My Forum

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4) Most of your runs should be under 70% effort, you are then burning fat. The advantage of this is that there is an unlimited supply of fat on your body. If you run at greater effort, you are burning the sugar in your blood stream and that is is limited. So, running for long periods (1-2 hours) burning fat is a good way to build up weekly distance, because you are not dependent on just the sugar in your blood.

When you finish a long fat burning run you will have a real gnawing hunger in your stomach and you will crave wheat, pasta and protein (this is very different from sugar burning runs that most people do - all you want after the run is a lucozade and a couple of mars bars!).  After a proper fat burning run, after you have eaten and showered and are sitting on the couch watching telly, feel around your waist area, it should actually be warm (almost hot) to the touch, that's because your body is still cannibalizing body fat even a couple of hours after your run (serious,  I am not joking).

5) Injury. If you do most of your runs at under 70% effort then you cannot get injured, fact, because at that pace its a recovery run! Therefore, any pain must be adaptation not injury. That's pretty much the view I have taken over the years. However, my theory is flawed, in fact only  a 70% run up to 7 miles is a true recovery run, any greater distance than that is not strictly recovery. So if I am feeling particularly shit one day, might limit the run to 7 miles. Again, I don't have a rigid proof as to why a 70% effort run up to seven miles helps you recover, it just does and is universally acknowledged  by the running community.

6)In my (slightly arrogant) view not many people do intervals all out. When I do intervals, I am absolutely gasping for air, I emit a terrible rasping sound that will have the attention of anyone in a 100m radius, I also have a strong taste of blood in my mouth because of capillary damage in my lungs.   I am actually quite happy to do the rest of the week at just 70% effort after that session. I currenlty to 100-110 miles a week, and every run is at a 125 bpm average, except for the interval session. Remember, we are trying to pack in good mileage here without getting injured. As soon as you push the effort much over 70% injury becomes a serious risk.   

Not so brief! Got a rush....  

Hi McBood

Briefly, as I have a train to catch in a bit.

1) Your not a fledgling. You've been running for a good number of years I am guessing, enough to be doing 1:15 HMs by now. Don't kid yourself, you and Sarah Gee are equally experienced runners.

2)When I did my 2:30 marathon it was at an even pace throughout, in fact an 11 second negative split. Now, I believe I could have achieved a 2:30 eight months earlier, but had I have done it  earlier it would have totally wiped me out, been a real struggle for the line and a defo +ve split.

I have talked to many top marathon runners, the race I did is easy to move on from and improve upon, whereas the race I could have done eight months before could have been a career peak. I can't give you a rigid proof in bio-mechanical terms as to why that is sorry, it's just the way it is.

3)Goals. Mmmh, you should know whether you are in shape for a goal or not well before the race. For example, a couple of tests for a three hour marathon: a) a 20 mile long run at 8:00-8:15 mile pace with effort staying under 75% b) 8x800m intervals at 3:00 each with 2 min rests.   If you can do both of these then you will do your target, if you cannot then don't do the race and try again next year, simple as that..

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Richard,  I'm glad you enjoyed your day out, and I am not going to slag off a new daddy having some weekend fun with family and friends.   

However, getting out of the door for an hour plus a day at an easy pace is not a big ask, even for a parent. With steady progressive training like that,  any man can run a 1:15 HM after 6-7 years. Any faster than that, then of course it's down to genetics. 

Sarah Gee still only trains 80 miles per week, which at her training pace is 10 hours. Out at 5am and  back home for brekky by 6:30am, that's not a big ask for an England vest is it?

Why is everyone talking about rippling muscles and superhuman performances! No, its just an ordinary Joe getting an hour plus of daily exercise (as advised by the Government).

Richard,  you are probably running too fast in training, slow down and keep the heart rate low then it won't seem like hard work any more!  

Richard, communal atmosphere, interesting....

Pre race: everyone looking for somewhere to piss

Race: everyone, erm, racing

Post race: a burger at the mobile abbatoir and, erm, a drive home.

Richard,  did I miss the helicopter landing on the Rye whisking you and and your eclectic group of friends over to The Fat Duck for lunch? 

No Richard, there are much better settings for a social get together than race day in Wycombe. You are just kidding yourself. 

No Toes 

If I give running my best shot and don't make it to the top then I can accept the truth square on the jaw: "you're not good enough pal". Whereas, if I just grow old and think of what could have been it will just kill me.

How about you No Toes,  ain't you sick of the stars of the music industry earning fortunes for miming songs,  sick of mediocre assholes kicking footballs and earning five figures a week,  sick of airbrushed supermodels earning millions when they look just like you and me first thing in the morning, well almost ?

You gotta have a dream my man, ideally two or three. I got two.