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As I sit here typing this post I should be in Bunbury celebrating another marathon finish, number 42, with Jon over pancakes with extra maple syrup and bacon. Instead I’m sitting at home a few hundred dollars out of pocket (hotel and entry fee not refundable.) and feeling very sorry for myself nursing a very sore calf knot. How did this happen ? 100% avoidable unfortunately. After running the bridges 10k last Sunday I picked up an extra medal and an Asics bag for winning my age group. We then had to run back to the car which was a 6k warm down we had planned pre-race. The small fly in the ointment was two fold, truth be told. First I believe I hadn’t drank enough water after the 10k race and became dehydrated, this was probably compounded by a cappuccino brought by Mark L., (He’s a cyclist so always drinks coffee after exercising. !) It was also a hot day and waiting around for an hour for the presentations was probably not the best idea. Hindsight really is a wonderful thing as I sit here typing away… Next I ran back to the car carrying my winnings, the Asics bag, and this would have put my running style ‘off kilter‘.
The run back was uneventful bar a lot of laughing at my exploits in the previous week (You don’t want to know) forcing Mark C. to at one point to stop as he was doubling up in pain laughing so much. After a shower , walking back to the car, bang, calf knot. I knew instantly that was what it was as in the last 10 years I have been afflicted by calf knots probably three times previously. The first time I just waited, and waited, and waited for the knot to unravel. It never did and dry needling sorted it instantly. The second and third time dry needling again sorted the problem instantly. That’s the good thing (?) with a calf knot, if you can force it to open the injury is gone, instantly.
So Sunday I massaged the leg and applied Deep Heat, (which apparently is a waste of time?) and my running was unaffected Tuesday and Thursday as I put in my last slow runs pre-Bunbury Marathon. All was good on Thursday after the last run but in the evening I was tasked with taking no2 Daughter to her dancing lesson. This would be a good time for one last 10k, in my racing shoes, in preparation for Sunday. Silly, silly boy ! Seven k’s into the 10k, boom ! Calf knot and I knew my marathon was probably over. Limping back to the car I cursed myself as I had had so many chances to avoid this situation and ignored all of them.
Anytime in the week I could have had a massage or even some dry needling but instead chose to ignore the possible impending disaster by running twice and pulling up ok. In my defence I did feel pretty good by Thursday which, accounted for the double up, which was my undoing.
Two desperate dry needling sessions on Friday couldn’t shift the knot and it is still hiding deep within my calf ready for round three , probably this Monday. I did managed to cycle for 75k yesterday and 50k today because sitting around doing nothing would be stupid right ? I think they call it resting but it is alien to me. Moving forward this is a lesson learned, listen to your body. Not only did I totally ignore this knot on Sunday I still ran a double up day Thursday , on a run that really served no purpose at all. I suppose this may have saved me a DNF at Bunbury because I don’t feel an extra 48 hours would have been enough to allow my calf to survive a marathon.
What next ? Looks like me and lycra will become good friends for at least the next week as I attempt to keep my cardio fitness and if the dry needling goes well I could be running again in a few days. My racing calendar will hopefully be unaffected and I’m targeting a half marathon in three weeks and then a 10k before ramping up for the first A race of the season, the Perth Marathon. This will be marathon number 42 and Perth number 13, let’s hope its lucky 13. ?
Some articles on Calf Knots below, if only I had read them pre-Thursday. Right, pass me my lycra and a Cappuccino and no one get hurts….
You don’t have to be a barefoot or minimalist runner to have tight calves, but it helps.
Like many runners, the first thing I noticed when I transitioned to a forefoot strike was the huge increase in strain on my calf muscles. At the beginning, even a short run up and down the street was enough to leave my lower legs burning for two days. Of course, this is a normal part of the transition period and a big reason why people who switch to barefoot running are told to take it slow at first. After years of heel-striking in conventional shoes, my calves were not accustomed to this type of work and they had to gradually strengthen over time (my knees and back previously took all that strain, which was a catastrophe waiting to happen).
I’m happy to say the burning subsided after a few weeks and ever since then I’ve been able to maintain a forefoot strike that feels good. I do, however, have a persistent problem with tightness and knots in my calves after a run. This wasn’t a serious issue when my runs were short, but now that I’m consistently running above the 10 mile mark it’s becoming more of a concern. The last thing I need right before my marathon is a serious calf injury.
There is a lot of information in the webiverse about how to prevent knots from forming in the first place, and this includes stretching techniques, nutrition, ice baths, salt baths, leg compression sleeves, building up other muscles to balance the strain, acupuncture, dealing with stress, aligning your bed to face the moon on Saturn’s return, etc. I hope to research it more someday, but right now I’m just focusing on what I see as the most practical and immediate form of treatment that can be done at home: self massage.
But first, the basics…
What is a Muscle Knot?
In short, a knot is a tight ball of muscle that results from overwork. Need more? Here’s how massage therapist Kip Yates explains it on legitmassage.com:
To understand what a knot is, it is important to distinguish the normal physiology of muscles. Most of the time, our muscles operate in an on/off manner. That means the muscles that get sore and fatigue easily, the fast twitch fibers (the white meat as opposed to dark meat) that enable us to perform rapid, intense movements of short duration like weight training or throwing a ball are not always at work. They fire or contract during exertion but when the exertion is completed they quit firing. It is when they continue to fire or contract without releasing that a spasm or muscle knot forms. So how does this occur? A fatigable muscle in spasm contains individual sections within the muscle that constrict and pull from both sides. This makes a taut band of muscle essentially forming what is known as a knot.
Yep, that’s what it feels like.Got it? Good. Next question:
Why Would I Want to Massage this Taut Band of Muscle Essentially Forming What is Known as a Knot?
The explanation I’ve heard my whole life, and from the physical therapist at my running workshop, is that pressure from a massage will physically break up the tight band of muscle fibers and help them return to their normal state. I think it’s worth noting that I also came across a theory that says applying pressure to the knot will literally starve it to death. Massage pressure prevenst blood from delivering oxygen to the spasm. When it looses oxygen, it looses strength, stops spasming and relaxes back to its normal state. Releasing pressure then allows fresh nutrient-rich blood to flow into the now-looser muscle and start the healing process.
Mabye it’s one, maybe it’s both. Either way, massage helps.
How to Massage the Knots Out of Your Legs
The good news about massaging your calves is that it is very easy to do and does not take a lot of time. The bad news is that the most popular massage tools seem to be grossly overpriced. Either that, or I’m just cheap. Regardless, I do consider my health and running ability to be a high priority so I splurged on some of the trendy gadgets. Here’s a breakdown of how to use them and what I thought of them.
A few tips first, and these are general guidelines for all massage:
- Only massage your muscles when they’re relaxed.
- No need to overdue it. 30-60 seconds of pressure at a time for each muscle seems to give optimal effects.
- Expect pain. If it doesn’t hurt, you’re not doing it right.
- Studies disagree on when it’s best to massage your muscles. Some say immediately after a run, others say you should wait a couple hours. Personally, I find massaging a couple hours after a run and on rest days works well.
- Take it slow!
They all hurt.Prevention – how to avoid getting muscle knots in the first place:
Diet and hydration – Drink plenty of water and eat a healthy diet. Foods such as alcohol, sugary caffeinated drinks, processed and fast foods all play a part in dehydrating you. If you are careful about what goes into your body, you are less likely to get injured.
- Take breaks – Most people spend a lot of their day sitting in front of a computer or staring down at a cell phone. Our bodies cannot handle being in those positions too long. Every hour at work, get up and walk around. Even when sitting at your desk, straighten out your back, turn your neck from side to side, uncross your legs, and move as much as you can.
- Exercise – As previously stated, our muscles were designed to be challenged. We are built to perform. If we aren’t moving, stretching, and lifting then we are compromising our muscle health.
- Massage – We are slowly starting to come around to the fact that massage is not just some occasional luxury saved for vacations and spa days. Massage Therapy can help keep your muscles healthy, pliable, and oxygenated.
- Lifestyle – A life filled with stress and lack of sleep is a perfect pathway to injury. Slow down, get more sleep, and breathe. Even as little as 15 minutes a day of focused relaxation time can make a world of difference.
The Thursday before a marathon is when traditionally you start to gorge on carbohydrates to carbo-load for the big day on Sunday. I use the old tried and tested 10g of carbohydrates for every kilogram of weight. For me that is 700g of carbohydrates for three days. It is a challenge and one I reckon 75% of all runners fail to meet it. They’ll make an effort of course but either not hit the required amount of carbs or fail to hydrate properly. One thing I guarantee is you will feel ‘bloated’ and ‘heavy’ after a good carbo-load but this is mainly liquid and on the day the benefit out weighs weight issues.
Is there a better way than a 3 day food feast though ? As runners it normally goes against the grain by eating so much and exercising so little. (I’m assuming you are tapering by now ?) The guilty feeling as you eat a muffin for a third day on the trot (I must admit to never having this feeling but I’ve been told some runners do , funny that ?) and stagger around with 2-3 litres of water sloshing about in your belly.
I’ve read that you can ignore the carbo-loading if you take carbs on the day in the form of Gu’s or shotz, or this at least negates the whole process. I’m not convinced but even Matt Fitzgerald has been quoted buying into this theory. Matt wrote an interesting article below on different methods of carbo-loading but I’m not ready to give up my muffin feeding frenzy just yet, so Matt, in this case, I’m staying traditional.!
The practice of carbo-loading dates back to the late 1960s. The first carbo-loading protocol was developed by a Swedish physiologist named Gunvar Ahlborg after he discovered a positive relationship between the amount of glycogen (carbs stored in the muscles and liver) in the body and endurance performance. Scientists and runners had already known for some time that eating a high-carbohydrate diet in the days preceding a long race enhances performance, but no one knew exactly why until Ahlborg’s team zeroed in on the glycogen connection.
Subsequently, Ahlborg discovered that the muscles and liver are able to store above-normal amounts of glycogen when high levels of carbohydrate consumption are preceded by severe glycogen depletion. The most obvious way to deplete the muscles of glycogen is to eat extremely small amounts of carbohydrate. A second way is to engage in exhaustive exercise. The stress of severe glycogen depletion triggers an adaptive response by which the body reduces the amount of dietary carbohydrate that it converts to fat and stores, and increases the amount of carbohydrate that it stores in the liver and muscles as glycogen. Ahlborg referred to this phenomenon as glycogen supercompensation.
Armed with this knowledge, he was able to create a more sophisticated carbo-loading protocol than the primitive existing method, which was, more or less, eating a big bowl of spaghetti.
Ahlborg came up with a seven-day carbo-loading plan in which an exhaustive bout of exercise was followed by three or four days of extremely low carbohydrate intake (10 percent of total calories) and then three or four days of extremely high carbohydrate intake (90 percent of total calories). Trained athletes who used this protocol in an experiment were able to nearly double their glycogen stores and exhibited significantly greater endurance in exercise lasting longer than 90 minutes.
After these results were published, endurance athletes across the globe began to use Ahlborg’s carbo-loading plan prior to events anticipated to last 90 minutes or longer. While it worked admirably, it had its share of drawbacks. First of all, many athletes weren’t keen on performing an exhaustive workout just a week before a big race, as the plan required.
Second, maintaining a 10 percent carbohydrate diet for three or four days carried some nasty consequences including lethargy, cravings, irritability, lack of concentration, and increased susceptibility to illness. Many runners and other athletes found it just wasn’t worth it.
Fortunately, later research showed that you can increase glycogen storage significantly without first depleting it. A newer carbo-loading protocol based on this research calls for athletes to eat a normal diet of 55 to 60 percent carbohydrate until three days before racing, and then switch to a 70 percent carbohydrate diet for the final three days, plus race morning.
As for exercise, this tamer carbo-loading method suggests one last longer workout (but not an exhaustive workout) done a week from race day followed by increasingly shorter workouts throughout race week. It’s simple, it’s non-excruciating, and it works. Admittedly, some scientists and athletes still swear that the Ahlborg protocol is more effective, but if it is, the difference is slight and probably not worth the suffering and inherent risks.
Note that you should increase your carbohydrate intake not by increasing your total caloric intake, but rather by reducing fat and protein intake in an amount that equals or slightly exceeds the amount of carbohydrate you add. Combining less training with more total calories could result in last-minute weight gain that will only slow you down. Be aware, too, that for every gram of carbohydrate the body stores, it also stores 3 to 5 grams of water, which leads many athletes to feel bloated by the end of a three-day loading period. The water weight will be long gone by the time you finish your race, however.
A friendlier carbo-loading strategy was devised in 2002 by scientists at the University of Western Australia. It combines depletion and loading and condenses them into a one-day time frame. The creators of this innovative protocol recognized that a single, short workout performed at extremely high intensity creates a powerful demand for glycogen storage in both the slow-twitch and fast-twitch fibers of the muscles.
The researchers hypothesized that following such a workout with heavy carbohydrate intake could result in a high level of glycogen supercompensation without a lot of fuss. In an experiment, the researchers asked athletes to perform a short-duration, high-intensity workout consisting of two and a half minutes at 130 percent of VO2max (about one-mile race pace) followed by a 30-second sprint. During the next 24 hours, the athletes consumed 12 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of lean muscle mass. This resulted in a 90 percent increase in muscle glycogen storage.
Runners have cause to be very pleased by these findings. Doing just a few minutes of high-intensity exercise the day before a competition will not sabotage tomorrow’s performance, yet it will suffice to stimulate the desirable carbohydrate “sponging” effect that was sought in the original Ahlborg protocol. This allows the athlete to maintain a normal diet right up until the day before competition and then load in the final 24 hours.
The Western Australia carbo-loading strategy works best if preceded by a proper taper — that is, by several days of reduced training whose purpose is to render your body rested, regenerated, and race-ready. In fact, several days of reduced training combined with your normal diet will substantially increase your glycogen storage level even before the final day’s workout and carbohydrate binge. When you exercise vigorously almost every day, your body never gets a chance to fully replenish its glycogen stores before the next workout reduces them again. Only after 48 hours of very light training or complete rest are your glycogen levels fully compensated. Then the Western Australia carbo-loading regimen can be used to achieve glycogen supercompensation.
An even newer carbo-loading protocol calls for athletes to eat a normal diet of 55 to 60 percent carbohydrate until three days before racing, and then switch to a 70 percent carbohydrate diet for the final three days, plus race morning. As for exercise, this friendliest carbo-loading method suggests one last longer workout (but not an exhaustive workout) done a week from race day followed by increasingly shorter workouts throughout race week.
Having said all of this, I would like to note finally that carbo-loading in general has been shown to enhance race performance only when athletes consume little or no carbohydrate during the race itself. If you do use a sports drink or sports gels to fuel your race effort — as you should — prior carbo-loading probably will have no effect. But it doesn’t hurt to do it anyway, as insurance.
Well this Sunday I get to run the Bunbury Marathon for the 5th time. The previous four occasions have all had very different outcomes. The first time I ran it I PB’d and ran a 2:52 but was probably in better form. I remember in the first 10k leading a group of runners and actually running backwards in a ‘Rocky‘ like way encouraging them on. This bravado came back to bite me about 10k down the line when the group left me and I struggled home.
The following year I was returning from injury and did just about everything wrong on the day. I had new shoes for the marathon and I hadn’t even tried them on. On the morning of the race I realised they were too tight so took on the course in a pair of shoes I had travelled down in. Needless to say these were past their best. I remember getting to halfway in 1:28 realising I was in trouble and in serious danger of losing my sub-3 hour marathon streak. I had to work very hard to finally finish on 2 hours 59 minutes and change. To this day this was one of the most satisfying finishes to a marathon albeit the time was one of my slowest.
The next year I was back into some good form and actually won the event running a 2 hour 43 minute PB time. I was racing my good friend Steve ‘Twinkle Toes’ McKean and we were neck and neck until the last 8k where I managed to grab a few hundred metres, which in the end was enough. My one and only marathon victory and one I will always cherish. This was 2013 and in 2014 I returned to defend my title. This was to prove my undoing when I went out way too quick with a group of three other runners and basically ran myself into the ground at 10k. Mentally shot I was walking through drink stops and staggered home in 2:54, when I was in 2:45 form all day. This really taught me how much mental preparation is so important in marathon running as physically I was in great form coming into the race but I had just given up when it all started to get too hard. It was definitely the added pressure of being the defending champion which had been my undoing.
On Sunday, as well as taking on my 42nd marathon, I’ll be taking on the disaster that was 2014 and hopefully putting that behind me. This will of course be dictated by other runners in the field. It would be nice to podium at Bunbury or better but truth be told this is a ‘B’ race which means it’s more of a tempo run, with a medal at the end. My three ‘A’ races are the Perth marathon in June, the City to Surf marathon in August and my favourite the Rottnest marathon in October. After that we have the 6 inch ultra in December and my assault on the AURA Australian age group record in the 100k ultra in January. As I have mentioned before I don’t believe in ‘down time‘ and always have a goal race to work towards, always.
So with Bunbury happening on Sunday it means tomorrow starts my favourite time as a marathon runner, carbo-loading, As you can imagine the first place I am going to start this exercise is my usual 14k progressive run pre-Yelo muffin and coffee tomorrow morning. ( http://yelocornerstore.com.au ) As I’m tapering it will be a shorter run but as I’m carbo-loading it should be a longer post-run food and coffee smorgasbord. Unfortunately this has been the undoing of many a runner, they get to three days before the big day and assume carbo-loading translates to eat as much chocolate as possible. Sorry people it’s about carbohydrates and although chocolate does contain some carbs there is certainly not enough to justify going overboard. ! Life could never be that good. The odd extra muffin may be accepted but it’s mainly orange juice, pasta, honey on toast and bagels. (or such like). I aim for 10g of carbohydrates for every kilo of body weight. So for me at 70kg it’s about 700g of carbs a day. This is actually quite difficult and you need to stay hydrated of course for this exercise to work , so add in about 600ml per hour and you are one eating and drinking machine.
You will put on weight if you carbo-load properly but a lot of that is water so you shouldn’t be too worried. Carbo-loading, done well, will ensure you avoid the dreaded 32k wall or at least push it back a few kilometres. (pushing it back 10k would be very nice of course!) You’ll need gels or similar on the course if you are aiming to run longer than 2hours 30 minutes, which I’m sure all the readers of this post probably are. As I mentioned earlier in the post this will be my 42nd marathon so I am well versed in carbo-loading and what is required for the big day. I am actually quite relaxed pre-race but will become more nervous (excited?) as we move closer to Sunday.
Conditions are also a big influence when you run a marathon. Too hot, humid or windy and you’ll need to adjust your predicted finish time. Going out chasing a time you would have achieved if the conditions had been better is fraught with danger. Heat and humidity can be especially damaging and both of these command respect. Once you start the race I always keep an eye on my average pace and last kilometre split, the total time takes care of itself I find. I’ll have a goal average pace set before I start and will adjust my pace to match it during the race. It’s only after the 32k point in a race I’ll start to think about increasing my pace, if I can, to try to finish ahead of my predicted time. This has been rare in most of my marathons but each time I have PB’d I’ve been able to raise my game towards the end. As my mate Jon is fond of saying’ the runner who slows down the least wins’. Find your pace early and maintain it for as long as possible, hell even negative split if you can. (After 41 marathons I have come close but never have I had the pleasure of a negative split.)
Right, as well as tapering (running less to allow your body to recover, and also blogging more) and carbo-loading, another marathon pre-requisite is sleep. As with the tapering it helps the body recover from the months of hard training. To this end I’m off to bed as I’m up early tomorrow to start carbo-loading at Yelo, sometimes being a runner is just the best thing EVER !
Well after yesterdays post it was time to practice what I preach and run a controlled 10k , win my age group, finish high up the field and not get ‘chicked’. Four objectives to achieve, well I managed two, which is nearly a famous song by Meatloaf; or was that 2 out of 3 ? The ‘run a controlled race’ went out the window in the first 3k with a tailwind and runners to chase. Of the four objectives this was always going to be the hardest to achieve. I am well known for sprinting from the start quicker than Usain Bolt and paying the price down the line. Today was not going to be a change from the status quo. In my defence there was a tailwind and I had erred on the side of caution and put on my new racing shoes of choice, the Saucony A6’s . These boys are light and new so there was an extra spring in my step. Add to this a 3 day break from running due to circumstances beyond my control and it all added up to a suicide pace first 3k, feeling ‘on top of the world‘.
Unfortunately as I explained yesterday when you go out at your 5k pace things start to fall apart at 5k, the tank has been emptied and your halfway through the race. Today we had the added bonus of the wind moving from a tailwind , encouraging you to run faster and caressing you forward, into a headwind with an attitude, joy ! Chuck in the ‘O’ I’ve done it again feeling’ and it was time to assume the position in the pain box a few kilometres earlier than planned. Then at 7k things started to get very ugly when Linda Spence, remember I mentioned Linda yesterday, cruised past me with another runner both looking very relaxed. I hung on for as long as I could but I was now in the ‘I’m never going to run a 10k again’ mode. (Remember yesterday I mentioned I go through this conversation with myself around the same time every 10k I run !) So that was 2 objectives out of the window and I was going to have to work very hard to fulfil the remaining two.
The headwind was brutal for the last few kilometres but I managed to hold my position in the field and even managed to pass a couple of runners towards the end of the race. I found my second wind, which again I mentioned yesterday when the central governor is switched off with the finish line in sight, and set of in pursuit of Linda. I’m not sure is she was just teasing me but I managed to close within 10 seconds and finish one place behind her for second female (and first female with a beard?). Age group victory and finish high hip the field , tick. Not sure how high but I suspect I may have sneaked into the top 10. Finishing time of 35:13 which is a bridges course PB but as they change the course every year not sure it counts. Last year we ran the opposite direction and I managed 35:50 so progress of sorts, I think.
So another learning experience and what did I learn. ? As always the 10k really starts at around the 6k mark. This is where you can either maintain your pace or even step up to the finish. In this case it was ‘hang on and survive‘ (the normal for me.) but the conditions played a part in that. (Did I mention it was also quite warm ?) The tailwind, new shoes and rest pre-race lulled me into a false sense of security and this explains the 3k pace, of course at 5k I was done but I did manage to handgun and not lose too many positions in the final part of the race. This was probably due to my ‘pig headed refusal to quit’ rather than training but I suppose this is the one benefit of age, you have resilience as well. I’ve attached the Strava ‘tale of the tape‘ below and as the caption explains the tailwind and headwind played a part in the splits, it wasn’t that bad really ? Although there really is no defence for the first 3k but as the title of this post suggests , ‘old dogs and new tricks‘ are a hard thing to master.
Finally the highlight of the day I suppose, on the way home we managed to sneak into a new Yelo ( http://yelocornerstore.com.au ) at Subiaco. Same format so it was coffee and muffins all around. In the picture you have Mark Conway who ran a huge PB of just over 37 minutes. Mark is on a Matt Fitzgerald plan and it is working big time (in Matt we trust! http://mattfitzgerald.org ). He is at the stage in his running career where every race is a PB and it really is a wondrous stage of any runners career. Next to Mark C. is another Mark, Mark Lommers who is training for the Boston Marathon and will certainly run his first sub 3 marathon. Again Mark is in that stage where every run is faster than the last and every race a PB. Even Mike, next in line in the photo, is chasing PB’s and we have high hopes he will break the West Australian Marathon Club ( http://www.wamc.org.au ) age group record, 55-60 , for the upcoming Perth Marathon. Then you have me who is just trying not to slow down and that is enough. Four runners at different stages of their careers united over quality coffee and muffins. It really is a thing of beauty and this goes back to one of my posts earlier about the social side of running. On the way back from the presentations (remember I did manage an age group win) we had Mark C. in so much pain laughing he had to stop running. This continued for most of the cool down and onto the coffee and muffin race debriefing. This part of running is as important to me as the race itself and, truth be told, as you start to slow it becomes more important.
Right that was the bridges, more time in the pain box than I would have liked and my first ‘chicking‘ for three years but overall a success and a stepping stone for next week when I saddle up and get to race the marathon that just about destroyed me in 2014. Look out Bunbury the BK running machine is on its way and this time it’s personal…..
In Western Australia there are a number of iconic events in the West Australian Marathon Club calendar that attract a large field of the states best runners. ( http://www.wamc.org.au ) Tomorrow is one of them, the bridges 10k. (There is a 5k but c’mon, when there’s a 10k option the 5k really is just an appetiser, and not a very good one at that, maybe a pumpkin soup compared to the Surf ‘n’ turf main course.) The bridges, and the name suggest runs alongside the Swan River in Perth and crosses the river twice via two bridges, giving you a point to point loop course. Flat the whole way bar the rise on the Narrows Bridge it is built for a good time and a run that I run probably 20-30 times a year minimum.
Last year, as this year probably, my main objective is not to get ‘chicked’ (beaten by a woman) as Linda Spencer, a Zatopek runner in her time, runs this race and at her best will beat me hands down. Last year I ran with Linda for the first two kilometres at a pace far faster than I wanted to go but luckily she dropped off and I managed to sneak in before her. We’ll see what transpires this year ? Truth be told there are a number of women runners in Perth who are making great improvements under various coaches and my days of finishing ahead of them are numbered. As always I will go down fighting and, while I still can, keep them honest.
A 10k is a good indicator race before a marathon which I happen to be running next week. I go by the ‘mile a day to recover’ rule and being the 10k is about 6 miles I should be recovered by next Sunday for the Bunbury Marathon. ( http://bunburyrunnersclub.org/3-waters-marathon/ ) I certainly need to be at my best as this marathon destroyed me in 2014 and put me in a running slump that lasted well over a year. This was in stark contrast to the previous year when I won the event. (My one and only marathon victory and one I will cherish to the end….) My plans for Bunbury will be to initially try and keep my average sub 4min/k and finish sub 2hrs 48mins but if the conditions are ideal I may be persuaded, on the day. to go a tad quicker. It is really a starter race to the main course ,which is Perth in June this year. Bunbury is known for bad conditions ranging from winds to heat to humidity, the three things all marathon runners try to avoid. I’ll talk more on ‘bunners’ in a post later in the week as I move in taper mode, this will at least give me more time to spend blogging.
Right back to the Bridges 10k. I’ve said on just about every time I’ve ran t’his 10k will be my last’. It is a race that can put you in the pain box early if you go out too fast and unlike a half or a marathon doesn’t really give you enough time to work into it. A 5k is all about speed and worst case scenario you’re only go to blow up with maximum 3k to go (and that take’s some doing to blow so early !!) , in the 10k if things goes awry early you can be looking at a true 5k pain train and believe me 5k is a long way when you have nothing left in the tank. It also asks some serious questions at around the 6-8k mark and you need to dig deep to answer these before finding that finishing burst for the last kilometre. (Why doesn’t that ‘burst’ happen at 5k ? All down to the central governor I suppose?) So many people ran a 10k at 5k pace, which is find for 5k of course but then they wonder why the wheels have fallen off and there’s still 5k to go.? Funny that.
So how do you run a 10k successfully ? I think the best advice is to run a lot of them, like all things practice makes perfect. Last year I think I ran five 10k races with each one easier (relatively speaking.) than the last. I even managed a couple of sub 35 minute efforts, which was always the dream, so was happy to tick that one off. My advice would be to start at slower than your 5k pace and then build into it and finish strong. How easy was that to type? I am actually smiling to myself while typing this because I know tomorrow when the guns goes off I’ll be sprinting with the leaders for the first kilometre and regretting it at the second, while they continue on their merry way and smash 32 minutes, making it look easy, bless ’em. Meanwhile I’ll be staggering to 5k and opening the ‘5k to go pain box’, jump in, assume the foetal position and close the door behind me.
Tomorrow will also be , probably, the last outing for my weapon of choice lately, the Adidas Takumi Sen 3 racing shoe. These bad boys have got me through three marathons, numerous half marathons, 10k’s and a load of park runs. Over 400km currently (thankyou http://www.strava.com ) but they are now well past their sell by date. The shoe is expensive (and if anybody finds them on special please email me!) but like all things in life you get what you pay for and these are worth 2-3 minutes over a marathon compared to the normal training shoes like the Asics Kayano. (I consider the Kayano more of a boot than a running shoe truth be told. I use to wear these shoes believing all the marketing hype about protecting your foot with their magic gel, about a kilogram of the stuff ! and raising the heel so much you’re virtually tipping over. Not for me people but as with all things running it is personal and this shoe may be right for you but I’m a less is more , when it comes to runners and wear those bad boys down to the bitter end before changing. We were built to run without shoes so, to me , all the shoe does is protesct you from the nasty objects on the concrete. )
Right that’s if for Saturday, I’ll be back tomorrow and post the race details ,which will of course involve lots of questioning myself, time in the pain box and maybe even me getting chicked. Wouldn’t have it any other way…. as you were.
We all run for different reasons. Personally I live for the thrill of the race, trying to go faster than you’ve ever gone before. This can be from any distance from 4k to 100k. I’ve raced them all and each one presents its own challenges but the blue ribbon event will always be the marathon. The marathon is short enough to allow you to race and set an expectation that is achievable , give or take a minute or two, but long enough to test yourself. Anything longer than a marathon and the margin for error increases significantly as other factors come into play, conditions on the day, hydration and nutrition strategies and just general ability to complete the distance due to the extra time required. Shorter races, although testing , don’t put you in the ‘ dead zone’ from 32k to the finish of a marathon, here wondrous things can happen. Alternatively this final 10k is where you are exceeding what your body is built to do without outside assistance, by outside assistance I mean extra nutrition, extra training and a string mental attitude. Similar to the last few hundred metres of ascent on Everest in the final 10k of a marathon you are somewhere you shouldn’t be.
It is from 32k onwards that you will see glimpses of the real ‘you’, who you really are, stripped back to the bare primeval goal of finishing something. In that last 10k there is no tax worries, family troubles, job insecurities, hell you even stop worrying about what Donald Trump is going to ‘tweet’ next, the only thing that matters is getting to the end of the race. As I have said many time if you look on the Strava mobile app you’ll see the first 32k of a marathon runners pace chart and be able to draw a straight line down the side of the pace bars; all within 10-15 seconds of the previous one. At 32k instantly that pace bar begins to lengthen and this will continue for the next 10k normally as the runner struggles with themselves as fatigue sets in and , trying to protect the body, puts on the brakes. I’ve mentioned many times this central governor , as Tin Noakes describes it in the ‘Lore of Running’, is only trying to protect you from doing more damage to yourself and apparently it can be tricked into either not coming on at all (probably by Kenyans only?) or maybe not as aggressively. This is the mental part of finishing a marathon, worth a good 5-10 minutes over the last 10k minimum. This ‘central governor’ is not present in shorter distances, what holds you back then is good old fashioned lack of either training, fitness or talent. All of these can be improved on, to some extent, but unfortunately the talent issue is probably genetic in most people, this does not mean we can’t chase our own personal PB times, whatever they turn out to be.
So back to the marathon, while running this evening I thought of all the ways you can improve your marathon time without actually running. There are quite a few which are largely ignored by the running population. So here they are :-
- Weight. Lose as much as possible as the lighter you are the quicker you will run. This is common sense but ignored by so many runners, even in my close knit circle of running friends there’s a few who may ‘over-indulge’ on a regular basis. They shall remain nameless but know who they are….. The old adage of ‘I run a lot so can eat what I want’ unfortunately does not ring true. A good runner is always hungry because they don’t eat enough, thus they lose weight and get to their ‘racing weight’ which is always lighter than you can normally survive on. This is why it’s a racing weight, to be achieved before a race and then ignored until the next one. Be careful not to ignore it too much of course as it makes the next time you try to get down to it more challenging.
- Racing Shoes. The number of Asics Kayano’s I see at the start of a marathon is criminal. These bad boys are like wearing concrete boots. Ok for long distance training (I suppose) but not for racing marathons. Get yourself a good pair of racing shows. I’d recommend the Nike Lunaracer (assuming you can find any) as they were the perfect combination of protection and lightness. My choice lately is the Adidas Takumi Sen 3, beware though these really are racing flats and you need to be light on your feet,and generally light all over, to get the benefit of these. If you can’t wear racing flats then any racing shoe lighter than your normal training shoe will give you a boost, a turbo charger without doing anything more than buying a pair of shoes, too easy.
- Carboloading and tapering. C’mon, eating more pancakes and muffins for 3 days before a marathon and running less for two weeks before. How good is marathon training ? Seriously though a good 3 days of carboloading is an enjoyable experience and although you may feel bloated this is mainly due to the extra hydration and overall this will help when you are in the last 10k, the most important part of any marathon. Search on google for ‘best carboloading diets’ and you’ll get the idea of what to eat. I normally work on 10g of carbohydrates for every kilogram of weight a day , for three days before the race. So for me, at 69kg, I aim to eat 690g of carbohydrates a day for three days. Which is actually quite hard to do.
- Pacing the race. Set yourself an achievable goal, either through past experience or from the may indicator tables available on the internet which can turn your 5k/10k or half time into a marathon prediction. Probably best to at least try and use a half marathon time as using a 5k or 10k time leaves yourself open to wild swings of finishing times and can be fatal if you go out too fast, it’ll make the last 10k even more interesting if the wheels have fallen of the wagon. The Macmillan calculator is pretty good ( https://www.mcmillanrunning.com ) Get the pace right and the whole experience is so much more pleasant.
- Race hydration and nutrition. Another ignored ,but so important, part of the marathon is by getting the hydration and nutrition plan right. Do a good job and the 32k ‘wall’ can be pushed back past the finish distance. Matt Fitzgerald (In Matt we trust!) has written a good book on this. (https://mattfitzgerald.org/books/ ) He’s written good books on most running subjects and I recommend you read them all. There maybe should be a Matt Fitzgerald paragraph for this blog. Reading his books will help your marathon time, without running, by putting his teaching into your daily routine.
- Get a coach. This may or may not involve more running but from the angle of working smarter compared to working harder a coach will help your marathon time without more running.
This list is by no means exhaustive and due to time constraints, i.e. it’s late and I’m up early tomorrow for a 14k progressive run with the boys, I’m going to cut this post short. Maybe I’ll do a part two later in the week…. until then remember you don’t always have to run more to go quicker. (Though you can of course if you want to, speaking from experience but that’s a post for another day….)
Time is getting away from me lately. My twice daily posts have morphed into daily and now weekly posts. Life is getting in the way it seems. Although this may have affected my ability to get to the keyboard you’ll be glad to hear I’m still putting in the kilometres, some things really are sacred. After Darlington half last weekend I managed to drag myself out for a recovery run in the evening, after first posting about the race of course, priorities.
The recovery run on the same day as the event is normally an exercise in pain management and this one was no different. I struggled, and I mean struggled, to hold anywhere near 5min/k average and my right ‘hammy’ , which is as fickle as a Donald Trump voter, was threatening to let go the whole way. Luckily it survived long enough to get me home and immerse myself in deep heat. (Much to the kids disgust of course, some people just don’t appreciate the soothing smell of Deep Heat at the dinner table, these non-runners are a funny bunch?) The next day was no better with recovery run #2 at lunchtime, much to the amusement of Jon and Mike who recover a lot better than me obviously. Both of them look forward to the recovery run after a race as they both save something so they can tease me with a pace just outside what I can achieve before slowing down to let me catch up, before repeating the process. Got to love running humour ? This lack of pace continued until the Thursday morning progressive where I managed to salvage some pride with a half decent hit out before a similar run in the afternoon. On the second run I actually nailed a perfect 10k progressive for the first time in months. I’m blaming the company I keep on the Thursday morning run where we get to sub 4 pace far too early in the 14k distance leaving you nowhere to go at 10k but slower; well for me anyhow. It then stops being a progressive and turns into a 5k tempo. (I’ve written a few posts on progressive runs and their benefits, if you search on the word ‘progressive’ you should get access to them.)
After Thursday my confidence was restored and even ran a good double up on Friday to prepare me for my first Park Run of the year. I have certainly advocated the park run on this blog many times and I firmly believe this is a must-have for all wanna-be runners of all distance. The 5k is long enough it will test you (and bite you in the backside if you go out too quick!) but not long enough that you can’t race it and still put in a good training week.
On Saturday I wasn’t expecting to much but with the help of my mate Andy went off like a rocket and managed a 3:09min/k first kilometre (when will I learn?). I did manage to hold 3:20min/k for the next 2k but let myself down a bit on kilometre four with a 3:29. I kicked for home and registered a 3:20 but the damage was done in kilometre four and I missed a PB by 8 seconds. No problem, I wasn’t expecting one and I felt good for the duration. A bonus was grabbing the Carine 50-55 age group record (from Andy funnily enough, remember him at the start!) to go with my 45-50 age group record. Also managed a top 10 finish nationally among all the ‘age grade’ champions for the park run courses. When you get to 50 it’s all about age grades and groups. (Sorry Mark Lee but it’s all us old timers have left to chase, quality twenty year old runners are now something we read about, not catch!)
Sunday came and luckily we had decided in the week to go with the Mark Conway plan (which Mike is copying , you didn’t hear that here.) and run a 20k easy, for no other reason than we were all a tad jaded after Darlington and fancied a shorter-long run. Due to family commitments I couldn’t start until 6:30am so we all decided to meet at Yelo at that time and either start from there or at least meet the rest of us and continue (if you needed a few extra kilometres.) My 9 year old Daughter did find this amusing as the main reason for this delayed start was her and here were 10 runners changing their lives because of her. We’re a funny lot runners, but accommodating, thanks lads.
So off on the short 20k run we went, ten of us started which normally calls for road closures in Western Australia. (We did pass Mark Lee running in the opposite direction dressed like a Christmas Tree which amused the group greatly ..?) Ten is a good number because it takes about 10k before you actually run out of the ‘initial banter’, this can be stories from the week regarding anything the group would find of interest. Truth be told there are a few subjects which are mandatory of course. Jon’s height and weight are also discussed early as well as Mike’s VO2 max score, add in Mark C’s training plan from Matt Fitzgerald and you’re good for 5k minimum. We then discuss politics for at least 2-3k but lately because of Donald Trump this has started to last a bit longer and normally involves a lot more laughter than previously. (American voters, c’mon, it is a joke isn’t it…?) My training plans are then fair game and also discussions about possible posts. Add in a few Phil quotes and before you know it you’re turning around for the run home.
This of course is when the real running happens. The outward journey is social, we’ve generally not met since the previous Sunday so we have a lot to catch up on. I mean as runners we live very full lives. We sleep, worry about our weight, distance, ‘niggles’, pace, alcohol intake (well my group for some reason doesn’t seem to be too worried ?) and then, well that’s about it really but all of this needs to be discussed at great length. Add in potential races and I’m surprised we have time for anything else bar eating muffins, pancakes and drinking coffee.
So back to the journey home. I must admit without the T-train lately (he’s still injured from the ADU 100K in January.) the last 5-10k has been a tad pedestrian. Tony would always push the finish and we often found ourselves at 5k tempo pace at the end of a long run. Luckily this is considered one of your ‘go to runs’ (a long run, fast finish) but I always felt the T-train just enjoyed putting us all through then ‘ringer’ at the end of a 30k, lovely guy Tone. (maybe we don’t miss him?….) Today was no different and I up’d the pace and split the group as we all moved towards Yelo and the final goal, a berry and white chocolate muffin and coffee combo. (see below!)
Being it was only 20k the end came around sooner rather than later and we all continued the conversations we had started 90 minutes previously outside Yelo, The topic of conversation didn’t really change much, (and never does truth be told but that’s the point isn’t it?) Jon’s weight and Mike’s VO2 score were discussed and Phil came out with some more gems which funnily enough were mostly already on the internet. This brings me to the reason behind the post. (Finally I hear you all shout !) … The Sunday long run is more the one time when you can let your hair down (excuse the pun in my case!) and just run with good friends who love the same things you love and then at the end celebrate the whole ‘running thing‘ over good coffee and ‘tukka’. If it does you good as well then that’s a bonus but it’s not the real reason we all run long on Sunday, there’s something far more important , running with your mates. (It is also important to know Mike’s VO2 score and Jon’s current weight battles but that’s secondary, I think?)
This weekend I ran one of my favourites half marathons, the Darlington half. Favourite for a number of reasons but the main one being the finish. The first half is 11k uphill initially and, being a point to point , there is a 10k downhill for the return. (For the more intelligent amongst you there is a small loop section which explains why its not a 50/50 split between up and down.) So if you get to the turn around with something left in the tank the final 10k is normally the quickest. It really is built for the holy grail of running , the negative split, often talked about but rarely achieved. At Darlington to positive split is actually harder than a negative split with gravity as your co-pilot you are normally caressed home. This year we even had a head wind up the hill to make sure it was negative splits all around !
So back to the race. We drove to the start in Jon’s new BMW and this certainly set the tone for a fast start. Jon is certainly a young man on a mission behind the wheel of a weapon of mass destruction that is his 330d . Please note I do not advocate speeding but if you do indulge it might as well be in a German sports car. So to the start line. The Darlington half starts downhill for the first 100 or so metres and then it’s 11k up, in different degrees of ‘hard’; i.e. hard, very hard, very very hard and this is surely classed as a wall hard !! As always I started way to fast and found myself sitting in 4th place after the first kilometre with another runner who I knew. We settled into the hill climbing part of the half and a stiff headwind, which meant we took turns at the front. Truth be told I think Chris took more time at the front than me but I played the ‘I’m 50 and so, being older, am entitled to sit behind you longer’ card. I’m not sure if this is proper running etiquette but in my mind it worked and I was more than happy to take it a read this was the way. Darlington is always a struggle initially as you race up a 10k hill. You feel you should be running faster than you actually are (according to your Garmin or GPS watch. Sometimes technology can be a curse!) but know you need to save something for the return journey. There is more ‘pacing‘ involved with Darlington as the race really is two different races in one; one a 10k slog uphill and then a ‘run as fast as you can without falling over‘ return 10k. The 1k in between these two races is flat and serves as a divide between the two seperate terrains.
Myself and Chris ran past the half-way cone (well I think it’s about 11k?) together and then started on the 1k in-between flat part of the course, pre-downhill. This also gives you an opportunity to see who is behind you without looking around (as we all know a cardinal sin in racing is looking behind you, never, never do this !) I noted that there was a group of 3-4 runners who were closer than I would have liked and all would be gunning for me on the downhill section, joy, just what you need when you’re knackered and still have 10k to run. (albeit downhill) I up’d the pace in a desperate attempt to put some distance between me and the chasing pack and started on the downhill section with a ‘spring in my step‘ as gravity and the tail wind combined to push me forward. The next 5-6k’s were eventful only in my continued effort to pull back 3rd place, a young man I could see was slightly slowing giving me renewed hope of a top 3 finish. (My best Darlington finish was 5th in 2014 and this becomes important with 2k to go…)
Unfortunately the faster I ran I was still unable to bridge the gap to 3rd and about 18k into the race I resigned myself to a 4th place finish as Chris had dropped off a tad, probably a by product of dragging a 50 year old up the hill earlier. This was going to come back and bite me as, at 19k, I heard footsteps behind me and my friend Luke went past after checking all was good. Luke, being probably 25 years younger than me , was cruising home and had left his dash for the line as late as possible. I moved back to 5th place, which given the race so far, I would have been happy with. Alas, not to be, another runner probably half my age (and then some) went past me with less than 1k to go and down to 6th I tumbled. All in all a 1:19:16 and 6th place was a reasonable hit out for the day. it was my second fastest finishing time on my 6th Darlington half.
What did I learn from the race ? Yet again I struggled at the 5-10k part of the race and felt better for the second half. Not sure if this was gravity and tail wind assisted but it was certainly less painful than the 16k race a few weeks earlier. I still feel I am struggling a bit with my form at the moment but I’m managing to hang on to some respectable times. I have 3 weeks to my next race which is a 10k so this will give me some focus to concentrate on shorter, faster training runs and maybe drop the odd double day; what will I do with all my free time I wonder ?
On a side note Darlington was also witness to a World Record as young Tom Alexander ran 1:24:22. You may wonder why it was a World Record, well Tom is 10 years old. ! He beat the current World Record by nearly a minute running a notoriously slow course . I personally reckon it is at least 2 minutes slower than a flat course, thus young Tom has it in him, on a flat course, to probably put 3 minutes on the 10 year old WR . Now that is impressive. As well as worried about being ‘chicked’ I know need to worry about being beaten by a 10 year old, life as a runner can be a stressful one.
So it was back with the boys this afternoon on the 10k recovery. Mike and Jon enjoy this run as they seem to recover better than me. I struggle to keep up with them as they discuss the race and I hang off the back cursing getting old and recovering like a 90 year old. I personally put this down to leaving very little in the tank after a race where as I sometimes think Jon enjoys the social side of racing a bit too much. Mike was chastising him for striking up conversations with strangers while racing and must admit this is not something I have ever down myself. Give Jon his due he did finish like Usain Bolt but I feel this had more to do with the free breakfast , including muffins, rather than the finishing time. Priorities Jon, priorities !! Once we dragged Jon away from the free breakfast it was back to his BMW and his best Lewis Hamilton impression on the way home. I did feel sorry for Mike in the back trying to eat his croissants and fruit as we went round corners faster that the space shuttle reentering orbit ! Oh well, that’s racing……
I have been quiet the last couple of weeks as I digest the findings from my last WAMC (West Australian Marathon Club) race where I worked very hard for a podium finish. The race itself was harder than expected and although I was happy with the end result it has certainly left me ‘scarred’, and this explains the lack of posts.
As runners we all run for different reasons, some for health, some wellness, some to escape life and others to embrace life. For me it has always been about racing myself and trying to better my best time, always looking to be my best or even beat my best. Over the years I have been very successful at this and ran many PB’s . This though has come at a cost and truth be told it has always been one I have been more than willing to pay. Each year I have increased my weekly distance and still ran the hard sessions when needed. It was always worth the extra effort as the PB’s kept coming and I even started to grab some podium spots as I hit my late forties. I had successfully moved from the middle of the pack to the front and this is an addiction that is stronger than any illegal drug. (Please note I assuming this to be true as being a dedicated runner my only vice is pancakes and muffins !.) Last year was perhaps my best ever as I left the forties and moved into my fifties. Admittedly I put in more distance than ever before and also changed my diet but the results came and they were better than I ever could have imagined.
Thus 2017 I started off on the same foot (excuse the pun) and kept up the double days and hard sessions assuming this PB trajectory would continue. The first hint of trouble was a 5k race at the beginning of the year where I ran over 17 minutes for the first time in a year. I put this down to the conditions and a tough training week pre-race. Looking at my training log I had ran the same race 3 years ago and go the same time so it wasn’t a complete disaster, or was it? Next was the ADU 100K, my first 100k ultra. This was a complete success with a 2nd place finish and a strong race throughout. The video was even good documenting the experience, thanks to Rob’s talent rather the subject. Next came a 16k race that I had run twice previously (for two 2nd place finishes.). This race was going to be the tester for the season and I was expecting to do well and try and break my 59:59:07 time from last year. The race report can be read here :-
This race has made me question my training and I am certainly more worried about what the future holds rather than usual excited anticipation you experience at the start of a racing season. With the Darlington half this weekend I need to make sure I work on my mindset as currently I am not in the right frame of mind to ‘attack’ the course and I feel similar to the last time I ran Darlington in 2014 where I was a few minutes slower than planned. This doesn’t sound a lot but when you race as much as me a few minutes is a lifetime and I certainly spent some serious time reflecting on that 120 seconds slippage! All of a sudden runners who I would normally never see where chasing me in the closing stages and when I finished there was a procession of runners behind me, far too close for my liking; I was being dragged back to the pack.
I understand that at fifty my time at the pointy-end of the race is limited and truth be told I was actually looking forward to moving back to the pack and relaxing my arduous training load but as I mentioned before being near the front is addictive and it’s not something I am willing to give up without a fight. I need my fix of ‘success’ and last year was a good year where I over dosed on medals. I’m just not ready to go back to the pack just yet but maybe I don’t have a choice?
Point Walter was hard in many ways but what was hardest to digest was the feeling that maybe I have ‘shot my bolt’ and the downward spiral of finishing times is over. I had the same feeling in 2014, after a particularly good previous year, and was prepared for the return to the pack. Last year though I reignited my PB streak but now I feel I am again facing the prospect of slowing down. Am I ready for this, no, can I do anything about it, I’m not sure and this is the problem. I have mentioned many times the mental part of running is so important and I need to ‘toughen up’ my approach as this took quite a hit after my last race.
So we’ll see what Darlington has to offer and I am hopeful I can put in a good performance, rather than excited about chasing faster times. Even typing this I feel it is an admittance of the first stage of accepting moving back to the pack and this may be a necessary journey because if the effort required to stand still is so great it becomes undoable you would soon lose your love of racing and then for me running, as the two for me are joined. I had already resigned myself for this journey in 2014 and last year was a bonus which was unexpected , albeit hard work to achieve. Is this my second attempt at accepting my times are now set in stone and no longer beatable, we’ll see, maybe as soon as this weekend at the Darlington half?
As you can see from the photograph above I did manage to keep ahead of the pace at Darlington and although I dropped a few places from my start sprint I still managed a top 10 finish so maybe I can keep myself ahead of the pack for another year or two? It’ll be fun trying……
After the weekend racing I certainly felt every year of my fifty on this planet. Monday and Tuesday were spent trying very hard to keep up with my training buddies and I was dropped on a few occasions even on our ‘easy to Matilda Bay and back‘ lunchtime 10k. The race itself was brutal and I needed the full 48 hours after a 10k to recover. Things improved Wednesday and come Thursday I was ready for another 14k progressive with the lads with the obligatory post run muffin and coffee at Yelo. Surprisingly the 14k progressive went better than planned and I managed to pull a PB out of the hat which was a pleasant surprise, albeit I worked for it. Of course with Strava I was able to investigate my previous runs and even print out the history of the run. In the image below you can see the gradual increase in average pace, bar one (9th February) where we decided to make a big effort to run a perfect progressive and this start slower to give us some leeway at the pointy end of the session. (I actually missed a perfect progressive by a few seconds on one of the last kilometres if I remember correctly? Still to hit a perfect 14k progressive.)
These sorts of graphics give you the little push you can sometimes need as you start another week of training. Marathon training is hard work and also hard work on a weekly basis, it doesn’t just end after a few weeks. Every Sunday you struggle to hit the weekly target and then Monday is all starts again and you’re back behind the eight ball. Add in progressively hard sessions and towards the end of a marathon training session you can feel absolutely finished. Luckily you have a few weeks tapering and then 3 days carbo-loading before the big event. These two activities certainly help at the end of a marathon plan.
So back to indicator sessions and races. I can see from my progressive run finish times over the last few months I am making an improvement. This sort of information helps spur you on as you move towards your ultimate goal. A glimmer of light in the dark tunnel of marathon training. I mentioned in a earlier post marathon training ‘is a slog‘, natural talent plays a part but good old fashioned hard work can make as much of a difference, this allows runners like myself, who are prepared to put in an extra few kilometres, gain an advantage or at least level the playing field.
As I have mentioned many times, and it’s even one of my golden rules, you need to document everything and Strava (http://www.strava.com ) or even Training Peaks , ( https://www.trainingpeaks.com ) these need to be your weapons of choice. As you move along your marathon plan you see improvement in the pace and/or distance of sessions, this gives you the push you need to get to Sunday, add up your kilometres (or look at Strava as the days of adding up left us when Bill Gates invented Excel of course. Thanks Bill.) and then start thinking about Monday morning and starting at zero again. Constantly look for improvements as you work towards the marathon, these will also give you the mental strength you will need in the race, ‘trust in your training’ is one of my favourite running mantras and these small victories help to reinforce this. Keep looking for these improvements , they do make a difference.
Right, Sunday almost finished, another 10k maybe and then it’s time to reset my weekly totals back to zero and back behind the eight ball I scuttle ready for another week of running, wouldn’t have it any other way really, I mean, what else is there ?