Pacing

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Too Far, Too Fast, Too Often.

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Too Far, Too Fast, Too Often.

We’ve all been there as beginners, even some of the fastest runners you know probably began with those awkward, embarrassing first runs / walks and suffered from the same things that we do, but even with that in mind, I did not expect people of all experiences, shapes, sizes, abilities, ages to contribute to this debate.  I don’t know what I expected to be honest, but certainly not the detail and emotive comment that I got back.  The responses certainly gave me a renewed want to try and help people by addressing these issues in my coaching.

One of the main issues that came through in the responses was that of wanting to go longer, harder and faster every time you run.  

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The Last Mile: How to Stop Fading and Finish Your Runs Stronger

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The Last Mile: How to Stop Fading and Finish Your Runs Stronger

One of the key things that I try to instil into the runners that I coach, is to "finish strong.”  They are two simple words that may not seem like much when written into a training plan, but they make an enormous difference to how you run. 

To show you what I mean, take a second to think about the different feelings in these two scenarios…  

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What to do when you hit a parkrun rut...

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What to do when you hit a parkrun rut...

It’s probably not a very politically correct thing to say, but yes sometimes you can fall out of love with parkrun.  Having done over 150 parkruns, I can very safely say that the vast majority have been hugely enjoyable experiences and I would not trade my Saturday morning jaunt around the lake for much else.  I have dressed up, ran with no shoes, come first, come last, plateaued, PB’ed, paced people, raced people and most things between!  However, like many parkrunners, there have been times when my motivation has dipped and you sometimes just fall out of love with it for a while.  Now, I am not a doctor but I am going to diagnose this as 'hitting a parkrun rut.'

So when this awful ‘rut' strikes, what can you do?!?  

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How to know if you are really running ‘easy.'

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How to know if you are really running ‘easy.'

The runners I coach are more likely to see the words ‘easy,' 'medium' and ‘hard’ in their training plans than to see specific paces.  These are the three main efforts or intensities that I use in my coaching, as well as 'Race Effort'.   Of course there is a place for more paces, efforts and measurements, but in a world where we are inundated with so much information and so many metrics (that we don’t understand!), I prefer to keep things simple.

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Older Doesn't Mean Slower!

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Older Doesn't Mean Slower!

We love to share the stories behind our awesome runners, and this one is a treat. This is Trev, who is the first runner that Coach Chris ever coached, and his dad!  

Trev is now a spritely 65 years old and has run for recreation and fitness for over 30 years, completing 6 marathons (all of them under 4hrs 15 mins), over 20 half marathons, plus many other shorter races road and trail races.  Over a 14 week period, he was coached and prepared for the Great North Run half marathon, which takes place in his home town of Newcastle (UK) in mid September every year.

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Guest Post: 'How to Translate Running Chat - 9 phrases you need to know'

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Even as a running coach, I get frustrated with 'running chat’ at times. As runners, we seem to have developed our own language, which nobody outside of running knows about.  This guest post on the Tri Chicks website is designed to help you translate some of the main phrases that you may hear from other runners.  Head over to the awesome Tri Chicks website and check out my guest post on this issue.  

Happy learning! 

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Guest Post: HOW TO OVERCOME EXCUSES AND SAFELY GET BACK TO RUNNING POST PREGNANCY

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What do you think are the main things that stand in the way of getting back into running for new mums?  

This guest post with Sheree Brown from the awesome Port Melbourne Physiotherapy and Pilates explores exactly that!  Sheree and I explore accountability, motivation, overcoming excuses and how to safely get back into your exercise after giving birth.

Head over to the Port Melbourne Physiotherapy and Pilates website to check out this guest post.

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1:53 half marathon to 100km record holder: Kirstin Bull

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How do you go from a 1hr 53 half marathon to winning marathons and ultras, breaking records and representing Australia at the 100km World Championships?  Ask Kirstin Bull....

Kirstin Bull has won the Two Bays Trail Run and Great Ocean Road Marathon multiple times and smashed the Australian 100km record last year. For our FIRST EVER GO RUN PODCAST, I chatted to Kirstin about her running and even reminisce about her first ever half marathon. She chats about her training, coaching, strength and conditioning work, nutrition and her advice for new runners who want to hit the trails or train for ultra distances. We also discuss her wine or beer preferences ;-)

Check it out!

Kirstin is racing at the 100km World Championships in Spain in September and is fundraising to support that effort. You can find more info and donate here 

Good luck Kirstin!

 

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How to stop runners 'bonking', or hitting the wall

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Have you ever 'hit the wall' in a race? Not a great feeling is it?

I recently chatted to ExecutiveStyle about late race fatigue and some things to consider when looking to beat the dreaded 'bonk'!  Thanks very much to Laura Hill for the interview and write up.  

Check it out here.