Ultra Run Coaching

Fun helping out and aid station for Stumptown 50k. Rock and roll themed aid station obviously 🙄 🤣

Haglund's deformity, or retrocalcaneal exostosis, is a bony enlargement of the back of the heel bone which was first described by Patrick Haglund in 1927. Haglund’s can be referred to as a “pump bump” because it’s been associated with people who wear rigid backed pump style shoes. It can become very painful and cause blisters and bursitis at the back of the heel from friction inside shoes. Haglund’s deformity may be accompanied by a calcaneal bone spur and/or intra-tendoneal calcification of the Achilles tendon.

Traditional medicine and physical therapy often say Haglund’s is caused by hereditary factors such as high arches, tight Achilles tendons, and walking on the outside of their feet. In runners it is also said to be an overuse injury. First, it’s important to understand the body responds to stimulus and all those factors are a response to our environment rather than genetic. Continue reading to learn what really causes Haglund's, how you can effectively treat it, and how to prevent it:

https://www.ultraruncoaching.com/blog/haglunds-deformity-what-actually-causes-it-and-how-you-can-run-pain-free-again

We have all heard that carbs are king and we will feel better and perform better while consuming a high number of carbs per hour (60-125g/hour), but how do we do that?

Step one is start looking at different foods and energy products to see how many carbs they contain per serving. Make a list of them so it's easy to calculate carbs per hour.

Step two is look at the list and figure out which foods/products you know you already like and your GI system handles well. Figure out which foods/products you can eat per hour to reach your carb goal.

The article linked below goes through examples of how to do this for an athlete that is used to low carb fueling and for an athlete that is already doing high carb fueling:
https://www.ultraruncoaching.com/blog/how-to-get-high-carbs-per-hour

About 50% of all runners are injured each year, and 50-75% of those injuries are classified as overuse injuries. The definition of an overuse injury is: damage to a bone, muscle, ligament, or tendon caused by repetitive submaximal stress without allowing adequate time to allow for structural adaptation to take place.

Most overuse injuries are blamed on doing "too much too soon" or "training load errors". While this makes sense at first, with further examination it becomes clear this isn't the whole picture. ​Continue reading here: https://www.ultraruncoaching.com/blog/the-myth-of-overuse-injuries

In endurance sport, including ultra marathon running, carbs are king/queen. Carbs are our primary fuel source and the one that allows us to perform at our best. Yes we are always burning some percentage of our calories from fat, but maintaining optimal levels of blood glucose through the regular consumption of carbs during endurance running is the only way to perform at our best.

Continue reading to learn all about why, when, and how to use carbs for optimal performance in training for and racing ultras: https://www.ultraruncoaching.com/blog/carbs-are-kingqueen

You've done all the hard training and now it's race day. How do you make sure you are fueling yourself properly to maximize performance? How do you make sure you don't succumb to GI distress and DNF your race?

Visit my website to read my article about Race Day Nutrition to Maximize Performance and Minimize GI Distress: https://www.ultraruncoaching.com/blog/race-day-nutrition-to-maximize-performance-and-minimize-gastrointestinal-distress

Let’s talk about recovery. Ultramarathon runners run big miles, lots of vert, and tough races and they quickly learn that hard training and racing requires good recovery. Without recovery we can’t reap the benefits of a great training plan with hard workouts. At best our fitness will suffer and at worst we’ll get injured or sick. When athletes think about recovery, often what comes to mind are products marketed as helping recovery like supplements, recovery drinks, pneumatic compression boots, cryotherapy chambers, percussion massagers, etc. But do these really help recovery and boost fitness? What about old school recovery tools like sleep and whole food nutrition? What role do recovery runs play and how and when are they best used?

Visit my website and read my article about Recovery for Ultrarunners: https://www.ultraruncoaching.com/blog/recovery-for-ultrarunners

As ultra runners, we all will inevitably get injured at some point. When we do get injured, what can we do to help speed up recovery?

While the internet is filled with advice, often it's not the best advice and some of it might actually slow do healing and recovery.

Visit https://www.ultraruncoaching.com/blog/running-injury-recovery and read my article about Running Injury Recovery to learn what helps and what hurts injury recovery.

I believe in you. I really do. I believe you can achieve all your goals.

If you want an ultra run coach who believes in you and will help you maximize your potential and achieve your goals, contact me today for a free consultation.

Best time of year! Don't forget to get out and enjoy the changing season and beautiful colors it brings.