Make Life Better by Miles
Online route planners make it easy to know how far you have run, not only for long, slow distance, but also for speed work. Measuring a stretch of road for running 400m or 800m repetitions has never been easier. But that said, there is really no substitute for doing speed work on a track.
You don’t find them on every corner, but they are more common than you think and because most are local authority run they don’t cost a lot to use. This great website lists all running tracks in the UK.
No matter how flexible it is, any training programme will come under pressure from the practicalities of life. Only elite athletes get to eat, sleep and train. So it is highly likely that between now and the marathon in April you will have a weekend away with friends, or a short holiday booked. Taking a short holiday during the programme is no bad thing, but it doesn’t have to mean that you stop running whilst you are way. I was very lucky to spend Christmas and New Year on holiday in South Africa and though running was not in the forefront of my mind I did take my trainers and kit with me. The only rule was that if I did run it had to be off the watch and take no account of pace. As part of the holiday my girlfriend and I stayed at a place called Fraai Uitzitch in the Robertson Wine Valley and very beautiful it was too. One afternoon we thought we would explore the area on foot and set off on a rambling run. We trotted down a gravel track and spotted along the roadside a group of Springbok. Nothing peculiar in that, but then a sprightly youngster broke away and started running alongside us, even doing the ‘pronking’ they are so famous for – when they spring in the air and straighten their legs. The three of us ran together for about 5 minutes and it was a wonderful moment, and certainly beats the experience of running in south London that we do every weekend. We must have run for 10 miles that day, far more than we intended and dinner certainly tasted fantastic when we got back.
That experience really brought home for me one of the main reasons I run; to explore the wide open spaces. The body gets easily bored with running the same old routes, so next time you are planning a weekend away then don’t forget to take you running gear. Even if you go out for just 30 minutes it will be something new and you never know what wild animals you might bump in to!
If you are running a spring marathon the chances are that as your mileage starts to increase over the coming few weeks, you might feel a few more aches, pains and niggles than you have had up to now. This is the body’s way of telling us that the training is working. The extra stress of the longer runs results in more fatigue and is all part of the running experiencem, but with adequate rest and recovery your body comes back stronger. Our wonderful ability to adapt quickly and effectively to our surroundings is the way human beings have become such a successful species.
The longer distances you run the more you learn about how your body works. Knowing more about how your body reacts ensures you understand the difference between an ache, niggle and something that may turn out to be a genuine injury. Obviously it is common sense to try and head off these problems and prevent an ache or pain becoming more serious, so if London or Paris is your target this spring, now is a good time in your preparation to consider:
How is your diet and fluid intake?
Are you getting enough sleep?
Do you need new trainers and maybe some new running gear? Its amazing how nice a new pair of socks can feel!
Maybe its time to book that sports massage you’ve been promising yourself
Taking a day off from your programme and go and see a friend, or take in a film – its very easy to forget you need to maintain a social life
Making the effort to carry out running repairs now will be time well spent and help keep you on track.
Now most of us are very unlikely to challenge the world’s best marathon runners in the next year or two. OK, maybe never. Their running exploits might seem a million miles away from us lesser mortals. They are like us, just flesh and blood, only more finely tuned! And equally, your training regime will never be quite as punishing or demanding as that required to challenge at the very highest level, let alone compete with the best male and female marathon runners in the business. But training a little bit like marathon winners such as Paula Radcliffe, Haile Gabrselassie or Mara Yamauchi may not be as silly as it sounds. What unite these great athletes are their dedication and commitment. They set clear, achievable goals, and use patience, planning, and progression as their guides. We can use these important principles for your own training and reap the rewards on race day
So we might never be elite, but we can have elite style thinking, and that means gaining insights and taking tips from those who are working at the edge of what is possible and working them into our programmes.
Athlete’s websites gives us a peak into their strange and bizarre world of eating, training, sleeping, eating, training – you get the picture. One of the better websites is that of Mara Yamauchi, one of Britain’s best female marathon runners and recent winner in the Osaka marathon.
The spring season of half-marathons is getting under way. Between now and the end of March major half-marathons will be taking place in the UK every weekend, with many on the same day, as runners build up to the big city marathons in April, including London and Paris. Running a half-marathon in your build up has a number of benefits. Not only is it a chance to assess how much progress you have made and if your training is on track to hit your marathon target time, but it also gives you valuable experience in running with a large amount of other runners. Another benefit is the opportunity to try out or develop a pre-race routine, such as how you might deal with toilets (always queue early) and leaving your baggage (don’t leave it to the last minute).
It is best to approach a half-marathon as a race in itself rather than as just another slightly quicker long run as part of your general marathon training programme. That means easing up a few days before the race as a mini taper and maybe an extra day’s rest immediately afterwards.
For those of you that haven’t made plans for a half-marathon find a race here and get signed up.
I have written before about how your imagination is a powerful ally for your running, about how positive thoughts can help you when the going gets a bit tough in training or in races. Well I recently came across this quote from Lorraine Moller – a former Olympian and marathon winner – which reminds me of how we can use our imagination in other ways, it allows your mind to run away with itself:
“Throw away your ten-function chronometer, heart-rate monitor with the computer printout, training log, orthotics, high-tech underwear, pace charts and laboratory rat-tested, air-injected, gel-lined, motion-controlled, top-of-the-line, fashion footwear. Run with only your imagination. It is your rich companion guiding you into realms further and faster and more daring than you ever dreamed. Follow it through exotic lands in far-off galaxies in times past and future. Run with the lithe strides of a Kalahari Bushmen in the hunt for dinner, or in the thundering midst of a stampede of elephants. When thirsty run towards the oasis in Death Valley at midday. Sometimes giant strides with giant feet that cover whole countries can be very economical. And when the ground is boggy, launch off each foot to pluck a star from the heavens and carry the lightness of them in your pockets. Uphill, attach a few helium balloons to your vest so that your feet skim the ground, leaving no footprints. Downhills are free energy, so take off the brakes and spread your wings for take-off. In stiff competition cast a line to the person in front and gently reel yourself in so that they never notice. Then, as you slip past, become as invisible as a colourless rainbow and as silent as lightening that outran its thunder. And when you cross the finish line, always throw your arms in the air in total ecstasy. After all, this is your running and your life. Come on, your have to admit that there is nothing like that feeling, knowing you are the master of your running destiny. No limits, just you and as far as your mind can stretch.”
The cumulative effect of a structured training programme has the habit of creeping up on you. One day you might feel like a world beater, the next you are struggling for motivation and finding it difficult to complete sessions as well as you had been. The tendency to over train is a very real one for most runners and is understandably something to avoid. Programmes should be guides to your running and should not be followed slavishly. If you need an extra rest day take one. If you feel like running off the watch and ignoring pace then do so. Another way of helping to avoid the tendency to over train is to keep a little bit in the tank at the end of each session. It is said to be one of the key training principles of Kenyan runners; to not be exhausted at the end of a session, but to save something for the next day. That way you finish strongly and confidently. So if at the end of a speedwork session on the track or running hills you feel that you could manage one more repetition, then that is your signal to stop.
In the long run, 5% too little is far better than 5% too much.
Sleep is just as important for good health as your diet and your running, but modern life means time is at a premium, and so more often than not it is neglected. Irregular sleep patterns and poor diet are also connected. Poor diet can lead to low concentration and energy levels, and altered emotional states. In turn, this can lead to increased amounts of worry and stress, which combined with poor sleep quality, can suppress the immune system leading to the likeliness of illness and disease.
Most adults need 7 – 8 hours sleep per night. Getting too little on a regular basis creates a sleep debt – like being overdrawn at the bank – and at some point it has to be repaid. With busy lives it is easy to become accustomed to a sleep depriving schedule. Sleep deprivation is associated with a number of changes in hormones such as gherlin and leptin, and research suggests higher levels of these hormones produce increased levels of hunger and appetite when awake.
Read more about the science of sleep.
When on a structured training programme and steadily increasing your weekly mileage – it will increase the need for proper rest and recovery, and sleep is a key aspect of looking after your body and improving your performance.
I have written before about the benefits of running with music.
Though here is no hard scientific evidence that it can improve performance, running to a beat can promote the ability to exercise for longer and for long weekend runs that is no bad thing. But whilst using an MP3 player or iPod stacked with your favourite music can bring benefits when you train, it may not be the best thing to use when in a race.
Because of health and safety concerns some event organisers have even gone so far as to ban them (though it remains to be seen if this can ever be enforced). So if you can’t live without your iPod then check on their policy when entering the race.
Saves any embarrassment on the day.
Read what other runners think.
My advice is that if you do use an MP3 player for training then do so sensibly, but leave it in your kit bag come race day.
Now there is lot to be said for just putting on your trainers and heading off for a run without a care for how long or how far you will run. But when you are following a structured training programme it pays to keep those carefree sessions to a minimum. Steady progression is instead the order of the day, both in terms of time on your feet, but also in terms of absolute distance. There has never been a better time for runners in terms of tools and gizmos available to help with our training. And this is no less true for planning your running route. There are a number of excellent route planners available online. Two to have a look at are:
If you are an Apple Mac rather than a PC user Trailfinder is a really excellent site.
Route planners are particularly good for measuring shorter distances for when you need to run over a measured course – and don’t have access to a running track – such as interval training, when its important you don’t run further than absolutely necessary. And being online its easy to save your favourites so you can share them with others and test yourself over the same measured course next time.