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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.

Finally some products that I endorse because I love them and they do what they say they will do.. simple really.

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.

Fisiocrem is a must have in your 200 miler box of tricks.

Bix hydration is just ace, a product brought to life by Vlad Ixel a professional ultra runner who knows a thing or two about hydration. ( https://www.bixvitamins.com/ ) The best thing about Bix is it tastes good with many different flavours and you never get sick of drinking it, this is a big plus as Maurten and Tailwind (both great products) can be difficult to digest later in the event. From the website :-

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.

In searching for a solid recovery and hydration supplement, I recognized that critical vitamins and minerals – both in diversity and quantity – were missing from almost all supplements on the market. I had the feeling that in an effort to maximize their bottom-lines, companies in the hydration space, failed to deliver a product that could meaningfully assist athlete performance.

In order to address this, I began the development of a hydration product. After two and a half years of development alongside a leading German sports scientist, BIX Recovery, an advanced, high-quality recovery drink was born.

BIX boosts 12 active ingredients scientifically balanced to replace lost electrolytes and assist in immune function. It’s designed with quality vitamins and minerals, in quantities that work!

BIX is a recovery solution for everyone, that will get you to the top of your game!

What can I say about HumanTecar, ( https://athleticus.com.au/ ) it looks great, smells great and is awesome for recovery or even pre-run/workout. Read about the science behind it first and then try the products. The compression bandages are just magical after a long event. Put these on and the next day you are recovered, I have used them on a number of occasions and they never fail to astound me albeit the family poke fun at me as I look like a ‘mummy and smell funny’ !

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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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General day to day ramblings,Trail Running

The Great Trail relay…

26 September bigkevmatthews@gmail.com 0 Comment

Vlad Ixel, him of You Tube fame :- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCikqAT5S16931CQN_tC7EtQ came up with the concept of a trail relay while working in Hong Kong and it proved to be a big hit in Asia. Working with the Ultra Series WA ( https://ultraserieswa.com.au/ ) and the RD from hell Shaun Kaesler, the two decided you put the concept to the test on Australian shores for the first time. It’s a simple concept, you find like minded runners and join a team of 2 or 4 and together run a 100k loop. ( https://thegreatrelays.com.au/ ) Chuck in a baton to be passed between team members and a gnarly 2.5k trail loop and you have the makings of a great day out. A team of 4 would run 10 laps each equating to 25k each (40 2.5k laps = 100k, simple really.). A team of two would have to run 20 laps, equating to 50k each. There’d be mixed and all male or female teams. This will probably be the last time there is only three categories in the crazy , and diverse, world we all now live in.

So me, Rob, Adam and Mark all got together and formed ‘Broken Birdy’s‘ as we had all ran Birdys Backyard Ultra two weeks prior and trust me people we were broken ! ( https://birdysbackyardultra.com.au/ )

As the image below shows we were all smiles pre-start and this seems to be the case at all events lately. Lots of banter and laughst before the eventual onset of pain, that is ultra running really in between eating and drinking of course. We even managed to get a gold baton which we took as a sign of sure fire success, unfortunately not to be .

As this was a new event we set ourselves our normal lofty goal which we would fail to achieve, as is our way. This time it was a sub 7 hour 100k time. This seemed reasonable enough until we ran the 2.5k loop and realised it was a tad more testing than we first thought ! Actually it was a beast of a loop with a start designed to make you and the ground become firm friends, undulating and unforgiving surfaces , a hill or two and the constant threat of ‘stacking it’. Also you had to run the loop 10 times with a 30 minute or so break inbetween each loop for your legs to seize up. I’m not selling this am I ! In the end it was as hard as I just made it out to be… funny that.

Team Broken Birdy’s, all smiles at the start.

I chose to go first and lead out the team and my goal was a sub 10 minute loop, 4min/k pace average. I had not actually ran the loop and decided to try out my Nike Vaporflys to see if these would help, as I mentioned in the previous few paragraphs this was a flawed plan and I was soon to realise why. Vaporfly’s are not built for trails or tight corners, this loop was both of those things. This was to be my only loop in fly’s ! Truth be told I was lucky to survive unscathed and on one corner had to virtually stop running before I could turn around, not a good look . I still managed to finish in the top five teams and gave the guys a chance to cement this position , which we did throughout the day.

Probably the fastest I ran all day, the first 100 metres !

The best part of this trail relay is without doubt the relaxing , or recuperating, between loops. We had all purchased our reclining chairs from BCF (https://www.bcf.com.au/ ) and were the envy of the rest of the field. As you can see from the image below we had an ideal viewing point and took to this task with great gusto. There’s also a great atmosphere around the place as everybody cheers on their respective teams as well as mingling with other opposition runners, its a bit of a party atmosphere really.

The best bit about a relay is the ‘relaxing’…we actually became quite good at it.

Most of the day we were sitting just outside the top three team in the all male category. I say just outside, probably by about an hour in the end. The top three teams seem to be very young, very fit and very fast, we were neither of these of course. We managed to finally overtake the team ahead of us in fourth towards the end of the event, I think we just wore them down. Luckily they were sitting right opposite us allowing us to keep them under close surveillance during the day. Personally I knew who I was racing each loop and we became quite adept at finding each other , albeit he normally caught me each loop but as the race went on the lads got me to a position where I had enough of a head start to maintain my position. We’ve laid down the gauntlet to this team in January for the road version of this event, note to self , do some speed work !

Final image of the lads in the best reclining chairs waiting for Rob. He wasn’t actually that slow and probably was the most consistent runner of the day, albeit not consistently fast. Mark started quick and then injury slowed him down, Adam started quick and did very well , bar the last few laps while I started quick , slowed in the middle and finished well enough… all be it nowhere near my pre-race predicted times. It was a wake up call but in our defence we had all ran Birdy’s two weeks prior and the legs were nowhere need ready for this. A top 5 finish was a very respectable outcome.

So to the winners (or top 5 finishers) go the spoils, or in this case beer Jeff managed to sneak into the event. The boys certainly cheers up when the beer arrives but that’s the point of these events isn’t it, to allow yourself to drink beet at the end. ? I settled for deep fried chicken and chips treat with lashings of salt, listening to my body of course. Trust me after the 8 hour event it tasted as good as it sounds !

Finished, finally… probably the longest time to ever run a 25k race !

Medals from Shaun Kaesler and a photo with the two best MC’s in Perth and that was that, job done, the Great Trail Relay ticked off and what an event. The best part is there is a road version in January in my back yard at Perry Lakes in Perth, so excited.

Shaun and probably the best two MC’s I’ve ever heard at a running event, sorry Raf !

Couldn’t leave without a photo of the Broken Birdy’s relay team , resplendent with their medals and beers (I’d eaten my deep friend chicken by then!) sitting on their BCF recliners, a perfect shot to end a perfect day. Rob, Myself, Adam and Mark, top 5 finish and already talking of going sub 7 hours at the road version next year, wanna’ race ? See you at Perry Lakes in January.

Done and dusted, back to the recliners with medals.

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Birdy’s backyard Ultra.. wow, just wow !

30 August bigkevmatthews@gmail.com 0 Comment

A few weeks ago I ran Birdy’s Backyard Ultra ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/1426023810880131 , ) the sister event to Herdy’s Frontyard Ultra ( https://herdysfrontyard.com.au/ ) where I ran 47 laps for an Australian record. I went into the event with no clear plan really , just wanted to have fun with my mates and boy did it deliver.! The event is just outside Darken in Western Australia, a 3-4 hour drive from Perth, around Lake Towerrining. The weeks before had been wet and windy but for the weekend we were blessed with perfect conditions, how does Shaun Kaesler , the Ultra Series WA owner, ( https://ultraserieswa.com.au/ ) do it ! (For background on the Backyard Ultra movement check out this website https://backyardultra.com/ )

The team arrived Thursday and being a boys weekend away we were straight onto the nearest pub which, after consulting google, we found to be in Darken, a mere 25 kilometers away and they served pizza, perfect! If you ever find yourself driving through Darken I recommend you keep driving, I’ll leave it at that. The boys taking on Birdy’s this year consisted of Rob, Adam, Bart’s , Mark and Dav, all in the photos below bar Bart’s who had to leave work later and went straight to the camp grounds.

We awoke Friday to perfect conditions, no wind, not too cold and with the promise of warmer conditions to come. It was going to be a great weekend. Last year started perfect but got very windy on Saturday (Jon so nearly lost his tent!, so funny!) and was incredibly cold on Friday night. This weekend would be better, weather wise but unfortunately not under foot as we were about to find out. Due to flooding the course had to be changed from last year and this would come back and bite us later in the day and over the event. Shaun had to take out a good one kilometre of quality running trail and replaced it with a swamp that got worse every lap, fun to run but the terrain took it out of your legs an also ate away at your rest time, lap on lap. More on this later.

Friday morning, a beautiful start to the day and the camp is ready.

So the lads awoke and started taking selfies, what else is there to do before a last man standing event ? That’s the thing with these events because it really is more social than mental at the start, everybody is full of the joys of spring, no real pressure. This does change as the race wears on but for the moment enjoy the start and the first few laps, they are all about just enjoying running around laps with like minded runners having a blast. As you can see from the images below there ain’t no suffering going down or the nervous energy you feel before a marathon or normal ultra, just lots of happy smiling runners. We even stopped for a selfie on the first lap, where else can you do that when racing , priceless. Ultimately of course we had to start to put in the hard yards given the harder course, making rest time limited.

So what was the goal going into Birdy’s ? At Herdy’s I’d managed 47 laps but that was in March when I was fitter than a butchers dog due to a three month window of serious Delirious training. ( https://deliriouswest200miler.com.au/ ) Due to the cancellation of the 200 miler I used all my fitness racing Herdy’s. Since then I had ran a 24 hour race ( 5 weeks after Herdy’s) and a 100km trail race (2 weeks the 24 hour race) after which had emptied the batteries. Too many races and not enough recovery or training had left me depleted, so to speak. I knew I wasn’t fit enough for another top 2 finish at Birdy’s but was hoping to beat my 24 hours I ran last year. (Truth be told I could have gone on last year but no1 Wife insisted I came home Saturday for baby sitting duties with my kids!) All the boys had their own goals and for the most part they achieved them or there about. (all bar Bart’s but we’ll leave that to another day.)

As with all backyard ultras the first few laps are ridiculously easy , you can find yourself finishing in 35 minutes and then sitting around for 25 minutes before returning to the start line. Birdy’s though was harder this year. Due to flooding a good part of the old course was about a foot underwater, this meant a course change which involved taking out a good one kilometre of good runable trail and replacing it with swamp trails. There was also a 500m section of wet meadow and mud and I mean wet meadow and mud ! This of course got worse with 200 runners trampling through it on the hour, every hour. Luckily I had packed four changes of trail shoes and 8-10 pair of socks, which I would need.

Another obstacle was the bridge which had grown from the previous year as the gap had become larger due to the flooding issues. We were told by Shaun only three people at a time , we all obviously ignored this or changed the scope to ‘three people at a time on any one part of the bridge’, which meant a free for all.!!!

Three people at a time.. sort of ? The winner Phil Gore sporting a great BK top , pure gold.

Images below show the bridge in all’s it glory as well as some of the running terrain which truth be told look better than it actually was. My mate Ben , the lead runner in the image top right below, loved the mud and considers himself a ‘trail pig‘ , I’m a ‘concrete show pony’ and tip toed around like a girl. (I’m not sure I can say that these days but you get the picture, sorry girls !)

Various shots of the course and the infamous bridge.

Back to the race. The first 8 laps from 10am to dusk at 6pm were just plain fun albeit we all noticed the time resting was significantly less than the previous year due to the course change and the swamp ! Once the head torches went on the real race begins, surviving the night and the temperatures that come with it. I’ve always said the hardest part of any last man standing event is getting through the night and ultimately the 2am to dawn period, this is where your body is screaming for sleep and turns up fatigue to try and persuade you to stop. This year it was even harder as it seemed you would sit down and then instantly hear the song for the 5 minute warning, no time to catch your thoughts or get enough food and drink inside you. Over the course of the evening this became a real mental challenge as well as a physical one with the freezing conditions. All the boys left me before dawn but each of them had achieved their goal or close enough to justify the adventure. Well done lads.

Saturday morning and it’s still fecking cold !

Ultimately if you can get through the night as soon as dawn hits you’re good for another 4-6 hours minimum. As you can see from the images above it’s still cold but the temperature soon started to warm up after we ran 24 laps and hit the 100 miles. Top right in the image above is the 100 mile runners, a few more than last year but given the extra starters not as many as we thought. I’m putting this down to the harder course and thus less time to prepare for the next lap, and it was cold !

So why are backyard ultra’s so much fun, easy really it’s about restarting the race on the hour every hour so you are continually meeting your friends and running with them , rather than just a quick meet and greet on the start line and then many hours later a high five at the end. An added bonus is you aren’t pushing yourself in the red zone continually so you also have some fuel in the tank which makes the whole process more enjoyable. How many runners smile, swap jokes, take selfies and banter while competing ? Very few, normally you are continually watching the clock and in the zone so to speak, no time for high jinks or selfies. A backyard ultra , to start with , is just the best time to spend with your mates. It really is that simple. Of course when you start to hit the big numbers later in the event and your friends start to drop off it becomes more of a personal journey but the only person you then compete with is yourself. Unless you win you will DNF but it is you who decides when that will be, no one else. The race itself is thus two fold, initially a long fun run with your mates before the real journey begins and you find your limits, if you so choose. I do go on about these events but with over twenty years competing in events of all distances nothing comes close to these, I just wish they were around my whole career !

Another concept Gary “Lazarus Lake” Cantrell has is the Race For the Ages which also appeals. In this race you have as many hours to run as your age and you work backwards from the finish. So for me Id have 54 hours to run and thus would start 54 hours before the end, a 40 year old runner would start 14 hours after me again finishing 40 hours later. This handicap system makes the race interesting for all and is normally won by fit 60+ year old runners because not how quicker a 40 year old may be the extra 20 hours is too much to overcome. (Here’s a good post about a 74 year old winner in the states https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a28926593/a-race-for-the-ages-bob-becker/ )

Right, back to the race. The night running was difficult and cold with the head torches not helping on the uneven ground and swamp areas where you had to work hard to keep your footing and avoid diving headfirst into the surrounding water. This compounded the problem with rest between laps as your lap times blew out because if you maintained your daylight pace you’d ‘come a ‘cropper’. The 11 hours of darkness, combined with the various milestone during the evening, made the drop our rate accelerate and by daylight we were down to less than 20 runners from the starting 200. I encouraged as many runners a possible with promises of a different race when the sun pokes its head about the horizon but the darkness tests your resolve and after 3am your body is screaming for sleep and rest. Maybe sitting down in the early morning is counter productive because it is so easy to stay sitting when you hear the call to the start. The cold didn’t help of course and made the initial kilometre a challenge albeit with my thermal , running jacket and full length skins I soon warmed up and the second half of the loop was never a problem.

Hitting 24 hours is a big deal at a backyard ultra event, it’s 100 miles , a miler as we call them. Last year I saved my best laps for the laps 20 to 24 as my goal was 24 hours before returning home to babysit my many daughters. My lap times were low thirty minutes and I felt fresh as a daisy as I finished lap 24 second behind Michael Hooker. This year it was a different story and lap 24 was a slog as I stumbled in near the back of the field close to 50 minutes. The image below shows me and Justin finishing together , in perfect simentary, last year and finishing alone this year at the back of the pack, albeit still smiling. As I have mentioned previously I’m putting this down to the harder course sapping my legs and also a fitness base that has never fully recovered from some serious beatings taken earlier in the year. Whatever the reason it was a relief to hit 24 hours knowing I was on course for a course PB at a minimum, lap on lap.

The 100 milers (far left), with Justin and I finishing last year( top right) and me alone (bottom right).

I struggled on from lap 24 and managed to run four more laps before pulling the pin at the start of lap 29 with my mate Charles. We were both just scarping in by this time and although we didn’t time out this was inevitable and with Delirious West in 7 weeks I decided it was time to save the legs for the bigger picture. Truth be told my quads were destroyed, too much tip toeing around the swamp eventually this came back to bite me. Maybe a better nutrition or hydration strategy would have helped, actually any strategy would have helped. Towards the end of the race I certainly wasn’t eating and drinking enough between laps , in the end this will come back and kick you in the balls. (so to speak) .

Ring the DNF bell after 28 hours (laps) with Charles. Top right, refusing to move until I am given a cup of tea. Bottom right, waiting for my DNF spoon.

So what is the take away from Birdies Backyard Ultra ? Overall I’d say I’d give myself a B+. I managed to run further than last year but it was much, much harder. I’m putting this down to the harder course and less recovery time, together with the quads destroying swamp and wet sections of the course. Throughout the event I struggled with fitness and towards the end really worked very hard to finish pre-50 minutes or worse. Could I have ran further ? That’s a tough question that every runner will always ask themselves after running a last man standing event. Most runners probably think they could have and unless you were carried over the line you probably could have, or collapsed over the line similar to Phil in 2019, he left it all and more besides on the course. It is always easy sitting at your computer, weeks later, writing a post to believe you could have gone so much further but really the decision is made on the day and you need to live with that decision. I’m happy enough with a top 10 finish and 28 laps, I came away with so many fond memories and had a good time on the boys weekend away, the actual race was secondary. Looking forward I have learned more valuable lessons will I will take to Herdy’s Front yard Ultra ( https://herdysfrontyard.com.au/ ) next year where I search for that elusive one lap I need, albeit I need to run 47 laps to get to that lap!

Finally a massive congratulations to Phil Gore and Michael Hooker who ran 51/50 laps and set a new Australian Record in the process. These guys had 12 hours on the rest of the field and were only beaten when Plantar Fasciitis got the better of Michael and he had to pull the pin. Until then we were predicting a massive result. Both these boys will compete on the World Stage in the next couple of years , remember their names, legends in the waiting. (as well as Team Gore of course!)

The King surveys his kingdom..Phil loves his pot noodles.. maybe that’s his secret ?

..and one more thankyou to the race director(s), volunteers and everybody who did their bit to make this event so special. The Ultra Series WA is one special bunch of runners, every one of them a true champion. ( https://ultraserieswa.com.au/ ) and I couldn’t finish with out a huge thankyou to my main man Gazza, the most upbeat, attentive crew a runner could ever need, perfect in most ways bar making tea, he really, really sucks at making tea !! Love you big fella. ! ..and one final shout out to the boys and all my friends who made the weekend so very, very special. These weekends are all about remembering what’s it’s like to be 18 years old again, without the drinking but with as much laughing and high jinks, actually probably more laughing and high jinks !! We’re like 18 year old kids with money, dangerous ! I am counting the days until Birdy’s 2022….. we may even give the Darken tavern another chance. (I hope they don’t read this ?)

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The 20/20 of ultra running is here. Get onboard….

21 May bigkevmatthews@gmail.com 0 Comment

First we had the concept of running ultras in small loops, a prime examples is the Lighthorse Ultra ( https://lighthorseultra.com.au/ which is a timed event over 3/6/12 or 24 hours , over a 2.5k loop. We then fell in love with the Backyard Ultra where the race is a 6.7k loop on the hour every hour, until there is only one runner left standing. ( https://ultraserieswa.com.au/event/birdys-backyard-2/ ) Now the Ultra Series WA, together with Vlad Ixel and Bix Nutrition, ( https://www.bixvitamins.com/ ) have started the Great Trail Relay, kicking off in Perth August 28th ( http://thegreatrelays.com.au )

Vlad Ixel, a running demi-god (and can walk on water as this photo shows) and the main man Shaun Kaesler persuading Phil Gore to run another 30 or so laps at Herdy’s!

Vlad Ixel is a trail living legend , as his website will clearly show , https://www.vladixel.com/about-me , it was Vlad who first came up with the concept of a team ultra where teams of 2 or 4 run a 2.5k loop for a distance of 100k. Doing the math it would means 20 laps each for a duo or 10 laps each for a quad team. These events went gangbusters in Asia and are sure to do the same thing in Australia. There is talk of a road version in January 2022.

What makes this event so special is the comradery of running in a team but also the other teams around you and the whole party atmosphere of the event village. Because you are forced to wait your turn, be that one 2.5k loop in a duo or three in a quad , it gives you time to really soak up the feel of the event, a running carnival. You can use the time to prepare for your next loop, take on board nutrition or hydration or give other teams around you a ‘gee’ up , the possibilities are endless. The best part is you are not alone on a trail with your thoughts, not that this is a bad thing but once in a while it’s actually nice to race an ultra with a bit of company, these type of events give you company and then some !

As the title suggests if a point to point Ultra is a 5 day test, a backyard ultra would be a one day test and this Trail Relay is the 20/20 of Ultra running. Something going on all the time and if you blink you’ll miss something. Let’s face it the last time you ran a relay was probably at school and how much fun was it ! For this event each team will have a baton with a timing chip in it allowing you to see where you are in the field and this encouraging some healthy competition throughout the event, not just at the front of the pack. This is where you will be able to see exactly who you’re racing.

From the website :-

You’ll also find this image on the website for the event which shows you can also have a nap if you so prefer inbetween racing allbeit in the image above I was about to leap up and continue racing at Herdy’s , honest ?

I have already entered a team of four and as it’s two weeks after the Birdy’s Backyard Ultra I have named our team the Broken Birdy’s as we’re all running Birdy’s and will probably not be a fit state to race it. This could be your chance to give me and the boys a good toweling, what more incentive do you want to race? All joking aside this event will take off and if you are going to enter make an effort and do it now. It’s the weekend of the Perth City to Surf which unfortunately has been cancelled. The loop is in the beautiful Jorgensen Park in Kalamunda which is the starting point for the bib track , so I’m sure the loop will be testing.

I’ve been racing for over 20 years and I can honestly say these looped events are without doubt the most fun I have ever had. I’ve ran 45 marathons and many, many ultras but looped ultras/races are the best by a county mile. Personally for me the backyard ultra concept is my favourite but this event will be even more fun I reckon, being part of a team and also the whole atmosphere of hundreds of like minded people doing what we love together, while being able to eat good tukka and sup on quality coffee, sounds like heaven to me !

I can’t leave without yet again thanking Shaun, Axel and the team at USWA for putting this event on, these guys are the makers of dreams and have created unique events that allow us, as runners, to really see what we can become if you have someone that totally believes in you. We are truly blessed. ( https://ultraserieswa.com.au/ )

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General day to day ramblings,Top Golden Rules

The secret to sub 3 marathon success, it’s all about the numbers.

23 April bigkevmatthews@gmail.com 0 Comment

I have said many times on my blog running is an honest sport, put in the time in training and you will see results. The longer you can spend running the bigger the results and if you start to run tailored sessions, i.e. tempos, thresholds, fartleks etc, the quicker the results , as long as you also keep the distance high. Ralf Baugh, the owner of the Running Centre ( https://therunningcentre.com.au/ ) and former professional duathlete, has been keeping data on his 90+ sub 3 marathon runners training habits. It makes for interesting but predictable reading.

Ashley Phelps, a finely tuned sub 3 machine. !

Marathon Training & Performance: Sub 3h Dataset

Since commencing personalised training programs in 2009, the Front Runner coaching team has been primarily focused on assisting both recreational and competitive runners competing in events ranging from 800m to the Marathon, as well as Full and Half Ironman Triathlon.

Over time, the tracking of data (through GPS and online training software) and personalised exercise prescription based on the runner’s individual goals and training history, has allowed for empirical data to be compiled from our ever-growing database of motivated and goal-driven runners. As our database grows, we continue to observe certain trends in the data that help guide our coaching team towards more accurate and effective exercise prescription.

As well as a strong scientific element to data tracking, working with a team of nine engaged coaches all with individual experiences and qualifications has enabled an excellent structure to develop hypotheses on further improving exercise prescription. With the popularity of the Marathon continuing to increase in recent years, we have updated our dataset from 2018, focusing on those runners who have broken the magical 3h barrier.

3 of our Sub 3h Marathoners: Toni (2.43), Miki (2.55) & Yi-Jin (2.59) during the 2017 Perth C2S HM

As of March 2020, 91 Front Runner athletes on an individual exercise prescription have bettered the 3hr marathon. The aggregation of this many athletes at a high recreational marathon standard, in combination with monitored training prescription, has allowed us to identify some strong data trends. We hope that awareness and knowledge of this data will continue to help our Front Runner community progress towards their individual goals, as well as educated fellow runners and coaches interested in enhancing performance in recreational Marathon populations.

Through Training Peaks software, we analysed the data based on what we believe are two key principles for successful distance running and how they related to Marathon performance (goal time):

Anaerobic Threshold: Measured as their best 10k race time within 12 months of their goal Marathon

Volume: Peak 4 week mean volume within the final 3 months of their goal Marathon

A 10km race is a practical estimate of the anaerobic threshold (the upper limit of how well the body can sustainably use oxygen for energy – read more HERE). The lower the 10km time, the higher the anaerobic threshold and the more effectively the runner can utilise oxygen for aerobic metabolism.

The peak mean volume the runners were able to sustain for four consecutive weeks in the lead up to their Marathon is a practical indication of their muscular endurance. As running is a weight-bearing activity, covering 42.2km’s requires significant muscular endurance. Four consecutive weeks were chosen to ensure the volume was a sustainable peak and not a once-off.

Of the 91 Front Runner athletes to have officially broken 3h for the Marathon, objective data was available and collated from 65* of these athlete’s performances. *multiple sub 3h Marathon’s from the same athlete have been included.

Figure 1: Each runners 10km pace & Marathon pace was plotted against their weekly volume (n = 65)

Figure 2: As training volume increased, the difference between 10km and Marathon race pace decreased.

Full Data Set

n = 65

Volume (km/week) 10km time Marathon time

Min = 66 Slowest = 40.30 Slowest = 2.59

Max = 170 Fastest = 29.26 Fastest = 2.14

Mean = 120 Mean = 35.01 Mean = 2.43

Males Only

n = 58

Volume (km/week) 10km time Marathon time

Min = 66 Slowest = 40.30 Slowest = 2.59

Max = 170 Fastest = 29.26 Fastest = 2.14

Mean = 120 Mean = 34.51 Mean = 2.43

Females Only

n = 7

Volume (km/week) 10km time Marathon time

Min = 77 Slowest = 38.30 Slowest = 2.57

Max = 145 Fastest = 34.40 Fastest = 2.34

Mean = 119 Mean = 36.29 Mean = 2.47

Sub 2h 20min

n = 2

Volume (km/week) 10km time Marathon time

Min = 150 Slowest = 30.32 Slowest = 2.19

Max = 170 Fastest = 29.36 Fastest = 2.14

Mean = 160 Mean = 30.04 Mean = 2.16

2h 20min = 2h 29min

n = 6

Volume (km/week) 10km time Marathon time

Min = 140 Slowest = 32.30 Slowest = 2.29

Max = 170 Fastest = 29.26 Fastest = 2.22

Mean = 159 Mean = 31.23 Mean = 2.26

2h 30min – 2h 39min

n = 13

Volume (km/week) 10km time Marathon time

Min = 90 Slowest = 35.54 Slowest = 2.39

Max = 160 Fastest = 31.12 Fastest = 2.32

Mean = 136 Mean = 33.52 Mean = 2.35

2h 40min – 2h 49min

n = 22

Volume (km/week) 10km time Marathon time

Min = 90 Slowest = 37.15 Slowest = 2.48

Max = 165 Fastest = 33.20 Fastest = 2.40

Mean = 121 Mean = 35.11 Mean = 2.44

2h 50min – 2h 59min

n = 22

Volume (km/week) 10km time Marathon time

Min = 66 Slowest = 40.30 Slowest = 2.59

Max = 140 Fastest = 34.50 Fastest = 2.50

Mean = 94 Mean = 36.59 Mean = 2.55

Breaking the Sub 3h Marathon (2h 55min – 2h 59min)

n = 15

Volume (km/week) 10km time Marathon time

Min = 72 Slowest = 40.30 Slowest = 2.59

Max = 140 Fastest = 35.36 Fastest = 2.55

Mean = 97 Mean = 37.14 Mean = 2.57

Primary Observation

The clearest trend from the graphs on figure’s 1 & 2 is the reduced vertical gap between the trend lines for 10km and Marathon pace as you move to the right – i.e. the MORE volume you run, the LESS difference between your 10km and Marathon pace. We therefore conclude the following: for recreational runners chasing a sub 3h Marathon, your anaerobic threshold will determine the ceiling of your Marathon (i.e. the faster you can get over 10km, the faster your potential Marathon time) and your peak volume will determine how close you can get to that ceiling.

This presents a trade-off as such where runners who spend a lot of time increasing their 10km time at the expense of their weekly volume may find their Marathon may not improve. Alternatively, runners who chase the highest volume possible at the expense of specific training that will improve their 10km time, may also limit their Marathon performance.

Each runner will be different, bringing their own strength & weaknesses to the table. Therefore, to achieve your Marathon goals, we recommend consulting a qualified and educated coach who can provide you with an individualised program that contains an optimal distribution of training load across the week, that is periodised towards your end goal.

Additional Thoughts

Specificity: Sustainable volume appears to correlate more closely with predicting Marathon performance than 10k time. This reflects the conditioning and the fatigue resistance of the musculoskeletal system, in addition to the fuelling changes in the cell that may relate to low intensity running specifically.

The Complete Runner: The 10km & Marathon have similar attributes but different limiting factors, meaning relative success in one event doesn’t directly translate to the other event. To best enhance your Marathon performance, it is our belief that focussing on both volume and threshold increases is crucial to successful Marathon performance.

VO2 Max: Training repetitions at VO2 max (i.e. above threshold – see HERE) appear to increase the relative risk of injury in recreational Marathon runners due to their fatigued training status. The perceived exception to this is if the athlete had track running experience from their youth.

Strength Training: Resistance training that is targeted to the individual is the best asset for Marathon runners to remain consistent with their training. This is achieved by reducing injury risk under the high training loads associated with the Marathon as well as increasing their running economy (reducing energy cost @ Marathon pace). Adherence to strength training programs is most common post injury, however should be maintained where possible when in Marathon training (2x per week to improve strength, 1 x per week to maintain current strength).

Biomechanics: Functional running drills and strides (see our YouTube channel HERE) that are performed 2-3x per week (as a W/U pre workout OR post easy runs) appear to be effective strategies for improving running economy in Marathon runners.

The Group Effect: Group runs for easy aerobic volume sessions correlated with significantly greater adherence to their training program than prescribed but self-directed easy volume sessions. This advocates the role of “jogging groups” as an integral part of a balanced training program for recreational and advanced Marathon runners and not just group training for interval sessions.

We trust you enjoyed our insight into Marathon training and performance. If you wish to know more about this topic, or anything to do with your running training, please get in touch with our expert coaching team who are ready to assist you towards your next running goal! Please email us HERE or see our website HERE

Looking at my training over the years I peaked naturally around 2013 , without a coach, setting many PB’s , virtually every race, for a period of 12-18 months before a bad Bunbury Marathon result in 2014 propelled me into a slump for over 6 months before I teamed up with Raf in early 2015. Over the next 12 weeks I started to run a lot more and added double days, as well as more tailored sessions concentrating on hitting a quicker pace. A possible stress fracture meant I didn’t achieve the result I was after, albeit still ran a top 10 finish at the Perth Marathon , but the lessons Raf taught me allowed to me run a stellar 2016 achieving many PB’s , times I thought beyond me after 2015. I continued this form in 2017 until I picked up a nasty case of plantar fasciitis, this unfortunately was the death knell for my days of PB’s at the shorter distances, upto marathon pace.

The main take away from training with Raf was distance is king but also a tailored approach to training building each week and with every run a building block towards the final goal. The best part of being coached is you don’t have to think about your next run, it is there in black and white infront of you (or these days in Training Peaks), there is also nowhere to hide, so you are accountable. Initially this can be confronting because, in my case, I always felt my training didn’t reflect my racing times, i.e. my times were quicker than my training would suggest I was capable of, this meant Raf would give me targets I would fail to reach. Over time though I improved, weekly really, and my pace started to quicken, I even began to enjoy the quicker sessions, my improvement was measurable and there for all to see. A favourite of Raf is the 3 * 5k with a 3 minute rest between laps. Initially I was running over 18 minutes for each repetition but after 6 months all my times were sub 18 minutes, a massive improvement, as I said earlier, accountable and measurable.

Father time has put an end to my Marathon and quicker PB’s , probably, and I am ok with this, I have achieved so much more than I ever thought possible. These days I enjoy the challenge of the Ultra marathon , trail running and backyard ultra’s , races where mentally you can still be competitive with the field. This does not mean I have given away the shorter distances and I have plans to run sub 3 marathons for many more years but my wiggle room is certainly getting less and less each time I put on the bib and toe the start line, wouldn’t have it any other way….

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Runaway Weekends, what a great idea.

20 April bigkevmatthews@gmail.com 0 Comment

Two good friends of mine, Bart’s and Rob, have started a little adventure company where they will take you on tours of Rottnest Island and , eventually, Collie. The first tour kicks off two weeks before the Rottnest Marathon, so is perfect for those runners who need to acquaint themselves with the Island before the big day in June. For a small fee of $450pp you get accommodation, food and as much running as you can handle, as well as Pilates and other entertainment over the course of the weekend. You’ll need to cover the cost of transportation to the Island which will probably be by the Rottnest Ferry. There is only 18 places available as it’s all about taking a small group and just having fun together, too many people and you’ll lose that intimacy.

Runaway Weekends, only downside it’s only a weekend !

I’ve attached the itinerary from the website below. ( https://www.runawayweekends.com.au/ ) , lots of running, eating and drinking coffee by the sounds of it, a perfect weekend as far as I’m concerned. Bart’s and Rob will be excellent hosts and as you can see from the photo below I have personally spent a lot of time with these two reprobates and loved every minute of it. You couldn’t find two better hosts for a weekend away. The boys were on Rottnest over the Easter break, sourcing out trails, and they come back very excited , so it bodes well for some scenic runs. There are some seriously beautiful trails on Rottnest and to really enjoy then it is best to get a guide as without one you’ll end up wondering about lost or just miss the good trails completely, hence the tour.

Boys on the trails…The Bib track in this photo. Ignore the cost , it is $450pp.

They have been very busy and as well as creating the idea for the weekend they have also created a website and a Facebook page, I would presume they had some help ! Facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/runawayweekends You need to fill out the contact form on the website with your details and the boys will be in touch personally , I told you it was intimate.

A Facebook page is also available.. the boys have been busy !

Finally I’ve attached the flyer that is available on the Facebook page , gives you an idea of what to expect. If you are serious about the Rottnest Marathon in June this year or just want a great weekend away with likeminded people this is the tour for you.

Please note I am not in any way a part of this venture and am writing this post in the hope of a free coffee from Bart’s but after knowing him for well over 10 years I think the possibility of this happening is slim to no chance ! The one caveat , finally, about the coffee is beware of Bart’s and his Dome loyalty card, he is well known in our running circles for loving his Dome coffee and even more loving his free Dome coffee. If he does persuade the group to stop for a coffee at Dome I guarantee he’ll be the first to the counter , loyalty card in hand and you’ll all be buying coffee while the staff stamp his card, priceless.

One more caveat before I finish, this weekend is not about pushing yourself to your limits or locking yourself in the pain box so you can return a better person. No, this tour is about like minded runners doing what they love, in a relaxed atmosphere, while immersing themselves in the beauty of the surrounding and finding new friends, creating memories and just generally having a runaway weekend.

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or follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/runbkrun/