amidst all this, something's been eating away at me..and not for the first time i have to say. and that thing is ..speed..or total lack of it. i've gotten into the habit of running in ever decreasing speeds and i've just let it happen. there's no excuses, i am where i am and, without throwing out my philosophy of running for fun, i know im capable of much better.
so, feeling like it was time to drink some truth serum and with the aim of getting my physical side knocked into better shape I thought i'd pay a visit to see marc laithwaite, the endurance coach, lakeland 50/100 organiser and alround top banana
i wasn't at all sure what the results migh be or indeed what marc might prescribe for me going forwards as in life there are: the things you know; the things you dont know; and the things you dont know you dont know. i can safely say that my visit; confirmed a thing or two i suspected; illuminated stuff i didn't know; and importantly revealed stuff i didn't even know existed! so..a visit well worth making
the biggest surprise came in the form of a 16 week plan of aerobic conditioning with lots of easy, steady, tempo and interval sessions..all designed to focus on getting me to move faster and improve my running economy. i am allowed one longish run a month but that's it for this period. and my diet needs to change (ouch).
but...i've loaded up my garmin with all the different heart rate zones for these sessions and im ready to go. i feel a new lease of running life coming on and im really quite excited by it. it feels a bit like a case of back to the future..im no stranger to this sort of training..its just been a long time since i did any!
so for now im trading long winter slogs for shorter sharper stuff and attempting to retrain my body's fuel choice
for me this feels like a personal running revolution..and with revolutions anything can happen!
and for charlie boy, he'd best watch out..i might start giving him a run for his dogbones in times to come..or maybe that's being a tad over-optimistic
*id make a great headline writer as a journo for the sun no??
13 comments:
Diet change (ouch), haha doesn't sound good. Will be worth it though, I'm sure.
What's in and what's out? (or can't you reveal trade secrets),
Headlines? I just look at the pictures.
Looking forward to hearing more about your training plan.
I've read that "cadence intervals" - where you run with a faster cadence than normal for a bit rather than focusing on what speed you are running at - are good for running efficiency. I've tried them a few times and I can understand how they would be - you have to run more with a mid to fore foot strike to keep the step rate up, there isn't time to heel strike. They make a change from normal speed intervals in any case. One to try if you fancy something different.
Sometimes it just needs fresh eyes to spot the solution. Would take some training programme to wean me off me real ales, though...
Good to see you back again!
Paul
Word - qurney. Running with a hangover.
I am in a similiar position and feel I also need an overhaul of my training and diet. Good Luck I often train in peak district and looking forward to lakes 50 recces.
I am in a similiar position as my training and diet needs an overhaul. Good luck with it it can feel daunting can't it. I also train in the Peak District and looking forward to the lakes recces. Good luck with youtr training.
de..beers definitely in still
sbrt..may see you at the odd fell race now ;)
ali..cheers..it'll probably look comedy like me doing them!
4winds..ale definitely in still too :)
mg..hi! did you post that in a tunnel..it echoed ;)
ooh, like the new look and new found motivation. wont be long before you're talking about 5km's ;) looking forward to hearing how the next 16 weeks go. good luck!
Sounds interesting, UC. Our mate Jonesey has a sign in his kitchen which reads: "Life's too short to drink cheap wine". For runners I reckon that can be translated as 'Life's too short to drink crap beer":) See you up here soon?
It's good to mix things up. Does a body good. Throw some cross training in like cycling and weight lifting (high reps and low weights).
Good job getting motivated to fasten your pace. We all need to shift things around here and there. You are from what I gather a marvelous runner. I look forward to hearing about your adventures, UC!
Charlie looks like he's shakin' in his boots :)
kate..5k is an ultra today!
thomas..great tip thanks
hf..will try a trip over xmas if you're around? kentmere calling
jp..i would never class myself as marvelous but if you do i won't argue :-)
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