Dickson washed out again..

TRAINING CANCELLED TODAY!

rainy days

I can't find the correct website, but I am sure all the sporting fields will be closed again today owing to the downpour expected soon! And the fact that it has been raining all night and morning. Last week the ovals were closed and the lights stayed off. So we couldn't see to train and in any case the grass was too wet. Same again today.

I won't go out to Dickson, I will hit the gym instead.

And LATE NEWS - the "winner" of the Frylink has owned up to starting off the wrong group (why do they do that? and why accept the trophy afterwards?) so everyone moves up one place - which means Gary Bowen gets the bronze medal! Pity about the presentation and photograph. Still, Gary's run on Sunday was a genuine big improvement and third place is well deserved.

Form Principle #2

“Run like a child”

People think they know how to run “properly” whereas usually it’s only what they have been taught is correct running style; a westernised urban stylised limiting mechanical way of running.

Consider a child.

A little child runs with a free flowing, instinctive, varying, adaptable, natural way of running. Pleasing to the eye. Aesthetic.

That is, until they are taught the “correct” way to run.

Then they can choose to run in a robotic, stiff, emotionless way, arms rigid, knees up, face expressionless.

I suppose you can still run fastish that way, but is that living?

Better to pour out running effort in relaxed self expression, re-learning the inborn and intuitive running styles we were meant to develop.

Can you learn a bad style?

Case 1. Observe a child at play. See the easy and quick way they run about. Then if the child is old enough, ask them to run “like an athlete”. If they have been “taught” how an athlete runs, they will cramp up their body and run like an automaton, military style, all strain, no instinct.

Case 2. Observe someone who works as a milko going for a run. What’s the bet he holds his arms down to his sides, one arm lower than the other?

Case 3. Observe a keen cross country skier. Does he run with a very strong pulling action, arms straight through?

Yes, you will discover in each case, a bad style has been learned.

Then can you unlearn a bad style?

Yes but it is very hard. It doesn’t feel right so people give up easily. It takes time because neural pathways, muscle movement habits, have developed and won’t change unless something drastic happens. And I also think you should try and develop a good style rather than dismantle a bad one. The good one will replace the bad one in time.

Because it can be hard to change, particularly for people who have been running for a while, a key is to practise practise practise.

And it is a good idea to run with others whose styles are good! Your style may alter to become like theirs. As long as you don’t corrupt theirs first!

What does a good style look like?

Stay tuned. There are eight more “form principles” to come.

But for now, when you run, become as a little child, see everything as new. Experience again spontaneity and the joy of discovery and self expression.

Form Principle #1 was “Relaxation”.
Form Principle #2 – Run like a child.

My impossible goal

It is good to set running goals. Like most runners I know, I have long term goals, medium term goals, short term goals, pace goals, place goals, intermediate race goals, percentage of world record goals, handicap place goals, season goals, year goals, M55 goals. Every kind of goal imaginable.
I also have an "impossible" goal. It is this - to break three hours for the marathon after I turn sixty, the 4th of May 2008.
If you don't set yourself impossible goals, how will you ever achieve the impossible?
Anyway, it's theoretically possible for me to achieve it, in that "tables reveal" that a sub 2:30 at 30 is equivalent to a sub 3 hour at 60.
The intermediate goals which go with my impossible goal are -
2003 7k in 30 - ACHIEVED
2004 14k in 1:00 - ACHIEVED
2005 21k in 1:30 - ACHIEVED in 2004
2006 28k in 2:00
2007 35k in 2:30
So far so good!
The plan is to have a go in either Melbourne or Gold Coast, the two fastest courses. Canberra would have been another option, except it is on a few weeks before my birthday. (AGAIN!!)
If I do manage it, a bonus would be if I were the first ACT 60 year old to break the 3 hours. However, there are some very good runners here who are either 60 or closer to 60 than I am, and I cannot control what they do. It hasn't been achieved yet though. Bernie Millett is the closest, having missed out a couple of times by only a few seconds.

ACT CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

... and ACTVAC CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Saturday 23 July 2005 at Weston Park
Program
10.15am Under 12 Girls 2k, Under 12 Boys 2k
10.35am Under 14 Girls 3k, Under 14 Boys 3k
10.55am Under 16 Girls 4k, Under 16 Boys 4k, Under 18 Women 4k
11.25am Under 20 Women 6k, Under 18 Men 6k
12.10pm Under 20 Men 8k, Open Women 8k, Veteran Women 8k, Veteran Men (Over 60) 8k
1.00pm Open Men 12k, Veteran Men (30-59) 12k
Course: Adjacent to Nursery in Weston Park
Cost: ACTCCC - free to members
$5.00 for non-members ($2.00 for Under 20 and younger)
ACTVAC - $3.00 for members
Awards: ACT Championship medals to first three individuals and teams in each age group.
ACTVAC Championship medals to first 3 in each 5 year age group who are financial members of ACTVAC
Enquiries: ACTVAC Alice Scott 6238 3178 (H), ACTCCC Bryan McCarthy 6286 5556 (H), Ken Eynon 6254 6548 (H)
Race Manager: Joy Terry 6238 3023 (H)

weekend times

Team Moore results for Mount Ainslie 9.3k handicap
1. Cathy Newman 45.25 (won handicap by 3 minutes)
3. Amanda Walker 56.26 (not eligible)
12. David Webster 39.17
14. Margaret McSpadden 53.35
19. Neville Madden 42.52
24. Christopher Lang 48.42
25. Alan Duus 46.25
27. Rod Lynch 37.17
32. Maria O'Reilly 43.27
34. Jenny Langton 45.49
35. Jill Brown 54.35
40. Colin Farlow 38.06
60. Geoff Moore 42.15
87. Mick Charlton 50.31
99. Peter McDonald 53.52
(104 finishers)

Team Moore results for Mount Ainslie 4.5k handicap
5. Gary Bowen 18.14 (late news - bronze medal!)
8. Cathy Montalto 19.57
10. Neil Boden 19.46
12. Katie Forestier 19.08
20. Kevin Matthews 21.44
34. Vicki Matthews 25.16
38. Graeme Small 28.35
39. Ken Gordon 18.30
44. Maureen Rossiter 24.04
46. Michael Roche 28.11
(49 finishers)

Team Moore results for Boat House 10k (Saturday) - Women
3. Kathy Southgate 38.55
13. Carolyne Kramar 47.27
16. Thea Zimpel 49.49
27. Prue Bradford 56.31

Team Moore results for Boat House 10k (Saturday) - Men
24. David Webster 38.35
43. Geoff Moore 42.50
49. Ewen Thompson 44.55
53. Mick Charlton 46.52

Team Moore results for Boat House 5k (Saturday) - Women
13. Kathy Sims 22.13

Team Moore results for Boat House 5k (Saturday) - Men
22. Neil Boden 22.30
37. Graeme Small 29.12

Veterans Handicap Result

Today's BIG WINNER, from our training group, was Cathy Newman - first in the Thomas Series handicap race (9.3k) at Mount Ainslie today. Brilliant run and big win!


Cathy in 2004

meanwhile, out on the road ...

A man had been driving all night and by morning was still far from his destination. He decided to stop and park somewhere quiet so he could get an hour or two of sleep. The place he chose happened to be on one of the city's major jogging routes. No sooner had he settled back to snooze when there came a knocking on his window. He looked out and saw a jogger running in place.
"Yes?"
"Excuse me, sir," the jogger said, "do you have the time?" The man looked at the car clock and answered, "8:15." The jogger said thanks and left. The man settled back again, and was just dozing off when there was another knock on the window and another jogger.
"Excuse me, sir, do you have the time?"
"8:25!"
The jogger said thanks and left. Now the man could see other joggers passing by and he knew it was only a matter of time before another one disturbed him. To avoid the problem, put a sign in his window saying, "I do not know the time!" Once again he settled back to sleep. He was just dozing off when there was another knock on the window."Sir, sir? It's 8:45!"

Somebody's watching!

I thought had a problem with the display of this weblog, half fixed with a new template - where some rhs information is at the very end, from the group photo and on.....



you never know who might be watching .......

...... but it's only a problem with 800 x 600 resolution; changing to 1024 x 768 fixes it. And I can nearly read the smaller print with my new glasses!

Oh I do like the new template anyway (thanks Ewen).

Coming Races

It was cold and trying to snow last night at Dickson when we were supposed to be doing km intervals - only four turned up; *griffin* and I went for a long run before training was due to start, otherwise no action. The track was saturated, the ovals were closed, the lights were off, and the rain was falling.

Good thing I joined the CU gym! That's where I will train today.

Coming Races -
Saturday 25 June Menindee Drive 10k Parkes ACT 1pm.
Sunday 26 June Veterans Handicap 9.3k Mt Ainslie 9am (brrrrrr).
Saturday 2 July Cooleman Ridge 8k 1pm.
Sunday 3 July Women’s Jogalong 6k Weston Park 9am.

I will probably attend all these and run the first three. After that I am in Sydney (Rooty Hill/Homebush) for a week and then for the next two weeks my mum ("great-gran") is visiting here in Canberra and we will probably do a bit of travelling on and off to see great grandchildren etc.. But I do hope to be able to run in the ACT 12k Cross Country Championships on 23 July.

True Story

Signs of the times -
Lady at supermarket with little boy, buys a toothbrush, but finds three tubes of toothpaste in her trolly as well when she arrives at the checkout counter.
"I didn't pick those up, my little boy must have done it".
"Aha" says the checkout lady, "you have been schappelled."

Pacing

I am planning to pace four hour runners at the 2006 Canberra Marathon, all going well. An on-going achilles problem means I cannot race flat-out, but recently I had a go at pacing the 2 hour runners in the Canberra Half Marathon, then the 50 minute runners in the Terry Fox 10k, both without any difficulty - and dragged a few runners through to pb's! So that's my aim, sub 4 in 2006.

I may get "official" status, or at least some publicity happening, leading up to the race.

I have been in touch with Fran (Canberra marathon co-organiser) who seems happy with the proposal for an official four hour group, so we will pursue the idea with Dave Cundy (after Gold Coast!) Regardless, I will be there. 3:59.0 is exactly 5.40 per km, so it is not hard to manage the maths. Just a matter of getting a little bit ahead of that at half way so there's a small reserve. Voila! sub four.

Incidentally, Katie, a 21.20 5k translates to a 44 minute 10k (see Time Predictor, April 14). So maybe you can aim for 44 minutes in that next 10k. And maybe I will pace it (but I will need to prepare well!)

My Better Known Career Highlights

(1) In 1965 at the age of 16 I won the SA inter-school mile championship in 4:32.2
(2) In 1978 at the age of 30 I won the Canberra Marathon in 2:26:58, then an ACT record.
(3) In 1984 at the age of 35, I ran a 3000m race in 8:47.3 - 21 years later it is still the national M35 record.

Now that that's out of the way: for my Lesser Known Career highlights, see the July edition of Vetrunner, downloadable from the ACTVAC website for the next few weeks.. right click on the PDF logo first to check it was the one created on 19/06/2005 (since there is no other way currently of identifying which Vetrunner is actually there)

I will publish that article here some day, after suitable re-editing.

Our Lauren - post 3

..from the Canberra Times. Click on the image to enlarge it. Then you might have to save it and view it in the windows viewer to get the full size so you can read it (because that's what I have to do).
Just trying different ways of presenting information..
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Training at Parliament House

It's wet! But it's on. If it turns out that it is too wet and slippery to run our hill reps tonight, we will do intervals in the warm and dry underground car park.
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Terry Fox results

We had several Team Moore members running today's Terry Fox runs. In fact the first three women in the 5k were Kathy Southgate (18 minutes 47 seconds), Katie Forestier second (21:35, yet another pb for Katie) and Jenny Langton third (21:38).

The 10k sub 50 attempts were a success with Thea running 48.49 for 26th place and Gaby 49.37 for about 29th, both pbs, both under 50 minutes for the first time ever. Thea ran a 7k pb too, on the way to her 10k.

Cathy Newman was 16th in 46:34, and Carolyne Kramar 21st in 47:00; this was after Carolyne had a run in the Australian Mountain Running Championships on Saturday. Pam Faulks finished in 52.37, close to the 10k pb she would have run over ten years ago.

For the men, David Webster was 23rd in 38:58. I ran with Thea and Gaby until Thea broke away, and finished with Gaby in 49.37.

Conditions were perfect for distance racing; quite cool; no breeze, light drizzle.

Gaby has been following my 10k training program for the last five weeks, and the plan was to break 50 minutes at the Canberra Times in September, using the Terry Fox as a check of progress. However, when she told me how her training was going, I knew she was ready to have a go at her target at Terry Fox, despite the course being the toughest 10k road course we race on. So she set herself, and achieved the time.

Gaby may not be the fastest runner around, but I like her approach to her running. Nobody pushes harder than she does, racing and training.
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Thursday at Dickson

Twenty people turned up for the coldest night yet! After our usual warm-up (loosen-up!) and stretch, we ran three 1km intervals - the first we surged 300 metres then eased back for 100; the second we surged 100 and eased back 100; the third we surged 100 and eased back for 300. I guess you could say we were pleased that runs were not timed.
At least it wasn't raining while we trained; the rain returned an hour later. And the strong (cold) winds of the afternoon had dried out the track from the morning rain.
Four of us did an extra 45 minute run before everyone else arrived. One of those was Trevor, who despite doing 45 minutes easy, stretching, the two 1.1 km warmup laps, taking the group on three easy run-throughs before the kms, wearing tights as insurance against the cold, AND having had a good recovery swim on Tuesday after Monday's hill session, managed to damage his hamstring quite seriously during the first of the kms. "And I wasn't going flat out!". It goes to show - injury can happen to anyone despite taking the greatest care to prevent it.
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Form Principle #1

“All good form starts from the throat.”

(The importance of RELAXATION.)

I will publish a series of articles about form, and I don’t expect any “experts” to agree with me. But hey, try the ideas and see for yourself.

The first element of good form is relaxation.

Regardless of running style, all running effort should be free flowing; instinctive; relaxed; emerging from within; bubbling forth; an expression of oneself; easy. It should look easy. Liquid running is the best running. Often when one runs one’s best time, the performance looks the most effortless, not full of the tension or strain a non-runner might expect to see when a runner is at their fastest.

Relaxation is one of the keys to this effortless way of running. By relaxation I do not mean a passive, inward looking, tuned-out escapist kind of running (dissociation); I mean a conscious, aware, intentional focusing of the mind on muscle relaxation (association).

In what running events is relaxation most important? Answer - all of them. From 100 meters to marathon, the ability to relax is the key to success.

Relaxation starts in the neck and throat. A truly relaxed runner makes noises as they exhale, like a tennis player hitting a ball, or like a shot putter at the moment of release. Exhalation is the exertion phase of the running rhythm. As you exhale, you surge forward, you can hear how relaxed you are by how relaxed your throat is. As you inhale, you might ease off the surge a little; your neck is still relaxed and you may make some noise but not as much as when exhaling.

Come on, no need to be self conscious. You have overcome your worry about how you look by going out and running regardless; you can overcome how you sound as well.

Breathing out forcefully as you exert maximum effort will always result in noise if the throat is relaxed, as it should be. By the way, you breathe in and out through both the nose and mouth, never “in through the nose, out through the mouth”.

Tension in the throat spreads to shoulders, arms, the whole torso. Relaxation in the throat relaxes the body and results in better movement of the body.

As you breathe out the body lowers slightly, the arms lower slightly. As you inhale there is a slight rise in body position and the arms rise slightly too. This natural rhythm of the body is compromised if the neck, arms and shoulders are tense.

A free flowing natural rhythmical running style should be your aim. What comes naturally is the best. But you and I have been trained and conditioned from a very young age to run tense: to stick out the chest; to pin the head still; to lock the elbows into a high bent position; to run mechanically and breathe shallowly. All that must change! I will come to these things in later articles. But it all starts with the throat.

When neck, arms and shoulders are as relaxed as possible, then full and vigorous driving from the arms is possible. Legs follow arms; power, drive, and relaxation all flow from the arms to the legs. What the arms dictate the legs copy. Your legs will move with free flowing and powerful rhythms of surging and coasting only if the arms set the pattern for that. And the arms will move freely in that way only if there is conscious active relaxation starting at the throat.

Form Principle #1 – all good form starts from the throat.
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Our Lauren - post 2

Lauren's form over the 400 hurdles.
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Form Guides

Everyone's form guides are available, for example, here are Kathy Sims's -

ACT Vets, and ACT Cross Country Club.

What's not available includes ACT Athletics, or interstate/national/international events.
What is available includes Vets handicaps, Vets track, women's jogalongs.
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fastkathy

Kathy and Geoff Sims are off to the World Masters Games in July - that's the games in Edmonton, not the ones in San Sebastian. July seems like a good time of year to leave cold Canberra (see photo below) and head off to a Northern summer in Canada.

Consie is also attending those games.

Track is on between 24 and 31 July. Kathy has entered the 800, 1500, 5000 and 8k cross country, and Geoff the 200, 400 and 800.

They leave Canberra on 7 July and head for Paris and Ireland on the way to Edmonton.

After the World Masters, they then head off to Honolulu to compete in the US Masters track championships, which are on between 4 and 7 August.

Kathy hopes to better the times she was running here last summer, so has been doing lots of speed work as part of her recent training.

Kathy's records as a W50 speak for themselves. In a brilliant burst of top form as a 50 year old, between January and March 2002 she set four ACT records - 5:54.2 for the mile on 31 January; then 11:47 for the 3000 on 7 February, an outstanding performance at 6pm on a hot and windy day, where she left the previous record holder Rosemary Longstaff half a lap behind; then 5:29 for the 1500 on the 14th February, and finally 2:43 for the 800 on the 2nd March. Subsequently she went on to win the National 800 in 2:42.93 by the narrowest of margins from Maureen Rossiter. Maureen went on in later seasons to break that record, but Kathy's other times still stand. She has also been in numerous relay team that have set ACT records.

Kathy's qualities are her poise, confidence, and determination. We hope she has a wonderful time in Europe and North America and comes back fresh and rested and motivated to train on.

Her highlight this year has been becoming a grandmother for the first time, when Alex Geoffrey Osborn arrived. She was telling me that her grandson received a very special present from great grandad (Kathy's father) who presented his first boy descendent with a football signed by the Wales RU team which he has been keeping for such an occasion. Kathy's dad was the first ACT referee to be in the pool of referees when international teams came out to Australia.

I hope I will be around in ten to twenty years time to see how Alex's career develops, whether as a runner, rugby player, volleyballer, gymnast or whatever!


Kathy enjoying a wet half marathon


festive kathy


speedy kathy


winning kathy

click on photos for a larger version
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Monday's training

Monday's training at Parliament House was cold and wet - we were girt by rain. And it was the long weekend, so we didn't expect the 13 people who turned up. We ran our usual hill interval session despite the rain getting heavier and heavier during the half hour of effort. The session consists of 6 repetitions of a course of about 637 metres, run on 5 minutes. The course itself starts at the bottom of a steep climb, goes up, circles back around, up and around again, then finishes by climbing the hill a third time. Then runners jog down the hill ready for the next 5 minute interval to arrive. Even with the rain, neither uphill nor downhill was slippery, although visibility in the dark wasn't the best.

David Webster is running these sessions particularly well, as is Colin Farlow, Trevor Cobbold, and Katie Forestier, all of whom appear to be improving.
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June Jogalong results

Official results - CLICK ON NAMES FOR FORM GUIDES.
place name age time
61. Consie Larmour 70 37:54
64. Michelle Wells 33 27:58
65. Katie Forestier 39 27:29
69. Pam Faulks 45 32:47
71. Mary Ann Busteed 56 29:21
80. Marian Blake 51 35:41
90. Margaret McSpadden 58 32:26
93. Caroline Campbell 62 33:05
96. Annemarie Calnan 49 30:12
98. Judy Blake 49 49:15
104. Maureen Rossiter 54 31:52
142. Juani B O'Reilly 43 36:46
158. Juani M O'Reilly 77 56:16
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Terry Fox 10k 19 June

At the Terry Fox 10k on 19 June I plan to pace runners - I will probably run 48/49 minutes to help anyone wanting to break 50. If you are interested or want to make other suggestions, please let me know before Sunday.
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European Vacation

Strewth's on holiday! Starting today. To help us keep track of her exploits, she intends keeping her new weblog up to date while she is away. Check out http://baussmann.blogspot.com/
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Training Principle #10

"Have Fun."

Yes running should be enjoyable above everything else. But that's why I have posted a set of working principles here. If you don't do anything crazy and get hurt as a result, you will enjoy running, because it's an awesome feeling knowing that you are growing fitter and healthier, and running is the easiest, most natural way of doing just that. Obsession means HAVING to run every day; HAVING to race all the time to prove yourself. Happiness is seeing the improvement happening despite being pretty laid back about it all.

Principles are not rules. "You have to run 100km per week" is not only a rule; it is arbitrary, and it is quite unfair. It is for the person making the rule, not for the team! "Build up gradually; take your own time gaining fitness" is a principle gleaned from years of experience, with the athlete in mind, not the coach or the fans. Principles are not pieces of arbitrary advice; they are statements about how things work best.

You work at work. You play at play. Running time is playing time.

Try not to take it too seriously.
- Roll with the punches, for example treat injury philosophically.
- Don’t cheat, it’s not that important! For example, you don't need that "extra" from drugs.
- Be in it for the long haul. See the big picture. "There is no finish line!"

I could have listed plenty more, but ten will do. Make your own list; remember the lessons from your own experience. Then you can learn how it works for you.

Training Principle #10. Have fun.
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Our Lauren - post 1

We have had the celebration at the Yamba club for Lauren and family, now to start talking up the World Youth Championships.

Here is some background information to start with.

"Thirty-seven of Australia’s most promising young athletes were announced in the largest ever Australian team to compete at the IAAF World Youth Athletics (U18) Championships to be held in Marrakesh, Morocco in July 2005.

"The team size is a significant increase on the previous largest team of twenty-nine athletes, and is a direct result of improvement in performances in this age division and reflects Australia’s growing depth in junior athletics.

"Not only is the 2005 World Youth Australian team the largest, but looks to be the strongest with five senior national champions selected, Chris Noffke (long jump), Dani Samuels (discus), Katherine Katsanevakis (800m), Sophia Begg high jump) and Lauren Boden (400m hurdles).

"The last two Australian World Youth teams have placed sixth overall, and included athletes such as Jana Pittman, Georgie Clarke, Petrina Price and John Thornell.

"'Athletics Australia is delighted to make such an investment in the future of the sport by sending our largest team ever of young athletes to the World Youth Championships in Morocco. We hope these young athletes take great pride in representing their country and see this as the pathway to representing Australia at major Games in the future. Our best wishes go to all the athletes and we will take great pride in their achievements' said Athletics Australia CEO Danny Corcoran.

"Ninety percent of this team have emerged from the Australian Youth Olympic Festival held in January 2005, in Sydney. The AYOF program was a tremendous development step for these athletes, who will now compete on the world stage.

"Introduced in 1997 by the IAAF, the third edition of the World Youth Championships is open to athletes under 18. At the inaugural World Youth Championships in 1999, 137 countries competed, increasing to 166 countries in 2001, making it a truly global teenage competition. 158 countries contested the 2003 World Youth Championships and that is expected to rise in Marrakesh.The 1999 championship was the international starting point for Jana Pittman who won the 400m hurdles."

AUSTRALIAN TEAM
MEN
400m Tristan Garrett (N)
800m Nick Toohey (Q)
1500m Matthew Coloe (V)
110m Hurdles Lachlan Stanton (Q)
2000m Steeplechase Ryan Foster (T)
High Jump Liam Zamel-Paez (Q), Kane Brigg (Q)
Pole Vault Matt Boyd (Q), Matt Fryer (N)
Long Jump Chris Noffke (Q), Wally Meekin (W)
Triple Jump Scott McLeod-Robertson (Q)
Shot Joe Stevens (Q), Emanuele Fuamatu (N)
Javelin Nathan Burgess (V)
Octathlon Hamish Nelson (V)

WOMEN
100m Olivia Tauro (N), Jess Gulli (V)
200m Mim Hill (V), Tauro
400m Jaimee-Lee Hoebergen (N)
800m Katherine Katsanevakis (V), Sianne Toemoe (N)
1500m Heidi Gregson (N), Lexy Gilmour (N)
100m Hurdles Tara Holt (N), Gulli
400m Hurdles Lauren Boden (A), Kristy Radford (V)
High Jump Sophia Begg (N), Lauren Ford (V)
Pole Vault Vicky Parnov (W), Miranda Tiong (W)
Long Jump Boden
Triple Jump Alyisha House (N)
Shot Dani Samuels (N)
Discus Samuels, Kelly Emery (V)
5000m Walk Tanya Holliday (S)
Heptathlon Amy Sadler (N), Megan Wheatley (W)
Medley relay from Tauro, Gulli, Hill, Hoebergen, Katsanevakis, Boden and Holt.
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Training Principle #9

"Treat injuries immediately."

The first treatment for any acute injury is to reduce any swelling.
1. Stop the activity immediately.
2. Wrap the injured part in a compression bandage.
3. Apply ice to the injured part (use a bag of crushed ice or a bag of frozen vegetables) for no more than 15 minutes at a time. Let the area warm completely before applying ice again, in order to prevent frostbite.
4. Elevate the injured part to reduce swelling.
5. Get to a physio or sports masseur for a proper diagnosis of any serious injury.

What not to do.
Never apply heat to an acute injury. Heat will increase circulation and increases swelling.

Training Principle #9 - Treat injuries immediately.
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Happy Birthday Tony

Happy Birthday Tony. Still able to run the 800 in 2:30 at the age of 67. The way you are training now, we think the ACT M65 1500 record might be yours next track season.
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A 10k Training Program (part two)

10k training program part two - focus more on speed
I published part one on June 01.
For part three see July 02.

Week five
Monday 13 June Hill runs
Tuesday 14 June rest
Wednesday 15 June 2 x 2k surging the home straight
Thursday 16 June easy run today
Friday 17 June easy run or rest
Saturday 18 June easy run
Sunday 19 June race Terry Fox 10k.

Week six
Monday 20 June Hill runs, not too hard
Tuesday 21 June rest
Wednesday 22 June 2 x 2k surging the home straight
Thursday 23 June 60 to 90 minutes
Friday 24 June gym: step-climber machine, optional body pump class.
Saturday 25 June 60 to 90 minutes
Sunday 26 June 10 x 100m sprints.

Week seven
Monday 27 June Hill runs
Tuesday 28 June rest
Wednesday 29 June 2 x 2k surging the home straight
Thursday 30 June 60 to 90 minutes
Friday 1 July gym: step-climber machine, optional body pump class.
Saturday 2 July 60 to 90
Sunday 3 July 10 x 100m sprints.

Alternatively if running the jogalong on 3 July, it is appropriate to ease back from the hard training and see what can be achieved – as follows
Thursday 30 June just an easy run
Friday 1 July just an easy run again, or rest.
Saturday 2 July just an easy run as a warm-up for Sunday
Sunday 3 July race jogalong 6k – go for it – breakthrough time!

Week eight
Monday 04 July Hill runs, not too hard
Tuesday 05 July rest
Wednesday 06 July 2 x 2k surging the home straight
Thursday 07 July 60 to 90
Friday 08 July gym: step-climber machine, optional body pump class.
Saturday 09 July 60 to 90
Sunday 10 July 10 x 100m sprints.

If you are training at Dickson on Thursdays with us, you can skip the Wednesday training and just do Thursday’s run on Wednesdays or Tuesdays instead.

If you cannot do the Monday Hill session, have another session at the gym like Friday’s instead.
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Training Principle #8

"Don’t ease off training for races, except the handful of races that are your major goals."

In the article I have just written for the July Vetrunner I mention that I got into the habit at the start of my career of having Fridays off training every week and racing every Saturday. I ran interclub in summer and cross country races in winter, all on Saturday afternoons.

Not a good habit: it treats every Saturday as important, it never allows for a solid block of training weeks or months where racing is set aside or token.

Sure racing improves your fitness to a point. But you don't need it week after week. Anyway, if you run a 5k in 25 minutes one week because you have trained through, and in 20 another because you have peaked and rested, you will remember the 20 minute run not the 25 minute one. And you will say "I am a 20 minute 5k runner".

To improve more in the longer term, sacrifice short term smaller improvements.

Training Principle #8 - Don’t ease off training for races, except the handful of races that are your major goals.
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Training Principle #7

"Usually follow hard days by easy days. Never have three hard days in a row".

My experience was that as I got very fit I might feel good after a hard day and feel like repeating the effort the next day - a faster than usual 15k run; a quicker interval session; whatever.

I usually got away with two hard days in succession. But a third was a recipe for disaster: even though I could produce another quality effort, then I would pay for it: along would come a severe cold or painful joints or unusual fatigue.

So if I ran well and felt great for two days in a row, I learned to treat that as a warning sign: "Slow down! Have a rest day!" rather than an indication that I could keep pushing myself.

I suppose you think it strange that "no symptoms" could be a warning sign. But - it must have paid off - I enjoyed fifteen years virtually injury free while maintaining a high level of performance and clocking anything from 100 to 180 km per week.

So - if you feel really good, that could be when there is the most danger of over-training. Remember to back right off at least every third day. Remember that rest is an essential part of training; rest times are the times when the body actually recovers and new levels of fitness are built in. You don't gain fitness during hard training; you gain fitness because of hard training, in the rest period that follows.

Training Principle #7 - Usually follow hard days by easy days. Never have three hard days in a row.
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Training Principle #6

"Warmup first before stretching."

Pretty self explanatory really. I don't think it helps much to stretch when cold. Warm-up (or in hot weather, loosen up) the muscles first by going for an easy warm-up jog, before starting on your stretch routine.

Actually it amazes me how little warm-up many runners do. Before racing, I often arrive an hour in advance and loosen up over a km or two, before doing some stretching, relaxing, mental preparation and then some serious race pace run throughs before the race itself gets underway.

I always stretch a little before each race - and I always need a warm-up run first, hence the early arrival.

And for mental preparation, whether you need to psych yourself up or calm yourself down, an early arrival is always a very good idea.

You can combine stretching with mental preparation. But you should always stretch.

Training Principle #6 - warmup first before stretching.

Training Principle #5

"Increase distance or intensity from week to week, but not both at the same time."

A goal at this time of year for all distance runners should be to run a bit further each week than in the past; to establish a training base longer than before. So you add a morning jog or two; or you extend one or two of your longer runs by another 30 minutes.

But at the same time, do you decide you want to knock 2 minutes off that 10k time? Do you attempt to speed up your interval session or your hit-out over 5k?

Don't do it! Don't have goals of increasing speed at the same time as increasing weekly distance! Specially if you are breaking new ground, running further than you ever have before.

Just focus on the distance targets, that will be enough stress on your body for a while. And wait until you reach your final distance goals, before setting yourself new speed goals.

Many runners find they do get quicker with the longer running anyway! But it's best not to plan for that or expect that. And it's best to hold off adding speed sessions while you are extending the distances you run.

Training Principle #5 - Increase distance or intensity from week to week, but not both at the same time.
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Today's jogalong

Results from today's jogalong- Margaret ~32.24, Maureen ~31.55, Annemarie ~30.10; Katie ~27.27 (20 sec PB), Caroline ~33.10, Michelle ~27.53, Marion ~35.39, Mary Ann ~29.20, Pam ~32.45.

Training Principle #4

"Racing, together with sprinting in training, should not exceed 20% of distance run, and should probably be around 10-15%."

Look, we are not talking about 400/800 specialists here. This applies to all distance runners whose events are mainly endurance events and who race mainly long races.

Unless you want to improve 400/800 times, then only about 15% of your total distance should be fast.

So the secret of training for distance races is - SLOW DOWN for most of your training, so you can run further.

LSD – Long Slow Distance – should be the norm.

When I started serious marathon training in about 1973, at first I couldn’t run for longer than an hour – because I was running 16k in that hour. When I learned to slow down I could run for much longer, and much further. And that is when I started to get really fit.

I also discovered that such training helped all distances down to 1500 metres. And my 800 metre times only slowed by 3 or 4 seconds (from 1:57-ish to 2:00-ish) although I did soon stop running 800s regularly.

Later in the 1970s I would run the Cotter 18 mile up to an hour slower than some of my team mates – yet continue over the next few years to finish 10 to 20 minutes ahead of them in marathon races.

Slow down; run longer; and keep your sprinting/racing to only a small proportion of your training.

Training Principle #4 - Racing, together with sprinting in training, should not exceed 20% of distance run, and should probably be around 10-15%.
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Training Principle #3

"Plan races so that you have a day off racing for every mile raced."

A mile is 1.6km.
After a 6k – four days break from racing.
5 miles is 8km – so you shouldn’t race in the next five days after an 8km race.
After 10k race – leave it for a week before you race any distance again.
After a half marathon – two weeks
After a full marathon – you should plan a month’s break from racing.

After a marathon it is also wise to avoid speed work in training for a couple of weeks.

These are guidelines and there will be individual differences. An assumption is that the racing is flat out. The principle does not apply if the race is run at training pace. An example of this is the two hour half marathon I ran recently; I ran slower than training pace, and recovery was immediate.

For a marathon however you should probably have the full month's recovery whatever the pace.

Don’t forget – if you just keep on racing, not only are you neglecting to allow your body and mind a complete and proper recovery time – you are also neglecting to spend quality training time building up to another level. Sure there is a time to race frequently: but there is also a time to have a break from racing and concentrate on training. Could this time of year be a good time for you to have a break from racing?

Training Principle #3 - Plan races so that you have a day off racing for every mile raced.
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Training Principle #2

"Increase total distance by no more than 10% per week."

When you want to build up your weekly training distance, the 10% rule is important. Yes, it means that for the first few weeks there will be smaller increases than you would like. The BIG mistake is seeing that someone else is doing twice the distance you are, and trying to emulate them straight away. Be patient!

While building up, a good idea is to plan to drop back in distance every third or fourth week. This might be the week you race.

So for example, a weekly buildup from 40k per week to 60k per week might be patterned - 40k, 45k, 50k, 45k, 50k, 55k, 50k, 55k, 60k.

A couple more tips - when in such a build-up phase, it is important not to try and increase speed from week to week. Focus on one thing at a time! You can work on your speed later when you are regularly running the 60k week.

Also, how do you increase your weekly distance? Do you do a little more each day, or do you add in a new session each week, or do you pick one session and make it longer? My advice is to pick one session and make it longer, and I would pick the longest session first. For example, if the longest day you want to end up with is 20k, and you are currently running 10k on that day, that is the day to increase first. Establish your longest days early in the phase; add in shorter /recovery days last (so they start off being rest days).

I really do hope you have the long term view - deciding on what your goals and training patterns are going to be, and then sticking to the plan, not chopping and changing from week to week.

Training Principle #2 - Increase total distance by no more than 10% per week.
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Neil Boden

Neil crossing the creek at the Carillon cross country race

No rain; fine sunny days; dry creek. Average maximum temperature in Canberra for June is twelve degrees: it will be icy cold soon if that average is achieved this year.
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Training Principle #1

"Schedule an easy or rest day after the longest training day."

The pattern should be
day 1 speed/strength/race/trackwork or whatever
day 2 long long long
day 3 moderate or rest.

Why? Firstly, you should be able to recover fairly quickly from a short fast work-out. Secondly, it is a good idea to come up fresher for a speed day, because the object of the day is quality not quantity. Thirdly, long slow running can assist in the recovery from speed-work. And finally, it does take longer to recover from long days than from short.

Training Principle #1 - schedule an easy or rest day after the longest training day.
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Training for the 10k - in detail.

Target Canberra Times Fun Run Sunday 18 September 2005
Assumption A background of long slow distance.
Lead up race Terry Fox 10k Sunday 19 June 2005.
(Or if miss Terry Fox, the Yarralumla 10k Saturday 25 June 2005. The 25 June course is faster, until the last km which is long! The weather could be windy for both. Terry Fox is difficult with its hills and the crowd of joggers/walkers to negotiate at the end.)
Lead up race Veterans Half Marathon Sunday 18 August 2005. (Must be 30yrs old or more!)
Minor races to test fitness – Jogalong 5 June, 3 July, 7 August, 4 September. (Must be female!)

Weeks one to four (Segment one)
Monday 16 May to Sunday 12 June
- build some endurance while adapting to strength training.

Week one
Monday 16 May Hill Sprints run hard (join us at Parliament House)
Tuesday 17 May rest
Wednesday 18 May Time yourself over a course known to be about 5k. It is a time-trial not a race so although you will run it quite quickly, don’t bust a gut. An alternative is 3-5 x 1km timed intervals. Make sure you warm-up and cool-down thoroughly.
Thursday 19 May slow run of 60 up to 90 minutes; build up to it if you need to.
Friday 20 May gym: step-climber machine, optional body pump class. Build up on the stepper to 40 or 45 minutes done quite hard.
Saturday 21 May 60 to 90
Sunday 22 May short (e.g. 3k to 6k) easy (i.e. jog).

If you are training at Dickson on Thursdays with us, you can skip the Wednesday training and just do Thursday’s run on Wednesdays or Tuesdays instead.

If you cannot do the Monday Hill session, have another session at the gym like Friday’s instead.

Week two
Monday 23 May Hill Sprints run hard.
Tuesday 24 May rest
Wednesday 25 May 5k timetrial OR 3-5 x 1km intervals fast. Aim for slightly faster average speed than last time, and run evenly.
Thursday 26 May 60 to 90
Friday 27 May gym: step-climber machine, optional body pump class
Saturday 28 May 60 to 90
Sunday 29 May short easy run

Week three
Monday 30 May hill sprints hard
Tuesday 31 May rest
Wednesday 1 June 5k time-trial OR 3-5 x 1km intervals fast. Aim for slightly faster average speed than last time, and run evenly.
Thursday 2 June 60 to 90
Friday 3 June gym: step-climber machine, optional body pump class
Saturday 4 June 60 to 90
Sunday 5 June easy run

Alternatively if running the jogalong on 5 June, it is appropriate to ease back from the hard training and see what can be achieved!
Thursday 2 June just an easy run
Friday 3 June just an easy run again, or rest. No gym (important!)
Saturday 4 June just an easy run as a warm-up for Sunday
Sunday 5 June race jogalong 6k – go for it – breakthrough time!

Week four
Monday 6 June hill sprints hard
Tuesday 7 June rest
Wednesday 8 June 5k time-trial OR 3-5 x 1km intervals fast. Aim for slightly faster average speed than last time, and run evenly.
Thursday 9 June 60 to 90
Friday 10 June gym: step-climber machine, optional body pump class
Saturday 11 June 60 to 90
Sunday 12 June easy run

Next week, 19th June, is the Terry Fox 10k.
Training WILL be at Parliament House on Monday the 13th at 5:30pm as usual (Queen’s birthday holiday)

Weeks five to eight (Segment two)
Monday 13 June to Sunday 10 July
- focus more on speed. Details published on June 10.

Weeks nine to twelve (Segment three)
Monday 11 July to Sunday 7 August
- focus more on speed-endurance. Details t.b.a.!

Weeks thirteen to sixteen (Segment four)
Monday 8 August to Sunday 4 September
- focus more on race practice. Details t.b.a.!

Weeks seventeen, eighteen (Segment five)
Monday 5 September to Sunday 18 September
- ease right back to peak for the race! Details t.b.a.!
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