don’t want a gyro. Since I prefer to cook at home, I’ve been on the hunt for an authentic tasting yet easy to make chicken shawarma recipe.
Thanks to one of the swag bag gifts on the Rise.Run.Retreat, Ryan and I enjoyed a couple meals from Chef’d over the holidays. One of the meals was oven-roasted chicken shawarma, following the New York Times Cooking recipe. The Chef’d kit included a spice blend, but I was able to find the full recipe online, including exact spices and their rations.
This recipe is incredible. The shawarma tastes authentic but the cooking process is not complicated. The spices are common ones – paprika, turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, red pepper flakes – and it’s easy to follow. We served it over couscous with roasted vegetables and a tahini dressing last night and it is definitely a meal to make again.
Drink:
My current favorite drink is Winterhook Dark Ale from Redhook Brewery. One of their locations is near where I run sometimes, and the smell of fresh hops and barley is tantalizing.
This beer is a pleasant balance of malty and hoppy. I prefer hops over malt, but the bold taste of this beer makes it ideal for sipping on a chilly winter evening.
What are you eating, drinking, reading, running, or listening to this week?
Do you train by heart rate, pace, perceived exertion, or some combination?
What are your plans this weekend? Is anyone racing?
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I just finished listening to that podcast yesterday and thought it was great! I am exciting that he will eventually be writing another book because I love Anatomy for Runners. Hope you have a great weekend!
I need to read Anatomy for Runners! It’s been on my list for a long time.
I read that article from Outside Online too. I fully agree with you. I don’t love the treadmill but if it comes down to running on it or no run, I’ll go with the treadmill. I’d much rather be outside. I wanted to listen to Jay Dicharry on Run to the Top yesterday but my kids had another snow day so there was no down time for it to happen. He has a really great book – Anatomy for Runners. Great tips in it!
I need to read that book – it’s been sitting on my Amazon list for too long! Running on the treadmill certainly beats no run, but I’ve never had a run outside where I’ve been as bored as on the treadmill.
I jumped over to your piece on HR monitors because I really think it can change your training/running for the better! I was definitely not a believer a few years ago but, since my coach basically forced me into it, I’ve seen how beneficial it is to my overall training and racing!
I also love Run to the Top so I’ll have to give that one a listen!
We are currently buried in snow over here (20 inches!) so I’ve been grateful for my treadmill, no matter what Outside magazine says!! LOL 🙂
I think it’s so beneficial for triathletes in particular since the training focuses more on zones than running alone does. I imagine perceived exertion is a bit different from discipline to discipline – if I was a triathlete, I would need something to know how hard I was actually pushing on the bike since RPE does require some frame of reference and experience. And OMG 20 inches of snow is so much! Keep me mind that Outside is HQ’ed in New Mexico so they may not know what that much snow is like!
Alex and I embarrassed ourselves last night. We got a platter of nachos. And we couldn’t finish it. What has become of me???
Those nachos looked epic on Instagram! Some foods defeat even the rungriest of us.
I use my HR monitor as more of a reference, but I don’t train by it. It was helpful for me when I was coming back to running to make sure I was keeping my effort easy enough. But it’s a wrist monitor so I don’t completely trust its accuracy, although it’s fun to look at the data to see improvements over time, especially in my resting HR!
Great take on the FF theme, btw!!
It is the most valuable to learning what easy pace is actually like. Wrist monitors aren’t completely accurate, so they are best used for reference rather than the primary training metric. And thank you!
I think I mainly go by exertion? do you like how I am not even sure? lol. I definitely don’t go by heart rate because I don’t use a heart rate monitor. I will be running long on the treadmill tomorrow so I am always mentally preparing myself for a wonderful experience. ha
Your treadmill run went so well, that mental prep must have helped!
I think I’d really like that beer. I’ve been obsessed with avocados lately. I put them in wraps, slice them onto toast, and even eat them plain. I sprinkle a little pink sea salt on them first and they’re amazing.
Winterhook is so good. I just really like all of Redhook’s beers. They, Deschutes, and New Belgium are my favorites. And avocados are soooo good.
I typically train by perceived exertion. I even do my speed workouts on the track that way. I am not one to train by pace, unlike a lot of my friends who follow the “Run Less Run Faster” plan. Even my easy day paces vary on a day to day basis with how I feel, what workouts I’ve done, if I’ve eaten or not (early morning runs), and what workouts I’ve been doing.
I kind of like the treadmill… as bad as that sounds. It’s very convenient. Running workouts outside can be hard around here because I live in a construction zone and by a landfill (hello, trash trucks that almost run me over), so I feel safer doing them on a treadmill. Also when I was recovering from my knee injury, I treadmilled a lot because I could just stop if I felt pain, and hop off. But I do agree nothing beats running outside!
That was what turned me off with RLRF (other than the 3 days of running because I just like to run for the sake of running) – too pace focused. I tried the plan during grad school when I was short on time and I didn’t like the focus on pace even then. I can understand using the treadmill more when you live near a construction zone!
I loved Outside’s treadmill article! Recently I’ve been enjoying reading Nautilus – it’s a science/philosophy magazine.
Oooooh that sounds like an interesting read! I’m checking it out now because we can all use more science and philosophy right now.
Though go out for walk is superb, but treadmill is good when you can’t go out. Treadmill is my good friend and it never makes me lazy to put on weight.