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Right here they are, the rules I abide to and will help you achieve your goal when it comes to running marathons, or any distance really. I’ll spend time on each in more detail but for the moment I’ve set them out in a list below.
- Run Further. Add distance, not speed.
- Run Faster. This is about adding pace after you have got your foundation after rule 1.
- 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!)
- Nutrition, nutrition and nutrition… Did I mention nutrition. It’s all about the proper fuel.
- Weight. So important, use to believe because I ran 100k+ a week I could eat what I wanted. Not true.
- 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 !!!
- Sleep. So underestimated but the bodies way of refuelling and preparing for the next day of running. Common sense but so often ignored.
- 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.
- 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.
Feel I should be able to find 1 more rule. It’s always 10 rules right ? I wonder what happened over the years to all good rules number 11 which never made the cut.
Easy 12k this morning , making just over 154k for the week and the opportunity to break my all time distance record if I can fit in one more run this afternoon. Also for the first time I’ll have run twice a day every day for a week, 14 runs.. It’s going to happen. For the moment this was just a run to reflect on the achievements for the week and what to plan for next week. This was the second week after the Perth City to Surf marathon so it’s all about recovery and distance, no speed. The speed will be reintroduced next week. Until then it’s plodding along…
This year at halfway I feel great and this spurred me on to a good second half and a 2:47 and change finish. 6th place, just outside the prizes for top5 (for the second year ) Managed to grab an age group win so all-in-all a good day and a springboard for the City to Surf marathon in August.
First post on the World Masters in Perth October/November 2016. I’ve entered for the 5000m and the Marathon (you’d be mad not to really!) . I ran the Perth City to Surf marathon end of August so have 6 weeks of solid 150k a week training ahead of me. Ran a 100k recovery week last week and on for 160k this week so so far all going to plan.
The 5000m is a bit of fun really as it’s on the track and I only run track normally once a year max. The marathon is a different matter and I’m determined to try and place in my age group. This is made all the more difficult by being 49 and 10 months in a 45-50 age group ! If only they held it next February my task would have been so much easier. No worries, if you haven’t got to work for it, it ain’t worth working for.
I’ll use this category to track progress towards October 29th for the 5k and November 6th for the marathon.
A relaxing 10k racing the sunset after the 23k this morning. Double up days are the way forward if your body can take the extra load. No need for speed on the second run, just distance. I actually enjoy a good ‘slow’ second run as much as a tempo or threshold run. I know the second run is doing so much good without the need to jump into the pain box as it required for the thresholds and tempos. 6 days this week, 12 runs. Upton 144k for the week. Need 16k tomorrow for a 100mile week. All about numbers, you bet !! No hiding no we all have Garmins and Strava. http://www.strava.com It’s been a busy week.
Notice two Garmins as one records distance and pace the other holds the course. Still managed to get lost in 2 of my 7 finishes !
Just set up a new category so my first blog on Nutrition. For a runner fuel is everything, like all machines with moving parts if you run out of fuel, or put the wrong fuel in, there’s going to be problems. I’ll go into detail regarding my views on the right food to fuel you but needless to say my first tip is to avoid man made sugar. If you learn nothing from this blog site but this, my job is done.
Great morning for a run. Usual suspects all running a Park Run and because I have to drop the Wife and No1 Daughter at the airport tomorrow I had to go long by myself. Longs runs by yourself are a good time to reflect on ‘stuff’., anything really. Makes the K’s disappear if you can drift away and ponder. Today was an easy run until I heard footsteps behind me and then ‘it was on’ for 5k. Can’t be seen to be over taken. The vanity of a runner. After that runner was dispatched it was back to 4.15min/k pace until the end of the run which coincided with the local park run and a nice warm down with some friends. All in all a good mornings work and moving along to 130k for the week so far, and run number 11 for the week.
Hello and welcome to the ‘ramblings of a runner’. I hope to install in you my passion for all things running and also encourage a healthier lifestyle and general wellness. Exciting times. It has taken me the best part of 4 hours to work out how to buy a domain, link it to software built for blogging and type this first post. So lets publish this and then I’m off to bed to recover.