Are You Focusing on the Wrong Metrics?

Hello fellow runners, I am your host, Finn Melanson and this is the run to the top podcast. The podcast dedicated in making you a better runner. With each and every episode we are created and produced by the expert team of coaches at runners connect dot net where you can find the best running info on the internet as well as training plans to fit every runner in every budget. If you're like a lot of runners early january is where goal setting becomes top of mind, it's certainly an exciting time. But in the process of goal setting, we here at runners connect encounter more than a few athletes who are misunderstanding or studying the wrong metrics as they track their progress and build up for key races over the next few months. So in this episode, coach Jeff Godett returns to the podcast to identify three wrong metrics that runners often focus on. He why it's wrong to focus on these and then he offers advice for each of them on what should be focused on and done. Instead. Specifically Jeff reflects on the tendency of many runners to incorrectly focus on the pace of their easy runs, their tendency to think of workouts as measures of fitness and their over reliance on biometric watch data.

Let's listen in Collagen supplementation has been shown to help runners dramatically improve recovery and reduce injuries. Later in this episode, we'll look at the exact science on collagen supplementation and how you can save 10% at new topia.com backslash run to the top genius. If you're looking for better and safer headphones while you run, then you need to check out the dance there, open ear design delivers premium sound. While still allowing you to hear your surroundings to stay safe. I'll tell you more about them later in this episode. But if you're looking for a great christmas or New Year's gift for the runner in your family, head to Ola dance dot com backslash, R T T T. Hey Everyone welcome to our coach chat this week and our first podcast of the new year as we all try to get our 2023 started off on the right track. One of the first things we start to think about is tracking towards our goals as any good coach will tell you one of the most critical pieces to achieving any goal you set for yourself is tracking your progress along the way.

Unfortunately many runners are not aware that they are often too concerned with the wrong metrics in their training. The result is often frustration, stagnant race results and injuries. So today we're gonna go over a couple of the common metrics. Many runners put too much focus on and how you can shift your mindset. Should you fall victim to these familiar pitfalls Wrong metric one focusing on the pace of your easy runs? Want to know the most common question I received from runners connect members, both veteran and beginner. If I feel good, can I start running my easy days faster before recording this podcast, I decided to count how many times I received this question in one week, I counted eight times. So if you win this week, I'm sorry, the problem isn't that eight people are asking me the same question. The issue is that these runners are all unnecessarily focused on the speed of their easy runs and think that by running faster on their easy days, they'll improve more rapidly. Unfortunately, focusing on proving the pace of your easy runs is a vanity metric that does not correlate with your progress and contributes little to your fitness.

Aerobic development is roughly the same whether you're running at 30 seconds or two minutes per mile slower than marathon pace for 3 30 marathoner, that means that 8 30 pace provides basically the same aerobic benefits as miles at 9 30 or 10 minute pace. However, running faster than 8 30 pace only increases the time it takes for you to recover while providing little additional benefit aerobically. So running faster is actually detrimental. Probably the best example of how little your easy pace matters is the training of Kenyan runners take former gate Catherine Ndereba who has a 2 18 47 marathon. Pr she often runs her easy days at seven minutes to 7 30 pace. Keep in mind for you and me, this is fast, but it's actually about two minutes slower per mile than her marathon pace, which is about 5, 15 to 5 20 per mile by keeping her easy day slow Kenyan runners like are able to perform notoriously difficult workouts and take their performances to another level on race day.

The Kenyan understand that increasing the pace on the easy days is not the most beneficial way to improve. So your takeaway running faster on your easy days is not important and it's not necessarily a sign of increasing fitness. Both consisted on the purpose of your easy runs, which is to recover from your hard workouts and prepare your body for upcoming sessions. When you stop thinking about pace and start concentrating on recovering, you'll be able to relax more and enjoy your easy runs for what they are recovery Wrong, metric two workouts are not designed to be a measurement of fitness. It's easy to get frustrated and feel like you're going backwards after a tough workout. I've had more than a few training sessions in my career that led me to wonder if I had somehow completely lost it after one rough workout, three weeks before. Important, 10-K. My coach said something to me that I'll never forget workouts are for improving specific physiological systems, not for proving how fit you are. You prove your fitness on race day. For some reason, that statement at home and it's something that I've never forgotten when analyzing workouts, it's tempting to compare splits and workout times to potential race performances.

However, the two rarely correlate, perhaps you're working on speed, which is a weakness for your predominantly slow twitch muscles. So, of course these workouts are going to feel difficult or maybe you're heading into the workout with tired legs to help simulate marathon fatigue. The workout is designed to feel bad regardless. You may find yourself running slower than expected or struggling to maintain race pace. This can be frustrating and demoralizing if you're always looking to measure your workout performance with race potential. However, if you focus instead on executing the purpose of the workout and completing it to the best of your ability, you're making progress physiologically, which will ultimately lead to a personal best on race day. So your takeaway, you should only use your workouts to measure progress when compared to similar workouts under similar conditions, not as a measurement of race times or potential remember workouts are for improving specific physiological systems, not for proving how fit you are. You prove your fitness on race day.

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T to save 20% on your purchase. That's Ola dance dot com backslash. R T T T to save 20%. Okay back with wrong metric number three, relying on biometric data from your watch the data of our smartwatches can provide these days is absolutely astounding. Unfortunately, I find many runners trying to use all of this data and either getting too caught up in the useless details or trying to change things that might not need to be changed specifically. I'm talking about the watches that give you bio mechanic data like ground contact time, vertical oscillation and a variety of other bio mechanic metrics. My first issue with these metrics comes down to accuracy when it comes to accuracy. Only some of the wearables on the market have been validated against reel biomechanics. Lab data Does the pelvic drop or vertical ox elation measured by device correspond to what we measure in a 3D motion capture lab too often we just don't know the answer to these questions.

Some metrics from devices like the milestone pod and garment suite of heart rate monitors have been validated by using lab data, but this doesn't apply to every device on the market and every metric that they're trying to measure. Moreover, these validation studies are pretty small. There's a very real possibility that these devices could be off for runners who are older, overweight or have unusual gait patterns. My second issue is that often these numbers are irrelevant or shouldn't be used to change anything with your training, even if your waist clip does measure your vertical oscillation or left right a cemetery accurately. Should you do anything to change your running form If these numbers are flagged as too high or off by the devices software in my experience, this almost never leads to a good outcome. First, this is because many of the metrics touted as important for injury like pronation or impact peak are extraordinarily controversial among biomechanics. Researchers. Impact related metrics, for example, don't accurately correlate at all with the internal forces that your body experiences at common running injury locations like your shin or your knee, definitely something that's very surprising for anybody who's looked at any of the research data.

Second, in terms of biomechanical data, the numbers we get from commercial devices far outstrip the injury research right now, we just aren't sure if the data is comparable to what we can measure in the lab. And even if it is metrics like ground contact, time, pronation and left and right. A cemetery haven't been reliably linked to injury. And third, and probably most important, changing any of these variables is still a gamble. Your body is an intricate connected chain of moving parts, trying to change one thing without understanding the implications elsewhere on your body or not fixing the true root of the problem will definitely lead to more issues down the road. I see this with a lot of runners who try to change their cadence or try to change over striding by simply taking shorter strides. This isn't fixing the actual root of the problem and will end up just leading to different problems down the road if your training has been going well and you've been relatively healthy, you should be hesitant to make any changes to your running form, no matter what a smartphone app says.

So your takeaway have fun looking at the data if your numbers are running geek like us, but don't try and make any changes to your bio mechanics based on the data unless you know for sure the change will reduce injury risk, usually after consulting a biomechanics expert, not a youtube video or a magazine article. So I hope today's episode gave you some good food for thought. As you set up your plan for 2023 and how you'll track yourself towards your goals. Feel free to post any on our social channels if you have any questions or if you just want to check about today's episode. Thanks so much for listening and have a great run today. What were your thoughts on Jeff's insights? Have you ever been guilty of focusing on any of these metrics? I sure have. I've certainly been caught up in trying to increase the pacing of easy runs as well as taking certain workouts out of context in making judgment calls on overall fitness. But I would love to hear from you on this. What have been your experiences? Did any of these resonate with you? Did we miss any other markers that runners often get too wrapped up in leave a comment on facebook or instagram with your thoughts.

Thanks for listening to the run to the top podcast. I'm your host, Finn Melanson. As always, our mission here is to help you become a better runner with every episode. Please consider connecting with me on instagram at Wasatch, Finn and the rest of our team at runners connect. Also consider supporting our show for free with a raid on the Spotify and Apple podcast players. And lastly, if you love the show and want bonus content behind the scenes experiences with our guests and premier access to contests and giveaways. Then subscribe to our newsletter by going to runners connect dot net back slash podcast until next time. Happy training.