Mileage Spike/Kinesiology studies

Seizing the Week Mid-winter

Last week saw me attend five days of classes for a course in Applied Kinesiology. Seeing as I've been practicing holistic and sports massage in a part-time capacity this year, I was looking to further my studies in the health sphere so as to complement the kneading and efflurages and gain a better understanding of the human body.


Applied Kinesiology (AK), it turns out, is a worthwhile form of therapy to pursue as there is far more to it than I initially thought. Based on Chinese Medicine, AK seeks to provide healing whilst viewing the body as a whole, more specifically finding optimal balance within the triangle of health.

It certainly helped having a rather interesting lecturer, who practices AK in addition to massage, Reiki amongst other health modalities, has degrees in clinical psychology and has backpacked throughout Europe and Asia. Interesting considering that she once worked in a marketing and sales capacity! Her sheer passion for complementary therapies as well as an innate ability to explain the components of AK to us lay-people made the course a joy to participate in. Needless to say, the week went by in a flash - time certainly flies when you are having fun!

Amongst the many interesting subjects and methods we learned were various tidbits of information that I found rather fascinating. Some selected facts/figures:

• many Asians visited their health practitioners exclusively during periods of good health, in order to maintain optimum balance. When falling ill, they would cease to visit their doctors until they were healthy again.
• dogs are always happy to see their master, irrespective whether the master has been away for five minutes, five days or five years - the excited response is always the same. This is because the left side of their brains is underdeveloped, as opposed to humans.
• their are an assortment of Neuro-vascular points, which are relative to various organs, joints and muscles. We tried these points out in our practical training - they are rather painful when prodded, to say the least.

I was fortunate enough to be able to work around the course, given its daily 10am start in Bellville. This meant early morning work sessions before a 45 minute commute north to the Healing Hands International Massage Academy for a few hours of instruction. With my mid-to-late afternoons free, I was provided with a rather rare opportunity to clock up some serious running mileage, which I hope will stand me in good stead for my 2013/2014 athletic endeavours.

With the month of June effectively being winter in Cape Town, we have been experiencing an odd mix of beautiful Indian Summer days with torrential rain, howling north west winds and cold (by Cape Town standards) temperatures.

Last week was no different:

• Sunday, Monday and Tuesday being on the cold-windy-wet side.
• Wednesday, Thursday and Friday sunny-calm-bright.
• rain on Saturday and bright sunshine on Sunday.

Training last week evolved into a sort of unplanned training camp of sorts, which I decided to take full advantage of seeing as I'm not sure when I'll be presented with a similar opportunity again. To summarise:

• Sunday 02 June: approximately 50min easy running and caught in a hailstorm/thunderstorm. Short weight training/pilates/yoga poses afterwards.
• Monday 03 June: approximately 50min easy running in cold, cloudy conditions. Short weight training/pilates/yoga poses afterwards.
• Tuesday 04 June: approximately 2hr20min long run up the mountain as follows: 10min walk - 2hr run/walk protocol (9min run/1min walk) - 10min walk. Cold, windy and rainy conditions but felt great and loved every minute of it, especially careening down the forested single track. True runner's high stuff.
• Wednesday 05 June: approximately 50min easy running in lovely sunshine. Felt surprisingly good, considering the previous day's exertions. Short weight training/pilates/yoga poses afterwards.
• Thursday 06 June: approximately 2hr20min long run - same as Tuesday but in the reverse direction. Not as snappy today, but completed the course in exactly the same time as Tuesday. Uncanny. Sunny conditions. Short weight training/pilates/yoga poses afterwards.
• Friday 07 June: approximately 2hr cycling, totally pumped up after seeing the irrepressible Thomas Voeckler outfoxing his breakaway companions in the Dauphine Libere

• Saturday 08 June: approximately 10 walk-1hr50min long run-10min walk in the pouring rain, on a slightly more forgiving route. Felt average.
• Sunday 09 June: approximately 10min walk-70min easy run-10min walk from Cecilia Forest ending at home via back alleys and obscure greenbelts/unnamed spoors on a bright and sunny day. Felt effortless. Short weight training/pilates/yoga poses afterwards.

This quite possibly was my biggest week in terms of running mileage ever. I might not ever do this sort of volume again but it was a fun exercise and revealing in a sense of extending oneself when the opportunity arose. To be honest, I cannot even imagine doing this sort of training volume on a regular basis, let alone around my regular working hours, although I know many a person a who does this and more. There are few guys I know who, whilst training for Comrades, were running upwards of 160km a week around work and family commitments! Not for me, but as they say, everyone is different. I often question the exact benefits of mega-mileage training amongst the working athlete; is it really healthy? Will they still be athletes in ten years time?

Anyhow, I really enjoyed the week, revelling in the combination of pursuing a new skill, logging some serious mileage in beloved mountains and forests, and being able to "tick over" on the work front.

Some notes regarding the running mileage:

• All running involved following the run/walk protocol. I've found this method to especially beneficial in preserving athletic longevity, maintaining effective running form and moderating training pace.
• The three long runs all incorporated a 10 minute pre and post-run walk. As with the run/walk protocol, this is not a stroll, but is at the fastest pace that I comfortably walk, which is approximately 8min/km. Book ending the long runs with these extended walks has numerous benefits, two of which are a) warmup and cool down, b) walking is still training and adds extra time on to a session without the danger of over training. In this case, the extra 20 minutes of walking were far more beneficial in a holistic/therapeutic sense than another 20 minutes of running.
• As with most of my running, I kept mainly to soft surfaces like grass and dirt, which incidentally is a standard rule of thumb amongst the great East African runners. When in a Western city for a major athletics meeting or marathon, the East Africans can often be seen walking to a grassy park and doing laps of that park for however long their training schedule dictates. Running on asphalt is limited exclusively to road races.
• My effort/pace was easy/slow, staying well within my limits. If there was an exceedingly steep uphill section during one of the long runs, I would walk that section preserving my soleus muscles and fat burning capacity. Conversely, extended downhill and flat sections were run at a brisk, yet effortless effort due my not burning unnecessary matches on the uphills.
• The week felt like an exciting journey off the beaten track and certainly had a feel of sheer adventure to it. Scouting for new paths and back routes remains one of my greatest past times in both running and cycling. Contrast this with trying to do the same volume on standard routes of exact measurement; I gall at the thought.
• The word "approximately" is abound when describing duration and distance. This is because I don't wear a watch, and only base my timing on checking a clock when I leave and again once I return. While the exact duration is not the be all and end all, it is nice to have a rough guide. For instance, I decided on the Tuesday that I wanted to be out there for 2hr20min. Upon leaving home, the clock read 14:17, so my goal was to get back home as close to it reading 16:37 as possible. Add to the fact that I ran free and randomly without a set route, this timing test was always going to be a challenge. I just ran on feel and intuition and found a wonderfully hidden and winding hiking trail in between the pine plantations in the process. Upon beginning my final 10 minute walk home, I start wondering how close to 16:37 I would be. I certainly felt good, the run had been exhilarating and I was feeling light. After checking the post box, I went inside the house to be greeted by the sight of 16:38! Almost spot on, which was great biofeedback of being in the zone and having great sense of accomplishment. Much more valuable than a GPS/HRM/powermeter readout of numbers/kilometres/vertical gain/average heartrate etc etc.
• My daily hot baths/showers were preceded by hosing by legs off with cold water - instant cyrotherapy on tap. This had an almost instant rejuvenating effect and eliminated the dreaded "dead legs" syndrome of the high mileage runner.
• All of my running for the past couple of months has been in a pair of New Balance Minimus shoes. These are not the Vibram finger-like socks, but a lightweight shoe that is low to the ground and could pass for a racing flat. I've found the main advantage of these shoes to be an awareness of one's running cadence and economy, thereby eliminating the over-striding seen so often by the recreational runner. Thanks to John Andrew for the samples!

As I write this on the following Thursday, last week seems like a distant but happy memory. Things are back to normal now on fronts and I've resumed by daily easy running and walking to and from work. Upon reflection, I certainly felt that I made a breakthrough in my running fitness. The key - and one that is often forgotten my many - is that in order to fully benefit from this breakthrough, one needs to fully recover from this extension in order for the body to absorb the mileage. If I were to try and repeat last weeks exploits on a regular basis, I doubt that I would derive much - if any - benefits and would most likely breakdown with a minor illness or injury (or both). Three long runs in one week may seem rather excessive, but I may not do another long run for a couple of months.

Besides, I've got work to do plus the small matter of completing fifty case studies for my kinesiology studies. Any volunteers?