Training Peaks: Functional Training

Functional Training For The Run
Allie Burdick/Training Peaks, April 28 2017

Running was once thought to only be performed in the sagittal plane (forward motion). However, we now know there is a frontal plane movement due to weight shifting from one side to the other, as well as transverse movement through the torso when your shoulder and opposite hip link up. Since strength and stability through all three planes of motion are clearly present, it makes sense to train them equally. This will help your body endure the stress of weekly workouts, create efficient and strong movement patterns, and lessen any imbalances that may lead to injury...

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Outside: Hitchhiker's Guide to Race Day

The Anxious Competitor's Guide to Staying Calm 
We've got you covered from the start of your training to the moment the gun goes off 
Rachael Schultz/Outside/Apr 21, 2017

Similar to how you meticulously plan your increase in miles or speed, it’s critical that you develop a routine to help your mind productively transition into race mode. Doing so gradually lets your mind adjust to the fact that a competition is on the horizon and fight off the inevitable anxiety that’s headed your way. “When it comes to the mental component of a competition, it’s very rare for an athlete to be able to switch it on like a light switch,” says Joel Fish, director of the Center for Sport Psychology in Philadelphia. “Most athletes need a pattern of routine that helps the body and the mind signal that it’s getting time to compete, habits that note the countdown is getting closer to actual race day.” 

Here’s what that pattern should look like...

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