Easy tips for taper time

In keeping with calls from folks for taper tips going into the marathon, I include the following:

Taper is a time to cut back and rest more and train less. Training during this period should be at a lesser rate of exertion and any intervals or depictions should have more rest between them. 

The marathon will take a lot out of you both physically and mentally. During the final two weeks spend as much time as you can in solitude and self reflection as this will help in the final 10km. Imagine yourself running the race and see the time on the clock as you cross the finish line. If you can see it and believe it then you can and will achieve it. 

Ideally a 5k time trial two weeks out is a good idea even if not run flat out to give extra confidence in your end goal time that you will have determined based on your previous training. 

Two weeks out I also do a 400m session (with longer rest periods between). 6 or 8 400m reps just to get the legs turning over. 

In the last week my belief that has been formulated through reading and followings the plans of many experts is to rest the last three days prior to the marathon with only two runs on the Tuesday and Wednesday of that week. All these runs should be easy with a few strides 

Follow all your normal stretching and nutrition plans. Don't change anything that you haven't tried before in training. No new foods, no new techniques. Just follow what you have trained with.

Running together (while tapering to a strong marathon), stride for stride on a life changing ride! -- Sean Muller

Go get it checked!

This week I went to visit my local GP to receive the flu shot and had them check my blood pressure as part of the visit. I was shocked to be told that my blood pressure was on the high side.

I have never had any problems and at the moment am running around 100k a week with a pulse of 38 and slightly under 5% body fat. The diagnosis just didn't add up in my mind. I am fitter than I've ever been, don’t smoke or drink and yet there I was being read the riot act by the doctor about my blood pressure.

Naturally these results were of concern to me and I am going to undergo all the relevant tests, but it did wake me up to the fact that sometimes as endurance athletes, we take our fitness for granted and the fact that we have low fat levels and low pulse levels and believe that merely following a good nutrition program means that we won’t need any extra help.

I’m not concerned until I get more information, but urge all of you to go and undertake a physical even if you are extremely fit or young and believe that you are 10 foot tall and bullet proof. Life’s too short and it’s just not worth going through it not knowing answers about your health.

Running together (while getting our health regularly checked), stride for stride on a life changing ride! – Sean Muller

The final weeks before a big event

I have a friend who I have been helping with his prep for the upcoming Canberra Marathon in 3 weeks’ time.

It has been extremely difficult trying to offer him advice as I find he is in the same mould as I was a few years ago in that he just wants to run and run some more. He is doing massive weeks of 140KM and continual runs of 40KM plus on Sunday’s. This really is counterproductive for anyone wanting a good marathon time and he would be better off just by following his plan of long runs up to 35KM and then backing off again.

Each week he has been ignoring my advice of doing 2 speed sessions on the Tuesday and Thursday, a medium long run on the Wednesday and the long run on the Sunday and instead just makes his own plan up as he goes. This is continually frustrating as I am not the kind of person who just wants to take his money without him seeing great results.

Finally I have got him to calm down for the last three weeks leading into the race and he looks on track for his goal time, but this is just a massive lesson about recognising the effects of overtraining and correcting them early on. Indeed one can’t make improvements in the last few weeks, but there is a very high probability of messing things up in that time.

Running together (while curbing overtraining), stride for stride on a life changing ride. – Sean Muller

Running on different surfaces

Having experienced a slight niggle over the past few weeks, I have truly embraced and learned the value of training on all different surfaces.

By staying on grass and trails you are able to take the pressure off your joints and injured areas and help to manage and train through the injury while on target for a goal event.

Ordinarily total rest is the best option for any injured area, but when you are targeting an event and if things are manageable then it can be an option to rather run on surfaces that don’t irritate the injury too much.

Adopting this sort of behaviour can help to prolong your training plan and also ensure that you don’t suffer from the runner’s depression that can come on for those that love to run who are faced with suddenly not being able to do that any longer.

Running together (while helping to beat runner’s depression), stride for stride on a life changing ride! – Sean Muller