Are fast marathoners a breed apart, or can the rest of us be as fast if we work hard enough?"Are fast runners naturally fast, or can you teach yourself to be fast, through pure dedication and training? I'm a long way off a 3:15 marathon, but with a
*llocking, because there was nowhere near enough rest in there. It's fine to do the mileage, but your body only actually improves when you rest. This will be so hard for you, because you will feel like you are slacking, but if you change the way you train
some muddy tussocky slopes. – VelociraptorI'm not keen on the gym and never been co-ordinated enough for aerobics classes. However, friends persuaded me to try body pump earlier this year and I love it. It's a great way to weight train: you hardly know
This week, one RW member wants YOUR advice on how to get to sleep after an evening run..."I have to do my weekday and some weekend runs in the evening (7-8 o'clock-ish). The nights after my runs I don't sleep very well. I've stopped using recovery drinks because I thought they we...
don't need too much extra carbohydrate until you're really training hard (1-2 hours hard a day, six days a week). Otherwise you won't lose any weight. – Tootie AChat on your runIf you're trying to lose weight, you ought to lower the intensity
, and the 4x15 were fitted around commuting – running to and from the train station twice a week. I think all the talk about 'mental toughness' is a bit of snake oil. Ultras aren't that hard. Running 100 miles slowly is much, much easier than running 26
?"For years I've not taken a complete day off, apart from two days' bad flu and after a couple of hard races. My days in the gym give my legs a rest as I focus on upper-body strength. My fitness-freak boss says I should have a day of complete rest once a week
. – ZakkalaTry heart rate trainingIf you just want to improve your CV system, I'd recommend running at 70% of your max heart rate (usually about 220 minus your age) for increasing amounts of time. Pushing yourself hard will give you strength and speed benefits
.RW: What songs?Let Me Entertain You by Robbie Williams, a couple of R Kelly songs, that sort of thing. One year it was Daniel Bedingfield's Gotta Get Thru This. Not because I liked it particularly, but because it was a hard part of my training, and the song
swings around a little as well and there's nothing I can do to stop it, as it feels so natural. I'm also a flat-footed mild supinator. But it doesn't matter, because I wear the right shoes and, despite training hard for my 3rd marathon, I rarely get
