Go Hard

Improving running performance comes down to creating a training environment where the sum is greater than the total of all parts. This is harder to do than most think. Many create a training situation where the sum is less than the total of all parts. We know the cliches. Trainers rather than racers. Don't leave it all on the training track. Here I look into the concept of getting the most out of your training to maximise race performance. Despite that being the main point of training, it is easy not to achieve. I've made plenty of mistakes and had a good number of successes. Overall I would say I tend to race at a higher level than my training indicates. Back when I used to participate in exercise studies which measured performance values like VO2, muscle fibre distribution, substrate metabolism, and power output my race results at the time were consistently above lab predictions. Here are my ideas on the topic. Know Your Target You cannot excel in every distance at...

Out of the four races, this is the main one I've had my eyes on. A half marathon in around the Steve Moneghetti Track, Lake Wendouree . The course dead flat, a mixture of gravel and bitumen path. Starting with a 3.1km out and back, then 3x6km laps around the lake. No where to hide on this one. A liquid breakfast, and coffee on the way for the 1.5 hour drive. For the first time the weather was brilliant, brisk morning, little wind and great sunshine. Some rubbish talk and a relaxed warm up I was feeling pretty good. The original plan was to be in 1:22:00 shape, and of course hopefully faster. Time for execution. Plenty of space up front from the starter's gun. I was in 3rd with the winner of last weekend's 10km cross country striding out ahead and fellow ambo, Adrian splitting the difference for 2nd. I wanted to keep the leader roughly in sight over the first few kilometres in the hope it could somehow keep me in contention. That didn't last as long as I wanted, ...

With four races in five weeks there is the enjoyable challenge of trying to find a way to improve from race to race. Having one week between the 10km cross country and the half marathon, doesn't leave much opportunity for a big session if I want fresh legs on race day. So what's the approach? Sunday : Race, 10km Cross Country Monday: Relaxed 14km over some of the more technical trails in Plenty Gorge. Keeping the intensity down, should help move the blood and lymph through the legs, but the difficulty of terrain should provide a technique challenge and stimulus for the smaller, intrinsic muscles used on more difficult trail that will come into play at Marysville and the Great Train Race in following weeks. Tuesday: Easy 14km, but reasonably quick run back into different trails in Plenty Gorge. The legs were showing a fair bit of soreness carried over from the cross country, but they were flicking over nicely over the rocky ups and downs. Again general condition and techniqu...

Finally the tests start. Race number one of four over the next five weeks. First up, a 10km cross country. It is one of the many events of the Victoria Police & Emergency Services Games . Last year I was lucky enough to take the outright win, and this time I felt like I was in similar, if not better form. Of course who turns up on the day has a lot to do with placings. Whatever the case this time I was in the mindset for a top effort. Weather conditions were perfect, sunny and warm. The course had some minor changes again this year. Looks like a bit of extra distance was added again. Consensus after the race seems there was an extra 600m or so for the 10km, or 300m for each of the two 5km laps. Even allowing for the issues with GPS accuracy, I've since compared last year's map with this year and it is longer. Not meant to be easy, and I prefer a course that is too long than too short. The run starts with a decent uphill over grass, recently mowed this year, so not too s...

It's been about a year since I last raced one of the Coburg Harriers fun runs. Yet again I am reminded why I keep coming back. Low key, simple, well organised, friendly events that are often at a level that gives me a shot at the podium too. Last year I came into the equivalent run with just a bank of runs slower than 6:00/km and posted one of my best results. This time I'd put a good four weeks together, with runs averaging around 5:00/km, coupled with some hill sprints and a 28km trail race last weekend. I was hoping to be quicker this time. Interesting morning. The air temperature was quite nice for a summer race, the sun turned out to have a kick to it, that was contrasted with a cool southerly breeze. The course is fairly protected, with a reasonable amount of shade over most of it, so nothing in the weather should play a factor. It was just a perfect day to be running. Six kilometres worth of warming up and I was relaxed and ready. The race has a 6km and a 12km optio...

As part of my genuine attempt to get the absolute most out of my training there is a big role for easy . Carrying undue fatigue into a hard training session is likely to compromise the training effect, while increasing fatigue levels further. Instead we want a balance between hard runs, moderate sessions and easy runs to facilitate supercompensation. This is where a good dose of art mixes in with the science. This week has tested my patience to fit in with the above. It is also a good way of highlighting the importance I now put on recovering, adapting and being ready for the next hard training session, while still getting kilometres into the legs. I'll start with a few days out from last Sunday's Two Bays Trail Race. On the Wednesday (4 days out) I hit the athletics track after a 25 minute warm up and put down 8x200m at what felt comfortably quick (which was 40sec a piece). Recovery was a 200m float. This was far from a hard run, but it sparks the systems, and has me feeling...

This race has been on my radar for the last few years. With a prompt from some friends after the Surfcoast, I finally entered. Chose the 28km option, instead of the 56km. This allowed me to join in the Out Of Our Minds team. Plus, I would get more out of the 28km based on where my training is at than the longer option. The event is a bit of a stand out. It crosses some amazing landscape. Hits a few iconic locations. Has a mixture of surfaces, some great hills mixed with perfectly flowing single track. Running from one bay over to another is just cool. The point to point aspect adds in an element of extra logistics, but it is more than worth it. Race start was 0700, and being a good distance from home meant I had to be efficient with time. Alarm at 0400. Coffee and liquid breakfast consumed during the drive down to the finish line (yes, the finish line). Once there a quick use of the uncrowded amenities, followed by an easy 15 minute run to loosen up. Then I met the rest of the...

Just simply a great event. Awesome hills, scenery and an obscure distance. Best of all is the added challenge and atmosphere that goes with racing the steam engine, Puffing Billy, with the sounds, steam and smells, plus the race within the race to make the rail crossings so as not too lose time. This is a race I will always come back too, even though it is often very cold and wet. This year the race fell in my down time from training. So after a holiday up north where running was replaced by plenty of alcohol and food I didn't have any genuine expectations. Instead the plan was to turn up and race hard to see where that got me. It's usually very cold and wet for the GTR. This year there was a gap in the rain for the event, but it was wet and muddy on the ground. The temperature sat at 8-9 degrees Celsius, a bit warmer than in the past. Pretty good conditions. This year there was seeded start based on your best 10km performance in the past 6 months. Mine put me in the 1s...

A more relaxed morning this year, having stayed the night in Ballarat instead of driving up in the early hours. An option that's much friendlier on the wife and kids. My liquid pre-race mix, a coffee and a bit of extra water down the hatch and I had plenty of time to spare with the kids. Eventually the clock wound down and we got ourselves to the race start. The conditions were pleasant, no where near as cold as last year. A simple warm up and I felt ready. The Plan Wanting to continue the trend from last week's cross country, I was again looking for the outright win. Still it is 21.1km, plenty of time for plans to go right, wrong and change. My approach this year was to have a base plan coupled with a few options that I could choose from depending on how the race unfolded. Taking from last year's mainly successful effort, I started with a pure time trial approach.  The thinking being, that for the most part, the fastest time wins, and usually the way to the fastest ...

One week between the 10km cross country and the half marathon. To get the peak right, this is where experience and the art of training really comes into play. There just isn't enough science to give definitive guidelines here. That leaves me working from a subjective base. This is not a typical training week. I have built all the fitness I can. Instead, the training and resting is only about being able to get the most out of myself for a top half marathon on Sunday. Rest hard, recover and spike the system to prevent a loss of form and grease the groove to feel natural on race day. Sounds almost like a near meaningless mission statement. Time for what really happened. The 10km cross country, was run within my abilities. Even with a fast surge for a bit over 1km, I didn't overly extend myself. That combined with a mixture of gravel and grass for half the course, meant my legs weren't too beaten up. I pulled up with just some moderate tightness and no injury concerns. So ...

My 3rd week of training for the Emergency Services Games is slightly different. Due to some work roster changes and the desire to get a race in, this week is now stretched out to 11 days. Not sure if I can really call that a week now. I'm still including the key sessions of a technical/aerobic conditioning run, a threshold run and hill repeats, a long run and the race will replace the track session. The main difference is the timing will be stretched out a bit between these key runs, allowing a bit recovery and hopefully the ability to get a bit more out of the each of the harder runs. I'll cover the details of the week's training later. This post is to cover the Sunfest 10km Fun Run. This is only the 2nd running of the race in Sunbury, and too be honest I hadn't heard of it before. I chose this event simply based on the fact I wanted to get in a 10km race before the ESG's at about this time and this is all that was available that fitted within my roster. With it...

The main purpose here is to provide myself a reference for future attempts at the Maroondah Dam 50km (MD50) race. My recommendations definitely won't suit everyone, and it is quite possible they won't turn out to be ideal for me either. However, it should provide some good ideas and maybe a different view for others attempting this race in the future. By racing I mean covering the course as quickly as possible (this will vary depending on an individuals ability), and also racing to improve placings (may be important if looking for a podium or top 10). This post won't be about aiming to finish in good shape, comfortable and just for the sake of finishing. These are significant achievements in themselves, due to the course being ridiculously tough. That said, I hope that anyone planning on running MD50 can take something away from this read. As far as my background goes, I am not an expert trail ultramarathoner. This is written after my first attempt at an ultra trai...

I now consider the base training to be completed. The last 3 months of training was aimed at reestablishing a reasonable fitness base, become structurally & biomechanical sound, develop efficient fuel (fat/carbohydrate) metabolism and generally set myself for the harder training to follow. The mainstay of training was low intensity runs 60-70%HRmax, with the harder sessions really just being longer runs with the intensity creeping up to 75%. Only a very small amount of faster running was scattered throughout amongst this. Early on I didn't hit the level of consistency I wanted. A few too many of the shorter easy runs were missed. As a result this limited the speed and distance of my long runs. Despite this, I would still consider this phase of training successful, as proven by my above expectations performance at the Maroondah Dam 50km. An ultramarathon, 50km over the hardest terrain I've ever raced on will definitely highlight weaknesses. Yes, there are quite a few gaps...