“Time wasted at the lake is time well spent” – Unknown

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Doing nothing is sometimes the best way to improve.

01 September bigkevmatthews@gmail.com 0 Comment

With adding my commute to work on the Elliptigo these last few weeks ( https://www.elliptigo.com.au/ ) I’m starting to feel fatigued on my lunch time runs. This, together with a full racing calendar stacked full of Ultra’s, is starting to add up and I took my first day off in a month last Sunday. Did I feel better on Monday, probably, it’s hard to tell these days. Last year was my hardest in terms of races and longest in terms of distance and I seem to be going harder and longer this year. With my 55th birthday in February I am now close to sixty than fifty and this is a sobering thought. Maybe this is why I’m pushing myself harder because I know the end is in view, I’m not saying the end, end , if you know what I mean, I saying my ability to compete at the front of the field. With ultra races I can use my mental strength to keep most of the field behind me but each year I know I will move back through the pack. I have no problem with this but it doesn’t mean I will accept it and not go down without a fight. To this end I entered the 1,000mile Run Brittania last month. ( https://ratracerunbritannia.com/ ), I’m hoping training for this event will ‘keep me young’, probably a runners logic ?

Meb (Boston Winner and Olympic Marathon runner) on the ‘Go’.

One way I can probably slow down the aging challenges is weight training and a structured rest regime. I have known this for many years but made little effort to do either albeit I did join a gym for a few months before Delirious 2021 in October. I was paranoid that my quads would give in so tried to work leg muscle groups. Once I finished Delirious my gym career was put back on hold , and it remains in this holding pattern.

As for days off I still struggle but maybe if I was to go to the gym, instead of running, I can kill two birds with one stone ? It’s not a full day off in the purest sense of the term but better than nothing I suppose.

Resting can be fun..

Why you should take at least one day off from training every week

Here’s why you shouldn’t be skipping rest days if you really want to reach those running goals BY TED SPIKER

When staring at a new training plan, you quickly realise there’s a lot to do, and that’s on top of all the other things in your day-to-day life. So when you see the word ‘rest’ on your schedule, it’s tempting to skip past it and look for the next ‘real’ to-do. After all, why would you do nothing when there’s always something to cross off that long, long to-do list?

The answer to that question is simple: NOT running is just as important as fitting in that long weekend run or that Tuesday speed session. Rest days help to strengthen your body, sharpen your mind and boost your motivation levels so that you actually want to get out for your next run.

‘Rest is not a four-letter word,’ says Dr Kevin Vincent, director of the University of Florida Running Medicine Clinic in the US. ‘The big reason you need it is recovery and recuperation. Every time you run, your body has to adapt to get stronger.’

That’s because when you run, you aren’t just building your stamina and strength; you’re also breaking your body down, causing a tiny amount of tissue damage with every step. And allowing yourself time to recover afterward is what makes it possible for you to come back better next week, next month, next race.

‘As much as athletes focus on their volume of training and the speed at which they do workouts, what they do outside of running is equally important to becoming stronger and more resilient in the future,’ says Dr Adam Tenforde, assistant professor of physical medicine and rehab at Harvard University, US, and a former elite runner.

Dr Bonnie Marks, staff psychologist at New York University’s Sports Performance Center, agrees. ‘If you don’t have time to recharge, it can lead to staleness and general apathy about training.’

In other words, rest right and you’ll run better, avoid time on the physio’s treatment table, stay motivated and gain more reward from your running. Fail to rest properly and you’ll slowly – or sometimes rather rapidly – fall apart. Follow these training tweaks to optimise recovery and build a stronger, and more rested, you.

Why rest matters

Whether you’re strictly a recreational runner or training more regularly and seriously, there’s value in taking at least one day off from your training each week – even if you’re deep into a run streak. That day off is when your body uses nutrients and undergoes biological processes and hormone cycles to rebuild itself, says Tenforde. Still got ants in your runderpants? Here are four more reasons to chill.

1.Your muscles bounce back

When you run (or do any kind of exercise), you create microscopic tears in your muscle fibres and your body likes those about as much as you like trying to open a sweaty gel packet after 15 miles. So it responds by rebuilding your muscles stronger, in preparation for the next session. Sounds like a good deal, but there’s a catch: that response only happens with adequate time off from exercising. Vincent says that, depending on the length and intensity of your workout, the body needs a minimum of 36-48 hours to properly reboot. Without it, the body has no opportunity to rebuild and strengthen muscles; they just continue to break down. That negates all the hard work you put in.

You avoid stress fractures

If you’re trying to sidestep an injury, rest is crucial. Contrary to what ill-informed naysayers will trot out, running is actually great for your bones – the impact stresses the bone tissue, and just like a muscle, that increases cell turnover and forces the bone to remodel with stronger structures, says Vincent. ‘But if you run today, tomorrow and the next day, it never has time to fully repair.’ Eventually, you could be looking at a stress fracture – and a lengthy spell out of action.

Tight tendons are protected

Tendons are connective tissues that hold muscle to bone, so they work constantly as the body moves. But blood doesn’t get to them easily, so they take longer to repair than tissues that get a more plentiful supply of your claret (like muscles), explains Vincent. If they don’t get that much-needed time, the constant pounding can cause chronic damage, such as tendinitis – which is inflammation from overuse.

Your brain has time to chill

Yes, running is a form of stress relief. But every time you lace up, it actually increases the levels of the stress hormone cortisol in your body. Why is that? ‘The body doesn’t know if you’re running away from danger or if you’re running for fun,’ says Vincent. That cortisol bump can cause mood issues, irritability, sleep problems and other health issues if stress levels are chronically high. Think of it like a scale: overtrain, and you’ve tipped too far in one direction; schedule regular rest days, and you’ll bring yourself back in balance.

Rest up or one day you’ll need to pay the piper.

Why you need to ease off

A lot of runners worry that time off can cause them to regress, but that’s not necessarily true. Jason Fitzgerald, coach and founder of Strength Running, says you can take a full week off and be fine. That’s why most sports doctors suggest scaling it back for one to two weeks after each big event. (Example: four to five days of very light physical activity – such as walking – then a week of strength, core work, flexibility and short runs to loosen things up.) When you follow this advice, you’ll enjoy these benefits.

You’ll fine-tune your body

There’s a difference between being totally sidelined and being hampered – aka feeling discomfort without major pain. If your body gets some proper R&R, it’s more likely that the problem will heal instead of turn into a fully fledged injury, says Fitzgerald.

Your body’s protective systems reset

When you fail to rest, you are, in effect, telling your body’s inflammatory process to be on high alert. That process is protective, yes, but when it’s in overdrive from constant running, it backfires – putting your body in a chronic state of inflammation that increases your risk of infections and other illnesses, says Kate Mihevc Edwards, an orthopaedic specialist at Precision Performance in Atlanta, US. Taking even a one-day run holiday will reduce the inflammation and lower your odds of being struck down by illness.

You can acknowledge growth

There’s real value in flipping through old training diaries or your historic Strava data and seeing how far you’ve come, says running coach and two-time US Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier Dr Magdalena Donahue. ‘You need to see what you’ve done, what worked and what didn’t, and let your brain relax,’ she explains. ‘The pause helps you come back a lot more energised and focused.’ Plus, it’s always great to look back on the runs you actually smashed…

You’ll stay motivated

If you’re constantly churning out the miles like a hamster on a wheel (now you see the relevance of the picture), that desire to do better, which originally burned so strong, can dwindle. Call it burnout, loss of mojo, whatever… coming back from it can be a long, hard slog. Scaling back helps you maintain your hunger to train and improve, so you don’t have to mentally start over at square one, says Fitzgerald.

Do I need more time off?

Sometimes you can tell. Like when you can’t walk down the stairs. Other times it’s not so obvious. If you’re wavering about taking a break, Vincent suggests asking yourself these three key questions:

Did my last few runs feel harder than usual, even though they were the same training paces and distances as previous ones?

Do I feel less motivated to run today?

Does running feel more like a chore than something I enjoy?

>If you answered yes to any of the above, you should consider more rest.

How to start getting more rest

Ok, so you’re starting to get why time off and rest is important, but how do you go about doing that? Try these options:

Go low-impact

Incorporating low-impact exercise (such as cycling, rowing and the elliptical machine) allows you to get the aerobic benefits you’re after without taxing your bones and tendons as you would by running. If you have access to a pool, swimming is one of the best options (try aqua-jogging for running-related benefits, or lap swimming if your legs need a break). ‘It has zero impact and being in a cool pool is soothing,’ says running coach Dr Magdalena Donahue.

Try ball sports

When you play tennis, social netball or just kick a football around in the back garden with the kids, you form more well-rounded muscles and bones, which reduces your risk of injury. ‘When you’re running, everything is linear, so your bone gets stronger in one plane of motion,’ says Vincent. ‘By doing something with lateral, back-and-forth movement, you strengthen in all planes.’

Make friends with your couch

Rest days don’t mean you have to veg out all day – in fact, Sarah Lavender Smith, author of The Trail Runner’s Companion (Falcon Guides), says you should always try to move a little – but there’s nothing wrong with taking a few hours to relax. Just do it on the day before your long run, not after. ‘It’s a mistake to go on a long, depleting run and then overeat and lie around the next day,’ says Smith. Doing so causes feelings of lethargy, bloat and overall blahs, she adds.

Cross training…

Play computer games

Studies have found that playing computer games can help control anxiety before performance, and one even discovered that players needed less recovery time after a stressful event. Researchers aren’t entirely sure why this is the case, but they theorise that by offering a way to escape to an alternative reality, computer games work as a calming mechanism to decrease stress.

Sleep more

Not only does a good kip combat mood issues and fatigue, but Fitzgerald says your duvet time is also the time when your body gets the most work done during its repair process. Plus, some research shows that poor sleep quality may be associated with loss of bone density, putting you at risk for developing stress fractures. (See? It all comes full circle.)

Meditate

Science shows that this practice can help improve performance, ease symptoms of pain and boost your breathing. Marks suggests lying on the floor with your eyes closed, focusing on breathing from your belly – not your chest – for at least five minutes. (A good way to check if you’re getting this right is to place a book on your tummy – if the book rises, you’re breathing right.) If you struggle with staying that still – or your kids confuse your meditation time with human-trampoline time, opt for a quiet walk in nature or download a meditation app you can use at the office.

WHAT IF I’M A STREAKER?

We’re not the ones to tell you to break a #RWRunStreak to catch up on your box-sets, but be aware of intensity. If you’re heading out for an easy mile to continue your streak, don’t worry about a rest day. But if intervals and speedwork are part of your routine, ‘recovery is much more important to fit in’, says Dr Bryan Heiderscheit, director of the University of Wisconsin Runners Clinic in the US.

How to fuel your recovery

No running, better rest, what next? Food is next, the fuel that makes you a better run also makes you better rester.

Don’t change too much

While many runners think they need to tighten their grip on calorie intake on a rest day, that’s not really the case. ‘It’s not necessary to restrict energy intake,’ says Dr Stephanie Howe Violett, a running and nutrition coach and winner of the Western States 100 ultra race in 2014. ‘That’s when most recovery and adaptation occurs, and proper nutrients are important to facilitate those processes.’ Instead, try to tune in to your hunger cues and opt for food quality over quantity.

Space out calories

Many people stack their calories towards the end of the day, meaning they eat a light breakfast and lunch and then go supersize at dinner time, says Tenforde. But that depletes your energy and makes your body more susceptible to breakdown. A steady supply is the best strategy, so if you must go light on your first two meals, balance it with nuts or fruit in between.

Fuel with micros

Carbohydrates, protein, fibre – those are the macronutrients you need to fuel a strong recovery. But runners also need micronutrients such as calcium, vitamin D and iron to replenish the body. Eating whole foods – lots of fruits, vegetables, and meat or beans – will help cover your micronutrient bases. Violett says you should aim for about half of your plate to be full of vegetables, whole grains and fruit. Then add a serving of high-quality protein and top with fat (better if it’s unsaturated) to make sure you get essential fatty acids that also aid in your recovery.

Hydrate

Rest days are a great time to pre-hydrate, as starting a run dehydrated is about as much fun as losing a toenail, says Violett. That doesn’t mean down a gallon of water at once – just be mindful about your intake over the course of the day (and check that your wee is a light- straw colour to see if you’re on track).

Enjoy that beer

Violett says it’s no big deal to indulge in a cheeky snifter, but it doesn’t exactly fuel your recovery. Opting for a ‘recovery’ beer after a tough workout? Eat a solid meal first. Going straight for the booze can hurt the body’s ability to restock glycogen stores, and your muscles may not recover as quickly.

Mission accomplished..Delirious West 2021.

How To Combat the Effects Of Aging As An Older Runner BY JASON FITZGERALD

It’s no surprise that running gets harder as you get older. Recovery is slower, VO² max is lower, and injury risks are more numerous.

How can the older runner keep running strong – and healthy?

Running is something I intend to do for the rest of my life. But very soon I’ll need to address the limitations of my aging body.

I’m not 22 anymore. I can’t run a 1:13 half marathon off 6 hours of sleep, recover with 5 dirty Martinis, and still rock an 18 miler the next day for a long run.

The indiscretions of youth were fun… but they won’t work when I’m 52!

Running is also becoming a much more popular sport for older athletes. In fact, a study of the New York City Marathon from 1980 – 2009 found that:

“The percent of finishers younger than 40 years significantly decreased, while the percent of masters runners significantly increased for both males and females.”

As more and more people find running, it’s increasingly clear that many of them are older athletes.

My goal is to run as successfully as possible for as long as possible. This means quite a few things:

Stay healthy (this should be a top goal for any 40+ runner)

Maintain competence at skills (full range of motion, coordination, measures of strength, etc.)

Feel good on most runs (free of pain, aches, niggles, etc.)

Maintain a healthy body composition and preserve muscle mass (I want to look good. There, I said it!)

In effect, my running goals will transform into longevity goals as I get older (for more on longevity, I highly recommend Blue Zones for showing you the keys to living a longer, healthier life).

But running gets a lot harder for older athletes. How can we mitigate the effects of aging so we can keep running well into our golden years?

It starts with understanding why Master’s athletes start slowing down.

Why is running harder for Master’s runners?

Well, what isn’t hard about running when you get older? Most aspects of physical performance decline with age – it’s simply the reality of the aging process.

Specifically, you can expect:

Decreased maximal heart rate

Fewer blood capillaries

Smaller and fewer muscle mitochondria

Decreased VO² Max

Lower levels of testosterone

Decreased growth hormone production

Decreased muscle mass

Increased body fat

Decreased muscular strength

These factors result in slower recovery and race times. The hormonal effects of aging are particularly pronounced; with lower levels of anabolic hormones like human growth hormone, testosterone, and IGF-1.

The hormones that supercharged your teenage and young adult years are greatly diminished, leading to lower muscle mass, reduced sexual drive, and poor recovery from workouts.

Combined with other age-related physical declines, runners can expect an annual performance decrease of about .7% – with more notable plunges around age 40 and 60.

By age 70, the average person will have lost 30-40% of their muscle mass.

Interestingly, a 2014 review article on aging and exercise published in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons concluded that:

Decades of research support the fact that much age-related deterioration is the result of the effects of sedentary lifestyles and the development of medical conditions rather than of aging itself.

This is fantastic news because it means that when it comes to the aging process, we are not passive bystanders.

We can mitigate the decline of being an older runner to prolong our running careers, our health, and even our lives.

How to Train Older Runners to Feel Young Again

There is a simple training strategy that will inject more youth into anybody’s running: strength training.

Just consider its myriad benefits and how they impact the older runner:

Lifting weights triggers higher levels of testosterone and growth hormone (anabolic hormones that build muscle – and “big lifts” are betterat producing more testosterone)

Successful running for seniors depends on maintaining muscle strength and proper range of motion

Lifting creates denser mitochondria, the “energy factories” of the cells, which decline as you get older

The hormonal component to this story is worth some further explanation.

See, running is catabolic – it breaks down muscle. This normally isn’t a problem because the recovery process rebuilds that muscle very effectively.

But that recovery process slows down as you get older. There are fewer hormones to get it done efficiently (and running doesn’t produce as large a surge of anabolic hormones as other types of exercise like strength training).

Not only does the hormone testosterone reduce the impact of catabolic hormones, it makes other hormones (like IGF-1) more anabolic as well.

After a hard weightlifting session, your body is swimming in muscle-building hormones. That simply doesn’t happen after a hard run! Coach Jay Johnson agrees, noting:

When you do strength work you get a hormonal stimulus that is different than you get running. Specifically, you up-regulate testosterone and human growth hormone, both anabolic hormones.

Anabolic simply means “building up.” Running is a catabolic, “breaking down,” activity.

When you view running the through the anabolic/catabolic lens, it makes sense that you would want to do some strength training to complement your running.

The lesson? If we want to run well into old age – injury-free and with some semblance of ease – we’ve got to lift weights.

Lifting Helps Non-Runners Too!

In addition to how lifting will benefit running, it’s also critical for older runners aged 65+ to promote healthy, long lives. Stronger seniors who have maintained more muscle strength are at a lower risk of falling – a significant cause of age-related trauma.

Doctors are noticing as well. Timothy Quinn, a professor of exercise science at the University of New Hampshire notes:

Older runners should try very hard to get to the gym to lift weights a few times a week.

This focus on strength training throughout the aging process will help runners (and non-runners alike) maintain their strength, flexibility, fitness, and resilience to injury.

How to Start Weightlifting (even if you’re a Master’s Runner)

I want to keep experiencing runs like this into old age!

Most forms of strength training are beneficial – no matter if you’re a master’s runner, senior, or a 14 year old just getting started!

But certain types of strength work have more benefits than others.

If you’re not yet comfortable with strength exercises, start with bodyweight strength training. It will improve your general strength, range of motion, coordination, and begin to counter the effects of muscle loss due to aging.

But if you’ve been doing bodyweight strength routines – like the Gauntlet or Tomahawk Workouts – regularly, it’s time to take the next step.

Because without progression, there’s no progress.

Now, it’s time to start weightlifting! Putting up heavier weight in the gym in a more structured “weight lifting” environment is how to get the powerful, full benefits of lifting:

Neuromuscular coordination and enhanced running economy

Power and the ability to recruit a higher number of muscle fibers

Improved mitochondria development and testosterone production

Stronger hypertrophy stimulus – preserving precious muscle mass

These are significant adaptations to lifting weights that won’t happen with bodyweight exercises. The stimulus simply isn’t strong enough.

Why Fatigue is a Necessary Part of Training and How to Manage It

Training is like trying to walk a tight rope. You need to balance putting in grueling workouts and mileage with the ability to let your body recover. Favor one aspect too heavily and you’ll either have a poor performance from lack of training or get injured and overtrained from doing too much.

That’s why learning how to manage fatigue, and understanding the role it plays in endurance training, is critical to improving as a runner. In this article, we’re going to outline why a certain amount of fatigue is necessary to improve as a runner, how to strategically implement it, and how to find the right balance.

Why fatigue is necessary

The basis for all training theory is the what we call the workout and recovery process. Running first breaks down your muscle fibers. The harder you run, the more muscle fibers you damage. Your body then works to rebuild these damaged muscle fibers and if the recovery process goes well, these muscle fibers are repaired stronger than before. That’s how you become faster and stronger through training.

But, as you may realize, it’s nearly impossible to fully recover from a workout in 24 hours. It might be possible following a very easy day of running, but any type of speed, tempo or long run is going to require anywhere from 2 to 14 days to fully absorb and recover (here’s a breakdown of what research says about how long it takes to recover from different workout types).

That means, unless you want to only run two or three times per week, training while fatigued is a necessary part of training; especially since we know slow, easy mileage is the best way to build aerobic endurance and is the foundation for running performance. The trick is finding that balance between running enough miles to build you aerobic capacity without overdoing the fatigue.

Herein lies the “art” of training.

However, there is also a way that we can utilize this fatigue to make your training more effective.

How to utilize fatigue to run faster

In training vernacular, coaches use a term called “accumulated fatigue”. Basically, this theory posits that fatigue from one workout accumulates and transfers to the next run so that you’re always starting a workout or a long run a little tired from your previous training.

This is important for longer distance races like the marathon because it’s nearly impossible to run the full distance of the race in daily training. Furthermore, if you were to start every workout fully recovered and fresh, it would be difficult to simulate how your body feels late into a race.

As such, we can strategically implement the theory of accumulated fatigue to better target the specific demands of your race.

For example, during marathon training, one of my favorite methods for introducing accumulated fatigue is to buttress the long run against a shorter, but steady paced run the day before. As an illustration, you would run six miles at marathon pace on the Saturday before your Sunday long run. Because of the harder running on Saturday, you start Sunday’s long run not at zero miles, but rather at six or eight miles, since that is the level of fatigue and glycogen depletion your body is carrying over from the previous run.

You can even apply this theory to 5k training. Using what we know about muscle fibers and the recruitment and fatigue ladder, I often have athletes run a short, explosive hill workout (something like 9 x 60 second hills at 5k pace) two days before a 5k specific workout (12 x 400 at 5k pace with 60 second quick jog rest). The hill session fatigues and depletes the fast twitch muscle fibers so that during the 5k specific work, your intermediary Type IIa muscle fibers (the ones primarily responsible for running at 5k pace) have to handle more work and thus are more specifically targeted.

How to find the right balance

Training would be much easier – and runners much happier – if you could just train hard and fatigued all the time. But, you can’t simply continue to accumulate fatigue and run these types of workouts all the time (although some runners certainly do try). There needs to be a balance.

First, try to keep the specific accumulated fatigue workouts to once every two weeks and only schedule them during the race-specific portion of your training schedule. This ensures that you don’t overdo it and that you don’t get burnt out long-term.

Be sure to keep your easy runs slow. One of the most common mistakes runners make is running their easy day mileage too fast. This hinders your ability to recover and doesn’t provide any additional aerobic benefit. Research has shown that the most optimal aerobic pace for an easy run is about 65 percent of 5k pace. For a 20-minute 5k runner (6:25 pace for 5k – 7:20 pace marathoner), this would mean about 8:40 per mile on easy days.

Finally, don’t be afraid to take a down or rest week every five to six weeks where you reduce mileage by 65 to 75 percent and reduce the intensity of your workouts. These down weeks help you fully recover from and absorb previous weeks and months of training so that fatigue doesn’t build-up too much.

As an Australian elite multiple trail running champion, with wins in over 40 ultra-marathon races across Asia, recovery from training and races has always been my top priority.

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Feel free to follow me on Strava.

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Backyard Ultras, the new marathon.

01 August bigkevmatthews@gmail.com 0 Comment

This Friday I’m taking on my sixth backyard ultra, the race with no end, runner against themselves in the truest test of mental and physical strength.

The concept of Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra is simple: Runners have an hour to complete a 4.167-mile loop at the race organizer’s home. Then they do it again, and again, and again—breaking for food and rest only in the spare time before they start the next loop. Hundreds of miles and a whole lot of pain later, the last competitor still running wins

Backyard Ultras are so popular and becoming more so daily. Just check out the home website for all the possible locations to run one https://backyardultra.com/races/ The list is growing so quickly. For those who are new to the concept read this article https://www.si.com/more-sports/2019/12/04/big-dogs-backyard-ultra-marathon , you’ll get the idea.

I’m running Birdys backyard Ultra this week for the third time. ( https://birdysbackyardultra.com.au/race-information/ ) and this was my introduction to the event in 2020. That year I was allowed to run 24 hours and then had to leave and get home to look after the kids as no1 Wife was going out. Halfway through the event my Wife rang and let me know I could carry on but I had 24 laps set in my mind at that point and so focused on that goal. A pity because I finished lap 24 sub forty minutes and felt fantastic, with so much more left in the tank. I wonder whether that was because I knew I was finishing after working very hard getting through the night or I just left way too early. Either way it sums up what this race is about, it’s so much more mental than most running races, in these events a mentally storing runner will normally out last a more physically prepared runner but one who is mentally weaker. You don’t find that in most races but because this race has no set end time, it continues until there is one runner left, its a mental as well as a physical battle. After all you only have to run 6.7km (4.1miles) in an hour, that’s about 8min/k pace average, a slow jog really.

Mission accomplished. 24 laps done and dusted. Birdy’s 2020.

In 2021 I was preparing for the Delirious West 200 miler in October and , at that time, had never completed a 200 miler. ( https://deliriouswest200miler.com.au/ ) I wasn’t prepared to risk myself at Birdy’s and as such set a goal of a top ten finish, I achieved this on lap 28 albeit truth be told the course was far more difficult than the pervious year due to a course change due to excessive rainfall the weeks preceding the race. This made the course harder and thus recovery time was limited , every time you sat down the two minute warning seemed to start, fatigue built up over time and I was getting closer and closer to missing cut off. The course change made a huge difference as they had taken out the best running bits of the old course and added more technical single trail with mud. Over time the mud just sucked the life out of you.

Saturday morning and it’s still fecking cold 2021.

As well as Birdy’s backyard Ultra I have ran Herdy’s Frontyard ultra twice ( https://herdysfrontyard.com.au/ ) and the inaugural South Australian version , Hysterical Carnage. ( https://hystericalcarnage.com.au/ ) I’ve managed assists in both of these races, the last runner bar the winner, beaten both times by Australia’s premier backyard ultra runner Phil ‘one more lap‘ Gore. As I said earlier I love the format, it really is you against yourself where you can see how far you are prepared to go albeit everybody bar Phil of course because he always wins.

This year I’m taking on the four backyard ultra offered by the Ultra Series, ( https://ultraserieswa.com.au/ ) adding No time to die ( https://nttdfrontyard.com.au/ ) to Hysterical, Birdys and Herdy’s. I’ve already ran Herdy’s in March this year finishing in the top 10 timing out at 35 hours. This wasn’t the result I was hoping for and I never felt great during the event and this was probably explained by a positive COVID result a few days post event. Well that’s what I’m putting it down to, we’ll find out on Friday I suppose.

So what makes me so passionate about this format.? I’m not going to sugar coat the event , it hurts and I mean it really hurts. Each runner needs to decide how much pain they are willing to put up with. Very few runners actually time out, very few. In my previous five races I’ve only timed out once. The other four times I had a valid reason to pull the pin before taking on another lap. Were they valid reasons though ? My Wife had given me a carry on card the first time I ran Birdy’s but I decided to stick to the original plan. For my next race at Herdy’s I did run 47 laps and must admit although I didn’t time out I was mentally done, albeit I was still lapping in the low fifty minutes so probably had a few more laps in me? For Hysterical Carnage in November last year I got to 37 laps with just me and Phil feeling relatively good but had my daughter with me and the plan was to spend some time in Adelaide with her. When you are left with Phil you either pull the pin early an get an assist or run for ten hours extra or longer and get an assist, the end result is the same. Remember a backyard ultra in Australia is everyone runs until there is one runner left and then Phil runs one more lap and wins. This year at Herdy’s I did time out on lap 35 but looking back could I have made the cut off, typing this months later yep, at three in the morning after running for over thirty five hours , no. That sums it up, before the event and after it you will second guess yourselves , asking yourself did you give your all ? That is what makes the event so special, it gives you the opportunity but it so difficult to take it, few do.

The image below shows Adam and I early on at Herdy’s this year, it was so humid and we were both absolutely buggered, as I said this format gives you the opportunity to really push yourself to places other races won’t allow you to go. It was brutal this year albeit I still citing COVID as the reason I pulled the pin earlier than planned. As I mentioned earlier in this post everybody has a good reason why they didn’t win, bar Phil Gore being unbeatable.

Sometimes backing up from a 200 miler isn’t such a good idea after all. Adam and I absolutely buggered.

I’ve added an article Ryne Anderson, CTS Ultrarunning Expert Coach, below, worth a read..

How a Backyard Ultra Can Boost Your Ultramarathon Training

Backyard Ultra Events exploded in popularity over the last few years thanks, in part, to their straightforward setup. The objective is to complete successive 4.167-mile loops, each in under one hour, for as long as you can. A little more than 4 miles in an hour sounds easy, and for the first few hours it is. Many hours later, it’s not so easy. Backyard Ultras are not only great challenges themselves, but they can also help runners solve failure points that plague them in start-to-finish races.

Backyard Ultras are “last person running” events, rather than a set start-to-finish distance (100 miles) or duration (24 hours). If you do not complete the loop and make it back to the finish line/starting corral by the top of the hour, your day(s) is finished. The repetitive nature of the laps encourages rote execution, the same process over and over. This creates a very controlled environment (or as controlled as you’re going to get in an ultra) that allows runners to find their limits and reach new distance milestones. Is every runner going to eventually run 354 miles over the course of 85 hours like Harvey Lewis’s record-breaking performance at Big’s Backyard Ultra in October? Probably not, but a runner can use the simple setup of a Backyard Ultra to solve failure points that have troubled them in past races and have a breakthrough performance.

Crewing

An effective crew can streamline time spent at aid stations, keep the runner mentally engaged, and solve problems before an issue derails your race. The beauty of a Backyard Ultra is that the runner sees their crew every hour. Backyard Ultras have basic aid station fare available to everyone, but each runner is allowed their own personal aid station tent. Within that area, the runner can have anything and everything they want. You can have a cot and sleeping bag for a quick nap, a camp stove to cook your favorite food, a wardrobe of extra shoes and clothes, and all your preferred nutrition and hydration products.

Four miles between aid stations and a set time to leave and get back out on course is the most accessible aid station setup of any ultrarunning event. There is no overthinking and overpacking drop bags that are scattered across successive aid stations on the course. Your crew is not frantically navigating sketchy forest roads and stressfully racing to the next aid station. The “hurry up and wait” mentality is replaced with “relax and wait.” The crew has more than enough time to prepare the aid station for the runner’s return. This encourages a stress-free environment to consume calories and address problems. You have time to make gear and clothing changes when necessary, and prepare optimally for the next lap.

CTS ATHLETE CHRIS MURPHY’S SETUP AT BIG’S BACKYARD ULTRA

Testing Nutrition and Hydration

Nausea and/or vomiting was cited as the second highest problem for finishers and the highest problem for non-finishers in Marty Hoffman and Kevin Fogard’s 2009 study that explored the issues that affected runners at the 2009 Western States and Vermont 100-mile races . Multiple factors contribute to stomach issues to stomach issues during an ultra. Among those are inadequate training, poor pacing during high temperatures, failure to stick to a plan, and not properly hydrating.

In a typical ultra, runners map out their nutrition and hydration plan before the race or set a reminder on their watch to remind them to eat and drink. Sometimes, however, a runner miscalculates the time between aid stations and runs out of food and water. Maybe the day was hotter than expected and the runner should have carried a third bottle. Or the runner simply lost their sense of time and frequency for how much they should eat and drink. Race at high elevation also affect some runners’ ability to consume calories.

Backyard Ultras reduce the guesswork of estimating time between aid stations and tracking energy and fluid consumption. Although the weather will change throughout the day and night, temperature should ebb and flow within reasonably predictable range because you’re staying within such a small geographical area.

Nutrition Goals

Nutrition goals can be as simple as eating a sports nutrition product on each loop, drinking one bottle of water, and eating some type of real food upon returning to the aid station. The crew member can easily keep track of how many calories the runner has consumed, what food options are working, and adjust hydration and electrolyte goals as the temperature changes throughout the day and night. For runners who successfully execute nutrition and hydration plans for 50k events but struggle beyond the 6- to 8-hour timeframe, the simplicity and standardization of a Backyard Ultra can be great for testing out different strategies.

Pacing

“I went out too fast,” is a common talking point in reviewing any ultrarunning performance. It’s completely understandable to go out too fast due to the palpable energy at the start line and feeling fresh a few weeks of tapering. But going out too hot can come back to bite you. You gain little to no advantage in “racing” each loop at a Backyard Ultra.

There is some strategy involved, at times. For instance, a faster loop means returning to your aid station with a little extra time to take a quick nap or make a gear change. But runners are generally better served by keeping their pacing steady throughout. Keep in mind, runners may have different goals, too. Some may be out to complete a personally relevant distance and then stop. Other runners are competing and attempting to be the runner standing.

A Backyard Ultra is not the format to chase a time PR at a certain distance. There is little utility in completing a loop in 40 minutes versus 55 minutes. Steady pacing encourages consistent energy expenditure and fueling habits.

Camaraderie

Between spectators, crews, and fellow runners, you will not be alone during a Backyard Ultra. In a standard ultra, runners spread out and may run solo for hours. Running by yourself can be advantageous because you’re likely to stick to your own personal race strategy. It can also be a hindrance if you lose focus, struggle with negative thoughts, and subsequently slow down. Running with company may lower perceived exertion, provide access to more encouragement, and create a memorable race experience.

Runners also develop a strong bond with one another throughout a Backyard Ultra. There is a competitive element, in that they want to be the last one standing, but there’s also camaraderie that leads runners to push and support one another. Harvey Lewis, Chris Roberts, and Terumichi Morishita would no doubt credit each other in each runner’s ability to crest the 72-hour mark and go beyond 300 miles at Big’s Backyard Ultra.

Put It Altogether

The simple and standardized nature of Backyard Ultras allows every runner to fine tune critical ultrarunning skills. A Backyard Ultra may not be your idea of an A-race, but you can use a Backyard Ultra to better learn about yourself as a runner, solve and correct issues that have plagued you in past races, and reach distances that have previously eluded you.

References:

Hoffman MD, Fogard K. Factors related to successful completion of a 161-km ultramarathon. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2011 Mar;6(1):25-37. doi: 10.1123/ijspp.6.1.25. PMID: 21487147.

What is humanly possible at a backyard ultra , how far can the boundaries be pushed ? This format is relatively new and as such the record for the most number of laps is growing almost monthly. As of today, August 2022, the record is 85 laps.

The most laps completed in a backyard ultramarathon is 85, achieved by Harvey Lewis (USA) at Big’s Backyard Ultra in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, USA, on 16 –19 October 2021. Backyard ultramarathons challenge competitors to complete a run of 4.167 miles (100 miles divided by 24) every hour until only one runner remains. Harvey Lewis won the 2021 Big’s Backyard Ultra after completing 85 “yards” – a total distance of 354.16 miles (569 kilometres). The race began at 7 a.m. on Saturday morning and finished at 9 p.m. on the Tuesday, with competitors running a trail by day and road at night. Lewis bested the previous backyard ultra record of 81, set by John Stocker at the 2021 Suffolk Backyard Ultra.

If you believe David Goggins ( https://davidgoggins.com/ ) we only ever tap into about 40% of our potential, there’s another 60% available but only a few can get access to it. This event certainly gives you the opportunity to find your extra 60% . The record stands at 85 laps and I’m calling it here , it will be over a 100 hours by 2024, the only limiting factor will eventually be sleep. Mental and physical conditioning will get you there but you need sleep, without sleep of course you fail or die; whichever comes first. At the moment this type of event is on the outer of the running world, mention a backyard ultra to most non-runners around the drink fountain and most have no idea what you are talking about. A marathon is well ingrained in the non runners vocabulary and these days and even ultra marathons adventures are met with a knowing sigh and roll of the eyes by non-runners , no longer the kudos of days gone past. Backyard ultras will gain traction around the water fountain in time but for the moment they are seen as quirky and hard to relate to, this will change but most ‘proper runners’ concentrate on the more traditional distances, for the moment.

I wonder if Goggins would ever stop..ever, at a backyard ultra ?

So will backyard ultras become the new marathon ? Not in the short term but they are a unique way to run a race and every hour , on the hour, you’re at the front of the pack, leading the race albeit briefly. The camaraderie of the event is special and unique where you see your fellow competitors hourly rather than for a brief ‘g’day’ at the start and then that’s it until the finish. Add in the down time when you can actually sit down and eat and you have the recipe for a great event. They will become more and more popular , similar to the park run sensation sweeping the world currently. It’s a more relaxed way to race and takes away some of the time pressure, it really is you against yourself. This is why I think the concept will take off.

For a race report on my first attempt at Herdys’ follow this link on the backyard ultra webpage https://backyardultra.com/herdys-backyard-ultra-probably-the-run-of-my-life-so-far/

Camaraderie, summed up in this image, pre-Lap1. Birdy’s 2021.

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Choo Choo 2022, runner versus train, sometimes the train wins.

18 July bigkevmatthews@gmail.com 0 Comment

Once a year we run the underground event that is the Choo Choo race, runner versus train. The idea is simple you turn up at North Dandalup train station and run to Serpentine train station on the Munda Biddi trail, a distance of either 33km (the short course) or 34.5km (the original course). The return, and only, train leaves at 10:21am from Serpentine train station. You choose what time you leave North Dandalup, and hence the concept of ‘racing the train.’ Over the years we have left at various times after 7am but this year we decided we’d push the boundaries and leave at 7:25am. There was talk of a 7:30am departure but luckily , in hindsight, we decided against it and erred on the side of caution, we are getting older.

The rail line is used mainly for goods trains with the Transwa Australind train running once a day between Perth and Bunbury. It runs through North Dandalap, from Bunbury, at around 7:23am and then returns via Perth through Serpentine at 10:21am.

An early goods train, cars everywhere. The locals get very confused, which is easily done apparently.

This year there was well over fifty runners and the car park was packed as is the norm for this event. We managed to find a spot on the grass and just off the pavement, honest, the benefit of a four wheel drive. Arriving late car parking is limited as the usual parking capacity is around twos cars at best. As I said before the station is called North Dandalup but I’ve yet to find the rest of it, it’s small ! There was seven of us booked to leave at 7:25am giving us less than three hours for the 33km short course. Lauren and Katt decided to leave at 7:15am to give themselves some breathing space which wasn’t needed as they both ran a quicker time than all of us.

Lauren and Katt leaving a few minutes before the 7:25am group. The girls could have easily ran with us, albeit we would have slowed them down.

As this was the latest we had ever left I don’t recall seeing the train returning to Perth before. The previous latest time was a few years ago when Mark Lommers , Jeff and I left at 7:22am , giving ourselves just less than three hours. Last year we left twenty minutes earlier. There was talk in the week of leaving at 7:30am and it was only a last minute change of heart from yours truly that gave us the extra five minutes. This was , in hindsight, a masterstroke.

The 7:25am group with the train returning to Perth from Bunbury arriving at North Dandalup station.

We always love the photo of the watch with the time on it to prove what time we actually left North Dandalap but truth be told it’s always on Strava and in Strava we trust… ( http://www.strava.com ) In the photo below it’s Jon showing the time on his watch and Adam confirming. Jeff has already started and Mark Oakshott is poised to explode. Mark ran the longer course and still passed us before half way, in our defence he is younger, more committed and just generally more talented than us ‘older runners’.

Proof of starting time albeit it’s on Strava of course. Mark waiting patiently, Jeff jumping the gun and Jon and Adam poised..

The first 8km of this run is all up hill , up to the top of the scarp, and some parts are steep. If you were to take your average pace for this part of the run you’d never make the train, if you left late enough. The next 15km or so is undulating running through some pretty good trail on the Munda Biddi ( https://mundabiddi.org.au/ ) , the best bit of course if coming down of the scarp. Ten kilometres of some seriously good downhill running starting with crushed limestone trail and finishing off with sealed road. It is here you make up serious time and catch the train. Of course it is also here you hemorrhage time and miss the train, you decide.

Every year we run this race we get four photos. The obligatory start photo, half way , all the runners at the deli and the same runners on the platform at Serpentine. I added in the runners in the train shot last year when TransWA gave us a carriage all too ourselves, which they did again this year, thanks TransWA. The image below shows the guys at halfway, Mark Oakshott had just passed us so missed out, the one downside to being too quick. Myself, Adam, Jeff and Jon had run the shorter course.

At this point I had not looked at my watch , just assuming we were running well and would make the train if we continued at the normal Choo Choo pace which would include a fast finish, as is tradition. I remember hearing Jeff saying we had an hour as we posed for the halfway photo and as such plenty of time. At the time I ignored him as I assumed he had that wrong but it turned out he hadn’t. I reckon Jon , being an accountant, did the maths as he left us here like a scolded cat. We all ran hard but there was never ever any talk of missing the train or even being close, this was probably a mistake or a good thing ? A mistake as I could have gone quicker, maybe, or a good thing as I wasn’t stressed about missing the train. I really believed I would arrive at Serpentine with at least five minutes up my sleeve, grab a Brownes Mocha and enjoy the adulation of leaving last ( or close to last as Allistar Caird and Sean Ralphn left at 7:35am and made it easily!)

The obligatory halfway photo, that nearly cost us !

We all put on the afterburners after the traditional half way photo (it’s actually about 20km but we were never any good at maths), everyman for himself as we each decided how much pain we would embrace to make the finish. We passed our good friend Jon ‘Trailblazer’ Philips with about 7km to go and he was not in a good way. His chances of making the train were nil, or worse, and I promised to send a car to pick him up and transport him back to the start. No one has actually been forced to run back to the start, we talk about it but that would be really cruel. Jon had lost himself to chocolate of late and was moving towards a 100kg goal weight, great for mud wrestling not so good for train racing. He was probably regretting his fifth mars bar as he neared the top of the scarp and was faced with a sub 30minute ten kilometres to make the train ! Needless to say he didn’t and Sam Hoffman and his beautiful young family picked him up.

The Deli photo, minus about 40 runners !

As I have mentioned the Serpentine Deli is one of my favourite shots but this year I was so late they didn’t wait for me and all the runners started towards the train as I was probably a few hundred metres away. It was at this point I realised I had probably cut if fine, very fine. I did manage to grab a few stranglers including my mate Cam who had ran with me on the Feral Pig 100 miler last November, his first ultra and he nailed it, a young man with a big future under the tutorage of Carl Douglas. As you can see from the photo not quite the fifty or so runners who completed the event but you get the idea. To add to my woes the deli had sold out of Brownes Mocha’s so I had to make do with an Up ‘n’ Go chocolate milk drink, good but not the same truth be told.

I insisted on the Serpentine platform photo, it is tradition.

Once I grabbed my Up’n’Go milk drink I scurried off to the platform and organised the Serpentine train station photo with the help of Irvin, my partner in crime. It’s not all the runners as at least three were still on the way to the platform at this time , of which only one, Adam, made it. There were also other runners who had cars at Serpentine and left before the photo, rookie mistake. The numbers go up every year and so they should, it’s a great event and the best part its free, bar bringing some tukka for the post event debrief back at North Dandalup.

All aboard, it was about this point Adam turned up, and Cedric didn’t .

It was about at this point Adam turned up as we were boarding the train. Adam was one of the first runners to miss the train in 2020 when he kept on running on the Munda Biddi trail rather than turn off and head down the scarp to Serpentine. In his defence the turn off is unmarked and he assumed the trail went to Serpentine, unfortunately it went to Jarrahdale, where he realised his mistake. He wasn’t the only one that year funnily enough. This year he had ran with myself, Jon and Jeff as well as a couple of runners we had picked up on the way. The last 10km or so was an ‘every man for himself‘ type sprint to the train station, he was last and thus just made the train. I will say I have ran this event maybe eight times and this was the first time the train was anywhere near on time. I had always factored in 5-10 minutes , minimum, wiggle room, not this year.

Once on the train it was time for another traditional runners on train photo. TransWA had given us a whole carriage again and this photo just sums up the whole event, I mean how good is this. Where else in the world can you get to race a train and then return riding in a carriage to yourselves, for the cost of a single ticket, less than $9, priceless.

Once we got off the train at North Dandalup everybody got out their tukka as requested and we had a magnificent feast in the bus shelter as the rain that had been teasing us all morning decided to come in. As always there was way too much quality food and the conversation was flowing with everybody had a story or three from the mornings adventure. This is probably my favourite part of the event , like minded people chewing the fat over quality tukka, after fishing a great trail run and beating a train, it really doesn’t get any better. The rain came in big time later in the afternoon so we were very lucky to avoid it, bar a smattering while we ate.

As we ate the last runner was brought back to us. Cedric had started with us albeit a little late so he missed the starting photos. He was ahead of me when we reached the point where you turn right for the short course or continue on for the longer version. I’m not sure what course he wanted to do but , with hindsight, he chose the wrong one and went long. This cost him as he missed the train by about 500 metres, small decisions big consequences. Luckily there was still people hanging around at the Deli and they took pity on a him and drove him back to North Dandalup, with a great story. So this year the train claimed two more victims, I’m pretty sure the train driver now realises our little game and will be making more of an effort to catch us out from now on, and why wouldn’t he after all it is a race right.

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fisiocrem ( https://www.fisiocrem.com.au/ ) is just bloody brilliant and does exactly what it says it does , it just gets the major muscle groups moving again. I used this extensively towards the end of all 200 milers when my quads are hammered. It really makes a difference and allows me to move back through the gears towards the end of an event when most runners are stumbling home.

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Are we carboloading all wrong and do we really care ?

12 June bigkevmatthews@gmail.com 0 Comment

With the Unreasonable East 200 miler ( https://unreasonableeast200miler.com.au/ ) less than 10 days away its time to start to think about carbo loading albeit for an ultra you probably don’t need to with the amount of food available at aid stations but for all your short distance runners, less than a marathon, carboloading is important. I’ve written about carboloading a lot over the years as it’s one of my favourite subjects. Three days of eating 10g of carbs for every kilo of body weight, how good is that ? Runners normally love their food and for three days you can actually indulge albeit with a caveat of sticking to carbs as much as possible while avoiding too much fat and sugar of course.

I personally only really carboload for a marathon , anything shorter it’s just about a proper taper and watching your diet on the week of the race. With shorter races racing weight also becomes a challenge and you need to be mindful of obtaining the right balance between eating too much and putting on an extra kilo or two that you then need to run with or not eating enough , to drop weight, and then having no energy for the event. With experience you generally find out what works for you and each individual is different. In the days before carbon-plated running shoes, can you remember that far back?, we all use to seek out the lightest running shoes while putting on 1-2 kilos of extra weight carboloading poorly. Runners and logic, not generally bed fellows ?

Are we carboloading all wrong and do we really care ?

The Thursday before a marathon is when traditionally you start to gorge on carbohydrates to carbo-load for the big day on Sunday. I use the old tried and tested 10g of carbohydrates for every kilogram of weight. For me that is 700g of carbohydrates for three days. It is a challenge and one I reckon 75% of all runners fail to meet it. They’ll make an effort of course but either not hit the required amount of carbs or fail to hydrate properly. One thing I guarantee is you will feel ‘bloated’ and ‘heavy’ after a good carbo-load but this is mainly liquid and on the day the benefit out weighs weight issues.

Is there a better way than a 3 day food feast though ? As runners it normally goes against the grain by eating so much and exercising so little. (I’m assuming you are tapering by now ?) The guilty feeling as you eat a muffin for a third day on the trot (I must admit to never having this feeling but I’ve been told some runners do , funny that ?) and stagger around with 2-3 litres of water sloshing about in your belly.

I’ve read that you can ignore the carbo-loading if you take carbs on the day in the form of Gu’s or shotz, or this at least negates the whole process. I’m not convinced but even Matt Fitzgerald has been quoted buying into this theory. Matt wrote an interesting article below on different methods of carbo-loading but I’m not ready to give up my muffin feeding frenzy just yet, so Matt, in this case, I’m staying traditional.!

The practice of carbo-loading dates back to the late 1960s. The first carbo-loading protocol was developed by a Swedish physiologist named Gunvar Ahlborg after he discovered a positive relationship between the amount of glycogen (carbs stored in the muscles and liver) in the body and endurance performance. Scientists and runners had already known for some time that eating a high-carbohydrate diet in the days preceding a long race enhances performance, but no one knew exactly why until Ahlborg’s team zeroed in on the glycogen connection.

Subsequently, Ahlborg discovered that the muscles and liver are able to store above-normal amounts of glycogen when high levels of carbohydrate consumption are preceded by severe glycogen depletion. The most obvious way to deplete the muscles of glycogen is to eat extremely small amounts of carbohydrate. A second way is to engage in exhaustive exercise. The stress of severe glycogen depletion triggers an adaptive response by which the body reduces the amount of dietary carbohydrate that it converts to fat and stores, and increases the amount of carbohydrate that it stores in the liver and muscles as glycogen. Ahlborg referred to this phenomenon as glycogen supercompensation.

Armed with this knowledge, he was able to create a more sophisticated carbo-loading protocol than the primitive existing method, which was, more or less, eating a big bowl of spaghetti.

Ahlborg came up with a seven-day carbo-loading plan in which an exhaustive bout of exercise was followed by three or four days of extremely low carbohydrate intake (10 percent of total calories) and then three or four days of extremely high carbohydrate intake (90 percent of total calories). Trained athletes who used this protocol in an experiment were able to nearly double their glycogen stores and exhibited significantly greater endurance in exercise lasting longer than 90 minutes.

After these results were published, endurance athletes across the globe began to use Ahlborg’s carbo-loading plan prior to events anticipated to last 90 minutes or longer. While it worked admirably, it had its share of drawbacks. First of all, many athletes weren’t keen on performing an exhaustive workout just a week before a big race, as the plan required.

Second, maintaining a 10 percent carbohydrate diet for three or four days carried some nasty consequences including lethargy, cravings, irritability, lack of concentration, and increased susceptibility to illness. Many runners and other athletes found it just wasn’t worth it.

Fortunately, later research showed that you can increase glycogen storage significantly without first depleting it. A newer carbo-loading protocol based on this research calls for athletes to eat a normal diet of 55 to 60 percent carbohydrate until three days before racing, and then switch to a 70 percent carbohydrate diet for the final three days, plus race morning.

As for exercise, this tamer carbo-loading method suggests one last longer workout (but not an exhaustive workout) done a week from race day followed by increasingly shorter workouts throughout race week. It’s simple, it’s non-excruciating, and it works. Admittedly, some scientists and athletes still swear that the Ahlborg protocol is more effective, but if it is, the difference is slight and probably not worth the suffering and inherent risks.

Note that you should increase your carbohydrate intake not by increasing your total caloric intake, but rather by reducing fat and protein intake in an amount that equals or slightly exceeds the amount of carbohydrate you add. Combining less training with more total calories could result in last-minute weight gain that will only slow you down. Be aware, too, that for every gram of carbohydrate the body stores, it also stores 3 to 5 grams of water, which leads many athletes to feel bloated by the end of a three-day loading period. The water weight will be long gone by the time you finish your race, however.

A friendlier carbo-loading strategy was devised in 2002 by scientists at the University of Western Australia. It combines depletion and loading and condenses them into a one-day time frame. The creators of this innovative protocol recognized that a single, short workout performed at extremely high intensity creates a powerful demand for glycogen storage in both the slow-twitch and fast-twitch fibers of the muscles.

The researchers hypothesized that following such a workout with heavy carbohydrate intake could result in a high level of glycogen supercompensation without a lot of fuss. In an experiment, the researchers asked athletes to perform a short-duration, high-intensity workout consisting of two and a half minutes at 130 percent of VO2max (about one-mile race pace) followed by a 30-second sprint. During the next 24 hours, the athletes consumed 12 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of lean muscle mass. This resulted in a 90 percent increase in muscle glycogen storage.

Runners have cause to be very pleased by these findings. Doing just a few minutes of high-intensity exercise the day before a competition will not sabotage tomorrow’s performance, yet it will suffice to stimulate the desirable carbohydrate “sponging” effect that was sought in the original Ahlborg protocol. This allows the athlete to maintain a normal diet right up until the day before competition and then load in the final 24 hours.

The Western Australia carbo-loading strategy works best if preceded by a proper taper — that is, by several days of reduced training whose purpose is to render your body rested, regenerated, and race-ready. In fact, several days of reduced training combined with your normal diet will substantially increase your glycogen storage level even before the final day’s workout and carbohydrate binge. When you exercise vigorously almost every day, your body never gets a chance to fully replenish its glycogen stores before the next workout reduces them again. Only after 48 hours of very light training or complete rest are your glycogen levels fully compensated. Then the Western Australia carbo-loading regimen can be used to achieve glycogen supercompensation.

An even newer carbo-loading protocol calls for athletes to eat a normal diet of 55 to 60 percent carbohydrate until three days before racing, and then switch to a 70 percent carbohydrate diet for the final three days, plus race morning. As for exercise, this friendliest carbo-loading method suggests one last longer workout (but not an exhaustive workout) done a week from race day followed by increasingly shorter workouts throughout race week.

Having said all of this, I would like to note finally that carbo-loading in general has been shown to enhance race performance only when athletes consume little or no carbohydrate during the race itself. If you do use a sports drink or sports gels to fuel your race effort — as you should — prior carbo-loading probably will have no effect. But it doesn’t hurt to do it anyway, as insurance.

Yelo muffin carbo-load frenzy, why wouldn’t you?

Carboloading, pass me a muffin and no one gets hurt.

There are times when being a runner can really be an excuse to eat great ‘tukka’ and carboloading is one of those times. Three days before your goal race, which should be a marathon distance or more (so don’t think this applies to 5k races, sorry !) , you try and eat 10g of carbohydrates for every 1kg of weight, i.e. me being 70kg , I need to eat 700g of carbohydrates for 3 days pre-marathon. It is actually quite hard to get this right unfortunately. A lot of runners just end up eating junk assuming all food is good food this close to the race or don’t hydrate enough. (You need to properly hydrated for the carboloading to work properly)

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.

These are not pancakes but carbohydrates discussed as pancakes. — These are not pancakes but carbohydrates disguised as pancakes.

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Another race which means the dreaded taper.

07 June bigkevmatthews@gmail.com 0 Comment

With the Unreasonable East 200 miler race ( https://unreasonableeast200miler.com.au/ ) less than two weeks away its time to talk about tapering, every runners nightmare. I have found with age comes wisdom and now I embrace the taper before a race and adjust according to the event. My good friend Dave Kennedy, 6 Inch Trail Ultra race director ( http://www.6inchtrailmarathon.com/ ) doesn’t believe in tapering for ultras and over time I have certainly ran more before a longer event albeit distance over pace, just ticking the legs over I suppose. I wouldn’t launch into tempo or threshold runs the week before an event but am quite happy to run every day at a relaxed pace and noting more than 10k.

Remember the number one rule of tapering, you can only do too much on the week before a race, never too little. So if you do nothing for the week you will not lose fitness. The only caveat is you probably need to adjust your diet and drop the calories at the start of the week before launching into a carboloading frenzy three days before the event. Another caveat, for ultras, the carboloading phase is probably not as necessary as there will most likely be a smorgasbord of tukka during the event, also weight isn’t as big an issue as say for a marathon runner. Ultra running really is the sport that keeps on giving.

From an old post of mine :-

For the 6 inch ultra marathon in December last year I experimented by not tapering nearly as much as I would for a marathon. On the week of the event I actually ran twice a day Monday through Thursday and only had 48 hours rest before the race. Admittedly all runs on race week were slow and easy but I still managed over 80km’s pre-race. On the day I felt great and ran a good race for a 7th place finish but more importantly I was 4th quickest over the second half of the race. I actually ran my first negative split for an ultra. The week before the ultra I had ran 140k so there really wasn’t a taper period to talk off. ( http://www.6inchtrailmarathon.com )

Could this work for a marathon ? I don’t think so. The ultra is normally ran at a more subdued pace and although longer I feel not as testing as ‘racing’ a marathon. (Well ultras less than 100k, when you get above 100k I’m sure it becomes a tad more testing that a marathon. Once I run further than 100k I’ll confirm?) In an ultra the race pace normally decreases brings your overall cardio fitness in to play more than resting the legs a few weeks before. If you haven’t got the fitness a two week taper will not help, you’ll still be underdone. With a marathon, as the distance is less, you normally have the fitness required to finish the event, the tapering helps more by letting tired muscles recovery.

Also I feel running a good ultra is more dependent on the nutrition and hydration plan, get this right will benefit you so much more than a taper period. Again get this plan wrong and the taper will not save you. In an ultra any mistakes will be paid for, that is a certainty. In an ultra there is no where to hide.

Researching tapering and ultras on the web and there are stories advocating no tapering and setting PB’s while others advocate a 3 week steep taper and lean more towards relaxing rather than stressing about the event. All have their pro’s and con’s and as with all things running there’s no one shoe fits all. It really depends on the runner and also their experience and fitness. The more experienced runner with a good foundation of distance training under their belt will be more likely to be able to go into an event without tapering. They will not need the confidence boost that comes from a good taper as much as someone with less experience. Remember a good taper will also aid confidence and going into any race this is important, anything that helps put you in a positive mindset is welcome and needs to be embraced,

Of course if you have any niggling injuries an enforced taper may be called for. When this happens there is nothing you can do about it, just sit back and smell the roses concentrating on things you can influence like carboloading. Now carboloading, that is a whole new post and one I shall tackle next. Until then enjoy this article below by Ian Torrence which highlights ‘peaking’ rather than tapering as a benefit, pre-ultra. Ian is part of the Greg McMillan stable of writers so has a wealth of knowledge and experience to call upon. (Please note I do not advocate the Joe Kulak method of peaking described below but as you can see in the photo below my friend Jon is convinced it works… ?)

Jon practicing the Joe Kulak method of peaking !

The final weeks before an event are the toughest to get right. The common notion that all hard work must cease and inactivity must ensue is incorrect. It’s also foolhardy to continue amassing mileage and tough workouts as race day nears in hopes of improving fitness. Depending on your approach to this all-important time period, you may be left feeling lethargic or simply exhausted. A runner with the proper peak will feel rejuvenated and ready to go on race day.

Greg McMillan, my mentor, has devised a set of rules to live by as race day approaches. Greg explains, “By studying peak performance research – both physiological as well as psychological – as opposed to just the tapering research, I’ve been able to dial in how to truly peak on race day. It works for all athletes no matter where you find yourself in the pack come race day.” By placing Greg’s simple and effective system into context, let’s get you prepared for your next ultra.

1. Do not drop running volume drastically

Though there are some that prefer three weeks to peak, two weeks seems to be the most popular choice. During the first week of a peak, drop the length of each run by 10 to 20 minutes. The week before your event, drop volume by 20 to 30 minutes per run. I recommend that ultrarunners limit their last long run(s), done a week before the key event, to 90 easy minutes (regardless of the distance of the event). This is enough to give you that long run feeling, but short enough that muscle recovery and glycogen-storage continue. Light, non-impact cross training can be done in lieu of runs, but only if you are used to those forms of exercise.

2. Keep the routine

Run, eat, sleep, work, and socialize when you do normally. Your body and mind have achieved stasis over the past few months of training. Keep them both happy and the keel even. Now is not the time to experiment with new workouts, forms of exercise, foods, and social events. Use the extra time not spent running for sleeping and sticking to “safe” hobbies.

3. Keep the intensity and build confidence

Before the 2007 JFK 50 Mile, I had an exchange with fellow competitor Andy Mason. Nine days before the race, he completed a round of very quick mile repeats on the track; his last quality workout before the race. I knew he was fit and feeling confident. That year, Andy finished in the top ten.

Though most ultrarunners do not need to perform a tough round of mile repeats before their next race, they might consider doing some sort of confidence-building workout 10 days to two weeks out from their event. This workout, however, should be in tune with recent training. Running a 30-mile training run or time trialing up and down Hope Pass (like the author) a few days before a race is neither smart nor beneficial. A moderate length workout that you’re familiar with, that is aerobically challenging, allows for adequate recovery before race day, and demonstrates your fitness should be the order of the day. If you don’t routinely perform hard hill, stamina-building, fartlek, or fast finish workouts then this is not the time to start. Maintain your current training and follow the guidelines for reduction in mileage as mentioned above.

Now is also the time to reflect on all of the training you’ve done thus far. Remember that you’ve done the work necessary to get you to the finish line.

4. Stick to the original race plan and have fun

No one starts a race without a goal. Whether it be to keep your Grand Slam hopes alive, finish your first ultra, or win the event outright, don’t lose sight of why you’re out there. Be deliberate in your actions and calculate each move you make on the race course. Run your own race and enjoy the time you’re having on the trail or road. Greg McMillan sums this up perfectly, “Let’s face it. Most of us aren’t going for an Olympic gold medal here. We are simply enjoying the challenge of doing our best. There is no real pressure, so quit putting so much on yourself. We run for fun, and you should remember that. Have fun!”

PEAKING FOR MULTIPLE RACES

What if you’re gearing up for several important races that are separated by a few weeks or less? The Grand Slam of Ultrarunning, as well as others of that genre, and several race series like the NorCal and SoCal Ultra Grand Prix are perfect examples. In essence, you are recovering and peaking in unison between events. There are two ways to approach situations like this:

1. Reverse taper

This is like returning from injury. Gradually and slowly increase the length of your post-race easy runs and avoid fast and difficult workouts. You won’t reach your normal training level, but you’ll satisfy the need for a few runs before your next event.

2. The Joe Kulak Method

When I asked Joe Kulak what he did between each of his four 2003 Grand Slam record- setting 100-mile races, he quipped, “I sat on the couch and drank beer.” If beer is not your drink of choice, water works just as well. The reality is that you can’t gain fitness in the two or three weeks between long ultras. Recovery will be your best “workout” while preparing for your next event.

Another post of mine from the dim and distant past on tapering, I seem to write a lot about tapering funnily enough?

My legs still feel fatigued but they felt the same pre-Fremantle half two weeks ago and still managed a good PB so it’ll be another ‘trust in your training’ sprint from the start line and hopefully I’ll be able to maintain whatever pace I settle into until the end. Rottnest though is a different animal compared to Fremantle. Three nasty hills on a two lap course means six nasty hills, add in heat and possibly wind and the pressure of a PB is non-existence. This weekend is about a top 5 place (depending on who turns up of course?) and pushing myself into the ‘pain box’ for the last time on a race of distance pre-Masters Marathon November 6th. ( http://www.perth2016.com )

It will be the first time I’ve ran a half at Rottnest, actually the first time anyone has as it’s the inaugural event. I’ve ran the marathon ten times so it will be weird running at half pace on a course I have only ever ran at marathon pace. Judging the hills for pace will be a challenge but truth be told it’ll just be the normal ‘suicide pace’ until either something blows or the finish line.

Predicted time will be hard because so much will depend on the conditions on the day. You are exposed on sections of the course so a head wind would be a challenge. Heat wise we are expecting 25-28 degrees which will be the first time I have raced in anything above 20 for the year probably. Coming from the UK originally I’m not a fan of racing in the heat and this will certainly affect my time. (I do enjoy horizontal rain and extreme cold funnily enough, we call that summer in Cornwall!)

On the bright side I have a week to recover on the Island so will be treating it as a training camp with some speed work pre-Masters 5k the following Saturday. This will also be the first week of my marathon tapering so will do my best to only run once a day. This will be a challenge as I am now totally accustomed to double-up days, need to look at the bigger picture though. A good taper is so important as the legs and mind need to be fresh for the marathon. I have attached an article from Running Competitor which gives you some tips to taper like a pro. Hey, if we can’t run like a pro we can at least taper like one…

The Art Of Tapering Like A Pro By Duncan Larki

Mastering the final few weeks of training is trickier than it seems. Marathon training is hard—the long runs, hill repeats and the arduous track sessions take a tremendous toll on both the body and mind. When many marathoners review their training schedule they get giddy at the sight of the taper, which typically starts two to three weeks out from race day. The reduction in volume and intensity is a welcome one. But what many runners don’t realize, however, is that the taper can be just as (or even more) difficult as the rest of the training cycle.

Why is this? How does a taper help a marathoner in the first place and why do you need them?

First, the benefits: According to 2006 U.S. mountain running champion Nicole Hunt, who now coaches at Speedendurance.net, tapers “bolster muscle power, increase muscle glycogen, muscle repair, freshen the mind, fine-tune the neural network so that it’s working the most efficiently, and most importantly, eliminate the risk of overtraining where it could slow the athlete down the most.” Additionally, Hunt notes that a well-designed taper will increase a runner’s performance. “Studies have indicated that a taper can help runners improve [performance] by 6 to 20%,” she contends.

So what exactly is a “well-designed” taper?

The key is to find the optimal balance between three key training elements: duration, weekly mileage, and key workouts. A taper that doesn’t incorporate enough rest can leave a runner feeling burned out going into the race, while a taper overabundant with rest can be mentally taxing and result in a deterioration of fitness

How long you taper for usually depends on the distance of the race you’re targeting and what kind of mileage you’ve been logging from week to week in training. A typical taper for a marathon is two to three weeks, but some runners like American-record holder Deena Kastor only taper for 10 days beforehand.

Conversely, Hunt usually prescribes a three-week taper for her athletes. If you haven’t felt “fresh” at the starting line for recent races, look at the duration of your taper. Consider adding an extra week (or even a few days) of reduced volume and intensity to your schedule. On the other hand, if you’ve been prone to longer tapers and feel like you’re heading into your races too rested, shorten them up a bit.

Weekly Mileage

Regardless of their duration, a taper requires backing off your weekly mileage in order to rest the legs for race day. Mammoth Track Club coach Terrence Mahon, who guides elite marathoners Kastor, Josh Cox amongst others, has his top runners running 120-130 miles per week during their peak training periods. Surprisingly, however, he doesn’t cut down their overall volume too much during their taper, reducing it down for most to a relatively still high 90 miles in the final week before a key race. “We have found in the past that dropping mileage too much leads to a de-training effect,” Mahon says. “We don’t lower things universally in our tapers.” Mahon believes marathoners need to keep doing long runs throughout their tapering phase. “The farther you get away from big [mileage] numbers, the more confidence you lose,” he says. Mahon maintains that the best way to keep his runners close to the “big numbers” is to give them a longer single session, approximately 17 miles, during their taper period, and then follow up the next day with a short 6 easy miles. “It keeps their head close to the race distance,” he says.

Hunt is more systematic with how she handles weekly mileage during the taper phase. In general, Hunt assigns “about a 10% reduction in mileage the third week out, a 15% reduction the second week out and the week of the marathon about a 50%+ reduction.”

Key Workouts

Workouts, along with running mileage, are stressors on the body. As such, a sound tapering regimen reduces both the frequency of the workouts, along with their duration, in order to maximize rest and recovery leading up to the race day. During the taper phase Mahon has his runners completing the same type of workouts they’ve been doing all along in training–mile repeats for example–but gives them more time for recovery. He calls this element the “density” of training. “We try to put some extra space in our workouts during the taper,” he says. Specifically, Mahon may give runners more time to recover between repetitions in a workout, or he may give them fewer workouts to complete during the week.

As opposed to increasing recovery time both during and between workouts, Hunt has her athletes completing shorter, faster speed sessions during the taper. “For the final two weeks I gradually cut the mileage but maintain speed with strides and short intervals,” she says. “The focus is on recovery and goal pace for muscle memory and short bursts of speed.” Some examples of Hunt’s taper surges are 20 x 15 seconds or 10 x 30-45 seconds mostly at 3K to 5K effort.

Experiment, Learn & Trust

Taking these two differing philosophies into account, look at your next taper as an opportunity to vary it in some way. Aim for the right balance in your routine: adjust your mileage and fine-tune your workouts by either giving yourself more time to rest or maybe even picking up the pace. Find what works best for you.

At the end of the day, the most important thing is to trust in your training. As Tyler McCandless, U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier, says: “the best advice on tapering is to believe in the process.”

Right one more post on tapering should just about cover it I reckon…

A day off running pre-race tomorrow, unlikely.

As I’m racing tomorrow there was no early morning run this morning. I am now wondering around lost. I have persuaded my Wife to get up early so we can drive to Yelo for a coffee and muffin breakfast (carbo loading for a 10k?) and after that I will return to my ‘lost’ state.

I’m a runner who loves to run and hates not running. Even now i’m making excuses for reasons why running today would be a good idea, not twice as that would be silly wouldn’t it? So my reasoning behind a run would be to loosen the legs (they aren’t tight), it’s not really a target race tomorrow (that is actually true, tomorrow is really a good hit-out pre-half next weekend) or get rid of some pre-race nerves (I ain’t nervous) . No luck there, let’s face it the reason I want to run is I love running, plain and simple.

Tapering for my next marathon will be a challenge. The last one I ran 100k the week before and called that tapering as I was averaging 130k a week. I’m normally ok on marathon week as even I understand the need to rest. I normally only run twice in the week before a marathon and actually enjoy the calm before the storm, but for a 10k tomorrow, hell I should be running now not typing.

So will probably sneak out for a ‘relaxing’ 10k sometime today, c’mon you’d be mad not too wouldn’t you…..

A quick article on tapering below by Pete Pfitzinger, M.S. suggests a 7-10 day taper for a 10k, I’m thinking 7-10 hours.

Most performance oriented runners will do pretty much what they’re told in training. Run 8 x 800 meters at the track? Sure. Do a 40-minute tempo run? No problem. It’s when we’re instructed to scale back, run less and conserve our energies, that we balk.

Training provides long-term fitness improvements but produces short-term fatigue. Leading up to an important race, the challenge is to find the optimal balance between maintaining the best possible racing fitness and resting to reduce the fatigue of training. This is referred to as a well-planned taper.

To achieve your best when it counts, you can only afford to do a full taper before a few key races each year. If you race often and were to taper thoroughly for each race, you would have little time left for hard training. So you learn to “train through” some races. But for the big ones, you will want to go all out to achieve your best.

A recent paper published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine reviewed more than 50 scientific studies on tapering to find out whether tapering betters performance, and how to go about it. The review showed that there is no question tapering works. Most studies found an improvement of about 3% when athletes reduced their training before competition. This translates to more than five minutes for a three-hour marathoner or more than a minute for those racing 10K in 40 minutes.

How Long Should You Taper?

Several of the studies concluded that the optimal length of taper is from seven days to three weeks, depending on the distance of the race and how hard you’ve trained. Too short a taper will leave you tired on race day, while tapering for too long will lead to a loss of fitness. How do you find the right balance? Consider than any one workout can give you far less than a 1% improvement in fitness, but a well-designed taper can provide a much larger improvement in race performance. Therefore, it is probably wiser to err on the side of tapering too much than not enough. The optimal number of days to taper for the most popular race distances are as follows: marathon, 19 to 22 days; 15K to 30K, 11 to 14 days; 5K to 10K, 7 to 10 days.

Of course the one benefit of tapering is you know carboloading is close…

One final word on tapering, it’s not all bad because towards the end of tapering comes my favourite part of running, carboloading. It’s time to pig out on bacon, excuse the pun , and pancakes swimming in maple syrup but I’ll save that for another post.

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General day to day ramblings,Running

The staple diet of improvement, the long run.

02 June bigkevmatthews@gmail.com 0 Comment

I was looking at my running spreadsheet yesterday and realised that in the last year, bar racing events, I had ran over 25km about four times. This year, so far, I have ran over 25km only once in training and that was a Herdy’s practice in early March. As the extract from my running spreadsheet shows I have also added in the odd rest day which is new to my training as it use to be run every day.

In my defence if you see a 22km it probably indicates a trail run which would be a 2-3 hour run which is a time on feet long run , just not the associated distance. If you add those in I’m probably looking at around 13 long runs for the year, which is still less then the 21 I would expect (One a week) Add in the four weeks I raced , as they were all very long, and that figure becomes 17 and if you factor in some tapering all of a sudden I’m close to my one long run a week average.

What has set me up for success in the back end of 2021 and the beginning of this year was certainly a three month period at the beginning of 2021 preparing for Delirious West , which was unfortunately cancelled.

As you can see big weekly totals and also a fair few double days. On the back of this training I ran a 47 lap Herdy’s backyard Ultra, which at the time was an Australian record (albeit as an assist) I then managed to keep up this training intensity for the rest of the year and eventually finish nine ultras. At the start of 2021 there was more longer runs , which were also on the trails so a double whammy. A long trail run takes longer and works more muscles as you are continually stepping depending on the terrain, add in some elevation and it becomes a real test of endurance. As with all things to improve you need to push yourself, recover and then go again but next time further or faster. This is why it is always good to have indicator training runs where each week you can see an improvement, either a quicker average pace or you go further.

A Mona Fartlek is perfect for this as the run itself is always 20 minutes but the distance should increase as you gain fitness and stamina. I wrote a great post on the Mona, if I say so myself….worth a read.

Mona Fartlek, one of my favourite sessions for some serious ‘pain box’ time.

Fartlek is a Swedish term to describe ‘speed play’, training method that blends continuous training with interval training. Fartlek runs are a very simple form of a long distance run. Fartlek training “is simply defined as periods of fast running intermixed with periods of slower running.”

Today was my Mona Fartlek day, a 20 minute workout that I adore. Though lesson to self, eating banana bread 2 hours before is not such a good idea ! I can normally get to around 5.6k for the session. Steve Monaghetti stills hits over 6km I hear and in his prime was nearer 8km. !! He is a running legend though.. enjoy the article on a true sporting great below.

I was lucky enough to meet Steve at a photo shoot for the Perth City to Surf in 2014 and again this year as he was Ambassador for the Perth marathon. Both times I was taken aback by his down to earth attitude and his willingness to embrace all our questions and comments.

This session is good as it is fairly short but you know it’s doing you good. Golden rule no2 , add pace after the distance phase. This bad boy workout is all about pace.

I met Steve Moneghetti , a running god, at a photo shoot before the City to Surf.

Steve Moneghetti is set to leave a lasting legacy that goes beyond his set of marathon medals. As a young man from Ballarat he and coach Chris Wardlaw devised a session that fitted in with his usual stomping ground of Lake Wendouree helped him become a four-time Olympian.

The Session: Mona Fartlek: (2x90sec, 4x60sec, 4x30sec, 4x15sec with a slower tempo recovery of the same time between each repetition. The session takes 20mins in total.

Distance Mona covered: The session was most often used on Tuesday night at Ballarat’s Lake Wendouree. The first time Mona did it as a 20-year-old he did not complete the Lap of the Lake (6km) in the 20minutes but in his prime he completed the Lake in 17.19 and then continued on to finish his 20min session. He still does it most Tuesdays and even at 52, covers 6km.

History

Mona devised the session with his coach Chris Wardlaw over the phone back in 1983 when he was just 20. He wanted a solid fartlek session, one that would help improve his speed as well as endurance and stimulate an ability to change pace mid-run, something that helped later on his career when tackling the Africans, who had a habit of surging mid-race.

The session became a Tuesday-night ritual for Mona and while it was set up for Lake Wendouree, he’d use it whether training at altitude at Falls Creek or overseas preparing for a championship marathon.

It is still widely used today with Ben Moreau and a host of Sydney athletes doing the session. A recent feature in the UK has led to a number of British runners adopting the session along with a number of runners in the US, although some are calling it the “Mono” session.

A good idea is to set your watch to beep every 30 seconds, so that you don’t have to look down at it all the time.

Mona says

“I was always a stickler for routine and I feel that this session, coupled with my usual Thursday night session of 8x400m with 200m float set me up and gave me continuity with my training.

The 15-second reps came at the end and really forced me to concentrate on accelerating hard when I was fatigued. One night when I was in top shape I covered nearly 7km with Troopy (Lee Troop).”

Tip for other distance runners

For many runners, the session will be too demanding initially and you will need to build into it.

Mona recommends just walking or jogging the recovery as you adjust to it.

Middle distance runners may wish to reduce the length of the session, halving everything (ie: 1x90sec, 2x60sec, 2x30sec, 2x15sec) to make it a 10minute session.

The long run is integral to running improvement but it needs to be slow and steady Sarah Russel, from Runners Connect, wrote this great article explaining the long run and more importantly how so many runners just get it wrong,

Are You Sabotaging Your Long Run by Running the Wrong Pace?

The underlying principle of any training program, regardless of your goal or ability, should be the development of a solid aerobic base.
It’s the fundamental structure followed by almost every elite runner, in particular that of Kenyan athletes who spend around 85% of their time running at an ‘easy’ or ‘recovery’ pace.
Mo Farah reportedly runs around 120 miles per week, of which 80% at an easy pace. No doubt he and Galen Rupp are having a good old chat as they run up and down the hills in Boulder. Not the picture of hard elite training that you might imagine? Well, we can all learn from their approach.
Yet this is what most recreational runners get wrong. Running ‘easy’ doesn’t feel right (or hard enough), so they intuitively run at a ‘moderate’ pace, kidding themselves they’re running easy. Struggling to hold a conversation, a heavy sweat, and red face post run is a giveaway that you did not run ‘easy’!

Running at an easy pace – and by that I mean well into the aerobic zone around 70% of your maximum heart rate – is actually quite hard to do.

You have to slow down A LOT and it feels like you’re going nowhere. But it’s important to stick with it.
In time (usually just a few weeks), your body will adapt, your pace will quicken (for the same effort level) and you’ll have developed a super efficient fat burning engine. So, stick with me here…this is the bedrock of your future training.
The long run can be a daunting part of training for a longer race, but if you follow the elite approach to easy running, you will be race ready in no time.

Why running easy works

When I work with my beginner runners, we just focus on gradually increasing the length of time they can run for, and build up consistency of training – it’s simple and it works.
This is not the time to think about speed and pace, it is best to just get used to comfortable running where your body can adapt, stay healthy, and develop an efficient running rhythm.
Too many training plans out there have you doing speed intervals, tempo runs, and hills when you are just not ready. Of course it’s important to include a little of this ‘high end’ work, but a solid aerobic base is the fundamental foundation on which you’ll build everything else.
Regular aerobic training will train your body to utilize oxygen, preserve glycogen stores by using fat for fuel, and generally become more efficient.
However, I estimate that at least 75% of runners – of all abilities – run too fast too often, and end up in the ‘mid zone’; training neither the aerobic or anaerobic systems correctly.
Many coaches, myself included, recommend an overall balance of hard/easy training (whilst avoiding the moderate zone), a method now becoming known as ‘polarized training’. The avoidance of ‘moderate’ training is the key, and runners focus on ‘easy’ paced running for the majority of time, with a sprinkling of really hard work (where you really can’t chat!) mixed in for approx 20% of the weekly mileage.
Not only do you train a more efficient fat burning body, but the benefits mean you recover faster, and can therefore put in some harder efforts, rather than being chronically fatigued from ‘mid zone’ running’

Recent research from Dr Stephen Seiler et al from the University of Agdar, Norway, backs up this methodology; finding that high volume, low intensity training stimulates greater training effects for recreational runners, in particular when using the 80/20 split of easy/hard training.
A conclusion backed up by the 2014 Salzburg study published in the Frontiers of Physiology, found that the concept of ‘polarized’ training demonstrated the greatest improvements.
After a 9 week training period, runners using the 80/20 easy/hard split had improved their ‘time to exhaustion’ by a whopping 17.4% and change in peak speed by 5.1%.

This group had completed 68% of their training in the low intensity zone, and 24% at high intensity, with only 6% in the ‘moderate’ zone.
So what does that mean for you? How do you put this into practice?
In a world of high intensity training fads, advice to slow down might seem counterintuitive, but it works The key to running further, and ultimately faster is to slow down, especially for your long runs. Easy to say, but harder to do. If you take only one thing away from this article, it’s this – faster is NOT always better.
When you first start out running, you’re likely to have one pace. As you get more experienced and your fitness improves, you will need to develop a wider range of paces. Your long run or easy pace may be 90 seconds – three minutes slower than your ‘top end’ pace.
US Marathon Champion Esther Erb likes to make sure she takes her easy running seriously, “I see hard recovery runs as an indicator of insecurity. When it comes to recovery, it takes more confidence to run slowly than it does to run fast”. Erb runs the majority of her easy runs between 8:00 and 9:00 per mile! Although that pace may seem fast, keep in mind that her race pace is around 5:45 per mile!
This is the key to building up your long run. Simply slow down – to a walk if you need to – spend more time on your feet and just extend the time/distance bit by bit.

How slow?
Using heart rate as a guide
But how slow is slow? If you want to be scientific about it, you can work out your heart rate training zones and try to keep your pulse at around 70% of your max. If you want to go down this route then use the following calculations:
1. Calculate your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR):
Women: 209 – (0.9 x age) = MHR
Men: 214 – (0.8 x age) = MHR
2. Calculate your Working Heart Rate (WHR) by subtracting your resting pulse (RHR)- measure as soon as you wake up in the morning (while still in bed) from your MRH.
MHR – RHR = WHR
3. Calculate 70% of WHR (0.7 x WHR) and add to your RHR. That should give you your 70% zone HR. This is where the bulk of your running, including your long run, should be. For the vast majority of people it will be around 130-140bpm.
You can also use our training zones calculator to assist you with this.
To work out your ‘top end’ zone, do the same but calculate 85%.
Using pace as your guide
If you don’t like heart rate (we don’t 🙂, then you can use pace as your guide.
Your optimal long run pace is between 55 and 75 percent of your 5k pace, with the average pace being about 65 percent.
From research, we also know that running faster than 75% of your 5k pace on your long run doesn’t provide a lot of additional physiological benefit. Therefore, pushing the pace beyond 75% of 5k pace only serves to make you more tired and hamper recovery.
In fact, the research indicates that it would be just as advantageous to run slower as it would be to run faster. 50-55 percent of 5k pace is pretty easy, but the research clearly demonstrates that it still provides near optimal physiological benefits.

Additional Notes about Easy Long Runs
If you do not use a heart rate monitor, run at a comfortable pace where you can chat easily, without gasping for breath. If you can hear yourself breathing, you’re going too fast. On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being super hard) you’ll be around a 5. It should feel really comfortable and the sort of pace you keep going at that pace for hours.
Forget about measuring your ‘pace’ and distance on your GPS watch at this stage. Focusing too much on your watch will only lead to you push on too fast, and undo all your good work.
Learn to run to ‘feel’ rather than keeping to a pace. Don’t forget, that ‘feel’ should be easy. Walk up hills, keep it steady and don’t put any pressure on yourself other than to go a little further.
Run with a friend (find one slower than you normally), have a nice chat, and check out the views. It might take a bit of time to get your head around it, but this is exactly the methodology that will take you to the next level.

Those long easy runs – through the countryside or on the trails, with your partner or running buddy – are to be treasured. Use the time to catch up with your spouse or kids, explore new routes and revel in the joy of going long. There’s nothing else like it.

Last week I managed to get to the hills twice and both times ran my favourite 22km trail , taking just over two hours and 30 minutes each time. These runs although not long in kilometres serve as my long run in the fact I’m on my feet for a good time and also they are testing for reasons mentioned earlier in this post, basically trail running is harder than the equivalent road version. To recover from the weekend I used fisciocrem and human Tecar after both runs. The products certainly helped as the next day I managed to avoid the onset DOMS (delayed onset of muscle soreness)

One last shout out to the Human Tecar products ( https://athleticus.com.au/ ) especially the recovery bandages. After the recent KepV2 105km race I used the bandages the next day and my recovery from the event was so much better, largely DOMS free and back into training the following week registering 75km for the week and only three days of no running. I have been able to add to that weekly total the subsequent week and intend to go further this week, a perfect recovery pre-Unreasonable East in less than three weeks. ( https://unreasonableeast200miler.com.au/ )

Human Tecar recovery bandages and they smell good too.

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