Can We Please Share the Road Until Springtime?
For a brief time every winter, we runners are forced onto the roads with the rest of the world. Can't we all just get along and share the road?
Just in case you didn’t read every one of the newsletters we sent this month, we are once again bringing you the most-loved stories from the last four weeks. It’s our way of making sure that you don’t miss any of our best content. Friends don’t let friends miss important running advice. Cheers!
Thinking about your age is like looking at a car’s odometer – it tells you how many miles you’ve driven, but not necessarily how well the engine is running. This is the core idea behind “Understanding the difference between biological age and chronological age.” According to this piece from Mayo Clinic, your chronological age is simply the number of years you’ve been alive, while your biological age reflects the overall state of your body based on various biomarkers. They note that genetics likely account for about 15% to 25% of aging, which means our lifestyle choices play a huge role. While there’s no single test for this, we found a list of simple assessments from Blueprint, titled “Test Your Biological Age for $0,” that can help you see how you stack up against various age brackets. These at-home evaluations include challenges like Continuous Push-Ups to measure upper-body endurance, a Sit and Reach test for hamstring flexibility, and a One-Leg Stand (with eyes shut) to check your balance, which is associated with all-cause mortality risk. The list also includes a bonus test for Grip Strength, which might be one of the most important metrics of all. For more on that, check out: “You Really Want to Live Longer? Get a Grip.” This piece highlights a study of nearly 140,000 people that found grip strength was a better predictor of premature death than even blood pressure. Experts suspect this is because low grip strength is linked to sarcopenia, or age-related muscle loss. The good news is you can improve it; the author suggests bouldering, but you can also incorporate exercises like farmer’s carries, wrist curls, or even just squeezing a tennis ball into your routine.
#SqueezeTheDay
For years, runners with heart concerns have been told to treat coffee like a frenemy, but a new study might just be changing the narrative. If you’re concerned about irregular heartbeats or atrial fibrillation (A-Fib), you should check out: “Coffee may protect against irregular heartbeats.” The report from NBC cites a recent clinical trial which looked at 200 older adults with a history of A-Fib. It found that participants drinking at least one cup of coffee daily actually had a lower rate of recurrence (47%) compared to the no-caffeine group (64%). One cardiologist noted the main takeaway from this study is that one cup a day appears safe for this group. What “one cup” means gets complicated, especially since the FDA recommends a daily limit of 400 mg. According to “How Much Caffeine Is Really in Your Coffee?,” the amount can vary significantly. Consumer Reports found a single large (20 oz) coffee from Peet’s (468 mg) or Starbucks (414 mg) can put you over that limit, while an 8-ounce home-brewed cup of Café Bustelo packs 175 mg. For a gentler brew, a small cup of Folgers Classic Roast contained only 57mg. For runners, finding their sweet spot is key, as “Coffee & Running: How Caffeine Helps Your Training + How Much to Drink” explains. Caffeine is a performance enhancer that may improve endurance by 2-7% by blocking the brain’s fatigue signals. The article states the optimal dose for performance is generally 3-6 mg per kilogram of body weight (e.g., 210-420 mg for a 154-pound person), taken 30-60 minutes before you run. Consider saving that boost for hard workouts and race day to keep the benefits potent.
#GroundsForOptimism
Bad luck, blind mice and musketeers tend to come in threes. Apparently, so do deep thoughts about running: “Timeless Wisdom From Our Three Philosopher-Kings: George Sheehan, Haruki Murakami, And Eliud Kipchoge.” Amby Burfoot crowns this trio of runner-thinkers who truly get the “why” of it all. First, there’s George Sheehan, the cardiologist who became the first 50-year-old to run a sub-5:00 mile. He drops nuggets of motivational wisdom like: “Sweat cleanses from the inside. It comes from places a shower will never reach.” Then there’s Eliud Kipchoge, who has a surprisingly uncompetitive outlook for somebody so accomplished. He says: “I believe in a philosophy that says to win is actually not important. To be successful is not even important. How to plan and prepare is critical and crucial.” Finally, there’s novelist Haruki Murakami, who captured the runner’s mindset with the line: “Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.” We’re big fans of Murakami’s work, which is why his memoir, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, is a permanent fixture on our list of “6 Running Books You Should Read This Fall.” His insights on the parallels between writing and running are legendary, which is also why we highlighted him in “3 Ergodic Running Tips – Why the Tortoise Might Beat the Hare.” That piece explores his shift from a chain-smoking bar owner to a model of consistency, showing that the most important organ in running might just be the mind.
#ThreeOfAGrind
As kids, an all-out sprint was just called “playing.” For adults, it’s usually more of a panic, like when you’re late for work and racing against closing subway doors. When was the last time you really hit your top gear just for the heck of it? For many of us focused on long distances, it’s probably been a while. According to “A Guide to Sprinting After the Age of 30,” that’s a shame, as regular sprint intervals can strengthen the heart, boost VO2 max, and increase power output. Moving fast is the goal, but you should exercise caution as you ramp up the intensity. Sprinting too much early on could result in one of these “Common Olympic Sprinting Injuries seen in Physiotherapy,” like hamstring strain, achilles tendonitis, or IT band syndrome. But why should a marathoner care about sprinting? Well, “Why Sprinting Will Help You In A Marathon” explains that sprinting is like a form of strength training that’s highly applicable to our running. First, it trains your brain and body to activate more muscle fibers, which can be crucial for deploying a strong finish late in a race. Sprinting also improves your overall running economy; the neuromuscular training helps your brain optimize your form, which can even improve efficiency at slower paces. The source suggests you can start on hills to reduce injury risk, running explosively for just 6-10 seconds followed by at least two or three minutes of recovery. For more on sprint training philosophy and methodology, Coach Tony Holler created the “Feed the Cats” program to keep the workload light and the results high: “The Atomic Workout | 16 Minute Speed Workout.”
#AgingFast
For folks who love variety and exploration, the treadmill can feel a bit like a medieval torture device. “Dreadmill” might be a more fitting name for those who’ve been resisting the winter transition indoors. That’s how we felt, until we read Ashley Arnold’s latest story: “5 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Treadmill Running.” Ashley gathered intel from the experts to help us survive the stationary season. She learned from Coach Greg McMillan that the old “always set it to 1% incline” rule is an oversimplification; since wind resistance varies by speed, you should keep the belt flat for paces slower than 8:30 per mile and only bump it up if you’re running faster than 7:00 pace. She also picked up a sanity-saving tip from Rebecca Trachsel: swap your distance goals for time-based efforts. That way, you don’t have to fumble with the console’s pace settings mid-workout if you’re falling off target. Of course, attitude is half the battle, a struggle addressed in: “People in colder countries understand the magic of winter. What’s their secret?” Kari Leibowitz suggests fighting the gloom with a “wintertime mindset,” which includes swapping overhead lights for cozy candles or aggressively reclaiming summer joy by grilling outdoors in the snow. Even with the best mindset, biology is stubborn, so check out “Getting adequate vitamin D in the fall and winter.” Dr. Mike Ren warns that low winter sun angles make natural absorption nearly impossible, so he suggests taking a 5,000 IU supplement to cover your bases.
#TheGreatIndoors
Between super-shoes and advanced biometrics, the modern landscape of distance running can feel overly complicated. At its core, however, the sport relies on simple grit and determination. One of our favorite films, McFarland USA, is a powerful reminder of those humble roots. For those who haven’t seen it, the movie tells the story of an underdog XC team rising to greatness, not unlike Coach Trax’s very own XC team that just won the Massachusetts state championship. If you need a spark today, this clip of Coach White’s pre-race speech always delivers.
