This weeks post is a bit of a hotchpotch of musings. With a solid start to the year, including a new personal best in terms of monthly mileage, I was determined to keep up the mileage momentum. I approached Friday 3rd of February having covered 40 miles that week and, with the potential for weekend long runs, looked set to beat my highest weekly mileage total. Or at least, that was, until illness derailed my plans! Bugger! So, no long runs and no new PB. However, the 'plus side' to being ill is that I have found some time to catch up on all those articles that I have spotted online and sent to myself for reading when time permits. So here goes...
Anyone who has read my post Confessions of a Treadmill Runner already know which side of the fence I sit on. The treadmill has been my saviour this past week, as in the past, as it has enabled me to log at least some miles whilst under the weather. It is definitely a contentious issue and the following may well fan the flames that I quite often come across on the forums.
I found the following article 'Think Outside The Mill: How To Make The Most Of Treadmill Running' which stood out from the majority of treadmill articles for me in that it contained a pro treadmill line from none other than Michael Wardian, silver medalist at the 2011 100k World Championships and USATF Ultra Runner of the Year in 2008, 2009, and 2010. To quote Michael Wardian:
“I tend to use the treadmill like I am outside and that means I use my imagination, I pretend I am coming up to a tough section of the race and then increase the incline or speed or then I am crushing down the hill and I might speed the treadmill up,” Wardian explains. A large number of his 120 miles per week are done on his downstairs treadmill. “We got our treadmill the day our second son Grant was born... I watch both our sons most mornings and I can still do my workouts and spend time with them.”
“The one good thing is that the treadmill keeps you on pace so during a tempo run there is a tendency to back off when you start feeling tired, the treadmill won’t let you do that unless you push the button!”
Once you read past the 120 miles per week element (wow!), the potential benefits are laid out and the article expands on the above, mentioning family, safety & weather as reasons for making use of the treadmill.
One further point that I pulled from the article is a cautionary one, and is a useful bit of information for anyone who does make use of the treadmill:
"Another factor to keep in mind is that because the belt is constantly running, it will be dragging your legs under and behind you during your stride cycle. By doing this, your hamstring muscles (which would typically be doing this work when outside) will be working less and you will be relying more heavily on your quads. Be mindful of weakened hamstrings if you’ve spent a lot of time on the treadmill when you move back outdoors; though, strength work in the gym can counteract this."
Overall, a great article and well worth reading in full.
The article Hitting the wall - how to avoid it and what to do when it happens would appear to be well timed given the number of marathon related queries on the forums and given the fact that many Running Bug readers may well be gearing up for their first marathon. This excellent article highlights that each and every marathon is different, no matter how many of them you run and suggests that you always keep something in reserve for mile 18 and beyond, the point at which people generally experience the sensation of 'hitting the wall'. In case you do hit the wall, try to remember the following:
"It is also important to remember that just because you’ve hit the wall, all is not lost. When we hit the dreaded wall, we need to dig deep to why we are running to begin with. We need to bring our mind and soul to the present moment and ask ourselves why we are doing such a race. This isn’t to say you should keep going and do more damage if you are seriously injured. Rather I want to challenge you to think in the moment and to push your body to the limit. You’ve worked so long for this day and sometimes it is helpful to remind yourself of this journey. Think about how challenging it was to find the time to properly train for your race. Remember how hard you ran the many, many distance runs you did for practice. And keep in mind that all along, you’ve known the race day would be the hardest part of all. Now that you are here, do you really want to throw in the towel? Or is there a small part, somewhere deep inside of you, that has the strength to keep pushing on? If you can tap into that part and go on at a pace that is safe for you, you’ll probably feel a huge sense of accomplishment."
As I read this, having myself experienced the awful sensation of 'hitting the wall', I found myself nodding in agreement. What a perfect strategy for dealing with the wall.
Finally, the article finishes with some sage advice "if you can’t continue on, don’t make this race define your running career". There will always be other days and other marathons.
Read the article in full.
As anyone who has read any of my posts will know, I am all for appreciating each and every run, regardless of how it went, how the weather was etc. I came across another inspirational video the other day on YouTube. If you have ever experienced a bad run, be sure to watch this video. Hopefully it will put your bad run into perspective. The clip shows Holland Reynolds, a star runner at San Francisco University High, stumble towards the finish line at a cross country race. Her legs give out and she tumbles to the ground. Any assistance over the line would have resulted in instant disqualification and, obviously mindful of this, Holland crawls over the finish line before being whisked away to the medical tent. I have had a fair few bad finishes in my time, including everything from projectile vomit to three miles of run-hopping with cramp. However, I have (fortunately) never found myself in the same position as Holland. Anyone who has ever struggled over a finish line will no doubt appreciate the sheer determination shown by Holland.
For those of you who listen to podcasts, there are a couple of new podcasts out there that are well worth a listen:
Talk Ultra, presented by Ian Corless and Ian Sharman is billed as 'a podcast for ultra runners and enthusiasts'.
The first podcast has been downloaded over 6000 times already and the show looks set to be a huge success.
Anyone who is interested in my 'A' race for the year, the 95 mile West Highland Way Race might also appreciate the new West Highland Way Race Podcast produced by John Kynaston. The podcast covers everything from the history of the race through to tips from and interviews with some of those who have completed the race in the past. Essential listening for anyone who is looking to complete the race this year or, indeed, at any point in the future.
That's all for this post. Slightly different to my usual posts but hopefully something of interest in there for everyone :o)
really helpful information here...thanks for taking the time to share!!
Fiona
Thanks for the comment. Great to think that the info is of use to others. Happy running :o)