In this monthly article series, ultrarunner, race director, and coach Gabe Joyes answers reader questions about anything and everything running. Learn more about this ask-the-athlete column, and be sure to fill out the form below to submit your questions for a future article!
In this article, Gabe answers questions about dressing for the cold, strength training and taper schedules, and waterproof shoes.
Gabe’s Tip of the Month
Are you prone to soft tissue overuse injuries? Maybe a serving of Achilles tendonitis, paired with some iliotibial band syndrome, and a splash of plantar fasciitis sprinkled on top? A helpful strategy for keeping these dreaded pains away is to avoid doing two consecutive runs that look the same. Changing the terrain, slope angle, footing, or intensity of your run can go a long way toward keeping your body healthy. Even changing your mindset can make a difference. Cross training works in the same way, spreading training stress throughout your body to avoid overloading one area. Variety is the spice of life!
Gabe varying the terrain and slope of his training grounds in order to stay injury-free. All photos courtesy of Gabe Joyes.
Cold-Weather Clothing Options
Cold weather layering questions coming at you hot! Is wool worth the extra price? Is cotton really so bad? How about my trusty fleece? I loathe being cold. -Stefanie
It sounds like you are asking me to help dial in your Christmas list, Stefanie! For many runners and outdoor recreationists, wool layers are the gold standard. Wool is a natural fiber with wicking properties and insulates even when wet. It has been used for millennia to keep people warm, especially in cold, damp climates. From my experience, the quality of the wool and garment construction makes dramatic differences, and not all are created equal. I’ve had wool garments that are so itchy they are virtually unwearable, and others that are buttery soft that I never want to take off. Some wool garments stretch and lose their shape when saturated with sweat, and others are remarkably resilient. My experience is that high-quality merino wool blended with another fabric, such as silk, nylon, or Tencel, seems to work the best. You can check out some of iRunFar’s favorite options in our Best Wool Running Apparel guide.
Polyester fleece is my go-to standard for cold-weather running. Although it is a synthetic fiber, I find that it breathes well, dries quickly, retains its shape well, and remains comfortable even when wet. Some polyester fleece is shockingly expensive, even more so than merino wool; however, there are many fairly affordable yet still high-performing options available. Gridded polyester fleece, as popularized by the Patagonia R1 Jacket, is both breathable and very warm.
Cotton has a bad reputation for cold-weather exercise, and rightfully so. Although cotton is a natural fiber like wool, it holds onto moisture and dries slowly. Not only does this make it susceptible to causing chafing, but the wet material also draws heat from the body more quickly, making you feel colder.
For more ideas on clothing options for winter, check out our Best Cold Weather Running Gear guide.
Martin St. Pierre cruising some snowy Canadian trails in merino wool layers.
Scheduling Strength Training
When do you recommend doing strength training during the week? Should I run on the same day I strength train? -Maria
Like most training questions, there really is no one-size-fits-all answer for this, but I can give a few suggestions. As far as timing goes, I recommend avoiding strength training the day before an intense workout, as it will likely zap some of the power from your legs and negatively impact your upcoming workout. For example, if you plan to smash some uphill intervals on Tuesday morning, save the strength training for Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday.
Some coaches love to stack strength training immediately after a hard interval workout to make a hard day even harder. This strategy can work well for certain athletes, but for many others, it is just too much training stress in one day. Plus, most folks simply don’t have time in their lives for both workouts in the same day. If your strength training regimen is not too intense, pairing it with an easy running day can spread out the training load. Getting in a 30- to 45-minute recovery run or easy spin on the bike before strength training is an excellent way to have a productive workout day with minimal to no running strain on the body.
Dandelion Dilluvio-Scott used strength training this year to help her finish the Hardrock 100.
Taper Time
Most ultra races start on Friday or Saturday, and many training plans make the last long run the Saturday three weeks before beginning the taper. My “A” race starts on a Wednesday. When would you recommend my last long run be before starting the taper, given the mid-week start? Is a three-and-a-half-week taper too long? –Jon
Oh, that is a tricky one, Jon! Let’s work backward for a moment to figure this one out. You will not gain additional fitness in the week leading up to your race, but you can certainly accumulate more training fatigue, which can negatively impact your performance on race day. So the weekend just before your race is definitely off the table for a long run. However, the weekend prior to that — 10 to 11 days before race day — is far enough out that most well-trained athletes can get in a pretty good long run stimulus, absorb the training, and still recover from it. The key is to play your cards right in those next 10 to 11 days. I wouldn’t recommend this being a peak training long run at that point, but a longer duration run here would be prudent for most athletes.
The weekend that is 17 to 18 days before your race is ideal for a proper long training run. You should have plenty of time to reap the rewards of the training, and if, for some reason, you don’t, my thought is it would be time to re-examine the training plan and recovery strategies as a whole.
Good luck with this race, Jon, and let us all know how it goes!
Gabe making it to the starting line healthy, happy, and ready for high performance.
Waterproof Shoes
Should I own a pair of Gore-Tex waterproof trail running shoes? -Julio
The promise of running shoes keeping your feet dry will likely forever be unfulfilled, but that does not mean they are a useless item, either. Even if a waterproof membrane in a shoe is truly waterproof, given the nature of trail running, water will nearly always find its way in through the top of your shoe, where it will stay forever trapped next to your feet. That same waterproof membrane, designed to keep moisture out, also does a remarkably good job of keeping water in. This includes sweat, regardless of any promises of a waterproof shoe being breathable.
So, when does it make sense to wear a waterproof shoe? In cold and wet weather, that waterproof membrane traps in warmth, too. Even if your feet are soaking wet, when paired with a high-quality merino wool sock, your feet might stay warm enough to be comfortable-ish.
Waterproof shoes can be helpful at keeping feet warm in cold climates.
Submit Your Questions
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Call for Comments
- What are your thoughts on Gabe’s answers this month?
- What pressing running questions have you always wanted answers to?
