It’s a problem most runners will suffer from… the dreaded calf injury or just having really tight calf muscles days after running.

I should know because I have suffered from numerous calf pulls over the last 5 years as part of training for  marathons and half marathons.  I had visited several phyios and researched various stretching tecniques to combat this problem, I even changed my running shoes, all to no avail.

The last thing I thought of changing was the way I run.  Once I did I stopped suffering with any calf problems.  It is was that simple.   When running ensure that your heel hits the floor, rather than running on your toes.

After changing my running style to incorporate this heel on floor technique I banished any problems with my calf muscles.  It does require some concious effort and is quite easy to slip back into your old ways.

Please try it.  If it works for you please let me know.

Keep running (injury free).

Rob

The old adage goes something like ‘it’s not quantity but quality that counts’.  By applying this to running I am going to show how you can improve your running capacity and speed by doing the absolute minimum training.

In my original post I set out 4 tools that I would be using to improve my running performance in a short period of time.  The first one was the 80/20 principle which is also known as pareto’s law.  The premise of the 80/20 principle is that 80% of our results are driven by 20% of our effort.   This has been proven again and again – it is not always an 80/20 split it could be 90/10 or 60/40.

If you want to read more about the 80/20 rule I would really recommend a book by Richard Koch The 80/20 Principle: The Secret of Achieving More with Less It is probably one of the most useful books on the subject and provides some practical tips on how to apply it you your life.

But let’s get on to how we can apply this to our running.  The most effective way to increase your speed over a given distance is to introduce some speed work into your training.  This is where you run at short sharp bursts followed by a recovery period and the start over! This is interval training.

The way I am going to hopefully achieve this in my training is by adopting a technique called Tabata training.

Tabata interval training is the one of the most effective type of high intensity interval training,  and surprisingly it is the shortest in duration, it only last for four minutes… but those four minutes produce remarkable effects.  So we really are going for quality and not quantity!

The Tabata training method and its many variations are “unofficial” adaptations of the training protocol used by Dr Izumi Tabata in a research study published in 1996. In this landmark study, Dr Tabata showed that short bursts of high intensity training had superior aerobic and anaerobic training effects compared to longer moderate intensity training. These benefits were seen in already well conditioned elite athletes.

In his research study, Dr Tabata divided elite athletes from the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo, Japan into two groups. Each group trained for 5 days a week on a mechanically braked cycle ergometer over a 6 week period. The first group trained at moderate intensity for 60 minutes 5 days a week. The second group trained using the 4-minute high-intensity protocol (e.g. 20 seconds at high intensity followed by 10 seconds of rest repeated 8 times).

At the end of the training period, Dr Tabata found that the first group that trained at longer durations with moderate-intensity showed slight improvement in aerobic capacity but did not show any improvement to anaerobic capacity.  However, the test group that trained at short bursts of high-intensity showed improvement in both anaerobic and aerobic capacity. More interestingly, the second group showed superior training improvements compared to the first group.

A standard tabata session would involve a warm up for 5 minutes, this is followed by a sprint for 20 seconds then a rest for 10 seconds; and repeat 8 times. Then cool down for 5 minutes.  Trust me this is a really tough workout and even though it will be for a short period of time it will get your heart pumping but more importantly it will improve your running fitness and times.  Ideally you would run 3 tabata’s per week.  If you are new to running start out with one per week and maybe only run 3 or 4 repeats.

A word of warning – make sure you fully stretch and warm before you carry out any kind of high intensity or interval training.

I hope this helps to improve your performance… I will let you know how this improves mine.

Keep on Running…

Rob

For an experienced runner surely this goal is achievable?

With a clear training plan, great nutrition, dedication and relentless determination one would expect that this is possible.

However, I want to attempt to complete this but by training as little as possible; and to reduce my carbohydrate intake massively (maybe to less than 10% of my diet).

It is one of the cornerstones of running – if you want to get faster run more.  Be it longer or faster the message is that volume is important to success.  I want to be a better runner on less mileage and eat a diet with less processed foods such as wheat and gluten but especially less carbs

My goal:  Complete the Great North Run (which if you haven’t heard is the world’s largest half marathon) in less than 1 hour and 30 minutes.  To put this in perspective my personal best to date is 1 hour 38minutes and 12 seconds.  This was on a fairly flat course; the GNR is hilly, very hilly.

The tools I am going to employ to attempt this goal are:

1)  80/20 principle – also known as Pareto’s Principle (for more info click here)

2)   A Paleo Diet (also known as slow carb diet)

3)  Cross Fit Excercises

4)   Visualisation and Verbalisation.

From today I have exactly 48 days to achieve this goal.

I will let you know how I get on….   Be sure to expect a detailed post after 18^th September (race day).

In the posts to come in the next few days and weeks I will provide more detail on the four tools I will be employing.

Happy Running!

Rob