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Don't Panic! How to Start Your Melbourne Marathon training on the right foot

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Don't Panic! How to Start Your Melbourne Marathon training on the right foot

The Melbourne Marathon Festival is now not far away! Many runners are in the midst of their training for one of Australia’s biggest and most prestigious marathon events.  The finish line at the MCG awaits but first the real work of training has to be done.  The few months of running, recovery and planning will be challenging, but there are a few fundamentals that each of us need to stick to, no matter what pace or distance goals are.

Here are five of my top pieces of advice to surviving and flourishing over the next few months before your victory lap around the G’:

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How to test if you really need a coach...

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How to test if you really need a coach...

I was contacted recently by a woman looking to improve her 5km parkrun time.  She was weighing up whether a coach and a training plan would work for her and wanted to hear more about what was involved.  

As we chatted on the phone, we asked each other questions and it became apparent that she would benefit from more accountability, more structure and from someone taking the guess work out of her training, so we decided to begin working together on her goal.  I have had similar conversations, where it quickly becomes apparent that my coaching would not suit the other person.  From my experience, certain types of people respond well to coaching and training plans.  Others, not so much.  That is absolutely fine.  I have plenty of close friends who would never dream of getting a running coach.  For others, with the help of a coach, they have improved beyond what they thought possible and are getting the personal best times that they were after. Running, training and exercise is highly individual.

So what can I honestly advise people who are asking themselves,"Do I need a coach?”  

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Older Doesn't Mean Slower!

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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.

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Run / Walking Busselton Marathon... and loving it!

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Run / Walking Busselton Marathon... and loving it!

Sydney Marathon (Marathon 13) was a really tough experience, both on the day and in the week after.  I felt like I had lost fitness, re-injured an old achilles problem and gotten very glum in the process of it all.  Not ideal.  

 

Fast forward 3 weeks and the 17 marathons fun bus was heading over to Western Australia.  This was my first ever trip to W.A and I was travelling there to run Busselton Marathon on Sunday 8 October.  Whilst I still had the nagging achilles issue that was stopping me from running, I was grateful to be feeling way more positive in the lead up to this one.  I was worried about my ability to complete the run, but positive nevertheless.  I was particularly worried when I discovered the day before that I hadn’t actually signed up to the run at all!  OOPS!!  I am starting to believe that there is such a thing as 'runners brain’…. its a thing….

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Now I know what 11 laps of The Tan feels like...

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Now I know what 11 laps of The Tan feels like...

Last weekend was awesome...

Marathon 12 was back on home turf, running 11 laps around the Tan Track in Melbourne, following some time away for Alice Springs Marathon the previous weekend.  I was really pleased with what I had done in Alice Springs and my aim for this marathon was simply to improve on that time of 3:22, only 7 days later.  I enjoy the challenge of backing up marathons one week after another and it gives the second run a bit more purpose.  I seem to get that little bit more determined to not be slower or fade at all.  It’s like a giant 'negative split' I suppose.  

On race morning, I had woken up early to the sound of torrential rain and howling wind at about 5 am.  Bugger.  The thought crossed my mind to just drop the run, eat lots, drink wine and simply reschedule, but the thought of then trying to fit another marathon into the remaining 4 months of the year, persuaded me to get my arse out of bed and get cracking on some coffee and breakfast.

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From Fun Run to Trail Running World Championships: Kellie Emmerson

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In Episode 2 of 'The Go Run Show’, I the had the pleasure of chatting to world class ultra / trail Runner, Kellie Emmerson. Here is a runner that does things for the pure love of the sport. She is a coach, brand ambassador on top of being a world class runner and seems to love the role that she can play in helping people to run better.

I chatted to her about her first fun run, her recent trip to the Trail Running World Championships in Portugal where she represented Australia, her diet, training, coaching and pieces of advice that has received in her career so far. I also discover a great motto that she tends to live by and that she (like me!) is a bit of a foodie with a liking for all things chocolate!

I really hope you enjoy this discussion and that you feel like me by the end, that we are very lucky to be part of a community of runners with supportive and engaging people like Kellie as part of it.

ENJOY!

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Guest post: Being nervous is normal

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How do you deal with the final nervous days before your big run??!  With this guest post on Running Fit Box blog I want to help you work through and answer some of the normal questions that you will have to face in the days leading up to your next running event.  Questions like "should I be carb-loading," "have I done enough training" and more!

Head over to the awesome Running Fit Box website to check out my guest post on this issue.

Enjoy!!

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Guest Post: 'How to Translate Running Chat - 9 phrases you need to know'

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Even as a running coach, I get frustrated with 'running chat’ at times. As runners, we seem to have developed our own language, which nobody outside of running knows about.  This guest post on the Tri Chicks website is designed to help you translate some of the main phrases that you may hear from other runners.  Head over to the awesome Tri Chicks website and check out my guest post on this issue.  

Happy learning! 

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Guest Post: HOW TO OVERCOME EXCUSES AND SAFELY GET BACK TO RUNNING POST PREGNANCY

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What do you think are the main things that stand in the way of getting back into running for new mums?  

This guest post with Sheree Brown from the awesome Port Melbourne Physiotherapy and Pilates explores exactly that!  Sheree and I explore accountability, motivation, overcoming excuses and how to safely get back into your exercise after giving birth.

Head over to the Port Melbourne Physiotherapy and Pilates website to check out this guest post.

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Guest Post: Running form - Head Position

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The awesome guys at Nokkon have done a list of 10 things to consider with your running form. This post is number 6 on the list and focuses on one of the least considered areas of running form, I believe, head position.  

When we think about running form, head position is often towards the bottom of the list of things we look at, but it is actually very important for our body alignment, as well as our overall attitude.

Head over to the awesome Nokkon website to check out this contribution. 

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1:53 half marathon to 100km record holder: Kirstin Bull

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How do you go from a 1hr 53 half marathon to winning marathons and ultras, breaking records and representing Australia at the 100km World Championships?  Ask Kirstin Bull....

Kirstin Bull has won the Two Bays Trail Run and Great Ocean Road Marathon multiple times and smashed the Australian 100km record last year. For our FIRST EVER GO RUN PODCAST, I chatted to Kirstin about her running and even reminisce about her first ever half marathon. She chats about her training, coaching, strength and conditioning work, nutrition and her advice for new runners who want to hit the trails or train for ultra distances. We also discuss her wine or beer preferences ;-)

Check it out!

Kirstin is racing at the 100km World Championships in Spain in September and is fundraising to support that effort. You can find more info and donate here 

Good luck Kirstin!

 

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How to stop runners 'bonking', or hitting the wall

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Have you ever 'hit the wall' in a race? Not a great feeling is it?

I recently chatted to ExecutiveStyle about late race fatigue and some things to consider when looking to beat the dreaded 'bonk'!  Thanks very much to Laura Hill for the interview and write up.  

Check it out here.

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Why are we so confused and frustrated with our running?

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Why are we so confused and frustrated with our running?

A couple of weeks ago I got an email from a really nice guy living on the outskirts of Melbourne.  He was looking for a running coach to help him with his running.  We were talking about his goals and training over email and with his permission, I have given you part of the actual email correspondence that we had.  Check out his confusion….

"That's one of my problems at the moment, goals!  SO MANY OF THEM!  So my own training is in disarray.  I don't know whether to knock back and hit a 5-6 month patch of Maffetone running.  Then there's Matt Fitzgerald banging on about 80/20 running!  But on the other hand, we all want to go fast...and I KNOW i'm capable of going sub 3:30 over 42.2 and would LOVE to have a crack at a BQ, but for me thats a 3hr 05 marathon, which, well, yeah, I can't see that happening.  Basically, I think I've read way too much and now I have all these ideas in my head, but have no idea what's best for me."

WOW!  That’s a lot of goals, a lot of different methods and a lot of confusion to deal with.   Trust me, I can really sympathise with this.  It was not so long ago that my head was in this exact space.  It is a complete nightmare.  You don’t know where to turn, who to believe, what method or technique to try, what magazine or blog to read, what race to sign up to.  It sucks!  The sad thing is that this thought process is actually pretty normal amongst runners and is not exclusive to beginner runners at all. 

So where does our confusion stem from?

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"Just trust the process"

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We all question our training at one point or another.  As a coach, one of my roles is to make sure that runners can look back on their training, be proud, see progress and gain confidence from it.  One of my favourite phrases in this regard is, 

"Just trust the process" 

In this interview I chat to Sally who recently ran a half marathon personal best time, knocking 4 minutes off her previous time.  She talks about how we managed her injury concerns, how she found it difficult to run slowly in her training runs at first and she talks us through what it feels like when you know your time is going to be a good one!  I love Sally's story.  To me, she is a great runner and a pleasure to work with because she learns, adapts and isn't scared of a challenge!  Enjoy!

Are you ready to run? If the answer is "YES!" then sign up here for your own running coach and personalised monthly training plan to get you running stronger, longer and faster.  I will get in touch straight away and we can begin working on getting your running to where you really want it to be!

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From Injury to 5km PB!

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Returning from injury is not easy.  It can be frustrating, annoying and tests our patience to the limit.  It was great to chat to Jane recently about how she has gone from serious injury to 5km personal best times by training consistently.  I loved this quote in particular...

"The first few weeks were hard, but you just have to get out there and do it!  

Jane has come back from a stress fracture in her foot, to running with confidence again and smashing personal best times at her local parkrun in Melbourne! Jane talks me through what she thinks of her Go Run training plan and how she keeps consistently training despite lots of travel with her work, by telling herself to " just get out there and do it."  She also shares some of the awesome events that she is considering for 2016. Enjoy!

 

Are you ready to run? If the answer is "YES!" then sign up here for your own running coach and personalised monthly training plan to get you running stronger, longer and faster.  I will get in touch straight away and we can begin working on getting your running to where you really want it to be!