By Don Heatrick

I was surprised by the volume of reader's feedback following the last Running for Thai Boxers article—I seem to have stumbled across an area of genuine interest, and many want to know more. This article answers outstanding questions and looks at the running activity itself.

How should I begin running if I'm not used to it?

Start gently, running for just 10 to 15 minutes to begin with. Then run again after a day or two and add a further 5 to 10 minutes running time. Bear in mind that it'll take a couple of days before you feel the full effects of your first run. Building gradually allows you to adapt to these new demands, making injury less likely. This is particularly relevant for heavier fighters.

How often should I run?

Every individual's capacity for recovery is different. Even your own recovery rate depends on your age, current fitness, training intensity and frequency, sleep quality and nutrition etc. So the number of running and Muay Thai training sessions you can tolerate each week are unique to you. You need to strike a balance between working as hard as possible to achieve greatest gains, whilst not overtraining and beginning a downward spiral of injury, lethargy and diminished performance.

Typical Signs of Overtraining Cramp Re-appearance of old faults in technique Disturbed timing, rhythm and flow of movement Lack of concentration Reduced ability to observe errors and correct them Reduced endurance, strength and speed Increased recovery time Lack of drive. Quick to give up in difficult situations Confusion in competition, departure from usual tactics Easily demoralised before competition Increased irritability Over sensitivity to criticism

Constantly assess the effects of changes to you training frequency and intensity to ensure that you are getting the most out of yourself while not overtraining. You know best how you are feeling. If you are overtraining, cut down the workload.

I personally find that running for 3–4 miles using the interval method for the majority of my runs is the most advantageous. I run as fast as I can for 3-minutes and then jog slowly for 1-minute to recover. This pattern repeats until the distance is completed. I've found if I do this running in the morning (on the way to work!), I've recovered sufficiently to train hard again in the evening.

To help with recovery, I'll drink a protein shake after the run and drink plenty of water during the day to re-hydrate.
Wind sprints are very taxing and I personally employ this method only once a week - on an otherwise "light" training day or ideally as the only session of the day.

Reasons not to run?

Repeated injury to ankles, shins and knees are a common reason for not running. If this happens to you, consider the following:

Have you got the right running shoes?

Running shoes are designed to suit specific pronation types – the way that your running foot moves as it strikes the ground. It's important to select the right shoes for your physiology or you're very likely to develop problems.

This movement or pronation of the foot is designed to absorb the impact of your body weight with the ground. If your foot moves too much (over pronates) then you'll tend to develop painful shins, knees and hips. If your foot doesn't move enough (under pronates) then you may develop outside ankle or knee pain.

An over-pronating foot needs to be stabilised with a more rigid running shoe.
An under pronating foot needs additional cushioning to absorb the impact with the ground.
A neutral pronating foot requires no special absorption or stabilisation. It already does an effective job without any help!

I think that the easiest way to determine your pronation type is to look at the wear pattern on your old trainers. The outside of the heel will have the most amount of wear – this is normal. The foot strikes on the outside of the heel and then rolls inward to absorb the impact. The best indicator will be the wear through the forefoot.

If most of the wear is on the inside (medial) then you over pronate. If most of the wear is on the outside (lateral) then you under pronate. Central wear indicates a neutral pronation.
Many specialist running shops will assess your pronation while watching you run on a tread mill, and advise of a suitable running shoe. If you have access to a shop like this it's well worth taking the assessment. Knowing your pronation type is the most important factor when selecting suitable running shoes.

Online running shops allow you to select shoes from categories relating to pronation style. The shoes types are given various names, not all useful, but generally normal or neutral pronation shoes are called 'supportive cushioning', over pronation shoes are called 'motion control' or 'stability' and finally under pronation shoes are just called 'cushioning'.

The main thing is that the retailer has a range of shoes to offer you for your pronation type—regardless of the name they have given the category. Get the right shoes and you should have injury free running.
Finally, also consider that running shoes last for between 300 to 500 miles. After this, you'll begin to pick up injuries due to the degradation of your shoes. So, a fighter running 3 miles, four times a week will need to replace their shoes every 5 to 10 months.

More than one way to burn fat! To keep things simple, the first article looked at the primary energy sources "during" the running activity. This approach advocates a slow, steady running pace to target fat reserves. Initially carbohydrates are used for fuel regardless of intensity, but once this supply is diminished the intensity level will dictate where energy comes from during the exercise. Burning fat for fuel is a chemical process that requires a lot of oxygen. If you work too hard, your body has to use alternative fuel sources requiring less or no oxygen. However, you do burn fat "after" intense exercise as well! Intense training pushes up your metabolic rate (consuming more calories) for a prolonged period — considerably longer than the time spent exercising. During intense training, fat can't (to any great extent) be used. However, when you cease exercising and you get your breath back you will begin to burn fat because your metabolic rate is racing (and you have sufficient oxygen coming in). Intense training (including weight training) will also aid fat loss by increasing your lean muscle mass, which further boosts your metabolic rate — meaning you can walk around burning fat when you're not even training! Extra tip: To burn more fat on your slow, steady runs, try doing a high intensity training session first! This will deplete your carbohydrate reserves allowing you to target fat quicker. You can also achieve this by running first thing in the morning before eating breakfast. Your body will have consumed all the food in your stomach overnight and you'll literally be running on empty! Make sure you drink some water first though!

What surfaces do you predominately run on?

Pavements and roads transfer excessive shock into your joints. Try to run on grass or dirt tracks if possible to minimise the wear and tear on your body.

Are you warming up and cooling down?

A warm up before, and cool down after running helps guard against such injuries. Carry out basic calf, hamstring and quadriceps stretches and start running slowly rather than taking straight off at full velocity.

Run Like a Fighter

Now let's turn running into fight training – this should cure any boredom issues, another major reason for not running regularly.

Get off-road

Leg muscles and ankles become better conditioned if part of the run is conducted on an uneven surface like a park. Obstacles and winding tracks keep you mentally switched on. Branches encourage a good guard and evasive head movements!

Listen to motivating music

Playing motivating music on a personal stereo of MP3 player works for a lot of people. Make sure the tempo of the music suits your running pace, or it'll become a hindrance!

Monitor your progress

When using the interval-training format, monitor how far around a defined route you manage to get at the conclusion of each round. Time your runs, including split times at obvious 'milestones' along your route. Compare your current performance to previous personal bests – keep a log of each training day.

Take this a step further using a heart rate monitor to provide an accurate indication of how hard you're pushing yourself at every moment. You can also determine your recovery rate, which is a great indicator of your level of fitness.

Using body fat measuring scales you can monitor the effects of running on your body weight / muscle mass, and helps you fine tune your weight for your fighting weight category.

Develop physical and mental toughness with intervals

Both interval and sprint running develops a fighter mentally. Successful fighters have a mental toughness that drives them on even when tired and hurt. Pushing your running to this level builds mental resilience, giving you confidence in your work capacity for a given number of rounds. Aim to finish every running session with a sprint finish.

Consider this: While you are sat in front of the TV with a packet of crisps, your opponent is tearing around the park!