Training Advice

Hi Eric and Everyone,

I am currently training for a series of Ultra Halfs this year and next. My 6th race will be at the end of this month and I am hoping to progress to a 30k in November and a 50k next April. I have incorporated the leg/foot strengthening exercises from The Cool Impossible a couple of months ago and just finished transitioning to zero drop shoes.

I am a stay at home dad with 3 kids so getting out for runs doesn't happen as much as I would like and when I do get out (2-3 times a week) most of my runs are pushing an 18mo old in a stroller (BOB). Unfortunately this also means that even less of my runs are on trails as most trails are not BOB friendly. The good news is that if I time my runs right I can go about two hours when the baby falls asleep. When I can't get out and run, I have a zero runner in the garage that I use.

Just curious what advice anyone would have for me in terms of which workouts I should do while pushing a stroller, using the zero runner, and running without the stroller. I had a bout with runners knee, patellofemoral syndrome, earlier in the year and have been running pain free for the past couple of months now and want to keep it that way. Hence I am always looking for more efficient and better ways to train given my constraints.

I would love to hear about any others experiences or tips and advice that anyone would like to share.

Thanks in advance

Markham

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Permalink Reply by Eric Orton on September 19, 2018 at 3:22pm

Hi Markham,

Great post here and great to hear you are going for it, even with time constraints. Its all about the day to day focus and challenges that will catapult your experience.

I fondly remember the days I too pushed and dragged the stroller to hills for repeats and thru crunchy cold snow - I time I will always remember.

Since you are looking at approx 3 runs per week, I would keep it simple and focus on this stragegy:

one long run or 2 moderate runs in the day
one threshold style of run where you run in zone 4-6 for 10-30 min.
one day of hills or short sprints of 1-3 min in length.
Maybe follow the quality run workouts in The Cool impossible + the long runs when you can.

I would also get creative. Run to breakfast or dinner and meet the family. Run at night while everyone is asleep, this can be a great adventure and a time when you do not feel the urgency to "have to get back" home.

Hope this helps and please keep us posted on your progress and all of the stories you create.

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Permalink Reply by Markham Yonkers on September 19, 2018 at 5:01pm

Thanks for the reply! I thought I was being creative but hadn't thought about running to meet the rest of the family somewhere. Thats a great idea. Being able to squeeze in an additional run here or there is huge even if it's not a long run.

Thanks again

Markham