This weekend I ran one of my favourites half marathons, the Darlington half. Favourite for a number of reasons but the main one being the finish. The first half is 11k uphill initially and, being a point to point , there is a 10k downhill for the return. (For the more intelligent amongst you there is a small loop section which explains why its not a 50/50 split between up and down.) So if you get to the turn around with something left in the tank the final 10k is normally the quickest. It really is built for the holy grail of running , the negative split, often talked about but rarely achieved. At Darlington to positive split is actually harder than a negative split with gravity as your co-pilot you are normally caressed home. This year we even had a head wind up the hill to make sure it was negative splits all around !

So back to the race. We drove to the start in Jon’s new BMW and this certainly set the tone for a fast start. Jon is certainly a young man on a mission behind the wheel of a weapon of mass destruction that is his 330d . Please note I do not advocate speeding but if you do indulge it might as well be in a German sports car. So to the start line. The Darlington half starts downhill for the first 100 or so metres and then it’s 11k up, in different degrees of ‘hard’; i.e. hard, very hard, very very hard and this is surely classed as a wall hard !! As always I started way to fast and found myself sitting in 4th place after the first kilometre with another runner who I knew. We settled into the hill climbing part of the half and a stiff headwind, which meant we took turns at the front. Truth be told I think Chris took more time at the front than me but I played the ‘I’m 50 and so, being older, am entitled to sit behind you longer’ card. I’m not sure if this is proper running etiquette but in my mind it worked and I was more than happy to take it a read this was the way. Darlington is always a struggle initially as you race up a 10k hill. You feel you should be running faster than you actually are (according to your Garmin or GPS watch. Sometimes technology can be a curse!) but know you need to save something for the return journey. There is more ‘pacing‘ involved with Darlington as the race really is two different races in one; one a 10k slog uphill and then a ‘run as fast as you can without falling over‘ return 10k.  The 1k in between these two races is flat and serves as a divide between the two seperate terrains.

Myself and Chris ran past the half-way cone (well I think it’s about 11k?) together and then started on the 1k in-between flat part of the course,  pre-downhill. This also gives you an opportunity to see who is behind you without looking around (as we all know a cardinal sin in racing is looking behind you, never, never do this !) I noted that there was a group of 3-4 runners who were closer than I would have liked and all would be gunning for me on the downhill section, joy, just what you need when you’re knackered and still have 10k to run. (albeit downhill) I up’d the pace in a desperate attempt to put some distance between me and the chasing pack and started on the downhill section with a ‘spring in my step‘ as gravity and the tail wind combined to push me forward. The next 5-6k’s were eventful only in my continued effort to pull back 3rd place, a young man I could see was slightly slowing giving me renewed hope of a top 3 finish. (My best Darlington finish was 5th in 2014 and this becomes important with 2k to go…)

Unfortunately the faster I ran I was still unable to bridge the gap to 3rd and about 18k into the race I resigned myself to a 4th place finish as Chris had dropped off a tad, probably a by product of dragging a 50 year old up the hill earlier. This was going to come back and bite me as, at 19k, I heard footsteps behind me and my friend Luke went past after checking all was good. Luke, being probably 25 years younger than me , was cruising home and had left his dash for the line as late as possible. I moved back to 5th place, which given the race so far,  I would have been happy with. Alas, not to be, another runner probably half my age (and then some) went past me with less than 1k to go and down to 6th I tumbled. All in all a 1:19:16 and 6th place was a reasonable hit out for the day. it was my second fastest finishing time on my 6th Darlington half.

What did I learn from the race ? Yet again I struggled at the 5-10k part of the race and felt better for the second half. Not sure if this was gravity and tail wind assisted but it was certainly less painful than the 16k race a few weeks earlier. I still feel I am struggling a bit with my form at the moment but I’m managing to hang on to some respectable times. I have 3 weeks to my next race which is a 10k so this will give me some focus to concentrate on shorter, faster training runs and maybe drop the odd double day; what will I do with all my free time I wonder ?

On a side note Darlington was also witness to a World Record as young Tom Alexander ran 1:24:22. You may wonder why it was a World Record, well Tom is 10 years old. ! He beat the current World Record by nearly a minute running a notoriously slow course . I personally reckon it is at least 2 minutes slower than a flat course, thus young Tom has it in him, on a flat course, to probably put 3 minutes on the 10 year old WR . Now that is impressive.  As well as worried about being ‘chicked’ I know need to worry about being beaten by a 10 year old,  life as a runner can be a stressful one.

So it was back with the boys this afternoon on the 10k recovery. Mike and Jon enjoy this run as they seem to recover better than me. I struggle to keep up with them as they discuss the race and I hang off the back cursing getting old and recovering like a 90 year old. I personally put this down to leaving very little in the tank after a race where as I sometimes think Jon enjoys the social side of racing a bit too much. Mike was chastising him for striking up conversations with strangers while racing and must admit this is not something I have ever down myself. Give Jon his due he did finish like Usain Bolt but I feel this had more to do with the free breakfast , including muffins,  rather than the finishing time. Priorities Jon, priorities !! Once we dragged Jon away from the free breakfast it was back to his BMW and his best Lewis Hamilton impression on the way home. I did feel sorry for Mike in the back trying to eat his croissants and fruit as we went round corners faster that the space shuttle reentering orbit !  Oh well, that’s racing……

I have been quiet the last couple of weeks as I digest the findings from my last WAMC (West Australian Marathon Club) race where I worked very hard for a podium finish. The race itself was harder than expected and although I was happy with the end result it has certainly left me ‘scarred’, and this explains the lack of posts.

As runners we all run for different reasons, some for health, some wellness, some to escape life and others to embrace life. For me it has always been about racing myself and trying to better my best time, always looking to be my best or even beat my best. Over the years I have been very successful at this and ran many PB’s . This though has come at a cost and truth be told it has always been one I have been more than willing to pay. Each year I have increased my weekly distance and still ran the hard sessions when needed. It was always worth the extra effort as the PB’s kept coming and I even started to grab some podium spots as I hit my late forties. I had successfully moved from the middle of the pack to the front and this is an addiction that is stronger than any illegal drug. (Please note I assuming this to be true as being a dedicated runner my only vice is pancakes and muffins !.) Last year was perhaps my best ever as I left the forties and moved into my fifties. Admittedly I put in more distance than ever before and also changed my diet but the results came and they were better than I ever could have imagined.

Thus 2017 I started off on the same foot (excuse the pun) and kept up the double days and hard sessions assuming this PB trajectory would continue. The first hint of trouble was a 5k race at the beginning of the year where I ran over 17 minutes for the first time in a year. I put this down to the conditions and a tough training week pre-race. Looking at my training log I had ran the same race 3 years ago and go the same time so it wasn’t a complete disaster, or was it? Next was the ADU 100K, my first 100k ultra. This was a complete success with a 2^nd place finish and a strong race throughout. The video was even good documenting the experience, thanks to Rob’s talent rather the subject. Next came a 16k race that I had run twice previously (for two 2^nd place finishes.). This race was going to be the tester for the season and I was expecting to do well and try and break my 59:59:07 time from last year. The race report can be read here :-

This race has made me question my training and I am certainly more worried about what the future holds rather than usual excited anticipation you experience at the start of a racing season. With the Darlington half this weekend I need to make sure I work on my mindset as currently I am not in the right frame of mind to ‘attack’ the course and I feel similar to the last time I ran Darlington in 2014 where I was a few minutes slower than planned. This doesn’t sound a lot but when you race as much as me a few minutes is a lifetime and I certainly spent some serious time reflecting on that 120 seconds slippage! All of a sudden runners who I would normally never see where chasing me in the closing stages and when I finished there was a procession of runners behind me, far too close for my liking; I was being dragged back to the pack.

I understand that at fifty my time at the pointy-end of the race is limited and truth be told I was actually looking forward to moving back to the pack and relaxing my arduous training load but as I mentioned before being near the front is addictive and it’s not something I am willing to give up without a fight. I need my fix of ‘success’ and last year was a good year where I over dosed on medals. I’m just not ready to go back to the pack just yet but maybe I don’t have a choice?

Point Walter was hard in many ways but what was hardest to digest was the feeling that maybe I have ‘shot my bolt’ and the downward spiral of finishing times is over. I had the same feeling in 2014, after a particularly good previous year, and was prepared for the return to the pack. Last year though I reignited my PB streak but now I feel I am again facing the prospect of slowing down. Am I ready for this, no, can I do anything about it, I’m not sure and this is the problem. I have mentioned many times the mental part of running is so important and I need to ‘toughen up’ my approach as this took quite a hit after my last race.

So we’ll see what Darlington has to offer and I am hopeful I can put in a good performance, rather than excited about chasing faster times. Even typing this I feel it is an admittance of the first stage of accepting moving back to the pack and this may be a necessary journey because if the effort required to stand still is so great it becomes undoable you would soon lose your love of racing and then for me running, as the two for me are joined. I had already resigned myself for this journey in 2014 and last year was a bonus which was unexpected , albeit hard work to achieve. Is this my second attempt at accepting my times are now set in stone and no longer beatable, we’ll see, maybe as soon as this weekend at the Darlington half?

As you can see from the photograph above I did manage to keep ahead of the pace at Darlington and although I dropped a few places from my start sprint I still managed a top 10 finish so maybe I can keep myself ahead of the pack for another year or two? It’ll be fun trying……

This morning I lined up for the West Australian Marathon Club ( http://www.wamc.org.au ) Point Walter 16k (10Miles), my first race as a fifty year old. I’d ran this race twice in the last three years and managed a second place finish both times (58:24 and 59:59:07 , that 07 is important as the club (and Strava) rounded it up to an hour dead !, the first time was a PB and is important for later in this post…) I had a mini taper for this one as I was determined to go faster than the 59:59:07 I ran last year and the Race Director and Club President both knew I was out to set the record straight.

So to the start, I turned up and saw my friend and training partner Ross warming up in the car park and this threw me a bit as he had earlier commented he’d be running with the lads and Ross is on fire at the moment, winning his last two events. Mentally this was a blow as I was hoping to cruise to a podium, truth be told , and seeing Ross I knew I was probably now one place down. Speaking to Ross at the start and it seemed another ‘gun runner’ was doing the 16k (there is a 5k option as well) so I moved myself one more place down the finishing list. I was now, probably best case, gunning for 3rd.  Next thing alongside me my friend Zac turns up after running a 1hr15mins half the previous week (a 5 minute PB, oh to be young again!) , so much for a cruise to a podium, although I knew Zac would probably fade he has the benefit of youth, something I can no longer draw on. This was not a good start to the race and add in a hot day , it started at around 25c and rose quickly, together with a headwind for the first 4k (it is an 8k loop twice); I was mentally finished before I even started.

Once we started I found Ross and sat behind him, cocooned between the 5k runners who went off like scolded cats and a group of 16k runners who would challenge for the podium places. At the 2.5k point the 5k runners turned and the 16k race unfolded before me. The gun runner Ross spoke off was well ahead and barring injury a shoe in for the win. Ross was comfortable in 2nd and I was just behind him with young Zac hot on my heels.

I found the initial pace taxing into the wind and came up with all sorts of reasons why I could pull the pin and end the pain, which was unusual for me. Maybe this ‘tapering lark’ is not all it’s cracked up to be, either way by 4k I was in trouble. Zac went past me about this time and moved away with Ross and with him all thoughts of a medal. This added to my anguish and did nothing for my mental state which was now at its lowest. I had spent all week reading Matt Fitzgerald’s ‘How bad do you want it’, and realised about the 5k mark I didn’t want it at all ! This was the compounded by another runner cruising past me , so I had now moved to 5th and was seriously thinking of pulling out at the 8k mark.  I have raced hundreds of races in my time and never DNF’d so the thought of doing so on a 16k WAMC race was never going to happen but option ‘B’ was to start a long 8k cool down, and work out valid reasons for this approach; truth be told I could think of none. (Funnily enough I was on Facebook yesterday, as I was tapering, and replied to a comment about taking days off as a sign of weakness, here I was thinking of pulling the pin on a 16k race; karma I think! )

Right, halfway in around 28:30; on track for my sub one hour target but on the inside well and truly finished. The Race Director and Club President cheered me on and informed me I was right on time but I remember thinking they were dreaming if they thought I’d be back within the hour, never going to happen. Reluctantly  I moved onto the second lap and knuckled down to endure what I thought would be more of the same. The 4k headwind embraced me and my pace started to drop above the 3:3xmin/k I had targeted, only just,  but enough.

Well at 9k it happened, the whole race changed in an instant. The lead ‘gun runner’, who was well ahead, was on the side of the path and obviously out of the race. Suddenly I was in 4th place and looking up ahead young Zac was now paying the price for racing the half the week before and I was catching him. Boom ! Suddenly the voice inside my head which was shouting for mercy was now shouting for medals and it was on like donkey kong for young and old !!

The headwind didn’t help me but Zac was paying the price big time and I know from past races he is not the best finisher. (He’s young and starts every race at suicide pace, it won’t be long before he finishes the race as the same pace and then he’ll be out of my league; if not already. ) Put these two things together and I knew I was with a good chance of a podium. At fifty my days of getting on, or even near, to a podium are limited and I was quite prepared to put it on the line for the last 6k to grab one more before my time is done. In about 4 minutes I had gone from pulling the pin for the first time in my career to putting my head down, finding a second wind , and rolling in the runner in front of me. This I did at the last turn around with 4k to go. With the wind behind me I was able to maintain the sub 3:40min/k average pace and even managed to get within less than 20 seconds to Ross, who at one point was just about out of sight. How did I do this ? When the lead runner pulled out and I could see Zac struggling my whole mental approach changed, and when I convinced the mind I could grab a medal the limiters were taken off and I was allowed to run quicker, with fatigue ejected to the back of my mind.

Although this was only a 16k race I had been through the ringer when it came to emotions. I was finished at 2k, pulling out at 4k, heading to a world of pain and 8k and reborn at 9k. This running really does teach you so much about yourself. If I had pulled the pin at any time during that race I would be typing such a different post, as it is I am happy that yet again I managed to pull it out of the fire and convince myself I could finish, and finish strong.

Was the book helpful, (ref: Matt Fitzgerald)? To tell you the truth probably not, it’s easy to sit on a train on the way to work reading about all the great athletes who have dug deep when faced with impossible odds and how the mind has helped them achieve their goals. When you’re in a massive hole at the start of the race you know it’s the mind telling you to stop but ignoring it, or even convincing the mind it is wrong, it not so easy. I suppose the real answer is to trust in you training, if you’ve put in the hard yards you will come good, you may not get the PB you were chasing but you will finish; never ever stop.

Overall I managed to grab that podium and even managed a 1 second PB finishing in 58mins 22seconds, a second quicker than my 2013 time but a world apart for race experiences. Three years ago I was in the form of my life and this was another PB in a long line of PB’s, those days disappeared for a few years but I have been lucky enough now to sneak a few more. Today I had to work so hard for that 1 second PB but I’ll take it and really it is worth so much more because of the mental torture I put myself through to get it. I’ve asked this question before about how many times I can keep going to the well and pulling these runs out , eventually the well will be dry , eventually ? Until then it looks like running easy PB’s is never going to happen (not that they really ever did?) for me in the future, at fifty if you want a PB you are going to have to REALLY WANT a PB. No worries, today I have the medal which whenever I look at it I will remember the pain and the pleasure I put myself through to get it. That piece of metal is worth so much more to me, to me it is memories of another run where I asked myself some serious questions and , this time, came up with all the right answers.

This weekend I’m racing the first ‘proper’ race of the year. By ‘proper’ I would say it is a good indicator race of what the season may hold. My two previous races this year have been a 5k, which I ran so I could move between the 45-50 and 50-55 age groups for the WAMC, and my first 100k ultra which was a one off and more about keeping me interested over the festive break.

On Sunday I’m racing the WAMC Point Walter 16k, a race I have ran 2^nd twice in the last three years, and it is my current PR time for a 16k , set in 2014. Last year there was some conjecture with my finishing time when I ran 59:59:xx which the club rounded up to 1 hour. I was not happy ! The next three races in my calendar didn’t go to plan and although I ran close to my PR’s I felt I could have ran better. Luckily the Joondalup half a few months later kick started my season when I ran a sub 1hour 18minute half marathon time, which at the time I thought was beyond me. From this race I then went on to probably the best racing season of my career, at 49.

Expectations for Point Walter would be a quicker time then last year (minimum) and if I can get a sniff of a PR I’ll be very happy. A PR this weekend would give me some good feedback on my current training regime which at the moment is starting to take its toll. I have been running double days now since June last year and it will be good to start to build towards race preparation rather than distance. I certainly have a serious foundation at the moment if nothing else.

Last year I went out too quick chasing my friend Jon Higgens. Jon ran sub 57 minutes so it was a strategy fraught with danger and in the second half of the race I dropped some time due to the legs not responding to the request for more pace. Luckily I was comfortably in second place so managed to hang on for a podium finish. This year I will try and pace the race better but the old adage about teaching old dog’s new tricks perfectly sums up most runners. The moment the race starts it’s normally on for young and old and all race strategies are quickly forgotten as you chase a fellow competitor, no matter what pace or experience.

Funnily enough when I PR’d this course back in 2014 I was chasing my Steve ‘Twinkle Toes’ McKean who had conveniently forgot to tell me he was running the 5k, imagine my surprise at the initial pace and I remember thinking Steve was running well. The truth was revealed at 2.5k when Steve turned in second place for the 5k and I was let loose to continue , in the lead, for the 16k after starting at 5k pace. I actually managed to recover and run a PR so maybe this start fast and hang on strategy is the way to go. I had a similar story when I ran my first sub 35min 10k , I was running with the lead 5k runners and at the turn around just continued at that pace with one other runner. We basically flat-lined it to 5k and again I managed to hang on for my first sub 35min 10k. All thought of pacing went out the window when the gun went off and I knew I was running too quick but was determined to see how far I could go without blowing up. Luckily it was 10k and a good PR.

The moral of both of these stories is sometimes I feel you can pace yourself out of a PR. If you have a pacing strategy you will, at best, hit your goal but rarely beat it by a significant amount. The risk is of course you are in form to go faster but only realise in the latter stages of the race and by then your ability to do some serious damage to your PR time is minimal. Of course the flip side is also true where if you do go out way too quick and you’re not having a good day there is a world of pain awaiting you and no matter how short the race the ‘pain box’ is an uncomfortable place to be if you’re not expecting it. A classic quote below from Steve Profontaine sums it up nicely….

The best thing of course is to trust in you training and have a realistic time and pacing strategy prepared. Massive jumps in PR’s for me, at my stage of my running career and life in general, will be unrealistic expectations and just getting close to previous records will be a win; albeit I have a few PR’s that I might nudge this year if all goes well. New runners starting out capture PR’s every time they put on a bib and this can become addictive. Nothing beats running faster than you have ever run before and for me this is what racing is all about. Forget the runners around you, you are racing yourself and this is what makes running such an honest sport. It really is you against the clock and records set in previous races and the continual battle to get faster.

I will start a mini-taper for the race tomorrow when I will only run my morning progressive 14k giving myself the afternoon off. Friday will be a similar story with one run only. (How did two runs a day become the norm?) Saturday will be my third day off for the year, the other two days off no running was the day before the ADU 100K ultra and the day after. This taper should give me the best chance of a good time on rested (?) legs. Conditions will of course play a large part as this week has been particularly humid but as the race starts early this shouldn’t be a problem.

Racing week is a special time and normally I start thinking about the race early in the week. This one has been playing on my mind since Monday but this is a good thing as it means I am anxious, nervous and excited about the prospect. A runner needs to be on edge and only really relaxes when the gun goes off and experience takes over. Of course it is going to hurt like hell towards the end, it is a racing, but when you’re racing all you need to do is keep moving forward as fast as you can, the pressure really is off. The photo below shows the look of a runner who has really run out of fuel and is hanging on for the finish, it is to be noted on the inside I am smiling, I think?

This weekend I yet again ran a 5k the wrong way. Exploding out of the start like a rocket and hanging with the leaders for the first kilometre is always going to end badly and I was not disappointed. It quickly became an exercise in damage limitation and the final result was acceptable but with a caveat that I could have done better. I blame my training buddy Mark Lee who is probably on a par with me with the fast starts and after the first kilometre we were both set adrift as the ‘proper’ 5k runners (I say ‘proper’ by that I mean young and ‘full of beans’.) accelerated away.

Myself and Mark then maintained a gradual decline before both collapsing over the line, well I collapsed and I’m assuming Mark was probably in the same boat. Position wise a 5^th place finish, beaten by runners I would expect to be beaten by at this distance, was not that bad but it was the manner of the race which was disappointing.

Started too fast and although the decline in pace was not significant it was not the way to race a 5k. Ideally you should ease into the race with the first kilometre probably not your fastest, this is saved for the finish. The second kilometre should be similar to the first, maybe a tad quicker and then you should see a progressive pace increase as you accelerate to the finish. Overall the 5k splits should be within 1-5 seconds of each other with the last a tad quicker. Easy to type but in the heat of battle so many runners forget all about pacing and ‘gun it’ from the start. The distance is not significant but when your legs are gone it doesn’t matter how long you have to finish, it’s going hurt. I consider a badly run 5k one of the most painful experiences in running, on the bright side it shouldn’t be that long before the finish comes into sight and you can always find something for that last sprint.

This last minute sprint I feel is related to the mental side of running. It’s amazing how many runners sprint for the finish when just previously they are just about jogging in a world of pain. The mental limiter has been lifted when the finish line is in sight and all of a sudden the mind lets the body go for broke confident that nothing will ‘break’ in the final few metres.

After the race on the journey home is when you start to question what has just transpired. Could I have gone out slower and finished stronger? Why do I always fall for the ‘follow Mark Lee’ race strategy? Why does a 5k hurt so much and at my age why am I still bothering to race them? Is 17:12 a good enough time, am I slowing down or was this a blip? So many questions and answering these will allow you to learn for the next time and believe me there will always be a next time.

So excuse wise I have a few. It was windy which is a two edged sword as I must admit to not being overly bothered about the conditions as I was caressed to a 3:08 min/k first kilometre. Although on the way back I was cursing the wind, and running in general truth be told, got to love the last kilometre of a 5k race when you’ve already shot your bolt. Another reason for the below par performance I am putting down to the start time. This 5k was a 6pm start and thinking back to all the races that I have run starting in the evening I have never performed that well. Spending all day stressing about the race, combined with a Yelo muffin, is normally a bad combination which ends up with me in a the pain box cursing the start time but never the muffin, funny that. I could always give up the pre-race muffin or maybe just give up the late start race, a quandary? (Not really, I’m never going to give up my Yelo muffin.) I have also been concentrating on distance as I work towards the ADU 100k this Friday evening. (There’s that evening start again but this time on steroids, it’s a midnight start! Actually is a midnight start an early start i.e. Saturday morning 0:01am or a really late start, Friday evening 11:59pm; I’m going for early start more for the mental benefit this will give me and for a 100k it’s all about mental strength.) Since the 6 inch in December I have avoided any speed work as I always give myself a few weeks to gently ease back into training. After a marathon you need to be very careful with regards picking up an injury, for me it’s a four week recovery period, avoiding pace. Wow, with all these excuses I actually ran a blinder yesterday and now feel so much better. This blogging lark is great for the confidence.

What did I take from this race? I need to run more 5k’s to better pace the distance correctly which I can do this with Saturday Park Runs. After the 4 week recovery period from the ADU I need to add more pace to my training runs as distance wise I am covered but I can feel my top end pace has suffered. Finally I need to stop chasing Mark Lee but after so many races over the years I feel this will be the hardest thing to implement, remember old dogs and new tricks is never a good combination.

An article below from Pete Magill who holds three American age-group records and is the oldest American to break 15:00 for 5K, which he did at age 47. I need to read this myself…….

The 5K is the race where runners come to meet. It’s the race where real distance runners drop down, taking a break from the usual smorgasbord of 15Ks, marathons, and 24-hour relays to snack on an event that seems nothing more than a sustained sprint. And it’s the place where middle-distance runners go up, figuring to grit their teeth and hang for three miles, then streak past all the slow-moving shufflers like cheetahs picking apart a herd of gazelle.

 

The 5K is where these two distinct groups of runners face off and where a third group, the 5K specialists, are likely to steal the show. Because the 5K specialist knows what neither the mileage junkie nor the speed racer seems to grasp: The 5K is a unique effort that demands a full range of physiological and psychological preparation.

And blending the correct components of that preparation takes more than marking down miles in a training log or recording splits during an interval session. It takes collecting and then putting together all the pieces of the 5K puzzle.

THE 5K PUZZLE
Zen master Yuan-tong noted, “When the task is done beforehand, then it is easy.”

I’ve coached hundreds of 5K runners over the past 25 years, from college All-Americans to middle-aged mortgage brokers to seniors battling osteoarthritis. And those who met their 5K race goal arrived at the start line properly trained in every aspect of the 5K. They had completed their “task” beforehand.

Surprisingly, most runners don’t practice this simple concept. Volume enthusiasts assume that big numbers in training logs ensure success in a race that is only 3.1 miles long. Interval warriors pound out 5K-pace repetitions, convinced that all they’ll have to do is connect the dots come race day. Both groups arrive at the start line with their task unfinished. Both are missing pieces of the 5K puzzle.

In a puzzle, we start with lots of little pieces, then match those pieces to build small islands (in a landscape puzzle, these islands might be patches of blue sky or a cluster of redwoods), which we then bring together to complete the puzzle.

For our 5K puzzle, we assemble pieces to create these six islands:.

• Stride Efficiency
• Aerobic Endurance
• 5K-Specific Endurance
• Intermediate Fast-Twitch Endurance
• Versatile Race Pace Efficiency
• Post-Run Recovery & Injury Prevention

On race day, we join these islands to complete our 5K puzzle. Voila! Our task is done beforehand.

THE PIECES OF OUR PUZZLE

There is an ancient Chinese proverb, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” So does our training program…
1) STRIDE EFFICIENCY

It all begins with our stride. Stride efficiency is the single most important element of our future training and racing success. An efficient stride allows us to meet the demands of training without falling prey to injury. And a smoother, longer stride is an essential ingredient of a fast 5K. So how do we improve our stride?

If we wanted to improve as a ballet dancer, we wouldn’t throw on a CD of the Nutcracker, then twirl madly across the floor. Instead, we’d do drills to develop proper posture, correct placement, and alignment. We’d improve strength, flexibility, movement skills, and artistry. And we’d train until we could perform individual movements automatically, without having to think our way through every plié or pirouette.

It’s the same with running. If we want to improve our running stride, we don’t dash madly through the streets, across a park, or around a track. Instead, we begin by developing the parts — the individual actions that make up our stride. And we do this using two methods:

• Technique (Form) Drills
• Short Hill Repetitions

Technique drills involve variations of movements such as skipping, bounding, and marching. These drills are designed to promote muscle fiber recruitment, improve nervous system function, increase strength, and correct muscle and form imbalances. Click here to see some key drills demonstrated.

Short hill repeats are 40-to 60-meter sprints up reasonably steep hills. Our effort level should be slightly less than an “all-out” sprint — but just slightly. Also, remember that this workout is designed to challenge our legs, not our lungs. Our legs should feel momentary fatigue as we recruit their full range of muscle fiber, but we should recover quickly. Don’t make the mistake of turning this stride-efficiency workout into a fitness session. After each repetition, we walk back down the hill, wait until a full two to three minutes have passed, and then sprint up the hill again. Eight to 10 reps will do the trick.

Of the two workouts, technique drills are better for improving stride. But short hill reps will do in a pinch. A half dozen sessions of either during the first 8-12 weeks of your 5K training (no more than one session per week) should provide 100 percent benefit. Naturally, each session should include a proper warm-up and cool-down.

I tell my athletes, “Run first, train later.” When we focus on mechanics at the outset of our program, we set the stage for better overall training in the weeks and months to come.
2) AEROBIC ENDURANCE

This is just a fancy way of saying, “Run long and run often.” But understand that long is about duration, not distance. Our bodies are not odometers. Our legs don’t know a mile from a kilometer. Or a kilometer from a run to the park and back. Runners who focus on “mileage” miss the point of aerobic endurance training. The point is to keep our bodies working at a moderate level of exertion for a sustained period of time — not distance.

Think about it. Let’s say we decide that 50 miles per week is the optimal volume for 5K training. It would take a 30:00 5K runner approximately twice as long to complete that training as a 15:00 5K runner. Do we really believe that slower runners should train for twice as long as faster runners?

Instead, we focus on time. Whatever our ability, we’ll gain similar benefits from 60 minutes of lower-intensity running (65-75 percent VO2 max). Or from 90 minutes. Or from 30.

Long also refers to an accumulation of volume. “Volume” is not a single long run, a single week of high mileage, or even a single season of training. It is a long-term, consistent amassing of lower-intensity, aerobic conditioning.

For our purposes, there are three types of aerobic distance runs:

• Short: up to 40 minutes in duration. Short runs aid recovery from hard workouts and add to our overall volume.
• Medium: 1 1/2 to 2 times the duration of our short run. Medium runs are “normal” distance runs and provide the bulk of our volume.
• Long: up to (approximately) twice the duration of our medium run. Long runs build capillary density, increase mitochondria (our body’s cellular power plants), improve stride efficiency, burn fat, expand glycogen stores, and do all kinds of other wonderful stuff.

For the beginner, there might not be much difference among short, medium, and long runs. Don’t worry about it. Just make sure to increase the duration of aerobic runs gradually, focusing first on the medium and long runs.
3) 5K-SPECIFIC ENDURANCE

The 5K race demands a unique mix of aerobically and anaerobically generated energy. The only way to prepare our bodies for this demand is to train at 5K effort. We do this by running repetitions. This is the place where most of us make our biggest mistake: We base the pace for our repetitions on the fitness we’d like to have rather than on the fitness we already possess.
If our goal is a 20:00 5K, we want to run repetitions at 20:00 5K pace right now. We want to skip ahead to the glorious conclusion of our training program. Only one problem: We aren’t in shape to run goal pace yet.

Remember, we don’t run repetitions to practice running faster. We run repetitions to improve the physiological systems that will allow us to run faster in the future. To accomplish this goal, we train 5K “effort” rather than 5K “pace.” As our fitness improves, our pace will improve. But our perceived effort will remain the same, allowing us to become well-versed in the effort level we’ll use in the race itself.

To avoid the trap of training by pace, we go off-track for our workouts, running on the trails or the road. This eliminates the temptation to check split times during our reps. It also allows us to practice adjusting for race-day variables: weather, terrain, our fatigue level, etc. The ability to adjust for variables is essential to race-day success.

Some runners bristle at leaving the security of the track. Let’s face it, there’s comfort in a perfect 400m oval and the equally perfect splits we can record while running around it. But that’s the problem. Road 5Ks are not perfect ovals. We won’t record perfect splits as we dodge runners, climb hills, and make 180-degree turns. Our goal is to become efficient at the race we’re training to run, and training on trails and the road is the best way to make that happen.

5K-specific workouts should be run once a week. This is a typical progression of sessions. All reps are followed by three minutes of jogging unless otherwise indicated:

• 5-10 x 1 minute (2-minute recovery)
• 5 x 2 minutes
• 5 x 3 minutes
• 4 x 4 minutes
• 5 x 4 minutes
• 4 x 5 minutes
• 5 x 5 minutes

It makes no difference whether we’re 15:00 5K runners or 45:00 5K runners. Our repetitions last the same amount of time. We’re targeting specific physiological processes, not mimicking race distance.

If you’re unsure whether you’re running 5K effort, try this simple test: As you’re running, ask yourself, “Is this an effort I can maintain for an entire 5K?” Be honest. If the answer is yes, keep up the effort. If it’s no, slow down.

Still unsure about proper repetition effort? Then here’s another guideline guaranteed to keep you within the proper range: Whatever pace you run your repetitions, you should finish your last one feeling as if you could run one or two more. If you’re completely exhausted at the end of your repetition session, you ran too hard. Adjust the next week by decreasing your effort. If you’re barely winded, then increase your effort the following week.

“But how will I know if I’m on track to meet my time goal?” Many athletes set specific time goals and crave reassurance in training that they’re on track to hit that pace in a race.

Two of my athletes, K and M, fell into this camp. Both were 19:00 5K runners. Both wanted to run mid-18:00. Both balked when I explained that we’d be training off-track. They didn’t want to waste months of training only to discover that they hadn’t improved. I explained that workouts are not races, that training “race pace” on the track has little bearing on what they’d run in an actual race. I also told them that they were limiting their potential. Why train for mid-18:00? Why not train the physiological systems involved in 5K racing and see where the chips fell?

K and M finally agreed. Three months later, K ran 16:40 and M ran 17:50.

There is one exception to the off-track rule. As race day approaches, some runners like to add a couple track sessions (also at 5K effort) to “sharpen” their fitness. This isn’t about testing pace. It’s about solidifying our stride efficiency at 5K effort. While adding hills and turns and uneven terrain has prepared us for actual race conditions, doing one or two training sessions on a perfectly flat surface helps to hardwire the relationship between stride efficiency and 5K-specific endurance. Two workouts I recommend for this are

• 16-20 x 400m (100m jog recovery)
• 6-8 x 1,000m (400m jog recovery)

4) INTERMEDIATE FAST-TWITCH ENDURANCE

Our best 5K effort results from a combination of stamina and speed. And it just so happens that we have a type of muscle fiber that’s perfectly suited to this task. Fast-twitch type IIa muscle fiber provides much of the “speed” associated with fast-twitch type IIx (sprinter) fiber, but it also has the capacity to function aerobically.

Bingo! This combination allows us to run faster longer — the definition of 5K racing.

The best way to train this intermediate fast-twitch fiber is to run long hill repeats. This has nothing to do with whether we’ll be racing on hills, flats, roads, or the track. Long hill repeats make us faster — period.

The first step is to find a hill that’s not too steep and not too flat. The incline should be challenging, but it shouldn’t chop our stride or require mountain climbing gear. I prefer about a 6 percent grade. This increases the workload for each stride while allowing us to maintain full range of motion.

We use our watches to time the first hill repeat of each week’s session. Let’s say our rep for that week is supposed to last 60 seconds. We stop running as soon as a minute is up. That’s our finish line. We won’t have to time the rest of our repetitions, allowing us to focus on correct effort and form. Recovery between reps is four to five minutes, including our jog back down the hill and some walking at the bottom. Less recovery won’t give us a better workout, but it will increase our risk of injury and burnout. Remember that we’re targeting a specific muscle fiber type that is recruited during a specific range of effort. Too little recovery forces us to recruit the other type of fast-twitch fiber and/or to burn through our muscle glycogen stores.

The correct effort level for each repetition varies depending on its length. As with our 5K-specific workout, the guiding principle is to finish our long hill repeat session with enough energy remaining to run one or two more reps. We want to finish with gas in the tank.

This is typical progression for long hill repeat sessions:

• 8 x 30 seconds
• 6 x 60 seconds
• 8 x 60 seconds
• 4 x 90 seconds
• 6 x 90 seconds

Long hill repeats should be run two to three times a month until we’ve accumulated six to eight sessions. My preference is to alternate hill repeats with technique drills on a weekly basis. If you’re already in fairly good shape, you can begin incorporating these reps at the outset of your 5K program. If you’re a beginner, wait three to four weeks. Never do long hill repeats the week of a race. Also, on weeks that don’t include hill reps or a race, it’s beneficial to incorporate a few hills into our long runs. This reinforces the gains we’ve made.

5) VERSATILE RACE PACE EFFICIENCY

A 5K puzzle isn’t complete without pieces obtained from training at efforts above and below our 5K goal pace.

Training faster than goal pace serves two purposes. Physiologically, it makes us efficient at paces that might be required in the race (at the start, during surges, and for our finishing kick). Psychologically, it makes our actual 5K pace feel “slow” — our race pace feels relaxed since it’s less than 100 percent of the effort we’ve trained to run.

Two faster workouts are:

• Track: 16 x 200m at 3K effort, with 200m jog recovery
• Park or Trail Fartlek: 8-10 x 30-to 90-second surges at >3K effort, with jogging recovery equal in time to each surge

3K effort isn’t meant to imply an exact pace; rather, the point is to run harder than 5K effort but not quite as hard as we’d run during a mile race.

Training slower than goal pace allows us to increase the duration of higher-intensity endurance sessions without overstressing our bodies.

Two examples of this type of workout are:

• Tempo Runs
• Progression Runs

Tempo runs are one of the great misunderstood workouts of our sport. In his seminal book, Daniels’ Running Formula, ubercoach Jack Daniels writes that “the intensity of effort associated with [tempo] running is comfortably hard. [Y]our effort should be one that you could maintain for about an hour in a race.” This is what tempo is not: a time trial. To be on the safe side, when preparing for the 5K we should tempo train at an effort approximately equal to half marathon race pace.

Because the 5K doesn’t require the sustained endurance effort of longer races, it’s OK to break tempo runs into two sections. This gives us most of the benefit while reducing the chance of overtraining. For example:

• 2 x 10 minutes, with 2-minute jog recovery
• 2 x 15 minutes, with 3-minute jog recovery

Progression runs begin at our normal distance pace, then drop 10-15 seconds per mile until we can’t go any faster (or until we reach 5K race pace). This usually occurs at between 6-9 miles. A Garmin is great for this workout, but it’s OK to guesstimate pace while using a watch to trigger each increase in effort.

Varied pace work should be introduced four to six weeks before our 5K race. Faster work can take the place of the weekly drills or hills session. Slower than goal pace work can substitute for the 5K effort repetitions. Always make sure to subtract one hard workout from your weekly schedule before adding one of these.
6) POST-RUN RECOVERY & INJURY PREVENTION

One of the biggest mistakes we runners make is to call it quits on our workout once the running part is finished. We figure we’ve done the work, so what can it hurt to skip the stretching, injury prevention exercises, and icing?

Answer: It can hurt a lot.

Running depletes muscle glycogen, generates minispasms in our muscles, triggers inflammation, and leaves us dehydrated. The most important 15 minutes of our workout is the time we spend post-run counteracting these effects. In order, we need to incorporate:

• Glycogen replacement and rehydration
• Stretching
• Injury-prevention exercises
• Icing

Glycogen replacement and rehydration is easy. We simply consume 300-500 calories of carbohydrates, washing them down with lots of water. Bagels, bananas, and sports bars are great sources of carbs. Or choose chocolate milk or a sports drink to get a combination of carbs and fluids.

Static stretching has gotten a bad reputation in recent years. Done before running, it can reduce strength and even cause injury. Post-run is a different story, however, as stretching releases pesky muscle spasms that can lead to pain and inflammation.

Injury-prevention exercises are geared toward preventing and rehabilitating conditions like plantar fasciitis and iliotibial band syndrome. Towel toe curls and foot orbits can reverse many cases of plantar fasciitis, while a revised hurdler’s stretch can sometimes erase iliotibial band pain in the space of a minute. These exercises and stretches should be incorporated into our post-run routine on a daily basis. Click here to watch a video of a good post-run routine.

Icing is the silver bullet that makes our sport possible. We need to ice each and every sore spot that could potentially progress to injury. And we need to begin our icing within 15 minutes after completing our run. This is truly a case of a stitch in time saving nine.

 

COMPLETING THE PUZZLE

Finally, race day arrives. We step to the start line injury free. The gun goes off, and we immediately fall into a pace that matches the 5K effort we’ve been practicing for weeks. Our stride is effortless as we blend aerobic endurance with speed and strength gained from the hills. We make adjustments in our effort level based upon feedback from our bodies, a method we rehearsed during all those repetitions on the roads and trails. And when finally the finish banner comes into view, we call upon our fartlek-trained fast-twitch muscles to carry us to the finish line, then cross at the exact moment we reach 100 percent effort.

There’s no part of the race for which we’re not prepared. There are no surprises awaiting us. We completed our task before race day. We assembled all the pieces of our puzzle. Our race is no longer a test. It’s show and tell. It’s graduation. It’s a foregone conclusion. It’s a celebration.

Best of all, the race itself now adds to our overall fitness, locking our puzzle pieces into place. We can look forward to improved 5K performances in our next races. And as an added bonus, the same training that’s prepared us for the 5K has also prepared us for races like the 10K — even the marathon! That’s right. Since we’ve focused on improving the essential aspects of training — from stride efficiency to muscle fiber recruitment to aerobic endurance — rather than simply adding miles to our training logs, we’ve emerged as better overall runners: fitter, faster, and more efficient.

This morning I ran the City Beach 4k where for the third year in a trot I managed a 2nd place. I did manage to drop my time but as always there was a faster runner.( and a lot younger !)  Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. (Not that I would be a particularly attractive bride with my ‘speed beard’ in full ‘Grizzly Adam’s mode’, pre 6 inch ultra marathon)

The 4k is an unusual distance which requires a sprint from the start to separate yourself from the 8k race that starts at the same time. There’s also a bit of a poker mentality involved because you are never sure who is running the 4k or the 8k until you hit the finish. (It’s here you can go from being 4th or 5th to top 2 when 3 runners keep running instead of turning left into the finish chute.) My tactics is always to assume everybody is in the 4k and race them all, if there are runners ahead and they don’t turn left at the 4k mark then all good as you’ll rise a place in the rankings. This has happened on a few occasions in this race.

Today I went off with the lead runners and held third place at 1k with the front runner already a good distance ahead. It was time to work for a podium place and I managed to sneak into 2nd place just before the 2k mark where there is a right turn back to the start. It was here you’re given the chance to sneak a look to the right to see who’s behind you. (Big Kev Racing Tip  : First rule of racing, never, I repeat never look behind you in a race. All it does is encourage the person chasing you. )  I was not happy to see 6-8 runners probably 10-15m behind me so I knew this race was still in the mix and I was in the pain box big time.

Now 2k to go, after a 2k start does not seem like there should be any issues but trust me you are in a world of pain if you are racing to your limit. 2k seems like a massive distance when your legs are screaming and your heart feels like it’s about to explode, welcome to racing ! Anyhow this time , like in the two previous years, I managed to hold it together and the last 2k were both 3:23min/k splits which for me is the best I could hope for. I finished in 13:12 which is a 14 second course PB and as such a new 4k PB. Can I find 13 seconds for next year so I can go sub 13minutes, I think I need to. This now has become a priority race for next year and sub 13 minutes is the goal. To achieve this I will concentrate on speed and the perfect run for this will be the Mona Fartlek. (I’ve already written a post on this bad boy of a run, otherwise google it.) Being I’m 50 next year it will be a lot easier as I will have more ‘wisdom’ apparently?

For now though I need to get back into ultra mode, not sure how good a 4k training run is for a 46k trail run I have to complete in 7 days. No one said the BK method of training was the standard, I like to mix it up a bit. That being said the race favourite for the 6 inch won the 8k so maybe my preparation isn’t too far of the mark. As with all things running, be it a 4k sprint or a 100k ultra,  I just enjoy being out there with a bib on my chest testing my ability against , really, myself and my own goals and ambition. That’s what makes running so personal, in the end when you strip away all the other complications in life running is about pitting yourself against what you believe you can achieve and you are a better person for it.

So not a bad day really, I’ve ran a PB, grabbed a podium and written a post and it’s only just past 9am, I have the whole day for the family before I sneak away for a second run later in the afternoon, well c’mon I need to find those 13 seconds from somewhere and I might as well start today…….

Today I put on my race bib for the first time since the Masters marathon three weeks ago. I normally allow four weeks before I race after a marathon but this race is special as I won last year, mainly because none of the normal suspects turned up.  The WAMC (West Australian Marathon Club http://www.wamc.org.au ) Founders 10miler (16k) is one of my favourite races in the calendar and I have placed in it on two previous occasions with a win last year. The opportunity to defend my ‘title‘ was too good to pass up so after a day off yesterday I set off to the event.

Some people recover quicker than others when it comes to racing marathons and as I mentioned earlier I’m a four week man normally. This is inline with a day per mile going with the imperial system of measurement, so about 26 days.  Other people like Tony ‘The T-train’ Smith use the same imperial system but substitute the day for hours so he can recover in about 26 hours. He is one naughty runner !

This event also includes a 5.15k as well as the 16.1k race. This always make the start interesting because you are never sure who you are racing until after the 5.15k runners dart for the finish line instead of ‘manning’ up and continuing on for the full distance. (I need to be careful here because I have been known on a few occasions to be tempted by bling and take the easier option when faced with a podium for the 5k or a top 5, with no medal, for the longer distance. I admit it , I have a bling problem…)

As expected the start was quick as a number of 5k runners set off at their ‘suicide’ pace and I joined them with the goal of staying as close as possible to the leaders incase one of them decided to continue after the finish line and go long. I didn’t want to leave myself with too much to do to catch them. This works great in theory but of course the fly in the ointment is you normally end up going through 5.15k just behind the leaders and way too fast for a 16k race. As expected this is what happened and I went through the 5.15k mark in second place at 17:35, must admit it was tempting, run through the chute for a nice shiny silver medal and all the pain ends or carry on for another 11k curled up in the foetal position in the pain box.

Funnily enough I was reading the Lore of Running by Tim Noakes yesterday (The bible of all things running.) and the chapter on Training the Mind. (Remember I didn’t run yesterday so what else is there to do but reading about running?) This went into detail about how the mind can be trained during competition. Paragraph headings like dominate from the start, allow for the unexpected, concentrate and focus, give a maximum effort and perform up to expectation. All easy to read while you wait for your daughter to finish her dancing lesson but when you’re racing at maximum effort and in a world of pain it’s not so easy. I did recall this while racing and it certainly brought at least a smirk to my face, not sure I ever really smile when I’m racing short distances.

Right, where were we, of yes at 5.15k and in the lead as the only runner infront of me was a 5.1.5k runner and had scuttled of to collect his gold medal. So it was just me and the lead bike ridden by my friend Ross who I run with on the weekend. Ross is a good lead bike in the fact he knows just to ride, let runners know I’m coming and avoid any type of conversation with me as , like me, he knows when you’re racing it’s all about concentration and pain mitigation, conversation does not come into it, ever ! Luckily for me , like last year, none of the usual suspects turned up so I was able to record another victory, which at my age is cherished. This would be my third for the year but only my 6th ever top finish so it really is a wonderful feeling.

So what did I take from the run.

1. Nothing makes you run faster than a race bib pinned to your chest. I understand this comes with a price, the nerves pre-race, doubting your ability, training and the pain you know you must go through to be your best. All these things are part and parcel of racing and need to be embraced and overcome. When you cross the line and achieve your goal all these are forgotten instantly and the ‘runners high’ that takes their place justifies everything that comes pre-race. You will also use more fast-twitch muscles in these race situations with is another big benefit.
2. You need to be realistic pre-race and set yourself goals determined by past experience, current training workload and pre-race training runs. Every race cannot be a PB time so adjust your goal accordingly. You may not need the goal A, B or C option that comes with longer races but still give yourself a range of what could be called ‘acceptable’.
3. Do not start the race at suicide pace and then expect to finish strong. Doesn’t happen unfortunately. As described above my splits were not ‘one for the ages’. They varied by around 20 seconds a kilometer which is not ideal. Ideally I should have started about 10 seconds a kilometre slower and this would helped to towards the end of the race. I knew I had started too quick but experience allowed me to roll the dice so to speak in an effort to give me a good buffer to second place. This would have been enough to probably make them settle for second early and not make an effort to catch me. This is more racing tactics but even in the middle of the pack you are racing people and this little tip may help gain a few places.  (Assuming the suicide pace start doesn’t morph into a suicide pace finish which has the opposite effect.)
4. Enjoy the experience of racing as these times are the litmus test of your training and can be a great confidence booster and also give you renewed energy once you get back into the ‘slog‘ of daily training.  You will find a spring in your step (after a few recovery runs) after a successful race and this can be carried forward to the next one and beyond. I certainly use races as justification for all the hard effort I put myself yourself through in training, coupled with the benefit of point 1 of course.
5. Sometimes a good race can move a runner to a new level complete with new expectations and goals. Yesterday my mate Gareth ran a 10 minute PB and was elated with the whole experience. I have mentioned Gareth before in my posts as the ‘runner who treats running as something he does in-between injuries” , to see him so animated after such a great run sums up the feeling only a race can give you when you achieve something you thought beyond you. Gareth has been on the cusp of breaking through his current ‘expected times’ on a number of occasions but has been thwarted by injury, maybe yesterday was the start of his rise to greatness. If nothing else the run would have given him the confidence to move forward and I guarantee he’ll be ‘champing at the bit’ to get running post-race.

Had to end with an article I found on the subject of racing that probably sums it up better than my ramblings. So to sum up racing in a few words ‘just do it’.

 

7 Reasons to Make the Start Line Your Friend

BY CLINT CHEREPA

The race is the beauty part. The time you put it all together is the race,” said noted running author Dr. George Sheehan. And, whether you run one kilometre or 50, racing is exhilarating.

Many run so they can race, but some are leery of the endeavour. Let’s delve into why racing comes with benefits.

Community
Nick Walker, a runner for 15 years and owner of Frontrunners store in Langford, B.C., says racing helps connect people. “We find a lot of people through races who are new to the area,” he says. “Racing gives people a goal and purpose. It encourages them to get out and go.”
Keith Iskiw, a runner from Kingston, Ont., says, “No other sport allows both beginners and professionals to share the same arena. The excitement, tension and joy shared between people makes the race events fantastical.”
Alan Brookes, race director of the Canada Running Series, says racing gives people at the front a platform to develop athletic careers and gives amateur athletes a chance to race head-to-head against age-group categories and clubmates. New runners get a sense of achievement in their new, healthy lifestyle, with benchmarks, rewards and encouragement.

Motivation
“When I participate in an activity, I like to do it well. I don’t have to win. I just have to be satisfied that I gave my best effort,” says Jerry Kooyman, a runner who has competed at a national level, running in a couple of Canadian Olympic trials. When he hits rough patches in training, the prospect of a race motivates him to train and set goals such as achieving personal bests, winning medals or beating other successful runners.

Structure
Ken Parker is the founder and coach of the Ottawa Athletic Club Racing team. He is also a co-founder and race director of Ottawa’s National Capital Marathon. Parker is no stranger to racing; his marathon personal best is 2:42. He feels racing encourages discipline and enticed him to study running to optimize training. “It made me focus on a goal and get organized to do what was required to achieve that goal,” Parker says.
Walker, a former University of Victoria track athlete, says racing keeps him honest and modest. It keeps his competitive edge honed and says shorter races can be great preparation for longer challenges. Walker recently won the Island Race Series Sooke 10K and the Merville 15K, races he ran at 3:17 and 3:20 pace as part of the preparation for his first marathon in Vancouver in May. “I try to have a fun outlook,” says Walker. “But I take racing more seriously. I still like to push hard.”

Fears
Race-day fears are normal. After more than 40 years of racing, Kooyman says in the back of his mind he worries about injury during a race and fears that he will work hard during the race, only to be out-kicked at the end. Still, he keeps racing, leaving his fears in the dust of his race-day speed. Iskiw’s advice for hesitant runners is to remember we are built for competition, and that deep down we all have a drive to win and the only way to satisfy that hunger is through competition.

Measuring Progress
Your first 10K may not tell you much about your progress, but after a year of racing, a runner can gauge success.
“Progress may initially be measured by weight loss and increased mileage, but once I get beyond those basic measures and get into a regular training program, the most reliable measure of progress is improved race times,” Kooyman says.

Competition
Races open themselves to runners of all levels. A racer can compete even if he is at the back of the pack. A suggestion from Brookes is: “If you’re really nervous, start right at the back, run the first half easy, then count how many people you pass in the second half or the number you pass the whole way.”
Competition helped Parker. He says: “In the marathon, I ran against the clock and ignored other runners for the most part, using them only toward the end of the race when, hopefully, I was passing them. In track races, I used the head-to-head competition to race harder. Fast times would come as the result of racing a strong competitive field.”

Learn
Through his racing, Parker learned that anything worth doing is worth doing well and that success does not come about by accident. A progressive runner never stops learning. Introducing racing into your running program provides a platform of wisdom. You learn more about yourself, and running in general. The race and people involved provide the anecdotal evidence. The question lingers, “Why not race?” If you are hesitant to toe the starting line, take Kooyman’s words to heart: “You don’t know what you are missing!”

As I’m racing Rottnest half this weekend I ran this morning and that is it until the race on Sunday. This is my half taper routine, 48 hours of no running and nothing too strenuous the week of the race. Obviously for a marathon it’ll be a good two week taper with very little on race week.

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.”

My mate Jon emailed me today and asked whether I used racing as a goal or a way to improve by making myself push harder wearing a bib. He raised a good point as this year I have raced over 20 times already and expect to finish the year with about 25-28 races under my belt.  Albeit there are a few park runs in there, these still test you and even though you aren’t wearing a race number, as such, you’re still going to put your in the ‘pain box’ and leave nothing on the course.

A lot of runners get nervous pre-race and I’m the same. My family knows you tread carefully when I have a ‘goal’ race rather than a race I’d consider an excuse to test myself. Everybody gets nervous but this is not an excuse to avoid racing. I love racing but the only person I’m really racing is myself. The feeling of going faster than you have ever gone before is , to quote Visa , priceless. It invigorates your training and helps you see all the hard work you’re putting in is accomplishing something. If you don’t race how can you measure progress?

I know some runners run for the love of running, and that’s great, but I love running as much as anybody (you may have noticed that?) but I also love racing. The feeling of going faster than you ever thought you could and hanging on when every thought is about stopping or slowing. Racing teaches you so much about yourself, things that can’t be taught while you amble along smelling roses and enjoying the ambience of the day. Don’t get me wrong there’s a time and a place for recovery and easy runs but nothing beats the sheer exhilaration of racing.

Racing has the added benefit of forcing you to push yourself harder than you normally would in training and this is a good thing. You ain’t going to run until you come close to vomiting in training. (well you can but it’s easier with a race number, there’s a time and place for putting everything on the line.)  Maybe racing every other weekend is a tad overboard but when you’re chasing PB’s and catching them on a regular basis it becomes a drug, and I am addicted.

A runners Connect article articulates the whole racing yourself into shape better than I could

Racing yourself into shape: The pros, cons, and specific advice

Planning the perfect training schedule is always a delicate balance between doing what is “fun” (ripping 200 meter repeats, 24-hour relays with friends, and racing every weekend) with the optimal physiological adaptations needed to continually run personal bests. Unfortunately, even when you have the ideal training plan designed, things don’t always go as smooth as you might like.
Injuries, sickness, or a difficult spell at work can sometimes leave you out of shape with a long list of races on the schedule that have already been paid for. Or, you might be involved in a running club or race series that requires you to run in all its events, despite not being conducive to your marathon build-up. Whatever your circumstance, you might find yourself in a situation where you have a strong obligation to race often yet still want to make positive fitness gains. While not without its potential pitfalls, it is possible to race yourself into shape.
In this article, we’ll cover the positives and negatives of racing yourself into shape so you can decide if it’s the right choice for you and also provide some helpful tips for how to effectively implement this training strategy.

What to watch out for
Sometimes racing yourself into shape can’t be avoided and it might be the best training option you have available. In this case here are three common issues you need to be wary of:
You’re not going to hit a PR at every race
Given the training load, your current fitness, and your lack of race specific workouts, you can’t expect to PR often, if at all, when you’re racing yourself into shape. You should consider these races as high intensity, fitness-building workouts. As such, you should expect that running what would normally be an easy race pace for you to feel hard, or for your effort to not be adequately reflected in your finishing time.
Not running well can ruin your psyche
Along the same lines, it is very important that you not let these bad races impact you mentally. Even when you understand that you’re training through a race it can be difficult to run poorly and get beaten by runners who don’t normally beat you. It’s important that you remember the bigger goals ahead of you and stay mentally strong through the weeks you’re racing yourself into shape. Otherwise, you’ll destroy your confidence and try to over compensate during your other workouts during the week.
Races are still harder than a regular workout
While you’re using the race as a workout in your mind, races are still harder on your body than a normal workout because you’re not staying within a certain effort or pace range. Even if you say “I am just going to do this race as a tempo run”, it almost never works out this way – you’ll always run as hard as you can when the bib is on and the competition is there. This means you’ll need to be extra cautious when it comes to recovery and overtraining physically. Likewise, you need to be cognizant that you don’t burn yourself out mentally or get stale from racing too much.
The benefits of racing yourself into shape
While racing yourself into shape is a tricky, high-risk way to train, it does have a few benefits that can help you improve, both short-term and long-term.
You don’t have to workout alone
Perhaps my favorite benefit is that you don’t have to “workout” alone. If you do a majority of your hard running alone, it can be nice to have competitors along with you to help push you to better performances and distract you from the mind-numbing task of running hard for 10k. Along the same lines, having “training partners” can help take your workouts to the next level, especially if you’re having trouble pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone.
You can easily measure progress
One of the hardest things about executing long blocks of training without racing is that it’s often difficult to notice imperceptible gains in fitness. It’s difficult to compare how 10×800 meters compares to a 2 x 3 mile tempo in terms of quality or progress each week. When you race yourself into shape, you can pretty easily track your progress from race-to-race, even on different courses (using familiar competition as a barometer). It can be a boost to the confidence if you’re progressing each time you race.
Gain experience racing
You can gain a lot of racing experience from racing frequently. Veteran runners can get more practice at events outside their normal comfort zones and beginners can hone the racing skills they’ll need to set big PRs down the road. Lots of things can go wrong during a race (watch malfunction, falling, shoes coming untied, learning to time your kick) and racing often can expose you to these different experiences so you’ll be prepared should they happen at a goal race.
How to race yourself into shape
Now that you understand the potential benefits and pitfalls of racing yourself into shape, here are some helpful tips for implementing this strategy into your training schedule should the need arise.
Don’t taper for each race
To ensure that racing yourself into shape doesn’t become just racing each week without progressing towards a bigger goal you’ll need to keep your overall mileage high. Don’t shorten the distance you run the day before the race and consider adding a few miles to the warm-up and cool-down to keep your overall mileage high.
Don’t try to squeeze everything in, but don’t neglect any one system for too long
The race needs to take the place of one of your workouts for the week. You can’t run a long run, speed workout, tempo run and race in one week. That is simply too much quality, even for a well-trained runner. The race should take the place of one of your quality workouts.
However, you need to make sure you don’t replace the same workout each week or you risk leaving that energy system behind. If you skip your long run every week, you’ll be sacrificing aerobic development. Meanwhile, substituting a race for a tempo run is a close approximation, but it isn’t exactly the same physiological energy system, so don’t be fooled. Mix up the workouts and race distances you run to make sure you’re hitting all your energy systems.
Space out your races
The biggest mistake runners make when they are trying to race themselves into shape is thinking they need to race every weekend. Not only does racing take a physical and mental toll, but as noted above, you still need time to train. You should be racing no more than once every two weeks, although spacing your races out by three to four weeks would be even better. Remember, it takes 7-10 days to realize the benefits of a workout, so if you race every weekend, it will be difficult to see measurable gains.
Implement these three suggestions and be wary of the potential pitfalls of racing yourself into shape and you’ll increase your chances of success when coming back from injury or partaking in a long race series while still keeping your eyes on the big goals ahead. As always, ask your coach if this is a good strategy for you and we would be glad to help.