Since April I have been struggling with Plantar Fasciitis, what I consider one of the worst injuries due to the fact there is no light at the end of the tunnel, let me explain. With a good old fashioned sprain, tear, fracture or even a break there is normally a set period of recovery, a tear may be a few months, a strain even less and even a break a number of months; with all of these there is always , well normally, guaranteed improvement with time and a set ‘return to running‘ date to aim for. Plantar Fasciitis is different, it can linger for a very long time and has been know to finish the career of many good runners. I suspect it is out of frustration that eventually a runner just has enough of running round in circles , on grass, in the dark, alone. Trust me people I’m there at the moment as you can see from one of my Strava runs below. (Remember, if it’s not on Strava it didn’t happen…probably,  http://www.strava.com ; follow me on Strava with the link at the bottom of this post)

What is worse with Plantar Fasciitis is you really need to protect the foot and so are constrained by running on grass or trails; which is fine but lonely as most of your (mine) running friends are on the beautiful asphalt ; and who can blame them ! ?  Thus I have been having lots of ‘Kev time‘ lately. A positive is my new headphones supplied by Jaybird which arrived just as I started out on my injury journey. (Link to my post on the wireless headphones, built by runner for runners is here : https://www.runbkrun.com/2018/07/21/do-headphones-make-you-run-faster-or-smarter/ Please make sure you check these out as the more hits from my blog the more chance I get of getting more free gear. Note: they really are very good wireless headphones and, if you are in the market for a pair,  these bad boys are the ones to get!) I digress…

So to the point of this post reference the drugs being the answer, what was the question ?. As a newbie runner I really had no idea that most of my running buddies were as good as professional drug dealers. Truth be told I only found out the day before my first Comrades run in 2008 when my fellow runner, who shall be known as Phil (as that is his real name) dragged me down to another runners bedroom (known as Richard, for that is his name!) where he was handing out high quality Voltaren tablets to all and sundry. Unbeknown to me these anti-inflammatories were the staple diet of the ‘older Comrades runner’ so I put out my hand and wolfed a few down, just to be on the safe side. This tradition has continued for most of my marathons from that time on , probably more of a placebo but I justify it as, at the end of a marathon block of training, there must be something, surely,  that needs some help becoming un-inflammed. (Is that a word?)

As I’ve got older I find I am certainly more open to taking as many tablets as possible and on a number of occasions have helped myself to some of my Wife’s better, prescription, anti-inflammatories. In for a penny , in for a pound type attitude. This came back to bite me on one occasion where, unbeknown to me, there was also a tablet to be taken with the strong anti-inflammatories to help with any possible side effects. These said side effects were eventually embraced by me which meant a very long toilet visit and an upset stomach. My Wife found this very amusing.

Of course I am  not advocating ‘popping pills‘ for no reason but merely advising that as a runner you will get niggles or sprains and rather than suffer in silence get yourself down to the local chemist and get some anti-inflammatories, these really do what they say on the packet. They also have their place to really help with a known area of concern by blitzing the problem before/while  embarking on remedial exercise; short term of course. I’m by no means advocating long term NSAID use, that would be silly,  although there have been studies advocating using aspirin daily but that helps with heart conditions etc, as with all thing medical Dr.Google has the answer.

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My running friend Nic Harman is a man going places, quickly.  I first came across Nic when he first started his running career and was fortunate enough, at that time, to be able to race with him and finish in similar times. This didn’t last long as his running progressed under the guidance of Raf Baugh, our local celebrity trainer and owner of the Running Centre, http://www.therunningcentre.com.au .  Over the years I think Nic has taken all my Strava segment records as we both use to live very close to each other.( http://www.strava.com Remember if it’s not on Strava it didn’t happen! Both Nic and I can be followed on Strava though I’m probably running times more achievable that young Master Harman. His times can sometimes be confused for ‘a ride’..!) ) Please note I was able to seek out one of Nic’s Strava segments a few months ago and take it off him, albeit I was probably at my maximum effort and Nic would have run his time at a tempo at best. !

Nic epitomises what you need to be successful in running, he is driven, consistent, loves what he does and, above all, motivated on a journey which will one day take him to the Olympics.  With Raf guiding him I am sure he’ll one day compete for Australia in the Marathon and maybe even give Deeks’s Australian record a tilt.

The article below was published on the Runners Tribe website ( http://www.runnerstribe.com ) and Nic highlights four key sessions that have helped him on his journey to running super-stardom. Keep an eye on this young man, as I mentioned earlier,  he is going places, and usually very quickly !!

FOR THE LOVE OF RUNNING – 4 KEY SESSIONS FROM LONG DISTANCE ATHLETE NIC HARMAN – COACHED BY RAFAEL BAUGH

My name is Nic Harman and I am a 22 year old long distance athlete currently training with Front Runner Athletics Club led by Rafael Baugh and Ben Green in Perth, Western Australia. Before writing any further, I would firstly like to express the privilege I have been given to feature in the workout series for Runner’s Tribe who contribute greatly to a worldwide running community.

Funnily enough, what first sparked my passion for long distance running was when I competed in the 2009 Perth City to Surf at the age of 14. I entered the 12km walk and ended up running the whole way. As a result of the experience, I began training twice a week with a local triathlon club that was coached by Matt LaSpina and began infrequently participate in various local fun runs conducted by the West Australian Marathon Club throughout the year.

Compared to most, I only recently began taking an interest in competitive running. At age 17, I joined the University of Western Australia athletics club under the guidance of David Leeder and made my first State Cross Country Team. The following year, I transitioned to Front Runner Athletics Club and to this day I am coached and mentored by Rafael Baugh.

Over the past 5 years at Front Runner AC, I have seen consistent progress through implementation of key training principles and specific training blocks that build towards targeted races. Since 2013, I’ve seen my 5000m and 10,000 m times drop annually down to current PB’s of 14.26 & 29:46 and my Half Marathon time recently lowered to 65.50. Other than simply being motivated just for the love of the sport, an exciting indicator for the years to come is in the gradual progression in training load and volume having a direct correlation with improvement as I transitioned from Junior to Senior level. It is this progression that I am immensely grateful for and in the coming years I aspire to be able to present myself as a candidate to represent my country in the World Half Marathon Championships and ultimately Olympic Games in the Marathon.

Regardless of the distance I am training for, training sessions and mileage remains fairly constant at about 140 – 150km per week. I will always have a track session on Tuesday, Threshold work on Thursday and Saturday will be a Tempo session sometimes over hills or on somewhere flat depending on the time of the year.

Track Session:

Location: West Australian Athletics Stadium.

Track sessions vary week to week but always involve maximal efforts that encourage leg turnover and assist in building VO2 max which is central to my athletic development at this stage.

Deeks Quarters – a well known track session invented by Rob De Castella and tackled weekly by the greats of distance running. This session is performed by my training squad every month and a great way to benchmark levels of fitness for each individual athlete. This session is normally performed on a 400 meter athletics track where an athlete performs a 400 m effort that is slightly faster than 5, 000 m pace followed by a 200 m float that is at Half Marathon (Tempo) pace. This session is exactly 4, 800m long and can be used as a predictor of 5, 000 m race time when at peak fitness. I find that this session is a great way to build and test fitness, as the 200 m floats don’t allow the athlete a full recovery from the hard 400 m effort, rather than the recovery being static or easy.

Threshold Session:

The Threshold sessions always take place on a flat and sealed footpath around Herdsman Lake or Lake Monger. Many of our Threshold workouts are continuous meaning that there’s no standing or jog recovery with the exception of 1 kilometre and 1500 m repeats. Most commonly our Threshold sessions will consist of an effort at Threshold then a short float at Tempo pace to recover. Examples of these sessions are 2 minutes at Threshold with 1 minute float or even as long as 5 minutes at Threshold with 2 minutes float. Similar to what was mentioned in the Deeks Quarters session, the challenge with these Threshold sessions are that the floats don’t allow the body a full recovery ahead of the following effort. I believe this mimics the fatigue that is commonly felt in a race.

Gregson Threshold – made famous by Ryan Gregson, the national indoor and outdoor 1500 m record holder, this 30 minute Threshold session is fantastic in how it simulates the fatigue felt in a race. This session is broken into 3 parts each fatiguing the body in different ways.

Part 1: 10 minutes at Tempo. I quite like how this first effort helps the body ease into the session and feels like a 7/10 effort.

Part 2: 10 minutes alternating 1 minute that is slightly above Threshold (9/10) then 1 minute at Tempo (7/10)

Part 3: 10 minutes at Threshold (8.5/10). This final effort in the session is the component I find the most challenging, but the most beneficial as it forces the body to run at Threshold despite already having 20 minutes worth of fatigue in the legs which simulates the feeling of the back end of a race.

Tempo Session

Location: King’s Park for a hilly course or around the river foreshore for a flatter course

Tempo sessions are the sessions that I tend to look forward to despite the early start. I prefer Tempo sessions because they are more aerobic in nature and build fitness for the longer distances that I prefer to compete in. Tempo sessions will always be more than 30 minutes in duration, sometimes continuous and at other times a short 2 minute jog or static recovery. A key session that I perform ahead of a Half Marathon is a flat 15km progressive Tempo. This Tempo session acts as a pace run the begins slower than targeted Half Marathon pace (3:20 – 3:15/km) for the first half and then for the second half is run at desired Half Marathon race pace (3:10 – 3:05/km). This session normally occurs 2 weeks before the event and is excellent for simulating the fatigue felt in the final 5km of a Half Marathon.

Long Run

Location: From home over rolling hills along the coastline

This run takes place on the Sunday and for me is equally as important as the previous sessions I have described. My long run is always 1 hour and 45 minutes in length but when I am tapering it can be 15 minutes shorter. In terms of the pace I will begin running at over 4 minutes per kilometer and then progress to 3:20 per kilometer in the late stages. This long run can average out under 3:40 per kilometer depending on how my body is feeling from the week of training. I consider the weekly long run as a staple in my training program as it allows me to establish rhythm and feel strong as the run progresses.

I hope that these insights into my weekly training schedule have been of some value to those reading. I would again like to again thank Runner’s Tribe for presenting me with the opportunity to be able to write for their website and to encourage every single runner out there to continue their great work simply for the love of the sport.

Running regards.

The article below was written by Reid Coolsaet a top ranked marathoner in Canada. At the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon last September his time was 2:11:23 – the fastest by a Canadian in 24 years. Reid spent time in Kenya at Iten, the breeding ground for running superstars. The article is good in that it emphasises all the things I talk about on this blog. As I have said many, many times running is not rocket science,  just common sense really and lots of hard work.  To run faster you need to look at the people who are running the fastest and learn from them, try to be more like them. The main points (for the lazy readers amongst you who won’t finish this post!) are consistency, train hard, rest hard, soft surfaces, group training, proper warm up, nutrition and Hakuna matata.

Kenyan distance runners have been dominating the world scene for more than 30 years. Just last month, a Kenyan, Mary Keitany, was the first woman to break one hour and six minutes in the half-marathon when she set the world record at 1:05:50. Last year, Kenyan men won four of the five world major marathons and lay claim to 60 of the top 100 ranked marathoners.

An astonishing 239 Kenyans broke two hours and fifteen minutes last year in the marathon. (By contrast, Canada had three under the same time – and that was a good year for us.) Factor in the population of the two countries (Kenya, 39 million, Canada, 34 million), and it’s evident just how excellent the East African country is at producing world-class distance runners.

As a marathoner, I wanted to observe first-hand how these great athletes were training and living. For one month this winter, I went to Iten, Kenya, and immersed myself in the culture of Kenyan running. Iten is a small town of 4,000, about 300 kilometres northwest of the capital, Nairobi, and is home to many of the world’s best distance runners and hundreds more who make a living winning road race purses.

It’s not a coincidence that the rural town sits about 2,400 metres (about 8,000 feet) above sea level where athletes benefit from training in thin air. I soon learned, however, that there are many other reasons why Kenyan runners dominate. Here are some tips that all runners can incorporate into their training in order to run like a Kenyan.

Consistency. Running – a lot – is the key to distance running, and the Kenyans are no exception when it comes to logging many kilometres day in, day out. Most of the runners I met run at least twice a day but some run up to three times. If you can squeeze a few more kilometres into your week, without compromising quality, you will reap the benefits.

Train hard. The motto “train hard, win easy” is exemplified by Kenyan runners. If you want to run hard come race day, it’s best to prepare with some sort of speed session (intervals, fartlek, tempo) one to three times a week to get used to the specific effort of your race pace.

Rest hard. After bouts of hard training it is vital that the body has time to repair and recover for the next training session. Kenyan runners incorporate naps into their days and get to bed early. Plus, they don’t run hard all the time; most people would be surprised on how slow they run their recovery runs. Make sure you’re not running hard every day and take it easy the day or two after a hard run.

Soft surfaces. Running on dirt trails rather than pavement is much easier on the body. When I was in Iten, all of my running was on trails and dirt roads (of course, this is easy to do when there is only one paved road in the area). Seek out soft surfaces for most of your running, and your body will thank you.

Group training. Seeing a Kenyan run alone is the exception to the norm. Kenyans run in groups during speed sessions as well as their easy runs. Running with a group can provide that extra push during hard runs and it can help keep the easy runs leisurely with chit-chat. Many running stores offer group runs if your friends are too lazy to join you.

Proper warm-up. Many times while I was running with Kenyans I was surprised how slowly they would start off. It’s best to ease into your runs, and it is especially important to do some easy jogging before any type of speed session or race.

Nutrition. In Iten, a 100-mile diet would seem absurdly long. Kenyans eat fresh food that usually comes from small-scale farms in their region. Ugali (a cornmeal dish) is their staple carbohydrate of choice and is served with beef or chicken stew and veggies. It’s important to replenish carbohydrates and protein soon after a run and get the proper fuel into your body.

Hakuna matata. The Lion King popularized the Swahili phrase “hakuna matata” which, loosely, translates to “no worries.” Kenyans keep stress to a minimum by embracing hakuna matata in their everyday lives. It’s important to leave stress behind to allow your body to perform at its best, and sometimes the best way to relieve stress is to head out the door for a run.

Throughout my month in Kenya, I gained fitness, but more importantly, I came away motivated and inspired. To test out my fitness I went to Belgium to compete in a 10-kilometre cross-country race where I surprised myself with a fifth-place finish; the rest of the top eight were African. Training with the best runners and taking advantage of altitude training allowed me to perform much better.

I’ve attached my Golden Rules for all you readers who are still enjoying this post. These are the rules to live by and the key to unlocking your running dreams.. (do you unlock a dream? , probably not but it sounded good when I wrote it so it’s staying…)

1. Run Further. Add distance, not speed.  As you can see from the table my weekly average has steadily increased year on year with this year being the first I will break the 100k a week average for the year. In 2012 I was injured with a nasty calf knot, that I didn’t treat, which explains the delta compared to the previous year.  2014 my training had plateaued which is why I turned to Raf ( http://www.therunningcentre.com.au ) to train me in 2105 where my distance increased by 10%. I have taken this training forward and will probably increase another 10% this year.  Distance first, everything else comes once the ‘foundation of distance’ has been achieved.

2. Run Faster. This is about adding pace after you have got your foundation after rule 1. 2011 was a break out year for me after 3-4 years of building a good running base. I had ran 3 Comrades campaigns in 2008-2010 ( http://www.comrades.com ) so my distance foundation was well and truly complete. In 2011 every time I put on a bib I was confident of a pb.  It was a wonderful year. Unfortunately in 2012 I had a nasty injury which set me back but towards the end of the year I was able to train consistently again and in 2013 I was again rewarded with a magical year of running.  

3. Don’t get injured. This is the hardest rule to obey as you always want to do more of rule 1 and 2 which can result in an injury. (I even hate typing the word!) In 2012 I succumbed to a calf knot which took me out for over a month. I struggled to recover from this and as you can see from the table I only ran 3 pb’s for the year compared to 13 the previous year and 10 the following year when I recovered. If this doesn’t back up this rule nothing does.! Don’t get injured, so easy to type but in reality one of the hardest thing for a runner to do, period.

4. Nutrition, nutrition and nutrition… Did I mention nutrition. It’s all about the proper fuel. So underestimated by so many runners. The number of times I hear the old ‘I run xxx kilometres a week so I can eat what I want’ . Not true, imagine putting low grade fuel in a Porsche, eventually the head gasket blows and you are faced with a serious bill, not to mention a misfiring engine. The human body is a finely tuned machine and should be treated as such, we all know what is good food and what is bad (normally the nice tasting stuff!), avoid the bad and put in the good, easy really. (bar the odd Yelo muffin of course, we are after all only human.)  I’ll be exploring nutrition more next year when I have one more go at a sub 2hr 40minutes marathon.

5. Weight. So important, use to believe because I ran 100k+ a week I could eat what I wanted. Not true. This is another golden rule so often ignored. Runners can run so much faster is they hit their racing weight rather than a running weight. My go to man , Matt Fitzgerald, when it comes to everything running even has a website dedicated to this. ( http://www.racingweight.com/ ) If Matt has a website dedicated to this subject it must be important.

6. Baseline, document and evaluate everything. If it isn’t on www.strava.com it didn’t happen. Once you set a goal you have to be able to know how far you have come to achieving this, small steps but constant feedback. So buy a Garmin and start recording , everything !!! Contentious subject here. I’m a Strava addict and I know it but the purest will be horrified. You need a baseline to see improvement, set new goals and realize your goals. Buy a Garmin and to quote a small clothing company ‘just do it’.

7. Sleep. So underestimated but the bodies way of refuelling and preparing for the next day of running. Common sense but so often ignored. Sometimes the most obvious, common sense tips are the ones ignored. Sleep is when your body repairs itself, the more sleep the more repairs can be completed. It really is that easy, go to bed and dream about running.

8. Consistency. No point running 100k one week and then nothing. Marathon fitness is built up over time and this works hand in hand with rule number 1. I feel the figures from my running log back this up. I’ve steadily increased the duration consistently year in, year out (bar injury) and have reaped the rewards with 2016 being my fastest year yet as I move towards my fifth sixth decade. (Thanks Dave Kennedy) Running is all about getting out there on a regular basis again and again and again. Time on feet initially and then add pace before targeting certain distance with different run types, most important thinkg to note though is always consistently putting on the trainers and just running. ‘If you build it they will come’ type approach, keep running, build the foundation and the personal records will come. (This also works for baseball pitches apparently.)

9. It’s all in the mind. After 32k a marathon is down to mental strength and the ability to persuade your body you can still perform at your desired pace without falling to fatigue, which is the minds way of protecting itself. Never underestimate the power of the mind in long distance racing. Finally another massive part of running, the Noakes ‘central governor’. I’ve talked about this at length in various posts on this site. With experience I believe I can mentally finish a marathon stronger now then when I first started. I know what to expect and to this end can persuade my old friend fatigue to stay away for longer allowing me to achieve better finishing times. The mind is such an important part of running and needs to be trained as much as the body. When you race a marathon you will spend time in the ‘pain box’, the runner who can spend the most time in this little box of joy, before opening the door and embracing the old enemy fatigue, will run the fastest. I spoke to Steve Moneghetti after the Perth Marathon this year after he ran the 3hr30min bus and asked him how the professional athletes are so much faster than us recreational runners. His answer surprised me as he replied that a professional runner can stand more pain and this gives them the advantage need to push through and achieve the faster times. Again turning off the ‘central governor’  and spending more time in the ‘pain box’ avoiding fatigue and thus not slowing down. Common sense really, thanks Steve.

Over the last few months I have been struggling with motivation,  initially due to low iron levels in my blood brought about by poor diet in a vain attempt to lose weight and lately with a bout of every runners worst nightmare, plantar fasciitis. (No, this is not something you pick up in a Swedish brothel, more a tear in the large tendon at the bottom of your foot.) I’ve had Plantar Fasciitis three times in my running career but this is the worst by far.

It is an injury where recovery can take anything from days to months or even years in bad cases. I know it has finished the careers of many fine runners. The previous two times I suffered were probably down to poor show choices when faced with difficult terrain. As you can see from the image below in 2012 I wore Nike Luna Racers when I ran the 6 Inch Trail Ultra Marathon. ( http://www.6inchtrailmarathon.com/ ) Although I ran a great time Luna Racers are  built for track or asphalt, not an off-road trail ultra where the bottom of your foot takes a good old fashioned beating due to poor shoe choice.  I was lucky enough that it was a mild case and I was able to continue training albeit I suffered the morning hobble to the bathroom that all PF sufferers experience as blood returns to the tendon after sleeping horizontally all night. Apparently you can purchase splints to wear while you sleep but I was always wary of these as Mrs. Matthews may think I was being kinky and she can be hard to fight off when she has the bit between her teeth, so to speak … (That was a joke by the way just in case No1 Wife reads this… )

The second time I picked up a small case of PF was when I started to ramp up my running in 2013 and even a cortisone from my favourite Doctor didn’t help. Again it was mild enough that it didn’t affect my training and the ‘hobble to the bathroom’ was soon replaced by my usual ‘gazelle like spring’.

This time though the ‘hobble to the bathroom’ turned into a limp/hop, at best, and running was a no-no. Another cortisone was dispatched but yet again with little effect. My old mate Voltaren helped but popping pills, long term, never ends well. So it was a few weeks of no running and lots of ‘rolling the water bottle filled with ice’. This is the tried and tested best method for treating PF and has always worked for me.  As you can see from the Strava image below ( In Strava we trust… http://www.strava.com , follow me on Strava by clicking on the link on the main page , towards the bottom) PF can cause large blocks of ‘rest’  which for a runner is not something we enjoy doing. As I’ve always said ‘I’ll rest in my box!’………

So is there light at the end of the tunnel ? . At the moment I can say ‘maybe’, I have ramped up the mileage this week and I am confident I’m on top of my PF issues but it means running on trails and grass only and avoiding my beloved asphalt. I’ve made the training more interesting by running in Kings Park, which is stunning and trying to hit as many sandy trails as possible. Adding elevation also helps and I’m confident with 6 weeks to go until the Perth City to Surf Marathon I’ll be in with a good chance to continue my 27 in a row sub 3 streak.

So what brought on PF case number three, probably the infamous steeplechase in racing flats in April this year for the Australian Masters championships, I feel maybe, just maybe, my water jump technique needs something to be desired….maybe.

For all those sufferers of the ‘bathroom hobble’ I recommend these activities, in no order of importance.

• Never go bare feet anywhere and if possible trainers at all time.
• Calf raises as much as possible, and off a step is best. This will strengthen the calf and stop it pulling on the PF tendon.
• Anti-inflammatories help but these are not a long term solution of course. (Voltaren is my poison of choice)
• Rolling a water bottle filled with ice under your affected foot is another exercise that helps.

If you need more information on Plantar Fasciitis it’s all on the interweb , like all things these days, so let your fingers do the walking…