Blogs : Nate Jenkins

Training blog June 16 to 22

Monday AM woods 10 shakeout w/ gary, quads sore, 1:17;00 tot. 10

               XT 32 mins aqua jogging, hammy stuff, low leg stuff(bare foot shin drills,

                     perounous exercises w/ rubber band)

Tuesday 6PM woods 10 w/ uml guys and Kevin Alliette, 1;07:15, strides after tot. 11

               XT hammy, low leg and core

Wednesday AM woods 10 solo, 1:07:27, tot. 10

                    PM woods 5 solo shakeout, 38:32 tot. 5

Thursday AM woods 10 solo, 1:09:17, rolled left ankle, tot. 10

                PM woods 6 w/ gary, 44:48 tot. 6

                XT low leg stuff

Friday AM mika for massage and treatment

           1PM woods 10 solo, legs still tired/heavy, 1:08:42 tot. 10

            5PM woods 6 solo shakeout, 44:32, did backward fig. 8 running after tot. 6

            XT 5x1min fig.8 backward running 1min rest

Saturday AM woods 10 solo, legs tired, 1:07:25 tot. 10

               PM woods 6, no time, very tired, tot. 6

Sunday AM Methuen rd. 10 solo, 1:05:09, legs tired, strides  after tot. 11

              XT low leg, hammy and core

              PM rd. 6 solo, 41:46 tot. 6

Summary 101 miles for the week, very tired really struggled to recover from the race felt like I did a half marathon not a 4 mile, I’m sure the fast 12 the day after didn’t help.  But injuries feel good so all is well.

Quote of the week “Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right, or better.”

John Updike

Keep your head up!

10:45 PM, June 23, 2008 .. Posted by Anonymous

NIce race at the Steamboat 4 mile, injuries or no injuries 5 secondss behind a healthier KK training for the Olympics is not too shabby! Glad to hear that the injuries aren't nagging you as much now, heres hoping you can pop a good marathon in the fall! While I'm on here, I have a question to ask (if you don't mind). I am training to run a sub 2:40 this fall and I have a problem with MP runs. I can do them, its not too big a problem but I find myself wanting to go back to my old MP (instead of my goal one) during parts of long runs. I just can't relax as well as I'd like running the pace I need. Do elites such as yourself often run at MP, or just do alot of half marathon/10k pace stuff combined with longer runs at an easier pace? Thanks.

mp runs

2:19 AM, June 24, 2008 .. Posted by nateruns

I do almost no mp work during the base instead I focus on different fitness type goals. Runs faster and slower then mp. Then during the specific phase 95% of my workouts are at mp. I don't do many steady mp runs though, simply with mileage in the range I'm at and the density of it i can't seem to hold it for more then 8 or 9 miles so instead I do intervals at mp with short rests (800m to 1000m) at only a slightly slower pace. These workouts should total 12 to 16 miles of work at mp, so things like 4 to 5x5k at mp w/ 1k at 20 seconds slower then mp, up to things like 3x7k or 8k at mp w/ 1k rest at 20 to 30 seconds slower, I have at times done rests as long as a mile. Also I like special blocks so in the am you do 10k at 80%mp then 10k to 15k at mp, then you do the same workout in the afternoon. Also I like progression runs that finish running for a stretch at mp or various pace runs that have stretches at mp, like 30k running 10k at 80%mp, 5k alt. 1min hard 1min 80%, 5k 80%, 5k at mp 5k allout, or 40k broken down similarly. If you look back in my post history a ways I have a very involved blog on marathon training.
But as one last point I feel that mp running is the most important aspect of marathon training.

NUTRITION

3:11 PM, June 24, 2008 .. Posted by Anonymous

Nate, what is your take on nutrition? How do you fuel your body after so many hard workouts keep your body in good shape?. I find my self trying to be more health conscious but those better foods are just so expensive, so I might just end up overloading on carbs after a run. What does your diet consist of? do you drink special teas or natural supplements?

last 1-2 miles on the track

4:10 PM, June 24, 2008 .. Posted by rubensanca

Nate I noticed you do some runs where you finish your last 1-2 miles on the track at HM pace. I have done this is the past but don't really know much about it. I feel really strong when I do this but I don't know what's behind it. Maybe you can tell me.

Edited by rubensanca on June 24, 2008 at 4:11 PM

nutrition and finishing fast

4:55 PM, June 24, 2008 .. Posted by nateruns

nutrition, I eat what I can afford, which for the most part is oatmeal, peanut butter, potato's, pasta, eggs and yogurt. I try to get fruit for after hard workouts. I take a daily multiple with iron(cvs brand). I think good diet is important but not hugely. As jumbo elliot said if the fire is hot enough it will burn anything.
Ruben, I do like to finish runs quicker, sometimes a mile to 5k at mp, sometimes a mile or two at hmp or faster. The purpuse of this is to teach the body to run fast tired. It also improves fitness by improving efficancy, when your body is tired it finds ways of doing things using less energy. Also it improves aerobic threshold. Now the down side to it is that it can make your easy days too hard. I have got myself into real trouble a few times by trying to do this too often and I find myself very suddenly struggling to perform on my hard days which is far more important. The first and only job of an easy day is too recover, now if you can get something more out of it then great but its not worth it if it means you don't recover. Have fun at walden tonight, nate

hamstring exercises

7:06 PM, June 27, 2008 .. Posted by Brennan Bonner

Nate,
What are the exercises you do for your hamstring? My right hamstring has been nagging me for a few months now. It has never been bad enough to keep me from running but I have cut several workouts short because it was bothering me and I did not want to do more damage. Any insight you could give on the matter would be much appreciated.
Best,
Brennan

hammy exercises

8:33 PM, June 27, 2008 .. Posted by nateruns

the three I would recommend most highly would be first just walking hammy stretch/good mornings, you stepforward but pull the heel back into your other ankle then bend at the waist and touch the floor just in front of your shoes keeping the back leg straight then step forward with front leg pull the other leg forward then back into the ankle of the previous lead leg and repeat. you can see a video of this one on kimbia's web site "fast runners slow drills".
Now the two really big ones that I'm a fan of are backward figure 8 running. Its exactly what it sounds like just go for a minute or two take equal rest and do 3 to 10 sets make sure to go as quickly as you can well being under control and really kick up to your butt. I use an area on the field hockey field about 10 yards by 30 yards.
the other biggy uses a swiss exercise ball put your feet side by side flat on the ball, your shoulders and head on the floor, knees at 90 degrees, flex your ass and stomach and you must keep them absolutely flexed as hard as you can throughout the exercise(this is very key). Now push your feet and the ball out till legs are pretty straight, because of your locked core you will actually be a bit bowed from ankles to shoulder, then pull back in using hammy strength and staying flexed through ass and abs. do 3 sets of 10 to start and if you can finish each set by adding 3 one leg ones on each leg, so really 3 sets of 13. Build up from there. I'm at 25 double leg with 5 singles each leg so sets of 35 right now but really would ideally like to do 50 double leg and 10 each leg (70 total per set) for 3 sets eventually.
Now if your problem seems to be more tied to sprinting and explosive activity you need to do Swedish (or is it Norwegian?) hammy drops. you have someone, or something very heavy(we have a bench press bench that with a little weight on the bar does nicely, hold your ankles on the ground, they must stay locked on the ground, while you kneel. You lower your body forward slowly from the knees until you can't hold yourself up no more, then you drop to the ground, or as a variation you can curl yourself back up, I like to to do two sets of each, up and down and collapsing forward, sets of 8 to 15 are more then enough.
Hope this helps. Don't expect instant results the hammy tends to be one of the slowest healing muscles on the body. DO stick with these exercises and treatment for the same reason so far you are ok but if you don't fix it now you will really be kicking yourself down the road when you are missing 6months to a year for a hammy problem which is pretty common.

kind of lost right now

12:23 AM, June 29, 2008 .. Posted by Anonymous

i just started reading this blog and i'm happy to see you're able to do more mileage now. I myself have had problems with training, not so much physically but more psychologically.

I stopped training with teammates about a 2 years ago and haven't trained seriously in a while, at the time I was in the best shape of my life but suddenly quit out of frustration from bad performances. Since then I have been trying to run on my own to stay in shape but really cant do it all by myself, i have no to push me. Sometimes I do superb runs but then I stop for days and cant hold a routine. I'm surprised to read you do most of your running solo. My question is how you stay so disciplined on your own? how do you get up almost every morning to run? I need to get back to my routine but I've gained a good amount of weight and really am struggling to get with it. I think I've grown soft and I'm realising becoming a runner again is very hard thing to do. How do i come back from a huge layoff? I have work and don't have time for running clubs and things like that.

i seriously have respect for your commitment man.

will power

2:29 AM, June 29, 2008 .. Posted by nateruns

I wish I had some easy answer for you that there was a trick or a simple way to make getting out the door easier. But I don't. Will power to go forward is as much a part of success in running as talent or mileage or anything else in the end I think it is the most important thing. Consistency brings success and for generations the runners in the top 1 percent or I guess really the top 1/100th of a percent were simply the ones who could string together not weeks or months of good training but years.
But how do you do that. In the end simply you make the choice every day to push on, inspite of whatever gets in your way, be it bad weather, a long day at work, a date, a party, being tired from the day or week or month befores training or a bad race or bad year, you simply keep going no matter what stands in front of you. Like the old man in the old man and the sea you simply fight on because you see no other choice.
In running for me I fought my battles with getting out for runs years ago and now it has got to the point, has been there for a long time, that I know I will do my runs today, no matter how tired or sore or busy I am it is as definite as death and taxes the run will be done. So now it is easy.
But I still struggle with cross training I haven't been able to force myself to get to that point yet. so more often then I' would like to admit I don't walk over to the gym to do those exercises or ab work or hammy stuff or whatever. Thats when I would kill for a coach or a training partner, just someone to be there so I would do it, someone to hold me accountable.
I guess the only advice I can give you is harsh but straight forward. If you want to run better you must commit like its marriage. Not for a few months or a year but for a lifetime, you must see no end. And once committed you must be so completely, Not just for the good days, you are in it to suffer endlessly if need be, not for some promised absolute success, that is a pipe dream, but simply for the hope that someday you will find out what you are capable of doing if you hone your body to its perfection.
But know this what separates the guys on tv this week at the olympic trials from the rest of us is bloody savage and most of all boring unending consistency.