Race Faster By Running Like Hannibal Lecter

+ Ironman Triathlete Kristian Blummenfelt Sets Total-Training Record

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Hereโ€™s your free but abridged version of this weekโ€™s โ€œRun Long, Run Healthyโ€ newsletter. Subscribe below to receive the complete, full-text edition with the newest and most authoritative scientific articles on training, nutrition, shoes, injury prevention, and motivation.


Race Faster By Running Like Hannibal Lecter

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Two of the biggest trends in endurance performance are heat training and cold racing. They are obviously flip sides of the same coin.

In training, runners wear multiple layers of sweat clothes, saunas, hot tubs, hot baths, and relatively low-cost โ€œsauna blanketsโ€ like โ€‹this oneโ€‹ (not an endorsement; I havenโ€™t tried it).

In racing, elites have turned to pre-start ice vests and plenty of ice during events (under caps, shirts, sports bras, shorts, etc.). This is especially true in some of the hotter ultra runs.

Hereโ€™s a new one: the Hannibal Lecter approach. It involves wearing a cryo-facial mask, an ice mask.

A paper titled โ€œEffects of Cryo-Facial Mask on Running Performance in Amateur Middle-Distance Runnersโ€ used a randomized, cross-over design to test the effects of an ice mask on running performance.

Result: After wearing the ice mask vs. no mask, runners lasted 13% longer in a time-to-exhaustion test. In a second โ€œconstant loadโ€ test, they had a lower heart rate after wearing the ice mask.

Conclusion: A pre-run ice mask potentially lowers โ€œthe negative effects of heat stress during running.โ€ Therefore, it could โ€œoffer a practical and convenient method to optimize performance and enhance overall training outcomes.โ€

An Internet search turns up many ice mask products that seem mostly intended to reduce face wrinkles and headaches. Take a look on your own. I canโ€™t wait to see who becomes the first runner to wear a Hannibal Lecter ice mask during a race. More at โ€‹Cryobiology.โ€‹

RELATED ARTICLE: โ€‹Hot Vs Cold: Should You Use Heat Or Ice For Sore Muscles?


Ironman Triathlete Kristian Blummenfelt Sets Total-Training Record

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Five years ago, a research report garnered much attention when it postulated an upper limit to human daily energy expenditure (calories burned). This topic had not been explored much previously, and โ€‹the paper โ€‹argued that humans couldnโ€™t exceed about 2.5 times our basal metabolic rateโ€”at least not over long time frames.

The research included an analysis of participants in the Race Across the USA (six marathons per week for 20 weeks) and other endurance feats.

Some exercise scientists didn’t accept the upper-limits theory. Now, a Norwegian group has published contrary findings based on three years of training data from top triathlete Kristian Blummenfelt, an Olympic and Ironman champion. They used the gold-standard โ€œdoubly labeled waterโ€ technique to assure the accuracy of their findings.

Result: Blummenfeltโ€™s daily energy expenditure ranged from 7,019 to 8,506 calories per day as he trained anywhere from 1,308 hours to 1,480 hours per year, which is 25 hours to 28.5 hours per week.

Conclusion: This amount of training โ€œlikely exceeds the proposed metabolic ceiling for sustained total energy expenditure.โ€ Therefore, โ€œThis not only questions the validity of the current metabolic limits but also suggests a new perspective on what is physiologically achievable in world-class athletes.โ€ More at โ€‹J of Applied Physiology.โ€‹

RELATED ARTICLE: โ€‹What Is BMR? Basal Metabolic Rate Explainedโ€‹


Ladies: Build Your Strength At Every Age

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Hereโ€™s a simple, powerful study that measured the knee flexor strength of women runners, nonrunners, and women under and over 50.

Iโ€™d argue that knee flexor strength is one of our most important muscle measurements. Your knees get you up and down and move you around. Also, the stronger your knees, the better your balance and stability. Whatโ€™s more critical than these functions, especially in midlife and beyond?

The study included 147 women. Among them, 85 were runners.

Result: In both groups, younger women had stronger knee flexor muscles than older women. This is what weโ€™d expect. However, whether under 50 or over 50, the runners โ€œhad greater strength and higher muscle quality than inactive womenโ€ relative to body mass.

The runners might not have had more total muscle, but they had more for their relative weight. This is โ€œa better predictor of physical function than absolute muscle strengthโ€ and hence โ€œmore practical than absolute strength data.โ€

Conclusion: โ€œContinuing an aerobic and strengthening training routine is viable for improving muscular strength and quality in both young and old women.โ€ More at โ€‹Geriatrics.โ€‹

RELATED ARTICLE: โ€‹10 Knee Strength Exercises For Runners to Stay Strong + Run Long


SHORT STUFF You Donโ€™t Want To Miss

โ€ข โ€‹A new tool for Achilles pain: Simple saline injections with corticosteroids produce โ€œgreater, early improvements in pain and function.โ€โ€‹

HEREโ€™S WHAT ELSE YOU WOULD HAVE RECEIVED this week if you were a subscriber to the complete, full-text edition of โ€œRun Long, Run Healthy.โ€ โ€‹SUBSCRIBE HERE.โ€‹

  • Training breakthroughs from Northern Europe (mostly Scandinavia)
  • Why you should be eating more oat bran
  • Are you built for speed or endurance?
  • Can a running-form change boost your running economy?
  • Listen to your brain. Mostly. (But not always.)
  • Deena Kastorโ€™s advice about finding the cheerleader in your brain
  • How exercise can reduce alcohol addiction and improve physical & mental states
  • The smart way to add more miles to your weekly schedule

Thatโ€™s all for now. Thanks for reading. See you again next week. Amby

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Amby Burfoot

Editor At Large

Amby Burfoot stands as a titan in the running world. Crowned the Boston Marathon champion in 1968, he became the first collegian to win this prestigious event and the first American to claim the title since John Kelley in 1957. As well as a stellar racing career, Amby channeled his passion for running into journalism. He joined Runnerโ€™s World magazine in 1978, rising to the position of Editor-in-Chief and then serving as its Editor-at-Large. As well as being the author of several books on running, he regularly contributes articles to the major publications, and curates his weekly Run Long, Run Healthy Newsletter.

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