When it all comes together.

Kids, it's important to look at the things that don't go well and look to improve in the future.

 

In running, you learn a lot from the runs and races that don’t go well.

 

Dehydrated? Drink more.

 

Ran out of energy? Look at your nutrition strategy.

 

Didn’t perform well? Look at your training plan.

 

But when you do those things, and it all comes together, you can accomplish great things.

 

I’ve taken a whole new approach to training for my next ultramarathon (Sept 2013). Rather than smashing out long runs over and over, I’ve focused on quality runs. I’ve spent my time in the gym building a stronger core strength and knee and leg stamina as well as flexibility. My plan is to reduce the risk of injury and improve the efficiency of my running. If I can run 100k in the time limit I’ll be thrilled.

 

In time I’ll learn if this strategy has worked and I’ll go over this approach and fine tune it, but for now I’ve had one of those training weeks when it’s all come together. And I wanted to write that down before I forgot the lessons I’ve learnt.

 

I spent one day this week in the Gatorade Sports Science Institute, where I underwent a full athletic assessment along with Jay (@borntoplodblog). His review of the experience is more thorough (and funny) than mine, but essentially I was given a lot of information about myself as an athlete to better understand and look to improve my performance.

AC/DC as a soundtrack helped on the treadmill

 

The most useful data for me was supplied on the treadmill where a computer analysed my breathing to identify my aerobic threshold. You can calculate the number yourself using various formula's (eg. Karvonen formula) but seeing as the scientists were happy to hook me up to the world’s most technical treadmill I figured I’d use their data. I was supplied with a book giving me all of the captured data from the day.

 

I was really happy with the results. When participating in endurance events, the key is to use fat as your primary fuel source. When the body uses fat to fuel itself, it is an aerobic cycle and produces no waste, so no lactic acid build up. Also the body stores loads of fat, which can supply enough energy to work for days, not just hours.

 

Everyone is different but on average the body uses fat as a primary fuel source between 50-70 % of your maximum heart rate. For me that would equal, 95-130 and thanks to the giant treadmill and supercomputer my fat MAX rate was calculated at 131 BPM. I also learnt about hydration levels and that mine was very high (bordering on too high) and about better fuelling before training.

 

I took the book home to study. I knew I was doing a long run the next day, I was hoping for 30+ miles. I was hoping to finish in 6 hours.

 

I applied all of the new information I’d got.

 

I knew I didn’t need to hydrate too much, no point in carrying extra weight if it weren’t needed so I stopped drinking an hour before I ran.

 

I used my heart rate monitor to stay in my ideal endurance zone.

 

And after 10, 9 and then 8 miles I stopped, got a new bottle of drink and stretched off before running again.

The beer was for after!!!

 

The run was fantastic, I learnt a lot from it to apply to other long runs. I tired towards the end and had to slow right down to keep my heart rate from creeping up. Whether this was exhaustion or cardiac drift (the heart beats faster as you become hydrated to ensure the fluids in the body are still getting around) I don’t know. But I cracked out 31 miles in 5h03mins and 55 seconds.

In that time I ate 1.5 sandwiches and had four bottles of Gatorade or Powerade, at 120-150 calories per bottle, where I burned off 4,326kcals on the run. I never got hungry or felt exhausted, it was just muscle tiredness.

 

My pace averaged at 9’48” min/mile and I ran over 2000 ft. of ascent.

 

 

I used a lot of information and experience to make the run happen and I learnt even more from it. What I’m trying to do now is use all of this to make a race strategy for my upcoming ultra. In four weeks I run the Stour Valley Path 100km race.

 

My first 100k.

 

I’m not relying on luck to get around. When I come up with a plan, the aim is to get it all to come together.

The British Condition

Great Britain.

Home of the Queen.

 

 

 Fish and Chips, cup o' tea and Mary Poppins.

Once great Empire and land of hope & glory!

I love being British, we have so many traditions to be proud of and which have influenced the world, but at other times it seems like we are way behind.

Turn up at a race in the UK and you'll see what I mean. With the UK running scene bigger than ever and Ultramarathons making a massive impact in recent years, more and more people are turning to running. Following on from the great summer of sport last year and the London Olympics, fitness and sports participation are higher than ever. But herein lies the problem. While some start lines look like a carnival, most UK races look like we are dressed for a funeral!

As a conservative nation with lots of tradition, 90 of the people there will be dressed the same.

The start line at my last race.

Apart from club runners in garish vests, you'll see a sea of lycra-clad people, dressed in swathes of black, with the occasional flash of colour, usually hi-vis yellow. Because it's safe when it rains, and it rains. A lot!

You'll get your occasional eccentric, guys wearing TuTu's (you know who you are) as they twirl around the course, people in race shirts etc. But tradition dictates how we dress when we train and when we race and we generally stick to it.

So a couple of years ago when I discovered Ink'n'Burn, I saw an alternative. Running gear that reflects how we feel when we run.

We talk about the freedom it brings and the happiness it gives, but this isn't often reflected on the outside.

The range of kit they offer is extensive and I'd recommend you take a look, but today I'll talk you through my favourite bit of kit.

The tech-shirt is nothing new, I'n'B didn't invent it or even change what it does.

What they did is make a high quality garment, for runners or people who train and want to distance themself from the crowd.

I could go on about the performance fabric used in their tech shirt, how it is super lightweight, breathable, moisture wicking and feels like a soft cotton tee.

But they're not the only reasons I love this shirt. Just look at it.




Ink'n'Burn Black Kevlar Skull Tech shirt

I get no rubbing when I wear it. Ink'n'Burn even got rid of the label in the neck so nothing chafes, and the designs are dyed into the fabric, not just painted on after. I've owned my oldest InB tech-shirt for 18 months and it looks as good now as it did when I got it. No fading, no design coming off in the wash.

I run and train in the gym in their kit, and I know it sounds stupid but it's the little things that make a difference. The shirt doesn't rise when I do shoulder presses. Think that's not important? Trust me, you need to be in great shape to get away with having your stomach out in the gym. This shirt saves you the embarrassment.

For me running gives a sense of rebellion. I have a job where I have to conform, I'm a father, so I have time and financial commitments, but when I run I'm free to tear up the trails, to dodge traffic, get up insanely early or enter crazy races.

The reason I love this shirt?

 

 It looks how I feel.

Ink'n'Burn is a US company which provides high quality individual sports apparel made in the US. It ships to the UK in less than a week at very reasonable rates and if you're reading this you can use the code "dantoldme" at the checkout to receive a great discount.

 

 
 


Distance yourself from the crowds.

 

A return to form.

Kids, your life moves in a series of peaks and troughs. 

The are times when you're inexplicably ahead and others when despite your best efforts you are behind. As I've said before, the trick is to maintain your efforts through these changes and seek to improve as an individual (if you learn how to do this please tell me).

Never be too proud of your achievements, as the tables can turn and you'll find yourself at the bottom of the pile. 

As you know kids, the purpose of this blog is to keep a journal of my discoveries through running and pass on the lessons learned to you, so here is what's been going on.

It's been a while since my last race, for no reason other than just how busy I have been. That sounds like a cop out but I've had no spare time after work, child care, study and training. But I've stuck to my long term goals and ultra marathon training continues( 6 weeks to go) accompanied with a nice gym regime to get me in better shape.

I've been busy at work preparing for a new role which will be so much better for me AND have no night shifts attached, so hats involved training and study. My personal training course is also going well, although a little slower than I'd hoped. I've had little or no time to blog and less time to stay in contact with people.

So the other day I figured I'd give myself a break. Take a few days off. Kick back, you know, like normal people. 

But here is the truth. Being normal sucks.

I don't want to be normal, in fact I hate normal! After a day I was bored!

So I asked myself some questions,

Why do you want to be normal?

Which "normal" people ever achieved anything great?

You may well be doing alright, but how much better would it feel to be doing great?

I realised I'd been coasting for a while, putting the hours in to some aspects of my life but not the effort. Claiming the rewards of someone giving 100% when you're only really giving 60.

Well it stopped there and then. 

In the last week I've made some big steps forward.

I studied my training plan and using my PT knowledge developed a kick arse one that leaves me feeling great and shattered all at once.

I applied some technical knowledge to my runs too, using Heart Rate Monitors to run in different training zones, preparing specifically for a 100k ultra.

I applied to be a mentor for an amazing organisation called Blurt http://blurtitout.org/ that supports people suffering with depression. I got accepted as an ambassador for a sports clothing  company too, called Ink'n'burn http://www.inknburn.com/ . I get to promote their stuff and offer discount to friends and family (let me know if you're interested). 

Looking back at this week, I'm proud of what I have done. I've made positive steps toward long term goals and stayed positive and motivated when I could have coasted.

I'm not sure if I'm ahead at the moment or behind, if I'm on a peak or in a trough, but I work hard at what I'm doing and I love what I do, so as far as I'm concerned I'm winning.

Guest post

Before you read this ask yourself one question. How many of you have a recurring injury or niggle which affects your running?

I would bet that most runners have and they accept it as being a risk of the sport. I did, but that all changed for me. Let me explain why....

After four years of running a mixed bag of events, from trail ultras to track 5k's, adventure races to London Marathon, I felt like I'd pretty much found my feet as a runner (pun intended). Like all runners I'd had niggles and pains along the way, never a serious injury, more a series of issues which at times had reduced how much, how fast or how far I could run.

I've twisted ankles, suffered from the truly hideous plantar fasciitis, tweaked hamstrings and got bugs in my eyes, but perhaps the most persistent of these was Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (PPS).

I will describe PPS in the best way I can. After running for more than 8 miles, my left knee would start to feel like it was seizing up, like the joint was rusting somehow and it was painful to bend the knee. This soreness would remain well after the exercise stopped and be exacerbated by having my feet raised with my knee straight.

To be honest, bending my knee after a period of rest was agony and the discomfort would last days.

I've suffered from this before and with a little rest it has gone away, I've also gone through extended periods of running with no issues but this time was different. I have a 100km race in 10 weeks time and as well as rest I needed to come back stronger than before. My goal was to build legs that could take all the damage that running could throw at it and still keep going. If the issue flared up again I wouldn't have time to recuperate and complete the training necessary for the event.

So I turned to Tom Goom aka @tomgoom (running-physio.com). After a lengthy Twitter conversation, Tom made me realise that the trick with recovery isn't to rest and then make the same mistakes again, rather it is to identify the issue, rest the injury and recover with exercises that will strengthen and condition the affected area to prevent it happening again.

This may seem obvious when you're reading this, but so often in fitness or sport we train in the same way and expect a different result. There is a concept in exercise known as specificity, it refers to the fact that the body will adapt “specifically” to a repeatedly applied stress.

In bodybuilding, if you continually increase the weight you are moving, the body will adapt to match the increased demand, building muscle strength and size. In running, if you increase your pace, you body will adapt and allow you to run faster. Genetics being a limiting factor in this, if you train properly and with structure, you can see specific improvements in any given area.

Rather than repeat previous mistakes, I devised a plan which would allow rest, active recovery and (when appropriate) strengthen and condition the area to prevent it happening again. I won't go into the details here as the training plan was lengthy and cumbersome to read, but I identified the muscles and connective tissues that were presenting as the weakness and trained them specifically to reduce the risk of recurrence of the PPS.

I chose a programme that increased flexibility and strength in my hips, particularly the gluteus medius (which was disproportionately weak compared to the other glutes) as well as quads, hamstrings and hip flexors. The programme started with reduced range of motion in the knee to start with so as not to aggravate the issue and steadily increased in resistance and range.

Rather than doing the same thing as before and expecting a different result, I

Identified the problem,

Rested the affected part,

Reconditioned it and the surrounding and postural muscles and

Came back stronger than before.

After two weeks I was able to run pain free. After a further two weeks I started a 20 day run streak with distances varying from 2 to 16 miles, with no issues at all. I genuinely felt stronger than ever and my running form was improved.

I'm now well into my training for the ultra marathon and keen to run more. You never know when an injury will occur, but you can do a lot to reduce the risk of injuries that can plague you as a runner.

Running is a great sport, it keeps you fit, it gets you outdoors and it opens you to a whole world of new experiences and people. But if running is your goal, my recommendation is this; train the rest of your body to support it.

Running alone does not a good runner make.