Last Sunday I ran with the normal crew leaving from City Beach at 6am aiming for a relaxed 21k. There’s a couple of lessons I learnt from this run. Firstly , yet again, I ran with Mark Lee and this was always destined for failure if you put the words ‘easy run’ and Mark Lee in the same sentence, actually in the same chapter. As I said on many occasions Mark Lee cannot do ‘easy’, specifically… https://www.runbkrun.com/2016/12/29/mark-lee-cant-run-slow/  and https://www.runbkrun.com/2017/02/05/beware-the-mark-lee-effect/   Well surprise  surprise Sunday yet again started easy for the first kilometre and then young Mr. Lee got to the front and it was all over bar the shouting. Adding to the pace was Jeffrey who had decided to wear his Nike LunaRacers for some reason (a racing shoe of the highest calibre) and he shadowed us for the first 15k of the run before exploding into a 5k sprint finish. Mark and Zac caught him with a few hundred metres to go after he ran himself into the ground. (as all good friends would on such an occasion, bless ’em!) I gave up with a kilometre to go and stopped for a shower, jumping the queue ahead of 3 dogs waiting for their apres-beach wash down. So this was lesson number one and truth be told to be expected. In Mark’s defence he is a ‘sprinter’ and really a 5k -10k specialist, anything longer and he has issues with his internal plumbing shall we say. The first time I met Mark was the Darlington half marathon where on the return journey he would disappear off into the bush ahead of us , return behind us, sprint past and repeat the whole process at least three times, he still beat me easily.  Anyhow this post is not about Mark and his famous (or is that infamous)  toilet stops.

At the start of the run we bumped into the ex-WAMC (West Australian Marathon Club) President (http://www.wamc.org.au ) and very talented runner that is Evan Kolbe. He was killing time before meeting his running group and ran with us for 4k as a warm up. As it was the start of the ‘easy’ run and Mark was just warming up we had time to chat and the discussion came around to motivation. Evan commented that his motivation for running , at a high level he once achieved, had disappeared many years ago and currently he was more interested in how he was going to glaze his ham for the forthcoming Christmas dinner. We joked that he would have preferred to eat the ham before the run or even better forego the run completely and just eat. I have spoken to Evan on a number of occasions about his running goals for the foreseeable future and he has always maintained he was now too interested in eating to worry about returning to his previous glory days and Evan had glory days in his past. He is fond of mentioning whenever he commentates at the Fremantle half marathon that he won the event once and his times , when he was in his prime, are very impressive indeed.

So what changed ? I suppose with all elites there is the constant pressure to maintain weight and training schedule to move forward and reach your ever increasing goals. Eventually the amount of time and effort required just becomes too much and athletes start to miss the odd session, put on the odd pound before throwing in the towel, so to speak , and moving back to the pack or at least closer to it. It’s a natural progression brought about by age in the long term but in the short term it can come down to just ‘getting a life‘ or maybe ‘getting on with life‘. I have said many times running is an honest sport and if you put in the time and effort you will be rewarded but the flip-side is it is a demanding mistress and you will be found out very quickly if you start to ‘slack off’. It is a two edged sword. Evan had had his time at the front of the field  and after a certain amount of years had decided it was time to drift back to the pack and start to think about glazed ham and a multitude of other fine foods he had been denying himself for so long. He certainly didn’t let himself go and even as recently as last year ran a 75minutes half marathon with a sub 2hr 40minute marathon in his sights but the Evan of old would have been a lot quicker.

The topic of motivation came back to haunt me on boxing day as I had given myself the day off after last years double run disaster on Christmas day, ( https://www.runbkrun.com/2016/12/26/seb-coe-is-a-better-man-than-me/ ) so on Boxing Day I was determined to make up for it. I pontificated until midday when I told the family I was off for a long run and not expect me for a couple of hours. Off I toddled to the Yaberoo trail , a 29k trail route with some serious hills and challenging terrain, no water or shade. Remember this is Perth in summer so it was around 32 degrees when I set off. I had taken two water bottles but exhausted these at halfway, not a good idea as I’m sure the way back was hillier , it was certainly hotter ! Anyhow I managed to get to the finish after an extra long stop in an underpass where I attempted to lay on the shaded concrete to cool down. Needless to say I was shattered by the time I drove home and found it difficult to move as all the lateral movement of trail running had played havoc with my groin,  so it was a double dose of Voltaren to enable me to take the dogs for a walk in the early evening.

The next day I set off for my morning run and was totally ‘goosed’ , returning 10k later with an average of 5:15min/k and questioning my reason for running generally. This was repeated in the afternoon and I went to bed that night feeling very sorry for myself. Thursday is  the normal Yelo pain train 14k progressive run (with our friend Mark Lee !) I was not expecting this to end at all well but set off with the lead group for the first 4-5k before being dropped and left to run by myself. Funnily enough I managed to put together a semi-decent 14k progressive time and felt generally better than when I started. (note: I even beat Mark Lee back to Yelo for reasons already explained at the start of this post. The amount of time Mark spends in the Rendezvous Hotel foyer toilet he should pay rent ! ) This was then repeated in the evening when I ran a reasonable 10k and finished strong. Friday morning was more of the same and as I type this post I’m excited about running some 5k pain trains tomorrow before a long run Sunday.

So the point of this post, and yes there is a point to this post, is motivation may elude you for days, weeks or even years but if you really love your running it will return. For me is was a blip in the middle of the week but for Evan it has been a tad longer. One day though I am confident Evan will wake up one morning and walk past his glazed ham without a second glance before putting on his trainers and deciding the best years are ahead of him and all he has to do is run that little bit further and faster and put a lock on the fridge. I look forward to following him home in a marathon soon but for now I look forward to his ham sandwiches at the New Years Eve WAMC run in a few days.

I have been to Malaysia several times on business over the years and each time managed to find some magic hills to play on,  cocooned in Malaysian jungle of course. Every time the hills have been brutal, the heat and humidity unbearable but the experience exhilarating. Could I run a marathon in these conditions ? Probably not. There’s a funny story there of course. Earlier this year Jon , fresh from running his first sub3 marathon for many a year, entered the Phuket marathon as it just happened to be on while he was holidaying with his young family. (Nice one Jon!) Anyhow we discussed his time pre-marathon and added 10-15 minutes to account for the conditions. Well how wrong were we.

It all started well enough and Jon made it to halfway in a respectable 95 minutes, give or take, near the pointy end of the field. Unfortunately around this point the wheels well and truly fell off culminating in a ‘nap’ on the course . Yes you read that right, Jon decided to have a little rest by the side of the road and woke up 20 minutes later.!! This is what humidity and heat can do to a good sub3 runner. Of course when Jon discussed this, probably over a bacon and egg sandwich , with no bread ( remember he is the  high fat, low carb (HFLC) pin up boy.) the boys could hardly contain themselves. Jon has been known to walk once in a while, which is always a source of amusement to the rest of us, but a nap while racing a marathon and probably in the top 10%, well he has taken it to a new level.

So back to my latest business trip to KL. I arrived after taking the red-eye ( so named as the flight is either very early or late, either way you arrive with ‘red eye’s due to lack of sleep) I checked in at the hotel and decided I needed to run 10k. After a brief conversation with the hotel porters who looked at me like I had two heads (I’m use to that of course) as I stood there in my running attire preparing to leave the sanctuary of the hotels air condition and venture out into the soaring midday humidity oven. I found a park a block away from the hotel which had a 500m loop around a lake (for lake read large expanse of brown stagnant water) .  I admit it was hot and humid but I always enjoy running in new locations so off I set around the lake for loop number 1 of 20. The run itself turned into a progressive for one reason and one reason only, self preservation. It was the middle of the day at a time when most normal people were hiding from the heat with only one silly Englishman running in circles around a brown lake, getting hotter and hotter with each lap. I did eventually manage the 20 laps but it was more of a lesson in mental toughness rather than enjoyment. I think enjoyment left the party at around lap two to be replaced by ‘what the hell am I doing this for’……

Eventually I finished and even put in a good progressive but looking at my heart rate there was no way I was going to continue. That’s what I like about hot and humid conditions, every run is a long run and leaves you gasping for air. I don’t think the word ‘easy’ and ‘humid’ are bed partners. After the run , on the way back to the hotel, I couldn’t help thinking about Jon and how he had got to half way in a marathon at a reasonable pace before succumbing to the conditions and resting his weary head. Must admit to a chuckle or two as I staggered back to the hotel looking like I had just showered , a lot !

My next run in KL was around a 1.3k loop in central KL close to the PETRONAS twin towers in the evening, This was a lot more pleasant and I cruised the loop for another 10k. All was good of course until I caught the train back to the hotel. In KL the trains are cold, really cold, and I was hot and sweating, really sweating.  Well as you can imagine when I boarded the train it was like Niagara Falls,  mothers grabbed their small children for fear  of losing them in the tsunami of sweat. Not nice for all concerned.

I had to find a run that would let me get to the start without too many MRT stops and speaking to my colleagues at work it seemed that there was a hill close by with good running facilities. They weren’t wrong, it must be a Malaysian thing but the hill was perfect , long, steep gradient and brutal. Add in the heat and humidity and you had a real test. (treat) I set off up said hill with a smile on my face and wasn’t disappointed 12k later when I eventually left the hill to return to the hotel for breakfast and work. It was too good to not go that evening and grab a few Strava CR’s (course records) after the initial visit showed some ‘gettable‘ records. (Remember Strava is life, the rest is details ; feel free to follow me on Strava , search for Big Kev, Perth, WA… All my runs are on Strava and if you can take anything from this information please do. http://www.strava.com )

That evening I went back and on tired legs did grab a few CR’s so I l left my mark in Malaysia. I enjoyed it so much I went back again this morning but the legs were well and truly past their sell by date so it became a recovery run very quickly. I suppose 30k of gut busting hills in two days was a tad too much, but what can you do? The conditions were brutal but the scenery inspiring , typical Malaysian, monkeys, wild pigs and all sort of exotic bird life, how can you not go for a run and be part of that?

So the point of this post is when you do get to experience new surroundings go for a run. We all love out local ‘old faithful’ loops we run continually with our friends but once in a while stepping outside your comfort zone is just so much fun. So find a big hill and go and play with it, variety really is the spice of life; and if it all gets too much for you then just find a kerb and have a nap, worked for Jon. (He did eventually finish the Phuket Marathon when he awoke from his ‘beauty sleep but well over the 10-15 minutes extra time we had given him. Lesson learned.)

Sunday was the obligatory long run with the boys and it reminded me of a post I wrote earlier in the year. Yet again we started at a reasonable pace and the first 15k was very relaxed, mainly due to the fact the T-Train was unable to get to the front of the group and set the pace. This was left to Bart’s who had ran 32k the day before and was very keen to keep the pace as slow as possible. This worked until the 10k mark when he announced he was only running 20k and scurried off back to the start to await our arrival after a quick dip in the ocean and a treat of some description no doubt.

Luckily I managed to position myself to the front of the pack and keep Tony at bay for another 10k or so but unfortunately when we hit the coast it was on for young and old as the T-train turned on the afterburners and all of a sudden we moving along at just over 4min/k average pace. This of course made the last 10k challenging but as you’ll see from the post below it is nothing new.

The fast finish at marathon pace is a run that is worth mastering for a number of reasons. Firstly you need to be fatigued to get the benefit of the last 5-10k MP pace, thus you need to probably run at least 20k to enter this state. Time on feet is enough as you’ll bank nearly two hours of running pre-MP finish. This gets you use to the feeling of fatigue and speed that you will need to embrace come the big day. Second once the pace starts to increase us runners are proud beasts and hate nothing more than being dropped. Stubbornness is a trait you will need in abundance to be a successful marathon runner, that and a large portion of tenaciousness.  Either way when the T-train explodes, which he will invariably do, you want to be as close as possible at the finish.

Today I managed to keep Tony and Mark C. in view but even with my top off I was unable to keep up. I was happy enough to keep them in my line of sight truth be told and managed to finish the week off with a 154k total and 11 runs. More than enough for the week and I managed to avoid the second run to make the 100miles, this was mainly due to family commitments but a big week none the less.  This week I’m off to sunny KL for work for so will hopefully be exploring some new runs, well I will definitely be exploring new runs as this is my first time in KL , outside the airport anyhow. The climate will be a challenge, hot and humid, but at least there’ll be no train to chase, maybe, just maybe,  I’ll miss him…..

Being Sunday it was the normal early morning alarm call and the obligatory long run with the boys. This  morning it was a 2 hour easy run, not worrying too much about pace but more time on legs, the bread and butter long run. We set of from Hillary’s car park and move gingerly towards City Beach which was 13k to the South and would make a good turning point. As it was we reached City beach dead on 13k and 1 hour , perfect pacing.

I wrote the post below on November 17th last year which was ironic as I ran with Mark Lee yesterday morning on yet another Yelo progressive run, he didn’t let me down yesterday as the photo above shows. In the post below I ran alone but lately we have a regular Yelo 14k progressive crew now who all meet at 5:30am and explode onto the bike path for a 14k out and back loop to Floreat Beach.

The progressive run really is one of my favourites because you can build into it and although the ‘pain train’ cometh there is an element of acceptance which makes it a little more bearable. It is to be noted this progressive was extra brutal due to the Rottnest Marathon a few weeks ago, the heat (as we are coming into a Perth summer) and my rabbits, being Mark Lee and Phil,  being relatively rested and thus uncatchable.

At 10k I was making up all sort of scenarios to slow, I have to race the weekend was one, my legs are still recovering from the Rottnest Marathon another, it’s too hot, I’m too old, etc. etc. Needless to say I ignored all of these negative thoughts and pushed on for another couple of kilometres before accelerating down the last hill as I smelt the coffee and muffins.

It is to be noted the run itself was an extra 500m’s due to Phil persuading us all to run through a building site and several dead ends, I felt like a lab rat ! At the time there was much laughter and joking about this mini-detour but I can tell you it was a different story at the end of the 14k distance and you still had another 500m to go, with your heart about to explode through your chest cavity ! Thanks for that extra time deep in the pain-box Phil.

As I posted this article at a time when only my Wife and Mother actually read my posts , for different reasons, my Wife to make sure I was actually running (though I can’t for the life of me think of anything else I could have been doing?) and my Mum because that’s what Mum’s do, take an interest in their Sons hobbies even when he’s the wrong side of 50, bless ’em. Thus it worth a read if only for the excellent article by Greg McMillan, who knows a thing or two about running. ( https://www.mcmillanrunning.com )

Rereading the post below I realised this was probably the first 14k Yelo progressive, a run that has since become a weekly occurrence, if Mark had turned up that fateful morning we may had run a completely different route and the 14k Yelo progressive may never have happened. All those muffins that I have enjoyed over the last year may never have happened. Looks like I owe Mr.Lee and his ‘man-flu’ a big debt of gratitude as this run now must rank as probably my favourite, for various reasons. Over the last year there has been so many good memories created because of this run and of course some serious coffee and muffin combinations put away. It has become more than just an early morning run, it’s more of a time for runners to just enjoy the pure art of running faster and faster until you can go no faster. The thrill of reaching a point of near exhaustion and pushing on, albeit briefly, of feeling totally alive and at one with yourself and your surroundings. Running gives you so much and never more so than on a well executed progressive, trust me on this people you need to run progressive runs, the coffee and muffin combo afterwards is a personal taste and unless you live in Perth, Australia, you ain’t ever going to get that Yelo feeling. If you ever do make it to Perth you’re more than welcome to pop along to Yelo, Trigg Beach around 5.30am on any given Thursday morning, just look out for a motley crew of men wearing very little with a glint in their eye……..

As I was let down by my training partner this morning (For the second time in 2 weeks !, for a fitness coach my friend, who shall rename nameless , Mark Lee doesn’t half get a lot of colds.?) I decided to still leave from my favourite cafe, Yelo, so when I returned in an hours time it would be just opening and I could reward myself with a muffin coffee combo before scurrying off to work. Setting off towards City Beach I was enjoying the views of an early morning Perth spring morning, see below. Ok I may have put on a filter to boost the colours (as is the way on social media these days.) but it was pretty inspiring, albeit alone.

While initially dawdling along towards City Beach I did start to feel a little guilty knowing what I was going to reward myself with at the end of the run . (photo attached at the end of this post) To this end I thought I’d better at least run for a full hour and also make 14k. I was also wary of running the marathon less than 2 weeks ago so had to make sure I didn’t get too excited as the second week of recovery is the dangerous time when runners think all is good and step up too early.  I put that last bit in italics for a reason, it needs to be digested and understood. Take it easy for 2 weeks, not just the first week post marathon.

So while I was dawdling along I concluded the best type of run for the occasion would be a progressive. As the names suggest you get progressively quicker each kilometre with the last few being the fastest. This has many benefits as I feel it allows you to warm up first and also you gradually increase the pace rather than shock the legs by hitting the turbo button with little warning. This to me is a lot easier on the legs compared to a threshold or tempo where you can find yourself running quickly on cold legs, a recipe for disaster.  Another good point is you can start as slow as you like, I’d even encourage you to start real slow as it makes the progressive pace increase easier. No point exploding out of the blocks on a progressive run as it makes the whole experience null and void when you start to progress the wrong way half way through your session.

This morning I was perfectly primed for a good progressive and managed to gradually increase the pace each kilometre ,  the pace of course quickened after the turn around as I was heading back to my favourite cafe in the whole world with the best muffin combo on this planet. (And probably the solar system , though this is my opinion and cannot be substantiated.)  I didn’t kill myself as I was wary of my two week rule (post marathon) so finished relatively fresh which allowed me to skip up the stairs to Yelo and claim my reward.

It seems I am not the only advocate of progressive running as Greg McMillan has written a great article also highlighting its benefits. He agrees with my points about being easier on the legs due to the slow start but also gives you 3 options and explains more about the stamina benefits. Personally I have only ran the increase pace each kilometre progressive but must admit to a few fast finishes as I’ve chased the young whip-snapper the T-train at the end of a long run, got to keep these young fella’s honest. The marathon pace finish to a long run is another favourite of mine but I’ll leave that to another post.

 

Greg McMillan wrote a great article on progressive running which is worth a read.

 

START SLOW – FINISH FAST: HOW THREE TYPES OF PROGRESSION RUNS BOOST YOUR FITNESS

Over the last few years, my athletes have benefited greatly from workouts called progression runs. In a progression run, you begin running at a slow, easy pace but finish at a fast pace. Not only will you find progression runs to be fun, but they are a great way to boost your fitness without any lasting fatigue. And, the benefits are the same no matter if you’re a 2:15 or a 4:15 marathoner.

Three Types of Progression Runs

While the idea of the progression run is simple – start slower, finish faster, I recommend that you begin with structured progression runs until you learn how to properly gauge your effort throughout the run. Below are the three structured progression runs that I have used successfully.

1) Thirds

The first type of progression run is called Thirds. As the name implies, you break your run into three equal parts or thirds. For the first third, you run at a relatively slow, comfortable pace. As you progress to the second third of the run, your pace will have gradually increased to your normal steady running pace. Over the last third of the run, you increase your speed so that you’re running a strong, comfortably hard pace. For many competitive runners this effort corresponds to somewhere around marathon race pace to as fast as half-marathon race pace and a heart rate between 80 and 90% of maximum. This strong running significantly improves your Stamina which raises the pace you can run before you begin to rapidly accumulate lactic acid.

For your first thirds progression run, choose a 45-minute easy run. Run the first 15 minutes slowly, the second 15 minutes at your normal pace and finish the last 15 minutes at a strong pace. While I break the run into thirds, your pace doesn’t radically change after each third. Instead, it is a gradual but steady increase across the run. After getting your feet wet with this first thirds run, you can adapt the concept to any duration/distance.

It’s important to note that the pace of the final third is NOT all-out running. An appropriate pace for the last third is approximately Steady State or Tempo pace.* Could you run faster at the end? Of course! But that’s not the goal of this particular progression run. In fact, if you run too hard in the last third, the workout becomes more like a race, which causes too much fatigue for the purposes of a progression run.

It’s likely that on some of your runs, you already do a thirds progression run without even trying. When you are fully recovered from previous workouts, the body seems to just naturally progress to a faster pace as the run goes along. And please note that I suggest you do this on an ‘easy run’ day not a ‘recovery run’ day.** For all but a select few elite athletes, progression runs should not be used on days when you are recovering from a previous workout or race.

Lastly, I find a thirds progression run to be an especially beneficial workout for experienced marathon runners – runners who can handle an additional up-tempo day in addition to their other key workouts and long run. The most important caveat, however, is that you must not push too hard in the last third. Strive for a medium-hard pace (around your Steady State Pace).

2) DUSA

The second type of progression run I call DUSA – after the Discovery USA program where we did a lot of this type of running. To perform a DUSA progression run, run for 75-90% of your total run at a steady, easy pace. Then, as you approach the final 15-25% of the run, you really pick up the pace. For competitive runners this means half-marathon to 10K race pace with a fast finish the last quarter mile. It’s exhilarating! You can then jog or walk for five minutes to cool-down. DUSA’s are not a race but almost feel like one, and you’ll likely find that your heart rate goes to over 90% of maximum by the finish.

For many runners, I assign this DUSA progression run as part of a 50- to 60-minute run where they run easily for 40 to 50 minutes then “progress” to a strong pace for the last five to 15 minutes. With my elite marathoners, I assign DUSA progression runs of up to 90 minutes in length and with up to 15 to 25 minutes fast. But, by simply using the idea of running the last 15-25% of your run at a faster pace, you can adapt this progression run to whatever duration or distance you run.

Compared to the thirds progression run, a DUSA involves a slightly faster pace for a slightly shorter amount of time and provides a little different stimulus to the body.

You’ll be surprised at how fun a DUSA workout is and that it really doesn’t take much out of you. I insert it into an athlete’s program where I want to make sure the athlete gets some quality running but can’t afford a long recovery time after the workout. Again, the idea is that we get a few more minutes of Stamina training integrated into the training week but that none of these fast portions are intense enough or last long enough to cause any lasting fatigue. You should not feel any effects of the DUSA progression run on your next run. If you do, you are probably pushing too hard in the faster portion. You may also want to change where you insert them into your program. Consider including more recovery runs before or after your progression runs.

3) Super Fast Finish

The final type of progression run is one of my personal favorites and was utilized by Paul Tergat in his build-up to the Berlin Marathon where he set the world marathon record of 2:04:55. For this workout, the name says it all. You run a normal steady run but run super fast in the last three to six minutes of the run. When I say super fast, I mean super fast. Pretty much like a 5K race to the finish. Like the DUSA workout above, these runs are exhilarating yet don’t require a long recovery. They are fast enough to really stimulate your Speed and Sprinting ability (muscle recruitment, coordination, mental focus and lactic acid tolerance) but short enough (three to six minutes) that you will feel no lasting effect on your next run. That said, you must be accustomed to fast running before trying to run asuper fast finish progression run otherwise you will likely be sore from the speed.

We did a lot of these when I was in high school. We would run our normal easy run pace but as we approached the last half mile before getting back to campus, we would begin to push very hard. It’s probably even fair to say we raced each other to the finish line. Our thought was that this super fast finish established a habit out of finishing fast so that when it came to a race, no other team would be able to finish as fast as we could. It would just be automatic that we would run hard at the end. As warned in the previous progression runs, we did not do this on our key recovery days. We ran it on a day where we were completely recovered.

How Progression Runs Benefit You

While the above told you the “how’s” of progression runs, I want to also tell you the “why’s” so that you can be smart if you integrate this type of training into your program. I find that progression runs are effective for three primary reasons. First, we know that warming up the muscles by starting out slowly not only decreases your risk of injury but “primes” the physiological pathways that will be used in faster running. If you push too hard before the appropriate energy delivery systems are ready for the effort, then you will stress the anaerobic systems; not what we’re after in our normal, everyday runs. In fact, going anaerobic (or more correctly, building up too much lactic acid) can even inhibit the development of your aerobic system so make sure that if the purpose of your run is to develop your aerobic system, you don’t start the run too fast.

Second (and I think this is most important), progression runs allow you, across your training cycle, to increase the volume of faster, stamina-type training. For example, if you include a couple of 60-minute progression runs that include 10 minutes at a fast pace in your program each week, you will add an additional 20 minutes of stamina training to your program. Across your training cycle, this additional stamina training results in a much fitter athlete.

Third, this increase in the volume of stamina training comes at a very small price. Correctly using progression runs results in very little fatigue compared with normal running. In fact, my experience has been that the athletes who most often suffer from overtraining, injury, undue fatigue and poor racing are those who push too hard, too soon and for too long in their runs, particularly their easy and recovery runs. Progression runs allow you to insert fast running into your training runs (feeding your need for speed) but in a way from which you can easily recover.

How to Integrate Progression Runs into Your Training

As important as it is to understand the why’s and how’s of progression runs, it’s more important to know how to safely and effectively incorporate them into your training. I recommend that near the end of your Lydiard-style base phase you first add one progression run into your weekly schedule with ample recovery time leading up to and after the progression run day. In other words, don’t do a progression run on the day after your long run. Once more accustomed to progression running, then you can begin to include more in your weekly schedule based on your experience level, training frequency and training phase.

One note: just because progression runs are beneficial, this doesn’t mean that “all” of your runs should be progressions. Progression runs are just one component of a well-balanced training program and can be used to temper any tendencies to start runs too fast. They also add some (often much needed) variety to runs, which keeps things fun. The number of progression runs that you can tolerate each week is dependent on your experience level and ability to tolerate training. If you run three to four times per week, you may only run a progression run every other week – the other days being devoted to other types of training. A pro runner who runs ten to 13 times per week, however, may run two to six progression runs per week, mostly DUSA and super fast finish workouts. Like all training, you must start conservatively and see how your body reacts to progression run workouts. With this information, you can find the optimum training routine that works for you.

Final Thoughts

The next time you are in a relaxed training phase, try incorporating progression runs into your program. The workouts not only add variety and make training fun, but significantly boost your fitness without a lengthy recovery. Used as part of a smart, overall approach to training that includes building an endurance base, gaining strength through stamina training, adding speed and working on your finishing sprint, progression runs will give your fitness a boost.

 

This is the last photo of my Yelo muffin this week I promise, but I must warn you it is a beauty. The muffins at Yelo really are special. ( http://www.yelocornerstore.com.au )

 

Sunday morning is the traditional long run for myself and my running brothers (and in todays case a sister, thanks for bringing some decorum to our group Jules.) It is after said run we get to do what I run for basically, eat sugar disguised as either pancakes, waffles or muffins all washed down with a good Cappacino,  People ask me what I enjoy most about running and to me , and it must be said most of the running group, it’s the post-long run (or the Thursday Yolo progressive) ‘tukka’ and conversation. Admittedly living in Perth we are spoilt rotten when it comes to the scenery we play in and the weather as a whole. In Winter it may be dark and rain (once in a blue moon) but it’s rarely cold and I’ve never not ran because of the conditions. There’s been a few times when we’ve all sat in our cars as a ‘squall’ passed over but it’s normally pretty quick and I’ve never had a run I regretted. As we move into spring in Perth we really are blessed with near perfect running conditions and today was no exception. As a few of us (myself included) are racing Rottnest next week the run was to be a 20k , time on legs, easy run. More about the banter afterwards than a hard session, all the hard work has been done and we are in taper mode.

It is to be noted there were a few runners in our group who find it difficult to run slow, Zac and Ross being the main culprits,  so we gave Damo’ (front row, far left) the task of grabbing pole position and slowing the pace down. This lasted about 1k before Damo’ failed in his task spectacularly and blew up big time. Unfortunately it was then on for young and old as the pace dropped from the planned 5min/k pace down to the low 4:30min/k very quickly. This continued to the half way point with much grumbling from the back runners including myself. At halfway though I suddenly felt a second wind and decided to put in 5k of MP (marathon pace) before slipping back to a more respectable pace as I stumbled towards City Beach and waffles. It’s been a long few weeks of quality training so my 5k of MP was never really going to happen. In the end I settled for 4k of ‘near MP’ and then a drink stop, while I waited for the group to catch up.

In the end Jeff and Ben came running past and I joined them briefly for the next hill before setting off alone again drawn to the waffles and coffee that awaited me at City Beach. In the end my overall average was 4:22min/k for 20k but more importantly I felt relaxed and enjoyed the hit out. Without doubt though the best part was the first 10k and the company. The kilometres really do pass so quickly when you run with friends as you have a week of  ‘man stuff’ to catch up on. Being mostly a male dominated group we don’t tend to speak in the week unless we run together and we have found ‘What’s App’ now so all runs are organised online. Actually running together forces conversation, a lost art these days it seems, also if you know me you know I like to talk,  so without company I struggle with distance.

Today was no different and we chatted like long lost friends , well it had been a week, about all the latest ‘stuff’, I would try and be more specific but it really can be anything and everything. The main topic is normally running related of course, about upcoming races, who just ran what and in what time is always high on the agenda, new shoes (a very topical topic at the moment with the Nike arrivals) and when will the 2 hour marathon be broken and will anybody from my group do it? Either way the time ticks along nicely and a long run can be over before you know it, well maybe not that quick but certainly a lot quicker than running solo. Back in the day I use to do my long runs alone and boy when you ain’t in the mood, and you start counting K’s early, you are in for along day at the office. I had a 34k run from my house to the end of the bike path at Burns beach and back as my ‘last long run of choice‘ before a marathon and most times it was a killer. I remember the last time I ran it I was counting kilometres very early and the run just seemed to drag on for ever as I slowed with every K. Mentally I was finished before I started and I have had so many bad runs on that route but still perceived , we’re a funny bunch runners?

Different story with the current day ‘BK posse’  , the long runs are more bearable and dare I say ‘enjoyable’, well as ‘enjoyable’ as a long run can be. The conversation and shared suffering helps, maybe it the shared suffering that really helps. Watching your fellow runner in as much pain as you makes your suffering seem a little easier, I say that in a nice way of course? That’s not to say every long run is painful but when you’re in the middle of a training block for a marathon, I’m sorry people,  you need to spend some time in the pain box, with or without your running buddies. Maybe it is  the ‘problem shared is a problem halved type ‘ scenario but with pain and suffering, I’m not sure but it just works. Nothing I enjoy more than seeing my running buddies in pain, again in a nice way?

Some competitive rivalry is also useful within the group as it spurs on good performances. In our group at the moment most of the runners had ran a sub3 marathon with the exception of Gareth, Jeff and Mark L.  Mark C. was a member of this group but with the help of a one-on-one training plan from Matt Fitzgerald ( http://www.mattfitzgerald.com in Matt we trust! ) had gone from just over 3 hours  to a 2:55 and then a 2:48 in the last few months. (fuelled on carbs!) Mark L. was desperate to enter the sub3 club and did so last weekend with a second place finish at the Bussleton Marathon and a 2:57 finish.  Give Mark L. his due he had been taking a severe ‘ribbing’ since missing out on the sub3 target at the Perth City-to-Surf ,which was well short. (Even his Mum joined in.) This time there was no mistake. So instantly the mantra of ‘not ran a sub 3‘ falls to Gareth, Jeff has a get out of jail card as he is well over 100 years old and thus , age adjusted , has actually ran sub2; probably sub1 truth be told !!

I read a great article recently written by Matt Fitzgerald , In Men’s Journal, as he documented the top 5 things he learnt from training with the elites for the recent Chicago marathon,  where we ran his target time of sub 2:40.  One of the top 5 tips was train with people of similar abilities and goals.   I wonder if Matt would have been so sure if he’d met my bunch of running reprobates, interesting , maybe we’ll get him over to sunny Perth one day for a Sunday long run, I just hope he can keep up with the banter as he’ll have no troubler keeping up with the pace , especially if we can get Damo’ to the front albeit briefly ?

Do the Little Things

Fitzgerald says that training goes beyond, well, training. “Carve out time to work on your strength and mobility limitations,” he says. “Do form drills, get a massage, use a foam rollerand so forth. Your workouts will go further if you support them with ancillary activities.”

Listen to Your Body

One aspect of pro training that really hit home with Fitzgerald was the willingness of the elites to cut a workout short or even take a day off if something was hurting. This is something most amateurs are loath to do, opting instead to stick it out and do the work on their training plans. Often, it sinks their ships. “This ‘live-to-fight-another-day’ mentality reduces the risk of injury and overtraining,” he says.

Train With People Who Have Similar Abilities and Goals

“You’ll benefit more from your training if you surround yourself with athletes who can pull you along on their good days and whom you can push on your bad days,” Fitzgerald says. If you don’t have ready training partners, seek them out via your local running club or shoe store.

Spend More Time at an Easy Pace:

After the Perth City to Surf I faced the normal marathon ‘come-down’ where you struggle coming back to earth after the high of a good marathon finish. The early part of the following week is particularly hard as you are forced to lay off the normal running routine to give your legs, and body, some time to recover from the beating you gave it on the previous weekend. More time off you feet which is always compounded by the previous few weeks pre-marathon,  which were tapering. Thus with any marathon you are always faced with a very minimal month of training, two weeks pre-marathon and two weeks post-marathon.

This is when the self-doubt starts to set in as when you do eventually start to return to the normal training schedule you are normally way off your normal cardio fitness levels. I always find I can normally return to the same weekly distance pretty quickly but pace is always more challenging.

For some reason though this time I am having trouble retuning to my weekly routine. I have been promising myself I’ll ramp up for the Rottnest Marathon end of October  ( https://www.wamc.org.au/major-events/rottnest-marathon-fun-run/  ) but find every morning I just find a reason to justify not running. There have been many excuses, it’s far too cold, too dark, I’ll run longer lunch time, dogs need feeding, possible ISIS attacks (ok that one is clutching at straws but you never know, we live in a dangerous time apparently ?)  I’m just finding it hard to return to my normal twice a day, 7 days a week training routine that use to be the norm.

In my defense I have moved house recently and I still haven’t found an ‘old faithful’ , a 10k run that I enjoy enough to run 4-5 times a week and one that can be run on auto-pilot. Every runner needs an ‘old-faithful’ to help them rack up the time-on-legs while not requiring any thought or too much effort. Without one of these routes you need to think about each and every run and ‘thinking’ can be mentally challenging, well it is for me. I have tried a few routes but just haven’t nailed one that I’m totally happy with. This makes the morning runs difficult to justify and at the moment this is all the excuse I need. (bar the ISIS threat of course?)

I put down my ‘stella’ year last year down to the extra training distance and double-up days and if I was to return to my pre-2016 training levels am I going to suffer, performance wise ? Add in the mix my age ‘challenges’ (This is being the wrong side of 50. ) and I seem to be in a corner.  What’s the answer ? Maybe a funny looking bike with no seat.?  On the weekend I dusted down the Elliptigo  ( http://www.elliptigo.com/ ) and rode 40k before a 10k easy run on grass and it felt great. I got the cardio workout I required but also didn’t feel like I had exercised for over 2 hours because I have the bike and run combination. Trust me after the workout I was goosed for the rest of the day, in a good way. Maybe my days of 14 runs a week are behind me, for the moment,  but with the Elliptigo I have the opportunity to keep up the hourly weekly exercising total.

So tomorrow morning I am going to run a pre-work 10k, return home, pat the dogs and then get on the Elliptigo and charge to work before treating myself to a Coffee and Banana and Walnut bread, toasted of course.  I will then repeat this for the next four weeks giving me the chance to aim for a top 5 finish at Rottnest and an age group win, this is important because the competition on Rotto’ is heating up and my days in the top 5 may be numbered. The Elliptigo may be the weapon I need to drag me to the Rottnest podium one more time, that or the Banana and Walnut bread ? Also on my Elliptigo I’ll be a lot to harder to hit if ISIS do  decide to target balding, bearded runners on bikes with no saddles, you never know people we live in dangerous times ?

So to sum up this post , because sometimes I lose track myself, if you lose your running mojo you need to look at other ways to maintain your cardio fitness and cycling, swimming, the gym or even funny looking bikes where you stand  up may be what you need to scratch that itch. Anything is better than nothing and eventually your mojo will return and when it does you need to be ready.

The Choo-Choo run was an idea of Simon Coates a few years back. Basically we all drive to North Dandelup Station (and I use the word ‘station’ in the broadest sense of the word, it is actually a small raised platform and a car park.) and run to Serpentine train station to catch the only train back to the start. Miss the train and you are faced with either a 10k walk back via the road (and in the country running on the road is suicide due to the drivers all believing they are Michael Schumacher,  before the skiing accident !) or worse, repeating the 35k trail run in reverse. (Now there’s a thought ? )

It’s not a race as such, more of a man versus train type run with friends. Everyone leaves at different times with the idea being you’ll all arrive together at the finish, a handicap run I suppose. There was talk of a prize for the last person to leave North Dandelup and make the train but this, for this year at least, was shelved. As it was I have attached a photo of the runners who left last @ 7am, this was 30 minutes after last years leaving time so we’d given ourselves little margin  for error . Its a 35k testing trail run which should take around 3hours and the return train leaves Serpentine @ 10:20am.

So off we went full of the joys of spring bounding up the first 6k which is all uphill and on road. As I mentioned earlier this is testing for two reasons, one, the hill is large , unforgiving and long (as all good hills should be) but there is also the threat of getting cleaned up by the ‘country drivers’. In the country life may be slower but the driving is anything but. There’s a reason that even Kangaroos get wiped out on  a regular basis. Faced with slowing down country drivers decided to speed up and fit ‘bull bars’ to their cars,  so rather than avoid Kangaroos(or runners!) they accelerate into them .  Bless ’em.

We managed to get to the top of the road section intact after one close call when three cars cut a corner and we happen to be on it, you certainly feel alive when that happens trust me. Once we regrouped a quick headcount indicated we were one short (literally!) . Bart’s , who had driven me down to the start, was missing so I volunteered to run down the ‘hill of death’ and find him. After a longer run that I had wanted to take on at such an early stage of the adventure I found Bart’s ‘huffing and puffing’ up the road in a world of pain. This after 6km’s into 35k challenging trail run , racing a train. Not a good start and I indicated the best thing he could do was return to the car and wait for us or at least give me his car keys (as my bag was in his car, it wasn’t about the bag though , honest ?) Bart’s insisted on carrying on and asked me to come back and check on him during the run. Due to the time constraint we had set ourselves I told him in no uncertain terms this was not going to happen and once I left him he was on his own. Surprisingly he was ok with this and, with no prior knowledge of the route and less than 3 hours to run the remaining 29k, was happy to take on this adventure , alone.   So Barts was dropped quicker than Hilary Clinton endorsements after the American Election, never to be seen again, or so we thought ?

After dropping Barts like a bad habit I caught up with the back markers and eventually the main group. We continued on our merry way commenting how enjoyable trail running was and how we should do it more often. Please note this is the same conversation we have at the beginning of every trail run, unfortunately our views on trails can sometimes be a tad different by the time we finish; and that’s be nice about it !  Anyhow we made it to the 21k mark where our ‘race director’ Simon Coakes had dropped water and gu’s, it was the least he could do after DNS’s the previous evening due to umpiring his son’s footy game and pulling a hammy. (He’s getting old Si, bless him.)

The last 14k after the drinks stop is the best part of the Choo-Choo run as you run off the scarp which means some wicked descents into Serpentine. Last year I was able to take advantage of the terrain and put in some seriously fast splits but this year, due to it being 2 weeks after the Perth City-to-Surf marathon, my hammy’s had tightened up so every step was painful as I hobbled (and that’s being nice) down the hill.  No worries. reached the Deli and tucked into my first Brownes Mocha for probably 6 months, man did that taste good !!

We had 20 minutes until the train arrived so just enjoyed telling tales of the day when all of a sudden who comes into sight, walking the wrong way to the Deli,  but Barts. ! Unbelievably he had somehow managed to get to the finish in time for the train, albeit running 3k less , somehow ? At the time of writing this post it has to be noted we have not seen any Strava evidence  ( http://www.strava.com) of Barts and whatever trail he did run but assuming he said he did what he did I am in awe of the man.

Funnily enough the train was graffitied at the main depot so was cleaned before it set out on its journey, resulting in a 45 minute delay. We could have started at 8am, not 7am, and still made it easily. When the train did arrive at the station there was no sign of any graffiti and maybe next year this could be a cunning plan for a lie-in, just got to persuade someone with a spray can to get the train before it leaves ? That’s wrong,  right?

The photo below is all the crew who made the finish including a few runners who left before the 7am sweepers. There has already been lots of talk of leaving even later next year but we’ll see; no one has actually missed the train yet so there will be a first. One thing for sure it won’t be Barts, if he can recover from near exhaustion at 6k and then still finish less than 3 hours later after running 32k I reckon the man could fly if he wanted to.  Running gives you so much and on that Sunday it allowed me to witness a miracle, how does one go about nominating someone for a sainthood ?  Saint Barts of lost causes, it has a nice ring to it, if only he was taller…..