Self Righteous Runner with Unfinished Business

Transformation time; from self-righteous cyclist to self-righteous runner.  Aside from being a dedicated cyclist I've run an average of one marathon a year for the past 15 years.  Why running? The answer is simply time efficiency.  When Paula and I started our family back in 2001 the 10-12 hours a week of triathlon training had to give way to a part time Masters, a full time job and becoming a father.  Restrictions on my available time meant that if I was going to choose one element of triathlon to concentrate on it would be something I could actually take my young child out with me when I trained.  Hence a new love of running was uncovered.  Previously running had been the worst of the three triathlon legs for me, but before too long I became equally strong across them all. 

I've had many conversations with cyclists over the years about what happens when you change from cycling to running.  The common thread of the conversation is losing top end speed  because of the different muscle groups involved in each sport.  Fortunately for me what I lose in strength I make up in endurance and climbing ability.

Ok, back to the topic.  Over the past 15 years I've seen my marathon times drop from 3:16 in 2001 down to 3:00:42 in 2013.  Breaking 3 hours for a recreational runner like myself has always been a goal and presents itself as unfinished business  This ageing body is not getting any younger and perhaps there's another good marathon left in me.  So what to do?  This time I've subscribed to the adage that what got me here, won't get me there.  I could keep working on the same training programs or switch it up and do something different.

What's different?  This time around I've moved from the Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training's high intensity 3 day a week low mileage program which I mixed up with cycling 3 days a week to MacMillan Running's 4 day a week mid-mileage program thanks to my Strava premium membership.  Despite my ever improving times running only 3 days a week crossed with cycling, the words of one local legend stayed with me and has so far remained true in my case; "you will never run sub 3 only running 3 days a week."  Secondly I've engaged an exercise physiologist to analyse my strengths and weaknesses, tailor an exercise program to become a better runner and test the efficacy of the combined programs. 

To kick things off I met with Simon Jackson from Jack and Hill personal training in North Fitzroy.  Simon along with being a neighbour, local identity, regular contributor to local sporting clubs and himself a veteran of endurance sports along with being an exercise physiologist.  In the initial session we talked about my goals, my diet and did a 90min fitness assessment.  During the first session we honed some specific goals around achieving a PB for the Melbourne Marathon course and lifting my own body weight.  In what was a very detailed analysis of my body, Simon took measurements (pulse and blood pressure), weighed me, stretched me and not least made me stand on what looks like a set of scales which calculates physical age. 33 in case you're wondering, roughly a third less than my actual age. You can calculate your own World Fitness Level via the link. A plan was constructed to do a fitness test to measure VO2 max (measure of cardiovascular fitness) in the form of a beep test the following week, another a month later and another after the marathon to measure any discernible improvement over the time.  The next part was to get me doing some specific stretching and weight bearing exercises.  These have been introduced during a Personal Training session and then left to me to do during the week with my recovery days.  The idea being that flexibility and strength will bring efficiency to my running action.

After an 11.3 beep test, a couple of weeks of personal training and not to mention the landscaping work I've been doing in my backyard in between I'm beginning to feel stronger already.  Following the mantra that you can only improve what you can measure I've also taken a few basic measurements of biceps, chest, waist, quadriceps and calf muscle to having something to compare with at the end of this self experiment.  

And by the way I've barely touched the bike in the past month because I've made it my business to concentrate on running and recovery rather than over training. That Sunday ride will just have to wait until late October, but I still put in an appearance for a post run coffee and muffin with my cycling mates so I'm not losing complete touch.  From here on in I'll be posting every couple of weeks as I plot my course towards those goals.  In the meantime I'd be keen to hear your stories of unfinished business and whether you achieved your goal and how you did it.