If you have been running for a while, you have almost certainly heard that it is essential to remain well hydrated. Dehydration has been blamed for premature fatigue, pulled muscles, cramps, dizziness, nausea and heat exhaustion. But what are the facts?

I have recently been reading The Runner's Body by Tucker and Dugas , and it is interesting to read their view on this subject. They note that runners who finish marathons in the fastest times are those who lose the mo...

I just read an interesting article in Life Extension on how to combat H1N1 Swine Flu.

In summary:

• During the winter months, the risk of contracting a cold or flu increases.

• With the threat of a swine flu pandemic, people are more concerned than ever about how to protect themselves and their families.

• Many nutrients and drugs can help prevent viral infections and hasten their resolution when they do occur.

• Nutraceuticals that may protect against flu include Vitamin D, garlic (bot...

Achilles Stretch

I don't generally disagree with Runner's World, but I take exception to the article Stretch Your Calves Correctly. The article recommends runners to use the active-isolated toe lift for stretching the calf, rather than what I call the Achilles stretch. The authors claim that this gives a better stretch for the gastrocnemius (the outer calf muscle).

As you know, I recommend two stretches for the calf muscles – the Achilles stretch for the gastrocnemius and the calf stretch...

When it's cold and rainy, it's time to unfold the treadmill and enjoy running in the great indoors! Normally, I hate the treadmill, but by looking at the weather outside the window I find I can take pleasure in it. Also, it is a great opportunity to try something different.

Yesterday I had scheduled intervals. With the bad weather, I decided to run my intervals on the treadmill. However, I also wanted to make them part of my “running faster” program, so I did a variation on the usual ...

I just finished my first tempo run workout since I started the “run faster” program. The idea behind this program is to increase stride rate, or turnover. So today, instead of working on running pace in the intervals I worked on turnover.

I ran the first 10 minutes as a warmup at an easy, comfortable pace and stride rate. Then I cut into a 5 minute interval running at a comfortably fast stride rate. I followed this with 5 minutes running at the fastest stride rate I could manage.

The ...

On Monday I was in Cancun, Mexico with sunshine and 87 degrees. When I woke up this morning (Wednesday) in Huntsville, Texas, it was also sunny. The difference is that it was about 35 degrees with a strong north wind.

I decided to wait for the weather to warm up before I ran. Yesterday I ran the treadmill because it was raining, so I was looking forward to today's run. The forecast said it would be 53 degrees this afternoon – good, but not great!

In fact, it peaked at about 44, just a...

Last week I was suffering from allergies, so between that and the Thanksgiving Holiday I found myself not running from Tuesday until Saturday. I got back to an easy run Saturday, and really enjoyed a long run on Sunday. Today, I did another PACE run as part of my speed training.

On the long run, I found I started off for the warmup with my old slow loping pace. After 10 minutes, I was fully warmed up, but found it was too difficult to adjust to a fast turnover, so I kept a slow stride rat...