Dear Coach:
I plan to do some late fall races, including the Veteran's Day 10K and Outback 8K and want to run fast times. I usually have trouble at the end because I am too hot and slow down. But I am afraid to start the race wearing too few clothes because I am too cold.
Dan

Dear Dan:
I certainly sympathize with you because I undergo the same debate in my mind every time I race in late fall or early spring. Here are a couple of tips that might help. First, it is recommended that you do at least a mile warm-up 15-20 minutes before the race. You can wear your running suit when you do this warm-up. Ideally, you will finish the warm-up about five minutes before the race and head to the starting line wearing only a racing singlet and shorts. At larger races, this is impractical, so you might consider wearing an old long-sleeve t- shirt that you throw away at the start. Don't worry about litter. Many large races collect these throw-aways and donate them to shelters. Alternatively, cut a hole in a large garbage bag and wear it until a minute or so before the race. Make sure that the garbage bag does not end up on the racecourse; it could cause runners behind you to slip or fall. One other tip. When racing in the high 20s to mid 40s, you might want to consider wearing light gloves and a hat since most of your body heat escapes from your extremities.

Dear Coach:
I try to ride my bike as a recovery effort after a long run. However, I find that it is difficult to hit my target heart rate of 145, which is my seventy-five percent effort when running. I am usually worn out by the time I get to 140. What is going on?
Susan

Dear Susan:
This may sound weird but humans apparently have a higher maximum heart rate when running than when biking or swimming. Don't worry about it but simply just adjust your target rate down by ten to twelve beats when biking. I verified this anomaly this summer when participating in a Masters Swimming program. I wore my heart monitor in the pool and found that I was absolutely gassed and exhausted when my heart rate reached the low 140s. When running, a heart rate in the low 140s is a pretty comfortable pace but in the pool, I was at my anaerobic threshold. I subsequently got on an exercise bike at my gym and had a similar experience. Years ago I had done a spinning class and could not believe how hard I was working at heart rates that I would associate with a conversational running effort. However, once you adjust your heart rate for the bike or the pool, then you should be able to control how hard you want to work that day.

Kirt West is a private coach who works with motivated adult runners. Questions about running can be sent to him at Kirt West.