Yazmin vs Run

Here is a small summary:

op Five Smartwatch Vendors

Apple kept its first place as the leader in the smartwatch sector worldwide. Although it is noticeable a deep drop for the second year among the Top 5. New models and a low price can be translate in a come back, yet to be determined, since the market is still maturing and changing. 

Garmin appeared with the largest year-to-year increase overall vendors. The growing list of Connect IQ-enable smartwatches and the launch of Fenix Chronos helped to position the brand and to maintain a steady growth. Garmin’s strategy is keep its product focused into the fitness sector, and not to compete with multipurpose watches, something that helps the brand to focus in only-related products and not to waste resources developing products out of their aim.

Samsung with a 9% growth from a year ago is the result of the Gear S2 smartwatc. This model is one of the few ones remaining in the market with cellular connectivity, which ended up being not a very practical functionality if you are into sports. 

Lenovo (Motorola) The vendor with the deepest decline. Its sales came from mainly from the Moto 360 sport device. Furthermore, by no introducing a new model for the holidays season contributed to its decline.

Pebble with a 54% decline, was one of the starts among smartwatches in 2012 with a Kickstarter campaign. Throughout these years the company has launched different version of its original product and even a introduced a new timeline-based user interface, which, unfortunately ended with no high success. In 2016 Pebble launched another Kickstarter campaign releasing the Pebble 2. This product followed the leading tendency into fitness and equipped the device with a heart-rate sensor.

Then WHY this tendency?

There are some arguments in this topic. Some analysts say that smartwatches are not for everyone, which can be translated that some of the capabilities built-in the devices are just not useful for all users.

Since these devices are aim basically for people that are into fitness, is where the users are diversified. Some users are very into the stats and their numbers produced day-by-day, which through the time can be interesting to analyse, but so far no meaningful outcome can be obtained right away.

In my perspective, here is where smartwatches have its flaw. Smartwatches are devices that their principal function is to collect data of your training session, whatever the sports. Then, this raw data is transform in a nice visual dashboard with a bunch of stats. And then? Here is the question, what you would do with all this data?

The amount of data collected by these devices is unbelievable, but the ones taking advantage of this data are almost solely the big platforms, like Strava, which analyses the overall data collected by the users, specially if there is a big event, like a Major Marathon. Then you can see stats of Strava’s user and you can have some insights of the event, noting of course that not all runners will use this platform. Otherwise the data collect for an individual is not very illustrative. It can be in the long term, but the problem is that users won’t stay with a single device. They may change brand, the device can suffer damage, if just the user lost interest. This phenomena was well documented with the FitBit bands, where users were using them for an average of 6 months.

Now, there are the more serious runners, using mainly Garmin devices, which can give you lots of stats, specially if you are into triathlons, and then you can track progress over the weeks and catch your peak performance translated into the numbers. But not everyone knows how to do it and that’s the issue, not all users are into analyzing the stats or to store data through the years. Of course there are, but you need to patient in order to find a pattern through the training cycles, but in this case we are talking of a minority.

For example, most of the runners are recreational runners, some will abandon the sports at some point, and some are really good runners, but among them you always will see the ones that did not find useful wearing a smartwatch. In this last one, I include my self, through the years, I been storing data and just looking at it, but I did not find it very useful. I find it interesting, looking at the data through the years (3 years) and prior having an injury I catch the moment in which my pace started to decline. But, unfortunately you cannot catch on the day-by-day usage. It cannot predict this kind of situations, since the numbers depends where you are in the training cycle, and will require deep knowledge of your performance.

At the end, I like to stay simple, a GPS and avg speed is just enough, more I think is not every useful, and many runners are figuring out and just thinking why they will need a bunch of data? and what for? Even elite runners just rely in a Stopwatch and no more.

Held in Slovenia's capital Ljubljana, one of Europe's smaller capital cities with just about 280,000 inhabitants, the Ljubljanski maraton is a massive running event with more than 24,161 participants in three races: 

- Half-marathon

- Marathon

- 10k

- Recreational Races

Still interesting that for longer distances men are predominating the event, but in the 10k, the stats shows that more women are into the distance. This probably do to the practicality of it and that not intense is required to finish a 10k. For that, such kind of distance are very compelling for this sector, but is good to see that more women are jumping into the sports, with probabilities that in the future will jump into a longer distance.

But in the overall men represents the higher numbers, but women are running behind this stat with high probabilities that in the future numbers will be even more balanced.

It starts in the heart of the city looping the city and the surrounding and all long the course there are people cheering the runners. 

My experience

Definitely a worthy experience. It was my first one and really surpassed my expectations since the event is not highly marketed outside the region. But is very well-known among Croats and is one of those must-traditional events they go as runners and teams because for most of them represent the last race of the season.

I went with a Croatian triathlon team - SWIBIR, and was a great experience, around 20 members attended the race and the environment was just great. The night before you can go for a carbo-loading dinner at one of the many restaurants along the river, or just grab couple of beers since is just the final race of the season, still all go and run with high expectations.

The city is packed of runners and you can feel the positive vibes everywhere.

For staying there are many cheap options like hostels, but reservations need to be done in advanced since it is a small city and capacity can be difficult to handle.

The EXPO

The expo is a mid-sized expo, of course there is no comparison with a major marathon, I mentioned that because sometimes people ask how is the expo and they have different expectations. 

The expo is nice, with local and international brands, and one thing the official shirt of the event is one the cheapest - just 10 Euro, and is an Adidas one, if you just compared with other event in which can be as high as 60 Euros

The medal

The medal is a nice but a bit small, but enough to represents your accomplishment and have nice memory of the event.  

In my case I ran 21k, enough for my come back in races. 

The weather was a bit chilly in the morning, but as the hours pass by the temperature starts to raise reaching a maximum of 15 degrees, just for a perfect run.

Along he course there is people cheering. Water stops are every other 5km, this is good to know since maybe it can be too long for some runners, but so far since the weather is not that warm is enough.

The course is flat, with some mild hills, but nothing to be afraid of and the race finishes in a city park full of spectators.

My time was 1hr 31 min, not a bad time, but not the fastest. I was among the top 20 runners and got a 7th place in in my category. Good for a come back.

So, how was your 2016? For me was a challenging year, and was until October / November I was able to run again. At the end of 2015 I had a bad injury plus a bad bike fall. Seems it was not complicated at the beginning but I end up having a long recovery time, almost a year long. I had a partial, almost 50% of the plantar fascia detached from the bone, a rare injury but it happens. You only need few seconds to have a bad fall.

But it took quite long to realize what had happened, since the fall was actually a silly fall.

Anyway, during all this time I learned a lot, I got more into why injuries happens, since I suffered of plantar fasciitis also for a long time and I realized is one of the most stubborn injuries a runner can have, and not only runners, but also basketball and football players, even dancers. In fact any one can get it even if that person is not active. 

Also I learned that with the running boom there is a lot of “coaches” claiming to be one when in fact they don’t even have a wide a running experience and just talk in a fancy way. Furthermore, running is not only running, at the end is an integral activity that involves the complete kinetic chain of the body. 

For that, I spent many evenings just educating my self and look for more scientific information, plus attending my time-consuming therapy sessions. I read couple of books like “Running Science”, “Running Revolution” and some others. Running magazines are just fine, but if you want to go further and in a more structured way and to improve, is way better to look at scientific and more accurate information.

Besides reading, In the meantime I also started a full strength program, focusing in balancing all the muscles specially in the legs and core, including lower back and glutes, also a flexibility program in which the core Running is still a simple activity, but when you do it repetitively and more often, then you need to look in how all those forces are specially affecting the body, this applies for all distances, but more important for those running half marathon and marathon. 

In that matter I was able to maintain general fitness, but the struggle for even walking was still there. Just took it easy and focused in what I will do next.

I started by then training people in Miami and Mexico, and also offering Virtual Training, which was successful. I had several clients and all managed to reach their goals. Clients includes couple of runners that ran Chicago Marathon, Mexico City Half Marathon and New York Marathon.

By September / October things were better and started to run mildly. My first race after a year was the Half Marathon in Zagreb, I ran it in 1hr 35min, no bad for a start and just mild training (walking, jogging and lots of strength training). The race was ok, just some minor pain in the foot, which was normal, but since then the pain started to ease faster, beside all the therapy I was taking aside plus lots, lots of medications to regulate the plantar nerve pain which was also affected due to the injury.

In there I meet a runner entrepreneur and since then I help to collaborate in his network and races in Croatia (I ended up in Croatia), in another post will comment on that.

Zagreb half marathon was the break-point to start again something I stopped and to gain confidence. Also I gain more running clients and happy to help them out to reach their full running potential. Another races were:

- 10k Raslina, Sibenik in Croatia - 43min (2nd place)

- Half Marathon in Ljiubliana, Slovenia - 1hr 31min (24th place, 4th per category)

- 22km Sport Hotel, Croatia 1hr 43min

- 10k Night Run, Zagreb - 43 min (12th place)

- 10k Advent Run, Zagreb - 1st place !

When I first arrived to Zagreb in 2009, it was very interesting, specially in the running matter. There were runners of course, but not as many as I see today. Running was not so popular by that time and there were not so many enthusiasts spreading out the word. 

In 2011 I had the opportunity to run the Zagreb Marathon and if I compared that year with 2016, the change is incredible. By then there were couple of running teams/clubs. Now you can see different teams in virtually all over Croatia and so many located in the Zagreb area. Furthermore, Social Media has played a key factor into spreading the word and market different races all over Croatia.

One special thing Croatia has to offer to the word is the beautiful coastline, the charm of its small towns and the “go-back-on- time” feeling when you visit them. Such places are very well preserved and that’s what make them very attractive. Having this, if its mixed with the running “boom”, the results is a very nice landscape that runners can enjoy while running in Croatia. 

The running environment is a very positive and social environment and there is when you can connect with fellow runners, and if talking about social media, this can be great and connect with even more runners wondering what else can be done in terms of running and getting the community involved. That was the way I get to meet @berro​ in Zagreb and actually I ran with him the Zagreb Half Marathon and help him to get a PR of 1hr 35m, I am always happy to help others reaching their goals.

Who is @berro​ ?

Berislav Sokač is an enthusiast and avid runner from Zagreb, Croatia, also a successful businessman and entrepreneur. He is the founder of “Run Croatia.”

 ”Run Croatia” was founded in 2015. in order to promote sport, healthy way of life and winning spirit – in cooperation with running communities, cities in Croatia and the rest of the world, sponsors and every other subject involved in organization of our running event which is interested in promoting their products and services on the highest level.”

Getting back into the background of the founder, @berro​ I was intrigued and happy that I found a World Marathon Major finisher in Croatia, and when saying a World Marathon Major finisher, it includes the six of them (NYC, Boston, Chicago, London, Tokyo, Berlin).  But talking about which one was the most special, it turns that was the TCS New York City Marathon, and what a great time to celebrate, because we are just couple of weeks away of the big event for this 2016. 

But back in 2010 @berro​ was running #nycmarathon, his very first marathon, 

He ran #nycmarathon in 4hr 4min, a special timing, because that’s his son’s birthday(April, 4th). In order to make this event more special, he engraved the #nycmarathon medal with this representative time, 4:04h to be a lifetime reminder for his son that finishing a marathon is not easy. I represents a lot of dedication, hard work, discipline, which is important to have in every aspect of our lives. Since then, Berislav Sokač realized that NYC marathon is part of big six major events and imagine what he did? 

He did it all six marathon majors in a span of two and half years. 

He was 13th man in the world on WMM list.

Now ask yourselves, does coming #NYCmarathon is going to be your first one or it is part of your WMM journey? 

This is a question that depends where are you located. But also is important to keep in mind that the surface where do we run should be soft if possible. This is not always possible if we live in a city with not so many parks.

In my particular case I am been able to train most of the time in soft terrain.

Currently I am training in a forest nearby called Maksimir Park, when I have time I jump into the tram and go to Lake Jarun or Sava River.

Here in Zagreb, Croatia, these are the main running spots, which is quite different of what you see in the States or Mexico. Let say, that is not often to see runners in the city center or even in the near surroundings.

But having these places were to run is amazing. Jarun Lake has a 6km lop with nice viewings, there is asphalt but is not so hard and just looping the smalls lakes in here offers you a good place to run and also there there are several running clubs. 

Is incredible how running has boomed in this area. My first time in Croatia was in 2009 and you barely see runners, of course there were always there, but not as many as it does now.

My preferred spot is Maksimir park, is a combination of forrest trails and trails going around big green areas. In the morning seems to be a quite area, with some runners, but once you step in during any evening is full of running groups going around until 10pm, so is nice been surrounded with all this runners.

So the here I enjoy the softness of the ground and combined with the trails makes it a good way to gain lot of strength training for the legs.

Sava River is also a nice long sport to run. It is pretty much straight and you can have the landmark view of Zagreb and the bridges that connects the old part with the new part of the city. Also you get to see these curious structures along it and also where you can see some old remarkable building, a way to remember the city’s history.

Another spot I have trained these year, due to several business trips was Miami, which is a great spot to train, but during the summer time can be difficult due to the high temperatures and humidity. But still good place to run specially in the beach, or either to head cross the bridges to Brickell area and Downtown.

And finally, Budapest, is great as well, as a global trend, running is not lagging in Budapest, specially when having literally a running island. It is a 5.3 km lop and it is in the middle of the Danube. Summer is great to run and as well winter time, and as running is becoming more popular, you see more and more people running through the city, which offers a great view from Pest side to climbing up the castle in Buda side and having a great view of the city. 

The island has a track special for running track and part trail and big greens areas.

This is one of the clearest examples of how cross training can help runners to be better, more stronger and a healthier runner. Meb has been running for several years, as he mentioned once, as he ages he needs to shift the way he trains, and even younger runners are taking this approach to have a longer professional life and even been able to keep active for long time.

Evidently this is a new trend among runners and not long ago runners were relying solely in high mileage, speed workouts, some strength training, so on, but not cross training, also the benefits were not very clear and people look at it as a boring activity.

Furthermore there was not as much information available as we have now and the training techniques that professional athletes was like a well kept secret.

Now is more open and athletes are sharing how is their training, what do they do and don’tn what do they eat, etc; and there is where cross training emerge as a new way to train for a marathon and general speaking for runners.

The basics of cross training are based on reducing the pounding of running, but having instead a way to use other muscles that are not used when running and let the body recover faster from running. Now it is well known that by training muscles that are not used while running provides a better performance when running.

And it is not secret that running is a high impact sports and can have some consequences in some persons, not all, there are runners like Sage Canaday, which been running almost non stop until 2014 when he had a knee injury and took off sometime, but as we was recovering he did cross training to mantain his fitness. http://trailrunnermag.com/people/q-and-a/1949-sage-canaday-recovery

So there are people more prone to injuries from the pounding, but one small Hardvard study tried to figure out why? the answer they found that runners that land softer, are the ones with less injuries along with the ones with a mid-foot stride. http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2016/02/where-runners-go-wrong/

http://running.competitor.com/2016/02/news/harvard-study-examines-why-some-runners-dont-get-injured_146038

Not long ago Cross Training was not even a topic among runners. But as new training techniques have been developed, cross training has been a good aid to be more effective.

Which activities can considered as cross training?

- Aqua jogging

- Walking

- Swimming

- Cycling

- Yoga

- Pilates

- Mobility, strength training, flexibility, cross fit exercises   

-  Plyometrics

Any other activity which is non-impact

The Benefits:

Injury prevention

Recovery method / Active recovery

Rehabilitation while injured - specific exercises for rehab

To maintain fitness while injure

Enhance a runner's efficiency.

Increase a runner's power.

Increase the amount of time a runner is able to spend training without accumulating fatigue or getting injured.

Breaks the boredom and creates a new way to keep fitkeeps motivation by doing something different

MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

As I evolved as a runner I been learning what to do and do not. Sometimes the hard way. Specially when starting to train for a marathon. I learn first that strength training is a must and a day of cross training, in my case swimming was key to perform my PB at Miami Half Marathon last year 2015, with 1hr 24min.

My routine now has at least two days with strength training and at least one day with cross training, and when I do double session, sometimes I ride my bicycle for the light workout.

So far it has worked very well for me and has given me better performance. Specially swimming, I started swimming 2 days a week and felt great, and if I have to compare which one has worked better for me, I may say swimming and aqua jogging, but not always there is a poll nearby or the schedule is too tight.

But this year cross training has been key for me. Since my bike accident, I stopped running but keep cycling everyday at least for one hour and a half, and I can say that now that I returned to running, I feel good and my fitness kept a good level, so I do not need to start from scratch.

Here are some examples:

According to some statistics, in previous years the number of injured runners was something about 50 to 60%, now new and recent numbers say that is up to 90%, which is alarming.

Why Injuries happen and what are the most common injuries?

There are several theories but not a general conses about what is causing so many injuries. In the picture below, there are the most common injuries that a runner can suffer while hitting the road:

In this topic first we need to understand why an injury happen and in this matter, most of the running injuries are overuse injuries, meaning that the injury develops little by little and there is not a single event that causes the trauma, like a fall. Overuse injury develops slowly because the body’s rate of recovery is slower and when we run the body has not fully recovered, this happens mostly when increasing too much the mileage, running faster than we are suppose to, running always with a high intensity.

In order words, when the body is not prepared to handle running forces, it causes micro tears, which are rebuild at night, when we are resting. If there is not enough sleep or there are stress factors or when there is not enough time to recover, that means that the body is no fully healing and little by little it causes inflammation or bigger tears which lately will become an injury,

"Overuse injuries have a lot to do with not paying attention to your body, not being in tune with your body, not being able to trust what your body is telling you," says Stan Beecham, a sports psychologist who has worked closely with several professional running groups. "Injury is not a physical event. It's the mind-body complex working together."

But now, which factors increases the chances of being injured?

There are enumerable reasons like:

Weaknesses - This is a general term, but runners can have weaknesses manly in the muscles and some important sets of them like abductors (outer thigh) and adductors (inner thigh), and the glutes which “are usually shut down and detrained, not firing at all." According to Wharton. The fix for  muscle imbalances, as physical therapists recommend, are specific sets of exercises that isolate the weaker muscle and gradually grow in complexity.

Forces - When you hit the ground the impact can be as 3 times the weight of the body, this impact is absorbed mainly by the muscles and having strong muscles is one of the points to avoid injuries. Now there is a bigger trend in which is a MUST to hit the GYM at least twice a week, otherwise the rate of injuries is much more higher. 

Rest - This is crucial and as far I have seen runners are very keen to keep running through nagging injuries non stop, meaning that there is no rest at all thinking it will go away with the time, but with no rest, this is a big mistake, resting is very important and having a day or two or even more depending on the runners is going to be an integral part of the training, in order to let the body recover from the hard work. 

Do not listen to the body - The body is always aware of what we do and when it is too much. The body send signals like pain or other symptoms like inflammation, and when it happens we need to stop or reduce the training and check what is happening, if we do not listen, and injury can be developing and be much worse and lose more time healing.

Footwear - There is a lot of controversy in this matter, but unfortunately until even with the technology used in running shoes injuries just keep happening.

Many blame the over-cushioned shoes that we have now in the market, since those weaken the foot leading to imbalances and producing injuries. In the book Running Science, it is mention that in a study done they obtained that the more you spend in running shoes the injury rate is higher. What does that mean? Well, this is a theory, but the thing is that the more cushion, the more prone injuries because the foot becomes weaker and the shoes is doing the job the foot should be doing.

And lately we have many shoes with lot of cushion and still we have lots of injuries among runners. 

And even there is a lot of running shoes in the market none of these shoes are proved to say they are helping to reduce injuries, at this point is only matter of marketing and make us think they will make something better.

Now many say that going barefoot is the best. Is it? there is some true behind it, but in order to be barefoot we need to go through a long process to adapt the foot to the new running style and this is because since we are children we use shoes, which in certain way weaken the foot, and since we continue using shoes through all our life, then you the foot needs to be re-trained to go barefoot.

But since there is not a study confirming anything, is up to the runner to see what is best for him or her. 

Overtraining - This is the number one, and is simple not having a proper training plan and doing too much, too fast, with no rest. This put our body to stress that we are not use to handle, so for, a training plan must be slowly progressing to the point we want to be. For how long? this is determined by the runner or by a coach, but this is something that experience gives to you. Some of the symptoms of being overtrained are: having a bad mode, being all the time tired and not recovering, feeling that running is more an obligation than a hobby, having changes in the body, like loss of weight in short period of time, lack of sleep, low performance in daily activities. If that the case, actually is better to look for medical assistance. The longer you have these symptoms, the longer the recovery time, which can actually take months to be back in a good and healthy shape.

Increasing mileage - Increasing mileage too fast us part of overtraining, but this is important to mention in a separate way, since there are certain rules to increase the mileage, and one of the most used is the 10% increase per week. But is important to note that maybe is not for all runners, some will handle less than 10% and few ones a bit more than 10%, but this is safest measure until now to increase safely the weekly mileage.

Too much, too fast - If we are not fit to run fast, the body will feel and will be more much stress that the body can handle. As a result, injuries. The body needs to be adapted to run fast, and this is built slowly in a training program, if it not done progressively, this a perfect receipt for an injury. In order words, keeping a safe pace is crucial to bt path to avoid injuries. For that, having realistic goals keep us away from doing it in the wrong way.

Imbalances - This is very common among runners and is related to having weakness in certain muscles and actually is one of the main reasons for having imbalances. Imbalances happen when certain group of muscles are weak, that leads other muscles to work more, and this can cause the overuse. Hitting the gym is the key, but previously is important to make some test to see where the imbalances are in order to develop a proper training program with specific exercises. 

Surfaces - This also is important to consider, concrete and pavement needs to avoided since both of them creates more stress in the foot, and a good way to do it is to alternate surfaces and do cross training.

Not doing specific running workouts - Another part of the training is to have specific workouts. When a runner keeps doing the same all over again, with no variation and is competing, is likely, first not to reach his/her goals and end up with an injury while trying to make a bigger effort of the one he or she “trained”

Racing very often - This kind of a new one. More than ever we have the running boom in a global scale. Each country now is hosting more races than ever. There is the fever to run all 6 majors in a short period of time. Also we have the weekly race and some runners are in to run as many as they can during the year. The result: a huge list of discomfort and of course injuries. Runners need to plan accordingly to their expectations, which need to be as close to the real capabilities of the runners. Racing very often is one of the major reason of runners being injured. When racing the body experience fatigue and muscles suffer, if there is not enough rest the body wont recovery and consequently runners fall in the vicious cycle of being injury and at certain point to be over-trained. So plan ahead, choose races and train for them. For marathon the healthy number is 2 per year, half marathons even up to 4, 10 km even up to 5 per year and overall is a combinations of distances.

Being a slave of the smartwatch or wearable - This is also a new one. Currently the usage of wearables has exploded and despite the fact that some models offer now more specifics variables, like how much we need to rest, how long we need to recover, suggested pace and even predict the outcome of a race, there is no other better indicator than the body, so listen to your body and planned as you feel, again with real objectives and real paces, and DO NOT RACE against  your wearable just to keep a high pace and show off in the social media. Keep the pace that corresponds to your training, if there is a recovery run, just run it slowly without looking at the watch.

MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

I already described the most common injuries and some of the potential reasons. But now, I will talk about my personal experience.

As I have mentioned in other post, I have running for about 13 years. I ran for the University of Central Missouri and the later on I transitioned to marathons and now I am also coaching.

In my 13 years of running I haven't had any injuries until lately.

What happened?

In my pursue of trying to make an under 3-hour marathon a accepted the help of a “COACH”, just to have a different view of what I was doing.

Then, I started training with this person and somehow I improved but with the big trade off having some injuries.

Which Injuries?

IT band and Planar Fasciitis 

How come?

Now I learned that in order to start a new training cycle with big changes, you need an adaptation time and you need to have a strong background of STRENGTH TRAINING, which I actually missed. What happened is that I started to train with this person who proclaimed to be a coach. This situation is more common nowadays with the hype of running and people with little or no experience is getting into coaching people with no having the proper basics of prper training.

Then I started the program which lacked of proper strength base, I did some strength workouts, but they were so little and lack of the specifics. Then at the time to transition to faster paces, it was combined with the increase of mileage in a very fast pace, letting little room to my body to recover. Tehre were some days of strength training but nothing related to runners, it was more something for football players and it was done I may twice a month, so this was nothing and I actually loss lot of weight and my muscle mass decrease considerably

This increase of mileage and faster paces with very long workouts led me to most nagging injuries.

First it started with an IT Band with last 3 months to recovery. The treatment was to rest and then extensive strength training and it worked. Everything seems fine, until I started another training cycle and everything went worse, I keep training with this guy because I got some good results, but by now I was just starting my own extensive research in the proper marathon training techniques.

Which was eye-opening and found out this guy knew nothing, actually he lied in his background and turned out he only had ran 5k and had no experience in longer distances nor any academic background that can defends himself.

It all end up with a nasty plantar fasciitis, which lasted for a year combined with a bike fall ends up with a detached fascia from the heel bone. It was painful, yes it was, but the fasciitis disappear, but it was a long road to recover, since the foot changed it structure somehow, yes it was a bad year, which gave me the will to overcome obstacles.

Which was the toll for this?

It was a long period of time of learning and try to figure why it happened, and I went back to the root cause. What happened is that my body was not ready to handle such forces because of my muscle loss, which was the result of an improper training plan and improper strength training. The result was the IT band injury and because of that I change the way I walk and run, leading to a plantar fasciitis. In order to avoid plantar fasciitis I again change my gait and then is when I stopped running. The increase of paces and the very long distances with little rest was the perfect receipt to disaster. Also in this time is coincidental that I switch to a more cushioned shoes, which I never have use, usually I was using mainly flats for everything and that has worked for me since I have ever run. This combination of events lead me to the injuries.

On my way to recovery, I also found that there is like a plantar fasciitis epidemic trend which I personally found that is alarming, I was among those runners, for one reason or another. But the common denominator was doing too much, too fast, and in most cases racing too much, at least was not my case. But I acknowledged my cause was doing too much, too fast

Talking about plantar fasciitis, is a common rare condition. I say rare because still there is no a consensus of what it is, they say is inflammation, some others say is a degeneration, but whatever it is it weakens the plantar fascia and in sever cases, it can have mayor tears. When the fascia is healing it produces scar tissue which can become so thick and then lead to major problems like nerve compression and even stress fractures since the forces of landing change in the foot.

The recovery was a combination of methods, from orthotics, foot strength, flexibility program, extensive rehab sessions, rest from running and patience...

Lesson Learned

Now as part of my training I do strength training at least 3 times a week, in which I involved all muscles and I pay attention to the ones I have some weaknesses.

Also I now extended the training cycle and let more time to recover

Another important part is Cross-Training which I do at least one or 2 times per week

And lastly no more fake coaches, I am training by myself, since I have enough experience to do it and have gotten some certifications, to help others as well and trust in my knowledge and experience.

I still going conservative and having some considerations for the TCS NEW YORK Marathon, which is a lesson I learned, when the body tells you to slow down you must do it an do not force it.

The forecast for the wearables it been a changing arena, at the beginning it was very optimistic and now is much more conservative and even some research group are reducing the forecast for a more conservative view. 

In June, data from IDC shows that smartwatch vendors shipped 3.5 million units in the second quarter of 2016 (2Q16), which was down substantially from the 5.1 million shipped a year ago. Apple held the top rank by shipping 1.6 million watches. However, it was the only vendor among the top 5 to experience an annual decline in shipments. Although forecast is wide and has many alternative, but all agree it will keep growing as the technology evolves.

The drivers behind the wearable technology are better capabilities and slowly start detaching the dependency on mobile phones. the growth of wearables is been possible due to the dependency on mobile phones and being a complementary device, but consumers mind is shifting to the idea of having a more independent device, with more capabilities and more fashionable.

The global vendors are changing and new comers are setting mew rules, while Chine remains the biggest markets as it is seen in the graphic

For this 2016 Q2, Fitbit remains on the top by introducing new devices like the Charge 2 and Flex 2 and taking over mobile payments. Fitbit remains a strong brand since being a pioneer in the wearable technology.

Xiaomi, is placed in second, by creating a business model which solely on online sales, this gives the company more room to research and development by cutting cost for having mortar and bricks stores and offering devices with high quality at a modest cost if one of the main drivers that are getting into customers.

In third we have Apple, which in Year-to-Year, has a deep decline in shipments and market share, because of did not launch a new model and falling far behind, the brand itself maintains Apple in the Top 5, but as market is shifting it needs to introduce a new model before it experience a deeper decline in the future.

Garmin, which is popular among recreational and serious athletes is offering a steady growth with the capability of the app ConnectIQa and by launcing its new smartwatch, the Fenix Chronos.

Lifesense, is a new comer that made it to the Top 5, by offering low cost devices in the biggest market, China. This device connects to WeChat a very popular chat in the region.

In the following chart we also can see where are the brands in terms of features:

Fitbit, has introduce new products, but with conservative capabilities.

Xiaomi, may be affordable but with basic capabilities

Lifesense, is getting into the field of offering good devices with more capabilities at an affordable price

Garmin, leading, it is always introducing mew features and improved devices

When you decide to sign up for a marathon, is like signing a contract, specially when are signing up for a big event, such as #TCSNYCMarathon. 

Why?

Well, running a marathon, is not like running a 5k or 10k, not even a 21k It is much more and you body needs to adapt to the pounding, which is 3 times the weight of the body as it say a study:

“A report done by the Z-Tech shoe company states that the maximum force can equal up to three-and-a-half times body weight. Therefore, a person weighing 670 newtons (150 pounds) would experience a force of up to 2300 newtons (525 pounds).”

As a result is important to find the time to do quality training in order to be well prepared for the big day.

How to that with our busy life?

The key to find the time is PLANNING the race. In my personal experience that is the key to have a good performance during the race and it all start by choosing which race, when and where I will be running. I even compared this kind of planning with Project Management

A marathon, in fact is a project, it has a START and it has an END, and many workouts in between. Also, if you attending an event out-of-state or abroad as we can see in the #TCSNYCMarathon, which has attract many foreigners through the years, you need a budget and some constraints, like can be an injury, a personal event, or something else, and probably you will have some time down and you nay need to move some activities and be more efficient, specially when having a busy life, family, friends and so on.

In my case, PLANNING, then is key.

The first I do always, is to look at the calendar and see the races that will be taking place in at least 6 months. Is crucial at least for me to have at least 6 months period to train, before that I will see it a bit risky and I may under perform and I will pushing things quite a bit,

Next, I will plan a BUDGET, even before signing up and see how things are, if I have extras expenses to cover first, work, family, etc, 

How to enter to a race? If it a major marathon? If there is a lottery? Traveling with an agency? Traveling alone or with family?

Then in this case for the #TCSNYCMarathon a period of 8 months was the time frame to decide, then I see if I can enter directly because of my time or not. In this case I was able to enter by time that was with Boston 2015 with a 3hr 07min. Then I make sure I enter, since you actually get notice several weeks after that.

If not, I would go on a Official Agency to attend the event, which can be find locally, depends where you are and they will arrange everything for and ensuring the entry, for this, you must a have a budget and be sure you will be able.

Once in, then the actions starts,

So how is it to plan the daily workouts?

First set  REALISTIC goals and something you can do and you can engage.

Second, Plan ahead the training phases and be prepare to have a calendar in which you can rely in order to plan the daily workout, at least for me, is the only thing that have help me to plan my day.

Last, follow the calendar and make time during the day according to the training, and stick to your plan, in this part you need to focus and look for the rewards.

Here is the most difficult part, since some of the workouts are long and energy consuming, so in this case is going to be important that your family supports you and be aware of what are you doing, since also they will ask for quality time.

Here, I just modify my calendar when needed, and of course the time of training has changed over the years and hings on what I am doing at that time.

When in college, for the Cross Country season, we started to train, since the summer, so, finding time to train, and even I was in holidays somewhere I always made the time to train and commit to season ahead of me.

During classes, we were having to sessions, one in the morning and the other one in the afternoon / evening. The first  session, took place at 6:15, but I needed to be prepare since before, so planning and having ready the night before helped me. And be very efficient with the time during the day, since we were having the second session at 3:15pm, so I needed to be very organized to be able to handle sometimes work, classes, papers, exams, homework and so on, but since then I become organized in that matter and having several races during the semester make things little bit more complicated, but at the end you learn how to handle it.

Now, in real life, is the same, usually I train in the evening, if I do double session, the short one is in the morning, and the head to work, is important to have breakfast, either I have it at home or at the office and the head to the session in the evening, even if it is very late I will run, the latest I have done that is maybe midnight, but because I am a person that really engages with things, so I really stick to what I planned during the day

Some days is a sacrifice, even hanging out with friends, but is not that often, is important to have social life, but also taking care, so maybe not drinking, or cutting in sweets, this kind of things, of getting to bed early because you have a long run.

All these details will shape the quality of your life and the quality of your training.

Some days, is better to start very earl and get done, and specially for the ones doing triathlons and Ironman, everything is around the clock and must be very precise.

At the end of the day, your level of commitment will make you wonders with time and you will find a balance, because it is also important and probably the key to have a successful season. This, of course with the aid of training calendar in order to track all what we have done and avoid those constraints that can be present in any training cycle.

In summary

PLAN

Look at your BUDGET

CREATE a calendar with the weekly mileage

Have and AGENDA or LOG, but bod running and daily task you have to do

Stick to your plan

Engage/Commit to your plan

Be efficient 

Balance life with Running

Good luck all those training for the TCS NEW YORK CITY MARATHON

This is a wide topic and while trying to figure out what we should eat, we can be confused and overwhelmed of knowing if we are doing it right or not.

But on the race day, is when we will see the results of our nutrition, which goes far back one week before the race. A good nutrition goes from the beginning and as we increase the intensity, volume and frequency of the training we need to look deeper to what we eat and make some changes, and sometimes some sacrifices.

Before going into more details, we need to understand what happens in our body and what are the results of nutrition during the race in regards of performance.

“ Roughly three out of every four participants in any given marathon cover the second half of the race at least two minutes slower than the first. Many runners slow down even more dramatically after the 20-mile mark, where the wall traditionally hovers. By contrast, less than one in 10 half-marathon participants slow down by a comparable amount, and in races shorter than 13.1 miles hitting the wall is a rare occurrence.” Read more at http://running.competitor.com/2013/11/nutrition/the-new-rules-of-marathon-nutrition_67841#2OzJdPriiqzy5JL2.99

The most common cause of hitting the wall is muscle glycogen depletion. Glycogen, a fuel derived from dietary carbohydrates, is stored in relatively small amounts in the muscles and liver, where it waits to be delivered to muscles via the bloodstream in the form of glucose. Most runners have enough glycogen in their bodies to run 13.1 miles at a good pace. But the marathon is fundamentally a metabolic challenge. Read more at http://running.competitor.com/2013/11/nutrition/the-new-rules-of-marathon-nutrition_67841#2OzJdPriiqzy5JL2.99

For that, pacing is important, increase your capacity to store glycogen and improve your running economy and fat-burning capacity, enabling you to burn through stores at a slower rate but that not all, and proper nutrition is the key.

In this point, regarding nutrition, this will varies widely, depending on your nutritional habits, like if your are vegetarians, or if you are restricted to eat certain foods. Here I am describing my personal experience with nutrition and the adjustments I have made to have good performances in the races. Also in this field there are many old and new theories and there can incur in some controversy.

In my experience nutrition has become an important part of my training plan. I have been for more than 13 years, and start running marathons 5 years ago, during the first marathon I had important lessons regarding nutrition. 

But back back then I was not really experienced with long distance running, meaning distance no more than 10k or 21k distances and it had some consequences.

Nutrition for a marathon needs to be more selective and to be seen more in details. Is not the same training for a 10k than for a marathon, but many people just do not do the proper adjustments, as it happened to me.

My first marathon went not so bad, but also not so well and I hit the wall in the 38 km, but I managed to finished in 3hr 30min, from there it was all about learning and experimenting on what is best and what is not. It took me couple of years in order to find a balance and to what to eat and how to prepare for a marathon.

There are different phases of nutrition:

- Nutrition while training for the marathon, meaning, the nutrition that you will have day by day, week by week to build a healthy body.

- Overall nutrition while training, from having a race set up, until it is run.

- Long runs nutrition

- Pre-race nutrition

- During the race nutrition

- Post-race nutrition

Some personal FACTS

When training for a marathon, nutrition starts right the way. You want to start building a good base of nutrition, that will helps you out at race day.

- Little by little, as training start to intensify, start to increase the carbs loading, all is going related to the effort and the volume of the training, the more kilometers per week, there more I will start to increase little by little, and specially long runs. Long runs should be treated almost as a race day in terms of nutrition, you want to finish the long distance stay ans still.

- The nutrition includes balanced meals, one important here to note, is that I have never had weight troubles, plus I do not like so much sweets, so that help me a lot. In this matter, then a balanced mixed meals includes a variety of foods, ranging from lots of fruits, vegetables, meat, grains. 

For example, at breakfast, depending where I am , can be - 2 to 3 eggs, milk with some cereal and 1 or 2 bananas and coffee. Over the weekend I may have some pancakes, juice and so on, it all about balancing.

Some snacks ca be almonds or some nuts, but I usually fine with no snacks, I am kind of strict in that way and try to get all I need during the main meals.

For Lunch I may have some protein, veggies, soup, fruit, water, no soda nor any sweet drink.

For dinner, sometimes if I have trained hard, I may have a heavy dinner including a good intake of proteins, to regenerate muscles eggs again, jam, some bread, it all depends, but again, it all about balancing, and I know that for some people late diner can be too much, but I am very just to it, and I really to eat something at night.

Supplements or complements, depends on what you need I took some time to time, not always, Vitamin B12 for example has helped me a lot, along with some others that has a wide mix of vitamins, also proteins shakes help after a hard training.

Carbs intake

Take-Away Tip: The amount of carbohydrate a runner needs to handle his or her training is tied to the amount of training he or she does. Use this table to determine how much carbohydrate to include in your diet.

Average Daily Training Time(Running and Other Activities)Daily Carbohydrate Target

30-45 minutes3-4 g/kg

46-60 minutes4-5 g/kg

61-75 minutes5-6 g/kg

76-90 minutes6-7 g/kg

90 minutes7-8 g/kg

>120 minutes8-10 g/kg

Read more at http://running.competitor.com/2013/11/nutrition/the-new-rules-of-marathon-nutrition_67841/3#ERjkpjMi28sopubx.99

For all this, the step number one is to plan a race, once you are in, you need to start panning. Check how is the weather, also weather takes a big part, for example if you are running in a humid place, hydration, is crucial, and you need to start it even before. If it hot an dry, if it is going to be cold, then a carbs will play an important roll.

Another important thing to mention, is alcohol intake, there is a lot of discussion in this matter, for sure is better to decrease the alcohol intake if you want to get better, of course some soaicl drinking will not hurt, but as anything else, all in excess does not have a good outcome.

A WEEK BEFORE

This week is key to have a pleasant experience, you must increase your carbs intake, protein intake, and REST. Also avoid drinking alcoholic beverages, maybe a couple of beers, wont but do not abuse, more than that may cause dehydration during the race and you will suffer.

THE DAY BEFORE

- Carbs intake, but not that late. Some races now offer pasta dinner, of course like an extra in the price, but is worthy to go, you will meet fellow runners and have a good time, but do not it very late. At this point what is done is done, and what is not, is not, so you cannot fix mistakes last minute time and stick to your plan.

- Stay hydrated

- Rest and stay out of your feet

PRE-RACE

What I usually take is:

- 1 shot of espresso

- one egg

- oatmeal

- 1 banana

- a bit of a protein bar

- water

- bread with peanut butter

One thing I learned pretty well while running at college, is to always have breakfast before a race and even before any workout. In the past I used to run on empty stomach, but eating before has helped me to boost my performance.

DURING THE RACE

- One energy gel, every 10km if needed, for some people this will be too heavy, you must practivce at the longs runs to take this kind of gels, if you already know that you won’t diggest them properly, avoid them. Now there are several options in the market to replace the energy gels.

- a sip of water in almost all water stations, if the weather is hot

- something to eat during the race, if neede it, like a bit of pretein bar, or some other sweets

POST-RACE

Here is important to have something to eat, if possible almost right away. In 2015 at Boston Marathon, after the race they were giving some Protein shake, that was it, it helped me a lot to recover much more faster, that was the first time I took something like that right away a race.

After that, you are free to eat whatever you want, you deserve it. ! and cheers with some pints of beer !

A helpful Check list, which I have dine it my self before a marathon:

A Helpful Checklist

Weeks Before

Study the course, the nutrition on course and develop a plan.

Practice practice practice: Train with your race nutrition plan, train with the drinks on course, train with gels or whatever you will use.

Practice your breakfast plan and also the meal plan the night before. Find out what works best for you.

Make a reservation for dinner the night before at a place that you know is good. Don’t wait till the last moment.

Days Before

Buy your race nutrition, don’t wait till the last moment.

Increase your carbohydrate intake by eating more carbohydrate rich (not just eating more).

Reduce fiber intake 1 to 2 days before the event if you often suffer from gastrointestinal problems.

Pre-Race Breakfast

Have your standard race breakfast that you have trained with 2.5-4 hours before.

Avoid high fiber, high fat and high protein foods.

Aim for at least 100 grams of carbohydrate.

Drink enough fluid and check that your urine color is light.

The Hour Before

Start your race fueling  5-15 min before the start (a gel with a few sips of water is an example).

During Your Marathon

Stick to your nutrition plan, but don’t stick to it at all cost.

Don’t experiment with anything new. Stick to what you have practiced.

Aim for 30-60 grams per hour.

Use sports drinks gels, chews, bars, depending on your personal preference. You can mix and match to achieve your carbohydrate goals.

Avoid high fiber fat and protein intake during the run.

Don’t overdrink, don’t under drink. Try to match our sweat loss or a little less. Some weight loss at the end (2% of your body weight is fine).

And Sports, is not getting away from that. In 2011 a start-up emerged from the idea of delivering private coaching sessions, with the aim to enhance technical skills with the aid of a private coach. The idea was coined by former professional basketball player in Israel, Jordan Fliegel, teaming up with engineers Arian Radmand and Gabe Durazo and on May 9, 2012 the site was officially launched. The company currently is based in Boston.

 The company has raised $9.35 million in funding and is home to 15,000 active coaches working with more than 200,000 athletes.

Investment and Partnerships

- 2011 the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council awarded CoachUp a Golden Ticket to become a member of the CriticalMass entrepreneur

- 2012 Jordan Fliegel  took 1st Place at the Microsoft Ultra Light Startup pitch competition in Cambridge, MA. Shortly after CoachUp was selected to participate in the MassChallenge Accelerator program and later on was awarded with the 50K Gold Winner.

- The same year, 2012, the company joined TechStars Boston as a member of the Fall 2012 class and also HubSpot CTo and founder Dharmesh Shah invested in CoachUp.

-2013, was named a finalist in the Sports & Fitness category of Bostlnno’s 50 ON FIRE award.

Athlete Advisory Council 

CoachUp established their Athlete Advisory Council in early 2014 with the purpose of partnering with current and former professional athletes to improve and develop connections between athletes and coaches. It was announced in May 2014 that Philadelphia 76ers Center Nerlens Noel joined the Athlete Advisory Council. Soon after, Cam Neely, president of the Boston Bruins became its second member. In September 2014, CoachUp announced that New England Patriots Wide Receiver Julian Edelman joined the Athlete Advisory Council by releasing a short video of Edelman reading his 2009 NFL Draft scouting report  (Wikipedia)

Relationship with Stephen Curry - NBA 

In March 2015, NBA start champion joined CoachUp as taking part of ownership of the website. His argument is that, himself used a private coach to master his skills and get to where he is right now:

“From a young age, Curry relied on private coaching to improve his skills and still employs them in the off-season. “This is something I am passionate about. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the guidance of private coaches and by joining CoachUp, I’m hoping to make it possible for young athletes all over America to be the best they can be,” he said. “Growing up, when people said I was too small or not good enough, my coaches helped me prove them wrong.” (http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidlariviere/2015/03/30/stephen-curry-takes-part-ownership-in-private-coaching-web-site-coachup/#35cf6bc81432)

HOW IT WORKS

Coach up aim is to connect private coaches with athletes, which the site claims most of the are young athletes aspiring to get into a Division-I university or Ivy League school, or to try a shot to be a pro athlete, but also there are the other recreational athletes how only want to master their skills or be better in their sport.

From the Coach side

From the coach side, he or she needs to build a profile in the website. The information required is a profile picture, an action picture, sports, achievements, background, years coaching, years practicing the sport, testimonials if there are, proof of awards and achievements, social media, location and availability, and finally set up a back account with the SSN, so if you are foreigner trying to coach in the USA will be difficult somehow to fulfill this requirement.

From the athlete side

The potential athlete/client Create a profile with your age, sport preference and where you are in the sport and what you want to achieve. From there you can start searching for coaches near your location and contact them. But in here, there is a thing, if you want to contact  a coach, you need to pay an initial fee. If you DO NOT pay, is impossible to exchange information with the coach and if for some reason you try to exchange a phone number, email or location, the coach right away is flag up, which is bad, since you only be flagged up 3 times, and then after they with no hesitation cancel your account. 

This is a bit awkward, since in my personal experience 8 out of 10 clients will likely meet you before engage in any initial payment regarding their background. Then, if you, as a coach, have a 100 USD fee, people is not likely to pay, of course unless you are a pro known and renamed athlete, unfortunately most of the coaches in there are mortals trying to help others.

From the website

If you are a coach, the website will require also to pass a simple example to know how the website works and to know all the policies and here is where things start to be a bit cachy.

The website started to take a small amount of the sessions paid, but recently the site change its structure and it taking a big fee if the initial sessions and letting coaches to have a small amount of the original fee, so at the end, if you are a coach you end up earning only a fraction and worse if the website launches more discounts.

THE REALITY IS....

The reality is, that CoachUP is a great idea but with poor execution and poor background checks. Surfing the website you can find a wide variety of coaches  and some are a bit not very trustful if you see, in these case their running times and their background, so pretty much anyone can upload a profile in there and say he or she is a private coach and charge a lot money.

Also the initial fee and then the fees that are going to the website are quite high, making the fee structure hard to follow and probably the coach will end working outside the platform and get full fees from his clients, even though the site claims to offer a 1M insurance cover for each one of the sessions booked through the site, but not even that people do what is best for them.

The problem in here is that, compared with Uber or Airbnb, where you get into the car or into the room, here nobody is checking up that you actually delivered the session, or that the client will continue booking through the website or if the client if getting other session outside the platform.

Unfortunately, there are not so many reviews from coaches of the website and the few I found, they claimed the same, that at the end the site works only as an interface in which you can market yourself and where can potential clients find you, but once they realized the initial fee, they rather google the coach;s name and with luck they will reach them outside the platform. Or other case, the coach will end up working with the client outside the platform and will continue as an independent coach getting rid of all the fees and all the spying on the communication with the clients,

PROS

- As a coach you market yourself

- Get many more clients

- Stop doing your own marketing

- Charge very high fees

- As a client, you can find many coaches near virtually any location across USA territory

CONS

 - High fees for coaches

- Low retention rate

- Spying on all communication between clients and coaches

- 8 out 10 with no pay initial fee and rather meet first the coach and then decide from there

- too many sports and platform no being flexible for each one of the sports, which not all will work with the same structure

-If you one client getting only one single session, the loss is high for the coach

- Many coaches can fake their achievements or are poorly prepare to coach other people, by no having a probable background

- Many “athletes”/potential clients reach coaches to solve their medical issues and try to get a magic receipt to loss weight magically and by having very unreal goals that can actually harm the coach if he or she decides to take one of those clients

- no medical check for potential clients, who should be fit and in all capability to do sport before even contact a coach

- Be realistic that getting pro or elite is a low percentage of change, by saying that if you get into a Div-i schools and want to get pro, the chances are about less than 2% percent or less.

For runners is a must to have an integral training, most important to develop strength in order to avoid injuries and to have a proper running form, as a result the running performance can be improve considerably. Doing a strength 2 to 3 days per week, usually done after a run, is enough to see results within some weeks.

Here are some examples, you can pick some and add them to your general running routine.

GENERAL CONDITIONING

LEGS DOWN

MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS

PLYOMETRIC JUMP SQUATS

CORE AND UPPER BODY

BACK AND LOWER BODY