Training & Racing Holistics

Staying Healthy is Your #1 Objective

For me, just getting to the line healthy is important.

Running is really about how much you can train while staying healthy.

It is an individual thing in terms training volume and intensities, but also tolerances and immune systems.

A Good Base is Essential:

You benefit from getting in enough volume at the beginning of your training. 

Whether you are a high or low volume trainer, to be able to progress your training and build to intensitive quality training and event specific training for your goals.

Don’t Forget Your Big Goal

Do not forget the bigger picture, whilst keeping training going well for your longer term goal, and not get distracted from your plan or peak too soon.

Check Your Pride at the Door: “The sessions aren’t the competition.”

It’s ok to get beaten in training sessions sometimes as varying training partners are at different stages according to their event distances and goals, so check your pride at the gate when you do a track session, tempo run or low key development race.

Don't Worry About What You Can't Control

There is no point obsessing or getting worked up and stressed about things you can’t control, but you can focus on the things you can control.

Running fast is hard

There are no bonus points for how hard you try (the goal is to run “fast” not “too hard”, thus you should be trying to relax your body as much as possible), running fast is not easy and actually can be very hard. Accept the pain as part of the process.

The winner often looks great at the end of the race, but that’s because they accomplished what they set out to do, I guarantee with a mile to go they were hurting.

Less can be more

Running smartly in many ways is about trying to train as much as possible without getting hurt, injured or ill.

If you are injury or illness prone, or you know you have a limited capacity to certain types of training, then be sensible and use that type of training within those limits.

Recovery, easy and rest days and lower volume cyclical weeks are part of the essential adaptation process needed for the body to get faster and stronger

Change can be good, but don’t change things too quickly

All athletes can benefit from change or conversely get stuck in a rut, physically and mentally, so some subtle gradual changes can give you a boost or turn form around to reach another plateaux.

But remember that your body does not like change, so introduce any emphasis gradually.

As you age,running fast at shorter distances is harder.

Speed gets harder, endurance gets easier – accept it.

Train smarter, allow more recovery, but endurance over the years and that side of the equation is easier.

Take pride and enjoy what you do

All competitive athletes put in a tremendous amount of hard work. Don’t forget that.

The end result is important, but it’s not the be all and end all, enjoy and take pride in your training whether that key session or early morning long run.

Life is for living so keep a sensible balance in your life also.