Biggest Loser Debut

by Team Run

• April 12, 2010

Check out Melissa and Lance Morgan from Biggest Loser Couples 2010 celebrate Melissa’s 40th Birthday by completing their first half marathon together at Rock ‘n’ Roll Mardi Gras! Watch now.

Workout Of The Week: Squires Long Run

by Mario Fraioli

• September 01, 2010

“It’s the long run that puts the tiger in the cat.” – Coach Bill Squires

Written by: Mario Fraioli

At the 1979 Boston Marathon, four runners from the Greater Boston Track Club placed amongst the top 10 finishers in the race, led of course by Bill Rodgers, who broke the tape in 2:09:27.

The Case For Cross Training

by Running

• September 01, 2010

High volume doesn’t always have to mean high mileage.

Written by: Courtney Baird

There are no real secrets when it comes to improving your running. To get faster, you run. A lot.

Recovery: Qualitative Measurement

by Mario Fraioli

• August 31, 2010

In the second installment of our new Recovery video series, Sage Rountree explains why it’s important to track your recovery in addition to logging your training. Click here to watch the video.

Ask The Experts: Why Am I Slower Outdoors Than On A Treadmill?

by Matt Fitzgerald

• August 31, 2010

Q.

Dear Experts,

Last year I weighed in at 274 lbs, was on beta blockers, and had numerous issues with my knees and shoulders. Since September of last year, I have been training regularly, and have made some great strides, including finishing the Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicago ½ Marathon in 2 hours, 45 minutes and 45 seconds.  In addition, I now weigh 193 lbs, and I no longer need to take the beta blockers.

Anyway, a majority of my running is on a treadmill. I am not, and I do not ever expect to be, a fast runner. But I think that I can keep a respectable pace on the treadmill. I am able to do my workouts (all but my long runs) with an average pace of 5.7 [mph] on the treadmill, and I hit sustained speeds of 6.2 [mph] for 5 minutes. What I am having a hard time doing is transitioning to running outside. My outside running times are significantly slower, and as a result, I seem to tire out much more quickly. I can run for an hour and a half straight on the treadmill (and longer), but there are times when I run outside that I can’t run for 40 minutes straight.

So how is it that I can make that transition? And how should I pace myself? Should I find a pace on the treadmill, and get used to that pace, and then attempt to do that outside? I will be running the Rock ‘n’ Roll ½ Marathon in Vegas in December, and I really want to be able to break the 2 hour and 30 minute time.

Greg

Monday Minute: Side T Reverse Fly

by Running

• August 30, 2010

This week, Tim Crowley and friends demonstrate the Side T Reverse Fly, a strength-training exercise for runners that combines the side bridge with the reverse fly. This exercise will build core strength and get your glute medius firing, lessening the likelihood of injury. Click here to watch the video.

Burning Runner Box Score: Week 7

by Running

• August 30, 2010

T.J. has 13 weeks and less than 10 pounds to go to reach his goals!

Ask The Experts: What’s Next After The Big Race?

by Mario Fraioli

• August 27, 2010

Q.

Hello Mario:

I am a newer runner starting this year. I started running for my health and before I knew it I fell in love with running and decided to train for and run a marathon. I’m in the home stretch of my goals and the 325 pound me has melted to a 239 pound physique, still getting leaner and I can now run 13.1 miles in 2:08 and getting faster. I’ve had so much success I think because I have kept tracking this goal of completing a marathon.

Well, there are only 44 days until the running of the San Jose Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon, the first of three races I am running, culminating in the California International Marathon in December. So, I’m starting to wonder, what next? I have no idea what to set my sights on and how to keep going after I reach my goal. I don’t want to cross the finish line and be tempted to revert into my old couch potato self. I want to set a goal that is attainable (I think the Western States 100 miles is definitely out of the question) but at the same time I want to set a goal of doing something that is one step beyond the marathon I am running. Any ideas?

Thanks!

-Travis C.

Sports Science Update: The Supersize Me Study

by Matt Fitzgerald

• August 27, 2010

A month of pigging out could result in a lifetime of weight gain.

Written by: Matt Fitzgerald

If you haven’t seen it, you’ve at least heard of Supersize Me, the documentary film in which Morgan Spurlock stops exercising and lives on McDonald’s food for one month. The consequences to his health were predictably disastrous. It was hardly a scientific experiment, of course, but one had little doubt that the results of Spurlock’s turn as his own guinea pig were fundamentally truthful.

Racing Weight: Training To Be Lean

by Running

• August 26, 2010

The point of getting leaner is to enhance race performance; getting lean is not an end in itself, advises Racing Weight author Matt Fitzgerald. Learn how proper training can help you get lean for peak performance. Click here to watch the video.

Workout Of The Week: Relaxed 10K Time Trial

by Matt Fitzgerald

• August 26, 2010

Here’s a workout that tells you exactly how fit you are.

Written by: Matt Fitzgerald

The workout that I call a relaxed 10K time trial is not one that I learned from anyone else. Although I’m sure other runners do it, I came up with it (or reinvented it) on my own. It’s one of my favorite workouts, so I can’t help but try to convert other runners to it, as I’m doing right now!

The Single Most Effective Way To Lose Weight

by Matt Fitzgerald

• August 25, 2010

Ignore the smoke and mirrors. Avoiding junk food is the way to go.

Written by: Matt Fitzgerald

There are a million ways you could change your diet to promote weight loss. The options include eating less carbohydrate or less fat, eating more protein, eating more frequently, eating smaller portions, eating more fiber, going vegetarian, and switching from processed to whole grains, to name a few. But of the million ways you could change your diet to lose weight, which is the most effective? In other words, if you could make only one change, what should that change be?

Great Catch!

by Matt Fitzgerald

• August 24, 2010

Salad with smoked mackerel. Photo: roolrool

Break out of your seafood rut with these delicious and nutritious alternatives to the usual fish.

Written by: Matthew Kadey, M.S., R.D.

Brimming with good-for-you nutrients, fish is a food that the American Heart Association recommends we consume at least twice per week. But if you’ve fallen into a seafood rut – tossing salmon and shrimp into your cart every week – swapping in some of the following options from the fishmonger is a tasty, environmentally savvy and nutritious way to break out of it.

Running 101: Dealing With Post-Run Muscle Soreness

by Matt Fitzgerald

• August 24, 2010

Use these tips to make it a little easier to roll out of bed in the morning.

Written by: Matt Fitzgerald

Muscle soreness is a normal consequence of exercise. In most cases it is mild, emerging shortly after a workout is completed (if not during the workout) and lasting no longer than a day or two. But sometimes the pain is intense, and when it’s intense it is almost always delayed, emerging the morning after the workout and lasting as long as three or four days.

Burning Runner: Weight-Loss Lessons Learned

by Running

• August 23, 2010

Week 6: T.J’s burned off 10 pounds in 5 weeks. Here are the key lessons he’s learned so far.

Five weeks ago I set out on the Burning Runner project. I now have 15 weeks left to navigate my way to the following: lose 20 pounds and drop 20 minutes off my half-marathon time. On my official weigh-in day last week I was surprised to see that I’ve already burned off 10 pounds. Originally that was my goal for the entire 20-week program until coach Mario Fraioli convinced me to go for 20.

Burning Runner Box Score: Week 6

by Running

• August 23, 2010

Another week, another pound burned. With 15 weeks to go, T.J. is halfway there.

Ask The Experts: Why Did I Hit The Wall?

by Matt Fitzgerald

• August 23, 2010

Q.

Dear Matt and Mario,

During the Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicago Half Marathon I was going strong for the first seven miles at the pace I wanted, and then I just hit the wall and ran out of gas, much to my surprise. Although I still managed to finish in 1:54:32, this was about 3 minutes slower than my time in my first half marathon I ran in June (North Shore Half).  During that first one, I stayed strong and consistent throughout the race, unlike this time.  Leading up to this race on Sunday, I had felt like my training runs had gone well.  So, did my experience of “hitting the wall” come from poor training/conditioning, poor race preparations, not managing my early pace well enough, different weather conditions (more humidity, perhaps?), or something else entirely? What steps can I take in the future to prevent myself from hitting the wall?

Greg