The last few months I’ve been tagging along on the BTRC (Ben Tay Running Club)  Sunday (pain) train and holding on for dear life most of the time. Myself and Michael are the elder statesman of the group and do our best to hold things back but normally end up failing, so much so Michael went off with Graeme today in protest at the faster pace and ran by themselves, flat and slow , while we destroyed ourselves in the hills. I’ve combined this love of faster long runs with another new addition to my running arsenal , a gym membership. Being the wrong side of fifty I finally gave in and realised strength training was now no longer an option, it was a necessity if I wanted to continue my passion for running, particularly long distance running.  To this end I joined a local gym which also has the Pilates reformer ,exercise machines with self paced training programs on screens to follow.

Unfortunately my new found obsession, reformer Pilates,  has consequences in the form of weight gain as I have also started to enjoy throwing weights around. ( I think that’s a weight lifters term?) Since I joined the gym a few months ago I’ve put on three kilos of muscle , which Mr’s Matthews is very happy about  but I’m beginning to feel the extra mass may be affecting my training. The last few Sunday long runs I’ve noticed my average pace has slowed and my effort seems to have increased.  I’ve justified this by concentrating on my next two events, Herdy’s Backyard ultra in two weeks and Delirious West 200 miler three weeks after that. For both of these events the extra ‘ padding’ won’t be an issue as both events are more mentally challenging , compared to a physical challenge of say a half marathon or marathon.  The only issue is I’m enjoying having a few more kilos of muscle, a look I haven’t seen for many decades  but can I do both and still run a sub three hour marathon later in the year. ?

As well as my Thursday Yelo run where I tend to move through the gears and my Sunday long run with the BTRC crew I have lately been trying to add a Saturday tempo or threshold run, with that elusive sub 3 number 33 in mind later in the year (?)   This Saturday it was meant to be a 10k in less than forty minutes but I was feeling flat from the start so moved the goal posts to five times two kilometres at quicker than four minutes a kilometre, with a minutes standing recovery between each set.  Even this proved too much and I eventually gave up on the third set after stopping a couple of times in the last kilometre.  As you can see from the Strava output below I ended up with a 3:54min/k average for the session.

 

The reason this resonated with me was because a few days ago I managed an achievement in Strava which pointed me back to a run I did in September, 2013 with my good friend Steve ‘twinkle toes’ McKean.   Steve and I battled it out at the Bunbury marathon that year , my only marathon win, I came in a few minutes ahead of Steve.  It was another Sunday long run but in 2013 I was in the form of my life . I ran my marathon PB that year, a 2:41:14 at the Perth City to Surf marathon, a hilly course.  I remember this particular Sunday morning, it was just me and Steve and we both just went for it over the course of the run, we were both in the form of our lives . Jon commented that is we had ran another 10k at four minutes average pace we would have ran a sub 2hour 45 minute marathon, and at the time we could have easily done that.  So how did my long run average pace  in 2013 become a tempo pace in 2025?

So what happened in the twelve years between these runs ? A few bad injuries including a 5cm calf tear in 2017 and a bad case of plantar fasciitis  in 2018 robbed me of my PB pace. In 2019 I came down with a couple of bad doses of man-flu (life threatening !) and then COVID hit.  I kept my top end speed through all of this (albeit no more PB’s of course)  and managed a 1:20:14 half in 2020 but that was it for the shorter distances and from 2021 onwards I concentrated on ultra trail marathons and gave away road racing completely.  Did I move to the dark side (ultra running) too early ? I don’t think so , I had accomplished most of my road running goals and could see I was slowing down. I maybe could have held on for a few more years but post COVID I was after new challenges and trails and ultra marathons gave me that fire in my belly that I was missing running road races. I also loved the Ultra Series WA community set up by Shaun Kaesler and his band of reprobates ( https://www.ultraseries.com.au/ ) but the most important event was the Delirious West 200 miler.  ( https://www.deliriouswest200miler.com.au/ ). This was the main reason for the move to trails and the world of ultra marathons, 200 miles of running heaven with like minded people, running for days not hours and minutes.

So back to the title of this post, ‘Running with faster runners makes you run faster’, running with the Sunday BTRC has reignited my love for running on the road and running fast on the road. Most of the runners on Sunday are chasing far quicker times than I can run these days buts that’s the point , I’m the slower runner of the group,  trying to keep them in my sights. This has made me a faster runner and also made me think about chasing times I thought beyond me.  Hell, I haven’t been on the trials in the Perth hills since I finished the Feral Pig 100 miler in November last year, distracted by my Sunday long runs on the coast. I’ve justified this with Herdy’s backyard ultra,  my next event, being a more mental challenge than physical, so no need for long runs in the hills.  By adding strength training to my running arsenal can I go further in an ultra?

Either way the most important thing is I’m really enjoying my running and I hope I can keep my road running and trail running in parallel, taking on events in both camps and chasing down goals,  be that a sub three marathon or a sub sixty eight hour Delirious West finish. I look forward to running sub four minute kilometres with the BTRC crew as much as running ten to twelve minute kilometres up rock faces in the Perth hills with the Ultra Series runners.   I am a runner for all seasons it seems.

With Delirious West 200 miler coming up in April I will need to hot foot it to the hills sooner rather than later. Time in the hills is normally spent alone, I find its better to run with your thoughts (and Shokz headphones) and at your own pace. I love company but sometimes, especially in the hills,  you don’t really need anything else but your surroundings, there is enough going on around you to make up for the lack of company.  That’s one of my main reasons for running ultras on the trails, you will get some ‘you time’, in the world we live in with social media and a mini-computer in your hand at most times (your iphone) its nice to be totally disconnected, it is cleansing.  (I say totally disconnected albeit I’ll have my trusty iphone in my back pocket with Gaia GPS application  loaded so I can’t get lost.  ( https://www.gaiagps.com/ )  For the next few weeks though it’s all aboard the BTRC Sunday long run train , coastal views and great company with good coffee and banter post run, life really is that simple sometimes.

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Big shout out to fisiocrem , this product is just incredible for tired and aching legs. I use it daily and have noticed a vast improvement in recovery.

Bix hydration is just ace, a product brought to life by Vlad Ixel a professional ultra runner who knows a thing or two about hydration. ( https://www.bixvitamins.com/ )  The best thing about Bix is it tastes good with many different flavours and you never get sick of drinking it, this is a big plus as Maurten and Tailwind (both great products)  can be difficult to digest later in the event.  From the website :-

As an Australian elite multiple trail running champion, with wins in over 40 ultra-marathon races across Asia, recovery from training and races has always been my top priority. 

In searching for a solid recovery and hydration supplement, I recognized that critical vitamins and minerals – both in diversity and quantity – were missing from almost all supplements on the market. I had the feeling that in an effort to maximize their bottom-lines, companies in the hydration space, failed to deliver a product that could meaningfully assist athlete performance. 

In order to address this, I began the development of a hydration product. After two and a half years of development alongside a leading German sports scientist, BIX Recovery, an advanced, high-quality recovery drink was born. 

BIX boosts 12 active ingredients scientifically balanced to replace lost electrolytes and assist in immune function. It’s designed with quality vitamins and minerals, in quantities that work! 

BIX is a recovery solution for everyone, that will get you to the top of your game!

What can I say about HumanTecar,  ( https://athleticus.com.au/ ) it looks great, smells great and is awesome for recovery or even pre-run/workout. Read about the science behind it first and then try the products. The compression bandages are just magical after a long event. Put these on and the next day you are recovered, I have used them on a number of occasions and they never fail to astound me albeit the family poke fun at me as I look like a ‘mummy and smell funny’ !

Fractel ( https://fractel.com.au/ ) have your performance headgear covered. I love the colours and the functionality of these hats, I guarantee there is one model you’ll fall in love with.

Shokz headphones, let you keep in touch with the world around while losing yourself in quality tunes or podcasts. ( https://shokz.com.au/ )

T8 running apparel is the best you can get, second to none. Designed for the ultra humid Hong Kong conditions the owners live in.  It is light and does away with any chaffing worries. T8 is the name given to the highest typhoon warning in Honk Kong,  storms and typhoons with gusts exceeding 180kph, which explains the branding. ( https://t8.run/)

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