VO2max

The monthly newsletter of RunCoachJason.com

Dr. Jason Karp, America’s Running and Fitness Expert 

August, 2010

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In this issue:  

Running Technique 

VO₂max Distance Running Clinic

Carbo Loading

Easy Runs

Dr. Karp’s Run-Fit Boot Camp

SCW Fitness MANIA

In Press
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Running Technique

Most recreational runners, who begin running as adults, don’t spend any time learning the skill of running before embarking on a marathon training program.  Running mile after mile with bad technique can lead to injuries.  If you want to be a better runner, you need to start by running better.  Check out my recent interview on running technique for Competitor.com’s RunCenter show:  

http://video.competitor.com/2010/07/running/runcenter-technique-matters/

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VO₂max Distance Running Clinic

On August 21, 2010, I will be hosting the fourth annual VO₂max Distance Running Clinic for runners, coaches, and fitness professionals at the Marina Village Conference Center in San Diego’s beautiful Mission Bay.  

Featured speakers include:

~ Ceci St. Geme, assistant cross country and track coach at Corona del Mar High School, former U.S. national high school champion, NCAA champion, U.S. national champion, & elite masters runner

~ Paul Greer, San Diego Track Club coach, U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier, & sub 4-minute miler
~ Jason Karp, nationally-recognized exercise physiologist, speaker, author, coach, & owner of RunCoachJason.com

What you'll learn:

~ How to get the most benefit out of the least amount of time
~ The 3 main determinants of distance running performance and how to train each one
~ The causes of fatigue for different races and how to combat them
~ How to build your own training program
~ The secret ways to prevent injuries
~ Training and competing on every level, from high school to masters
~ The most effective, research- and experience-based training methods
~ Speed training for distance runners

All attendees receive: 

~ FREE Continental breakfast
~ 4 educational sessions by 3 world-class speakers to teach you how to run faster
~ FREE Lunchtime snacks
~ FREE PowerBar products 
~ 10% discount to Road Runner Sports
~ Raffle for a FREE pair of running shoes from Road Runner Sports
~ Coaching gift certificate from RunCoachJason.com 
~ 10% discount on autographed copy of my new book, 101 Developmental Concepts and Workouts for Cross Country Runners

To register online, go to http://www.runcoachjason.com/clinic.  To register by mail, download the registration form at http://www.runcoachjason.com/ClinicBrochure.pdf.
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Carbo Loading

Are you training for a marathon this fall?  Are people telling you to carbo load?  If you’re a woman, it’s not as simple as eating more carbohydrates.  Research has shown that men are more responsive to carbohydrate loading than women.  Women do not increase muscle glycogen as much as men in response to consuming more carbohydrates in their diets.  However, there does not seem to be an inherent sex difference in the ability to store glycogen.  The key is in the calories.  Women consume less total calories than men, so they consume less total carbohydrates.  When women increase their total caloric intake as they also increase the amount of carbohydrates in their diets, they increase their muscle glycogen content by a similar amount as men.  Thus, while the common suggestion of carbo loading works for men, as they simply need to increase the percentage of their calories coming from carbohydrates in order to store more glycogen, women need to also increase the total number of calories in their diets to get the same effect.

Want to know what else you can do to improve your running?  Schedule a consultation with me at http://www.runcoachjason.com/consulting and have all of your questions answered live!  

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Easy Runs

The single biggest mistake competitive runners make is running too fast on their easy days.  By doing so, they add unnecessary stress to their legs without any extra benefit and they won’t be able to run as much quality on their harder days.  Speed-type runners (runners who fare better at shorter races) will have a greater difference between their race pace and easy running pace compared to endurance-type runners (runners who fare better at longer races).  Since many of the cellular adaptations associated with aerobic training are volume-dependent, not intensity-dependent, the speed of easy runs is not as important as their duration.  Slowing down the easy runs has at least three benefits: (1) it decreases the chance of injury, (2) it allows you to get more out of your harder days because there will be less residual fatigue, and (3) it allows you to increase your overall weekly mileage.  Remember that it is the volume of aerobic running, not the speed, that represents the major stimulus for adaptation.  If you have a heart rate monitor, aerobic runs should be run at 70 to 75 percent of maximum heart rate.

Want more training concepts and specific workouts to become a better runner? Get my highly-anticipated new book, 101 Developmental Concepts & Workouts for Cross Country Runners.  The book contains 30 insightful training concepts and 71 workouts to give you the competitive advantage.  Order your copy today at CoachesChoice.com, or get a special, author-signed copy at http://www.runcoachjason.com/publications.  

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Dr. Karp’s Run-Fit Boot Camp

If you live in San Diego and are tired of the same, boring workouts that fail to give you results, come to my new Run-Fit Boot Camp, where you’ll get the best workouts to motivate you and get you in the best shape of your life.  All workouts are running-based and include hills, intervals, fartleks, and circuits, with some body-weight exercises specifically designed to sculpt your muscles.  If you want to be fit, you need to be run-fit!  Dr. Karp’s Run-Fit Boot Camp is held every Monday at 7:07 pm at Nobel Athletic Field in La Jolla, California and every Thursday at 6:07 pm in Balboa Park’s Morley Field in San Diego.  For more information, go to http://www.runcoachjason.com/bootcamp.

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SCW Fitness MANIA

This month, I will be speaking at SCW Fitness MANIA on August 1 at the Renaissance Waverly Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia and August 27-29 at the Fairmont Dallas Hotel in Dallas, Texas.  If you live in either of these areas, be sure to check out my presentations:

* Fitness Myths, Misconceptions, and Misinformation

* Getting Fitter & Stronger with Periodization Training

* Lactate Threshold: Best O₂ Bang for Your Buck

* Marathon Training 101: Chasing Pheidippides

* The Resting Metabolic Rate Debate 

SCW Fitness Education’s MANIA fitness conventions bring industry leaders to the backyards of fitness professionals throughout the country.  Each of the seven MANIA conventions held annually offers workshops on every fitness topic imaginable, ranging from personal training to Pilates, yoga to pregnancy, and aquatics to aging.  SCW is the largest producer of fitness education events in the United States.  For more information on the Atlanta and Dallas MANIAs, go to http://www.scwfitness.com/atlanta/ and http://www.scwfitness.com/dallas/index.html

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In Press...

101 Developmental Concepts & Workouts for Cross Country Runners, published by Coaches Choice, is available nationwide and online at CoachesChoice.com.  A special, autographed copy of the book can be ordered at http://www.runcoachjason.com/publications.

How to Survive Your PhD: The Insider’s Guide to Avoiding Mistakes, Choosing the Right Program, Working with Professors, and Just How a Person Actually Writes a 200-Page Paper, my self-help book for graduate students published by Sourcebooks, Inc., appears in bookstores nationwide and online at Sourcebooks.com and Amazon.com.  A special, autographed copy of the book can be ordered at http://www.runcoachjason.com/publications.

Get Up to Speed: Prepare for Your First or Fastest 5K With This Eight-Week Training Program appears in the July/August, 2010 issue of Women's Running magazine.

The Components of Training for Distance Runners and Training Theory, my two chapters in The Ultimate Runner: Stories and Advice to Keep You Moving, appears in bookstores nationwide and online at Amazon.com.

How Much Do You Need to Run?, my article that explores the question of how much mileage is necessary to maximize VO₂max and other variables related to running performance, appears in the August, 2010 issue of the United Kingdom’s Ultra-Fit magazine.

Marathon Fuel, my article on everything you wanted to know about carbohydrates and training for a marathon, including how not to consume carbs during long training runs, appears in the Summer, 2010 issue of Duke City Fit, Albuquerque, New Mexico’s premier fitness magazine and online at SanDiegoNewsRoom.com.

Muscle Fatigue, my article on how to improve muscular factors related to running performance, appears in the August, 2010 issue of Tri News, the official newsletter of Triathlon Club of San Diego.

Also check out my quotes on specific running workouts in the July/August, 2010 issue of Fitness magazine and what and when to eat before you run in the August, 2010 issue of Men’s Journal.
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To view past newsletters, go to http://www.runcoachjason.com/newsletter.

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©2010 Dr. Jason Karp.