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Say, kids! Welcome back to the glittering pageantry of Hokeyblog and our ongoing partnership with all-around swell guy and running guru Jeff Galloway<\/a> as we present another round of Jeff Galloway’s Training and Motivation Tips<\/strong>, in which we here at HokeyCo International are tickled pink to share Jeff’s running wisdom to our vast cadre of cultivated, upscale, beau monde readers, and yes that includes you too Skippy Feinbaum. Feinbaums are good people.<\/p>\n We’re just so darn cheeky!<\/p><\/div>\n Even more exciting, we’re joined today by our wondrously buttkickin’ buddy Sarah from Sparkly Runner<\/a>, who has ever so graciously agreed to share her sagacious prose and worldly-wise wisdom as she and I share a discussion of Jeff’s tips for today. Sarah and I go *way* back, and by “way back” I mean to August of 2013 when she stalked me at the 2013 Disneyland Half Marathon expo<\/a>. She also photographs a lot better than I do, as you can tell by this picture taken at that moment (on your left).<\/p>\n Anyway, Sarah and I are going to discuss Se\u00f1or Jefe’s training and motivations tips and add our own experiences to the mix, along with just a touch of entertainment and personality that hopefully will keep such a discussion from being the blogging equivalent of dry, red-eye. The dream is that you guys — all our epic readers who epitomize the phrase ‘extraordinary magnitude’ at each and every hootenanny of wondrous delight — will find these tips helpful, inspiring, perhaps even a bit… you know what, I think Sarah expressed it succinctly like this:<\/p>\n Now we’re talking!<\/p><\/div>\n Slick, eh? Jeff’s tips will be in bold, whereas our responses will be in… not bold, and color-coded for your pleasure, just like USA Today! Sarah in purple, myself in red. Isn’t that a peach? On with the show then!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n PROMOTIONAL NEWS!<\/strong> The Key Weak Links are body parts where my runners tend to experience injuries are these: Knees – Feet – Calf – Achilles – Hip – Glute\/piriformis\/sciatica. But the body parts that YOU need to be aware of are the sites where you are injured or suffer more aches and pains.<\/strong><\/p>\n SR<\/strong>: Yup, those dang weak links will get you every time! Since I\u2019ve been recovering from injury, I have been paying attention to every little ache and pain and addressing concerns as they come up. Knowing that I have cranky feet, I keep all that\u2019s connected to my feet (knees, hips, glutes, core, etc.) strong through yoga and different strengthening workouts.<\/span><\/p>\n Also, it\u2019s worth taking stock of your form. Use the self-timer on your camera or have someone snap some pictures of you mid-run so you can see maybe why certain areas are always painful for you. I can clearly see how I heel strike in almost all of the photos of me running\u2026 that\u2019s probably why my feet aren\u2019t in the best shape. I\u2019m working on this, I promise!<\/span><\/p>\n HB<\/strong>: I\u2019m holding you to that promise, Sarah. Otherwise you\u2019re getting the next round of Dole Whips. For a year!<\/span><\/p>\n Back on topic, I\u2019m suddenly reminded of Karl Malden\u2019s reverend character in the classic Disney film Pollyanna\u2026<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n “Fire & Brimstone: Don’t leave home without it!”<\/p><\/div>\n He delivers this firebrand \u201cDEATH COMES UNEXPECTEDLY!!!\u201d speech early in the film, but if you will, substitute the rather downer subject of mortality with that of running injuries.<\/span><\/p>\n They come unexpectedly. When you least expect them. And many times they are completely avoidable\u2026 if you pay attention!<\/span><\/p>\n You know, sometimes the hardest part about running is the self-consciousness of it all. I mean, unless you have limitless confidence (as opposed to my own brand of schmucky arrogance), there\u2019s always that part of you which is perpetually concerned about how you look <\/em>pounding pavement, as opposed to how you feel<\/em>\u2026 more specifically, how you feel in relation to how you\u2019re running. Maybe it\u2019s not until mile 3 or 4 of a long run when you realize you\u2019ve been striking with the upper side of your foot or your shoulders are locked in place and your back\u2019s too stiff, and of course by the time the pain comes it\u2019s pretty much too late to steer back on course.<\/span><\/p>\n So definitely pay attention to your injured areas first and foremost, but keep a close vigil on your form. And by all means call an audible if something feels \u201coff\u201d; there\u2019s never any shame on taking a break to walk, stop, or stretch, even mid-race, if it means protecting your most valuable running investment (besides your Garmin, those $200 shoes, and Run Disney registration fees).<\/span><\/p>\n HB: <\/strong>Se\u00f1or Jefe advocates a three-day a week running schedule, and this is really all the run time you need to go the distance. It allows plenty of time for cross-training and rest. Both are critical for long-term health and success. Besides, you gotta allow for one day of blissful nothingness!<\/span><\/p>\n SR:<\/strong> TAKE A DAY OR TWO OFF! Seriously, I talk to runners all the time who run every day — you really don\u2019t <\/em>need to and doing so can lead to injury. So take a breather at least once a week — it won\u2019t affect your training negatively. I trained for the Dopey Challenge running only three times a week.<\/span><\/p>\n HB<\/strong>: Running is a slow-burn, long-haul commitment. Like anything else in life, you need to grow and develop into your own space, at your own pace. This is not just for beginners but experienced runners as well. If you haven\u2019t hit the road for a long time (due to injury, life commitments, lethargy, whatever), you can\u2019t rush back into where you were at your peak. ESPECIALLY if you signed up for a race and think you can just condense training into a few short days or weeks. Start slow and build up again.<\/span><\/p>\n SR:<\/strong> Did you know that it can take a month or more<\/em> for your bones to respond to increased distance\/speed training? Basically, your bones take a longer time to strengthen than your muscles, heart, and respiratory system. So even though you can feel improvement in those areas, don\u2019t rush the training too fast — give your skeletal system time to catch up!<\/span><\/p>\n HB: <\/strong>You ever see those bouncy runners, the ones whose form seem to indicate that they took personal exemption from the laws of gravity and wind up several inches off the ground with each step, knees high in the air, almost effortless with their lithe, deeply expressionist panther-like movements? You don\u2019t have to be Carnac the Magnificent to foretell the painful arthroscopic surgeries in their future\u2026 I just showed my age there \ud83d\ude41<\/span><\/p>\n “Less Than Zero”… “What is Hokeyblog’s net Google Ads revenue?”<\/p><\/div>\n SR:<\/strong> Just remember the \u201cmarathon shuffle:\u201d quick turn-over, short stride, feet low to the ground. It helps prevent injury and keeps you from expending too much energy too early.<\/span><\/p>\n So staying focused on the way one runs and following these guidelines, can often allow runners to maintain a manageable increase without injury<\/strong><\/p>\n SR<\/strong>: Coming back from the stress fracture, I started with 4:1 intervals- four minutes walking, one minute running. It\u2019s what helped me ease back into distance running after four months off.<\/span><\/p>\n HB<\/strong>: I\u2019m actually surprised at how much resistance there is to intervals among so many, even new runners. They\u2019re convinced that it\u2019s not \u2018real\u2019 running. You know what\u2019s not \u2018real\u2019 running? Laying on the couch with your foot wrapped, iced, elevated, and out of commission due to a blown Achilles tendon or PF.<\/span><\/p>\n SR<\/strong>: I like to call this the \u201cmarathon shuffle\u201d and during long runs I keep my feet as close to the ground as possible.<\/span><\/p>\n HB<\/strong>: As opposed to my \u201czombie shuffle\u201d, which is when I hit the wall at Mile 20 and where I\u2019m making running motions but moving barely past walking speed, while hungering for brains and looking at the flowers! Or something. No but seriously, short and quick is the way to go if you really want to go the distance.<\/span><\/p>\n SR<\/strong>: I pretty much have one speed — nice and easy, with plenty of walk breaks.<\/span><\/p>\n HB<\/strong>: You and me both. With my size and body frame, I\u2019ll never be Barry Allen or Pietro Maximoff (NERD ALERT!), but what I strive for in my long runs is consistency and endurance. Slow and steady ALWAYS wins the race.<\/span><\/p>\n SR<\/strong>: I\u2019m definitely an advocate of stretching- but only AFTER running when your muscles are warm and pliable. Doing any kind of stretching when your muscles are cold doesn\u2019t benefit you and can actually lead to injury.<\/span><\/p>\n HB<\/strong>: I\u2019ve heard Se\u00f1or Jefe on several podcasts advocating not stretching at all<\/em>, either before or after. Obviously do what feels right to you, but static stretching before running is a definite no-no. I\u2019m a firm believer in your first mile or two being adequate warm-up, but there\u2019s nothing wrong with doing some light jogging or determined walks before a long run.<\/span><\/p>\n SR<\/strong>: Yeah, see my comment for #3. I don\u2019t feel the need for speed \ud83d\ude42<\/span><\/p>\n HB<\/strong>: I feel the need\u2026 the need for a Speedo! But that\u2019s neither here nor there\u2026 (awkward) *ahem* ANYWAY speed work at the track or on a treadmill is definitely beneficial in helping increase your overall speed\u2026 but yikes, please don\u2019t kill yourself. I see these people at the gym all the time, with the treadmill jacked up at 8, 9, even up to 10 mph\u2026 and as they desperately try to keep up with this demanding velocity, THEY\u2019RE HOLDING ON TO THE SIDES OF THE MACHINE FOR DEAR LIFE! Schadenfreude notwithstanding, it\u2019s still a disaster waiting to happen.<\/span><\/p>\n And there you have it my friends… we want to thank our buddy Sarah for ever so kindly agreeing to this awesome cross-blogging infotainment, and of course the great Jeff Galloway for dispensing it to us for dissemination, debate, discussion, and other d-words that quite frankly I’m too tired to go look up. But do go look up Sarah’s blog at SparklyRunner.com<\/a>, because she’s enthusiastically brilliant and great people. The Dream Team thanks you kindly, and as always here’s the video:<\/p>\n![\"Just](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/millheiser.com\/hokeyblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/dreampoliceatDL-e1427895972345.jpg?resize=250%2C333\")
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\nTraining and Motivation Tips
\nby Olympian Jeff Galloway
\nwww.runinjuryfree.com<\/a><\/h1>\n
\nRegister now for the Jeff Galloway 13.1 with no risk! The 2nd annual half marathon on Dec. 13, 2015 is currently $95. You can sign up with no risk! Take advantage of this low price, and if you can’t make it, you can roll into the virtual option with no extra charge!
\nRegister today at
\nJeff Galloway 13.1<\/a>!<\/em><\/p>\n
\n Be aware of irritation of weak links.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Stress buildup due to the way we train.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Top 5 ways to avoid stress buildup-and avoid injuries<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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