This column by Simon Gear first appeared in Runners World SA in January 2009
I’ve said it before, running is a great sport. Central to this is that at just about any event, the number of participants far exceeds the number of spectators. Rather like a home game for the Lions at Ellis Park, really. But with our heavy emphasis on being a part of the race, rather than among the thronging masses along the verge, comes a fierce commitment to independence that may not be in our best interests.
Runners tend to be a fairly simple lot. Anyone who has run for a couple of years soon finds a rhythm to fall into, regardless of success. Despite lining up with thousands of other athletes every Sunday, the sharing of information and the willingness to try new things is pretty limited. All of my regular running mates fall into similar brackets. There’s the fastest lot who run every day, come hell or taxes and invariably race at every possible opportunity, whacking in at least one timetrial a week. There’s the Comrades crowd, who wake up on January the first, idly scratching their tummies while doing mileage sums in their heads and then run long, slow distance for the next 6 months before lapsing back into slumber on June the 17th. Then there’s the social lot who have run with the same group of friends for years and all run at exactly the same pace, every run, chatting up a storm but never getting any faster or slower.
All of this results in incredible inertia once you’re past the initial PB-glut of your first couple of running years. Everyone seems to oscillate within a fairly narrow band depending on where they are in their training cycle. Breakthroughs are rare or non-existent. And we all just sort of accept it. The best predictor of this year’s medal is whatever last year’s one was.
And then, just occasionally, like a genetic mutation in the primordial soup that suddenly gives a fish lungs and itchy feet, someone in our group will try something new (or often have something new forced upon them by injury) and Wham! Personal Best city. This was best illustrated by two mates of mine. Both were similar runners, never clocking faster than 5 minutes a kay for a marathon but seldom slower than 6. Then, both had experiences that have shunted them permanently into a different league.
The one discovered he was going to be in Boston this year around the time of the marathon. Qualifying for Boston requires a sub-3:10 42k. He asked my advice as to how to take half an hour off his marathon PB in a couple of months and I idly suggested a professional coach. Our man disappeared off and we stopped seeing him at timetrials or on many long runs but we noticed that he was getting faster and faster. Last week he qualified for Boston in 3:09.
Our other chap created his revolution by simply getting married. He went from a slightly ovoid, pizza-wolfing bachelor to a lean and hungry track athlete who now runs to work and back most days and is fed nothing but home cooked chick’s food. Salad and the like. Steamed chicken breasts. He’s faster now than he was at varsity.
I’ve quizzed these two and tried to get the essence of what changed, fully expecting to hear stories of 100 kay weeks and track sessions tough enough to make grown men weep. The answers were surprisingly simple, but not really things you were going to find out chatting to your running group on Sunday morning long runs.
The first step to changing your life seems to be eating properly. Basically, prepare as much of your own food as possible. If it comes in a packet, a can or a takeaway box, steer clear. Splash out on a once off nutritionist visit or buy just about anything by Patrick Holford.
Step two is to understand a little neurology. There are little spots all over the body where a bit of rubbing serves to activate large muscle groups to make you stronger and more flexible. The results are astounding. Invest in a trip to a good sports physio and ask how it’s done.
And step three is rest. Yes, I know you know this one, but I bet you still timetrial every week when you’re running well. We all seem to go from nothing, to over-raced and back to nothing again. A little self control works wonders.
So, set your sites a little higher this year. And do things a little differently. The only down side is that you may be so far ahead of your mates that you might have to make new ones.