Easy week and Go juice Duncan has been trialling different gels and squeezies on his long Saturday training sessions. For the frequency do some maths and you’ll need your reading glasses for the small print on the squeezie label: 1 gram carbohydrate for every kg of your body weight, per hour. Eg, for my 75 kg, I take one Leppin squeezie every 20 minutes with how ever much water I need for the heat of the day. He’s found that the squeezies really work well in conjunction with plain water in his camel back, although he was surprised that squeezies made him feel thirsty and he drank more than he thought he would. That’s the great thing about testing things like this in training, there’s time to adjust before the race (never use anything new on race day!) On his 3 and a half hour run he drank 1.5 litres of water. I’m not surprised at this and would actually expect him to drink a little more than this. If it’s a hot summer’s day come race day on November 22nd, you could even sweat/drink up to 1 litre per hour, so be prepared to drink more if it’s a hot day. Consequences of not drinking enough are usually cramps, and then fatigue and headaches later on, (..well more fatigue than usual after an awesome session!) On race day you won’t need to carry your own camel back or drink bottles as the race will have drink stations providing water, Powerade sports drink, toilet facilities and first aid. There will be 11 aid stations on the marathon course, 5 on the half-marathon course. I’d expect you’d drink one or 2 cups at each station. There’s no need to stop to do so, just grab and run whilst drinking…. And there’s another skill to practice in your training! Stretch some more We’ve learned stretches for calves, quadriceps, hamstrings in week 8 and last week. Remember my advice to stretch immediately after your session whilst you’re at your hottest. (http://www.stevegurney.co.nz/blog/marathon-training-week-8 and http://www.stevegurney.co.nz/blog/marathon-training-week-17). Here are some more important runners stretches: ITB and Glutes Transition from Downward-facing Dog to One-legged Pigeon pose to stretch gluteals and hips, which in turn help to release the tension in the illio-tibial (IT) band. You’ll want to feel the stretch in the big powerful gluteal (bum) muscle. IT band syndrome is one of the leading causes of lateral knee pain in runners. The IT band extends from the outside of the pelvis, over the hip and knee, and inserting just below the knee. The band is crucial to stabilizing the knee during running, as it moves from behind the femur to the front of the femur during activity. It’s good to do most of your training off-roads to avoid ITband tightening. Hip flexor We want to stretch these muscles to allow a long stride during the toe-off phase of running. You’ll feel a stretch in the front of your groin on the side with the leg back. Holding torso upright with abs and core strong drop your crotch toward the ground. Make sure front knee is directly above your front ankle (knee at 90 degrees). Raising your arm and leaning as Duncan is in the picture will increase the stretch. Week eighteen training schedule: This week is your easy week, a recovery week between 2 hard weeks. That means we’re easing back on the intensity, and increasing your rest to give your body a chance to rebuild stronger. We still do the long endurance session on the weekend but it’s at an easy pace. Make sure you eat and drink healthily this week. Thursday 16th Oct Warm-up jog; 15 minutes Easy recovery run, 30 minutes Warm-down jog; 15 minutes Friday 17th Oct REST DAY Treat yourself to a recovery sports massage, especially concentrating on tired / tender muscles. Saturday 18th Oct 3 hrs, 45mins long, super easy pace this time, long endurance run / jog. Start at 8 am. Eat breakfast 2 hours prior. Pace yourself to jog or run the entire time, (no walking) to show yourself the discipline for race day. Soft trails such as dirt, gravel, grass etc to avoid injury. Stretch straight after, and ideally get a massage to aid recovery. Sunday 19th Oct Easy walk or hike, eg with friends or family. 30 to 60 mins. Make it scenic and fun. Important to make it easy, to help recovery from yesterday’s long session. Monday 20th Oct Warm-up jog; 15 minutes Easy recovery run, could do some fun fartlek (speed play) Warm-down jog; 15 minutes Tuesday 21st Oct Rest day (no time trial this week) Wednesday 22nd Oct Steve’s Strength and conditioning clinic: 5:30pm sharp! til 6:30 pm Meet 5:25pm at the Tennis courts on the grassy banks Lake Avenue, Frankton, Queenstown. Alternative: 60 mins, easy pace jogging with fartlek = speed play.. Undulating small hills.

Stretch yourself You’ll recall in week 8 I introduced stretches for the calf muscles, (Gastrocnemius and the Soleus) It’s long overdue time to introduce some more stretches for other major muscle groups. Whilst research waxes and wanes on whether to stretch or not, the majority of research, and my personal opinion shows that stretching is useful for marathon runners to prevent injury from the extended repetitive use of muscles. You might also consider Yoga as an excellent balanced stretching with a focus on long-term health. Stretch after your workout My experience shows that it’s really important and much more efficient to stretch warm muscles, ideally immediately after your session. Hold stretches for 20 to 30 seconds, but don’t go into the pain zone with your stretching, just until you feel a healthy stretch. If, like me, you find stretching boring, then just do one of each stretch of the muscles that you find are tired or tight after your session. A little stretching for just a couple of minutes is better then none, and it also gives you a bit of feedback on any potential problems. If particular muscles are constantly tight and sore, it’s good pre-warning of a potential injury, and reminder to give those muscles some TLC (from yourself or a massage therapist). Prevention is infinitely better then cure! Quads In this standard Quadriceps stretch, note that Jane has her knees together, pointing straight to the ground, parallel (not out to the side). She is using the opposite hand which encourages parallel knees. She’s standing very tall and straight as if a ribbon is lifting her head to the sky (not slouching). If she were looking in a mirror she’d see that her hips are level. Keep your core and abs strong and tight to keep the pelvis tilted up and bum tucked under. Hamstrings Downward-facing Dog (a yoga pose) is good for hamstring stretches. (Hamstrings and quadriceps are agonist/antagonist muscle pairing.) Feet and hands are hip-width apart, and the idea is to relax your shoulders to move your nipples toward your toes and raise your bum up to the sky as high as possible. Gently allow your heels to gravitate toward the floor. You’ll feel a lovely, healthy stretch right up the back of your legs and knees. ITB and Glutes Transition from Downward-facing Dog to One-legged Pigeon pose to stretch gluteals and hips, which in turn help to release the tension in the illio-tibial (IT) band. You’ll want to feel the stretch in the big powerful gluteal (bum) muscle. IT band syndrome is one of the leading causes of lateral knee pain in runners. The IT band extends from the outside of the pelvis, over the hip and knee, and inserting just below the knee. The band is crucial to stabilizing the knee during running, as it moves from behind the femur to the front of the femur during activity. Hip flexor We want to stretch these muscles to allow a long stride during the toe-off phase of running. You’ll feel a stretch in the front of your groin on the side with the leg back. Holding torso upright with abs and core strong drop your crotch toward the ground. Make sure front knee is directly above your front ankle (knee at 90 degrees). Raising your arm and leaning as Duncan is in the picture will increase the stretch. Week seventeen training schedule: This week is designed to be your hardest yet. Next week will be an easy recovery week, so give it an honest nudge this week. Thursday 9th Oct Warm-up jog; 15 minutes Intervals x 5 of the following. 3 mins hard; pace, unable to converse. Ideally up a hill 3 mins easy jog or walk, recovery; could be back down the hill to start again. Warm-down jog; 15 minutes Friday 10th Oct Well earned REST DAY. Treat yourself to a recovery sports massage, especially concentration on tired / tender muscles. Saturday 11th Oct 3 hrs, 30mins long, easy endurance run / jog. Start at 8 am. Eat breakfast 2 hours prior. Pace yourself to jog or run the entire time, (no walking) to show yourself the discipline for race day. Soft trails such as dirt, gravel, grass etc to avoid injury. Stretch straight after, and ideally get a massage to aid recovery. Sunday 12th Oct Easy walk or hike, eg with friends or family. 60 to 90 mins. Make it scenic and fun. Important to make it easy, to help recovery from yesterday’s long session. Alternatively, an easy bike ride or swim. Monday 13th Oct Warm-up jog; 15 minutes Intervals x 5 of the following. 3 mins hard; pace, unable to converse. Ideally up a hill 3 mins easy jog or walk, recovery; could be back down the hill to start again. Warm-down jog; 15 minutes Tuesday 14th Oct Warm-up 10 mins brisk walk or easy jog. Time Trial #14. Aim to beat last week’s time. Do this in the morning if possible. Warm-down 10 mins walking. Record your time. Wednesday 15th Oct Steve’s Strength and conditioning clinic: 5:30pm sharp! til 6:30 pm Meet 5:25pm at the Tennis courts on the grassy banks Lake Avenue, Frankton, Queenstown. Alternative: 60 mins, easy pace jogging with fartlek = speed play.. with 4 x 5 mins effort (fast run) in the middle. Undulating small hills.

Eat to compete Our training load is going to increase over the next six weeks so make sure your general diet is healthy and wholesome from here on in; it would be counter-productive to waste all of that hard work. And we all know in our heart of hearts what good nutrition is. The marketing machines out there would have us believe that they know best and that we can get extra performance from their product in a pill or packet. Whilst on race day this can work, I’m writing here about our training and recovery diet. I’ve found from research and my own trial and error that you just can’t beat good old mother nature. Our bodies are still the machinery of our ancestors, we haven’t evolved to eat processed and packaged concoctions of chemicals that are thrust at us on the supermarket shelves and in adverts. My Grandfather's diet I’ve found my best performance by basically eating what my grandfather ate. He was a hard-working labourer of the land, a farmer. Food as close to its original source, picked or dug, with as little mucking with it as possible. Of course, nutritionists and dieticians can advise us as to an athlete’s specific version of this basic diet, such as the protein rich recovery food I wrote of last week, (week 15); just remember basic is best. Ideas on nutrition wax and wane, and at the risk of being labelled conservative, I believe we need to be careful not to be the “guinea pigs” of the latest diet fad. Recent research supports my “Grandfather” approach, and I’ll have to admit that it’s quite compelling. Whilst it’s centred on obesity, (and there is a landmark shift in likely causes) it has direct implications for us as athletes. This will not only interest those of you who have taken on the marathon training to lose weight, but it’s useful for all of us with respect to healthy longevity (for us, and for our grandchildren). The downfall of the "Energy in - Energy out" theory of weight control The previous nutritional philosophy based on the thermodynamic laws of conservation of energy, argued that weight loss or gain was governed by the differential between energy intake and energy expended. Eg if you burn more calories through exercise than you eat, then you should lose weight. Compelling emerging research suggests that, whilst this is true for some people, there might well be several other bigger factors at play. As a very basic summary, if you have the metabolism to get fat, then it’s not how much you eat or exercise, it’s what you eat. In a nutshell, sugary and refined foods seem to be the main culprits for weight gain and obesity as refined molecules are assimilated, used and stored differently. Furthermore, there are other possible converging historical factors such as socioeconomics affecting diet, economic pressures affecting what food is produced by farmers, marketing that influences consumption, changes to genetic expression and signals, if your mother or grandmother were overweight, viruses, artificial lighting affecting metabolism etc etc. If you’d like more information, here are 3 articles I found interesting: http://aeon.co/magazine/health/david-berreby-obesity-era/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH9079LV4tY http://tvnz.co.nz/nigel-latta/s1-ep6-video-6060553 Translating this to your diet for marathon preparation, stick to wholesome foods, good basics, such as veggies, fish, red meat, eggs etc, and stay away from packaged food where possible. Minimise cakes and pastries that have lots of white flour and added sugars and chemicals. Avoid those sugary fizzy drinks. I personally opine that lollies are a slow-release poison. Tough as iron Athletes often need to put a bit more effort into maintaining good iron levels. Iron from red meat (haem-iron) is more easily assimilated than from veggies such as leafy greens (non-haem), so if you’re a vegetarian you’ll need to make more effort. Iron absorption is aided by Vitamin C, so it’s useful to eat an orange, Kiwi fruit or vitamin C pill with dinner. Caffeine destroys Vitamin C, so avoid coffee and tea at least an hour each side of meal times. Your body is your temple, inhabit it like a god. ..........................at least for the next 6 weeks. Thursday 25th Sept Warm-up jog; 15 minutes Intervals x 4 of the following. 3 mins hard; pace, unable to converse. Ideally up a hill 3 mins easy jog or walk, recovery; could be back down the hill to start again. Warm-down jog; 15 minutes Friday 26th Sept Well earned REST DAY :) Treat yourself to a recovery sports massage, especially concentrating on tired / tender muscles. Saturday 27th Sept 3 hrs 15 mins long, easy endurance run /jog. Start at 8 am. Eat breakfast 2 hours prior. Pace yourself to jog or run the entire time, (no walking) to show yourself the discipline for race day. Soft trails such as dirt, gravel, grass etc to avoid injury. Stretch straight after, and ideally get a massage to aid recovery. Sunday 28th Sept Easy walk or hike, eg with friends or family. 60 to 90 mins. Make it scenic and fun. Important to make it easy, to help recovery from yesterday’s long session. Alternatively, an easy bike ride or swim. Monday 29th Sept Warm-up jog; 15 minutes Intervals x 4 of the following. 3 mins hard; pace, unable to converse. Ideally up a hill 3 mins easy jog or walk, recovery; could be back down the hill to start again. Warm-down jog; 15 minutes Tuesday 30th Sept Warm-up 10 mins brisk walk or easy jog. Time Trial #13. Aim to beat last week’s time. Do this in the morning if possible. Warm-down 10 mins walking. Record your time. Wednesday 1st Oct Steve’s Strength and conditioning clinic: 5:30pm sharp! til 6:30 pm Meet 5:25pm at the Tennis courts on the grassy banks Lake Avenue, Frankton, Queenstown. Alternative: 60 mins, easy pace jogging with fartlek = speed play.. with 4 x 5 mins effort (fast run) in the middle. Undulating small hills.

How did you go with your intervals on Monday and Thursday? Increasing the number of intervals to 3 this week, you’ll likely find the second interval the easiest. The aim is to set your pace to be the same over all intervals. In following weeks as we increase the number of intervals to 6 or more, you’ll likely find the last one or two to be a bit harder as you fatigue. As you fatigue in the latter intervals, it’s a great chance for you to make sure you’re holding good technique and form for efficient running. To give yourself a good quality and measurable session, it’s a good idea to set a repeatable section of hill for your intervals. Hard on the way up, and easy jogging back to the start point for recovery. This also enables you to gauge your pace to be as consistent as possible, especially on the later intervals when you’re starting to fatigue. For example, start at a gate, finish at a tree or track junction or driveway. I’d recommend a trail, paddock or gravel road, avoiding roads or hard surfaces if possible, to stay injury free. Three minutes is important to stimulate the anaerobic threshold mechanism we’re after for marathon running, but I’d make it just a bit more than 3 minutes, say 3 and a half minutes when you’re initially setting your course this week to allow for future weeks becoming a bit quicker as you get fitter, (and also to allow for the few seconds it takes to get your heart rate up). Remember to always do a good 10 minute warm-up first. It’s important to do a good 10 minutes, easy warm-down after the session to help your lymph and circulatory system eliminate excess lactate and resupply your cells that have done all of that lovely hard training work! Recovery is as important as training Speaking of recovery; stretching, massage and good nutrition all accelerate recovery. Remember that the hard effort of sessions is only half of the training equation. The recovery is just as important. For the next 8 weeks, I’d recommend you treat yourself to a sports recovery massage once a week. Ideally after the session you find hardest. Recovery nutrition Have some sort of protein/carbo snack as soon after your session as possible (e.g. an egg or meat sandwich and a drink). Nutrients are absorbed around 6 times quicker if consumed in the 15 minutes after a work-out compared with 2 hours later. Protein is good at helping build muscle stronger. Straight after your session is good, and the next meal. Fish, eggs, lean meat, dairy and beans are all good sources of protein, and I advise to mix it up a bit, eating from all sources. To help your metabolism to resupply energy to the cells, have some carbohydrate too. If you’re busy and on the go, you can pre-prepare an egg, beef or tuna sandwich. Make sure you’re drinking a little extra water to help your circulation flush out waste products. Your pee should be nearly clear in colour, and definitely not dark. I’ll discuss general nutrition for athletes next week. Week fifteen training schedule: This week we’re increasing the number of intervals out to 3 and the long, easy endurance session on Saturday out to 3 hours. We’re getting really close to showing your body the full time duration now. Thursday 25th Sept Warm-up jog; 15 minutes Intervals x 3 of the following. 3 mins hard; pace, unable to converse. Ideally up a hill 3 mins easy jog or walk, recovery; could be back down the hill to start again. Warm-down jog; 15 minutes Friday 26th Sept How did you go with your intervals on Monday and Thursday? Increasing the number of intervals to 3 this week, you’ll likely find the second interval the easiest. The aim is to set your pace to be the same over all intervals. In following weeks as we increase the number of intervals to 6 or more, you’ll likely find the last one or two to be a bit harder as you fatigue. As you fatigue in the latter intervals, it’s a great chance for you to make sure you’re holding good technique and form for efficient running. To give yourself a good quality and measurable session, it’s a good idea to set a repeatable section of hill for your intervals. Hard on the way up, and easy jogging back to the start point for recovery. This also enables you to gauge your pace to be as consistent as possible, especially on the later intervals when you’re starting to fatigue. For example, start at a gate, finish at a tree or track junction or driveway. I’d recommend a trail, paddock or gravel road, avoiding roads or hard surfaces if possible, to stay injury free. Three minutes is important to stimulate the anaerobic threshold mechanism we’re after for marathon running, but I’d make it just a bit more than 3 minutes, say 3 and a half minutes when you’re initially setting your course this week to allow for future weeks becoming a bit quicker as you get fitter, (and also to allow for the few seconds it takes to get your heart rate up). Remember to always do a good 10 minute warm-up first. It’s important to do a good 10 minutes, easy warm-down after the session to help your lymph and circulatory system eliminate excess lactate and resupply your cells that have done all of that lovely hard training work! Recovery is as important as training Speaking of recovery; stretching, massage and good nutrition all accelerate recovery. Remember that the hard effort of sessions is only half of the training equation. The recovery is just as important. For the next 8 weeks, I’d recommend you treat yourself to a sports recovery massage once a week. Ideally after the session you find hardest. Recovery nutrition Have some sort of protein/carbo snack as soon after your session as possible (e.g. an egg or meat sandwich and a drink). Nutrients are absorbed around 6 times quicker if consumed in the 15 minutes after a work-out compared with 2 hours later. Protein is good at helping build muscle stronger. Straight after your session is good, and the next meal. Fish, eggs, lean meat, dairy and beans are all good sources of protein, and I advise to mix it up a bit, eating from all sources. To help your metabolism to resupply energy to the cells, have some carbohydrate too. If you’re busy and on the go, you can pre-prepare an egg, beef or tuna sandwich. Make sure you’re drinking a little extra water to help your circulation flush out waste products. Your pee should be nearly clear in colour, and definitely not dark. I’ll discuss general nutrition for athletes next week. Week fifteen training schedule: This week we’re increasing the number of intervals out to 3 and the long, easy endurance session on Saturday out to 3 hours. We’re getting really close to showing your body the full time duration now. Thursday 25 Sept Warm-up jog; 15 minutes Intervals x 3 of the following. 3 mins hard; pace, unable to converse. Ideally up a hill 3 mins easy jog or walk, recovery; could be back down the hill to start again. Warm-down jog; 15 minutes Friday 26th Sept Well earned rest day (optional swim or bike or yoga or gym) Saturday 27th Sept 3 hrs; long, easy endurance run /jog. Start at 8 am. Eat breakfast 2 hours prior. Pace yourself to jog or run the entire time, (no walking) to show yourself the discipline for race day. Soft trails such as dirt, gravel, grass etc to avoid injury. Stretch straight after, and ideally get a massage to aid recovery. Sunday 28th Sept Easy walk or hike, eg with friends or family. 60 to 90 mins. Make it scenic and fun. Important to make it easy, to help recovery from yesterday’s long session. Monday 29th Sept Warm-up jog; 15 minutes Intervals x 3 of the following. 3 mins hard; pace, unable to converse. Ideally up a hill 3 mins easy jog or walk, recovery; could be back down the hill to start again. Warm-down jog; 15 minutes Tuesday 30th Sept Warm-up 10 mins brisk walk or easy jog. Time Trial #12. Aim to beat last week’s time. Do this in the morning if possible. Warm-down 10 mins walking. Record your time. Wednesday 1st Oct Steve’s Strength and conditioning clinic: 5:30pm sharp! til 6:30 pm Meet 5:25pm at the Tennis courts on the grassy banks Lake Avenue, Frankton, Queenstown. Alternative: 60 mins, easy pace jogging with fartlek = speed play.. with 4 x 5 mins effort (fast run) in the middle. Undulating small hills. Well earned rest day (optional swim or bike or yoga or gym)

Need for speed With just over 9 weeks ‘til the Queenstown marathon, it’s time for the speed and power phase of our schedule. This week, Duncan our Subaru manager, is finally feeling some freshness as he prepares for the Queenstown marathon. It’s time to change up a gear for the speed and power phase of our schedule. Over the last 14 weeks we’ve built up some basic fitness, lots of endurance, but most importantly, some solid strength. If we now add some speed to that strength, we’ll start to develop the power we need to run at race speed for the marathon distance. Of course we’ll also continue to develop endurance to go the distance by further increasing the duration of our long, slow Saturday sessions. Using intervals to develop speed To develop this speed we’ll be doing 2 sessions of intervals each week on Thursday and Monday. These sessions are challenging, specifically showing our bodies how to run at race speed. Although intervals are hard work, you’ll enjoy the fact that they’re short and sharp, and finished before you know it! After a 10 to 15 minute warm-up of easy jogging, we’ll run hard for 3 minutes, (just less than full speed). Then we’ll jog nice and easy for 3 minutes, or how ever long we need to get our heart rate back down to below 100 bpm. This recovery between intervals is critically important, so make sure you give it 3 minutes or more of easy jogging, or walking, (but don’t sit down, as we need muscle movement for your lymph system.) Then we’ll repeat this cycle of 3 minutes hard followed by 3 mins easy. This week we’ll just do 2 intervals, and then over the next 7 weeks we’ll ramp it up to 7 or 8 intervals. Of course it’ll be important to warm-down with an easy 15 minute jog and then immediately stretch your quads, calves, hamstrings, gluteals and anything else that’s tight for you. The intensity or effort for our intervals needs to be at approximately “anaerobic threshold” so that it builds our body’s efficiency at removing and recycling lactic acid and also delivering oxygen to the muscle cells. If you want an ultra accurate measure of the intensity to train at for intervals, you can go a testing lab for accurate lactate testing to determine the corresponding heart rate to train at. But more simply this is roughly just below your maximum, and you’re only able to utter 3 or 4 words before gasping for your next breath. Ideally we’ll do these intervals up a moderate hill. You could do the intervals up the hill and jog easy back down to the start for recovery. Coach Arthur Lydiard's principle of only 4-6 weeks I’m using the principles of famous kiwi coach Arthur Lydiard as we enter this phase of interval training. Lydiard, who trained world champions such as Walker, Halberg, Dixon, Quax, Taylor and Snell, maintains that we only need 4 - 6 weeks of interval training to bring our cardiovascular systems to optimal race performance. Longer than this and it’s likely to induce mental staleness, because interval training is quite challenging. However, you’ll be able to really enjoy this extra challenge, knowing that it’s putting the “icing on your cake”. You’ve been committed to this goal now for several months, you’ll be well and truly feeling the benefits of that extra fitness, and there are only a matter of weeks now to the satisfaction of reaping what you’ve sown by running the marathon. As you’re digging deep for those intervals, Time Trials and long Saturday sessions, you’ll be able to smile from inside, knowing you’re using the world champion proven Lydiard principles. Go for it! Week fourteen training schedule: Remember to join us for strength and conditioning on Wednesday nights, 5:30pm. Meet at the Tennis courts on the grassy banks Lake Avenue, Frankton. Thursday 18th Sept Warm-up jog; 15 minutes Intervals x 2 of the following. 3 mins hard; pace, unable to converse. Ideally up a hill 3 mins easy jog or walk, recovery; could be back down the hill to start again. Warm-down jog; 15 minutes Friday 19th Sept Rest day (optional swim or bike or yoga or gym) Saturday 20th Sept 2 hrs and 45 mins; long, easy endurance run /jog. Start at 8 am. Eat breakfast 2 hours prior. Pace yourself to jog or run the entire time, (no walking) to show yourself the discipline for race day. Soft trails such as dirt, gravel, grass etc to avoid injury. Stretch straight after, and ideally get a massage to aid recovery. Sunday 21 Sept Easy walk or hike, eg with friends or family. 60 to 90 mins. Make it scenic and fun. Important to make it easy, to help recovery from yesterday’s long session. Alternatively, an easy bike ride or swim. Monday 22 Sept Warm-up jog; 15 minutes Intervals x 2 of the following. 3 mins hard; pace, unable to converse. Ideally up a hill 3 mins easy jog or walk, recovery; could be back down the hill to start again. Warm-down jog; 15 minutes Tuesday 23th Sept Warm-up 10 mins brisk walk or easy jog. Time Trial #11. Aim to beat last week’s time. Do this in the morning if possible. Warm-down 10 mins walking. Record your time. Wednesday 24th Sept Steve’s Strength and conditioning clinic: 5:30pm sharp! til 6:30 pm Meet 5:25pm at the Tennis courts on the grassy banks Lake Avenue, Frankton, Queenstown. Alternative: 60 mins, easy pace jogging with fartlek = speed play.. with 4 x 5 mins effort (fast run) in the middle. Undulating small hills.

When are heavy legs OK? Duncan commented to me that his legs were heavy on Saturday’s long run, and asked me if that’s ok. He’s been very wary of pain or even discomfort, since his injury interrupted his training for the Queenstown marathon just a few weeks ago. He’s only just back on schedule now and wanted to avoid any other injuries. Good on ya mate, you’re learning! Awareness and noticing is the first step, (instead of ignoring). The second step is to be able to distinguish whether the discomfort is just training effort or whether it is damage occurring. It’s not an exact science, but as a generalization, sharp pain is bad pain (with the exception of the “stitch”) and a dull persistent ache is too. After quizzing him some more we deduced that Duncan’s “heavy legs” were just lethargy, like tiredness. I would expect this on our hard sessions like the long, endurance Saturday run, on the Time Trial, and on the day or two after these hard sessions. These hard sessions are designed to push the body into a bit of short term overload so that they’ll rebuild stronger. If “heavy legs” are persistent for more than a week, then it’s time to ease up on the training load until they freshen up. Continuing without some recovery days will just lead to burn out and probably injury. Unexpected “heavy legs” can sometimes be a warning that a “flu” or cold is lurking, and you’ll generally have other indicators such as a tickly throat or grumpiness. The solution is to just do a very easy session such as a walk, and get yourself some TLC and an early night. Maintain your motivation and discipline Duncan also noted that he slowed down near the end of the long sessions, struggling to stay focused. As his coach, I quizzed him some more and pretty soon recognized it as simple laziness, or put another way a lack of discipline! I had similar problems in my early training days and sought the guidance of my wise mentor, Grahame Felton, who told me: “(Steve) you don’t have to do those hard sessions, you could do an easier session, or just go watch TV if you like? But, you could CHOOSE to do those hard sessions, because they need to be done to achieve your goal” So if your drive disappears on those hard sessions, look at the bigger perspective, recall and richly visualize why you’re doing this training, and exactly how achieving your marathon goal will enrich your life. Last base week before our speed and power phase This week is our last “base” week before starting next week into our speed and power period or phase of the schedule. As an introduction, I’ve replaced all walking in Thursday’s session, upgrading to running accelerations for the entire session. Saturday’s endurance run is lengthened further to teach endurance. Remember to stretch Quads, Hamstrings, Calves, Gluteals, Hip-flexors whilst you’re warm, straight after each session. Enjoy! Week thirteen training schedule: Join us for strength and conditioning on Wednesday nights, 5:30pm. Meet at the Tennis courts on the grassy banks Lake Avenue, Frankton. Thursday 11th Sept 45 mins total, comprised of accelerations 10 minutes walk to warm up, on the way to a jogging site of grass in a park or similar. 5 minutes of “accelerations”: Start with an easy jog, increasing the pace, a faster gear every minute, until you’re at your race or Time Trial pace the finish of 5 minutes. Do a total of 6 accelerations Warm down walk for 5 minutes. Friday 12th Sept Rest day (optional swim or bike or yoga or gym) Saturday 13th Sept 2 hrs and 30 mins; long, easy endurance run /jog. Start at 8 am. Eat breakfast 2 hours prior. Pace yourself to jog or run the entire time, (no walking) to show yourself the discipline for race day. Soft trails such as dirt, gravel, grass etc to avoid injury. Stretch straight after, and ideally get a massage to aid recovery. Sunday 14th Sept Easy walk or hike, eg with friends or family. 60 to 90 mins. Make it scenic and fun. Important to make it easy, to help recovery from yesterday’s long session. Alternatively, an easy bike ride or swim. Monday 15th Sept Rest day (optional swim or bike or yoga or gym) Tuesday 16th Sept Warm-up 10 mins brisk walk or easy jog. Time Trial #10. Aim to beat last week’s time. Do this in the morning if possible. Warm-down 10 mins walking. Record your time. Wednesday 17th Sept Steve’s strength and conditioning clinic: 5:30pm sharp! Til 6:30 pm Meet 5:25pm at the Tennis courts on the grassy banks Lake Avenue, Frankton, Queenstown. Alternative: 60 mins, medium pace jogging (fartlek = Speed play) with 4 x 5 mins effort (fast run) in the middle. Undulating small hills.

Rise and shine It’s 12 weeks now, half way to the Queenstown Marathon. Time to reflect, and to notice the improvements. After 3 months, you’ll notice how training has become a healthy habit. But, it’s so much more than just adjusting to the discipline; it’s enjoying that feel-good endorphin buzz. On the bigger scale, you’ll notice the benefits of being healthier and the confidence and pride you’ve gained from working successfully to a very worthy goal. Most of you will have seen a significant reduction in your time trial time as proof that it’s working. Congrats! You might like to reward yourself. Oh go on, buy yourself that nice summer running top you want, those new shoes, or shout yourself a yummy raw juice energy drink! Race Start Time Saturdays This week, it's time to introduce another race-specific component, we want to start getting your metabolism (and your mind) used to the race start time. (Marathon 8:15am; Half 8:00am; 10K 7:45am). Ideally from now on, you’ll start your long Saturday session at race time, alternatively you could do your Tuesday Time trail in the morning before work, or even better, do both. This will help on several counts: No surprises on race day, you’ll be able to figure out how close to race start you can eat breakfast, (usually 2 to 3 hours for solids like porridge, or a little closer if it’s something like a smoothie or an “Up and Go”), you’ll train your bowels to “blow the ballast and lighten up”, before starting. You’ll get used to the coolness of a morning start and experiment with different clothing options, your preferences of race-food may vary in the morning versus afternoon, if you’re able to train in Queenstown on the race route you’ll test subtle things like whether the sun is in your eyes etc. Perhaps most importantly though, you’ll notice that it takes a bit longer to warm-up in the mornings. Nothing new on race day It’s well known wisdom amongst racers to “never use anything new on race day”. Doing this sort of detailed preparation will give you more ideas of your own to plan for and test before race day. Come and join us on Wednesday Evenings Remember to join us for strength and conditioning on Wednesday nights, 5:30pm. Meet at the Tennis courts on the grassy banks Lake Avenue, Frankton. Week twelve training schedule: Thursday 4th Sept 45 mins total, comprised of accelerations, a little faster than last week: 10 minutes walk to warm up, on the way to a jogging site of grass in a park or similar. 5 minutes of “accelerations”: Start with a fast walk pace, increasing the pace, a faster gear every minute, until at the start of minute 3 you are jogging. Keep increasing the jog pace slowly until you are jogging at a good old clip at the finish of 5 minutes. Do a total of 6 accelerations Warm down walk for 5 minutes. Friday 5th Sept Rest day (optional swim or bike or yoga or gym) Saturday 6th Sept 2 hrs and 15 mins; long, easy endurance run /jog. Start at 8 am. Eat breakfast 2 hours prior. Pace yourself to jog or run the entire time, (no walking) to show yourself the discipline for race day. Soft trails such as dirt, gravel, grass etc to avoid injury. Stretch straight after, and ideally get a massage to aid recovery. Sunday 7th Sept Easy walk or hike, eg with friends or family. 60 to 90 mins. Make it scenic and fun. Important to make it easy, to help recovery from yesterday’s long session. Alternatively, an easy bike ride or swim. Monday 8th Sept Rest day (optional swim or bike or yoga or gym) Tuesday 9th Sept Warm-up 10 mins brisk walk or easy jog. Time Trial #9. Aim to beat last week’s time. Do these in the morning if possible. Warm-down 10 mins walking. Record your time. Wednesday 10th Sept Steve’s Strength and conditioning clinic: 5:30pm sharp! til 6:30 pm Meet 5:25pm at the Tennis courts on the grassy banks Lake Avenue, Frankton, Queenstown. Alternative: 60 mins, medium pace jogging (fartlek = Speed play) with 4 x 5 mins effort (fast run) in the middle. Undulating small hills. Thursday 11th Sept 45 mins total, comprised of accelerations, a little faster than last week: 10 minutes walk to warm up, on the way to a jogging site of grass in a park or similar. 5 minutes of “accelerations”: Start with a fast walk pace, increasing the pace, a faster gear every minute, until at the start of minute 3 you are jogging. Keep increasing the jog pace slowly until you are jogging at a good old clip at the finish of 5 minutes. Do a total of 6 accelerations Warm down walk for 5 minutes. You should be getting faster and finding it a little easier by now. Warm down walk for 5 minutes.

No stopping you now! This Saturday, (or which ever is your long day) we want to jog the entire distance with no walking, to teach your mind the discipline needed for race day. This will really boost your confidence too. You’ll need to pace yourself. Start nice and slowly, and then keep some energy in reserve to last the entire two hours. Recalling Duncan’s analogy of using gears (week 7), if you’re tempted to walk on any of the hills, just chop down to a really easy gear. Use short little strides, whilst keeping the same rhythm or cadence as on the flats. For those of you who are already jogging the entire long run, you can use this long run to pace yourself so that you’re going harder in the last half (called negative split), as this is a solid strategy for race day. You’ll need to take a snack and water for any long sessions over 1 hour, a great chance to test out what you’d like on race day. I recommend half a banana or a small sandwich or a muesli bar every 30 minutes, and at least 2 mouthfuls of water every 15 minutes. Carry them in a small back pack / camelbak. Enjoy! Come and join us on Wednesday Evenings Come and join us for strength and conditioning on Wednesday nights, 5:30pm. Meet at the Tennis courts on the grassy banks Lake Avenue, Frankton. Week eleven training schedule: Thursday 28th Aug 45 mins total, comprised of accelerations, a little faster than last week: 10 minutes walk to warm up, on the way to a jogging site of grass in a park or similar. 5 minutes of “accelerations”: Start with a fast walk pace, increasing the pace, a faster gear every minute, until at the start of minute 3 you are jogging. Keep increasing the jog pace slowly until you are jogging at a good old clip at the finish of 5 minutes. Do a total of 6 accelerations Warm down walk for 5 minutes. Friday 29th Aug Rest day (optional swim or bike or yoga or gym) Saturday 30th Aug 2 hour long, easy endurance run /jog. No walking this time. Need to show our mind race-day discipline. Ideally run on softer trails such as dirt, gravel, grass etc (eg bush trails or around the outside of a golf course (with permission)). We want to avoid the injury threat of too much running on hard surfaces such as roads. Stretch straight after, and ideally get a massage to aid recovery. Sunday 31st Aug Easy walk or hike, eg with friends or family. 60 to 90 mins. Make it scenic and fun. Important to make it easy, to help recovery from yesterday’s long session. Also consider orienteering or geocaching for some variation. Alternatively, an easy bike ride. Monday 1st Sept Rest day (optional swim or bike or yoga or gym) Tuesday 2nd Sept Time Trial #8. Aim to beat last week’s time. Warm-up 10 mins brisk walk or easy jog Warm-down 10 mins walking. Record your time. Wednesday 3rd Sept Steve’s Strength and conditioning clinic: 5:30pm sharp! til 6:30 pm Meet 5:25pm at the Tennis courts on the grassy banks Lake Avenue, Frankton, Queenstown. Alternative: 60 mins, medium pace jogging (fartlek .. Google it) with 4 x 5 mins effort (fast run) in the middle. Undulating small hills. Thursday 4th Sept 45 mins total, comprised of accelerations, a little faster than last week: 10 minutes walk to warm up, on the way to a jogging site of grass in a park or similar. 5 minutes of “accelerations”: Start with a fast walk pace, increasing the pace, a faster gear every minute, until at the start of minute 3 you are jogging. Keep increasing the jog pace slowly until you are jogging at a good old clip at the finish of 5 minutes. Do a total of 6 accelerations Warm down walk for 5 minutes.

The “I-word” : Dealing with injury Duncan’s injured. But no problem! My job as a coach is to get Duncan, and you readers, to not only the finish line, but also the start line, uninjured if possible. “To finish first, first you must finish” There are many facets to this job as coach, including carefully designing a graduated schedule, advice on warm-up and warm-down, recovery, stretching and gear choice. However, training for a goal like this, by definition, is extending and loading our muscles a little bit every time we train hard. And it’s the same whether you’re a seasoned athlete or newbie. Along with this loading is the risk of tweaking or injuring. This risk is exacerbated if there are other factors at play such as poor sleep, stress at work or home, poor nutrition etc. So what might have been tolerable and recoverable one week, might tip over the edge into a niggle when life is a bit more hectic. Listen to those niggles The trick is to be aware. Firstly aware of added stress in life and the need to button off a bit with training that week, and secondly, to notice if there is a niggle and to be prepared to ease up or stop, and then seek specialist advice. Driven athletes often turn a “blind eye” to a niggle and keep on training through a little bit of pain, until the manageable snowball turns into an out of control avalanche, thereby putting them out of the race. Fortunately, Duncan noticed the niggling snowball before the avalanche got a chance to get started! Seek expert assistance ASAP! He sought the help of his local physiotherapist. I instructed him to stop running until it was healed. Duncan was initially worried, but there are many reassuring factors: We have 10 weeks of good training under his belt already and a week or 3 off training is not going to matter much at all. In fact an easy week or two might help us freshen up a bit. It’s infinitely better to start the race a tiny bit less prepared and healthy / uninjured, than to try racing injured. If we don’t get the injury solved completely, then training will be tricky from now to the race. We have plenty of weeks before the marathon to get prepared once he’s fixed. Quality is MUCH better than Quantity. The reason for this is not so much about the pain being fixed but more about head-space. Injuries really muck with our brains when we have a really important goal like the Queenstown Marathon, and it’s almost miraculous how much relief we feel after getting a diagnosis and a rehabilitation plan. In other words, when we can see the “light at the end of the tunnel” with a plan, we are in a much better state to deal with it than if we are constantly worrying in a soup of uncertainty. Don't fret, Cross train In allegiance with his physio, I instructed Duncan to do cross-training such as cycling up hills on his mountain bike, aqua-jogging and swimming as substitutes for running. This was for 2 reasons: To keep him mentally sane and not worrying about loss of fitness This will prevent him losing cardio-vascular fitness. It’s important not to do cross-training that hurts the injury at all, and once again make sure whatever exercise you plan to do is OK with the physio. Wean back into it when given the all clear 10 days later, Duncan’s physio had him do 2 test sessions that included 5 minutes of jogging in the weekend to test the recovery. It’s all good, so we’re weaning Duncan back onto the schedule. This week he’s doing 25% of the schedule, with walking as warm up, and replace his Time Trial with a walk instead. Then next week 50%, and then the 3rd week 75% etc. Of course, if it’s sore he’ll back off and go back to the physio. We’re figuring out what the cause was to prevent it recurring, and getting Duncan to do more stretching, with better recovery between hard sessions, such as more sleep, better nutrition,… and perhaps a weekly sports massage. Now there’s a great idea! Prevention is better than cure. Week ten training schedule: We’re increasing the long easy Saturday endurance run to 90 minutes. Remember to stay off the roads and concrete, instead running on soft trails, forests, grass or beaches. Thursday 21st Aug 45 mins total, comprised of accelerations, a little faster than last week: 10 minutes walk to warm up, on the way to a jogging site of grass in a park or similar. 5 minutes of “accelerations”: Start with a fast walk pace, increasing the pace, a faster gear every minute, until at the start of minute 3 you are jogging. Keep increasing the jog pace slowly until you are jogging at a good old clip at the finish of 5 minutes. Do a total of 6 accelerations Warm down walk for 5 minutes. Friday 22nd Aug Rest day Saturday 23rd Aug 90 mins long easy endurance run /jog. Pace yourself steady, to keep jogging all the way with no walking stops if possible. Ideally run on softer trails such as dirt, gravel, grass etc (eg bush trails or around the outside of a golf course (with permission). We want to avoid the injury threat of too much running on hard surfaces such as roads. Sunday 24th Aug Long easy walk or hike, eg with friends or family. 1 to 3 hours. Make it scenic and fun. Monday 25th Aug Rest day (optional swim or bike or yoga or gym) Tuesday 26th Aug Time Trial #7. Aim to beat last week’s time. Warm-up 10 mins brisk walk or easy jog Warm-down 10 mins walking. Record your time. Wednesday 27th Aug 60 mins, medium pace jogging (fartlek .. Google it) with 4 x5 mins effort (fast run) in the middle. Undulating small hills. Thursday 28th Aug 45 mins total, comprised of accelerations, a little faster than last week: 10 minutes walk to warm up, on the way to a jogging site of grass in a park or similar. 5 minutes of “accelerations”: Start with a fast walk pace, increasing the pace, a faster gear every minute, until at the start of minute 3 you are jogging. Keep increasing the jog pace slowly until you are jogging at a good old clip at the finish of 5 minutes. Do a total of 6 accelerations Warm down walk for 5 minutes.

Developing endurance This week with the increasing daylight hours we’re shifting the Time Trial to midweek, so we can use the weekend to introduce our bodies to the component of marathon “endurance”. This endurance session on Saturdays, is one of the two basic components we’re teaching your body. The other basic component is speed or intensity, but we don’t need to teach this to your body until 9 weeks out from the event. To develop your endurance, we will gradually ramp up the Saturday duration over the next 14 weeks to teach your metabolism (and your mind) to adapt to the duration of your marathon. (If your days off (or “weekend” ) is mid week, it’s fine for you to simply change the days to match.) Marathon chat and Q&A - Wednesday 20th Remember to bring your questions along to my Marathon chat and Q&A on this Wednesday 20th at Queenstown Motor Group, 2 Hawthorn Drive, Remarkables park, Frankton. 5:30 to 7:30. Drinks and nibbles provided. Week nine training schedule: This week with the increasing daylight hours we’re shifting the Time Trial to midweek, so we can use the weekend to introduce our bodies to the component of marathon endurance. Thursday 14th Aug 45 minutes total, comprised of "accelerations", a little faster than last week: 10 minutes warm up walk to a grassy jogging area (park or similar) 5 minutes of accelerations. Start with a fast walking pace, increase the pace one faster gear every minute until at the start of minute 3 you are jogging. Keep increasing the jog pace slowly until you are jogging at a good old clip at the finish of 5 minutes. Do a total of 6 accelerations Warm down walk for 5 minutes to finish the session Friday 15th Aug Rest day Saturday 16th Aug 60 mins long easy run /jog. Pace yourself steady, to keep jogging all the way with no walking stops if possible. Ideally run on softer trails such as dirt, gravel, grass etc (eg bush trails or around the outside of a golf course (with permission). We want to avoid the injury threat of too much running on hard surfaces such as roads. Sunday 17th Aug Long easy walk or hike, eg with friends or family. 1 to 3 hours. Make it scenic and fun. Also consider orienteering if it’s available, for some variation. Geocaching, similar to orienteering, is a great way to entice the kids into the countryside - it's a world wide treasure hunt! If you don't have a dedicated GPS, you can download an app for your smartphone and use that instead. Monday 18th Aug Rest day (optional swim or bike or yoga or gym 30 mins) Tuesday 19th Aug Time Trial #6. Aim to beat last week’s time. Warm-up 10 mins brisk walk or easy jog Warm-down 10 mins walking. Record your time. Wednesday 20th Aug Remember Steve’s Marathon Clinic at Queenstown Motor Group, 2 Hawthorne Drive, Remarkables Park, Frankton 5:30pm to 7:00pm Short session: 30 mins, medium pace jogging with 5 mins effort (fast run) in the middle. Undulating small hills. Thursday 21st Aug 45 mins total, comprised of accelerations, a little faster than last week: 10 minutes walk to warm up, on the way to a jogging site of grass in a park or similar. 5 minutes of “accelerations”: Start with a fast walk pace, increasing the pace, a faster gear every minute, until at the start of minute 3 you are jogging. Keep increasing the jog pace slowly until you are jogging at a good old clip at the finish of 5 minutes. Do a total of 6 accelerations. Warm down walk for 5 minutes.

Self talk is useful Duncan reckons he’s going mad,… talking to himself whilst training! Well it turns out that it’s actually quite normal to talk to ourselves. In fact, research shows that top achievers talk to themselves in a quite specific way, encouraging themselves with positive type of comments. And what’s more, it’s not just talk, there’s also the pictures they make in their mind, and other things they notice or feel such as reframing the effort of running up the hill as powerful, rather than painful. I have a friend, Keith Murray, an awesome runner (and multisporter, he’s beaten me in the Coast to Coast and holds the fastest time). Keith revels in pushing himself very hard uphill. He re-defines the pain as enjoyable “pureness”. It’s different to the pain of a cut or injury, rather, it’s pure, self-induced, cleansing and refinement of his body, exercising the body as it’s naturally designed to do. He visualizes his body as a highly tuned machine that is going to transport him to victory in the next race. Both Keith and Duncan talk to themselves, but the talk is proud and positive, encouraging themselves to keep up the good work. Powerful, positive perspective So it’s useful to notice what sort of self-talk we’ve got going on. Is it encouraging, positive type of talk? Early on in my sporting career, I used to find my self-talk was often critical, and negative. Things like “you idiot, why didn’t you get organized and go training before it got dark”. The critical step is to notice the negative talk in a non-judgmental way, and then correct it to something like “well it’s interesting I was so negative about that, next time I’ll just remember to go out earlier and have more fun”. This simple change in my self-talk changed my entire attitude, which in turn made training more fun and powerful which of course got me more wins in my races. Notice too how you talk to others in conversations about your running and training. Is it positive and excited about your new goal, perhaps in a child-like excited tone of voice? (Or do you often complain about things?) Choose to go training We may be currently challenged by the chilly winter climate, but we can always change the way we talk to ourselves, and the visuals and sensations we imagine. For example, instead I can clearly visualize next summer, and how good I will feel being fit again as the sunnier weather arrives, when once again I feel the warmth of the sun whilst out exercising. We all find it motivational to visualize the benefits of our toned bodies as we emerge out of winter into summer, having done this schedule. This can only happen if we get out the door, making exercise an enjoyable habit, no matter what the conditions. In the words of Grahame Felton, “you don’t have to go training, choose to go training, because it needs to be done to achieve your goals” Determine your biochemisty These may seem subtle and insignificant changes to make, but these simple adjustments to the way we represent in our head, determine the biochemistry that is generated in our bodies (eg different hormones and endorphins that are released), which directly affect the ease with which we do things, which directly affect the results we get. Results that can range between tight muscles and injuries, to record breaking performances, and anything in between. What sort of results would you like to have, not just in your running goals, but in other important areas of life too? And another way of thinking about it… people who think like this are much more fun to live with! Week eight training schedule: Thursday 7th Aug 45 minutes total, comprised of "accelerations" a little faster than last week. 10 minutes warm up walk to a grassy jogging area (park or similar) 5 minutes of "accelerations". Start with a fast walking pace, increase the pace one faster gear every minute until at the start of minute three you are jogging. Keep increasing the jog pace slowly until you are jogging at a good old clip at the finish of 5 minutes. Do a total of 6 accelerations Warm down walk for 5 minutes Friday 8th Aug Rest day Saturday 9th Aug Time trial #5. Aim to beat last week's time. Warm up 10 mins brisk walk or easy jog. Warm down 10 mins walking. Record your time. Sunday 10th Aug Long, easy walk. Between 90 minutes and 4 hours. Find an enjoyable track, take a wee backpack with 3 litres of water to drink, some food, a map, a raincoat, a hat, some gloves, and warm thermal layers, and a friend. Tell someone where you’re headed, check the weather forecast and have a back-up safety plan. Have some fun exploring!! Monday 11th Aug Rest day (optional swim or bike or yoga or gym 30 mins) Tuesday 12th Aug Jog 40 minutes at a medium pace on undulating, small hills Wednesday 13th Aug Walk / jog 43 minutes total as follows: 10 minutes easy jog warm-up, on the flat or hill, at talking pace. 5 minutes jog /run so that you’re breathing hard, (include a bit of a hill or stairs if available). 2 mins easy walk, recovery (could be back down the hill/stairs Repeat, (2) and (3) to a total of 4 times. Finish with 5 minutes warm down as easy walking, giving a total session time of 43 minutes Thursday 14th Aug 45 minutes total, comprised of "accelerations", a little faster than last week: 10 minutes warm up walk to a grassy jogging area (park or similar) 5 minutes of accelerations. Start with a fast walking pace, increase the pace one faster gear every minute until at the start of minute 3 you are jogging. Keep increasing the jog pace slowly until you are jogging at a good old clip at the finish of 5 minutes. Do a total of 6 accelerations Warm down walk for 5 minutes to finish the session Stretches Once we get jogging more you will probably find slight tightening of your calf muscles, the soleus and gastrocnemius. Repetitive actions like running tend to gradually shorten muscles, so a moderate stretch is a good idea. Do stretches after you are warmed up, or at the end of your session whilst you are still warm. Don’t go into the pain zone with your stretching, just until you feel a healthy stretch. Hold this for 20 to 30 seconds. Gastrocnemius: Find a sturdy object like a post or tree. (This stretch looks like you are pushing this object over, and you’ll probably get some “smart” comments). Start by facing the post, and leaning against it, supporting yourself against it with your hands. Bit by bit, move your feet backwards, keeping your heels in contact with the ground, and knees straight. Keep your body in a straight line, hips forward and head/neck up and in line with your spine. You should feel that all of your weight is driving nice and straight down your spine and through your hips and legs to your heel. Keep your toes pointing straight forward, in line with your knees. For more of a stretch move your feet further back, and push harder down through your heels, keeping your heels on the ground. Alternatively, you can stretch one leg at a time for more of a stretch. Soleus: Find a door edge, post or a curb. You will need shoes on. Stand very close to the door-post/wall with your right foot toes up the wall or skirting board, approx 10 cm, so that the front of your foot is bent upward. Your heel is in flat contact with the floor, but your toes are in extreme dorsiflexion (lifted upward). Alternatively use a curb. Keep your toes pointing forward, in line with your knees. (Your left foot is supporting your weight a little behind the other foot). Next relax your right leg and allow your right knee to bend forward, very relaxed, toward the door post. As you sink into this position, you will feel a stretch deep in your calves, (the soleus muscle). Hold for 20 to 30 seconds, swap legs and then repeat.

There is a groundswell beginning: Increasing numbers of concerned and aware public want to arrest the de-evolutionary slide to "blobbo-sapiens" Movement and exercise is a basic function and requirement of the human body. I am alarmed that often we have lost perspective on this. Technology, social conditioning and perhaps laziness seem to be marching a direction that gives little thought for easily incorporating activity into a natural rhythm of life. Too often people need to make a special effort or activity to go the gymnasium, or to dust off the "Gensu lobotomiser machine" from under the bed for another torture session, or to drag out the jogging shoes, moaning. How about a fresh perspective on this? Designing our environment (town planning) and daily schedules, to incorporate exercise as it is intended without having to make an extra activity effort. Are we getting too precious about getting a little sweat on ourselves? How about walking or biking to work? Even part way. Do we need to overhaul our town planning to give humans TOP priority over vehicles? ( I reckon we've well and truly lost the plot on this one! ) It is said, quite rightly, that to think globally we need to act locally. What about issues like kids walking to school. Too often now, there is a major traffic jam outside schools as dozens of parents drop their kids to the school gate. What happened to the days when kids walked or biked to school? Think back to the stories of our grandparents, where some walked 10 miles to school and 10 miles home, every day. Certainly did them no harm, (and perhaps this is one of the reasons why these wise members of our society have none of the arrogance we see in some of today's youth?) Today's parents cite excuses like "stranger danger", but I wonder if that is any more of an issue than it used to be, and whether it is can be easily solved by things like education and walking buses. Driving kids cycle-able distances is setting them into exercise-starved patterns for life. How about a frank look at design of our cities to make walking, biking, skating, wheelchair, and general human powered locomotion a priority over motorised vehicles. Think about your next vehicle trip. Does it need to be in a car, could it be a walk or a bike instead? Truthfully? It often requires a wee adjustment of mindset. Eg. To drive it will take 10 minutes. To bike it will take 20 minutes. For an investment of 10 minutes, I've got 20 minutes of valuable exercise, and saved fuel and pollution. Everyone is a winner! I'm interested in forming an Email group of people interested in taking this concept further. I need ideas on the next step. Could it be we form a club/committee? Would it be better that we make some sort of submission to council/gov't? Let me know if you're keen to put a bit of effort into this, and what your ideas for progress are. Email me at steve@gurneygears.com