Better running - better training...

The secret to better running is, a secret you probably already knew...better choices.

A week or so ago, I distilled many choices into nine for you. After many requests, here are few ways to get better at the first, better training:

• better running
• better mechanics
• better technique
• better form
• better relaxation
• better individuality
• better planning
• better long term perspective, less short-cuts
• better lifestyle balance
• better periodistation
• better training phases, blocks & cycles
• better training load control
• better loading
• better maintenance
• better unloading
• better application of principles of training
• better goals & objectives
• better overall athletic development
• better endurance
• better speed & power
• better mobility
• better balance or stability
• better skill, better co-ordination
• better economy
• better progressions (better principles - see below)
• better volume (amount, mileage/kms)
• better intensity
• better focus
• better attendance at trianing
• better attention to, at and from training
• better speeds, paces
• better relaxation
• better complexity
• better structure
• better skill & drill progressions
• better combinations
• better variety
• better density
• better training frequency (& regularity)
• better work-rest ratios
• better training : recovery ratios
• better aerobic : anaerobic ratios
• better overload (better principles - see below)
• better progressions
• better loading over time, not all the time
• better variety (better principles - see below)
• better locations, better surfaces, better conditions
• better games, better fun
• better hills
• long hills, rolling hills, steep hills, up-hills, down-hills, trail hills, grass hills, mountains
• hill-drills, hill-technique
• running, hopping, bounding, jumping
• better warm-ups, better warm-downs
• better principles*
• better progressions, better overload, better variety - above
• better specificity
• better outcome specificity
• better relevance to outcomes: aim, goals, objectives
• better relevance to plan, program/s, sessions
• better relevance to training phases, sub-phases, blocks, cycles
• better physiological specificity
• better neuromuscular recruitment - movement specificity
• better VO2max
• better relative VO2max
• better speed or velocity at VO2max - vVO2max
• better duration of vVO2max
• better running economy
• better lactate or anaerobic threshold
• better fatigue resistance, better maintenance of work-output
• better speed, better 'speed-reserve'
• better respect for musculoskeletal loading
• better functional training outcomes
• better structural training outcomes
• better injury prevention
• better resilience
• better training regularity
• better confidence
• better individuality
• better respect to aim, goals and expectations
• better respect to individual tolerance to training loads and types
• better respect to differences in lifestyle and lifestyle demands
• lifestyle stress & training/racing stress is cumulative
• better respect to individual responsiveness to training
• better respect to individual recovery from training & racing
• better respect to likes & dislikes
• better respect to nutritional strategies and preferences
• better respect to environmental tolerance: heat, humidity, wind, cold, wet
• better respect to physical characteristics: height, weight, body composition, leg length, mechanics
• better respect to balance between solo, group and squad demands
• better cross-training
• better understanding
• better central-specificity : lungs, blood, heart, blood vessels
• better peripheral-specificity : neuro-muscular, muscles, movements, timing, loading
• better time efficiency
• better long-term effectiveness
• better weight-bearing CT
• better walking
• better shallow-water running
• better non-weight-bearing CT
• better cycling, better rowing/paddling, better elliptical trainer
• better deep-water running
• better strength training
• better general outcomes - transferability
• better 'specific' outcomes - neuromuscular function & running movement specificity
• better 'functionality'
• better stability, better control
• better mobility
• better recovery
• better planning
• better recovery strategies
• better sleep
• better progressions
• better sequencing
• better hydration & nutrition strategies
• better stretching
• better massage
• better therapies
• better testing
• better relevance, better timing
• better controls
• better standardisation
• better racing
• better time-trials, better lead-up races
• better interpretation & application of results
• better monitoring
• better records
• better diary, journal or log
• better software
• better communication
• better gear
• better footwear
• better injury prevention
• better protection from the elements - heat, cold, wind, sun
• better technology (?)

Running better is about many things. Most importantly, it is about making better choices - choices that work best for you.

Finding these is about being human - trying, trying again, and trying differently. Making errors makes us human. Making the same errors makes them mistakes - running & training the same way, yet expecting different results.

Trial & error is neither the only nor most effective way to learn. Read, yet don't believe everything. Ask many, yet trust few. Seek answers, yet understand your question(s). Learn principles to apply to you and your situation, don't blindly follow others, fads or trends.

Choose, then learn to train better and soon you'll be...

The power of running...

Running opens up the world of possibility, and windows of opportunity.
It can teach you many things.  And, when you're open to running's lessons, you will learn many things.

Write to me! I'd like to hear what you've learnt from running...
paul@pfad.com.au

I've learnt and continue to learn much from running, 'P' things:

• the value in planning and purpose - with flexibility
• guidance from programming and prioritising - focus
• the logistics of practicality and practicability
• the nature of practise, and practice
• the complexity and perplexity of potential
• the perspective of balancing ambition, ability & action
• the principles of preparation, prevention and proximity (or, timing)
• the strength in progression, and (appropriate) placement
• the nature of people, personality, power & politics
• an insight to professionalism
• the prudence of Mother Nature & her brother, Time
• a better understanding of Paul

Most intriguing of all, through running I have learnt about the power in patience and persistence.
Sometimes the power is in pushing and probing (limits), other times it's about pacing.

1 Key, 3 Tips & 6 Steps to becoming a better, faster runner:

One of the powerful things about running is it's simplicity. The most sophisticated, complicated, scientific, systematic, progressive, varied and expensive training plan and programs are useless if you've misplaced this key...

The Key: run

Tip 1: run

Tip 2: run regularly and consistently

Tip 3: run with good mechanics, technique & form

Step 1: basics are best

Step 2: run

Step 3:  run with good mechanics, technique & form

Step 4: run regularly & consistently

Step 5: run fast, at times

Step 6: recover

Forget the tricks, they can be traps. Basics are best, so do them well. Get out the door, and run.

No level of wishing, hoping and dreaming and goal-setting will ever replace good ol’-fashioned run-training: in the sun, wind, hail and rain; over hills, grass, sand, trail and varied terrain; sometimes slow, sometimes fast, and in between, priority not last; leave the gadgets, forget the numbers, get out there; think, immerse and do - as athletes, as runners.

Remember, better running = better choices.

Here, there, everywhere...

A tourist out for a run around Melbourne's Tan track and I got talking yesterday. As you do. He asked me where to you go to run here?" i shared some obvious locales. I got thinking about it later...

'Tis Not Where You Go To Run, Yet Where The Run Takes You:

It takes me to the middle,
It takes me to the edge;
It takes me places,
Only running can pledge.

It takes me here,
And takes me there,
It takes me many places;
Over here, over there.

It closes doors,
Opens some too;
It leaves some ajar,
As only running can do.

It takes me here,
And takes me there;
It takes me new & old places,
It takes me wherever I dare.

It takes me places past and lost,
Places where I reconnect;
Places I’ve been,
And places I’ve dreamt;
And those unthought of yet.

It takes me here,
And takes me there;
It takes me home,
And everywhere.

It takes me up,
And brings me down;
It brings me closer,
And sometimes far,
Out of town and all-around.

It takes me here,
And takes me there;
Places curious and curiouser,
Heart, legs and mind working;
And places to share.

It takes me places,
I wish to never end;
It takes me places,
Known and shared,
Mysterious, magic and mythic,
The run – a friend.

Efficiency, effectiveness, & economy...

'Stuff' goes into becoming a better runner. 

The same goes for becoming a competitive runner. 

Your success may be measured by podium, performance, prestige, participation, progress, or pride. 

Of course, race-day requires you to run speedily, safely and economically. If you're a triathlete you need to add your 'warm-up' swim and bike legs and be able to transition swiftly between them.

How well you do these depends upon your endurance training and racing history, and your genetic make-up: a physiological, biomechanical and mental passport. Good old-fashioned grit, determination, fortitude and will – along with some good fortune – help.

Remember...better running is about better choices. Is your training better to be efficient, effective or economical? 

Efficient training is about getting results in a short period of time. In some respects it’s about short cuts, quick fixes, 4-week solutions, 3 hot tips, 2 new trends, and one guru. It’s often about fads and following the crowd, but it is seldom about smarts. You want it now. 

It's your fast-food (take-out) method of becoming a better runner - fast to prepare, fast to consume, fast to empty your wallet, fast to give you a buzz...yet not very satisfying in the long run

Effective training is about results too. Yet results that are more productive and of a higher standard. It’s as much about process, and how well you train in the short and medium terms for bigger and better long-term results. It’s about being smart, and working on getting to what works best for you. It's about the power in persistence and patience.

It's your Sunday roast method to becoming a better runner - a recipe carefully handed down and shared, prepared and cooked with secret herbs and spices (not the KFC ones), eaten with appreciation...and, it leaves you satisfied and looking forward to next month's.

Economy is about movement and energy. In endurance performance terms it’s about using as little oxygen as possible at a given pace or speed. Having good economy is beneficial in three ways:

(i)       you can run faster    (or- swim, bike, paddle, row, skate)

(ii)      you can run longer   (or- swim, bike, paddle, row, skate)

(iii)     run (or other) at any absolute speed or intensity feel easier

Good economy depends on your genetic and mechanical passport, which differs between individuals - and for each leg of the triathlon. Training history, accumulated training volume, range of experiences, and recent pace-specific training have the biggest impact on economy. Many factors have been researched in relation to economy. Apart from minimising wasteful and compensatory movements, there is no one economical formula that fits all runners (or athletes) the same way.

It takes time for your body, mind and lifestyle to find their own ‘sweet-spot’ in terms of oxygen in and maintainable speed out.

Your sweet spot to economical running is as unique as those running, training or racing beside, around and against you.

Effective training shapes, styles and stylises your individual economy. 

Efficient training ignores it.

Which do you choose - the take-out, or roast ?

The Secret to Better Running...

Thirty-two years and 835,000+kms of running, and 25 years of coaching I've learnt a few things.
And, I' still learning; the more you learn the more you realise there is to learn.
I could say I know a thing or two.

I've even learnt a secret or two. Yet do they remain secrets if I tell you? Maybe, maybe not.

There is a secret to becoming a better runner.
It may be a secret you already know.
It may not.


For you, I've compiled over 300 ways to become a better runner. Here...distilled into nine:

1. better training - better progressions, better variety, better pacing
2. better 'smarts' - better strategies, better reviews, better habits, better knowledge
3. better competing (and racing) - better awareness, better strategies, better execution, better fight
4. better plans - better long-term perspective, better structure, better flexibility, less short-cuts
5. better movement: better mechanics, better technique, better form
6. better balance - better life-balance, better balance of all training components, better load & recovery balance
7. better culture: better awareness, better leadership, less following, better fad-detection
8. better coaching - better relationship, better communication, better lesson-learning
9. better self 

Which strikes you the most? Which can you best become better at?

Whichever you choose, there it is -  your secret.   And that's mine, shared with you.

The secret to better running and becoming a better runner is better choices.

But you knew that, right!
Not knowing what you don't know smarts, as does realising that you already know what you wanted to know.

Running relationships

In June (after reading 'Kings of the Road – how Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, and Alberto Salazar made running go boom') I suggested to a friend of mine about sharing his story.

He replied, indicating that he thought he didn't really have a story to tell or an audience.

Of course, I disagreed - he's been around running (and writing) for 50-odd years.

I thought long and hard about his reply, and mine. I offered this... 

Running is about relationships: 

• the relationship between a runner and others: those around, beside, alongside and occasionally against him or her - racers, runners, contemplators, gonners, and non-runners

• the relationship between a runner and Mother Nature: amongst hills, rain, humidity, wind, sand, snow, mud, grass, cold and heat, and amongst plants, bugs and furry critters, the runner can be any or all of explorer, thespian, wanderer, apprentice, artisan, master, sage and oracle - having eyes for and of the future.

• the relationship  amongst self: muscle, mind, mettle, and soul and spirit

• the relationship between runner and person: himself, pride, ego and super ego

•  the relationship between science and art: physics, physiology and psychology, and mystery, marvel and magic

• the relationship between sharing and shared

• the relationship between goals, determination, work and pride, sacrifice and dedication; even, for some, obbsession and addiction

• the relationship between energy, effort and economy

• the relationship between persistence, patience and power 

• the relationship between going out and about and starting and finishing in the same spot – going somewhere, everywhere, yet nowhere 

• the relationship between a runner's deep history, his now, and a possible future - a future dreamt, and a future possible 

• the relationship between success and failure: slipping, falling and getting up and going again - and again

• the relationship between winning and losing, and realising that they're not about first and last place - but, rather, the power of persistence and patience

• and, ultimately, their relationship with the toughest race of all – the race against oneself. Other competitors, times and places matter not in the finish. The race against, and ultimately for oneself is the race we all strive to win. Only through trusting oneself to test one's limits and having the courage to succeed can we all be winners.

Given your own running success, the journey you shared as running grew through the 60s, 70s and 80s, and the relationships you have forged and formed directly with and through running, and through your writings, you do have a story to tell.

The relationship(s) all runners have with running and what it offers, promises and provides is a story you can tell and, in many ways, is everyone's story. 

If you were to tell your story of running what would it be?

Running Better - early thoughts

Better Running...

Beginning or starting running is one thing. Continuing it is another.

Being  a patient and persistent (ie. regular) runner will bring improvements - you'll become a better runner. Many, at times, chose to be more proactive with getting better.

I've been working on this specific area the last few days. An area touched by 25 years of coaching, 32 years of running and some 832,000+ kms 

I've thought about it from the perspectives of: Why get better?  How get better?  When will I get better?  What makes be better?  Who can help me?  Where Can I go to get better?  I stayed away from the moral imperatives: should do, must do, ought to, have to, need to. Too limiting. I strayed to the creative – may do, like to, could do, try to, will do. And the powerful – will do.

A long list of "betters" found it's way. For now, this will do.

Running Better...

Running better means different things to different people: going further or longer; running easier or with less effort; going faster; improved pacing and racing; handling hills; changing terrain and surface, combatting heat, wind, cold, rain, wind, snow; bouncing back and staying back after injury...

Getting better came down to being BETTER:

B = Basics: don’t' stray to far away from the principles of good practice and good practise. Oh, and you''ll be best served by running. For the most part - forget the bike, and pool and gym

E = Effort: we can getlittle for nothing these days, yet you can get a lot from a little. It will take energy, and  - yes - some effort

T = Time: give it time, make time and it will come – in time

T = Training: run - practise, rehearse, review, revise and rework – training guides you, and creates your journey from your past, through now, and to your future

E = Effective: aim for sustained long term progress, and be wary the promises of efficient short-cuts, tips, and tricks. The only secret is that there is none.

R = Relationships: with yourself - your body, mind and spirit; with mother Nature – her tests and tribulations; with others – your friends, your team-mates, and competitors. For, ultimately, you may run for and by yourself, yet you will do this amongst, beside and alongside millions of others around the world.

How do you aim to run better?

Becoming a runner - thoughts on getting going

Running is the world’s best form of exercise and boasts millions of participants worldwide.

The beauty of running is its simplicity – it can be done just about anywhere by anyone anytime, and at little expense.

Running builds fitness, increases health, promotes a healthy body, improves your state of mind, and makes you more energetic & productive. But this you've probably already heard, read or know.

Running also has the power to rewire your brain, and change your life…setting you on a path, or trail, beyond what you’ve dreamt possible.

So running is a good thing. Starting running can be a challenge: energy, time, past experience, perceptions. Here are some thoughts to color those perceptions...

Become a runner…

Becoming a runner… is about making the decision to start, and letting your feet to the talking and take you on a journey to the future. It isn’t about what you have or haven’t done in the past, nor what you do now.

Becoming a runner… is about moving forward - one foot after the after, step-by-step, breath-by-breath. It’s not about what gear you’ve got, how you look, nor how far or how fast you go.

Becoming a runner… is about doing what you can when you can, and juggling running as a new part of your life – as small or as big as you let it. It isn’t about the ability to focus on a single thing, nor to pretend that the inevitable distractions (and disappointments) of life don’t trip you up.

Becoming a runner... is about getting out the door and, yes, making some effort and taking some time - only to have that energy and quality-time come back more-fold. It’s not about blood, sweat, tears and puking, and reaching the depths of your capacity.

Becoming a runner... is about some is better than none. It isn’t about committing endless hours, running everyday of the week, nor having to keep up with anyone.

To become a runner … you only need the desire to start, a little fire in the belly, and a willingness to share a journey with, alongside, amongst and, and maybe later, against others.

Become a runner. Start running!

Planning: from Hope to Happening

“Plan your work, then work your plan.”

“Failing to plan is planning to fail.”

You’ve heard them all before – the mantras about the importance of planning. You plan your holidays, plan your budget/s, plan a weekend away, plan a night out, plan a trip to the countryside or the city. You most likely follow plans at work. And, have plans for your kids’ education.

What about your training? And racing? Are they planned?

Maybe you follow a weekly training schedule or routine out of habit, and then “hope” that you race faster. Or, a monthly program rehashed from the internet, a magazine, or a squad coach, again provides your race-day “hope”.

Most recreational runners (triathletes, cyclists) simply want to be fast(er) now. They think that if they train a little further or longer, a little harder, for more days of the week, and take less rest, that they can have those big PB’s, stay ill-health and injury free, have life-balance, and get better from year to year. All in “hope”.

During running Performance Reviews, Program Revisions, and in developing Strategic Performance Plans for individuals, I always ask to see their  (current) training plan.

In some cases, I get a vague outline of a week’s training sessions. Sometimes I see a print-out of a loose schedule or routine. Or, 3-4 week’s of sessions presented in A4 landscape. Beyond going a little further or faster each week, each session is essentially the same. Again, in “hope”.

Sometimes I can tell the software program, book, or squad they’ve got it from. “Thanks, a program. Yet, where’s your plan?”

I often get “Oh, I thought this was a plan?”. Let’s clarify:

A training plan is a bigger-picture guide. It may be a Long Term Athletic Development plan over 6-8 years for a very good junior athlete/runner. It may be an Olympic or quadrennial plan for an elite competitor. It is usually an Annual or Yearly that guides and directs most triathletes toward and through their next competitive season. A triathlete that travels from north to south hemispheres may have two race-season planned into a year. These, along with extended lead-up periods of time to (longer events) of, say, 16, 20, 24 or 26 weeks duration, are usually referred to as macrocycles. Each of these plans are premised upon an aim, training objectives or outcomes, and various (objective) performance goals.

A training program supports the direction of your plan. It commonly, but is not limited to, 3-4 weeks of structured training sessions aimed to support key elements of your performance improvement. The sessions should not be ad hoc, nor should they simply require you to go further or faster in a weekly format. Each program should be reviewed, assessed and revised at it’s end, and the outcomes fed into the structure, content, methods and loading of the next program – yet, still based upon the direction of your plan. Ego interferes here.

A training schedule is a 5-14 day period of time where various training sessions are completed to meet specific outcomes. For most, given the structural demands of modern life – a job, family, study etc – a 7 day schedule is used. Different sessions, methods of training and loading (patterns) are used on different days to develop or maintain particular training outcomes.

A training routine is a training schedule where the same type of session is followed on the same day of the week. For some, it’s the same session from Monday-to-Monday or Tuesday-to-Tuesday and so on with 1 or 2 more reps, a few extra kms, or the same reps a little faster.

A training session is the working and practical component of your schedule. It’s work time. It, and it’s smaller training units, are what over time, should take you from HOPE to HAPPENING.

All that said:

•  a novice - a newbie - to running or, in particular, triathlons, without much of an endurance fitness background, will get better regardless of what they do – some training is better than none
• runners and triathletes improve over their first 2-3 years as they accumulate race-experience, and their body adapts to the increased demands of regular training
• habits are set up over the first few season/years too – some positive, some aren’t. The most common habit that has infiltrated running and triathlon training: “if some is good, more must be better”
• plans should not be too prescriptive. Providing guidance and direction, they’re structured to ensure you do appropriate types of training and recovery in optimal proportions, at strategic times, for defined periods of time…to ensure improved performance “happens”
• not all sessions should be strictly defined and have measurable outcomes. Many runners do train for enjoyment, fun and social reasons – don’t lose perspective on these
• a good plan, program and supporting schedule or routine, has built in flexibility

If you’re serious about getting better and being more competitive - plan your training, then train to your plan. Enjoy your training and racing more, and minimize burnout, boredom, ill-health and injury – plan your training, then train to your plan. Planning training and training to their plan/s – is bread and butter for true competitors and the elite. They make it “happen”.

Train smart. Train with purpose, and enjoyment. Plan. Training to ensure you don’t race in hope, train to ensure you improve and the racing will take care of it self. Make it happen.