Coming UP: long run, intervals and 80's Fundraiser

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Blast from the Past PB Brew to Brew 
Time to get that long run back on. So far, the forecast looks bitter cold but no ice. Course distance is 16 miles starting from Shawnee Mission North High School at 7:00 a.m. Goal is to run the middle 50% at goal race pace but if temperatures are below 20 degrees you can expect some slower times.


Intervals kick off at 5:30 p.m. on March 3rd. Bring your own water, your Garmin or stopwatch and meet at Roe Park. We will start with a warm-up, plyometrics and alternate intervals with run specific strengthening. There will be an optional 800m time trial. Not into speed but want to hang around your running friends? You can still come and run the trails around the area.


Our Let's Get Physical fundraiser is right around the corner on March 8th from 1-4:00 and we need you! We are hoping for about ninety more participants total or thirty more participants to register for all 3 classes in order to meet our goal. These classes are not super intense - just for fun and for all levels. Dress up 80's and help support a great cause. Healthy eats, photo booth, great raffle prizes and compimentary drinks. Click here to for details and to register. We hope to see all PBers past and present at the event!

Running in the ice can be such a pain in the....

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I've heard from several area runners and patients who ran in the ice yesterday morning. Yikes! They made it safely through the run, but are complaining of pain in a knee or in a hip. There is a reason for this...

Adjusting your stride to avoid ice patches, adjusting footing on slippery surfaces and pushing off of an unstable surface is not something you do everyday. Combine that with the repetition of a long distance run (high repetition) and you will suffer overworked muscles and possible acute trauma to the tissues (muscles, ligaments, nerves, tendons). This starts the inflammation cycle and leads to pain and adhesions. If you don't break this cycle you can end up with a chronic injury.

To interrupt this cycle, here is what you need to do: 
  • REST from painful activity (take at least 2-3 days off of running) and when you return to running, go slow and for a short distance. 
  • ICE in the first 12 hours and switch to MOIST HEAT for the next few days. 
  • FOAM ROLL the area
  • GENTLEY STRETCH the area 
  • MOVE the area within a painfree range - this is so important. Rest does not mean to do nothing. Pain should be kept at a 3/10 or below. 
If you do not begin to feel improvement with the above steps within 48 hours e-mail Coach Amy at Sport+Spine. You may need some physical therapy to help you over the hump and prevent a long term problem that could take you out of the rest of the season.

What do I do about a long run if the weather is bad?

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image courtesy of GoERIE
Running in the snow can be a lot of fun. Go here for our past blog post: Enjoy a Snow Run.

Snow running may be okay, but black ice and windchills below zero are a no, no. The risks outweigh the benefits. Lots of runners are wondering what to do if the old man winter shuts down a run. Should I run 16 miles on the treadmill? How about 6? Yikes, no!

If you do not regularly run long distances on the treadmill, I don't recommend it. And you if plan to run your race on the road, I don't recommend spending much time on a treadmill period. But there are several other options for you to consider:

  • push your long run to the following weekend. 
  • push your run to Sunday.
  • split the long run distance in two, running half Saturday afternoon and half Sunday (weather permitting) 
  • combine a treadmill run with some runner friendly cross training cardio. e.g. if 10 miles is on your schedule and it takes you 90 minutes to run 10 miles, then you will do 90 minutes total of the following three activities: treadmill run + elliptical + water run (30 min each).
What the heck is water running? It's exactly as it sounds - you run in the water (like treading water but you actually lean forward and try to cover some distance). You can wear a belt, but if you don't its more challenging. You can push off the pool floor, but you don't have to. I recommend water shoes if you do - some pool floors are rough on the feet.

Stay safe and good luck!