Meet the Marathon Monks of Mount Hei. The monks, known as Kaihigyo, are spiritual athletes from the Tendai Sect of Buddhism, based at Mount Hiei, which overlooks the ancient capital city of Kyoto.
Their ultimate achievement is the completion of an incredible 1,000-day challenge, one of the most demanding physical and mental challenges in the world. Only 46 men have completed the challenge since 1885 and it takes seven years to complete. The first 300 days are basic training, during which the monks run 40km per day for 100 consecutive days.
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Following a structured training programme gives you confidence. You don’t have to worry too much about what is ahead of you; instead you just focus on the session that day. However, whilst a programme has clear benefits, it is important not to become a slave to it. So it is a good idea to “mix it up”. Here are just a few ideas to try:
- take an extra day’s rest
- run without a watch
- run with a friend or colleague
- run at a different time of the day
- change your route or change the terrain
- go for a swim
- buy some new kit!
- take a yoga class
- go for a long walk instead
Having a break from your routine can reinvigorate your training and give you renewed energy and inspiration. Your body will thank you and you will become a better runner.
One of the best things about running races is that no matter what your ability; you get to race with the best. Though us mere mortals will never appear on television cameras at the head of the field there is a way you can race against other people without worrying in what place you cross the finishing line – its called ‘age-graded’ performance.
Age grading is a way to adjust your performance according to age and gender. The age-grading tables were developed by the World Association of Veteran Athletes, the world governing body for track and field, long distance running and race walking and were first published in 1989. The tables work by recording the world record performance for each age at each distance, for men and women. Where necessary, the world record performances are estimated.
For example, the world record for a 53 year old woman running a 10km is 35:01. So if a 53 year old woman finishes a 10km in 45:18, she has an age-graded performance of 77.3% (which is 35:01 divided by 45:18). The wide availability of age-grading tables has allowed older runners to compete on even terms with younger generations. In many running clubs today, the age-graded champion earns as much, if not more, recognition as the outright (non-age adjusted) winner of the event. Age grading can be used to compare performances across different ages and sexes; track your own performance over time; identify your best events; set goals for current and future years; and identify your best ever performance.
The great thing about age-grading is that it’s never too late to improve your performance as a runner.
Take a look here and find out more.
Ok, so you get home from a hard day at work and you start preparing for your run. You do a quick mental check of your kit: trainers, yes, water bottle, yes, gels, yes, hat, yes, iPod, no – I knew there was something missing. Such has been the success of iPods and mp3 players that chances are some of you will be using one on your run. And you are not the only one. Many athletes believe that the music aids in relaxation or helps them get into a rhythm necessary for a smooth workout.
But whilst having your favourite tunes might while away the time a little quicker, does it help improve your running? It appears that although up-beat music has no apparent clear physiological effect on runners, it does seem to promote longer exercise times, perhaps by making people feel more energised or by diverting their attention from feelings of tiredness. Paula Radcliffe, Kelly Holmes and Hailie Gebreselassie have all said that listening to their favourite music puts them in the right frame of mind to compete and recent research at York University found that when exercising in a gym environment people using weights will exercise for longer when music is played.
I know someone who planned out her entire half-marathon based on music through her iPod. And she had set up her favourite music to coincide with the last 5 minutes of the race. Now that really is planning! But it worked for her and it may work for you too.
Wikipedia has a good overview of the latest research.
And for those of you who want some to find out the best tunes for running, take a look a jogtunes.