Ode to Tom Fleming

  The New Jersey running community was saddened and surprised by the death of Tom Fleming, at age 65, on April 19th.
   I didn't know Tom personally, but was certainly aware of his legend and legacy. A two-time winner of the New York City Marathon (1973 and 1975), he also he also finished second at Boston, the first time in 1973, when he was a senior at William Paterson College, a small teaching school in North Jersey.
   Most of his success came before the late '70's running boom, and by all accounts, Tom was a running junkie and purist.  In his heyday, he banged out 120 to 140 mile training weeks, and was a big advocate of the "long, slow distance," method to success.
    I don't think cross-training was part of his lexicon or beliefs, but the grueling hours on the road certainly worked for him, as he also won the Jersey Shore Marathon three times, as well several others across North America.
    Injuries eventually took their toll, but Tom stayed part of the running scene as a high school coach, and, for many years,  as owner of the Tom Fleming's Running Room in Bloomfield, his lifetime hometown. He also was involved in the Sunset Classic 5-miler in Bloomfield, a popular early-summer evening event.
   Tom most recently was a teacher at Montclair Kimberly, a well-regarded Essex County private school, and was the coach of the cross-country and track teams. His last cross-country team won  the Super Essex Conference Liberty Division crown, and the heart attack that felled him happened, ironically, and perhaps fittingly, at one of the team's track meets.
   There are all types of medical debates on how much benefit running does for your heart. How much is most beneficial, can there be too much, and does the intensity of the miles matter? That's a subject for another time, and the most important aspect, always, is your genetic background and make-up.
   No doubt, Tom ran for the love of it, and probably wouldn't have traded it for anything. Whether it lengthened, shortened or had no difference on his life span was probably immaterial, Running brought him joy!
 
           

Long Distance Training - Inside and Out

   I have the Long Branch Half-Marathon coming up on April 30th. I last ran it three years ago in 1:35 and change, but in-between have suffered a torn meniscus in my right knee and subsequent arthritis in both.
   The past two years, I got injured in other areas with a lot of interval work on the treadmill, and couldn't run Long Branch at all. This year, I've trained more sensibly and age-appropriately, and have put in 30-plus miles per week since the start of the year without a setback.
    I've used my Jack Daniels' Running Formula VDOT Calculator to figure out most of training paces. Since my last 5-K in October was a 22:20, my "easy" runs outdoors are supposed to be at 9:37 mile pace, and with all the hills in the Watchung Mountains here, (plus my usual 10 lbs. of winter clothing!) that's about what it's been coming out to.
   Most of my treadmill runs have been at "marathon pace," which is 8:15 per mile mile, or 7.3 on the treadmill. For variety of mind and body, I change either the grade or the speed every quarter-mile, and most of the runs start out at about 7.0 on the treadmill (8:34 mile pace) and peak out at about 8.1  (7:24 per mile).  The slower paces, I trey to keep at a higher grade (2 or 3%), which feels about the same, effort-wise, as the faster paces at grade 1.
    I've limited my speed work to once a week this year because of my recent injury history. Usually, I've been doing mile repeats on the treadmill in around 7:30 per mile pace (8.0 on the treadmill). Typically, I'll do five, with a warm-up mile before, and quarter-mile walk/jog in-between. My heart rate generally will reach the low 150's by the end, which is about 90% of my max at age 58.
    All of this science projects out to a 1:44 half-marathon, which also can vary on weather, mental preparedness that day, proper pacing, and if I remember to take my Aleve that morning!
     I'll be motivated by the thought of a "Farmer's Breakfast" at the Four Seasons Diner in Eatontown afterward: pancakes (butter and syrup), eggs, and let's make it scrapple on the side!
             

Stretching and Running: Is it Necessary?

  Fitness is like politics in this sense: for every fact there is an "alternative fact." Since I began running over 40 years ago, "better flexibility leads to better running" was accepted as truth. Now there is a train of thought that says the opposite is true!
   I first read about this in Runner's World a few years back, when they did a feature on people who ignored or defied the accepted norms about running and still, somehow, succeeded.
   One of the people featured was a college cross-country coach from the Midwest who was running sub 2:20 marathons, and didn't believe in stretching at all. When he followed a typical protocol of stretching before runs, he was often injured. When he stopped it, out of laziness, initially, he stopped getting hurt! His own runners have the option of stretching on their own if they like, but it is not incorporated into their practices.
     There is more and more research coming out supporting the "anti-flexibility" school of thought. A recent article in the Washington Post by Amanda Loudin cited some of it.
     Steve Magness, a national level runner, coach at the University of Houston and author of the "Science of Running" says that "if you are too flexible, you are a less efficient runner."
      Magness explains that human's muscles and tendons are designed like springs, and the springs release energy and propel us forward during a run. If the springs aren't tight enough, they can't do their job properly.
      A 2010 study at Nebraska Wesleyan University of eight distance runners (admittedly, a small sample) found that the runners with less flexibility had more elastic energy storage in their muscles and had greater oxygen efficiency when running. Simply put, the "tight" runners were able get more out of each stride at a lower level of exertion.
   Physical therapist Gene Shirokobrod was also interviewed in the Post article. He felt that runners should focus more on strength and balance training, and less on advanced flexibility movements. Ankle mobility (balancing on a Bosu ball or disk), glute and core strength (think forward, side and reverse planks), and hip extension (for example, floor double and single leg bridges) were more important, in his opinion..
    I've strength trained through my life, and do feel it helps with my running. I've gotten more and more into balance training through the years, as training techniques have evolved, and I've gotten older and realize it is important, in many different respects. I've never been much for stretching before running, except for races, because, basically, I'm just anxious to get out the door. As far as afterward, I feel prone stretching with bands and myofascial release on the foam roller has been beneficial in keeping me (pretty much)  healthy in late middle-age.
    My own personal opinion is that dynamic stretching before a run is beneficial, as are static stretches  after. I wouldn't miss a run for a stretching session, however, and it probably can be overdone.
    Every runner is different, of course, and needs change throughout a training lifetime. Things you were able to get away with when you were 25, you might not be able to at 55. If you feel stretching helps you and your perception is that it's keeping you healthy to run, by all means keep doing it. If stretching is a time-consuming drag, your probably not doing it correctly, anyway, and just go easy your first few minutes to warm up your muscles. Find out what works for you, and adjust accordingly!