IMWA training tips

Thought it would be useful to share some of my experience (good and bad) for IMWA. For what they are worth, I hope these tips would be of some help!

IMWA swim tips: 

The next few months would be an ideal time to develop your swimming technique and efficiency. While the swim leg is considered the least important leg, the 1.9 km Busselton jetty out-and-back swim can be daunting when viewed from the shore. 

Be prepared for the cold and possibly choppy waters. A participant was pulled out half way through the swim last year due to sea sickness. Yes, the waters can get choppy, and ingesting too much salt water can cause all sorts of problems.

Bilateral breathing strongly recommended. The swim route last two years was anti-clockwise, which is good for those who breathe on the left. But sometimes, they change the direction to clockwise. Also the currents can come from the left or right, so if you do bilateral breathing, you can avoid breathing into the current.

Draft a swimmer of comparable speed. I look for big strong caucasian swimmers who kick a lot. If possible, swim on the right of someone in a left to right current (vice versa). Practice drafting during swim sessions.

Swimming in a left-to-right current: Because you are pushed left to right, your hands should reach out to 10 or 11 o-clock instead of 12 o-clock. In right-to-left current, reach out to 1 or 2 o-clock. And sight often. The jetty is the best sighting post.

Stay relaxed and calm, especially when the waters get choppy. Go with the flow, and breathe at the crest of the wave.

Master the Middle by Mark McKay

Have been thumbing through a few triathlon magazines over the past months. 220Triathlon, a British publication, provides very good training tips.

In the typical British understated way, the Ironman is referred to as long distance triathlon and the 70.3 is the middle distance. Here's an abstract of the article from Mark McKay on how to deal with the cycling leg of 70.3:

1. Strength and endurance
Goal is to develop body's efficiency by training it to cope with longer sustained efforts. Utilize a greater amount of body fat as fuel, and have strength for the run. Training periods of about three quarters of the total estimated race time. E.g. total race time is 6 hours, train 4.5 hours - either all on the bike or 3 hour bike plus 90 min run.

2. Core Strength
Need to build up core strength to hold the body together for 6 hours or more. Do planks.

3. Fuel ability

4. Recovery time

5. Equipment/bike position
Comfort over speed and aerodynamics. Important that shoulders, neck and back aren't too sore for the run (I got that problem at the Bintan OD!). Raise bars and drop saddle height.

Race Ready in 16 weeks

Week 1: Adjust bike position in preparation for increased training distances.

Week 2: Complete up to 3x2hr rides at non-burn pace - know this pace!

Week 3: Add an extra 30 min onto rides

Week 4: Do a 3hr ride non-stop if possible.

Week 5: Ride for up to 2hrs in the racing position.

Week 6: Review bike position, taking any aches/pains into consideration.

Week 7: Complete a 3 and 3.5hr ride non-stop.

Week 8: Practice the racing position for 2x90min in a session.

Week 9: Complete a 3 and 4 hr ride with a stop.

Week 10: Complete a 3 and 4 hr ride non-stop.

Week 11: Complete 2x4hr rides non-stop.

Week 12: Easy week with reduced distances.

Week 13 and 14: Shorter, faster rides.

Week 15 and 16: You're now race ready.

The First of Many Miles

This is the title of the first chapter in Amby Burfoot's Complete Book of Running. It started off with this:

All running programs for beginners are the same. They move you from walking, which anyone can do, to running, which anyone can do if they have the determination. The difference between walking and running isn't speed or biomechanics. It's determination.

If you have the determination to stick with the following program, you'll soon be a runner. Trust me. It won't be long before you learn that I'm right.

This is a good list of "Do's and Don'ts for Beginners":

1. Don't begin a running program without a full medical exam.

2. Don't attempt to train through an athletic injury.

3. Do dress correctly.

4. Don't run in worn out shoes.

5. Do tell someone where you'll be running and when you expect to return. Carry some identification and money (and mobile phone).

6. Do some light stretching exercises prior to your run/walk to reduce muscle tightness and increase range of motion. Do even more stretching after the workout.

7. Do watch out for cars and don't expect drivers to watch out for you.

8. Do include a training partner in your program.

9. Don't wear headphones when running outside.

10. Don't run in remote areas, especially if you are a woman. Don't approach a car to give directions, and don't assume all runners are harmless.


I also find the section on "Watch out for the bug" interesting:

With the very exception of the very beginning of your running program, the next most dangerous time for a novice runner is just after that first race - especially if the initial racing experience is a successful and enjoyable debut.

The danger, of course, comes from being bitten by the racing bug. The temptation for some runners is suddenly to race every weekend, but this multiplies the possibility of injury or burnout.

Along the same line, beware of "marathon fever." Some novice racers run a couple of local 5-k events and flush with excitement jump right into training for a mega-marathon. Resist the temptation. The marathon has been around since the ancient Greeks. It will be around when your running has progressed to the point that your first marathon experience can be an enjoyable run. It doesn't do you any good to enter a marathon that reduces you to a survival crawl punctuated by self doubt and tagged with the postscript "I'm never running one of these things again!"

The chapter ends with this:

The key to success with a running program for beginners is to start slow and stay slow. Speed kills. Don't even think about it. Patience rewards, so stick with it, stick with it, stick with it.

Top 25 Training Advances

Joe Henderson, the first editor of Runner's World, wrote "Time-Tested Advice: A Review of the Top 25 Training Advances" in Amby Burfoot's Complete Book of Running. It surveys the evolutionary process of training changes over time.

1. Training without straining. Know the difference between hard enough and too hard.

2. Aerobic training. The term aerobic came from physiology and made an international phenomenon. Prolonged low intensity exercise improves physical endurance better than brief, explosive workouts.

3. Specificity of training. You will reap in races what you sow in training. Long slow runs prepares you to race slowly, a rule adapted by Jeff Galloway. Similarly, short, fast runs train you to race short distances, Advocated by Jack Daniels in tempo runs to lift runners out of their training ruts. Long runs increase strength; short fast workouts to build speed.

4. Long runs. LR builds endurance. Cornerstone of distance running programs.

5. Surviving the marathon. Runners who regard the marathon event not as a race for time or place, but as a survival test to be passed just by finishing.

6. Hill training. Long runs on extremely hilly courses and hill repeats prior to the sharpening phase of training. Hills are speedwork in disguise.

7. Speed training. Other than intervals around the track, include tempo runs and cruise intervals (run at tempo pace but broken into 3 to 6 repeats with brief rest periods between them).

8. Race as training. Use short races as speedwork training.

9. Recovering from races. Jack Foster devised this method: one day recovery (still run, but not race or train hard) for every mile of racing.

10. Hard and easy days. Alternate hard with easy days.

11. Recovering from hard days. Long slow distance (LSD) runs or gentle running meant running slower miles between more difficult workouts.

12. Days off. No more a dirty word.

13. Tapering before races. Cut back on mileage 2 to 3 weeks before a race.

14. Running cycles.

15. Training by time instead of distance.

16. Preventing overuse injuries. Training too long, too fast and too often can lead to breaking points.

17. Listen to your body. HRM helps.

18. Stretching. Slow pace running all the time results in loss of flexibility.

19. Strengthening. Muscles at the back of the legs (hamstrings) tend to overpower those in front (quads). Upper body muscles lag those of lower body. Supplement with weight training.

20. Carbo loading before and carbo reloading after races and hard exercises.

21. Hydration.

22. Cross training. Swimming and bicycling improves aerobic fitness just as well as running.

23. Water training. Aerobic workout without impact.

24. Walking. Tom Osler, ultramarathoner, inserts brief walks to increase the length of the longest runs. Galloway found that better times are possible by taking 1-minute walking break every mile.

25. Fitness training. Running for fitness does not require racing. Simply run 2 to 3 miles (5 km) three to five times a week.

10 Laws of Healthy Running

Came across this chapter in Amby Burfoot's Complete Book of Running, written by Bob Wischnia. Bob seemed to get injured easily, yet nothing would detract him from running. He developed a 10-step program that worked for him:

1. Work stretching into your day. Bob spends 20 minutes every morning - at least 5 minutes for each leg (20 seconds stretch on a post isn't enough).

2. Stay with shoes that work for you.

3. Use orthotics for all your shoes, not just your running shoes.

4. Start and end with walking. Walk warm up is a brief transition from being sedentary to running, allows system check (aches, pains and stiffness?) and shoulder rotations and leg shakes. Walk cool downs is a little longer - simply to bask in the endorphin rush.

5. Think about where you run. Stay off roads, sidewalks and tracks if possible. [This is not so easy to do in Singapore]

6. Be wary of hills. Cruise the ups and ease the downs at little more than brisk trot. Or even walk the downhills.

7. Bring on the ice. Host down with icy water (not so easy to do in Singapore) or use cold compress such as frozen gels, frozen vegetable packages on knees or joints to reduce muscular inflammation. I picked up two other ways - freeze a paper cup with water and tear off the cup as the ice melts when icing; or put ice cubes in a plastic bag.

8. Pitch the training log. Do not be too concerned with logging those miles. "A 20-mile week is as good as a 50-mile week -- if you are healthy... My mileage isn't important anymore. The only thing that's important is running healthy." How true.

9. Skip running for at least one day a week. No running whatsoever on that day. Do something else instead - cycling, swimming, tennis, golf, etc.

10. Enjoy yourself. Nuff said.

Bob wanted to run the 100th Boston marathon. Amby thought Bob wouldn't make it without injuring himself again. In Amby's words,

"I had known him too long, and he always broke down. This time he didn't. He maintained the training and didn't get injured. Not only that, but he ran a strong 3:15 in the Philadelphia marathon to qualify for Boston. How did he manage? Simple. Even after increasing his training mileage, he stuck to his 10 laws, and they pulled him through."

Tempo Runs and Strides

What are tempo runs?

Tempo runs are workouts at a fairly steady, moderately fast pace. They are controlled steady efforts, not burn-ups races. The guide to tempo pace is around 80% to 90% of our max heart rate (HR).

Tempo runs are also known as lactate threshold runs. This is because tempo runs are run at a pace that builds up waste product in our legs at a rapid rate, which is called the lactate-threshold velocity. 

The lactate threshold (LT) is when lactic acid begins to accumulate in the blood and you have to slow down. Tempo runs allow us to train close to the lactate threshold without exceeding it. LT is the best predictor of distance-running performance.

Typically, tempo pace is 10 to 15 seconds slower than our 10-k race pace. Tempo runs are "comfortably hard" runs. Easy runs, in contrast, mean that we can comfortably hold a conversation. Not so for tempo runs. The pace is fast enough that you know you're working hard, but if you had to, you could keep up the pace for up to an hour. It is usual to start with 3 km or 20 minutes of tempo running before building it up gradually to longer distances. Take a short recovery break (jog) in between for tempo runs longer than 6 km.

Runner's World (RW) advocates the Tempo Run 1000s workout for new runners who might have a hard time running evenly for longer tempo runs. Tempo Run 1000s are simply 1000 m repeats done at tempo-run pace with 60 seconds of recovery in between. Or run tempo 1000s every 2 to 3 weeks in place of a more standard tempo run to add variety to your tempo training.

Why is tempo run useful?

• Tempo runs teach your body to run faster before fatiguing
  
• It increases lactate threshold running speed
  
• It gets your body used to moving at a sustained hard pace for a period of time
  

Tempo and interval runs help improve speed. But both are considered hard runs. I alternate between tempo and interval runs each week and intersperse hard runs with easy runs or rest days.

Another useful technique to incorporate is strides. Strides are runs over about 60m to 100m at an accelerated pace, about 2/3 of your sprint pace.

RW recommends finishing off easy runs with two to three strides. The idea is to ingrain the feeling of running well in a controlled manner with good form, not letting yourself get tight in the arms or shoulders. Flow with the effort and don't try to fight your way through it. Take plenty of rest between strides with recovery jogs or walks.

Much like a car that is driven at the same speed in traffic all the time, you can benefit by "blowing the carbon out" and revving up the RPMs a bit!

For a systematic training program, check out the RW customized "Smart Coach" training program. Simply input a recent race time and distance, distance you are training for, current mileage and intensity of training. Smart Coach provides a 16-week training plan that incorporates tempo/speedwork runs on alternate weeks, one long run each week, easy runs and X-training or rest days.

What I like about the program is that it gradually builds up your mileage and pace (remember the 10% rule). I have completed two half and three full marathons following the RW training programs.

You can run a Marathon!

With the start of registration for the 2008 Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon, there was a flurry of interest in the online running community. I read with great interest a number of posts by a seasoned SGrunner Ultraman.

With his permission, I am reproducing them here (posts were put up on SGRunners Forum on July 22/23) so that we may all learn and be inspired:

To complete a marathon is not that difficult. You just need to overcome your own mental fear. Some SG runners lacked confidence years ago before they did their 1st marathon; nevertheless, once they have completed the 1st one (slow jog and walk approach etc), thereafter they became addicted and in fact even ended up doing Ultra marathons (including the recent Sundown 84km).

My student who was an "auntie level" (nearly 50) did her 1st marathon within 6 hours in 2007 after 4 months of training and tips given. The art in completing a marathon is just “go for it” and never look back but always listen to your body during the training and also in the actual event. If you slow jog a little and walk a few minutes and repeating the same flow….almost anyone with some jogging background can complete a marathon. We are lucky that there is no real cut off timing like 5 hours in some countries, therefore to complete SCM within 6 hours for the 1st timer is definitely quite a high probability as long as they have a minimum 30-40km/weekly mileage. You need not wait for 2 years later to run your marathon.

Once you have the "heart" set for it, marathon is just 10.5km run split into 4 sections, and you just need to cope with 10.5km separately instead of 42.195km in a go. To run this marathon, some tactics and strategy is a must and not just pure physical. Slow jog and walking will deliver the result. And you must sip at all the water stations without fail. If you really need to stop to recover for a few minutes, by all means do so. In fact female has a better endurance and will power over many males when come to such an event.

Everyone said “train hard”...I would use the word "train smart". Nothing is short cut for sure, but if you want to feel how a marathon is like this year, you need to pay a price too even if you can complete it with a mere 3-4 months of training. The 1st requirement is always the mental fear of unknown. Once you set in the “I can do it”, the unknown X-element in you will make the possibility. If you can clock your weekly mileage of about 40km, it is a starter. You don’t need speed as speed kills unless you have the foundation, do all the slow yet longer distances during the weekend would help.

My friend (that auntie) was no super lady; she was just a neighborhood “tai tai” who was willing to spend extra few hours a week to train for it. She did not mind the timing and just want a completion for herself, so she knew what she wants. If that is what you hope for, I can assure you that you will be able to complete SCM 42.195km on 7th December 2008.

I am no gifted runner but I am who I am today through years of regular training and listening to my body all the time. I started with walking and eventually picking up the pace and obtaining tips from all the seniors (sifus) I could find from either MR25 to Safra running club/Animiles etc and even from a common layman. One must understand what he/she wants in this arena. We are no professional but rather “passion runner” longing for self actualization during the process, seizing the day whenever we can and while we can.

A gifted runner is heavenly blessed if he/she is granted with such a talent. Nevertheless I would always believe in more humble approach to build up the foundation through regular exercise + desire to learn new techniques to improve running posture and change in the lifestyle as a runner.

Nothing is impossible as long as you have the free time to do so. If someone is faster than you, chase after their smoke and believing in yourself. We may not be the elites, we can still enjoy the realistic process.

Quality training + Quality resting + Quality attires + Quality diet => Quality Runner

Ultra