2020 - Year in Running

My 2020 Reading list.

As the year comes to an end, it is time to make lists .I find these lists as a good reference on how I spent that year. Thanks to the lockdown, I was able to complete a decent number of books. Here is a recap onthe books and a gist .

Fiction:

All the Light we cannot see , Anthony Doerr -  Lived upto its expecation. Loved the writing . Must read for anyone who loves literary (historical) fiction. 

The Fifth Season - NK Jemisin - Loved the first part of Broken Earth trilogy. Interesting story line with good prose. 

The Obelisk Gate - NK Jemisin  - Not as good as the first one (story wise) but I liked parts of it , especially  the ones with Nassun and her father.

Men Without Woment --H Murakami - A collection of short stories from one my favorite authors. Very interesting characters as one could always expect with any book from Murakami.

There is gun powder in the air -- Manoranjan Byapari - A beautiful story from an tumultous period in WB.A good one time read.

Non Fiction:

Surprised myself reading a lot of non-fiction. Summary on the books .

Poor Economics: Rethinking Poverty & the Ways to End it  -- This book was a real eye opener for me. Learnt a lot about poor people in India , their priorities hardships and things that worked to get the out of poverty. It truly changed my attitude towards buying things from a poor shop vs a super market. Dont be intimidated by the authors .Its an easy read and a must try.

Faraday, Maxwell, and the Electromagnetic Field: How Two Men Revolutionized Physics -- Great account about  two men whose work has had profound impact on the world.

Think on these things, J Krishnamurthy -- An easy read. JK is known for his unique views about the purpose of education. A good read if you like philosophical texts.

The Ride of a Lifetime -- Bob Iger has been quite sucessful in moving Disney is the right path .In this book , he explains his working style and how he was able big names like (Pixar, LucasFilms) into the Disney family. A must read for anyone  who is interested in leading companies and teams.

Titan -Vinay Kamath -- A beautiful narration about an iconic brand from India. Read it for the nostalgia and also to get inspired how a small side project from a small team within TATA was able to carve out an iconic brand .

The Art of Learning -- Part self-help and part memoir.Loved it for the insights from Josh Waitzkin . Must read if you are  looking for enhancing your performance on any area (running/fitness, job, new skill etc).

The Pursuit of Endurance -- Ended the year with my first book focussed on fitness. A very fast read about trail hiking and running. A must have in your library for every endurance/ultra fitness freak! .

Ground contact Time.

Guruji, Suren, Veera  and I discuss many things during our longer runs. 

Recently the topic of Cadence vs Stride length popped up. Obviously all the 4 of us are different and its not apt to point exactly what is the best combination..  Although we all agreed that increasing the cadence is something every one should aim for.

Here is some interesting info my friend Veera had shared this weekend.

Here is a post explaining the device requirements to capture these metrics: https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=C8eynCstM95kcVf50iAmp6

ps: images copyright the owner. Sharing it here only for my reference.

Running Drills (for all runners)

 Good video from my coach . Saving it for my future reference ! .

🔅- What are they?

3 basic skipping drills — A skip, B skip, C skip

🔅- Who should do them?

anyone who wants to develop better form, strength, and running economy

🔅- How does it work?

repeatedly driving the knee up high in a skipping motion (and with the B skip - pawing back back on the foot strike) develops neuromuscular connections and

strength in the hip flexors, hamstrings, glutes, lower leg and foot

🔅When do you do them?

i recommend 2x week after workouts as a strength supplement to the speed session, building towards 3 sets of 15-30secs (can be more)

🔅

With anything, these take time to master. They should be done with focused purpose. In the beginning, emphasis should be placed on just learning the motions, not intensity or a great range of motion. Over time with consistency you’ll develop more speed, fatigue resistance, and better form

#RunningYogi

Lactate Threshold - LTHR

 Listened to a recent podcast where someone claimed that he always sticks below his Lactate Threshold and it has helped him sustain for long durationcs (50miler etc). And he was very careful not to exceed his HR above Lactate threshold mid -race.

Podcast - http://www.artsciencerun.com/episode-6-heart-rate-training-and-racing-training-zones-geoffrey-kamworor-runscribe-coaching-and-racing-at-same-event-etc/ 

So I got curious and read a bit about LT HR and how to find it out and training for a higher LT.

Excerpts here . Source: https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Triathlon/News/Blogs/Multisport-Lab/2011/February/15/Understanding-Lactate-Threshold-Heart-Rate-Training#:~:text=For%20most%20people%2C%20the%20lactate,points%20go%20a%20bit%20higher.

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Lactate threshold is the point in exercise where your body produces more blood lactate than it can reabsorb (and manage other lactate by-products - look up "hydrogen & lactate & exercise" if you want some exciting reading) on a continuous basis. Well-trained athletes can usually continue exercise at just below lactate threshold for about an hour. Go over lactate threshold though, and that time drops to 5-6 minutes. 

For most people, the lactate threshold is about 20 heart beats per minute above the steady aerobic threshold. Any aerobic exercise, generally speaking, will help both points go a bit higher. But there is a point of diminishing returns. If you don't also include workouts that challenge your system by going just below to above your current lactate threshold, you will not maximize your ability in short distance to long distance events.

The secret or goal with lactate threshold training is to raise your threshold point to as close as possible to your maximum heart rate, and improve your ability to withstand that discomfort (if it was easy everyone would do it). If you never do harder workouts, then your lactate threshold will always remain below your possible maximum lactate threshold. 

Raising your lactate threshold point, for the most part, will bring your steady aerobic threshold point up with it (as the 20 bpm relationship is fairly constant).

So if you're training for an Ironman, from a specificity standpoint you want to train that steady aerobic threshold because that is more or less your race pace. But you should include some LT training as well to raise that point a bit higher.

If you're training for a sprint or Olympic distance race, from a specificity standpoint you want to work more on that 2nd threshold. You should include quite a bit of aerobic steady training as that provides your foundation. 

So you’re probably thinking: how do I find my threshold and what are some workouts ideas?

Finding it:
Warm up 15-20 minutes then 30 minutes "race effort" — as hard as you can go for 30 minutes. Take your heart rate average for the last 20 minutes. Bingo, you have your LTHR.

Biking:
2 x 20 minutes just below lactate threshold with 5 minutes easy between
5 x 5 minutes at lactate threshold with 3 minutes easy in between
5 x 3 minutes over lactate threshold with 3-5 minutes easy in between
8 x 1 minute well over lactate threshold with 2-3 minutes easy between

Running:
2 x 10 to 15 minutes (1 to 2 miles) just below threshold with 5 minutes easy between
4 or 5 x 4 minutes (800-1200m) at threshold with 2-3 minutes easy between
5 to 6 x 3 minutes (600-800m) over threshold with 3 minutes easy between
8 x 1 minute over threshold with 1 minute easy between

Generally speaking, running causes more breakdown so total "hard" training volume should not be more than 10-15 percent of weekly mileage.

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion -- excerpts.

 Notes from a book . I did not read this book but i loved this summary. Capturing it for my own reference.

This entire text is copyright of the Author. (Stiven Skyrah) .Check under - Amazon reviews of the book 

Influence:The Psychology of Persuasion;

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* Expensive implies quality. Example: gems in a jewel case that weren’t selling were marked up and then sold at a “discount” to the markup (a price higher than the original price), and they sold like hotcakes.
* Power of contrast. Example: If you go into a men’s store they’ll try and sell you an expensive suit before the sell you the expensive jumper because the contrast makes the sweater appear more affordable.
* Reciprocity. Example: If someone buys you something (say, a Coke), you’re more likely to buy something from them (say, raffle tickets).
* Concession. Example: If someone tries to sell you something and you pass (say $5 of $1 raffle tickets), they’ll try and sell you something less, that you’ll end up buying because you feel bad (1 $1 raffle ticket). Another term used here is “reject then retreat.”
* Commitment leads to consistency leads to collaboration. Example: During the Korean war, the Chinese got American soldiers to make public commitments of various things. Then they made those commitments even more public, which the American soldiers had to stand by to be consistent. That consistency then led them down a path of minor forms of collaboration – without them really thinking about it as such.
* Writing something down, even privately, strengthens your commitment to something.
* People like and believe in commitment because their image and reputation are on the line (i.e. the Chinese concentration camp example above).
* People like more what they struggle to get, even if it’s not that good. Example: frats (hey, it’s in the book, don’t hate the messenger).
* People like to feel they have control over a decision – even if they really don’t.
* The power of social proof, or the idea that if others do it it’s good. Example: introverted pre-schoolers who saw introverted kids become social in a movie were more inclined to go play. Another example: cults. People follow the crowd because they believe in the “wisdom” of the crowd.
* Convince and you shall be convinced. Example: cults, where people who convince or convert others become more convinced (that’s why so many are evangelical).
* Assign responsibility if you want things done. Example: a stabbing that took place over many minutes had 38 witnesses…it happened cause everyone figured someone else would call the police.
* The power of copycats that’ll play on social proof. Example: if you find a wallet of someone like you and you’re more likely to return it (it’s true). Another (scary) example: more suicides when the press publicizes a suicide…more fatal “accidents” too.
* Liking is an important part of influence. Attractiveness, similarity (identity and context), compliments, contact & cooperation all can make someone more influential.
* The reason good cop/bad cop works is because the subject feels someone is on their side.
* Associations are powerful. Bearers of good news get treated well, and bad news get treated poorly. Examples: weathermen (or Roman messengers reporting lost battles!)
* People tend to defer to authority/experts. Examples: experiments involving shock therapy where people listened to a guy in a lab coat to inflict pain on another human being (incredible how strong this is).
* The power of connotations and context over content, and how it can imply authority. Titles and clothing do this.
* Gaining trust. Example: a waiter who advises against a more expensive item early in the meal will gain the trust of everyone at the table, and then he can suggest more expensive items and more items through the course of the meal.
* Scarcity is powerful. There’s a psychological reaction…people don’t want to lose their freedom and don’t want to lose. This plays to a second point: competition. Invite 3 used car buyers at the same time and you’ll sell the car faster. A cookie is more attractive if there are two of them than if there are 10 of them. (Always as yourself when something is scarce: will the cookie taste as good if there are 10 of them?). Plus, if you saw that the number went from 10 to 2, you want it even more. It can even lead to revolt…when something is given and then taken away, people get mad; if something is never given at all, they don’t know what they’re missing.
* “It appears that commitments are most effective in changing a person’s self-image and future behaviour when they are active, public, and effortful.”
* “The most influential leaders are those who know how to arrange group conditions to allow the principle of social proof to work maximally in their favour.”
* “Social proof is most powerful for those who feel unfamiliar or unsure of​ a specific situation and who, consequently, must look outside of themselves for evidence of how to best behave there.”

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