Sathletes...

The more we learn, the more we realise there is to learn.
The more we know, the more we realise we don't know.

The more we train, the more we think we'll gain. 

I read. A lot. Maybe too much at times. I like to read in areas well beyond my interests, passion and expertise. It's one simple way of keeping me rounded and grounded.

I read books, articles, blogs and links via social networking sites - including Facebook and Twitter.
I even read my emails. And instruction booklets.


A while back, athletic development whiz Vern Gambetta (www.gambetta.com/‎)   introduced me to the wit and wisdom of philosophy and marketing king, Seth Godin (www.sethgodin.com/‎).

Seth writes good stuff. (As does Vern.)
Much of it, especially the principle/s behind his message, is applicable to us in our roles as coaches, athletes and runners. Like good training sessions it takes a little creativity -  moulding and shaping.

Watch for Sathlete stuff...gear from Seth for athletes, and you.

Be wary though...the athlete that sat too much became grounded, and more rounded!

The Big Race 1

Time goes so quickly.
It's a little after 6 on a Sunday morning. It's drizzling outside. I'm coaching runners at 8am. My sleep has been and gone. So fast.

I check the date.
It's been 3 months since I've been here with you. Not in spirit, because I visit running and running thoughts and running words every day. Just in blog form. Summer has been and gone. So fast.

The date tells me more.
Much of my last 3 months has been planning 2012 (and beyond) with others: with you, with runners, with coaches, with sports-medicine professionals. and with sports-scientists. amongst all that planning there are a few regular questions. One of those asks about your race/s. What is your Big Race for the year?

And, as I speak, one Big Race is about to get underway here in Melbourne. It's not a running race. It does have a run component. It's the inaugural Melbourne Ironman Triathlon. I think it may actually be the Asia-Pacific Championships.

Regardless, with the elite men finishing in a few-ticks around the 8-hour mark, the elite women close-by, and a cut-off time of 17-hours for 1,700 or so competitors. It is a Big Race, in many ways. A marathon is an achievement in itself. Completing a marathon after a 3.8km swim and a 180km cycle capitalises the "A" in achievement.

I dabbled in triathlons through the late-80s and early 90s. I liked to go fast. I liked to run fast. Sprint and Olympic distances were my preference. In fact, there existed only a handful of world Ironman events in those days. And the IM logo never existed. Personally, slugging out 6-, 7- or 8-minute kms is not my idea of racing or competing in an event. More importantly, I certainly get the allure of this for others: it's the challenge, and the promise, and the rebuttal. And the commitment

As Sascha Baren Cohen would have once said as Ali G, "Respect!". As Borat, "Very nice!"

Go you IMMrs.

What makes a race big though? We all have 'The Big Race'.
What's yours?
What's mine?

It's 7.15am, With pre-race nerves now gone, the IMMers are about to "be".

All sorts...

Runners come in all shapes and sizes.

And speeds and styles.  And outfits and gadgets.

I got wondering about this while out and  about coaching this morning. The pleasure of coaching my in2running squad was magnified by the beautiful sunrise and early morning weather. The Botanical Gardens ('The Tan') in Melbourne attracts runners of all types: runners like you, runners like me, and runners like us.


Some speed by, others shuffle by; some stride past, many sigh past; some ease along, others pant-n-puff strong; yet, all move in their own way, and run along.


After our session I rewarded myself with a an hour-and-some of run/walk. I took my new Garmin Forerunner for a test run. Thank you to in2runners for this generous gift. It's nicknamed the Forderunner, hehe.

Then, I got to coach some speedy and agile football players, both Soccer and Australian Rules Football. More different shapes and sizes and speeds. And needs.

To this point, we've looked at some basics of program design. Let's take it a little further. As we do that let's be clear on the different types of running. Strangely enough their are different types of types of running. What the?

There are types defined by differences in gait, technique and mechanics: walk, jog, run, sprint.
There are types defined by distance: sprints, middle-distance, long distance, ultra-. Each of these have their own classifications and event names.
There are types defined by obstacles: hurdles or 'sticks', steeple-chase.
There are types defined by terrain: hill, trail, cross-country, even orienteering and rogaining.
There are types defined by outcomes: health-related, fitness-related running, performance-related running. Some even run for it's contribution to aesthetics.
There are types defined by relationship: individual, team, age-group.
There are types defined by no definition, yet for the exhileration and the experience.

Training effectively for each of these different types of running simply requires us to understanding running in context: who it's for, what they're training for, and the demands of their event.


A one-approach to training for running does not fit all people, nor does it fit all athletes or all events. It certainly doesn't fit all outcomes or goals, and nor should it remain the same for all people over time. This is Training Programs 101, 102 and 201.


Although sprints, middle-distance and endurance events all involve running...training for them requires different and individualised programs over time.  Yet, each effective program will be based upon sound athletic development principles of training.


In blogs to come I'll share my experiences with you about program design for endurance events.


Endurance runners come in all shapes and sizes.

What sort are you, and me?

The Athlete in us all, 2

We are all athletes ... each and every one of us who runs (walks, swims, skates, cycles, rows, skis, bowls, hits, kicks, lifts or flips, and scores).

And the word athlete does have a romantic, albeit humble, origin. It is through this humility that true athleticism touches us all.

The Greek word 'athletes' originates from Latin, 'athleta' and 'athlein', which literally means to "compete for  a prize".

As runners we all compete for prizes and, in one sense, perhaps an ultimate prize. 

As we evolve as runners we learn that the prizes we compete for are no longer caught up in podiums and places; nor times and trophies; nor medals and muscles; nor ribbons, and ranting and raving. 

It is in the afterglow of competition and achievement, and on the reflection of a journey that started well before the starting line - somewhere way back with the courage to say I can and will do this - and on the journey, one step after another, km after km and week after week and year after year, we discover those prizes. Those prizes are the benefits of running and these are the essence and heart of why you and I run, and continue to run.

If competition is the basis for athleticism, we may ask the question 'what is competition?'. Competition isn't you and I competing (for places, or podiums, or prizes) against others, it is you and I competing with others, striving toward the same ends, striving together.
Occasionally I may finish in front of you, and (all) the others.

Competition comes form Latin 'competere', made up of com- (coming together) and -petere (to strive).

As athletes we strive together; we strive, not in rivalry or opposition, but as a community.

These are the people I coach.

Now...where did I put my drink?

The Athlete in us all...

As a school teacher I often got asked, "What do you teach?"

I'd cheekily reply, "I teach young people!"

"Yes, sure, but what to you teach them?"

"Oh...I like to think I teach them positive values and behaviours to use in different contexts, and that everyone has the right to be heard and prosper."

"Have you been drinking Paul?"

Laughing, I always knew what was coming...

"I do that through teaching skills, knowledge and appreciation through positive experiences with physical activity, maths concepts, and scientific principles...I teach Physical Education, Maths and Science."

I haven't taught for a couple of years now. I coach. Again.

When I tell people that, of course, I get asked, "What do you coach?"

Laughing on the inside, "I coach people. I coach people (who want) to get better. I coach athletes."

And the circle completes itself.

That said, good teaching and good coaching share much in common. They are both about building relationships and journeys - providing positive context and experiences (physical, social and emotional skills; sessions, activities) for others to develop or improve. Their journey: to reflect upon where they've been, their past; to become more aware of where they are, their present; and aspire and plan and build towards their future.

But what type of athletes do I coach?

Arguably, there are many types' of athletes: amateur, professional, commercial, weekend, casual and so on.

Between you and me...people want to hear that I coach football, soccer or volleyball or basketball, or track-and-field, or, god-forbid, runners and triathletes (LOL). I've been there, done that. I don't coach the sport any more. The skills, rules and physical capacities to participate and compete and win in their sport are tools for coaching the person. Thus, I coach people.

Yet, to me, we are all athletes...each and every one of us who runs (walks, swims, skates, cycles, rows, skis, bowls, hits, kicks, lifts or flips).

I used to think that the word athlete may come from a Greek or Roman God and that his etymology laid in a romantic Latin stem: someone like, say, Athletik or Athlus or Athlaton. Alas, no!

The word's origin is more humble. It has no deity status. It has no impropriety toward immortality. And for the better, as it brings it's roots undeniably closer to me and to you, to all of us.

More on this tomorrow... 

Smart Training

Coffee often brings out the best in people.
Not the stuff you actually drink, but the convention of sitting down, having a 'coffee', and enjoying the company of friends, family or colleagues.

Hang-on, I may need to retract that statement! I know plenty of people that have to have a coffee (literally) before they can manage anything close to understandable, let alone good, or best...hehe.

I had a 'coffee' with an athlete mid-arvo yesterday. We talked about all sorts of things, and solved most of the world's problems. Coffee is so powerful!

Of course, we talked training. The athlete asked about Smart Training.
Training means different things to different people.

We'd both heard about smart training in terms of goal-setting: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. It's a nice, if not out-dated, acronym.

I added another smart acronym perspective: Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology.

In many ways training is an approach to achieving the aims you seek form your running. Smart training is a more-or-less systematic approach to achieving your outcomes or objectives. Smart training is knowing what you want to achieve, and going about achieving that. It's about consideration, planning, implementation, assessment and reflection. And it's about time, and effort. Some of it is science.

And it's about being flexible and enjoying what you do, and not pushing all the time. It's being human, and intuitive. Some of it is art.

Some of us run (we call it 'training') simply because we enjoy it, and the benefits running brings us when we're diligent. And that, as an end in itself, is cool. Some would see it as training for the sake of training. I doubt it can ever be that simple, as there is always something that attracts the runner to running, and to continue to run: not all of us run (and train) to race, compete or perform.

That said, I could (and will, soon)  make a case that we are all competitors and athletes.

In short, smart training is about understanding the difference between training hard and hard training. Understanding is not simply knowing; it implies consideration, and application. Understanding underpins application to context, a form of wisdom.


Training hard is about training in a manner to achieve given objectives: the outcomes of a particular activity or drill, the outcomes of a given training session or microcycle or phase of training. In this essence, training hard is about directed-training: training that is planned with intent and purpose, and executed or completed with same the same intent.

Smart training in terms of 'training hard' is a form of athletic intelligence, and underpins all good training and athletic development programs.

If an 'easy' session is planned, then training hard dictates that's what you do. If you're session focuses on technique, speed, economy, race-pace, lactate tolerance or is meant to be long then that's what you're (meant) to do. If you're meant to spend 30 minutes completing well designed trunk (or 'core') and leg circuit the...guess what...do it!

Training hard is often the more mentally challenging; it's tougher to do! Easy sessions, and lighter weeks, and a day-off are often 'hard' for many to complete. As are true 'physically hard' sessions.

On the contrary, hard training is the 'soft' option. Hard training has you going out and 'busting your boiler', 'smashing yourself' and 'hitting the track' (or gym) each and every time you train. Sure, there is no shortage of sweat and work and fatigue here. And you may even finish thinking "Yeah man, that was some workout!" Funnily enough you said the same thing after your last workout, and the one before that, and the similar ones you did last week. It's about a hit, a fix, instant gratification.

Anyone, any fool, can work-out and complete sessions that feel hard one after another. Over time, these sessions all tend to be the same in nature: neither truly hard, nor easy, nor moderate. They become a conglomeration of workouts completed one after another.

This is not training, and certainly isn't smart.

It's a form of work, and work and training are not synonymous; they are not the same thing. Of course, run training requires physical work - yes, you've got to put out! It also requires you to invest time, emotion and mental effort.

Smart, directed work over time - true training - is much more than going out and simply exercising regularly, or working out when you feel like it.

It's knowing what you're training for and towards, and directing your time, energy and emotion in doing that.

It often requires patience, and delayed gratification.

Who has patience though when one needs their hit or fix of coffee!