The Importance of Post-Race Analysis

Post-race analysis is necessary for every performance. Dr Andrea Furst of Mental Notes Consulting presents the race review of a first-time marathoner.

The race has been run and the target time of 3:45 minutes was beaten by two minutes. Success. Tick. Goal achieved! Too often, however, the result is all that is taken into account.

Conducting a full review is a necessary part of any performance. The review process should glean more information and valuable lessons from the training and the race than simply the final race time. There are many ways to conduct performance reviews. This is one way that I have found very useful for athletes from all sports and at all ages and levels. The review focuses on key aspects of both training and competition. When we met to discuss the race, here’s what we found:

Competition: Paris Marathon

Date: 6 April 2014

1. Recognising strengths – What you did well

Technical: Increasing my cadence. This advice from my physiotherapist assisted my running to become more economical and also minimised the pain in my feet that arose from the training load.

Tactical: Splitting my training and race runs into seven-kilometre segments. Developing a race plan with paces for the first and second 21 kilometres. Staying in an apartment in Paris was a great idea; it offered more space than hotels in Paris and made it easy to prepare my own meals. Getting up three hours before the race start time, eating, and warming up – body and mind – by walking/Metro to start line.

Physical: Getting food and drink organised and well practised in training runs so that the race run was the same – my energy levels were fantastic pre-, during, and post-race. Accessing physiotherapy when pain started in feet and adjusting running style and training load slightly. Getting weekly remedial massages and, in between these, using self-massage, particularly on my feet. Remaining in the same hemisphere for the six weeks prior to the race.

Mental: Having a program written by a coach who understood my life and was accessible to discuss the program whenever was mutually suitable. Including long runs (28-to-37 kilometres) in the training program. Splitting the race into seven-kilometre segments – I did this in training and then in the race I literally focused on each seven-kilometre block at a time. Using music throughout the entire race to keep my mood ‘upbeat’ – the same tunes from training with 10 new tracks for the race to add a tiny bit of variety. Taking in the festive atmosphere (e.g., bands playing music, people cheering) throughout the race. Repeating ‘light feet’ in the last 3.5 kilometres to keep the pace up.

2. Learn and move on – What you didn’t do well

Technical: Improving my running technique through strengthening muscles (i.e., gluteals, adductors and abductors) to support my running style as advised by the physiotherapist – please don’t tell them!

Tactical: Planning my race start time based on first starters rather than my start time (based on my estimated run time). Enrolling in the 4:00 group when I wanted to run 3:45 (admittedly my goal time changed since enrolling). Running two extra kilometres on race day by diverting from the ‘blue line’.

Physical: Travelling from one side of the globe to the other too many times in the training program due to work commitments.

Mental: Getting a little frustrated during the highly congested sections of the course. This meant I did a bit of weaving off the ‘blue line’.

3. Solutions and action plan – what are you going to do for the next race?

Technical: Continue to focus on increasing my cadence.

Tactical: Find out the timing of each start so that I can plan my pre-start routine with that in mind. Enrol in a faster start time group next race.

Physical: Reduce the cross-hemisphere travel where possible, particularly two-to-three months prior to race day. Adjust training program to include more effective recovery – potentially day on, day off. I will speak to my running coach about this. Include regular, consistent strengthening exercises for gluteals, adductors and abductors.

Mental: Get some advice about the ‘weaving’. Plan specific cues for each part of the race. Now that I have raced my first marathon I have a better idea what to expect at each segment.

In closing

There are many additional points that could be added to this review; however, the example above demonstrates a relatively thorough review of the four aspects of training and racing – technical, tactical, physical and mental. It’s an easy way to provide reinforcement for what has worked and should be continued as well as to help you identify what hasn’t worked and needs to be adjusted or eliminated. More importantly, there are actions to consider when building upon the areas that did not work.

Athletes need to have the discipline to conduct a post-race review as too often non-professional athletes think the performance is complete at the finish line. As a sport psychologist, I spend a large proportion of time assisting athletes to debrief on performance to ensure an opportunity to learn is not lost.

It’s interesting to note, the Mental Notes Consulting Training Diary was used throughout the training in preparation for the marathon. It undoubtedly assisted the changes and improvements along the way to achieve the result as it forced the runner to reflect on what was working and not working each week in the training program.

Check out the online shop for details or send me an email for further information on the training diary: http://mentalnotesconsulting.com.au/product/training-diary/

If you are planning on running a marathon soon, we would love to hear from you! Running may be an individual sport, but performance planning benefits from a team approach and we understand distance running at Mental Notes Consulting as we are passionate pavement pounders ourselves.

The Importance of Post-Race Analysis by Dr Andrea Furst

How Running in the Cold Affects Your Immune System

Study finds that pre-exercise shivering makes a difference when it comes to immunity.

Exercising in the cold might reduce your body’s immune function, which could make you more susceptible to illness, according to research published in PLoS ONE. However, when research subjects went through a pre-exercise protocol that induced low-intensity shivering, their immune response was boosted after performing moderate intensity exercise.

Researchers found that when subjects exercised in "thermoneutral" conditions (22 degrees Celsius, or about 72 degrees Fahrenheit), their bodies had a strong response on a wide range of tests measuring immune and endocrine function. However, when they exercised in the cold (0 degrees Celsius, 32 degrees Fahrenheit), that response was suppressed.

The study did not look at how long after exercise these immune responses lasted, which would have a significant effect on the practical implications of the study’s findings. However, if you find yourself shivering out in the cold as you wait for your next mass-participation race to begin, think of the silver lining: it’s possible that you’ll be less likely to get sick high-fiving strangers along the route.

The study’s nine participants, all men, exercised on a treadmill at the two temperatures. They wore shorts and a t-shirt in both conditions.

Researchers took blood samples to measure participants’ immunological and endocrine changes while walking (50 percent of VO2 max) and running (70 percent of VO2 max, what most runners would consider to be a recovery run). To induce the proper level of low-intensity shivering, participants sat in the cold chamber for 40 minutes to two hours before working out.

Researchers believe that the increased norepinephrine response elicited by pre-exercise shivering is likely responsible for the boost to the immune system that they observed. Norepinephrine is a neurotransmitter released by the adrenal gland that contributes to the fight-or-flight response, helping the body brace itself for an attack. Researchers emphasized that they studied only the effects of low-intensity shivering, and that moderate- and high-intensity shivering would likely have different effects.

Lead author Dr. Dominique Gagnon said in an email to Runner’s World Newswire that one of the study’s peripheral findings also bears notice. Her research team observed increased fat utilization when exercising in the cold; this should mean that it's easier to preserve your muscle glycogen stores, which are limited, when running long in the cold.

“Plainly said, sugar is your fast easy-go-to fuel during exercise but it is present in much lower quantity than fat," Gagnon wrote. "Therefore if you can enhance the use of fat as fuel, you are saving some of the sugar for later and can prevent early fatigue during exercise. In [an] ideal world, we would only use fat and consequently could run for weeks.”

How Running in the Cold Affects Your Immune System by Alison Wade

7 Keys For Effective Recovery

Recovery is a non-negotiable part of any effective run training program, argues health and fitness writer Roy Stevenson. Here are 7 non-nutritional considerations to ensure effective recovery.

1. Plan a regeneration week every three or four weeks into your training schedules

These are simple to design. Schedule one week of lower intensity and shorter duration running every three or four weeks. This ensures adequate recovery of your muscle tissue, refuelling of your energy reserves, relieves the monotony of your standard training schedules and gives you a psychological break from rigorous training.

How slow should your training efforts be during the regenerative week? Nice and easy: about 60 to 70 per cent of your maximal heart rate. It should feel like you are cruising well below your standard ‘hard’ training pace, and you should be able to talk comfortably while running.

How much should you shorten your training efforts? Aim to reduce your standard daily training distance by 25-to-50 per cent. You’ll find that the following week you’ll feel renewed and your training pace should be faster than normal. Runners are often concerned that they’ll lose some of their fitness if they cut back during these regeneration weeks, but you need have no concerns. A few days off or of reduced running actually improves performance as the muscle tissue recovers, rebuilds and stores more glycogen.

A final word about using periodised schedules: our bodies do not follow schedules perfectly, no matter how well designed. There will be times when the runner will have to deviate from the schedules because his recovery may take longer than anticipated. Having a fatigued athlete sticking to his schedule invites further fatigue and perhaps poor health.

2. Follow the hard-easy principle of recovery training

Follow a hard training effort with one or more easier training sessions. Recovery runs should be done at a lower intensity than your hard workouts with the objective of enhancing your recovery. And don’t forget, a long training run, even if at a moderate pace, is still considered a hard run. Long runs deplete your carbohydrate stores and cause considerable muscle damage – definitely qualifying them as hard runs.

3. Don’t be afraid to take a day of complete rest when needed

This might be considered heresy in some running circles, but the athlete who can discipline himself to take the occasional day off when he is exhausted will recover faster than one who flogs himself every day.

4. Only train hard when your body is ready to train hard

If you are fatigued while training hard, your body will not adapt properly and your immune system will be impaired, making you more susceptible to any bacteria and infections going around.

5. Recovery starts at the end of your training session – the warm-down

The warm-down is a grossly neglected technique for speeding up your recovery. This phase is designed to adjust your body from exercise to rest. The warm-down has many positive effects including bringing heart rate and blood pressure down to normal, preventing pooling of blood in the legs, reducing O2 from the tissues, speeding up resynthesis of waste products and metabolites that have built up during exercise, allowing the muscular system to recover after strenuous exercise, and helping us psychologically unwind after our training efforts.

A basic cool-down should include decreasing, light aerobic activity (such as five-to-10 minutes walking) followed by some light stretching and relaxation exercise (such as yoga poses or stretches).

6. Recover from races

The rules are simple for recovering from a race. Rest or jog until you are recovered. You’re recovered when your legs are no longer stiff and sore, your muscles will not be sore to the touch, and you have regained your energy for daily activities.

Cross training at a low intensity can really help with this. For example, cycling, deep water running and walking on the elliptical trainer are all non-impact aerobic activities that do not stress the legs while maintaining your cardiovascular fitness. Avoid weight training for your legs until they are fully recovered.

7. Use a heart rate monitor to assess your recovery

The use of resting heart rate and the heart rate monitor are now commonly used to assess whether a runner is working harder than normal to achieve the same pace and distance (i.e. under-recovered).

Early morning heart rate should be established over several mornings upon waking up. The average should be calculated, and on ensuing mornings, if the resting heart rate is elevated by more than five beats per minute, it is a reasonable indicator that the runner is still recovering from the previous day’s training.

The runner can also establish his normal cruising pace heart rate, and when training, if this heart rate is significantly elevated, it could be a sign that the runner is incompletely recovered from the previous day.

These, then, are the main players in recovery – a training principle that is grossly neglected in many runners. For the coach and runner reading this, I’d remind you of one thing: Recovery is not an optional training principle.

What other factors affect your recovery time?

Freelance writer Roy Stevenson has over 300 articles on running, triathlons, sports, fitness and health published in over 60 regional, national and international magazines in the USA, Canada, England, Scotland, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. He is one of the most widely published writers on running-related topics in the world. To view more of Roy Stevenson’s running articles go to www.running-training-tips.com

7 keys for effective recovery by Roy Stevenson

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Triathlon in One Article

Believe it or not, after writing 30 “Triathlife” articles, sometimes I struggle to find something to write about. And when I’m stuck, I usually reach out to my dozens of readers on Twitter and Facebook for ideas. Sometimes, you guys give me pure gold—an idea or question that sparks a debate-provoking piece that lights the entire triathlon world on fire, like “how to take your best race photo.” But a lot of times, I get the same short-answer questions that even my tangential-wandering imagination and verbose writing style couldn’t stretch to an 1,100-word column. For example, “Do you lift weights?”

OK, yeah, I might be able to make that a full column, but you wouldn’t want to read it (soooo many cutoff T-shirt references). But it is an important question, and one that a lot of people ask me. So this month, I decided to appease my rabid, inquisitive readers by ditching the long-winded story and simply answering as many of your questions as quickly as possible. This month, quantity is king. So without wasting one more word on the intro, here is everything you ever wanted to know, in just one article!

“What do you eat on race day?” —@chanlea
Oatmeal and a Picky Bar (Smooth Caffeinator) before the race. I eat a Picky Bar (Need for Seed) and Clif Bloks on the bike, and Clif Bloks on the run. I drink Osmo on the bike and Red Bull and water on the run.

“What was the #1 thing that helped you transition from a ‘runner’ to a ‘triathlete’?” —Hezekiah Monmouth
Swimming with a swim team.

“How many hours a week do you train?” —Every person ever
12–30, but typically 15–20: 4–6 swims, 3–5 rides, 2–4 runs, two weight sessions. Most days are doubles, sometimes triples, sometimes quadruples. I never do quintuples—that’s just weird. I prefer a light spin or swim to a full day off. Check out my Strava page to see all of my training.

“How do you recover on the second half of the race if you blew your nutrition intake the first half?” —Casey-Hazel Borden
You don’t. Slow down and take in nutrition/hydration. Carry extra if you can’t rely on aid stations. I always ride with an extra bottle—way more important than extra weight.

“Do you even lift, bro?” —Tough guys
Yes. Two times a week for an hour, 8–10 reps per exercise, a mix of upper-body, lower-body and core exercises. I do it year-round and I always wear a cutoff T-shirt.

“How long before a race do you cut out the booze?” —@dmk1986
I don’t typically drink the week of a race, but in peak racing season, I don’t drink too much anyway. Just a beer or two or three if it’s really good.

“Why cover saddles with plastic at bike check-in? Aren’t they going to get wet anyway since the racer is coming from the swim?” —@bellis311
Yes. Always wondered this as well.

“Appropriate etiquette after you’ve (accidentally) kicked/punched your fellow triathlete during the swim?” —@atlrun
Keep swimming. Sucks, but it happens.

“How do you eat when on the road for a race?” —@m_reese
I eat at Chipotle a lot. Jordan Rapp has a magic card that gets him Chipotle for free, so I usually pick races he’s going to be at and wait in line until he shows up.

“Would you ever rock a sick mustache for a race?” —Corey A Johnson
Yes—see Menoftriathlon.com.

“Is there a super secret trick/workout to make less clunky quads the first 10 minutes off the bike?” —Colleen Wedin
It’s important to do bricks (run immediately off the bike) 1–2 times a week if you can. Will always suck, but makes it a little better.

RELATED: Triathlife With Jesse Thomas: I Eat A Lot, And That’s OK

“How much do you weigh?” —Dudes on Strava
174–181 pounds. Depends on what I ate for dinner.

“Who is your daddy, and what does he do?” —Matthew Radniecki
Her name is Lauren Fleshman, she’s a professional distance runner, my wife and definitely the boss.

“Do you ever talk trash to people as you blow by them?” —Steve Schnell
No. I’ve heard that being nice to people lowers their testosterone levels, making them less likely to beat you. I also heard if you wear pink, it lowers their testosterone levels, but I haven’t tried that one yet.

“What is the magic pill to kill the pain in the legs?” —James Wilson
Training

“How do you shave your legs? Oh how it burns!” —Jason Dyck
With a razor and shaving cream in the shower. Are you sure you aren’t trying to wax them?

“Your bike fitting and aerobars are unique. What’s your secret there?” —Paul Stahlke
When I got tested in the Specialized Win(d) Tunnel, my “praying mantis” position made me faster (5–8 watts). According to Mark Cote at Specialized, it works for some people and doesn’t work for others. To be honest, I’m not really sure why.

“How do you taper and eat the week before a race?” —Tim Heinzemann
I eat as “normally” as possible, stuff I’d regularly eat during any training week. If I race on Sunday, usually Monday is very easy, Tuesday and Wednesday have some intervals (still strong, but about half as many), Thursday and Friday are travel and/or shakeouts, Saturday is short but includes some building efforts to “turn the engine on.”

“How rough is the swim in the pro field? I’ve heard rumors that guys will throw punches or unzip wetsuits?” —Jason Dyck
Yep.

“What kind of aviators do you wear when you race?” —Chris Reynolds
Mostly drugstore and gas station varieties. But sometimes they’re from the grocery store or airport. It depends on where I was when I needed a pair.

“Do you have any tips for drinking during the run and not wasting 9/10 of the cup covering me and my race kit?” —Tim Heinzemann
Yes. Slow down. I walk through aid stations if necessary. That 4–5 seconds you lose can save you minutes down the road.

“Pre-race/pre-morning training #2 strategies?” —Michael Wolber
Nervousness usually takes care of it for me. If not, just a touch of caffeine right when you wake up (see previous Smooth Caffeinator reference).

“How to beat you?” —Tom Monica
Not sure, maybe ask Sebastian Kienle, Craig Alexander or Andy Potts. They’re all on the list of guys I’ve raced and never beaten.

“Best way to warm up when you can’t get into the water race morning?” —Elizabeth Betsy Tesi
I always jog 10–20 minutes (depending on how hot it is), and do some strides before I put on my swim stuff. If I remember rubber cords, I do some arm exercises.

“What is the one thing that a triathlete should invest in to become better?” —Sabrina Bri Hamilton Adams
A good coach.

“Where do babies come from?” —Troy Seaborne
Wrong magazine.

Everything you ever wanted to know about triathlon in one article by Jesse Thomas