Are you a runner, or is running something you do?

Is a runner something you *are*, or is running something you *do*?

Your bias can either skew or screw your ongoing progress...

Speed, distance and trophies don't define a runner. Intent does!

Having an aim, creating goals and letting your passion, persistence and patience fuel your steps out the door day after day for weeks, months and years; n rain, wind, hail or shine; over path, track and trail; dawn, noon, or dusk; over hills and across dale; through detours, potholes and setbacks; amongst your doubts and those of others; when you flow with ease or grate grind; by body, soul and mind.

Trap 7: Terrible Toos 1 - speed

As endurance athletes, we runners are meant to endure: endure effort, time, fatigue and the elements. Sure, various continuous, fartlek, interval and repetition based training sessions help us improve performance (and feel better), and in various ways for different length races or events. 

Running faster in and for training helps to improve. Yet, tipping the balance towards 'too fast', 'too much too fast' and 'too fast to soon' sets the scales toward the risks out-weighting the benefits: establishing bad training, motivational and technique habits, plateauing, an early peak, race-season frustration, poor results and injury.


The main challenge comes in the freedom that running faster often provides. It also makes us feel good. The early metabolic changes that allow us to run-faster (say, during intervals) from week-to-week outpace the adaptations our muscles, tendons and bones need to make for us to be able to cope with the increase load, stress and shock of running faster. It's not our metabolic machinery that often breaks down, it's the musculoskeletal support and movement systems.

How much, how fast, how often is very much an individual thing. If you're not certain, err on the side of caution.

Be wary the Speed Traps:

·      Too many hard days, with too few easy days and ‘unloading’ weeks.

Get out: Don’t confuse high volume ‘moderate’ training with true hard sessions. 
Prevention: Done properly - specific to your capacities, plan and races – you’ll need the easy days to recover, and lighter unloading weeks to adapt. Work your plan.

·      Too little general preparation or base training per macrocycle.

Get out: hold your nerve – patience, persistence and passion is power.

Prevention: A large proportion of your training time should be spent doing lower intensity training particularly through your general preparation (base and build) phases, even during the race season, and certainly when  recovering from races, ill-health or injury.

·      Too fast too soon during general preparation or base phase, and too much race-specific training too soon - particularly for novice, intermediate and those returning to running after a long lay-off.

Get out: Ensure you establish your base or foundation.

Prevention: Give your body time to adapt before increasing the volume of your more intense work.  There’s no need to rush. Learn from the previous macrocylce/year. Revise your log/diary/journal, and revisit your plan

·      Too much fast (intense) training, and too fast during easy sessions.

Get out: easy sessions are meant to be that, easy. Have the courage to execute them. If your hard/fast sessions are truly that you'll need the easy sessions.

Prevention: Patience and consistent regular training are keys to your ultimate success. Revisit your plan.

·      Executing (work) intervals and sets too fast and too short, and having too much rest between them.

Get out: There’s little to be gained from going much faster than your current 5km (run) time-trial or race speeds - particularly through your preparation phases as they approximate your VO2max, a level you’ll rarely perform above. 

Prevention: In a cyclic manner, aim to build the volume of these intensities from 2 to 8% of your total volume, with 1:1 to 1:0.25 work-rest intervals for, say, 3-5minutes and 30sec-2mins intervals respectively. Of course, these are dependent upon your capacity, experience, future race distance/s and strength & weaknesses. Leg speed ‘sets’ (eg. strides, accelerations) and ‘drills’ for neuromuscular efficiency can be used smartly all-year.

·      Training faster than one’s current level of fitness, in “hope” of some distant grandeur goal.

Get out: Don’t get ahead of yourself. Work in the here and now, with an eye to building to your future

Prevention: Revisit your previous race/year reviews and your plan. Use current and relevant metrics or results. Use current levels of fitness (eg. time-trial or ‘key session’ results) to build your fitness and performance (base).

Running Trap 6: Is More Better?

Through 2010-14 I have held discussions, meetings, race and program reviews, and constructed strategic performance plans with over 700 runners and coaches (and 350+ triathletes). Here are the Top Ten Run-training Traps as a summary. There’s also a cure or ‘get-out’, and a long-term prevention strategy for each.

Remember, what works for the pros and what are promoted as “the best”, “the most effective”, “the ideal”, “the latest” or “short-cuts ” are rarely what they are made out to be. They simply don’t work for most. Perhaps these are your traps?

Trap 6: ‘If some is good, more is better’:

With the accumulation of experience and training volume (and appropriate footwear), without an endurance background, you’ll improve for your first 2-3 years regardless of what you do. Unfortunately, there is no universal truth to ‘if some is good, more is better’. Most runners learn this the hard way, yet experience is often a great teacher. Just ask 2012 Hawaii Ironman World Champion Pete Jacobs, too. It took him a few years to figure out “for me, it’s best to train less than everyone else”.

Doing more – there is a time and place, and it changes. Sometimes, little and less is more.

Get out: Avoid aiming to simply do more each week or session. Indulge true hard training occasionally, and easy training more often. Respect all your commitments: time, energy and emotion, and balance ambition with (current) ability

Prevention: aim to find your individual “sweet-spot”. Not all training plans and programs, volumes, intensities and sessions work the same way for all people. They don’t even work the same way for you the next and the next and the next time around. Strategic and systematic variation and progression over time will allow you to find your own “sweet-spot”

Too much of the same type of running (or structured routine) too early. Running is an economical, efficient and effective way of getting fit. Running for health and fitness, is necessarily different to run-training for performance – although ‘good’ programs for each are based upon the same principles. The same type of running, on the same terrain (flat), on the same surface/s (even, hard), at the same speed/s, in the same patterns teach and train us to get better at that. Running hill repeats makes you better at that hill, not necessarily a better hill runner. Your body adapts to routine and habits (and your mind to myths, fallacies and beliefs) too, not just training

Get out: Learn and use other speeds, surfaces, terrains, hills, structures and even time of day., even if initially as warm-up and warm-down. They’ll add spice, variety and options to training. Think about some non weight-bearing (pool, bike, elliptical), and targeted or functional strength training too.

Prevention: See a run coach. Record your running. Ask & find out the differences between run mechanics, technique and form. They’re not the same things, and too many people and lay magazines and books use the terms interchangeably. Review, analyse and train to improve them. They’ll improve your “feel”: feel more comfortable running; feel of running; and feel how changes in your posture, stride, head position, arm-action, pace, and breathing can and need to be catered for in different run-situations. Use ‘Other Run’, ‘Medley’ and ‘Strength’ blocks or cycles in relevant phases of your multi-year and year plan(s) to guide your program and sessions.

For the record 'doing better is better', not necessarily 'doing more is better'.

Which are you better at? 

Starting with more...

You've found your mojo, and built some momentum.

A few extra runs per week have found their way into your diary or log, and you've discovered that 'frequency is your friend'. You've played around with going a little longer/further and, at other times, going faster. 

My 10 Tips to help you start - successfully, speedily and safely:

1. Take Stock
   
2. Do Some Homework
3. Be Inspired
4. Make a Decision
5. Enlist Support
6. Build-in Success
7. Some is Better Than None
8. Find a Coach or Mentor
9. Hang In There
10. Sometimes Less is More

You've considered that 'if some is good, more must be better'. There is some truth to this. Importantly, to get better, you will need to do more - more over time, not all the time...

10. Sometimes, less is more:

• you can never start too easily, nor progress too slowly
• doing less occasionally is a great way too
• successfully meet some of life's interruptions and demands 
• provide a mental break, and keep the fire alight
• give your body - particularly your tendons and joints - an opportunity to adapt to the demands you have been putting on it
• keep you away from your doctor and physiotherapist
• reward yourself for your journey to now
• be wary of aiming to do too much (too fast) too soon - this is the cardinal error for most runners: beginners, experienced and pros alike. Humans make errors. Repeating an error means your making a mistake, and haven't learnt much
• more - often, further, faster - isn't always better
• aim to do roughly the same thing for all your sessions for the first week or two - if it's way to easy, add a little; if it takes too much effort, you can't finish it, or you're really sore for afterwards, do less
• every 3rd or 4th week reduce how much you do by 30-50%. Start up again at 65-75% of your previous level for a week (and maybe 100% for another week), before progressing again
• rather than running every day, you may consider a non weight-bearing activity like cycling, swimming, deep-water running, skating, skiing, rowing, or strength and mobility work through weight-training, yoga or pilates to add to your fitness, and complement your running for 2-3 days per week. They can help protect your from injury, build your all-round fitness, and prevent motivation loss.

It only takes 2 steps to become a runner: (1) choosing to start, and (2) acting upon it. 

The above 10 tips can help you start, and keep you going long and strong...

More starting smarts...

You've realised that to begin, you simply begin.

You've taken stock, and done your homework.

It's now time to make the time, revise those reasons to run, and get ready to get out the the door...

My 10 Tips to help you start - successfully, speedily and safely:

1. Take Stock
2. Do Some Homework
3. Be Inspired
4. Make a Decision
5. Enlist Support
6. Build-in Success
7. Some is Better Than None
8. Find a Coach or Mentor
9. Hang In There
10. Sometimes Less is More

3. Be Inspired

• go to popular running tracks or trails, visit an athletics track; watch a race, visit the start and/or finish line; volunteer to help at a race; be crew or support for a runner your know - absorb the energy & excitement
• watch a run-related movie, read a biography; find uplifting music
• discover or draw and display a motivational picture or quote
• consider a 'before' picture - one you can add a weekly or monthly 'after' picture to
• start your own digital library, scrap-book, or journal
• find something that works for you, that pushes your button/s, that floats your boat

4. Make a Decision (when)

• give yourself a date/day, time and location to start - highlight it on oyur calendar
• avoid Mondays; yet every day and any day is the best day to start
• stick to it ... if you can't - go the very next day
• don't confuse can't with won't
• for newbies and old pros alike, getting changed and out the door id often the hardest step
• take a 'no excuses' approach to your first 2 weeks

Now, you're almost there. 

And just in case...

Starting smarts...

To begin, begin.

Get out the door and run: run a few steps, run a few blocks, run a few minutes. It can be that easy.

To start running, start.

And, be smart.

Many are masters at creating distractions, looking for time rather than making time, and making excuses not to rather than making reasons to.

My 10 Tips to help you start - successfully, speedily and safely:

1. Take Stock
2. Do Some Homework
3. Be Inspired
4. Make a Decision
5. Enlist Support
6. Build-in Success
7. Some is Better Than None
8. Find a Coach or Mentor
9. Hang In There
10. Sometimes Less is More

1. Take Stock
·  running offers all types of rewards. Often the reasons why people start running aren’t the reasons they continue
·  consider why you want to start running – how you start and, ultimately, continue to come back relate to why you run

·  if you’re over 35, have a family history of ill-health, a current condition or past injury that may impact your running, or you haven’t been active for 10-or-so years, ensure you see your doctor or sports-physician, your physiotherapist, and then an experienced coach or mentor.  Avoid Doctor Google

·  find or buy some loose and comfortable clothing. Don’t worry about looking the part - what you wear doesn’t need to be fashionable, expensive or high-tech
·  ask your physiotherapist or podiatrist about appropriate running shoes for you, or visit a reputable sports-footwear store
 

2. Do Some Homework  (…or not, just get out there!)          

·  running is a simple, very accessible and, for the most part, cheap activity. Getting started shouldn’t be too demanding, yet finding suitable guidelines for you will make the start of your journey more enjoyable
·  read about running – aim for reputable sources. Running magazines can be better choices than the internet
·  ask questions about running. Ask a lot, hear much; yet, trust few
·  contact your State’s health, fitness or athletics bodies. They should be able to point you in the right direction
·  search for a nearby running group(s), coach or mentor – call them, go and have a chat; feel if it may be for you

You've made a choice, a decision to run. It is time to act; time to do; time to run.

Starting smarts will help get you out there...again, and again.