– Running is the world’s easiest sport. At the same time, it has almost become the case that it is too simple, and people need more equipment and things to make it more fascinating, says Kristian Ulriksen, presenter of the news podcast “In the long run”. Now there are only roads and paths in large parts of the country. For many, this means that the running season begins in earnest. And in theory, you really only need a pair of running shoes to run. But in recent years, the choice of shoes has become more complicated. Among runners, there is talk of soles with or without carbon plates, there is talk of drops, and separate shoes for intervals, long trips and competitions. In addition, you may need to have a watch with a GPS function and heart rate monitor. But what other features do you need? SKILLED RUNNER: Kristian Ulriksen dreams of running a marathon in under 2 hours and 20 minutes. Photo: Aleksander Walmann And do you have to measure the lactate value in your blood after the intervals to make sure you are not training too hard? Ulriksen and his co-presenter of “I det lange løp”, Jann Post, regularly receive questions from listeners who need some advice. – The vast majority of questions are about shoes, says Ulriksen. So let’s start there: What type of shoes do I need to run? In 2017, the first carbon shoes were put up for sale, i.e. shoes with a carbon plate in the sole to give extra snap in the step. Nike was the first to come up with the technology, but in recent years most shoe manufacturers have had their own models. If you line up for a street race in Norway today, there is a high probability that most people will use the so-called “super shoes”. POPULAR SHOES: Tor Fauske says that 30-40 per cent of runners in major marathons use carbon shoes. Photo: PRIVAT – When new models have come on the market, we have experienced queues 100 meters long outside the shops. We usually sell out in no time, says Tor Fauske, general manager at the running shop Löplabbet. According to him, you can get a positive effect by using carbon shoes. Fauske is supported by Thomas Fremo, senior engineer at the Next Move core facility at NTNU. – You get a little more from the energy transfer from the surface, you get a little more snap in your step, says Fremo. – In addition, it is a little more gentle on layers as the impacts from the surface are reduced. Fremo says that if you have done absolutely everything you can in training and are ready to run, a carbon shoe might give you a few seconds better time. However, the seconds you gain by using the shoes are very expensive. The price of today’s carbon shoes is from NOK 2,000 to NOK 3,500. – The super shoes can optimally provide an improvement of 4 percent. But good training over time can improve running economy by five times as much. Good training is more important than good shoes, says Fremo. – So carbon shoes are not necessary to reach this year’s running goal? – It is entirely possible to reach this year’s running goal without carbon shoes, it is more about the work you do in training. Another question many may ask themselves is: How many pairs of shoes do you really need? For many exercisers, just one pair of shoes is not enough. Competition shoes, shoes for the interval sessions, a separate pair for the quiet walks. Maybe an extra pair for trips in the mountains? – It depends a little on how serious you are, but it’s perfectly fine to run with a pair of shoes, says Trond Fauske at Löplabbet. Thomas Fremo at NTNU says that varying shoes can be beneficial. Different shoes can cause varied stress on the foot. This can also be solved by running on varied surfaces. VARIED SURFACES: Running on a trail provides a more varied load. Photo: Erland Eldrup – Varying between asphalt, dirt road and perhaps a bit of path is just as important as varying between shoes. You don’t need to have a bunch of shoes. You can, for example, switch between two pairs. One pair can be a slightly “fresher” pair for competitions and intervals. The other pair can be used on slightly quieter trips. When it comes to choosing shoes, Kristian Ulriksen believes in “In the long run” that it is impossible to give a concrete recommendation. – It’s about what you like and what suits your foot, he says. And when you have chosen shoes, there are many who also want a watch that can take the time and measure the speed, and the pulse and the distance and altitude meters and step frequency and, yes, most of it. But: Do you need a complicated heart rate monitor? The probability is high that you either own or know someone who owns a smartwatch. Watches have almost become everyone’s property. Among other things, they can tell us whether we have slept well, how much recovery is needed and how the training is progressing. But do you need such a watch to become good at running? Norway’s best marathon runner Sondre Nordstad Moen and former Olympic champion in the 800-meter Vebjørn Rodal have said that they often drop heart rate measurement during training. They are supported by Thomas Fremo at NTNU. He believes that you will get far by just running on feeling. – You have different intensity zones you can follow, but these can also be described without using pulse. Fremo explains that instead of monitoring whether the heart rate is low on leisurely runs, you can assume that you should run so calmly that you can talk effortlessly to the person next to you. – It should be experienced easily. With interval training, you should move up to the next level: – This should feel more strenuous. You must still be able to speak in short sentences. How to calculate the intensity zones Intensity zones are individual heart rate intervals calculated from maximum heart rate. Although the pulse rates that separate the zones are individual, the characteristics affected in the different zones will be the same regardless of who you are and how well trained you are. To keep track of which zone you are running in, you need a heart rate monitor. You also need to know what your maximum heart rate is. The Olympiatop’s intensity scale consists of eight intensity zones (I-1 to I-8). Zone 1: 107 – 140 bpm (Feel: Very light) Zone 2: 141 – 159 bpm (Feel: Fairly light) Zone 3: 160 – 169 bpm (Feel: Pleasantly strenuous) Zone 4: 170 – 179 beats per minute (Feeling: Strenuous) Zone 5: 180 – 195 beats per minute (Feeling: Very strenuous) Zone 6: Very, very strenuous Zone 7: Very, very strenuous Zone 8: – Source: OLYMPIATOPTEN He himself is a very good runner. Last year he took bronze in the 10,000 meters at the NM in Stjørdal. Much of his training is carried out only based on perceived feeling. Fremo also has the impression that many people start the interval sessions too hard. – It is important that you run into the session. The first kites must not be run too quickly, then you risk ruining the session. The worst thing that can happen if you start calmly is that you have to take a few extra drags. FAST CHIEF ENGINEER: Thomas Fremo in action during the NM in Stjørdal. Photo: Stian Lyseberg Solum / NTB Too fast a pace from the start can often contribute to stiff muscles. Stiff muscles result from a build-up of lactate, or lactic acid, as the muscles do not receive enough oxygen. In order to have the best possible control over the lactate values, it is possible to use a lactate meter. In the past, this was something elite athletes had, but now more and more exercisers have acquired this, according to Tor Fauske at Löplabbet. Do you have to measure lactic acid to be good? Much of the attention around lactate measurement started through the documentary series “Team Ingebrigtsen”. The brothers from Sandnes were constantly filmed poking a small hole in their fingertip after their intervals. At Löplabbet, they sell several hundred lactate meters a year. Fauske is sure that the Ingebrigtsen brothers have had an influence: – Exercisers have become more interested in training like the elite. Many people want more control over their training. Thomas Fremo himself very rarely uses lactate, only in special cases or if it concerns training from injury. For him, it is feeling and flow that govern how he trains. CORRECT INTENSITY: The Ingebrigtsen brothers often measure lactate to control the intensity. Photo: Svein Hagen This is lactate Lactate forms in the muscles if the muscles do not get enough oxygen. The harder the physical load, the more lactate is produced. When the body is unable to transport away the amount of lactate that is formed, the muscles become stiff. With gradually increasing physical load, one can measure lactate in the bloodstream to find out how much load the body can withstand. The lactate measurement is carried out in capillary blood from the finger and measured on a biosensor instrument. The measurement can be carried out 30 seconds after loading. The heart rate is often measured at the same time. Source: Store Norske Leksikon – If you are an exerciser, you can carry out a lot of good training without measuring lactate. You have to be at a very high level before you get anything in return for it. Kristian Ulriksen in “In the long run” recommends you get to know your competitive speed. If you know how fast you run a mile or a half marathon, for example, you can adjust the speed of the intervals based on that. – But the most important thing to make progress in running is continuity. There are no perfect training sessions. 99 per cent of your progress comes from putting in training, he says.
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Advice for runners. Do you need carbon shoes, heart rate monitor and lactate meter to get good? – news Nordland
