Are we setting the wrong goals?

I don't think I'm alone in thinking (and probably overthinking) about my performance come race day.

For years I attended races and from beginning to end  of the day I compared myself with other runners.

He looks faster than me.

He's fitter than me.

He beat me at the finish line.

He overtook me in a fancy dress outfit!

When I started running a bit better I found myself still doing it. It had become an annoying habit which marred each race day. A tradition which somehow detracted from the enjoyment.


Because no matter how well I did or didn't do, I would compare myself to others and find fault in my performance, blame that day I took off training, berate myself for not sticking religiously to the nutrition plan that I know I should be on. On reflection, I was always a little disappointed. I'd gone there with goals, but even when I'd met them I'd still question if I'd done my absolute best.




People who know me know that I'm not great at taking my own advice. I tend to be a little (a lot) self critical, sometimes (always) self deprecating and once (many times) I've got close to throwing the towel in on running because of my frustrations.


It wasn't until I started working with others and training others that I saw how toxic this was. I started working with real people, with big goals and real backgrounds. And when they started getting stressed over their goals and their targets, my advice to them was clear.

"You are an individual. You are approaching this race with a unique past, a unique body and a unique set of strengths and weaknesses. You have trained to be the best you can with the tools you have; and whatever happens on the day, the successes and the lessons you learn are yours to own. But enjoy the experience, because you get to do this just once."

To say she enjoyed it is an understatement.

Pacing my wife to finish her first half-marathon last weekend, coaching a client towards her first ultra and watching a friend approach their first half-ironman distance triathlon, I'm struck by a sense of astonishment in how people can set huge goals and work hard around their daily lives to meet them.

I know that afterwards when the medals are taken off and the carbs are replenished and the blisters have healed they will question their achievements. Maybe it's what athletes do, maybe it's part of the human condition.

















But let me say this. Of everyone I know who runs, rides, swims and trains, the most successful ones aren't the ones with the best times, the most even splits or the ideal race prep strategy. It's the ones who enjoy what they are doing and want to try their best at it.


Maybe as well as having times and targets in mind we need to start thinking about how important the enjoyment is. If we started judging our performances on that, imagine how much better the race would be on reflection.

An exercise in goal setting.

I am a guy who likes goals.

Not the type scored by overpaid, prima donna footballers; but the type of goals set by real people with real commitments who train around their busy lives to reach them.

And I like to think that anything is possible with clear goals, a good plan and the commitment to see it through. But the truth is that there is a limit to what any one can fit into a day. 24 hours can fly past, so it's important that training should be as focussed as possible. I genuinely believe that junk miles are exactly that; rubbish.

Quality, planned training can take you a lot further than mass amounts of the average type.

If you are going on a long journey, you can either plan the route, identify when to take breaks and identify the fastest way to get there, or drive roughly in the right direction with the best intentions in the world to end up at the right place. You may get there, it may not even take any longer. But you risk, getting lost, wasting time and potentially never getting to your destination.

I spoke to a friend who ran the Thames Path 100 last weekend. For those who don't know it, it's a 100 mile ultramarathon largely following the River Thames, and he ran it in a fraction over 20 hours, coming in 20th place and it was his first hundred. Although I haven't had a chance to totally grill him on the details (I'm going to ask if I can interview him and post it), I know him well and he is a man who plans. He has goals and targets and takes a methodical approach to training and it pays off.

He knows where he is, where he wants to go and works out the most effective way to get there. Then he commits to his training and the race is his chance to shine, not struggle.

This got me thinking about my goals and what I want to achieve with my running. I completed my last goal a month ago and haven't set any more. I ran a Half Marathon yesterday in a goodish time, but with no goals to measure myself against the result was a bit flat to be honest; although the medal was lush!

I have a lot on at the moment, but believe that training and fitness help me to achieve everything else in my life so I'm not making excuses. I'm setting some big goals and I'm going to reach them, no, smash them!



With time limited, I know I can't train to go faster at long distance stuff, so I'm writing off a hundred miler this year. Instead I'm concentrating on strength and speed at the shorter stuff.






I have current PB's of 19:08 for a 5k, 42 minutes for a 10k and 1:30.40 for a Half Marathon.

Three results just asking to be improved on. The first step is setting some new targets and making them visible.

5k, I will go sub 18.
10k, I will go sub 39.
HM, I will go sub 1:28.

I know where I am.

I know where I want to get,

now it's time to plan my route.

What goes up.

A standard school or college race track. 

It's just 400 metres separating me and the finish line.

One quarter of a mile before I can stop and rest my legs.

I remember being at school and hating track. As I started running this one, it was no different. I was trying hard, but not going very fast. My Dad was stood there taking pictures. It was like school sports day all over again.

But this time, other than him and a few spectators, I was alone on the track. And I wasn't racing 400 metres, I'd run 49.75 miles with 4800ft of vertical climb already and this was the home stretch.

The race had started 8 hours, 57 minutes and 3 seconds earlier in Worthing and in the meantime myself and the other runners had travelled along the South Downs Way to Eastbourne following the Centurion Running route.









Since late last year when I decided that a 100 miler wasn't on the cards just yet, this was to be my A race for 2014. It's always nice to have A races planned but the truth is I'm like a kid in a sweet shop when it comes to race and I picked up a few Half Marathons earlier in the year which I wanted to do well at.

With these races and other commitments taking up my time I realised early this year that I would not have the time to dedicate to a "normal" ultra training plan. Previously I've followed others plans, my bible on these matters being Bryon Powell's Relentless Forward Progress, which is a fantastic read for new and established distance runners, but I knew I needed something different this time.

I created a plan to focus on quality miles and developing my weaknesses, rather than junk miles to just confirm what I was already capable of. I knew I could run, now it was about getting faster and stronger

In previous races I had found that my legs had tired on hills and then had no pace in for the flat parts. So I had trained on running form and glute recruitment so that I was a faster runner and not relying on trashed legs. This had lead to a PB in my HM's earlier in the year and during the ultra it meant I could dig deeper on the flat parts and make up some distance.

While training I'd tried a run:walk strategy. It was OK, but I found that I got bored on the walk phase and that I wasn't running fast enough to make it efficient. So when I got the chance to run on the South Downs I did just that. Running fast recruits different muscle fibres to running slow, so by picking up my pace I was giving others a chance to rest. I had used a lot of interval training to train this system.

When I DNF'd last year at SVP 100, my whole body felt like it was shutting down, so in training I'd made my body a lot stronger. Resistance training and core strength was completed 2-3 times per week, giving me a stronger base to work from and a frame more capable of taking the punishments of running an ultramarathon and transferring strength from the upper body to the legs.

Along with the mental strength to tell myself I could run fast when I needed to, I was confident I could finish this race.

The course followed a fairly regular pattern. Uphill a long way, run along the top, down the other side and then into an aid station to reload on food and drink. Repeat this 6 more times and you get the idea.

Setting off from Worthing to Botolphs, the first stage is just over 11 miles long. The race registration procedure was as smooth as you'd expect from a company as well organised as Centurion. The entire process from entry to participation and all the stupid questions I had a long the way were handled perfectly. I would recommend and will use them again. Great guys. Leaving the start area, the race went straight into a long uphill section, chalky trails and bridleways. After a slow start I found my pace and settled into a groove while the race order naturally sorted itself out. I put some tunes on, and smiled thinking about a day or running somewhere new. I love that sense of adventure. I saw my average pace drop into the 8:30's and felt great. My plan was to run/walk but the race never flattened out at this point. It was either straight up or straight down so I stuck with my gut and cruised into aid station one, without really backing off the pace.

The next two stages were shorter, 6 miles and 10 miles each. By Aid station 3 (Housedean Farm) I felt pretty strong still, the pack had thinned now and as we'd got further into the SDW, a fog had settled on the high ground. The incline had not really calmed down, but I was running happily, knowing that the next checkpoint would give me a chance to see my Dad who had driven down with me.

It was just 6 more miles to Southease, but for me this section was tough. The route had gone well up into the hills now and I felt like we must have gone to the highest point now. We were nearly running in clouds. I had noticed that every time I got to an incline, other closed in on me. We were all walking, but I was walking slower for no apparent reason! It was frustrating to say the least, but I stuck with my plan. 

Walk the ups, run the flats, get down as fast you can.

The aid station was a welcome sight although by now I was struggling with food. I was neither hungry nor tiring. But, I know the importance of fuelling properly so I made sure I ate, and took gels on board as well and made sure I was drinking and had water with me. I met my Dad, who saw I was struggling but never said a word. I think at this point I must have looked like a horror. My pace had settled at 10:06 min/miles. I was still up on my predicted pace, but I felt tired.

My Dad warned me that he had walked a bit along the trail and that it was a big incline coming up. I told him with no small amount of blasé that I had already run some big hills and I had nothing to worry about.

I was wrong.

I walked for what seemed like an eternity. Ever upwards, the trail wound around the side of a hill and up into the cloud base layer. At the top and running along the peak of the hills, the clouds sat below us, making it feel like you were running through the clouds.

On and on, with faster people going past me on this monster of a hill, I focused on happy thoughts.

I was two thirds of the way through and was nearly an hour ahead of where I'd planned.
I wasn't struggling at all, it was tough but I had no injuries or niggles and given the chance I would run.
Despite having no appetite, my nutrition and hydration was great.

The 8 mile section between Aid stations 4 and 5 was the toughest for me. It was cold and damp, the trail along the Downs went on forever and the fog was so thick you could barely see other runners. I suddenly felt very alone. This was the grind. People say that ultra running is 90% mental and this is when it counts. Enjoying running is easy. For most of us it's appositive experience, but when times get tough, this is when you need to just get your head down and push on.

The next hour become very repetitive.

Run, walk, check route, check surroundings.
Run, walk, check route, check surroundings.
Run, walk, check route, check surroundings.

When the descent started, my mood lifted, runners who had gone past me and into the fog became visible again, sun broke out and we approached a small place called Alfriston. The trail leads through the village where people were out clapping. After a long time in the wilderness, I was back near people and excitement. It wasn't just me. There were friends and families. Local supporters and volunteers cheering runners on. The sense of excitement was back and when I saw my Dad this time it was with a smile on my face and a real sense of excitement. 10 miles to go and I'd have finished!

The sun stayed out for the next climb and descent into Jevington, but faded after the final aid station and onto the last 4 mile section to the finish. It stayed grey and cool and overcast. That was fine by me.

I was running again and as I reached the stone marker for the end of the South Downs Way,  a volunteer was there to show us the way. Down a steep banked, narrow track, technical and rocky with roots and trip hazards (my favourite sort of route) I picked up more and more pace. This little track spilled onto a small road, which entered a town, then a main road. 49 miles in and I'm stood with two other guys, pressing a button on a pedestrian crossing to cross the road. Quite surreal.


For the last mile, I started smiling again. I was nearly there. I was certain of a finish, a medal and a PB on distance and at a better than planned pace.

For the last half mile, I could see the finish line and wound my way around the car park and towards the finish line. I was literally brimming with joy.

The last 400 metres and I entered the running track to finish the race I'd started nearly 9 hours earlier. As I ran around I reflected on the day, the literal and mental highs and lows. I had a lump in my throat and my eyes started to burn a little as I approached the finish line.







A mixture of joy at finishing and pride in achieving that finish.

Anyone who finishes any run or race has accomplished something, and despite the medals and the t-shirts, I like to think that the best accomplishments and rewards are the internal ones.

For me, this race was about personal goals and achievement. It was about training with less time than I have previously had but training smarter to get results.

It was about finishing the race strong and smiling and this time, I did just that.

Reducing injuries in runners.

The biggest frustration for any runner is the injuries which prevent us from running.

They tend to occur at the worst possible times, as you are reaching new levels of fitness or increasing your distance in preparation for that big race.

Lot's of work has been done into the amount of runners who get injured every year and the statistics in these medical studies vary wildly.  But for an average long distance runner who trains regularly and takes part in the occasional long race, the overall yearly incidence rate for running injuries varies between 37 and 56%. 50-75% are overuse injuries and recurring episodes of these injuries sits at 20-70% - Sports Med. 1992 Nov;14(5):320-35.

Different people approach running in different ways, with varying degrees of success. I know people on runstreaks into the hundreds or even thousands of days without injury  and others who crosstrain like crazy and then deliver on race day.

But as shown above, for the majority of people running regularly, increasing distance and effort will lead to an injury and there is a strong likelihood that it will recur.

Where most novice and amateur runners let themselves down is in core strength and proprioception. A lack of either of these will lead to imbalances which will cause wear and tear on unintended areas leading to lower back pain or patellofemoral pain (runners knee) among other common runners injuries

In this post I am going to look at core strength and explain why it's so important. Let me start by saying that I am not recommending hundreds of ab crunches. Your six pack (rectus abdominis) is largely unused in running. The reason it becomes so apparent in distance runners is the lack of body fat, not the required strength in that area. 


When you run the body makes thousands of minute corrections to your balance through the central and peripheral nervous systems. These minute corrections allow you to remain upright, allowing for the angle of your foot, the floor, your pace, shoes, incline. posture, load, terrain and so on and so on. In my opinion, best thing runners can do to reduce the risk of overuse injuries is improve core control.

There are two muscles in particular which give core stability and with training will improve control. Transversus Abdominis (TVA) and Multifidus (Mf).

Details on the structure and innervation of the TVA can be found here. The TVA works in tandem with the Mf to stabilise the lower spine. And while we are hard wired to have this control from an early age, start running longer distances, or at a more intense level and any weaknesses become more apparent.

But as runners the main thing we want to do is run. The issue is that it is the increase in distance without developing the supporting muscles that cause injuries.

Imagine having a small car. Cheap and usually reliable. One day you decide you want to tour the world. You would need to adapt the car in a number of ways. You may want to put better tyres on it, make it faster or more economical. Get a trailer to carry more stuff maybe?

If that car is fundamentally weak in it's structure, you can have all the performance in the world and a great looking car but it won't make it to the end of your journey. A corny analogy but I hope you see my point.

By training the TVA and Mf, you increase your core control, spinal stability and the ability to transfer power from your body to the extremities. In other words, for your body to have good control and placement of the legs when running, you need to have a stable spine and an engaged core.

How to train the TVA.

The most common and very effective exercise for training the TVA is abdominal hollowing.

1. Lie on the floor, legs out straight and with a comfortable curve in the spine. Never try to straighten your spine out to match the shape of the floor. Your spine should look like a gentle S from the side not a I.
2. Take a deep breath in and as you exhale, pull your belly button in towards the floor, this hollows the abdominal cavity (hence the name).
3. Hold the contraction for a count of ten, breathing normally.
4. Relax and then repeat the exercise for 5-8 repetitions.

A toned TVA will increase core stability and flatten the stomach. Think of it as a corset which wraps around your core and holds your insides in. As it tones and tightens, so does the corset.

But you shouldn't develop one muscle group without training the opposing muscles or you're likely to introduce an imbalance which may not have been there before.

The antagonist to the TVA is the Mf. It is a series of smaller muscles which run the length of the spine and stabilise the joints/segments.








Think of a house cards. Wrap a corset around the bottom half of the house and it becomes more stable. Add a series of bands that connect each floor to the one above and below it and suddenly the structure gets strong.
















To strengthen the Mf, try the following exercise.

1. Adopt a box stance, on all fours. Check your knees are directly under your hips and your hands directly under your shoulders.
2. Lift your right arm out in front of you and your left leg behind you so that they are parallel to the floor. Your arm should be by your ear, hand pointing forward.
3. Hold this position for a count of five, return to the start position and repeat on the opposite side. Left arm and right leg.
4. Repeat for 5-8 repetitions.

Regularly adding these exercises to your workouts will increase core strength and control. This will allow your body to better adapt to load, fatigue, terrain or distance and reduce your chances of injury.

As you can imagine the topic is a lot more detailed than I have covered here. What I want to do is get you thinking about alternative training and strengthening your body to help your running, not replace it as an exercise. I maintain there is nothing better than running.

My aim is to get people stronger and fitter so they can run further and faster.

If you have any questions get in contact with me via danrunning.co.uk

A tale of two halfs...

In the last two weeks I have run two half marathons.

Brighton and Silverstone Half Marathons could not have been more different.

And also similar.

In the wake of the floods and storms that swept the country in February, Brighton had been repaired and cleaned, ready to welcome the runners. The day was warm and got even warmer. As the crowds of runners and supporters descended on Marine Drive, the sun shone down, unseasonably warm and after a long grey winter very welcome. The onshore wind made for breaking waves and a genuinely picturesque start to the day.

Fast forward two weeks and I'm stood in an old World War 2 airfield converted over the last 70 years into Silverstone Race Circuit. Brutally cold and exposed to the wind, a light mist of rain fell and the runners huddled around garages and tea wagons in an attempt to shelter and find some warmth. Despite promises from others, the sun never broke through and the wind never let up. It started and remained very, very cold.

I'd booked Brighton ages ago. It was to be the first time I'd run the same race as my brother, Joe, in a long time. Having had two lots of back surgery recently, he was looking for a finish. I was looking to PB. I'm not a big fan of road running, mainly because the scenery sucks compared to the trails, but Brighton boasted a quick lap of the town and then a coast view the rest of the way. We had set off early and I'd driven us down. Joe was doing his usual race-preparation. (Immodium and lucozade). It was the first time I'd been to Brighton and I loved the place. Good views, nice coffee and the promise of chips afterwards., Who could ask for more? As they called us to the race start we went to our individual starting pens, agreed to meet afterwards and awaited the starters gun.

Silverstone, on the other hand, came as a last minute thing. A friend of a friend couldn't make the race and although I know you're not supposed to, I gladly took his race number with just a week to prepare and only a week after Brighton. I love motor racing, I loved the idea of running around an F1 track and I was in it for the medal and the goody bag. As part of training for an ultra I was due to run 15 miles that day any way. This was just a structured distance in my mind. I drove up with my daughter, we froze our arses off waiting for the race to start and as I joined the starting grid I made my way to the front. All the way to the front!

Two different races, two different mind-sets, trained for one, unprepared for the other.

In Brighton I wanted it. I was hungry to PB I had plans and aims and splits in mind and this was to be my fast HM before a year of ultras and trails. My A race. The result of lots of cross training, intervals and speed work.

With Silverstone I had no clue. An unknown entity, still a bit worn out after Brighton and the weather totally against me, I didn't really know what to expect or what I could achieve.

But here the differences end.

Both races went like clockwork.

In Brighton I set a PB of 1:31.16.

Two weeks later in Silverstone I went even faster, 1:30.27(chip time).

Now I'm not expecting the Olympic committee to come knocking. I know lots of people who run faster than this and I think I could probably go faster myself (although I don't really think I want to). But that's not what these races were about.

Although this is a tale of two halfs [sic], it makes one whole story.

For the first time in a long time I loved the racing. I had done my own training for it, my own plan using everything I've learnt. Although I'm not a fan of running the roads and I haven't run a HM on the road in years, my last one took over 1:40!

I described it to someone afterwards as feeling like I had more gears. It was like I had previously been a two speed runner and all of a sudden I could switch cadence or ratio. Whatever the incline, or the wind blowing against me, I had a response to offer. I would find a different groove and run in it. My splits were even throughout and there was always enough in the tank for a fast finish.

Running means different things to different people, and it's the same with races.

In a month I run the South Downs Way 50 and I have gone against the norm with my training. I've not had time for lots of mega miles so I've relied on quality over quantity in my training. Its not what I've read I should do or what others are doing. It's what feels right to me and what I believe will work, for me.

These races and the results I got have given me the confidence to meet my next challenge head on. I enjoyed how hard I was working and how fast I could keep going. I smiled the whole way around, cheered back at the crowds and celebrated at the finish lines. I hope  that SDW50 goes as well as either of these races, but I'll take the Brighton sunshine any day of the week.

Laid back and loving it, unlike the guy I'm racing!

NB There is an absence of people in this story who I want to include. Firstly, my wife who lets me disappear at weekends, wearing shorts and hyped up on coffee and run, a lot! You need support at home or none of this is possible. It also helps to get back to a cold beer (or two) and a nice dinner. x

Secondly, the great Twitter folk I met, Neil (bit of bromance there) who finished moments behind me at Silverstone and Susie who I met as I made my way to the starting grid. Of course Lozza, one of the first athletes I met on Twitter some years ago. She was at both races, has a great outlook on running and racing, strives for personal achievement every time and in both of these, scored PB's as well.

Lastly, my brother. He got me into running 4 years ago (a story for another time) and I never looked back. Despite a lot of set backs he does not give in to circumstance or bad luck and despite being the most laid back person I know, has a determination which surprises most people he meets.

Planning an interval workout.

Interval training is physically demanding. Like any effective workout, there is planning and preparation that you can do in order to optimise your performance and the benefits you can get from it.

In last week's post I wrote about the various energy systems that get used by the body when working at different intensities. With interval training, you switch clearly between different demands on the body and these various energy systems.

Just to recap, this method of training allows you to work at higher intensities for longer periods than you normally can. Your muscles store enough energy to deliver their full potential for very short periods. The Phosphocreatine system (see last weeks blog) delivers its potential in about ten seconds. It's what gets used for a 100 m sprint, for example, and why that will drain you physically as much as a longer, slower paced run.

When exercised regularly, the body goes through a process known as adaptation. It changes in order to meet the new demands. Chasing the bus once won't change anything. Start running a 100m sprint a few times a week and you'll undergo physiological change to meet that demand. Improved blood supply to muscles and proprioception (your ability to know where all of your body parts are) as well as better recruitment of fast twitch muscle fibres; your body adapts to meet the new challenge.

Training at 100% of your potential is draining, you can't maintain it for long. But it brings many rewards, so interval training allows you to maintain higher intensity for longer periods.



My advice with intervals is to go in with a plan.

This is the bit where the stat fans and geeks among you will get excited. In order to get the most from your interval training you get to adjust the variables of your workout to target the right systems. After a warm up of continuous training, you start going from work period to rest period. The work period pushes your Heart Rate (HR) to the desired target, the rest period allows it to return to a comfortable level and for your body to start recovering and replacing energy. This is repeated for the desired number of repetitions, then a cool down period of light exercise to bring the HR down safely.

You can adjust the following variables:

• Length of work period,
• Length of rest period, and
• Number of repetitions.

Depending on how hard you're working will depend on the desired HR, although this is an outcome of training rather than an adjustment.

Increasing the length of the work period and the number of repetitions will increase the exercise effect, so will reduce the rest period.

Interval training can be done outdoors, running or walking depending on your fitness level or in the gym using any CV equipment.

An example of this would be on a spin bike/exercise bike.

1. Use a continuous intensity level of exercise to gradually raise you HR to approximately 100-110bpm. This should take about 5 minutes.
2. Increase intensity, such as cadence or resistance during the first work period to reach the desired HR or intensity level, maintain this effort for the period, 30 seconds in this example.
3. Drop the intensity, by reducing effort/cadence/resistance to bring the HR back down to 100-110bpm, this period should last 90 seconds.
4. Repeat 15 times, the aim being to reach the same level of intensity each time.
5. After 15 reps, reduce intensity to bring HR safely down.

As a result of this workout you will spend 15 sets of 30 seconds (7 and a half minutes) at your maximum intensity, something you probably couldn't do in a single block , but you'll reap all of the benefits of having done so.

Be warned, this is intense and you will feel shattered!

Also, this is just an example of a workout. Depending on your desired outcomes, you will adjust the variables above, but I'll get to that next time.

For now, think of how you can build intervals into your training and how the effects can improve your performance in your sport.



I am writing for a mixed audience and try to pitch this appropriately, but if you have any questions and want more advice, or need anything clarifying please contact me at dancartwrightpt@gmail.com

As a thank you for reading I can offer anyone who purchases from inknburn a 15% discount on their first order. Use the code dantoldme at the checkout and if you want any advice or suggestions on their products I'm happy to help.

Lastly, I'm passionate about this stuff, so if you have any feedback or advice or contrary views to mine on training please get in touch.