Coach Thoughts: Don’t be ‘Karen.'
Coach Thoughts: Training = Workout + Recovery
Thursday Thoughts: Data + Feedback
10 Local Businesses to Help Your Endurance Activities in 2021
2020 has been a rough year for a lot of businesses who have had to adapt, dig deep and some even close their doors for portions of the year due to COVID. It’s hard to comprehend the level of stress that goes on as a small business owner at a time like this, if you haven’t been in their shoes. As a small business ourselves, we give a shit about small businesses, particularly those in the running and endurance sports space and really want them to do well. We can’t do much, but what we can do is support the businesses who support us and our runners. So, with that in mind, here’s 10 businesses that we love, that help our runners and that we are excited about watching in 2021. Check them out, you won’t regret it!
You are where you are and that's a great place to start.
When I start coaching people, I often say to them "You are where you are and that's a great place to start." Its a reminder to people that they can't rush the process of changing their body, and that they need to be honest with themselves about whatever their starting point is.
When Sera approached me to start our '5 weeks to 5km' Training Plan recently, she was the one playing these words back to me.
I coached Sera to do New York Marathon a couple of years ago…
Thursday Thoughts: Movement is Medicine
10 Road Marathons To Train For in 2021
It’s around that time of year where we start signing off from work and thinking about the year that is to come. This year, despite all of the tough times, is no exception. In fact, perhaps more so than ever, us runners are looking forward to getting back to racing, back to consistent training routines and less threat of race cancellations due to natural disasters or global pandemics. Judging from race directors and the increase in advertising for races around Australia, there is now more confidence than at any point over the last 6 months, that we will get races going ahead in 2021.
Why CEO's find the time to run...
Have you seen those videos and pictures of Barack Obama playing basketball with friends and college players? I remember looking at them and thinking A. Wow! He’s actually pretty decent and B. How the **** does he find the time to do that?!?!? He’s the President of the United States!! Not only that, but every morning when in Washington, Obama hits the gym between 7:30 and 8:30, alternating cardio days and weights days.* Impressive, right?
This last couple of weeks, I have noticed so many people talking about how little time they have to run. It has brought back memories of a cringe-worthy conversation that I had with a CEO, when I lived in Belgium 6 years ago. I was chatting to the CEO of one of the biggest hospital trusts in England about her running......
5 things that a first time marathoner needs to know.
Older Doesn't Mean Slower!
We love to share the stories behind our awesome runners, and this one is a treat. This is Trev, who is the first runner that Coach Chris ever coached, and his dad!
Trev is now a spritely 65 years old and has run for recreation and fitness for over 30 years, completing 6 marathons (all of them under 4hrs 15 mins), over 20 half marathons, plus many other shorter races road and trail races. Over a 14 week period, he was coached and prepared for the Great North Run half marathon, which takes place in his home town of Newcastle (UK) in mid September every year.
“I think I am going to do an extra session that isn’t on the plan.”
Four days later I was still suffering and struggling through planned training sessions that I should have been nailing. Schoolboy error.
When I mentioned this faux-pas to more experienced athletes, I got knowing looks, wry smiles and was delivered the line, “don’t think, just do.”
Not thinking used to be a bit of an issue for me. I tend to mull things over. A lot. It is probably the main reason why I opted to become part of a coaching set up in the first place. I was paralysed by a myriad of training regimes, plans, articles, blogs, magazines all suggesting polar opposites. I eventually (after a lot of thinking) decided once I had committed to the Melbourne Ironman in early 2015, that it would be best to trust someone to help me work through all of the options. I teamed up with a coach.