Bob Schul-5000 Meters- Never Forget Your American Olympic Champions!

Americans Bob Schul and Bill Dellinger won Olympic gold and bronze in the 5,000 meters at Tokyo in 1964- imagine!

Great Circuit Workout for Runners by Jay Johnson!

Circuit Workouts for Running Times - Third Circuit from CoachJayJohnson on Vimeo.

MY COMMENTS: I have to write these down- can't wait to try some in Youth Running Club!

Great Hip Stretch for Distance Runners!

Great for relief of IT band tightness, piriformis tightness/pain, and improved hip range of motion. This is one I am going to try!

Should Your Recovery Runs be Faster?

Perhaps I should reconsider my belief that recovery runs need to be slow in order to be ready for the hard workouts. You can't argue with his success.

Is Barefoot Running Good or Bad ?

Supporters of barefoot running make a variety of claims about its virtues -- but what does the scientific evidence actually say?  Give Barefoot Running the Boot?

Based on personal experience, I'm surprised by a couple of points:  first, that shoe weight (up to 300 g, or 10.58 oz) did not have a negative impact on performance, and second,   the researchers found no difference between shod and barefoot movements in their ability to strengthen certain muscles.

Not surprising, researchers did not go out on a limb to support the use of shoes, rather made the point:  "it is not known whether people running barefoot have more, equal, or fewer injuries than people running in conventional running shoes."

Keep in mind this was not an actual study, rather a review of current studies already published.   You can be sure there is more to come on this. 

My take is this- barefoot running is probably optimal if everybody ran on a soft grassy surface.  The amount of protection required to run on roads is purely individual, and some of the minimalist shoes out there probably don't offer enough for the majority of runners, particularly those running high mileage. 

What's the Muscle AdaptationTimeline Following a Hard Workout?

Answer:  That's difficult to pinpoint exactly, but, says Pfitzinger, they're typically realized in about eight to 10 days. Joe Rubio, a two-time U.S. Olympic trials marathon qualifier and head coach of the ASICS Aggies, says that "most athletes will see a benefit from an individual workout 10-14 days after it is completed - How Long Does it Take to Benefit from a Hard Workout?

According to this article, long intervals take the longest to recover from (8-10 days according to Pete Pfitzinger).  It looks like they suggest short 200 meter repeats are the least taxing.