Lancaster Half Marathon Competition WIN!

Win the book 'Racing Weight'!
Just guess My time in Sundays Lancaster Half Marathon 2011.
My fastest time on this course was in 2009
READ REPORT
The closest wins the excellent book by Matt Fitzgerald.
Please leave your guess in the comments section below.
Find out more about the prize below;
MATT FITZGERALD TALKS ABOUT HIS BOOK RACING WEIGHT

Frankfurt marathon 2011, Wilson Kipsang 2:03:42, 2nd fastest of all time

The (r)evolution of the marathon: An unprecedented era CLICK HERE



Cool Videos :0]

X/C Running Technique Secrets!

Ever wondered why some runners are better at X/C than road and vice versa?
I was thinking my running style works well on the road but not on the cross country.
Talking about this to Team mate Matt on Saturday he mentioned that he had noticed that good X/C runners had a high knee lift!
I remember a very good runner in our club called Kevin Taylor, he had given me some advice on running over mud, he'd said it was important to work at driving the knees!
On the road the natural stretch-reflex action of the hip flexors means you don't need to think about driving the knees forward BUT on soft surfaces its a different matter.
The mud holds your foot down and slows the forward swing of the leg, driving the knee forward pulls the foot out of the slime and increases leg speed!
I also found this article by Brian Mac on X/c running technique which you might find useful.

Technique

As the going is softer and often slippery, the stride length must naturally be shorter. If you use the road-running action, with the heel striking the ground well in front of the body, you are likely to skid. Similarly, if your back leg is to far back, you will lose something in the push-off. A shorter stride requires greater leg speed made more difficult by the fact that there is less elastic return. In road and track running energy is stored by compression of ligaments and tendons in the ankle and knee joints. When running on soft surfaces, much of the energy is lost in compressing the ground underneath, so less is stored in the joints. This means that the runner has to bend the legs slightly more at the knees and ankles and use more effort in straightening them. The athlete will have to make a more deliberate effort to pick the thighs up, which requires more work from the muscles that run from the pelvis to the thigh, and this in turn imposes a greater strain on the abdominal muscles, which have to hold the torso rigid while all this effort is going on.

Where as the efficient road or track runner can glide along relying on bounce and balance to make the work easier, the cross-country runner has to muscle their way along. As the ground beneath their feet is uneven, the runner has to make constant adjustments in balance, using more muscles. Even the angle of the foot will be different. When running on hard surfaces the straight line from heel to toe should be pointing in the direction you are running. On soft surfaces it is necessary to point the toes slightly outwards, so that you slip less. This is less economical than running in a straight line, but the wetter and softer the surface, the more it is necessary.

RicksRunning say; Maybe I shouldn't be giving you all this information, as I guess you could use it against me in the next X/C race!

But I believe in good karma and maybe something good will come my way :0]

P.S. spread the good karma and leave your X/C running tips in the comments section.

Cheers Rick

Arthur Lydiard Training Week 4

The plan was to have 3 weeks of high mileage followed by a lower mileage week to allow full recovery and adaption, then go through the 4 week cycle again.
But as I've got a 1/2 marathon [Lancaster 1/2] next Sunday I decided to leave the easy week until Monday.
UPDATE; Oops, just checked with Keith Livingstone's recommendations and he says during base training have an easier week after every 2 weeks of higher mileage! [No wonder I was starting to feel a little tired and jaded, a lingering cold over the last week should have told me that I was starting to not fully absorb my training. Note to one's self; Must be smarter in the future if I don't want to end up on the great Marathon runners scrapheap ]!
Also this week I decided to run the Beacon Park X/C for training.
I found the race quite tough, the short steep hills and mud make this a very challenging course.
I doubt I pushed much harder than marathon pace as I just didn't have it in my legs to go any harder.
We got 8 guys out with Peter Roome [first back for the club] having a great run to finish 20th, I was way done today in 52nd!
The elite quad went to the Burnley X/C where Ben finished in 21st averaging 5.45 pace, impressive running over grass and mud!
So I'll back off a bit next week replace the one hour at MP with the half Marathon.
Maybe I'll set off at sub 2.45 marathon pace then if things are going good push it in the second half.
WEEK 4
Mon Club fartlek session, plus extended run down and back = 2.09
Tue MP run out and back to Busters Lagoon 54.35 [longer loop] plus warm up and down.
Wed Big sand dunes with Ben easy-steady = 2.19
Thur 16 x 10 sec alactic sprints on grass, plus easy sand hill run =1.34
Fri Regeneration run, Hillside loop 60-65% MHR = 33 mins
Sat Beacon Park X/C Race
Sun Velvet trail then S6 with Jon and Sarah easy pace = 1.40
Total for week 9 Hours 47 Mins

Interesting Fact;
Komon's coach Renato Canova stated that more and more young African's are running great marathon times because they already have over 10 years of base training in their legs from running to school and back, plus when they are in there early 20's they have much quicker recovery from the hard training needed to race a marathon!

If you missed The Great South Run [10 miles] watch Komon try to break the 10 mile record HERE

Junk Miles Help You Run Faster!

Article by Steve Magness
A couple somewhat recent studies have come out that help show the importance of easy running. Both were done in Spain on relatively well trained distance runners (in one, performances ranged from about 30-34min for 10k I think).
The original study set out to quantify a group of runners training for two CC races using HR. They split training into 3 HR zones and recorded their HR during all training for 6 months. The 3 zones essentially came down to easy running, threshold type running, and interval/speed type running. It’s more complicated but that makes it easy to think about the training. At the end of the study 75% of the training was done in zone 1, 21% in zone 2, and 8% in zone 3.
The surprising thing was that the ONLY thing that significantly correlated with how an athlete performed was the amount of training done in zone 1. So, the more training in zone 1 an athlete did, the better he tended to perform.

This was obviously surprising since you’d expect that the amount of training in the faster zones would correlate to race improvement since they were racing over 4.1km and 10k. So, they did another study to figure things out.

In the 2nd study, they took a group of runners and split them into two even groups. One group did had a zone distribution 80%, 10%, 10%. While the other had a distribution of 65%, 25%, and 10%. They made sure the training load (calculated based on HR, essentially it is volume X intensity) was equal in both groups. Basically, the 1st group did more easy and steady running, while the 2nd group did more tempo work.
What happened? Both groups improved. That’s good. BUT, the group with more easy running improved even more so. In fact, they improved a statistically significant amount more.
So, what does all of that mean? EASY running, including junk mileage, has a place! It works.

Lastly, let’s look at Moses Mosop’s training prior to the Kenyan XC champs, which he won. For the months of November, Dec, Jan. and Feb. he had the following avg. miles per week: 124, 127, 88, and 125. That’s a lot of running. Let’s look a little deeper at the average training over these four months.

Weekly mileage –AVG= 116.2mpw
Regeneration Mileage (< 6:10/mi)- AVG=52.33%
Basic Aerobic Mileage (6:10/mi ><5:30) AVG= 27.73%
Aerobic Endurance Mileage (5:30-4:50) AVG= 10.7%
Aerobic Power Mileage (4:50- 4:25) AVG= 7.89%
Specific Speed Endurance Mileage ((4:25-0) AVG= 1.02%
Speed (faster than 15” per 100m) AVG= .11%
Short Length Hills (60m >< 150m) AVG=.03%
Medium Length Hills (200m >< 300m) AVG= .19%





Just to compare it to that last study, approximately 80% of Mosop’s training would be in “zone 1”. 10% in zone 2, and 10% in zone 3. Pretty crazy how that works out…
It’s no surprise that his training percentages come out that way. There’s some research that suggests that higher percentages of intense work may suppress the sympathetic NS a bit and effect catecholamine secretion. The important thing though is that because of Mosop’s large base of support on which to work, he can handle more TOTAL work. Thus his total work at the intensities is higher than someone else might be able to handle. Thus, why that someone else can only run 80mpw with similar percentages of intensities while Mosop can handle 120mpw with the intensity.

With all this being said, I think it is very important to look at EACH training session. Look at the progression of the training that Mosop did for example, it’s great, especially the long run progression. Looking at averages just gives us an easier way to look at how an athlete globally trains.
THE BIG ENGINE'
Check out Moses Mosop's training log [Coached by the legendary Italian Renato Canova] which got him 2nd place at this years amazing Boston Marathon.
CLICK HERE

How To Run A 2.24 Marathon At Age 46!

His Secret; consistent 100 mile weeks
Tempo Runs and Strides READ MORE

Training Alactic Sprints
Purpose To improve biomechanics,leg speed,strength and running economy.
Keith Livingstones says these short 10 sec sprints can be done year round.
The short duration of the efforts does not cause lactic acid build up so can be safety done during aerobic base building.
Start at 10 strides and over the weeks build to 20 efforts.
Thur
16 x 10 sec Alactic strides, one sprint every 400m on grass.
Followed be easy run over the Velvet trail and S5 course.
One hour 32 Mins

Long Run with Ben And More Improvements!

I got a text from Ben this morning, "Are you going for a Run today, looking for an easy run round the sand dunes?"
Well YES, you'd have to tie me down with a steel cable to stop me running right now, my enthusiasm is that high!
Me and Tess jogged down to the local leisure centre in the early afternoon sunshine to meet with Ben.
It turned out Ben had just recovered from a slight injury so was happy to run at my less than elite pace!
The time soon passed as we chatted and ran up and down the sand dune trails.
It's amazing the difference running with someone else makes, I did not feel tired or fatigued in any way!
But poor Tess after pacing me well on my Marathon Effort run yesterday started to suffer in the closing miles!
Well at almost 70 she's doing well!
= 2 Hours 19 Mins
Tue
Marathon Effort Run 80% MHR
Ran the usual out and back sandhill route with Tess chasing my heels on the way out.
At the turn around point she took the lead and bounded off in front, checking behind from time to time to see If I was still hanging on!
Finished about 25 sec faster than last time which gives me a total improvement of about 2 mins [at the same effort] in just over 3 weeks of doing this MP session!

Reading an old book On Greg Lemond's winter training [around 1986] he states that one of the best sessions for improving his fitness is a Sub-threshold one hour motorbike paced ride at 80% MHR.
Well I haven't got a motorbike to pace me but Tess does just as well!
Looking at the rest of his winter training it looks very Lydiard in many ways and Greg went on to win the Tour De France in impressive style that year!

RicksRunning Gets 4,516 Hits in the last 30 Days [New record]!

RicksRunning Upsets Local Club Runners!

NEWS FLASH

I went down to Ainsdale for the clubs weekly fartlek session, only to receive a barrage of abuse from team mates Neil Adshead and Stevie Lewis.
They were not happy with my Standish Trail Race Report.
Neil wanted it known that he had finished only 20 sec behind me and on ONLY 10 Miles running a week!
Neil's [nice bloke that he is] natural ability at X/C running is legendary as to is his lack of willingness to get off his backside and train. As a result he may have wasted much of that talent over the years, which is a great shame!
Having said that I'm more than happy to kick his ass when I can :0]
Stevie felt unhappy that I did not mention every one else in the club that ran and felt I boasted too much about my race.
Ouch :0[
I should point out to Stevie this is not a club website, I did write race reports for the southport club for quite a few years and felt it was time for someone else to do the reporting, this blog is about me and my struggle to run faster than ever before!
I am more than happy to write about people who inspire me and also feature runners who have achieved amazing things-Amanda-Ben and Steve Prentice have been featured here for good reason!
Please read my report again, I do not feel I was boasting about my race performance.
I was just very happy that I felt really good after following Keith Livingstone's Lydiard program.
Hopefully this blog can inspire a few to greater things, to think more about your training and enjoy running!
In the last few weeks I've have had some hostile reactions, for some strange reason when I tell runners I've switched to Lydiard's training methods, I've no idea why? but I really don't care as I know it's the right direction to take and my results will prove them wrong!
P.s. Stevie i think your idea to start your own blog site 'Stevie; Women and Running' is a good one and I will give you a free plug here when it's up and and running, I'm sure it would be far more popular than RicksRunning!
Rick

Standish Hall Trail Race And Feeling Good Again!

I ran the Standish Trail race on Saturday with team mates DR Simon,Rob,Paul and Stevie.
It's a fun course with pot holed cart tracks, short steep climbs, some fast flowing descents, forest trails and MUD!
After getting a sore throat on Wed, feeling rotten with a bad stomach on Thur, feeling somewhat better by Fri I had no idea what to expect in the race.
So I looked at it as being a fun day out and take it from there!
Away from the gun I took it easy, as everyone settled down I gradually made my way through the bobbing masses!
As there was a strong headwind I sat in behind a small group until we turned left and up the first hill.
I found I was feeling pretty good, a passed a few runners as I powered my way to the top.
Next a fast downhill before heading into the forest for a magical mystery tour, another hill then out across the edge of a very muddy field.
It was at this point team mate Neil [Dosshead] to his friends caught me up!
I glanced across then kicked up a gear as we started the second lap.
This time I really motored up the hill then kicked again across the top.
I was feeling the best I've felt for a long long time.
I'm now starting to get aerobically fit as apposed to having good anaerobic fitness with a poor aerobic base!
Big difference I felt fantastic, pushing close to the limit it felt almost effortless, it was very uplifting to feel this way, very joyful!
It's a pity everyone doesn't understand 'THE SECRET' of building a solid aerobic base first before smashing out gut wrenching 400's that will burn you out and make you fry!
Lydiard says after 12 weeks of aerobic training you will be in a 'Tireless State' where nothing will wear you down and your energy levels will be boundless!
SWEET :0]
All I can say is the training works and racing will feel FUN again!
I finished the last lap still full of energy, crossing the line a happy 16th.
I'm still way off top fitness but in just 3 weeks I've gone from a burned out anaerobic mess, who had trouble getting out of bed and was suffering with depression to a happy aerobically fit person again :0]
There was a great turn out by the club with Steve Wilko 7th and Steve Mclean 13th and I think the girls won the team prize too.
Thanks Paul and Wigan Phoenix Great race!
RACE PHOTOS

Arthur Lydiard Training Week 3
Mon club fartlek session, plus ran down and back = 1 hour 52 mins
Tue MP session [80% MHR] Busters Lagon out and back= 54.20
Wed Long Run big sandhills-pinewoods = 2.15
Thur Alactic leg speed session, 12 x 10 sec strides every 400m then finished with a easy run over the dunes =1.32
Fri regeneration run 60-65% MHR Hillside loop =32 mins
Sat Standish Trail race 16th 42.27 plus warm-up
Sun Regeneration run, Velvet trail,then S6 loop with Jon = 1.40
Total For Week 9 Hours 40Mins

Amanda Crook 2.55 Debut Marathon Sensation Talks Of Her Training And Racing!

Amanda Crook Chester marathon 2.55.46

I started running aged 8 or 9 participating in primary school Cross Country events. When I was
growing up my dad used to enjoy running regularly so I couldn't wait
until I was old enough to go with him! After constant pestering
he finally agreed to take me on his Saturday morning run from our
house in Upholland. We ran approximately 6miles over the Beacon to
Dalton church and back! Although i found this experience hard and
probably a bit far for my first proper run I instantly loved
running.
I continued to run through high school competing in interschool cross
country winning most of these events. However I have always been a
nervous competitor so when it came to progressing to English School
level I was always to scared to compete. During my last year at High
School I overcame these nerves with the encouragement of my Dad and
competed in the school level trials for the Lancashire Cross Country
team and was surprised to finish 6th securing my position in the
Lancashire team.
At this stage although I had never been a member of a running club I
had kept fit by playing school team sports and occasionally running
over the beacon with my dad.
To prepare for the English schools I started running 4 to 5 miles
every other day. I came 134 in that race, feeling very disappointed I
gave up running until the age of 19.
On reflection i think my position was very good considering my
training, maturity level and extreme nervousness but to a 15 year old
girl with little experience it was awful.

I started running again aged 19 during the summer break in my first
year of university as I was feeling unfit and being a 19year old girl
wanted to lose weight! I entered the Liverpool 10k (2005) for
motivation and met Rob Berry for the 1st time. Rob was studying the
same course as me at edge hill we started running together and he
encouraged me to join SWAC. My running developed from there.

Chester!
I decided to run Chester mainly for an aim and meaning to my training,
Liverpool was run on the same day but Chester had experience of running a
marathon and this being my debut I didn't want any problems on race day.
A typical week running for me consists of an average of 50 - 60
miles I run between 5-6 times a week including a long run up to 2hrs.
All my running is paced on feel and is generally relaxed.
In preparation for Chester i increased my mileage and long runs to a
maximum of 3hrs.
The ten weeks prior look like this.

10 - 70miles, including a 2h20 long run
9 - 50miles, on the very hilly cliffs of Devon
8 - 70miles
7 - 80m including a 2h30
6 - 70m including a 3hr
5 - 70m including a 2hr
4 - 65m including a 3hr and a 5.5k road relays race in 19.23
3 - 60m including a very hilly Garstang half marathon in 1h26.19
(slower than half way in Chester)
2 - 70m
1 - 25m

Race Day
As i do not train at a specific pace i had no idea what to expect and
with a very slow time at Garstang the initial 3hr barrier seemed all
the more a challenge. I decided to run on feel, reading the advice
Rick gave on his blog for the Liverpool runners i thought run 10 miles easy
get to half way cruising, 20miles in as good shape possible then all
out the last 6.
Anyone who has run Chester will no that the first and last few miles
are hilly with the middle 20 being perfectly flat. I took one energy
gel in my pocket and would take a drink at each station.
Setting of at 6.30 pace for the first 3miles felt so easy, I must of
slowed as i remember hitting 10 miles in 1h05 although i felt fine my
legs did feel a bit fatigued. I was taking the drinks provided
cruising along with a couple of men sheltering behind them from the
wind then all of a sudden at 12miles my legs were feeling heavy! I tried to stay
relaxed by slowing a bit but this caused me to fall off the back of the
group, from then on i was on my own. At this point i thought get to half way then
consume the energy gel. At half way i took the first taste of my
lucosade gel, having never had one of these i was shocked at the
disgusting taste and consistency.
I got through the second half feeling tired but under control, i
focused on getting to each drinks station then taking 2-3 mouthfuls
of gel and washing it down with water. i could feel the energy fill
my body each time, only to start flagging just before the
next station.
After the last station i squeezed the remaining scraps of gel out of
the tube drank as much water i could and focused on the last three
miles to the finish line.
As i came in to the race course a marshal managed to send me the wrong
way! I quickly got back on track and crossed the line in 2h55.46 i was
amazed that i had actually completed the distance and achieved sub
3hrs.
I am very lucky to have the instant knowledge and experience of Rob at
home and i know that if i want to improve i need to listen to him more!
I am also very lucky and fully appreciate the support i have from Rob
as he always takes time out of his working day to allow me to train
while he watches our 19month old son Richard, I would not be able to
train and race without this support.

Thank you for reading

Amanda Crook

RicksRunning Writes: Congrats on a brilliant first ever marathon Amanda.

To put her run into context on the same day at the Liverpool Marathon ONLY one guy from The Southport Waterloo Team ran a faster time than her!

She kicked some serious ass!

So now both Amanda and Ben have Championship places at The London Marathon 2012, great news for the future of the club :0]

Runners High!

Arthur Lydiard marathon Training Week 3
Big Improvement!
Marathon Pace Sub-Threshold Run
The wind was howling outside, not a good day for my long marathon paced run my subconscious mind kept nagging me!
This was the 3rd time I've run this session and I was sure the wind would slow me by a minute or more.
Heading out into the wind with Tess sheltering behind me I kept to marathon effort [not pace], I kept my breathing steady, the effort felt good and relaxed!
Reaching the tops of some of the bigger sand dunes the wind almost blew me over on more than one occasion.
After turning around at the half way point [Busters Lagoon] Tess took the lead and bounded off in front of me.
It was good to have someone to follow, we got into a groove and rode the trails back home.
With the wind on my shoulder progress was good.
With the final 3/4 of a mile on the road our pace quickened to 6-6.10 pace.
Tess paced me well and in shocking conditions we ran over a minute faster than last week with the same effort!
This Lydiard training is magic!
MP Session
Week one = 55.49
Week two = 55.29
Week three = 54.20
Sub-threshold Runs [MP pace]
Keith Livingstone told me Lydiards boys would do this session over 10 miles on the road, starting at about 62 mins and being able with the same effort after 8 weeks base training to drop their times down to 55 mins !
These sessions are the safest way to push up your aerobic threshold, faster tempo runs [10K-15K pace] should be saved for the final four weeks of your marathon
training to bring you to a peak!