In less than two weeks I take on the 6 inch trail ultra marathon ( http://www.6inchtrailmarathon.com/ ) for the 11th time and will aim to try and improve my number of sub4 finishes from 8 to 9. Please note on both occasions I failed to go ‘sub 4’ I got lost but with any trail ultra that is a risk you take, although I seem to suffer more than most?
The last couple of months I have been building to this event and have been gradually increasing the time on legs but neglecting speed work and this has come back to bite me in both my last 10k races. Early November I ran a 37:36 at the John Gilmour track 10k and last Sunday I went slower at the Fremantle 10k, 37:56. The first time , on the track , was excusable as it was the last race I needed to win the WAMC age group 55-55 category but the time did sting. I was determined to go better and the Fremantle 10k gave me that opportunity. As with the previous 10k I started well enough but was unable to hold the pace and had to work very hard to keep sub 38 minutes , saved by a last minute sprint. A 15 second plus difference from kilometre 1 to kilometre’s 7-9 is not ideal pacing, you should be looking to hold the same pace throughout with maybe a faster last kilometre to account for the ‘kick’ finish. In my defence I was going slow enough that a ‘kick’ finish was achieved , albeit a very small ‘baby kick’?
Every race teaches you something and the last two have taught me I need to add pace to at least two of my weekly runs. I’m planning a Mona Fartlek at least once a week and then maybe a 10k tempo/threshold to try and bring my 10k time back under 36 minutes (as a minimum) next year. Of course this will have to wait as I have the trail ultra in a few weeks and then the Australia Day Ultra in January ( http://australiadayultra.com/ ) before the Delirious ( http://deliriouswest200miler.com.au/ ) in February, all ultra’s. !
Not a pretty sight?
I’ve written a few posts over the years on the 6 inch..probably worth a recap…
There’s more, just type in ‘6 inch’ in the search bar and you’ll find many, many amusing posts on this race and that’s the point of the 6 inch. It comes at the end of year, a few days before Christmas , where the finishing time is not important (as long as it’s under 4 hours). It’s more about the boys having a night away from our families and just being boys again, albeit for one night only. The experience of driving down Saturday , staying over Saturday night and watching ‘Run Fat Boy Run’ (an absolute classic film which all runners need to watch!) , running with some great friends on the Sunday morning and then a final get together to recount stories from the day, great times. It really is a special event and one all trail runners need to run sometime in their career.
A running classic?
So have I done enough over the last few months to guarantee a sub 4 finish ? I’d say at the moment I’m 50-50, conditions will dictate the final finish time I feel. Perfect conditions I got a chance, too hot and it’ll be a closer run thing. Either way I have a date with an esky at the finish so if I finish ahead of you I’d be careful where you choose your post race drink. It’s another great 6 inch tradition apparently. I’m excited about my 11th time taking on the 6 inch and hope to continue the tradition for many years to come, finishing sub 4 may not be on the cards for many more years but either way I know my old mate Mr.Esky will always be there to greet me at the end and that’s enough to keep me coming back for more. (and watching Run Fat Boy Run with the boys, again you all need to watch that film!)
Is it a case of too little too late?
Gotta love the heat…love my esky time at the end of the 6 inch !!
One of the many benefits of being a paid-up Strava member ( http://www.strava.com ) is you get more additional information and data on your historical training . For the $90 AUS you pay a year for the privilege the resulting extra information is priceless. The run of the mill daily totals are free to everyone who uses Strava and all historical data is saved to your account. With premuim you get the option to view your training in increments for the last months, three months, six months, a year or two years. This information is very useful and you can see where you are in relation to previous peaks and troughs.
As you can see from the image below I have been gradually building up my training from nothing at the beginning of October to my first full week in many months this week. Bu where does that leave me in relation to my fitness over the last 2 years ? If you want to follow me on Strava feel free to use the link below:-
Improve each week, just keep adding distance and eventually the magic happens?
With Strava all the data is there as I haven’t missed saving a run to Strava for many years. I did try and run without a GPS watch, deliberately , a few months ago but it was a disaster. I’m a Strava addict and that’s just the way it is. I started running before GPS devices and tracking software but , in this case, consider technology to be a good thing and now cannot run without a GPS watch welded to my wrist. Remember if it’s not on Strava did it happen ? There are other training software packages of course and Training Peaks is probably the nearest thing to Strava. Truth be told it’s probably a better option for the ‘true athelete‘ because I’ve heard the data analysis is better but Strava is more like the facebook of the running world, and as I’m ‘virtually’ very sociable it’ll always be Strava.
The image below sums up everything I have talked about in the preceding paragraphs. In 2018 I was running well and coming off the back of a great couple of years , 2016-17, where I had hit quite a few running goals. These included a 16:40 5k, 34:18 10k and even a 2:41:44 marathon , three years after a similar time. 2018 was going to be a similar story and I even harboured , secretly, thoughts of maybe one more sub 2:40 marathon assault. Unfortunately all these plans came crashing down during a 3k steeplechase race at the Australian Masters in April. I had been fighting plantar fasciitis for a few months previous to the Australian Masters and , with hindsight, racing a 5k, 10k, 3k steeplechase (in racing spikes for the first time EVER!) and 10k cross county on consecutive days was probably not a good idea. That was 2018 written off and it was a long period of slow grass/trail running that dragged my fitness down to around 80 . I then tried, and failed , to get ready for the Perth City to Surf marathon (August) and the Rottnest Marathon (October) before finding salvation in the Elliptigo, combining commuting and training, for a high score of nearly 180 just before the 6 inch ultra.
This was shown to be true as I aced my 10th 6 Inch trail ultra-marathon with a 6th place finish and ran a new veterans record (over 50) , beating my previous time the year before , albeit I had got lost that year which for me is usual at this event ? I was then ready for the Australian Day Ultra in January and felt I was a good chance to try and beat my 7hour 47minute time for the 100k I had ran the year before. My confidence was boosted by my fitness score for January 2018 sitting on 160, while I was 180 just after the 6 inch a year later, maths was on my side?
Unfortunately (I seem to be using that word a lot on this post?) I picked up man-flu a week before the ADU 100K ( http://australiadayultra.com/ If you are in WA for January you need to run this event. Probably the fastest and flattest 100k on the planet?) As you can see from the graphic below man-flu hit me hard (Only a man understand that statement!) and in a few months I had lost a serious amount of Strava fitness points. Again I threw myself on the Elliptigo and managed to have a pretty good early racing season posting some OK times but nothing compared to the previous few years. I was probably a minute slower on the 10k, 3-4 minutes for the half and 5-10 minutes for the two full marathons I ran. Funnily enough, although at the time I didn’t realise, I was still dropping Strava fitness points and the slope moved down to around 140 , from a 160 at the start of the racing season. This was unusual because I wasn’t injured but had just lost my mojo a few times and basically wasn’t put in the training kilometres. As I always say running is an honest sport and if you don’t put in the time training you are not going to get your times, simple really.
Right, where are we now. Sitting around 140 after another trough thanks to catching another bout of man-flu , so much for the flu-jab working ? Ont he bright side I’m hitting some training goals and have rediscovered the long run with the boys this weekend. The 20k went well enough but the bacon and egg sandwich afterwards was a disaster, it seems the restaurant has started to substitute ham instead of bacon. A heinous crime which will result with me and the boys boycotting said restaurant until they change back to the good old fashioned bacon and egg combo.! I even backed it up with a 15k Sunday for a three figure running week for the first time since August. So to sum up, you need Strava and you need to pay the for the premium package to get your hands on all that data presented in such a way to aid your training.
The peaks and troughs of the last 2 years of training.
Of course the real test will come in December this year when I take on the 6 inch ultra trail marathon for the 11th time (in a row !) ( http://www.6inchtrailmarathon.com/ ) . I’ll be trying for a record 9th sub 4 hour finish but it will certainly depend on conditions. Probably need a tailwind all the way and freezing conditions, in a Perth summer this is unheard off! Also working against me is the last few years have been ran in great conditions so we’re due a hot one, we’ll see, whatever happens there will be many stories coming out of the day and that’s more important than the time for this race, really. I’ve written at least three posts on this race so if you have more time and want a good laugh I suggest you use the SEARCH option on the site and type in ‘6 inch’, you won’t be disappointed.
Some pre-race banter..
Of course one person not returning to the 6 inch this year is Mike Kowal who ran a shocker last year and blames the Escalator ( a hill of biblical proportions you run up and then stagger down!) at 38k for destroying his legs and making the last 10k very painful. Personally I feel the writing was on the wall last year when this photo was taken and he refused to put on his finishers t-shirt, it was a sign it seems !! One person who will be there is Barts (to my right in the photo below) who has ran the course one more time than Jon (for new readers (?) the runner to my far left in the photo) , this is discussed every time the race is brought up, much to Bart’s delight. Bart’s also has a faster finish time and Jon was forced to add a ‘average time’ column to the 6 inch spreadsheet so he was faster than Bart’s. As you can imagine this caused much hilarity within the running bunch and around this time of year it is a source of constant amusement to all. Unfortunately (there’s that word again?) for Bart’s Jon is in good form and will be aiming to take his time in December. It would be a pity if that happened because I’ll miss the banter this subject has generated over the years, nearly as much as the topic of who is the tallest, Bart’s or Jon; maybe Jon should use average height?
6 Inch Finishers shirts all round bar Mike, a rookie error !
For the first time since I started this blog I didn’t write a post for a calendar month. October 2019 was probably a low point in my running career highlighting in a 37:37 10k at the John Gilmour track last Friday evening. With Strava there’s no hiding from the truth and, looking back, I’d ran the John Gilmour 10k twice previously. The first time was in 2015, two weeks after the Rottnest marathon, but I still ran a respectable 35:34 minutes, the second time , 2017, I managed to snare a podium finish with a third place 36:01 minutes. On this occasion I was trying to break 35 minutes but couldn’t hold it together for the final 5k. On Friday I was aiming for around the 37 minute mark and eventually stumbled home in 37:37. To add insult to injury Steve ‘Twinkle Toes‘ McKean ran past me on the last bend, a perfect end to a perfect night , not !
As you can see from the splits below I managed to hang on for first 5k but then started a downward spiral to half marathon pace, which is fine in a half marathon but not in a 10k. On the bright side I faired a tad better than Jon ‘the Kingsley bullet” Pendse who blew a head gasket with three kilometres to go and crawled home at nearly 5min/k pace. That being said he had ran , and won , a 50k race five days earlier and a won a marathon a few weeks before that. It goes to prove eventually the piper comes calling and ,when he does, sometimes the price you pay is painful. !
As I crawled off the track I reminded myself that I have said many times a 10k is one of the hardest races as , in my opinion, you normally go out at 5k pace and feel great for 5k, the fly in your ointment of course is theres still 5k to go when you find you have am empty tank. Trust me people 5k , with am empty tank, takes an eternity ! In a 5k the worst case scenario you’d only have a few kilometres to run on empty. In a half and a marathon you’re normally more reserved as you respect the distance but for some reason the 10k doesn’t have that fear factor until you’re 5k in and prying for a quick and painless death.
Not a pretty sight?
Mentally this race came a bit early after my man-flu a few months ago. After blood tests, urine tests and even a stress echocardiogram , I wasn’t ready for a 10k track race but needed one more race finish to complete my 7 nominated races for the West Australian Marathon Club age group award. Rather than risk waiting any longer the track seemed the ideal time to complete my racing year. I knew I was in pretty poor form with no speed work for months but decided if I could just complete in 36-37 minutes it would be job done. The first few kilometres tucked in behind Jon were painless enough but once Jon stepped up I was content to cruise for as long as possible. My good friend Luke Munro ran past me around 4k and he was aiming for the same time as me so I tried to hang on but he eventually left me. After that it was round and round in circles in every increasing times , 25 times for a 10k . Many times I contemplated stopping but with each lap the end was nearing and I was content looking at the bigger picture, the age group win.
One of the benefits of track racing, I use the word benefit loosely, is you get lapped by the leaders and realise how fast they really are travelling as they go past you like you’re standing still. The winner on the night, Gerry Hill, ran 31 minutes so lapped me at least 4 times, just what you need when you’re struggling of course. Its amazing how quickly your Mr.Hill runs as he cruises past around 3:05min/k pace.
Right, so what’s behind my slide down the running pecking order in sunny Perth. One thing really, and one thing only, time on feet, or lack off. I just haven’t been running as much as I use to. Of course there have been a number of reasons for my decline in distance, namely moving house three times in the last 2 years, two bad cases of man-flu, two bad injuries and a general feeling of fatigue culminating in more time thinking about running than actually running ! I’ve mentioned all of these a number of times but if you need solid proof then our old friend Strava has the stats. (You are on Strava? … http://www.strava.com ) As you can see from the graphic below I had a good block of training leading up to the City to Surf marathon (end of August) but was then undone by man-flu which put me on a downward spiral for a few months. I managed to start training again middle of September but this has been sporadic at best and my weekend training has been non-existent. On the bright side I have been exercising more week by week and this has been helped by my time on the Giant Prelude bike commuting to work. I must admit to enjoying being cocooned in lycra on my morning and afternoon rides but justify this as cross training (and cross dressing!) and, as such , acceptable. It starts to become a problem if you find yourself clip-clopping around a cafe, dressed in sweaty lycra , ordering skinny, frothy frappacino’s !
A downward spiral of effort and distance.
The graphic below from Strava shows how each week I’m improving , albeit slowly , but it also highlights my lack of activities on the weekend which I need to address quickly. The numbers are certainly nothing like the 140-160k a week I use to regularly knock out in 2016-2017 and this explains my performance , add in a few extra years and kilo’s and everything becomes clear. The secret to running is consistency and as you can see, lately, it just hasn’t been there enough. So what’s the way forward. It’s three fold really, First I need to ramp up the kilometres to at least 100k a week , week in week out , for a 10 week block. Next lose at least 4-5kgs of weight. (don’t mention this to no1 Wife , she’s not a fan of my ‘prison of war on hunger strike‘ look?) , finally add some speed work on a weekly basis. There is a place for the Maffetone and Fitzgerald techniques advocating distance over all else but eventually you need to add the cream to the cake and add pace. This is another reason I put myself through the grinder last Friday, I needed to feel the pain that only a 10k race gives you.
Slow build, adding distance and time each week.
Is running that simple, distance, weight and pace; well really, yes it is. I’m sorry if all of the coaches out there suddenly realise I’ve summed up the sport in less than one sentence but their job is more motivational and keeping runners to a plan, the secret is no secret really. If you want to look at this in practive you need to look no further than my good friend Jon Pendse. Jon, this year , has been nothing short of a revelation. Running Australia record times for the 12 hour, winning marathons and ultras weeks apart, smashing his 5k park run PB weekly and still hitting 160k a week totals, week in , week out. Of course the distraction of a Wife has been jettisoned with his first divorce and this has turbo-charged his training. Maybe I should ‘ single life‘ as another secret to improving your running; albeit a costly price to pay as you get to my age ! Another big reason Jon puts his improvement down to is weight loss. The old Jon, or Mr.Squishy as his Son called him, was always carrying a bit of extra padding around the mid-rift, this has been eradicated as he now looks like a jockey with an eating disorder . I’ve mentioned this before but Jon really is living the dream at the moment and he puts a large part of this down to his diet, which surprising avoids too many carbs. I’m not going to get into the diet thing in this post but I will say Kenyans eat carbs and a lot of carbs, that is all.
The old Jon would eat anything, including medals !! The new Jon, not so much.
I suppose ‘back on the horse’ is a strange title for a running post. Needless to say I don’t own a (whole) horse although I do own 2.5% of a race horse, it’s a long story! Anyhow the point of this post is I’ve just about recovered from man-flu after nearly a month. I know the women reading this will roll their eyes and snigger at that statement but you really don’t understand how dangerous man-flu is !
My last couple of posts have been about my illness and recovery, albeit probably premature, and as Strava shows below ( you all have Strava right http://www.strava.com) I have been quiet of late. I was still contemplating the Perth Running Festival ( https://perthrunningfestival.com.au ) next weekend but the run last Friday was a reality check which ended up with me sitting on a park bench at 12k into a 16k run feeling very sorry for myself. This was the kick in the balls I needed to take another week off and just get better. As of writing this I’m hoping I’m now better although I have strained my side throwing the ball for the dogs ! You can tell when you’re getting old when you get injured walking the dogs, joy ?
No much training going on.
Of course another thing to do when you can’t run is enter events due to the FOMO effect. (Fear of missing out, every runners nightmare!) True to form I have entered a 100k race in the NSW Blue Mountains next May, when you’d be mad not to surely? ( https://www.ultratrailaustralia.com.au ) The Ultra Trail World Tour hits the Blue Mountains in May and it looks amazing. I have friends who rave about it so need to tick this one of my ‘races to do’ list. Add in the 6 inch Ultra in December, the Australia Day Ultra (100k) in January and the Delirious West (200 miles!) in February and the start off next year looks busy before we get into the three marathons I’ve penciled in in June, August and October. Also need to put that 12 hour Light Horse race, in April, to bed next year after I dnf’d this year. Sprinkle in a few half marathons and 10k races for the WAMC Club Championship and it’s going to be a busy 2020.
Only a few 100k places left for the 2020 Ultra Trail World Series., if you want to join me.
A quick post this time as I’m just getting back into the swing of things. I also need a shout-out to the boys in Berlin racing the full this Sunday. The T-train, Mark C. , Dean and Mike K. are representing the BK running crew and I’m sure will do us proud. Mike K. is running for fun after an injury interrupted training program while Tone and Mark are gunning for PB’s . Expect the T-Train to set Berlin alight and finish high up the his age category. If all goes well he could knocking on the sub 2:40 door. Mark C. has trained the house down thanks to Matt Fitzgerald ( http://8020endurance.com ) and one of his ‘magic training programs‘ . Mark is gunning for another 2:48 marathon time or quicker, this time of a certified course .. Dean will either run a great sub 2:40 or blow up spectacularly, there’s no middle ground with that guy ! I’m hoping it’s another sub 2:40. Phil was meant to be joining them but got struck down by the dreaded man-flu this week and had to pull the pin. I feel your pain brother, I feel your pain !!
Today was another day of not running and yet again I had good intentions but got side tracked. Ended up walking the dogs to the local shops after spending the afternoon at the local pool with my eldest daughter. The morning was a write off after a long lay in, leaving my bed around 10am!, and then walking the dogs as I knew I was out with no1 daughter to the pool in the afternoon. Late afternoon was spent skateboarding with my youngest daughter (no3) and then onto the laptop for some work that needed looking at before Monday. All in all a busy day and I now type this post while waiting for my current Wife (no1) to cook me scrambled eggs on toast. Once this is taken care of it’ll be too late for a run and, voila, another day with no running .
That last paragraph was Saturday and I managed to repeat the process for Sunday. Today was about walking the dogs again, twice, dropping no2 Daughter into Perth, sneaking in work for a couple of hours and then returning to Perth to pick up no2 daughter. A quick trip to Yelo for a coffee and muffin and the day is gone. It’s amazing how the day can disappear. I’m sure I’ve written posts on making time for running in-between life’s demands but I seem to have lost the knack lately.
Best coffee in Perth.
In my defence I am still recovering from Man-flu, which as every man knows it potentially life threatening, so I shouldn’t be too hard on myself surely? Could I have got up early and ran, definitely, did I, no. This ,it seems , is the problem. For that last few years I have always been an early riser and have seen the sunrise on hundreds of occasions and each time was as enjoyable as the last but for some reason this year I just haven’t had the motivation. There must have been two or three posts on losing my mojo this year alone and, even now, I’m struggling. I’m partly putting this down to man-flu as I was so keen to kick-on after the City to Surf and run a quicker time at the Perth Running Festival (PRF) ( https://perthrunningfestival.com.au ) As this is now not going to happen I’m considering binning the PRF completely and concentrating on the 6 inch trail ultra in December. A lot will depend on how I go this week. If I can run 100k for the week, and not feel too fatigued, Perth Running Festival could be on, if not I’m happy enough to concentrate on the 6 inch.
Is two sub3 marathons enough for 2019? Probably not, I do need to sneak in another one but timing is everything and there’s not too much around early November if I miss the PRF. I found a marathon over in NSW which fits the bill on the 17th November ( https://www.jervisbaymarathon.com/athletes/event-info/ ) but its a fair way to travel ?
On a different note my mate Zac sent me this image, see below, yesterday. It seems me and my mate Geoffa made the top 10 Melbourne Marathons in 2010. We were both representing Western Australia in the National Marathon Championships. What this really meant is no one else wanted to go and we were going anyway so it was money towards flights and free accomodation with the other runners, and the invited Kenyans. It also meant getting changed in the MCG with the elite runners and starting at the front of the 7000+ field. As you can see in the photo below for a few hundred metres I was in the lead and consider my early pacing , albeit for 100 metres, pivotal to Japhet Kipkorir breaking the course record. Unfortunately at the finish line I was nowhere near Japhet as I had sacrificed my race for his record, or something like that. I have raced Melbourne four times and PB’d every time so if you are ever in Australia around early October I highly recommend it. ( http://melbournemarathon.com.au/events/ )
Starting at the front helps and one year I did make a big effort to try and get to the 1k marker in the lead. I think I got to around 800m’s before realising I had left the field way behind me and all of a sudden I was the one idiot runner you sometimes see at the start of marathons. I could see the cameraman on the BMW bike pointing the camera right at me and I wondered what the controller was screaming at him at that point in time? Probably ‘ignore the bald guy with a beard at the front’ !! Lesson learned, I slowed and let the lead pack run past and sneaked back into the pack, my tail between my legs. We still joke about Geoffa’s what skins and how they embarrassed a state , needless to say I don’t think white skins are available in 2019, luckily !
Melbourne Marathon 10-10-10 .. a great day with my mate Geoffa embarrassing a state in his white skins.!
Training wise I’m glad to say that finally I did go for a run. (Monday) Albeit not quite 10k , I managed 9.3k and finished in a reasonable state. 5:13min/k average is the best I’ve managed for a few weeks so I’ll take the positive from the run but nowhere need the 4:10min/k average I need for 42.2k in less than three weeks. The Perth Running Festival will be a challenge and I’m putting my sub3 streak on the line. On the bight side the T-train is driving the bus so it will finish sub 3 guaranteed , just need to make sure I’m still on it ! Talking of bus driving perhaps the worse ‘bus driver’ is certainly Jon Pendse. He had arranged to take Jeff and Big Paul to a sub 1:30 half marathon many years ago and sped off at sub 3:45min/k pace. All bus occupants were jettisoned before it even left the car park, epic bus fail ! Last year there was a similar story for the sub3 bus at the Perth Marathon. I had positioned myself about 300m’s from the finish (I was injured) and when the sub3 bus came into view , they were dawdling with very little time to make the final few hundred metres. I made it known in no uncertain times they needed to get a wiggle on and they all looked shocked as they thought it was in the bag. Not so it seems and Mike just made it under the 3 hour mark, while the back of the bus missed out and Jon also miscalculated, missing out by a few seconds. In Jon’s defence I think he has ran 3hours and xx seconds at least 8 times over his career, it’s a talent apparently?
Bit of a mixed bag today, I’m running albeit very slowly and the Perth Running Festival is coming. This will be an interesting few weeks but that’s the point isn’t it, you play with the cards you are dealt and hope you can bluff your way to a win, what could possibly go wrong ?
So close to winning the Melbourne Marathon, checking my gu’s cost me the lead ! Melbourne 2011.
After the Perth City to Surf Marathon I was itching to get back on horse and start to train for the goal race of the year, the Perth Running Festival. ( https://perthrunningfestival.com.au ) . I had also entered a ‘last man standing‘ race two weeks after the City to Surf as a bit of fun and an enforced long run. This race was another brainchild of Shaun Keasler . ( https://ultraserieswa.com.au )
A 6.7k loop with runners having 1 hour to complete the 200m vert course. Runners continue until the last person standing who then needs to again complete a lap on their own within cutoff to be a finisher. Everyone else is a DNF.
Anyhow to cut a long story short, which is unlike me of course , I got sick four days after the City to Surf and ended up bedridden for a few days and taken three days off work, dosed up on antibiotics the size of small children, I wasn’t sure which end to take them ? Anyhow to add to my woes I had a business trip to sunny Malaysia which is always hot and humid as hell. (I am only assuming hell is hot and humid , never been there myself, although I did spend some time in Aberdeen , which although not hot or humid is probably what I envisage hell to look like. Please never mention this to my Aberdeen born current Wife…) I digress….
In Malaysia you’re never too far from dense jungle, with monkeys thrown in for good measure !
So off to Malaysia I go and end up in Johor, just over the border from Singapore. When I say just over the border I mean just that, you could probably skim a pebble between the two countries. Feeling a bit better I arranged to meet my work colleague , Hamid, after work and pound the pavements for 10k, at a leisurely pace. I was hoping the humidity would act like a sauna and clear my chesty cough, who was I kidding ?
Look a lot better than I feel in this photo, trust me !
I did eventually manage 10k after a long rest break at 7k. The last couple of kilometres was not pretty and I was certainly holding Hamid back. Truth be told it was probably pay back as last year, when I visited Johor, Hamid took me on a hilly 10k loop and the tore tendons in his ankle that required surgery and many months off running. Please note just before he injured himself I did urge caution.
After leaving Hamid to continue I staggered , probably worse than staggered if such a word exists, to my hotel room and collapsed into the shower. The old adage about running if you have a head cold is ok, but anything below the neck is is advisable to rest, rings true. I was goosed.
Felt better after my second run, so decided to sweat all over the Security Guard.
Of course the next day I was back on the pavement but this time alone and only for 8k. This allowed me a marginally better finish and I didn’t feel like I was about to meet my maker , as per the previous night. That folks is it for the last two weeks, 18k . A 9k a week average is not going to get me the time I need for the PRF (Perth Running Festival) so it’s a case of damage limitation unfortunately. This is a pity as I was targeting the PRF for one final tilt at a sub 2hr 50min marathon. (I am 52 you know!) Looks like its going to have wait until next year now ? So instead of a fast time I’ll be targeting sub 3 number 33 and continuing my sub3 streak, taking it to 30. Luckily for me I know the sub3 bus-driver very well, its my old mate the T-train who will be one week out from running the Berlin marathon , where I’m sure he’ll come close to, or maybe just sneak under , 2hrs 40 minutes.
The pavements can be challenging.
So the point of this post is to reiterate that if you have a head cold it’s fine to run, probably not race, but run. Anything below the neck and it’s probably best to rest. This article by Jeff Gaudette from www.runnersconnect.net sums it up nicely. https://runnersconnect.net
Are you Putting Your Body in Danger by Running While Sick?
Sneezing, coughing, congestion, and achy muscles. No, you did not stumble onto a Nyquil commercial. Unfortunately, hard training increases your susceptibility to getting sick, especially if you have children at home.
When you are in the middle of a big training segment, it’s important to know what to do when those symptoms do arise, and you are faced with the question of whether to run or not. To make the decision easy, this article will give you a clear idea of what to run through, and when to rest up.
The most important thing to remember about running when sick is that you should always err on the side of caution if given the choice.
You are not going to ruin your fitness by pushing your workout back a day, or even by taking a few days completely off from running. Yes, runners are obsessive creatures, but two or three days off will not negatively impact your fitness. We looked into this in great detail for our post on How Long Does it Take to Lose your Running Fitness post. Be smart and be patient, and your body will thank you in the long run, pun intended 🙂
Running when Congested
If your symptoms are congestion related – runny nose, chest congestion or coughing – you are usually safe to run.
In fact, an easy run, followed by a nice hot shower may help clear your congestion, and give you a few hours of feeling back to normal.
How to adjust your training
Reduce the speed or intensity of your workouts, or ideally, replace a hard run with an easy day. Being congested and stuffy will make it harder to perform to breathe in and out of your nose, which will limit your ability to run your best.
Instead of setting yourself up for disappointment, have the courage to move your workout backwards. In the words of 2014 US Marathon Champion, Esther Erb, “it takes more confidence to run slowly than it does to run fast.”
If you still plan to workout, start your intervals or tempo run 10-15 seconds per mile slower than you initially intended. If you feel good as the workout progresses, pick up the pace and finish strong. If the workout is harder than expected, keep the paces as you adjusted, and perform the best you can on the day.
Remember, your goal workout paces are merely an estimation of the effort it will take to run that time given your current fitness. So, if you’re congested, you’ll still benefit from the workout, even if it is slightly slower based on conditions.
Running with the Flu
If you have flu like symptoms, especially achy muscles or a fever, you should not run. Running with a fever is not only dangerous, but will significantly increase the time it will take you to get back to 100%.
A fever, by definition, is a rise in the body’s internal temperature in response to bacterial or viral infections. Running also increases your internal temperature, which will make your fever symptoms even worse and could result in dangerous and long-term health consequences.
Likewise, running compromises the immune system, particularly in the first 20 hours after strenuous exercise. Therefore, your body will be more susceptible to the bacteria and viruses already making you unwell, which increases the likelihood of your symptoms taking a turn for the worse.
Furthermore, running siphons away critical energy, nutrients, and resources that could be used to help fight the virus, thereby lengthening the amount of time it takes you to return to full health.
How to adjust your training
You should not run if you have the flu or a fever. Take as many days as you need to feel back to normal with your everyday activities. Remember, it takes at least 10 days to lose significant running fitness, so don’t be worried that a few days off to get healthy will ruin your training.
You should start running again the day after you are able to return to normal day-to-day activities. For example, if you first get sick on Monday, and start feeling normal on Thursday, you should begin running again on Friday. Here is a more detailed look at how you can return to training after getting sick.
Do not try to “make up” missed training in the few days after you return to to running. Your immune system likely still fragile, and your body probably isn’t ready for maximum effort. Spend the first two days running easy mileage with a few strides at the end to snap the legs back into gear. After 2-3 days of easy running, you can attempt a workout.
Be Patient when Sick
No one wants to get sick and lose training time. However, by listening to your body, and being patient in your approach, you can avoid the flu setting you back for weeks instead of days. You will be back to normal training before you know it. Likewise, setting realistic expectations when suffering from a cold or other illness will enable you to adapt and keep your training progressing smoothly.
This weekend was the 45th City To Surf race and the eleventh running of the marathon for this iconic Perth event. I’ve been lucky enough to run nine of the ten marathons, missing out last year due to plantar fasciitis, a runners worst nightmare. This year I set my expectations a tad lower than usual as I was using the race as another indicator for the Perth Running Festival Marathon in October. Together with the Rottnest Marathon, earlier in the year, the goal was to run a comfortable and controlled sub 3 marathon saving something in the tank for later in the season.
Conditions at the start were perfect, around 10 degrees with no wind. This made for a fast start as the first three kilometres are slightly down hill. Normally I don’t recommend banking time but in this case , when the opportunity is this good, you just need to go for it. Running with the T-train and a turbo charged Jon we were soon rattling along at half marathon pace. Now hurtling along at half marathon pace in a half marathon is a good thing, in a marathon , not so much. My plan was to stick with the boys until half way and then back off and cruise home for a sub 3 finish. Going through 10k in less than forty minutes I decided discretion was the better part of valour and let the lads disappear into the distance , while I dropped a few gears and set the auto-pilot to 4.10min/k pace, far more civilised.
If you have never run the Perth City to Surf marathon you really are missing out on a treat. It must be up there with the best marathons in the world , with views to die for. The start is 6am , so its still dark , as you wind your way through the deserted CBD before moving along the Swann River on Riverside Drive and then passing the iconic Swan Brewery , as the sun rises, into Nedlands, one of the most affluent suburbs in Perth. I enjoy the Nedlands part of the course as you move from one street lined with mega-mansions to another, and then through pristine parks , before cruising through the deserted University of WA grounds and starting your 10k of hills in Kings Park.
Lovekin Drive, part of the City to Surf.
Kings Park is another iconic symbol of Perth and running through it, while it showcases its natural beauty, is an honour , to do it as part of a marathon is a privilege. Of course there are hills but they are also part of the challenge and a reminder that a marathon is both a mental and physical test. This part is very much physical, the mental bit comes later of course as you move into the post 32k ‘death zone’.
Exploding out of Kings Park you are then rewarded with 3-4 kilometres of undulating, downhill section as you move through Subiaco, another one of Perth’s best suburbs. This really is the marathon that keeps on giving. Finally you run past Bold Park and over Oceanic Drive to be faced with City Beach, in my view the best beach in Perth. The marathon is more a guided tour of all the best Perth has to offer, with a medal at the end, priceless.
City beach, so posh the showers are heated.
So back to the race. I left off earlier with me dropping down through the gears, leaving the T-train running towards a top 5 finish and a 5 minute PB to finish in 2:45. Jon was five minutes behind him just missing out on a sub 2:50 finish, 8th I think overall. Personally I had targeted a 2:55 finish, a 2 minute improvement on my 2:57 at Rottnest in June this year. Truth be told it all went to plan and, after banking time and going through 15k with a 4min/k average , I allowed myself to slow to a 4:09min/k average pace and crossed the line in 2:55:27, mission accomplished. How easy was it typing that, very easy, how easy was the marathon , not so easy. If you race a marathon it’s never easy, its not meant to be.
A marathon needs to be broken down into manageable chunks. The first 10k should be where you set out your stall, so to speak. Start depending on the terrain, for example the City to Surf is slightly downhill for the first three kilometres and normally very cold, this is perfect to bank a few minutes to be used later in the race. Faced with a hilly start you need to do the opposite and start slower than marathon pace to save energy for later in the day. A marathon is all about choosing your battles. The next 10k or so , too halfway, is about locking in marathon pace and preparing for what I consider the hardest part of any marathon, the 10k between halfway and 32k.
From halfway to 32k is when it’s going to hurt. You’ve ran a half already and you’re now probably maintaining a pace at a distance that you rarely, if at at all, run in training. Your long runs are normally long and slow, more of a time on feet run and your tempos are not normally past 21k. Thus you rarely run over 21k at marathon pace and between 21k and 32k you will start to feel the pain, that is long distance racing. This is where you need to dig deep and just get to the final part of the race, the finish quarter. At 32k , personally, I switch into finish mode.
With less than 10k to go I know I probably hold on and if the first 32k have gone to plan I’ll be there, or there abouts, to my predicted finish time. Mentally I can feel the mind relaxing a bit and the central governor releasing its hold on the body. One of my runnings hero’s David Goggin’s once said that the central governor protects the body by only allowing us to use 40% of what we are capable of. By working on our mental strength we can find another 60% , imagine that , 60% improvement ! Endless possibilities, beats spending $350 on a pair of Nike Vaporflys for a 4% improvement, David Goggins can get you 10 times that by using one of his ‘suck it up pills‘ or eating concrete to harden up, you get the picture. ( https://davidgoggins.com )
So the marathon went to plan really. First 10k felt good and I banked time to be used in the hilly second half. Up to halfway I set auto pilot to just over 4min/k pace and enjoyed the ride. The 10k in Kings Park was challenging , as expected but the following 10k to the finish was easier and although the last few hills beat the hell out of your legs the end is in sight. All in all another great marathon , in perfect conditions with good friends. It doesn’t get any better truth be told and as the photo shows below running with good friends is what its all about.
The usual suspects, enjoying the sunshine and that “I’ve just finished a marathon feeling!’…
Right the point of this post isn’t about my last marathon, my 45th in total, the point is to try to show you that whatever you consider your best really is just 40% of what you can achieve. Spend some time on the David Goggins website, get inspired and learn to loosen the grip the central governor has on your ability. It’ll be a whole lot cheaper than a pair of Nike Vaporflys and ten times as effective. Goggins is also the master of motivating memes and a favourite with me and my friends, it’s worth reading his books just for some of these little gems.
When you’ve as tough as DG even your shirt tears….
2019 has been a mixed bag for me. So far I’ve raced 6 times and done pretty well. Three 10k’s finishing in 36.17, 35.55 and 35.38 ; two half marathons , 1:22 and 1:19 and one full, 2:57. Not times to set the world alight but reasonable enough I suppose to keep me interested. Chuck in my first ever DNF at the Lighthouse 12 hour race and I reckon I’m averaging around the ‘B’ grade for the year; commendable effort but could do better . Add to this me and my mojo parted company earlier in the year and it has taken me nearly three months to find it again. I’m not sure how one loses their mojo but it did happen to me in 2014 and this led to me taking Raf on board to coach me which sparked a running renaissance that lasted until late 2017. ( http://therunningcentre.com.au) I use to say there was only one coach in Perth but this was by no means a slant on the numerous quality coaching opportunities available. In fact lately there’s a new Rooster in the training henhouse, my good mate Tony T-Train Smith ( https://www.tonysmithruncoaching.com ) Tony is probably aiming at the older runner , being one himself, and with his military back ground you can be sure of a quality product. Word on the street is he’s fully booked with a waiting list and countless 5 star reviews , maybe I can join the queue as , of late, his running has been taken to a new level.
So what has Tony done to not only reboot his running but all of his clients. Basically good old fashioned running 101’s. First, distance, this is the foundation onto which you build your running dreams and aspirations. If you take nothing more from this post, or even my blog as a whole, than ‘distance is king‘ then my job is done. I have other rules of course about avoiding injury, adding speed, losing weight but all these are useless without first adding distance. Once you run more you will get quicker, it is that simple people. Of course the act of running more may lead to injuries and this is where the juggling act of adding distance comes into play. It’s here a good coach can advise with advice on training techniques and/or injury avoidance with exercise etc. (It’s a little known fact that injured runners do more prescribed exercises in the waiting room of their running professional than in whole previous week. Also when a runner is given a ‘time not to run’ they instantly half that time as they are better than ‘normal runners’ and then half it again because the Doctor is always conservative. Thus when a Doctor says ‘ 6 weeks of no running’, a runner hears ‘ 2 weeks of no running’….. I digress)
Right back to my mojo. Losing ones mojo is not nice as it makes the thing you love most seem a chore and you find yourself thinking of reasons not to run. Trust me you can always think of multiple reasons not to run but all you need is one reason to run, to get you out the door and , normally, that is enough. The old adage you never judge a run on the first few kilometres. Unfortunately when your mojo is gone the run itself is torture from the start to the finish. When this happens you just got to get your head down and ‘run through it’. For me buying new trainers helps as well as running with friends , especially if you start to find you’re running alone a lot. Friends keep you accountable and also help pass the time. They’re also good for ‘kicking your sorry ass’ if you start to bleat about losing your mojo; thanks guys. Eventually you will come out the other side and , voila, you and your mojo are reunited and all is good with the world.
This time I managed to find my form and mojo by buying new shoes. Initially the new Nike NextX and then some Hoka Cliftons ; which were on sale so why wouldn’t you? These Hoka’s are amazing and give you that Vaporfly feel without the hefty price tag, a poor man’s Nike Vaporflys you can use for everyday training. They are so light but also packed with foam that ‘bounce’ you along on your run and also protect your legs. I can’t recommend these bad boys enough, I am a convert. They also add 2-3 inches to your height, a win-win situation.! I’m tempted to try their Carbon X version which is their version of the Nike NextX but with three pair of Vaporflys in my stable it would just be showing off to buy more , wouldn’t it ? I’ve heard on very good sources the Carbon X is as good as the Next X, not for me to decide on that one unless a Hoka representative is reading this and wants to send me a pair to test, always open to free stuff. (Would any reader, i.e. Mum, please forward this post to someone in Hoka One One world and get me some free shoes please… I’ll mention you on my blog?)
These are just ‘ace’…
Right back to the mojo search. As you can see from Strava extract below ( you do have Strava don’t you ? … ‘in Strava we trust’, ‘if its not on Strava it didn’t happen‘ etc… http://www.strava.com ) I built up nicely after the Rottnest Marathon before being struck down by a blister. This was a rookie error on my part as I could feel my shoe rubbing but waited until the end of the run, 10k later, to investigate. ! If I had just stopped and adjusted my shoe earlier the blister would have disappeared . As it was I had four days off running when I was starting to get the love back. Anyhow after a few painful runs on my healing blister I eventually put together a few good weeks and threw in some double days to add some punch to the training. Now I am deep into my two week taper and finding it hard not to run twice a day, this is where you need to be so close to a marathon, itching to run twice a day and worried about the prospect of losing all that hard earned fitness you have accumulated over the previous few months. Of course you won’t, and can’t, lose fitness in two weeks but marathon runners are fickle things at the best of times and let all sorts of ridiculous thoughts enter their brain when they don’t have running to distract them! Tapering and carboloading are activities which ever runner realises they MUST DO pre-marathon but all question these activities when they are not running as much as they’d like. As I have said before as runners we enjoy running, it is what makes us runners. Knowing we shouldn’t run to allow ourselves the best chance on race day is common sense but it still does not make it any easier to digest, no matter how many times we go through it. Add in the carboloading activity ,pre-marathon, when we are forced to eat more carbohydrates than we think we should , mixed in with our paranoid delusions about getting sick the last few days before the race and you wonder why being married to a marathon runner can certainly put a strain on any marriage. Karen, No1 Wife, treads very careful around her grumpy Husband in the few weeks preceding a marathon., even the kids have learnt its best to give Dad a wide berth, pre-marathon. With just over a week to go I’m not in fully ‘taper grumpy mode‘ yet but it’s coming and the family is preparing to baton down the hatches. I must admit I forgot to tell them I’ve entered a ‘last man standing’ race two weeks after the marathon so will move seamlessly from one two week ‘grumpy runner‘ period straight into a another two week pre-race taper, joy, I can’t wait to tell them the good news ?
Ramping up for the Perth City to Surf Marathon.
This last man standing is a new concept over here in WA and it’s the brain child of Shaun Kaesler and his USWA Series ( http://ultraserieswa.com.au ) , as well as his triple crown of Australian 200 mile running (The Delirious West, Irrational South and Unreasonable East , I think? ) and the Forest Series etc.. you can’t keep up with Shaun at the moment. Birdys backyard is a 6.7k loop with 44 runners all needing to be at the start line on the hour every hour , until there is only one runner left who will need to run the loop one more time to win. Depending on how keen the other runners are this event had the possibility of lasting between 24 and 48 hours. Eventually sleep depravation will choose who wins, in my opinion. Personally I’d like to run over 100k and if I could nudge 100 miles that will be my limit. We’ll see, it’s my first ‘last man standing race’ so anything could happen ? A lot will depend how I pull up after the marathon but this event is more mentally challenging so the legs won’t have to be 100%, well that’s the theory anyway ? If you need to know about extreme running events google https://wheredreamsgotodie.com . Lazarus Lake invented the insane ultra and his Barklay Marathons is just a lesson in masochism ! He also has a last man standing competition and from this Birdys Backyard was born, allegedly. ?
As always I seem to have digressed and a post about finding my mojo, getting free shoes from Hoka One One and general training tips has ended up detailing mad races that you’d be mad to take on , after I have already signed to do just that. We’re a funny bunch runners, just saying.
A runners night out, watching a film about running naturally?
This years marks the fifth year of the Run Nation Film Festival and I highly recommend you pop along to a cinema near you (if possible) and watch it. The website will have all the details ( https://runnationfilmfestival.com/#home-section ) and I’m very excited and looking forward to viewing the film in Perth on August 22nd, luckily enough a few days before the Perth City to Surf Marathon. This film will certainly inspire me as it does every year. The man behind the film, Keith Hong, is a genuine turbo charged, running nice guy and just loves what he does. He puts together stories that make a difference and just make you go ‘wow’, or stories that just inspire you to be a better person and that is just a special gift.
So for all my Perth running buddies I’ll see you on August 22nd at the Luna Cinema, Leederville, 7pm KO, everybody else the dates are on the website. (Looking at the website it looks like the World Tour is Australia and New Zealand at the moment?)
I’m a big believer in a runner having a window of opportunity for personal bests (PB’s) or Personal Record’s (PR) for my American Cousins. The window varies for each runner of course but 7-10 years is about the average when it will be possible for a runner , who trains consistently, to expect to challenge PB’s. After that, unfortunately, Father Time dictates it’s time to readjust your goals. Instead of PB’s it could be a ‘season’s PB‘ or even add a minute or two to your PB time and set that as your goal; that way running become goal orientated instead of PB’s. More important of course is the goal needs to be achievable otherwise your running mojo soon disappears, together with your records. We run because we love running but also because we love testing ourselves to either complete a certain distance or run that distance in a certain time. Very few runners just amble up to the start and then skip along with no thought of time or distance. (We call these people ‘joggers‘ and we shall not concern ourselves with them!)
In the picture above I was just about to break sub 3 hours for the City to Surf Marathon in 2009. This was my 10th marathon and I had been slowly whittling down my finishing time each marathon, each time closer and closer to one of the holy grails of running. Funnily enough in 2009 the full length compression tights were all the rage and I’d convinced myself they gave me a 5 minute advantage. The logic is sound with the tights helping blood circulation and thus allowing the heart to concentrate on other things, this results in a lower heart rate and thus an increased performance window for longer. Sounded good but I could never get over the fact the lead marathon runners at the time, Kenyans, never wore them and so, after a few years, they were consigned to only injury prevention or wearing on long flights before or after racing. I still have a pair , as well as calf socks, and will wear them when I’m feeling particularly fatigued , as an injury preventer. Every runner should have a pair of compression tights in their wardrobe.
As you can imagine 10 years ago, after breaking sub 3 hours for the marathon for the first time, me and my mojo were joined together in the search for my next PB. At that stage of my career I ran PB’s virtually every race from 5k up to ultra’s. It was exciting turning up at the start line knowing you would run faster than you had ever run before and it wasn’t a case of ‘if’ but ‘by how much’. Over the next 6-7 years I managed to continually bring down my times for all distances and, even when I thought I had done with setting records , managed another year or two thanks to Raf and his magic training plans. ( https://therunningcentre.com.au ) Unfortunately injury came a calling in 2017 and 2018 and , although I managed so sneak in a 100k AURA age group record, my times started to slide. No more sub 35 minute 10k’s or sub 2:50 marathons, it was back in the 35 minutes for the 10 and closer to three hours than I’d like in the full. My half times were a minute or two slower than I would target as the first half of a marathon and a sub 1:20 half became a challenge. No worries, I knew age would eventually catch up with me and two bad injuries ,back-to-back, had given Father Time the ammunition he needed, bless him !
So what next ? Funnily enough running slower isn’t a problem. At 52 it’s expected of course but what does become harder is the ability to keep running the same weekly distances. A few years ago I’d be targeting twice a day runs , every day, with a minimum of 130km to 150km a week. I’m a big, big believer in distance over pace so hitting these numbers needed to be relaxing, remember if you see a rose, stop and smell it !! This was possible initially but, this year, even the rose smelling runs have started to test me and 5min/k’s average runs are now , sometimes, a challenge. I remember a few years ago I’d target 4min/k average as the benchmark for all my running and I achieved this more often than not ? Where have those days gone ?
Mojo wise I now struggle to find mine most days but that is not to say it is lost forever. Pre-Rottnest, in June this year, I had one Sunday training run with the boys when I was dropped at 5k and turned around, alone, to stumble back to the car. On the way back I managed to find enough juice to manage 19k for the run but it was a real struggle, again when it should had been a breeze. A week later I ran the Rottnest marathon for the 12th time and finished sub 3 for the seventh time, a new record on Rottnest. What had changed in that week ? Nothing really, a few days tapering and a few days carbo-loading put me in a position to finish strongly but with no explanation how, a week earlier, I had stumbled to a slow and painful 19k training run. Recovering from Rottnest has been as difficult as preparing with numerous runs that have been, at best, forgettable and worst career ending. Looking at my training for the last few months and its nowhere near what I once considered the ‘norm’. To highlight the difference I’ve added my Strava ( You do have Strava right? http://www.strava.com ) history from January 2017 compared to my latest month of training. Chalk and cheese unfortunately, training was so much easier when I was 50 ?
June / July 2019
January 2017. Some serious distance and some serious race results.
Right, to find your mojo the best thing to do is completely reset your goals. Give yourself achievable targets and run for only as long as you’re enjoying yourself. This may take the form of very small loops but anything is better than nothing. Just getting out the door is the first step because , after the first kilometre, you’ll always be surprised how much better you feel, it’s just putting on the trainers and making that effort to open the door and take those first steps. Rarely have I ever finished a run and thought that was a mistake.
Next it’s making yourself accountable and that can take the form of running with friends or employing a coach. Both of these demand you turn up when you say you turn up and also give you the encouragement you need to keep turning up ! (Especially when you’re paying for the attention.) Note this doesn’t work if you’re friends with Mark Lee because he rarely turns up , probably looking for his mojo ? (Only joking tiger ….)
Buy yourself some very expensive race shoes, the Nike NextX is a good example of this. I have mine waiting for me when I eventually find my mojo. ! ?? I wish these shoes were avaialable in 2016 when I ran 2:41:xx twice. I’m positive the Nike shoes could have given me 3-4 minutes minimum which would have allowed me to easily break 2hours 40 minutes for a marathon. No worries, I’m hoping Nike invent the Vaporflys 50% which will make you 50% faster than you would be without them, then even I can break 2 hours ?
Remind yourself why you run, sounds simple but sometimes it’s the simple things that make the biggest difference. Also mix it up a bit. Tomorrow I’ve arranged to run 38k in the hills, on trails. Running on the trails reminds yourself about the pure joy of ‘just running’ , breathing in the scenery and just enjoying the pure pleasure of running, remember , simple things. It is to be noted we are in the middle of a Perth Winter (I say ‘Winter’ in the broadest sense of the word?) but that makes a difference and on a number of occasions I have been beaten back to the couch by the cold (?) , dark nights. Not sure how’d I go if I ever returned to old ‘Blighty? Probably never run again. Running in Summer is so much easier , albeit avoiding the heat in the middle of the day, no one likes being fried alive.
I had 10 days off over Christmas – I was planning on two! I just couldn’t find the energy, but I pulled myself together and decided on January 1 to just run. It was only 5km and lashing with rain but it broke the excuses and my mojo is now back. It’s just getting out the door – give it 10 minutes and tell yourself that if you’re not feeling the love you’ll stop… bet you won’t, though!’ Karen Stanley
‘When it’s cold outside and you’ve had a miserable day it’s so easy to come in and drink a pot of tea and eat a cake. Before I knew it a month had passed with the same excuses and I was getting out of breath in the park with the dog and the kids. So one morning I set my alarm earlier, having laid out my kit the evening before. I got up and just did one mile. Wow, did I feel great that day! I decided to do three short, early runs a week and as time went by home life improved and I felt healthier and happier just for getting out there.’ Michael Bowen
‘I lost my desire to run when I was in the depths of anorexia. Running became a chore and the illness snatched my passion for something that had offered freedom. Now I am progressing in my recovery and finally have the energy to run and ultimately feel the mental benefits.’ Alison MacVicar
‘After pelvic issues in pregnancy and a caesarean section, my running performance was ruined. How much harder it was to run and how much slower I was really got me down. But once I realised that I could work on setting new, post-baby PBs things got much better. Suddenly I had some achievable targets to aim for and now I am finally getting back up to (pre-baby) speed after nearly three years. All I had to do was adjust my expectations.’ Elizabeth Dix
‘A few years ago I had an injury I couldn’t shake. I rested, I did the exercises, I went to a physio, I got orthotic inserts – nothing worked. Two months passed, then three…four…But I never gave in, not because I love running, but because I want to remain in good condition for as long as possible. I’m in my late 40s and I see people my age who sweat while they walk – I don’t want that. I see old people making their way painfully down the street – I don’t want that, either. I see the frailty of my parents, who worked so hard, and had no time to think about core work or glute strength, or the right balance of carbs, protein and fats. I worry for them and I don’t want to be so physically uncertain when I’m their age. Nor do I want to be a burden to others. So my motivation is as basic as it gets. I can’t outrun old age, but when the Grim Reaper finally beckons me with his bony finger I want to be able to bound up to him and say, ‘What is it? Oh, right. That.’My injury cleared up after nine months and I’m still running. In the end I will be caught, of course, but that’s not the point, is it?’ John Carroll, RW chief sub editor
‘After a good 2015-16 training with no major injuries I was sure I would – third time lucky – break the sub-four barrier. I woke up on marathon day with the flu and finished in 4:30. I was gutted and lost my mojo for a couple of months. I decided to give running a rest for a while and re-evaluate my goals, which helped me to recover, then kick on to this year’s training for sub-four attempt number four [at the London Marathon].’ AL Rourke
‘Sometimes I fall out of love with running for a spell. When you spend 40+ hours a week thinking about, talking about, writing about and, of course, doing it, that’s inevitable. In 2013 I had a severe bout of antirunningitis. Injuries and a series of failures to crack a four-hour marathon had bred resentment and I started to see running as a chore. And if I couldn’t improve, what was the point?
My solution was a new regime that challenged body and mind. I put myself in the hands of two CrossFit coaches, who made a valid point about [supposedly] Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity (doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different outcome). I trained for the Berlin Marathon by replacing all my runs with strength and conditioning work; and I found doing something new and so out of my comfort zone stimulated my curiosity and competitive instinct. The weight dropped off, niggles abated, my mojo returned and I went sub-four in Berlin with a whopping 17-minute PB.’ Kerry McCarthy, RW commissioning editor
‘Training through the bad weather of the winter – especially after Christmas in the run-up to London Marathon – is tough. I persuaded friends to run with me; that way you can’t back out of your committed training slot. I also joined some Nike group runs and did some group classes, including spin sessions (indoor) to vary the training. Group training is easier than solo training in the dark winter months!’ Jer O’Mahony, RW VMLM pacer
‘My biggest motivation block? Me! I keep telling myself I can’t, then I get stressed. Running with friends and talking about it helps. I also now set three targets for myself before I run. Number one is to finish the run – doesn’t matter how long, provided it’s under my own steam. Number two is a minimum mileage that’s acceptable to me. And number three is a dream mileage that would be a boost, or represent meeting a challenge.’ Colette Croft
‘Getting injured two weeks before a marathon messed with my motivation because I felt that all the training had achieved nothing. The only way I got back to it was to enter another race, to give me that goal again. I’ve had a few mental hiccups along the way (“What if you get injured again?”), but I always get out of bed if a goal is there.’ Roger Bilsland, RW production manager and RW VMLM pacer
‘After two years in a constant cycle of training for spring, then autumn, marathons I just ran out of desire. I understood what I had to do to get faster – possibly a little too well – and felt confident I could do it, but where in the past that mix would have been like paraffin for my motivational fire I was, for the first time, simply out of the mental energy to take it on. I took a break, did more cycling, enjoyed Sunday afternoons with my family, then focused on a running goal that was about as far from the marathon as I could manage: running a fast mile. The shift of focus restored my mojo and the following year I felt ready – itching, in fact – to return to marathon training. Mentally refreshed, I had my best and most enjoyable training cycle – and I ran that PB.’ Joe Mackie, RW Deputy Editor
‘A seemingly unsolvable injury that dragged on for months threatened to destroy my motivation for good. Each expert I saw reassured me they would have me back running in no time, but to no avail. Coaching kept me going. Being able to impart knowledge, experience and enthusiasm to others made me feel I still had a purpose in the running world, and I gained a lot of enjoyment and pride from seeing others succeed. If you’re not a coach, stay involved in other ways, such as volunteering at events or going along to races to support friends. But don’t force it: if you’re really miserable about not running, forcing yourself to go and, say, provide tea after a training run (when everyone returns full of running joy) can leave you feeling even more wretched. I speak from experience. By the time I was able to run again my whole outlook on running had changed. I still enjoy racing, but it’s now much more about feeling good, enjoying each run for its own merits and being part of the running community.’ Sam Murphy, RW section editor and running coach
‘Pregnancy and postnatal depression stopped my running for nearly a year. I got my mojo back by rereading Chris McDougall’s Born to Run and starting back slowly with no goals, just me and the road.’ Laura Curtis
‘A few years ago, when I was chasing a sub-three marathon PB, there was an eight-month period in which pretty much every run was a training run – by which I mean every run had a specific goal (e.g. long-run distance, speedwork reps etc). I kind of fell out of love with running as a result, as it became a pretty joyless grind. After the marathon, for a couple of months I made a point of running when I felt like it and with no specific focus, and during the runs just enjoyed the sights and sounds of being out in the open.’ Andy Dixon, RW editor
‘Suffering with anxiety can really affect my running. At times anxiety can leave you feeling demotivated, overwhelmed and not knowing where to turn. Finally understanding that even a small run can make the biggest difference to my mental health really changed things for me.’ Helen Woods
‘After moving to a new area I didn’t have the confidence to go out and explore, for fear of getting lost. This, coupled with the fact it was a hilly area and I wasn’t keen on or very good at hill training, meant that I didn’t run for about six months. I really missed it, so eventually I found a local club who took me under their wing. Soon I had a PB at the local half marathon and became a regular at the local Parkrun.’ Jane Shackleton, RW head of marketing and events
‘My competitive attitude killed me with constant use of Strava etc. I got my running mojo back after reading about the ‘hygge’ way of life. It’s a Danish concept about doing what feels good, not competing, not being bothered about anything other than getting outdoors. I even stopped while out running the other day just to take a photo of the view. I felt free, liberated by lack of measurement. Wonderful.’ Isabelle Szczeccinski
‘Fear of failure was my problem. I got over it by telling myself that the only person judging me is me. No one else cares, they’ve got their own worries to deal with.’ Layton Paul Jones
