When I wrote The Inner Runner, one of the things I wanted to address is how running changes us on the inside. Exercise doesn’t just affect the heart and muscles; it also affects the brain. It’s an interesting field of science called neuroplasticity—the ability of the brain to change. Running causes morphological and neurochemical adaptations […]
Back in the day before the internet and social media, one had to be published in a magazine or book to have a public voice and get information out to the public. Now, everyone can have a public voice, and that can be a problem. I read so much bad information on the internet […]
I did a hill workout today. If you want a humbling workout, whether you’re a runner or any other kind of fitness buff, there’s nothing like running hills to humble you. For runners, hills are a big part of training and racing. The feel of your heart pounding in your chest and your shortness of […]
Many new runners complain that they can’t breathe even on short runs. Indeed, getting in enough air is foremost on their minds. It’s a marvel of physiology that enough air gets into our bodies, with our nostrils being no larger than the size of a pea. Even the space between semi-pursed lips is small considering […]
1. Stretching is not going to prevent you from getting injured. Have you ever run with a dog or watched a horse race? If you have, you probably noticed something interesting—none of these animals stretch before or after they run. Stretching before a workout seems to be something that only humans do. Whether stretching […]
As I discussed in a recent blog post, and is worth reiterating here, runners literally have large hearts–specifically, the size of the left ventricle, a condition called left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). If you’ve ever had an EKG, you can see whether you have LVH: See the two biggest points on the EKG–one pointing up […]
February is National Heart Month. Heart disease is the number one cause of death among men and women. Everyone knows someone who has had heart disease. My father died of a heart attack when he was 51 years old. My twin brother and I were only eight years old. This is one of my favorite […]
Today I ran a hill circuit I created in Balboa Park in San Diego — a variety of bounding and sprinting drills to the top, turn left and jog to recover across the flat portion at the top, sprint down, turn left and sprint and across the flat portion at the bottom, and start the […]
I was asked today if I could share some advice in my blog about how to learn to run at the correct speed. Well, of course I can! Most runners train haphazardly, without any real sense of purpose, and then are often disappointed with their racing results. When you train with a purpose and understand […]
With 5 weeks to go until the New York City Marathon, I’ve started to include some interval training in my marathon preparation. Once per week, I’m going to the track to push my heart rate to it’s maximum to attend to my VO2max. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? Given the popularity of VO2max and it’s […]