Turkey Trots

Turkey trots are always fun events. Whether it be grandma out there on the course to trying to finish, your hip father wearing all his new gear looking to set a personal record, the little sister not sure why she's out here but loving every minute of it, or you, and all your competitive or no so competitive nature.

I always find it really an inspiring time for my community. Usually it is about two thousand people registered to run and about another thousand out there to support the runners, to basically run the show and be present. The great part about this is that my community does not have big events like this all the time, mostly just around major holidays, and it is comforting to know that we all support a cause and that is to feed those who are hungry. I think that often times, it could easily be overlooked when you do not always get to see good works happening but to know that they are is always something special.

Another reason why I support Turkey trots is because these events tend to get the surrounding running community out there, which are some of the best kind of people. Also these people are the people we all seem to know, so another way to classify this event is as a running community social. 

Keep running and remember all of the fun of it!

Didn't make it out this year? Check out Los Angeles Turkey Trots!

Also, check out Feed the Hungry, which is an organization that collects from some major Turkey Trots!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

See you next time,

Michael Duncan

Finishing with a kick.

It is very true that it doesn't matter where you start it is where you finish. Also, the best way to run a distance race is to negative split. So how can we run the race, without leading and then come out with the victory by the time the finish comes around....? That is where the kick comes in.

Someone could be in the front of the race the whole time but, if they don't have a kick, then their chances of winning greatly decrease. So how can we develop our finishing kick? I am a firm believer in practicing will get you closer to where you want to be. My recommendation workout to improve your foot speed would be this workout:

1. Warm up.
Make sure that you have a good warm up, anywhere from one to three miles. A warm up is very important so that you body is ready to meet the demands that you put on it and you don't just jump into sprinting because you could do a lot of damage to yourself.

2. Drills.
I have about Three drills I like a lot. One is a skip where you exaggerate your form while looking for height. The second is skipping as fast as you can while getting you feet to contact and leave from the ground as fast as possible. The third is straight let runs. I like these a lot because I believe they will get you all warmed up and ready for what you are about to do.

3. Two more laps.
This is not just running two more laps. It is jogging the curve and picking it up pretty fast on the straightaway and doing this for two laps. If you are not on a track, I would recommend doing a fourty 5 second jog, and a 15-20 second pick up. Repeat that four times.

4. 6 x 100m all out effort plus full recovery.

5. Two mile warm down plus stretching.

To see what 10,000 meter silver medalist does check out this article called, A Lethal Kick.

To check out one of the best kicking videos, check out this 800 meter Olympic final from 1972!

Your body can stand anything, it is your mind that you have to convince.

Until next time,

Michael Duncan

Digging Deep

So why do I run. This is something that I can’t wait to reread a year from now, but here are my thoughts for all seventeen of you who read my posts each week.

Love.

Love?

Yes.

There is a point in athletes competitive running career where we find ourselves looking over what we have accomplished, what we look forward to accomplishing, and the legacy that we ourselves leave behind for ourselves and the current roster spots of a team we are very much invested in. I call these three things part of the why we are out here. But underlying in all of these is love.

Love is what I feel when I am grinding hard on a long run with my teammates, and I know that they are out here for the same reasons. Love is when we as teammates finish hard tempo workouts together, after hard interval workouts together, after waking up at 6am to get to pool workout at 6:30am in “81 degree” water together, after shredding our bodies in race after race together, after falling hard at some points during the season and getting picked up by inspiring performances of a fellow brother, or sister.

Every race, WE put ourselves out there for EACH OTHER.

There is no feeling in the world where you are hurting in a race and a teammate comes up and you guys start pushing together. Nobody makes us do this. It is our choice. But between you and I, my family expands after every season because I gain true brothers who will be there going through pain with me, because they strive to become champions.

And what are we left with, when it’s all said and done?

Something we will never forget.

And the answer is inside you, I can’t write it here. You know what it is. Stay unbroken.

Two song lyrics that encompass all of this emotion

And we find what were made of, through the open door, easyfeeling afraid, what are you waiting for. Love alone is worth the fight. 

Love is why we do it. Love is worth the pain. Love is wherewe fall down, get back up again. Love is where the heart lies. Love is fromabove. Love is this, this is love.

Love what you do and do what you love.

We are all blessed,

Michael Duncan

Breaking the Cycle

Breaking the cycle? Are you crazy? Consistency is the key to being a great runner. Well, that, training well, recovering well, staying injury free, and mentally being a big dog. 

I am not talking about stopping your training. What I am talking about is doing something out of the ordinary in your life that can give you some time to think, but also feel free and realize why you are a runner. With this search for inspiration, you can see the reasons you started or are starting in the first place.

Consider this:

It's a normal week, you wake up, do your morning run, shower, eat, and then you're off to work or to school. Your daily routine at work or school sets in and you are doing everything that's... I'll say normal. The workday ends, or the classes finish, and then you are in your evening routine, whatever that may be which could include a run. And we do this day after day. 

It sounds nice! Until we realize that we have been doing this for a long while. The same routine day after day. Then it becomes boring, until we are able to find the spark in our life.

I was doing what I’ll call a shorter run and decided to run solo for a small change to my normal routine. Based off of where I live, I decided to run with my swim trunks in my hand, run to the ocean, swim, and run back. The beach makes me generally pretty happy. I ran to the ocean, swam, did some strides on thin water, enjoyed the sight, and ran back. I LOVED IT. 

My routine was broken. I was able to take time to go on a solo mission to where inspiration lies for me, in my thoughts and open space. I was able to go back over the reasons why I compete, why I run. At this point, my confidence rose, and so did my endorphins.

After breaking my cycle, I am able to see the value in my everyday routine, which makes me happier to live the life I do.

There is no one way to get inspired, but once you are able to break a normal routine for yourself, many possibilities come with.

You are in control of the places you'll go, so go!

Until next time,

Michael Duncan  

I did my best. But did you win?

The question above is one that is in the minds of all competitive runners.

On the line. A minute from the start of the race, and all I can think about is that I have prepared myself in the best way I know how. I warmed up properly and completed all the little details that sets me up for success.

Breath in... breath out... I'm ready.

The starter lifts his hands in the air... BANG!

The mess of runners aim to establish their position among the rest of the field. Will power and some luck put me in what I believe is a great position, right behind the lead pack.

As the 8000 meter race progresses forward, the first mile for me, 4:43. This is a great place to be. 

I proceed through the race, catching up and putting in strong surges to five more opponents, and then the final 800 arrives. I see a group of three runners fairly close. Coach is yelling, "don't settle! Push now, and have them pull you though, don't settle!" Repeatedly coach is yelling this and I call this in my mind, my responsibility. I will pass them before the finish.

I caught them, and blew by the group of three in the last 200 meters and didn't get challenged by them again. At this point I see our 3rd and 4th man thinking were running well.

Team results: 6th of 9 teams. We definitely ran well, but were bested. We work all summer long, put in the miles, tempos, hard workouts, slept early, ate right, and are talented runners. But did we win?

There are two sides to this, the yes, because we gave it our best, and the no, because we clearly did not accomplish what we set forth to do. 

I see the no. We did not win. We gave it a great effort, yes, but not a win. What's there to do after such a defeat? If I have learned anything from running is that, "Its not about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much you can take, and keep moving forward, that's how winning is done!" -Rocky Balboa

For an interesting related article, check out, If You Want To Win.

Until next time,

Michael Duncan

Let's roll out!

Wouldn't be great to get a massage whenever you wanted in the comfort of you own home?

Here is the thing... You can, and all you need is yourself and a foam roller.

Also, does foam rolling benefit your body? Let's take a look.

What does foam rolling do for runners? A quick answer is, a lot.

1. Provides benefits of a deep tissue massage.
What does a deep tissue massage do for us? It helps us break down adhesions (places where the muscles stick together), so that our muscles can smoothly glide over one another as they are supposed to. This also relieves tightness in muscles and can help them to relax so that next time a hard workout comes around, or a nice long run, you will be ready to go.

2. Increases recovery of muscles, and boosts performance.
When you foam roll, the amount of blood flow increases to the areas in which you roll. Blood flow is great for bringing oxygen into the muscles and to help break down and flush out scar tissue over time. When the body is recovered, its ability to perform increases.

3. Can increase flexibility.
When you foam roll, your muscles get less tight because of the smoothing out and lengthening of your muscle. Thus, over time this will lead to more flexible muscles.

4. Prevents Injuries.
All of the above are reasons for injury prevention. Being able to break down scar tissue, break down adhesions, to increase flexibility, and to increase blood flow to the muscles all help in the injury prevention process. These help keep the body recovering as it should and aiding where the body needs it.

If you want help getting started on what muscles to foam roll, check out Foam Rolling for Runners!

In addition, for another place to start, and to learn more about the behind the scenes of foam rolling, take a look at, What Is a Foam Roller!

"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out"

Robert Collier

Every day is a new day to succeed.

Until next time,

Michael Duncan

Fluid Running

Should I be drinking more than just water?

The question is what should I be drinking?

Lets start off with the good ol' classic, water. Then we will check out a few others!

WATER
There is not a huge secret that water is essential to human life and we can only live so many days without water. So besides needing it to sustain our lives, drinking our normal amount of water daily helps the body stay regular. Water flushes out the toxins of out body, meaning less cramps, and a quicker recovery, yes! Those are just two examples, and if you want eight more, check out the Benefits of Drinking Water. Further, here is a good link to find out, How much water do we need?

SPORTS DRINKS
The best parts about sports drinks, such as Gatorade, are that they normally have high carbohydrates and high electrolytes. Those are very beneficial for runners because carbohydrates give us energy that our body stores as glucose and are our main source of energy during physical activity. Electrolytes are good for runners because they help in muscle contraction which basically means physical activity, and without adequate electrolytes your body is more likely to cramp which is never good!

TEA
So what kind of tea are we talking about here. I will tough on green tea and ginger tea. green tea has a high amount of antioxidants called catechins. Antioxidants are fairly essential for the daily grind because they reduce inflammation of muscles which helps us stay healthy. Also most green teas have caffeine which can help increase performance. Ginger tea has two brilliant aspects to it that are being an anti inflammatory and  being able to boost immune system. The anti inflammatory is called gingerols, which basically means faster muscle recovery. The immune system is boosted by its ability to ease throat pain, kill cold viruses, and helps eliminate congestion. For more on ginger check out its full list of Health Benefits. 



For a couple more ideas on drinks, check out the Best Beverages for Runners.

"Ninety-eight percent of success is in the head and the heart"

Cathy Ferguson, Olympic Swimmer

Strive for the best.

Until next time,

Michael Duncan