General day to day ramblings
Looking at my training log for the last 8 years I have has no real down time as such. Maybe a week off after the Rottnest Marathon as I vacation with the family counts ? Not as long as recommend by Greg in his article. I do have a ‘reduced workload’ period for 2-3 months over the summer months in Perth where most of the major races dry up due to the heat. Maybe this has been enough to keep me focused while still maintain the intensity and running goal times in the ‘running season’. Truth be told it isn’t reduced that much though when it gets really hot I jump on the bike and commute to work and reduce my running to once a day.
Maybe I’m actually following Greg’s advice without actually realising it ? Like all things running it is not a ‘one shoe fits all’ sport. What works for one person will not have the same affect with another. What Greg preaches is common sense and well worth considering and I will take it onboard. (maybe this will justify a trip to the local deli and another muffin ?) Spending more time with my family, that always put a strain on the marriage ? I’ll consult with my Wife before I embark down this road. I’m not so sure the family will appreciate more BK time…
THE LOST ART OF RECOVERING BETWEEN TRAINING CYCLES
I see a bad habit forming in many runners: the lack of a recovery cycle after their big races or racing seasons. Today, far too many are simply finishing one race (often a marathon) and immediately starting to train for the next one. You can get away with this a few times, but usually runners get burned out and leave the sport for new activities after doing this too often. The grind of always “training” weighs you down. Runners may also reach a performance plateau after a few races and fall well short of their true running potential, simply because they don’t allow a proper recovery phase.
In fairness, I understand this drive to move from one race to the next. I love running, too, and there is nothing better than being fully engaged in training for a big race. But never taking a break ignores one of the most important principles that we learned from great coaches and athletes over the last century: Top runners require a regular, full recovery cycle.
Great athletes build annual breaks into their training year. Not a reduced week or two of training every now and then, but weeks of complete rest. They don’t only rest, but they gain weight, too. Some add 5 to 15 pounds to their normally light frames while they enjoy time with their families, take vacations and generally do things they normally can’t because of their training.
If you follow many of today’s great runners, you’ll see that they, too, take the time to get away from the sport. Nick Symmonds goes fishing after the track season. Bernard Lagat talks about getting “fat” during his downtime, and the Hansons require their marathoners to take two weeks completely off after a marathon.
How can they do this? How can great athletes allow themselves to get out of shape? How can they tolerate the downtime without worrying about the competition?
While we worry about losing our fitness level, or that the competition is training and we’re not, these athletes know that planned annual breaks rejuvenate the body and mind in ways that outweigh losses in fitness. The worriers who plow through often take similar breaks, but rather than planned vacations, they are mandated by injuries, overtraining and burnout. Planned breaks take the pressure off — you don’t feel that your training is never-ending, jumping from one goal to the next. Science is discovering that the chemistry of the brain, the hormonal system and the immune system are compromised during hard training. Breaks rejuvenate these systems, allowing us to train better, more consistently and with more zeal across the next training plan.
Will you lose fitness? Yes. How much is hard to calculate and will depend on how long a break you take. But it’s not about how out of shape you get, but about how recovered you are and how ready to attack the next training cycle.
Remember that the recovery phase isn’t just the downtime, but also the time needed to rebuild mileage and pace. Many runners fail even when they do take time off, because upon their return, they jump right back into full training — again feeling the need to “get in shape.” You’ll need to plan on three to five weeks of rebuilding to your full training load. I usually start at 50 percent of full mileage, then increase 10 to 20 percent each week (with a recovery week of lower mileage every two to four weeks) until I’m back to 100 percent. Use common sense and build back slowly.
In the end, what’s the rush? A few weeks of downtime never ruined anyone’s running career — quite the opposite.
COACH’S NOTES
I took nearly a month off after my last marathon. I gained a few pounds. I enjoyed some new hobbies and time with family. But most of all, I rediscovered the desire, motivation and passion that drive me as a runner, and I couldn’t wait to challenge myself to do better. The next training cycle went even better than expected because I carried all the fitness from the previous cycle, plus my recharged motivation. I was able to run 2 minutes faster in the 15K than I had the year before. I’m convinced the recovery phase played a large role in this breakthrough.
The week after the marathon is a magical time when really you get to do what you want without the constant fear of not training. If you want you can do no exercise the week after a marathon and this has been shown to do as much good as gentler recovery. The only reason I run in the post marathon week is I love running and my treat to myself after a marathon is to run, albeit slowly. Can you treat yourself after so much running with more running, not sure ? Anyhow this is the week to go large on the ice cream scooper make multiple visits to your favourite deli and order that high fat, sugar laced muffin you normally just stare at in wonder.
Basically let yourself go (to a point) while you reload before your next goal, because people there is always a next goal. A runner without a goal is not a runner. With no goal why would you push yourself into the pain box on those interval sessions, run yourself close to vomiting on the VO2 sprints or push yourself to the limit on a fartlek and then go past that limit on the next sprint. All these things are done with a specific goal in mind, be that a marathon, an ultra or even shorter distances, runners need goals. This week though you have no goal but to enjoy being a ‘normal’ person. Not worrying about weight gain, fitness loss or recording every step you take on Strava. Imagine that, that’s why I go for a run.
So what do I consider letting myself go ? I do take Monday off running and maybe an extra coffee for a couple of days with a piece of banana bread. That’s about it, actually that sounds party sad really as reward for 3 months of running between 10-14 times a week but when you actually enjoy the running what are you really rewarding yourself for doing. ? If running is what you love than you can’t really reward yourself for doing it, can you ? Funnily enough you can because it is meeting your ‘goal’ you are really rewarding yourself for , which is why we needs goals. With goals you can do the thing you love and then still reward yourself for doing it via goal setting.
This week I will stand by my advice with slow and steady runs only. No double up days for a few days anyhow and no pace work for a week or two. The odd extra coffee and a few sweet tweets will be embraced off course but I’ve never been one to go mad or let myself go, too many goals to look forward to.
The week after a marathon can be a wonderful time but remember this is what normal people do and as runners we ain’t normal. We like early mornings, early nights, time in the pain box and hours upon hours of running. Life as a runner is a privilege, an honour and a joy, and once a week we even add the odd muffin, how good is that?
Being the second run this week (and it’s Thursday, when I would normally be on run 7 for the week) my legs felt heavy but this is to be expected at this stage of the taper week. It is normally around this time of the taper period you experience ‘niggles‘ , you’ll find you can just about finish your run and convince yourself you are about to have a major meltdown. I read on a tri-website that these niggles are just your body recovering but they don’t feel like that I can tell you. Fortunately this morning I was ‘niggle’ free, which should probably worry me.
Reading the article below by Isaac Walker it reiterates several points I have already mentioned in previous posts. Hay in the barn , trust your training etc. all common sense advice but worth a second read, if nothing else to put your mind at ease. Taper time is a testing time at best, helped only by the extra ‘tukka’ on offer for the last 3 days. (just before my old friend ‘weight gain‘ comes a calling…)
Must admit I’m tempted to sneak out tomorrow morning because it will be glorious and I hate missing glorious mornings. I must be strong, the right thing to do is lay in bed and relax but the call of old faithful, my favourite 10k, may be too much.
9 Ways to Deal With the Big Event Taper Blues By Isaac Walker
Sixteen weeks. Four months. One hundred and twelve days of early mornings, sore legs, injury worries, emotional highs and lows, and long hard weekend runs. And now you are supposed to ease right back on the throttle and cut your training. By a lot. You start to get moody. You have so much energy you feel like you are going to jump out of your skin. Your partner has had enough of your complaining. You think every little ache, sniffle and niggle is a catastrophic event-cancelling injury or illness. You start feeling sluggish and lazy. It sounds like you are going through what many runners experience leading up to a big event – the ‘taper blues’.
Tapering (for most) is a critical part of training plans. Whether you taper two days prior to a 5km road race or three weeks or more for an ultra distance, you are basically performing the same function. After stressing our bodies for so long the taper is there to let us heal and recover to a point where we can then operate the most efficiently and to our maximum ability on race day.
There are many differing views on tapering out there. My advice is simple – the shorter the distance the shorter your taper. The longer the distance the longer you taper. Reason being shorter and sharper training sessions will usually take a lot less time to recover from than long hard distance runs. Long runs beat your body up and you need that extra taper time to recover.
So the symptoms of the ‘taper blues’ usually kick in after a week or so of taper and are usually associated with longer distance events. If you have never had them before they can be quite discouraging and even a little scary. So here are a few tips and general points to help you pull through the taper blues and onto race day.
1. The taper blues are completely normal! You are probably not getting sick. You most likely do not have an injury that has decided to rear it’s ugly head one week prior to your big day. And yes, your other half is getting annoyed with your grouchy mood. Accept you are a little down then address it. Remember you are not alone. Chat with friends doing the same event or others who have been through this taper nonsense before.
2. Look back on what you have done. And be proud. One of the reasons we get taper blues is regret for what hasn’t been done. Think of the countless hours of training, early mornings and/or late nights and all the other strings that come along with training for a longer distance event. That is an achievement right there, regardless of what comes next.
3. Evaluate. Go back over your training and write down all the positives. All the things you enjoyed about your training. Then also write the negatives down and the things that may have not gone so well. These are the things to keep in mind and perhaps improve in your next training programme.
4. More events? It is a little crazy but many of us use the taper time to plan more events after the one we are tapering for! You don’t have much time to wallow in taper blues when you’re busy getting excited about your next goal. If you don’t have an event in mind then plan for something else. A personal fitness goal. A family holiday. Home renovations. Anything you can do to keep your brain ticking over and stimulated.
5. Taper means taper! You may be tempted to go out and get one last long run under your belt or smash out a hard tempo track session. You might be fine but my advice is once your taper period has begun, it is exactly that – taper time. Plus, this won’t rid you of your taper blues anyway. This means sticking to your plan and not being tempted to go out and possibly undermine some of the training you have done by adding fatigue to your system this close to your big event.
6. Active recovery more than ever. Taper time is a perfect opportunity to fit in more active recovery. Playing with your kids, massage, walking, swimming, stretching, rolling on your foam roller – anything that keeps you moving can be very beneficial. Don’t feel guilty for not going hard, that just leads to more taper blues. Enjoy the easy, liberated movement your fit trim body is allowing you.
7. The hay is in the barn and there is nothing much else you can do to enhance your training. You can however undermine your training by not tapering efficiently. So rest! Chill out! Make up some of those hours with the family and friends that you used for training. Spending time with loved ones will also help ease some of the tensions and stress prior to an event.
8. Last minute checks. Most people will have their nutrition and game plan locked down by now. It is a good time to run over everything and double check you have all your supplies ready to go. The last thing you want is to discover the night prior to your event that you left your favourite pair of socks in the washing basket.
9. Visualisation techniques. Visualisation can be a very good way to prepare your mind for an event and propel you out of your taper blues. Picture yourself standing at the race start. Imagine how you feel. Put yourself in a bad situation during the race and visualise how you would like to react to that situation. Place yourself being surrounded by your friends and family cheering you on as you come towards the finish line. Visualising these situations will help you prepare your mind for dealing with them in real life.
This can lead to weight gain apparently (no kidding!) but allegedly the benefit outweighs the negatives. (one of which is looking like Jabba the Hutt as already discussed!) The weight gain is mostly water retention so don’t be too afraid of a few extra pounds. As you tuck into your 4th round of toast for the day just think positive thoughts, carboloading done right is good for 3-5 minutes I reckon.
Points to note of course is you need to avoid too much high fat and sugar if possible, just low fat and carbohydrates. Protein is still ok as it will help with muscle recovery and everybody loves protein. Not sure where the go-to meal for runners, the humble muffin, fits into this diet but we can always find an excuse to scoff down a muffin.
So far this week I am feeling remarkably relaxed which is a two edged sword as I feel you should be nervous as this will focus the mind on the challenge ahead. Too relaxed and you won’t be focused enough. I’ll try and get nervous tomorrow, I’ll make a mental note to self to get nervous.
I’ve tried to avoid thinking about the heat but mentally have already written off a PB run due too the predicted temperature. Of course on the day I will re-evaluate but currently I’ll be aiming for position first and time second. When I say position I am targeting top 3 for my age group and/or top 3 Australian (age group) to go with my 2nd fastest Australian in the 5k last weekend. It will be difficult to see who I’m racing against on the day as I’m assuming all the race bibs will be similar ? In the end you run what you run and we’ll see how the cards fall, most important piece of advice is to run your own race.
Over the next few days it’s time to dial in a pace to hit your target finish time. This is your first goal. Next it’s time to dial in ‘plan b’, if you can’t make your target what would be your next target time, finally ‘plan c‘, this could be as simple as finish ! I’ve mentioned the different goals before and if nothing else they keep you busy over the remainder of the race, and it’s always nice to achieve your goal, no matter what it ends up being.
So one last article on carboloading from my main man on just about anything running, Matt Fitzgerald. ( http://mattfitzgerald.org ) It seems you have 3 options. The good old fashioned 3 day binge (my favourite), or the Western Australian 3 minute of VO2 max exercise and then binge the day before (risky) or ignore the whole thing and eat carbs on the run using Carboshotz etc..
No one said this running lark was easy….
You aren’t still putting yourself through a depletion phase, are you?
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.
To get over this ‘self doubt’ continually remind yourself of your previous training block distances and all the work you’ve put in over the last few months. The ‘hay is in the barn‘ so to speak and you’ve worked damn hard to put it there. As I have mentioned numerous times running is an honest sport and if you’ve put in the time you will be rewarded on race day.
Running marathons is a large part mental, especially after 32k, so you need to start to prepare yourself for the challenge ahead. Self doubt has no part to play nearer race day and certainly on the start line you need to be ‘bursting’ with confidence. Please note ‘bursting with confidence’ does not then mean running a 5k PB for the first 5k of the marathon like my good friend Jon recently did at the Geraldton Marathon and then had a walk break to recover. This coming from a man who has run over 40 marathons ! Even he couldn’t explain his enthusiasm on the day. Another friend of mine, also called Jon funnily enough, insists on running his fastest few kilometers in a marathon at the start and is often in the lead at the 500m mark. I would certainly not recommend this practice.
Another way to contain self doubt is to play back all the positive experiences you’ve had from previous races. (I’m assuming you’ve had some positive experiences, if not then they will come, trust me.) Also look at your training for the race and take confidence from the work you’ve put in. For the World Masters marathon I’ve certainly trained harder than I have ever trained before and been rewarded with PB’s and good times in a number of lead up races. This is another way to fight off self doubt, lead up races at shorter distances. The World Masters will be my 5th race in 6 weeks and although I probably wouldn’t recommend that many for all runners it does give me a good base for positive thinking. (assuming they all went well of course) I have highlighted racing before as a great way to break the monotony of training (sometimes it’s monotonous ?) and also as a way to boost confidence. You never work as hard as when you have a racing bib on your chest, or timing chip on your shoe. (or for my local club both!)
So to sum up todays post on my old friend ‘self doubt’ , trust in your training, take confidence from your training block and start to prepare yourself mentally for success. On race day you want to be standing on that start line ready to ‘explode‘ into action and for the last 10k you want to changing gear from 5th into 6th and accelerating into the finish. I can’t emphasis enough how important your mental preparation will be at the start and when you really need it at 32k onwards. Noakes talked about the ‘central governer’ and I have attached an articel from my old favourite Runners Connect by coach Jeff explaining this. It is worth a read as this will be invaluable at 32k when you start to feel fatigued. Think back to this article and it may be enough to get you over the line.
‘Bye bye ‘self doubt’, hello ‘over confident’……?
As runners, we spend countless hours focused on the physiological aspects of training – VO2max, threshold, aerobic development, etc. And for good reason. There is no doubt that improving these biological systems will help you run faster.
However, when it comes to racing, are physiological limitations all that matter or is there a mental component involved as well? What role does the brain play in our attempt to race as fast as possible?
According to exercise scientist Dr. Tim Noakes and a growing number of colleagues, the brain may play a more important role in race potential than runners have typically considered. Noakes’s hypothesis suggests that the brain acts as a central governor when racing, limiting our ability to push beyond perceived fatigue to ensure self-preservation.
In this article, we’ll look at the central governor theory in more depth, explore why it matters to those racing for personal bests, and outline some specific strategies you can use to overcome your own central governor.
What is the central governor theory?
In short, the central governor theory is based around the premise that the brain will override your physical ability to run and “shut the body down” before you’re able to do serious or permanent damage to yourself.
Noakes believes that the point in the race when you think you’ve given everything you’ve got is actually a signal or response from the brain to slow down to preserve health, rather than a physiological reality. In actuality, Noakes believes you have more to give physically when this happens.
Runners experience this during almost every race they run. At mile 8 of a half marathon, goal race pace is extremely difficult and the thought of running faster, even for just a minute, seems impossible. Yet, when you get within 400 meters of the finish, you’re somehow able to summon a kick that finds you running minutes per mile faster than goal pace.
Once your brain realizes it won’t die if you pick up the pace (because the finish line is close) it opens the biological pathways to run faster.
That’s not to say that the physiological demands of a race aren’t real. Rather, the central governor theory posits that racing is a balance between: (1) physical preparation and biological systems; (2) emotional components, such as motivation and pain tolerance; (3) and self-preservation. The exact combination of these factors is what leads to how hard you’re able to push during a race.
Why does it matter? Does this mean you don’t have to train?
Perhaps the biggest misconception of the central governor theory is that if we could just teach ourselves to push harder or somehow turn off this central governor of the brain, that we could run faster. However, as mentioned above, racing is a combination of three important components: physical, emotional, and mental.
As an example, if you asked an Olympic-caliber runner to run a 7-minute mile, they would do so easily and be able to carry that pace on for 26 miles or more with little effort. Ask a four-hour marathoner to run a 7 minute mile and it will be an all-out effort they can only maintain for a mile. The physiological differences between these two runners means that even if the central governor was turned off, the four-hour marathoner couldn’t run with the Olympic-caliber runner. That’s pretty obvious.
However, if that same four-hour marathoner can learn to push the boundaries of their central governor, perhaps by adding motivation, like a Boston qualifier, or improving their mental fortitude, then they can tap into this extra performance reserve.
How to overcome the central governor
So how do you do that? How do you push the boundaries of your central governor? While you can’t completely overcome the central governor, you can improve your ability to tolerate physical discomfort and prepare your mind for the physical demands you plan to place in it.
Workouts
The problem many runners face is that the experience of trying to push themselves beyond their comfort zone when their mind is telling them it can’t go faster only occurs on race day.
Typical interval workouts and tempo runs are performed at a consistent pace and the recovery between repeats allows you to recover to a state that is very unlike the corresponding point in a race. During workouts, you simply get to a certain fatigue level and then stop pushing.
This is great for building your physiological systems, but does nothing to teach you how to push the central governor and prove to your brain that you can in fact run faster, despite how bad you might feel.
One workout that trains this specific aspect of racing is called a hammer interval session. Succinctly, a hammer interval session is traditional interval workout except that on the third or second to last interval, you break from your goal pace and simply focus on running that specific repeat as fast as you can – hammering it. An example hammer workout for a 5k runner might look like: 8 x 800 meters at 3k to 5K race pace w/2mins rest, hammer (run as fast as you can) interval numbers 4 and number 7. Maintain the 2-minute rest after each hammer and do your best to get back onto 5k pace after each hammer.
The specific pace of the hammer repeat isn’t the important part of this workout. Rather, it’s the ability to chip away at the mental constraints late in a workout or race that tell you that you can’t go any faster.
Mental training and visualization
Running a PR is tough! No matter how well rested or prepared the body is, racing hurts. If you toe the starting line thinking that somehow you’re going to feel good or that pushing during the last miles is going to be easy, then you’ve already set yourself up to let the brain override your physical abilities.
Prepare yourself mentally. Don’t head into a race telling yourself that somehow this race is going to be different. Be prepared for it to hurt, but remember that you’ve trained yourself to push through this exact situation. Visualize the race during your training runs or while meditating and picture yourself hitting that point in the race when your body starts to hurt. Recall those feelings from your last race or hard workout and then visualize yourself pushing through that moment. By preparing yourself mentally, you’ll be ready to face the realities of the race.
Pacing
Finally, work to improve your sense of pace. Pacing is one of the ways the brain self-regulates the central governor. The brain “anticipates” all the known variables of a race – distance, topography, temperature, etc. – and then calculates an optimal pace that will get you to the finish without dying.
When you deviate significantly from your optimal physiological pace, the brain reacts by reducing the level of muscle activation in order to force you to slow down. By going out too fast during a race, you kick in the central governor early and even elicit physiological changes by the brain designed to slow you down.
Armed with this new understanding of the central governor theory and how the brain impacts your ability to race, implement these three simply strategies into your training plan and start to push yourself harder than you think you can.
So what does a 700g day look like. Breakfast, weetbix and honey with orange juice. Brunch, 2 slices of toast with honey and another OJ. Lunch, pasta with chicken and some yoghurt. Maybe another round of toast pre-dinner of more pasta. Add in another OJ somewhere and a late night yoghurt or toasted muffin and you’re pretty close. Best thing is to google ‘carboloading’ and you’ll get the general idea. What did we do before ‘google’? Maybe I’ll google ‘what did we do before google’?
Also make sure you aim for high carbohydrate , low fat food; avoid the high fat food.
So carboloading, a good thing if done correctly and I’d say worth 4-5 minutes. C’mon, what other sport gives you such a return just by eating. Gotta love running……
This article written by AIS Sports Nutrition is worth a read on the subject.
‘Carbohydrate loading’ is probably one of the most misunderstood terms in sports nutrition. People commonly think anyone involved in sport needs to ‘carb up’ and the way to do this is to eat ‘flat out’ in the days leading up to an event. Read on to get the facts on carbohydrate loading.
What is carbohydrate loading?
Carbohydrate loading is a strategy involving changes to training and nutrition that can maximise muscle glycogen (carbohydrate) stores prior to endurance competition.
The technique was originally developed in the late 1960’s and typically involved a 3-4 day ‘depletion phase’ involving 3-4 days of hard training plus a low carbohydrate diet. This depletion phase was thought to be necessary to stimulate the enzyme glycogen synthase. This was then followed immediately by a 3-4 day ‘loading phase’ involving rest combined with a high carbohydrate diet. The combination of the two phases was shown to boost muscle carbohydrate stores beyond their usual resting levels.
Ongoing research has allowed the method to be refined so that modern day carbohydrate loading is now more manageable for athletes. The depletion phase was demonstrated to be no longer necessary, which is a bonus for athletes as this phase was very difficult. Australian marathon runner, Steve Moneghetti has described the depletion phase as making him feel like “death warmed up”. Today, 1-4 days of exercise taper while following a high carbohydrate diet (7-12g/kg body weight) is sufficient to elevate muscle glycogen levels.
Does carbohydrate loading improve performance?
Muscle glycogen levels are normally in the range of 100-120 mmol/kg ww (wet weight). Carbohydrate loading enables muscle glycogen levels to be increased to around 150-200 mmol/kg ww. This extra supply of carbohydrate has been demonstrated to improve endurance exercise by allowing athletes to exercise at their optimal pace for a longer time. It is estimated that carbohydrate loading can improve performance over a set distance by 2-3%.
Who should carbohydrate load?
Anyone exercising continuously at a moderate to high intensity for 90 minutes or longer is likely to benefit from carbohydrate loading. Typically, sports such as cycling, marathon running, longer distance triathlon, cross-country skiing and endurance swimming benefit from carbohydrate loading. Shorter-term exercise is unlikely to benefit as the body’s usual carbohydrate stores are adequate. Carbohydrate loading is generally not practical to achieve in team sports where games are played every 3-4 days. Although it might be argued that players in football and AFL have heavy demands on their muscle fuel stores, it may not be possible to achieve a full carbohydrate loading protocol within the weekly schedule of training and games.
What does a high carbohydrate diet look like?
The following diet is suitable for a 70kg athlete aiming to carbohydrate load:
Breakfast
3 cups of low-fibre breakfast cereal with 11/2 cups of reduced fat milk
1 medium banana
250ml orange juice
Snack
toasted muffin with honey
500ml sports drink
Lunch
2 sandwiches (4 slices of bread) with filling as desired
200g tub of low-fat fruit yoghurt
375ml can of soft drink
Snack
banana smoothie made with low-fat milk, banana and honey
cereal bar
Dinner
1 cup of pasta sauce with 2 cups of cooked pasta
3 slices of garlic bread
2 glasses of cordial
Late Snack
toasted muffin and jam
500ml sports drink
This sample plan provides ~ 14,800 kJ, 630 g carbohydrate, 125 g protein and 60 g fat.Are there any special considerations for females?
Most studies of glycogen storage have been conducted on male athletes. However, some studies suggest that females may be less responsive to carbohydrate loading, especially during the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. This appears to be, at least partly, because they have difficulty consuming the larger amounts of carbohydrate required for a complete CHO load. Further research needs to be conducted specifically on females.
What are the common mistakes made when carbohydrate loading?
Research indicates that many athletes who attempt to carbohydrate load, fail to achieve their goal. Common mistakes include:
Carbohydrate loading requires an exercise taper. Athletes can find it difficult to back off training for 1-4 days before competition. Failing to rest will compromise carbohydrate loading.
Many athletes fail to eat enough carbohydrate. It seems athletes don’t have a good understanding of the amount of food required to carbohydrate load. Working with a sports dietitian or using a carbohydrate counter can be useful.
In order to consume the necessary amount of carbohydrate, it is necessary to cut back on fibre and make use of compact sources of carbohydrate such as sugar, cordial, soft drink, sports drink, jam, honey, jelly and tinned fruit. Athletes who include too many high fibre foods in their carbohydrate loading menu may suffer stomach upset or find the food too bulky to consume.
Carbohydrate loading will most likely cause body mass to increase by approximately 2kg. This extra weight is due to extra muscle glycogen and water. For some athletes, a fear of weight gain may prevent them from carbohydrate loading adequately.
Athletes commonly use carbohydrate loading as an excuse to eat everything and anything in sight. Consuming too many high fat foods will make it difficult to consume sufficient carbohydrate. It may also result in gain of body fat. It is important to stick to high-carbohydrate, low-fat foods while carbohydrate loading.
I have dabbled with double-days before but never for the length of time I have sustained it this training block, pre-Masters. I think this is probably week number 17 of upwards of 10 runs a week. What has surprised me is how fresh I have felt. I have certainly felt a lot more fatigued when I have run less k’s and less total runs a week but heavier workload i.e. faster average pace. Will this work for everyone ? Probably not, every person is different, they have different aspirations, different threshold for distance and pace, different constraints allowing them only a certain amount of running time. Double-up days does mean some ‘juggling’ of work and family life and maybe once in a while one of these will suffer. To quote Ned Kelly ‘Such is life’, or was that Ben Cousins for the Australians among us. The benefit of distance cannot be over stated, if you can run more (and not get injured of course) then I recommend you do it. With running the more you run the better you can run. Obviously there is a point when you do start to slow but when or where that is I do not know and I’m nearing 50 and haven’t found it yet. (and don’t intend to anytime soon.)
So I digress, for a change, this post was meant to be about taper day 1 for marathon week. Uneventful and no real thought of running to tell you the truth, which for me is strange but after so many marathons I realise the benefits of not running more than twice on marathon week gives me a spring in my step come Sunday. I’ll venture out for a slow 10k tomorrow morning and a similar one Thursday and that will be it. Remember ‘it is impossible to do too little on marathon week, the only option is to do too much.’ The only reason I run at all is to retain my sanity as I grapple with my old favourite ‘weight gain‘. So far I have been lucky and avoided ‘self doubt’ and ‘niggles’, with no one ill on the train, that I could see , and all my work colleagues looking quite sprightly today I may even avoid ‘everyone is trying to infect me…
An uneventful post today but with taper week in full swing I need to focus elsewhere until Thursday when its my favourite time, carbo-loading. I’ll discuss that tomorrow because although carbo-loading can be a good thing for runners who like to eat , it is not an excuse to binge on chocolate and muffins for three days. Sorry guys there is a certain requirement to meet to make carbo-loading work and chocolate and muffins , although a small part (maybe!) , is not the complete picture. Running really is a cruel sport…..
I’ve attached a photo as all good posts need photos. This was taken on Saturday at the Masters 5k by Jon Storey. A great photo, a talented man with a good camera, a good combination.
At the end of a training block we are then faced with a 2-3 week taper period where we cut back on running to allow our weary legs to recover and better prepare for the goal race. It all sounds good to the untrained runner, they would think that after an intensive training block you’d be ready for some ‘downtime’. In theory of course you would think so but once we take our foot of the gas, so to speak, along comes ‘self doubt’ and his friends ‘niggles’, ‘I’m coming down with something’ and the worse of the lot ‘weight gain’. These four make the last 2 weeks pre-race a living hell for most runners.
Let’s start with the first one, ‘self doubt‘. I know I continually talk about trust in your training but even typing this I have a 5k race tomorrow at the Perth world Masters ( http://www.perth2016.com ) and because I have been on vacation for a week I am wondering if I can still run 5k. ! Ridiculous I know but after a day resting my old mate ‘self doubt’ has got to work. I’m lucky at the moment because after self doubt along comes ‘niggles’.
‘Niggles‘ is a bad one because after weeks of pushing yourself without the faintest thought of any issues all of a sudden every tendon and muscle in your legs, and/or anywhere in your body really, is starting to feel tight. Your hammy , which has been made of steel for months, now feels about to break in two if you move anywhere fast. Ankles and ITB’s start to feel they are about to implode and you are certain it’s all over.
Unfortunately it gets worse when ‘I’m coming down with something’ pops along and you are by now just about suicidal. How is it every single person you come into contact with has a cold and insists on sneezing on you, or in your vicinity ? The train journey is like sharing a carriage with the walking dead, everybody it seems has one purpose in life and that is to infect you.
Finally, after negotiating ‘self doubt, niggles’ and ‘I‘m coming down with something along comes’ the worst of the lot ‘weight gain’. After working so hard to get down to your running weight, even racing weight, you now have 2 weeks where the appetite is still there and thinks you’re running your training distances. Alas you have halved your distance and thus all of a sudden you feel you look like ‘Jabba the Hutt’! Of course it gets worse as the last few days pre-marathon you have to carbo-load. What idiot thought of this ? When you are already stressing over the smallest morsal of food you are now forced to stuff yourself silly for three days. How can this possibly help unless the course is downhill and the added weight is useful with gravity as a co-pilot?
We are a fragile lot runners and these four serve to make the 2-3 week taper a living hell. I know runners who cannot handle the taper and train right up to the event just to avoid the whole process. For an ultra there may be something in this. I wouldn’t recommend training as hard but if you really need to run there could be the option to train slower and ‘recover‘ while running. Unfortunately the carbo-loading is not to be avoided for any distance from the marathon up. Sorry guys but sometimes you just go to eat the odd muffin or two.
So I’m sitting here with my mate ‘self doubt‘ on my shoulder and I’m sure his three friends are just around the corner , waiting to pounce. You’d have thought after 40 marathons and 16 ultra-marathons I’d be ready for them, unfortunately not. Counting down the days to the World Masters Marathon because I love racing but also because after the marathon I can get back to what I love to do, run, and run a lot.. (maybe even add in a stack of pancakes or two because I can…)
Note: I actually outdid myself this time by adding extra pressure agreeing to a photoshoot for the local Sunday newspaper. So add ‘Pressure‘ to the four running nightmares. Wouldn’t have it any other way.
While I holiday with Rottnest I have made an effort to read as much as possible, in-between running of course. One of my favourite books is the running bible by Tim Noakes , ‘The Lore of Running’. A 921 page book of biblical proportions containing just about everything you ever need to know about running and more. It must be noted though, as pointed out by my friend Mike, ‘how can anyone write so much about running, it ain’t that complicated’.
There are hundreds of extracts I could post on the blog but this one section caught my eye this morning which I think is worth sharing. It describes the selfish runner syndrome and balancing running with life’s other commitments (There are other commitments ? ….) Noel Carroll, an Irish double Olympian, describes runners as an introvert lot. ‘They like keep their thoughts to themselves. Their behaviour is at best antisocial , at worst utterly selfish…‘
What amused me in the book by Noakes was a section where he offered pointers to avoid the selfish runner syndrome, or at least mask it. One of his offerings was :-
Don’t allow running to affect the way you carry out your household responsibilities. Doing so provides your family with a tangible reminder that they come second.
What a classic quote from a by-gone age (I think?). So runners if you load the dishwasher once in while and maybe even mow the lawn intermittently you may disguise the fact that running is far more important than your family.
It gets better,
Be aware of “danger times” – you will know what these are in your household. At these times, be at your most attentive and, at all costs, do not open your mail to see if your running magazines have arrived, discuss running, or, worst of all, go for a run. Weekends too must be handled carefully to ensure that running conflicts as little as possible with the family’s weekend recreation.
Not sure what to do when I live in ‘danger times’ constantly. ? Luckily we now have the internet so I can pretend to answer emails while secretly reading my online running magazines.
One last gold nugget from Noakes.
Don’t get overtired. As a runner with a family you just have to accept that, for the sake of your family, you simply can’t train hard enough to run your best. That is the price that must, realistically, be paid.
He is a wise man Noakes, I just hope my Wife never meets him or reads this.
All joking aside, which I assume Noakes was doing when he wrote these little gems, family life and running are not ideal bed partners. I often say to my non-running colleagues that I run early morning before the family awakes and lunchtime , when the family are miles away. Truth be told this has the knock on affect of course that after I read my youngest her bed time story I sneak off to bed myself, leaving my Wife to do whatever she does for a few hours. (‘Karen time’ I think she calls it )
When I was training for Comrades in 2008/2009 and 2010 I have three young Daughters. After my long runs, which would sometimes be up to 50k, I would return home and like limpets the girls were on me, excited to see their Dad return. Karen, my Wife, would of course then hand then over as she had looked after the girls till then. It made the afternoons as challenging as the previous 50k of running. Many times I would bundle the girls in to the car and find a park where I would position myself to watch over them from beneath the shade of a tree but that would be my contribution. The legs would be stiff and tired from the mornings exercise where as the girls were full of life. Sacrifices had to be make. Looking back I can see why most ultra-runners are older as after the mornings training nothing would have beaten a nap, after a good sized lunch of course.
Funnily enough I only started to run marathons ,and then ultra-marathons, when I had my third daughter, I’m not sure if it was a conscience decision but running further, although harder, was still easier than looking after three young daughters, I’m sure Noakes would understand, not so sure about Karen.
As I get older I have managed to keep my love of running and even managed to up the training but this has the negative affect on any other sporting activity with my girls. Basketball, Tennis and Netball are all far too dangerous to an ageing runner who is one bad injury from retirement. As soon as any ball based game is offered I retort with how dangerous it would be for ‘my hammy’ and runners are ‘built to go in straight lines not move from side to side !’ The girls are less than impressed, another sacrifice us selfish runners make.
Truth be told my family does realise that running is important to me and they also realise it has stolen time that would have normally be assigned for them. Because of this they are flippant to the point of uninterested in any of my achievements which is a pity because it would be nice if they were to share in my successes (or failures) but it seems I may have not followed Noakes successfully enough.
Running is a selfish sport and families do suffer because of it but I would hope my family realises that although I love my running nothing is more important to me than family. (Just don’t tell them I said that!)
Running with friends encourages participation, if only for the banter afterwards over pancakes. In sunny Perth I have running friends who I have met over the years and together we formed the St. Georges Terrace Running Club. (We all work on St. Georges Terrace in Perth hence the name) This entailed purchasing some great running tops (see below) which we actually had professionally designed and made. As a group run together most lunchtimes, encourage each other, offer advice and race together.
Over the last 8 years I have met so many great runners who have become good friends and this week in Rottnest I holidayed with my friends Jon, Dan and Paul and their families; all people I have met through our love of running. So this bond keeps you running as before long you’ll find most of your friends are runners and you need to run to be able to add to the conversations, which invariably are about a new race to enter or current running goals etc.
As well as the St. Georges Terrace Club I am also a member of the West Australian Marathon Club. ( http://www.wamc.org.au ) (WAMC) and this is another source of good friends who I race against but also share the same love of all things running. The WAMC put on around 30 events a year ranging from 4k unto 64k and each one is run and organised by volunteers.
Without these friends I would have found it difficult to maintain the passion as, although I enjoy some ‘Kev time‘ running alone , I also enjoy the banter running with a group. So I encourage all runners to seek out like minded people and spend time running with them. It will be a major factor in the length of your running career as when these runners become your friends spending time with them will encourage you to lace up the trainers.
It also helps at the end of the run as no one likes eating pancakes alone in the cafe.