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We are raised to believe more is better – that if we fall short, we need to work harder, go longer, and do more. While the notion still holds many truths, your self-reflection needs one more essential element that isn’t always at the top of our list: work smarter.

We asked our experts about common training mistakes we often make when trying to push ourselves further, faster, longer each day. It’s the mental reassurance you need to let yourself know that sometimes less can be more when it comes to training.

Doing Too Much

In particular, doing too much too soon will set you back quickly. Unrealistic training expectations are usually to blame, says Will Hayes, Performance Manager at Novant Health Sports Performance.

“Do less than you think if you haven’t run very much,” he says. It’s best to work up slowly then set an unrealistic expectation based on something you used to do “last time.” If you get hurt going too far, you won’t be able to get back to work until you have rested and healed sufficiently.

“Set goals that are habit-based,” says Hayes, “not outcome-driven.” Distance and time goals are great, but the important part is consistency — making good habits.

Running Through an Injury

This is a no-brainer. Just like doing too much, running injured will set you back more than just taking a few days off to heal. Running Coach Lisa Landrum of Forward Motion XC and runCLTrun says it’s okay to take a rest day or more if needed. Use this time to focus on your strength work, stretching for flexibility, or doing other activities you enjoy that will take the stress off your injured limb.

Check out some great ideas Meghan Fillnow gave us in Get Out of Your Training Rut.

Lack of Proper Strength Training

We’ve said it before — a good muscle structure around your core gives you stability as you run. All sports have their major muscle groups, but cross-training keeps you from ruining your form from overuse of just a few running muscles.

“Running is an impact sport, so it’s important to incorporate strength training,” says Jamey Yon, Ironman competitor and owner of TRiYON Performance. He compares pounding the pavement to tackles in football. — they’re both hard hits. “We’re constantly breaking our tissue down. When you’re running you’re impacting the road.”

Yon suggests simple bodyweight exercises like walking lunges, deep squats, lateral exercises, and calf raises to add some strength to your stride. Remember to keep them slow and controlled for the best results.

Here’s what Will Hayes had to say about get us started.

Running “Junk Miles”

You know we’ve all done it — added more distance to our runs because we feel like we should, our friends are doing more, or our high-tech watch says we haven’t reached our pace or weekly goal yet. Landrum says Staaahhhhhppp! Those miles don’t serve a purpose, so don’t feel like you need to do them if your legs are dead.

“There is a time for a hardcore training cycle, and yes, we do want to improve as runners,” says Landrum, “but be wary of the notion that to be a ‘real runner’ you have to be ‘fast’ or run X amount of miles a week or a run.”

“It’s all relative,” she adds. “There will always be someone faster and someone who runs longer than you.  Who cares? Go out, run for the health of your body and your mind.” Sweet.

Not Warming Up/Cooling Down

We all know we should do this, but sometimes it feels like it takes a heroic effort just to find time for a run of any length in our schedule — so skip the intro? Y’all…. It makes a difference.

“If you don’t do this consistently, you’re setting yourself up to get injured because you’re not preparing your body appropriately,” says Hayes. Got a sore heel? Stiff ankles? Leg cramps? Your body is telling you that you’re jumping in before you’re ready.

And cooling down after your run is important, too, if you want to avoid the soreness that comes from a hard workout or run.

“Cool down is a reset to bring the body back down into a more of a resting level,” says Hayes. “Cool down is effective at getting out of the ‘fight or flight’ syndrome your body engages in while exercising. You have to bring it back down to ‘rest and digest,’ to get yourself into a recovery state and feel better the next day.” Flush out that lactic acid and set your body at ease!

Remember, training for a marathon is a — uh — marathon, not a sprint! Take your time to do it right. Make good habits and you’ll get farther… Faster. Good luck!

 

Most of us would think twice about lifting a 25-pound exercise ball, much less carrying it further than across the room. Richard Sexton has carried one for an entire marathon — and now plans to do it again for the equivalent of 28 marathons over 30 days! What drives a successful business executive to perform such a feat?

“This is a great opportunity to do something really big — bucket list-type big,” says Sexton. By BIG, he means doing something outrageous to raise money and awareness for a great cause. His excursion, a trek from the North Carolina border near Murphy to Myrtle Beach, will support the Myrtle Beach-based nonprofit CAN — Champion Autism Network. Sexton met its founder, Becky Large, at a furniture industry conference in Boston years ago, and was impressed by her energy and positive attitude. He wants to match that inspiration with the Carolinas Can Ruck for Autism challenge — a multi-marathon journey with a purpose.

“At the end of the day, what is it all for?” remarks Sexton about his plans. “How do you contribute to the general welfare?”

Sexton knows his share of success in business already. His art and furniture gallery in Concord, Carolina Rustica, jumped into internet sales early in the game in 1998, and grew into a $10 million company before Sexton sold it in 2012. From there he launched a digital marketing agency while earning his credentials as a substitute teacher, often working with special needs children in Cabarrus County schools.

In 2016, Sexton carried his 25-pound slam ball, nicknamed “Slappy,” on his back for the entire Myrtle Beach Marathon to raise awareness for CAN, stopping to do a slam ball press at every mile. This time, he will carry Slappy in a rucksack (military backpack) and skip the extra push-ups to stay focused on the long journey. Slappy’s name, says Sexton, comes from the feeling of being totally spent — or “slap happy.”

“There’s definitely going to be some ugly parts, but I’m prepared mentally for it,” says Sexton. To put it bluntly, “Every endurance athlete knows about ‘the suck.’ You gotta let it happen, then pull yourself out of it. It’s all mental.”

His mental toughness is borne out of seeing the positive way families with children on the autism spectrum approach each day and carry on with energy. Slappy represents that extra load carried each day by those with autism and their families and caretakers. Yet he refuses to call that load a “burden,” instead using the word “challenge.”

“They are really amazing how they come in every day with a positive attitude,” says Sexton. “Their challenge is very different for them than for us.”

Sexton started training with Slappy 5 years ago, before the aforementioned marathon. He always had it in the back of his mind to do it again — but bigger. But a job change a year ago and a serious bout with COVID in June solidified his resolve to make it happen. He’s been training for 8 months now, and that, in itself, was a journey. He worked with a coach to increase his endurance incrementally.

“We built up the distance with the slam ball first, a few times a week,” he says. “Then we compressed the days together, until I could do a couple days in row. We’d spike it up, and back off, and then do it again a little higher.”

His journey starts on Wednesday, April 28, at the NC border, very near where North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia meet. His goal is to run a marathon every day, sometimes starting each day at the end of the day’s route and doubling back to hotels he stayed at the night before. The goal is to run the distance every day with Slappy, even if the segments aren’t end to end. The journey winds through Charlotte the weekend of May 8-9 — Mothers Day — where he’ll “camp” at home.

Sexton also has a built-in break in the middle of the route, to drive home and see his daughter’s dance recital. (Some things you can’t miss!) From there, it’s on to his final destination at Surfside Beach, SC, on May 26 — in time for his 25th wedding anniversary. He’s researched Google Street View for the entire route, to make sure roads are safe for runners. Volunteers will trade off driving support vans along the route to stay close and help him stay focused.

“They’re meeting me halfway through every day to have a real lunch,” says Sexton. “Nutrition is going to be a challenge — I need 5-6,000 calories every day.” Gulp.

He credits sponsors for helping him get started, and his F3 workout partners for continued motivation. He says he’s “tired of training” and just wants to hit the road and meet people to share his purpose.

“The awesome part will be the people — meeting them and sharing about autism sensitivity and awareness,” he says, noting he has a “ton” of cards to give out. “In that way, we’ve already helped a little.” Sexton has already raised $10,000 of his $50,000 goal.

“It’s really humbling,” he says. “People have been really generous.”

But he and Slappy have a long way to go, though, to reach his destination and his financial goals. He knows it will be worth it, but getting there is the challenge. How will he do it?

“Step by step,” he says.

For more details on Richard’s journey or to follow his route, look him up here:

https://www.carolinascanruckforautism.com/home

 

I know we sometimes say that staying in shape can be a pain, but we also know running shouldn’t cause pain. The calves, knees, and back can quickly tell us when we’ve done too much. But if running becomes a literal pain in the butt, it might be piriformis syndrome. The main cause of piriformis syndrome is overuse during exercise — like overdoing a new workout routine — or sitting too long.

The piriformis muscle runs from the lower spine to the top of the femur, on top of the sciatic nerve. If the piriformis gets tight or stressed, it can press on the sciatic nerve and cause pain. While the origin of sciatica is different from piriformis syndrome, they often share the same symptoms like pain in the lower back, buttocks, and down the leg.

A doctor can help you sort out whether your pain is a serious problem, or if it’s just sore muscles and a few stretches can help. We asked Will Hayes, Performance Manager at Novant Health Sports Performance, and Taylor Pigg, Clinical Exercise Physiologist, for suggestions. They remind us to do these gently, especially at first!

Foam Roller

“If your piriformis is tight and you want to alleviate that, and low back discomfort, you could use soft tissue work,” says Hayes. “If you have a foam roller, you can use that for soft tissue manipulation.”

Roll for about a minute on each side with the roller or a ball. It will take the tightness out of the tissue and allow the muscle to relax.

Figure 4 Stretch

Lie on your back and bend one knee up, and cross it over the other. Pull the bottom knee up to your chest. A couple of other variations include twisting the opposite way to stretch the muscle, or pulling the knee up to the opposite shoulder.

“Piriformis is a hip flexor and also external rotator, and Figure 4 will open that up,” says Hayes. “Lower back pain is usually caused by tightness above and below the sore area.   When we open that up, we alleviate those symptoms,” he says.

Seated Twist

Sit with legs criss-crossed and place your right foot over the left knee, pointing your right knee upright. Place your left elbow on your right knee and gently twist to the right. Hold, then switch legs and repeat.

“The key to relieving piriformis irritation caused by over tightness of this muscle is to gently get in poses that lengthen and release the tightness and ease the inflammation of this muscle,” says Pigg.

Standing Forward Fold

Stand with feet flat and legs mostly straight, but knees slightly bent. “Fold” over and touch the mat in front of you, stretching the lower back. If you can’t reach the ground right away, take your time. You’ll get there eventually.

Pigg likes both the seated twist and standing forward fold to gently lengthen the piriformis muscle, while strengthening the surrounding muscles.

“It’s important to note that the piriformis muscle is the key muscle in keeping the SI joint stabilized,” says Pigg. “A lot of times, when there is tightness in the piriformis muscle, the sacrum may be out of proper alignment. Once you have found some ease in the piriformis joint by gently stretching this muscle, you can then refocus on building proper pelvic alignment.” From there, says Pigg, you can work your way into the Tree Pose, which strengthens the piriformis muscle.

Pigeon Pose

And while you’ve got your mat out, slide into the Pigeon Pose. Facing forward, bend one knee under you and slide the other leg back. Bring the foot of the bent leg towards the opposite hip and gently lean forward.

“This targets your piriformis area,” says Hayes, “and will bring relief.”

These are great stretches to do before and after running, too. Don’t forget that part, Hayes reminds us. Getting muscles into work mode prevents injuries, and taking time to cool down afterwards allows the body to “rest and reset” after the “fight or flight” activity of exercising. Hopefully, this will let you both run and sit more comfortably.