Category: Racing

Acclaimed sports coach Matt Fitzgerald has a simple motto, “Train the brain and the rest will follow.” And we’ve all heard the Comrades experts say that the race is 40% physical and 60% mental and that your physical training will only get you to the 60km mark – after that, your mind has to take you the rest of the way. But is the mind really that important when it comes to running? The answer is a definite yes. In his book Psycho-Cybernetics, Maxwell Maltz writes about the power of our self-image and how we limit and restrict ourselves based on our self-image. The truth is that most us achieve far less than we are capable of, simply because our self-image doesn’t allow us to.

I realised for the first time the power of the mind in October 2011, when I took part in the Munich Marathon. I lined up at the start aiming for a PB, but instead ended up tearing my Soleus muscle around the 14km mark. By the 16km mark I was ready to throw in the towel, because every step was excruciating, but at that moment I learnt an invaluable life and running lesson, about the power of the mind. I said to myself, “I have not come all this way to feel pain.” I literally switched off the pain and continued to run at the best possible pace I could manage. I ended up missing my PB, but still managed to cross the line in 2:57:29 – at which point the pain flooded my calf and I could hardly walk.

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR BRAIN

The training we do is not purely about the physical aspect, but also has a huge impact on our mental state. For example, every time we drag ourselves out of bed and head out the door to train, despite not wanting to, it makes us that much stronger mentally. Every time we push through a tough session, despite our bodies begging us to stop, makes us stronger mentally. While it is important to listen to our bodies and not overdo it, we need to learn when it’s our body calling for a time-out and warning us of looming injury, or when it’s just our mind giving in and wanting us to quit. When it’s the mind, never give in. You can conquer it, and if you’ve done so once, you can conquer it again. The bottom line is that if we quit in training, we will quit at one point or another in the race.

Another aspect of training your brain is mentally preparing ourselves for our next big goal. This process is called visualisation and should not be underestimated. There’s a true story about a prisoner of war who was locked up in solitary confinement for seven years. To stop himself from going insane, he would visually play a full round of golf every day in his mind. He would see himself lining up the ball, feel the club swinging through the air and making contact with the ball, then see the ball landing on the fairway and ultimately putting it into the hole. Before being locked up he was a very average golfer, shooting in the mid 90’s, but after he was released from prison he shot a 74 on his first round.

When building up to a race, visualise it in your mind. Feel your nerves as you line up at the start. See the start banner, hear the gun as your heart rate jumps a notch. Feel your feet hitting the ground and your lungs expanding with every breath. In your mind, run the route as you plan to run it on race day, then see yourself crossing the finish line and feel the emotions of achieving your goal. If we spend a few minutes each day for one to two weeks before race day visualising our race in this way, we will find that on race day we are mentally prepared for what’s coming. We’ve already ‘run’ up Polly Shorts. We’ve already conquered the route. We’ve already crossed the line. 

SET YOURSELF GOALS

Lastly, set yourself challenging and achievable goals, ones that you really want. If you don’t really desire that Bill Rowan, or you don’t really want that sub-80 half marathon, or you’re not really sure why you’re tackling 160km, then it’s going to be very hard to achieve your goal. Part of the mental battle is already won if you’ll do almost anything to achieve what you’re aiming for. And always remember, it’s all in the mind!

With the smell of summer filling the October air, why not make these coming months the start of your running career? With a jam packed race calendar offering events all over the country, you surely cannot be the one to sit this period out. Take a look at some of the great events that are on offer in the coming weeks.

1. Bedford Walk for Charity
The Bedford Walk for Charity is held with the sole purpose of raising money. All proceeds from this event will be handed over to St. Giles and the Avalon Association. Both of these homes care for people with disabilities. So, if doing things for a great cause is your cup of tea, make sure you get down to this event. This event will take place this Saturday, 8 October 2016 at Bedford Centre in Bedfordview. Online entries are close but late entries can be done on the day of the event. Click below to find out more.

2. Klipriviersberg Trail Run
Hosted in the heart of the Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve, this family event is sure to be filled with thrills and spills like no other. With three distances on offer, why not bring the family down to tackle the trails of this beautiful landscape. These trails are well maintained and make for a good day of some of the best trail running that Johannesburg has to offer. Entries can be done on race day, Sunday 9 October from 05h30. We look forward to seeing you there!

3. Penguin Trail Run
As trail running begins to flood the race calendar during the warmer running months, the Eastern Cape brings you a trail run like no other. Immerse yourself in the beauty of the Eastern Cape during the 3-Day Penguin Trail Run. With so many options to choose from, anyone can join. If you’re looking for distance in the legs, the ultra-trail is for you. If not, bring the family along for a 10km trail run/walk. Taking place at the Cape St. Francis Resort, the Eastern Cape is waiting for you!

4. Impi Challenge Obstacle Trail Run – Gauteng
The Impi Challenge is a muddy trail run that caters for all athletic abilities. With exhilarating obstacles, live music and amazing festivities, why not join this social event. The Impi Challenge is about challenging yourself, challenging your friends and at the same time having an awesome adventure through an obstacle trail run. Taking place on Saturday, 15 and Sunday, 16 October 2016 at Smuts House in Pretoria, make sure you don’t miss out!

5. The Sportsmans Warehouse 15km & 5km Fun Run
The Boksburg Athletics Club looks forward to hosting you at the annual Sportsmans Warehouse 15km & 5km Fun Run. Whether you’re looking to get a good 15km in the legs or just coming along for a 5km trot, the Boksburg Athletics Club wants you there! This year’s race will take place on Sunday, 23 October 2016 at the East Rand Value Mart in Boksburg. Online entries for this event are still open and will only close on Monday, 17 October 2016. Click below for more information.

6. Tembisa Street Mile and 10km Road Race
This is the 5th Edition of the Tembisa Street Mile and 10km Road Race. The race consists of various mile categories as well as a 10km Road Run/Walk. Pre-entries for the event will close on Sunday, 16 October 2016 with entries limited to 1000 participants. Race pack collection and late registration will take place on Saturday, 29 October 2016 from 09h00 to 18h00 and on race day from 06h00. This is a ChampionChip timed race, therefore, runners are required to wear their ChampionChip timing device on their running shoe for the duration of the race. Click below to find out more.

7. Impi Challenge Obstacle Trail Run – Cape Town
The Impi Challenge is a muddy trail run that caters for all athletic abilities. With exhilarating obstacles, live music and amazing festivities, why not join this social event. The Impi Challenge is about challenging yourself, challenging your friends and at the same time having an awesome adventure through an obstacle trail run. Taking place on Saturday, 19 and Sunday, 20 October 2016 at Lievland Wine Estate in Stellenbosch, make sure you don’t miss out!

For more, click on the button below to view the full Modern Athlete Events Calendar!

Many of us have experienced a feeling of exhaustion that is not the usual tiredness from a hard training session. My classic case of overtraining was immediately after running my PB at the former Transvaal Marathon Champs in 1982. That race was one of my most perfect races ever! I was strong from start to finish, had the speed in my legs and won the race quite easily! I finished full of running and was so confident after this performance that I believed that if I now really trained hard, I would run another PB and finish in the top three at the SA Championships, six weeks later!

I started training straight after and gave myself no recovery time at all! Within a week I was back up to 25min 8km time trails and 40km training runs at 4min/km. Rest days? I did not need them – I was fit and strong, I thought. However, soon I started to feel tired and fatigued more often than usual, and comments like ‘tired, sluggish, sore legs’ appeared often in my training diary. But I continued to push myself!

At the SA Champs, I started at PB pace with the front group, but felt tired early on, and after halfway fatigue set in. Needless to say, it was a fight to the finish. I still managed eighth place, but was five minutes off my PB on a fast course at sea level. I was not ill or injured; it was simply a classic case of overtraining!

WHAT EXACTLY IS OVERTRAINING?
Overtraining is the result of training hard more frequently than your body can handle. Positive adaptation to training occurs when there is more build-up (anabolism) than breakdown (catabolism) and you get fitter, stronger and faster. When you train sensibly, your body builds up during the recovery between training sessions, allowing you to do future training easier, or at a faster pace, or with an increase in the distance you run.

During overtraining, the opposite occurs and your ability to recover and build up is outpaced by repetitive high intensity training (speed or distance), leading to a decrease in performance, or even illness and/or injury. You push your body beyond its ability to adapt to exertion. The crazy thing about this is that when it happens, many of us believe we need more or harder training, instead of less or easier training.

IT’S ALL IN THE GENES
Overtraining is an individual thing – what you consider normal training may represent overtraining for the next runner. The training load that you can handle is determined by the following factors:
• Genetics
• Level of fitness
• Age
• Sex
• The sum total of all the other stresses in your life (work, family, social).

Overtraining is a result of poor management (coaching) of your body’s ability to recover and adapt. An athlete can train very hard and not become overtrained as long as there is sufficient allowance for recovery between workouts. Remember, hard training is not overtraining.

GENERIC TRAINING PROGRAMMES
One of the attractions of a joining a big running club is that groups train together for six days a week, be they Comrades runners, triathletes, social runners or walkers, and the Club Captains usually draw up and publish training programmes for all these running ‘schools.’ It is important to remember the following:
• Use these programmes as a guide to plan your own personal programme.
• Take into account the factors mentioned above, especially age. A runner of 50 generally cannot do the same training as a 25-year-old!
• Know your personal thresholds and do not succumb to group peer pressure.

ANALYSE YOUR TRAINING OBJECTIVELY
It is important to establish your balance between build-up and breakdown to prevent overtraining. Train and race hard, but always ensure proper and full recovery. Also, keep a simple training log or training diary and use this information to determine how you train. Here are two effective ways of keeping check on your recovery:
• Monitor your waking heart rate every morning. A variation of 5-10 beats a minute above your average means you have not recovered fully and are tired. Have an easy or short run that day.
• Log your RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) for each training session on a scale of 1-10 so that you can compare how you feel today against last week. For example, last week you did a 20km run in  two hours and your RPE was 5 (medium to hard effort), but this week when you do the same route your RPE is a 7 (the run felt hard). Clearly you have not recovered properly from training during this week, so a rest day might be needed.

PREVENT OVERTRAINING
• All running programmes are a guide only – adapt it to suit your needs.
• Have short/medium/long-term goals; do not train aimlessly.
• Ensure you are fully recovered and rested for your key workouts (speed/hills or long runs).
• Each session must have a specific purpose, even if that is simply an easy recovery run.
• Speed sessions are just that; do not add extra kilometres for the log book!
• Long steady runs are just that; do not turn them into speed sessions or race your mates.
• Only do a maximum of two longer runs a week, not three, as some runners try to fit in.
• I often see runners ‘add on’ a few kays to their club run. Why? A run of 19km is as good as a 21km run!
• Any athlete can become mentally stale. Keep training fun and enjoyable with plenty of variety. Do not run the same route more than once a week. Do different races to make your running interesting. Sometimes, athletes get locked into the same race programme every year, and this becomes boring. There are so many races on the calendar, so aim to try a new event every couple of months. An away run with friends and family should also be a must at least once a year.

REMEMBER, IT IS OK TO DO A SHORTHER RUN. I recently introduced an 8km run this year to our club programme (4km out easy and 4km faster return), and I actually saw a few runners going back out to do an extra 2km for the magical 10km. Why? Your fitness will not improve as a result of this extra 2km!

A REST DAY IS A REST DAY! Mondays are often many athletes’ scheduled rest day, yet some runners go spinning for 45 minutes and do gym for an hour. That is not rest! Your body needs a complete break from training at least once a week. Older runners should consider two rest days a week, e.g. Mondays and Fridays. Rest before and after key runs to maximise the training effect.

WHAT TO DO WHEN OVERTRAINED
Overtraining often leads to illness (colds and flu mostly) and injury. When this happens, you are forced to rest. However, overtraining can simply affect performance in that you are not performing to your potential. An athlete can still perform reasonably well, as I did at the SA Marathon Champs mentioned above. I finished eighth in a decent time, but my performance should and would have been better had I taken notice of the signs of overtraining.

So what do you do in this case? Firstly, you need to acknowledge and understand that you are overtrained. This is often not easy for fit athletes to do, and even more difficult is to cut back on training! But it is crucial that you do just that. Cut back on the distance and intensity that you are running and rest more often. Take a week to 10 days of running every alternate day, reducing the distance but keeping the runs brisk – not fast, but not a jog.

Also, finish each run feeling you could do more, and at a faster pace. Hopefully after a week or two of this, you will start to feel strong and looking forward to your training. Then you can build up to normal training again, unless your target race is imminent, in which case you simply take it easy till race day.

In conclusion, continually evaluate your levels of fatigue, especially when you get into serious ultra-marathon training with bigger mileage weeks and longer runs – and you decide when your body needs some extra rest or easier running!

TRAIN TO RACE – DO NOT RACE IN TRAINING!

Derick Marcisz has well over 41 years of experience as a runner, cyclist and triathlete. As a runner, he has competed in track, cross-country and all road events, including Comrades. He has run 25 sub-2:30 marathons, with a PB of 2:17:17, and a half marathon PB of 1:05:36. Derick has two top 10 finishes at the Two Oceans Marathon, including a sixth placing in a PB 3:19.20. He has been involved in triathlon since 2000 and has competed in over 70 triathlons and duathlons at all distances from the Energade sprints to Ironman. Derick is currently coaching runners and triathletes of all ages and abilities.

Capegate Clicks Charity Run
Gather the family and join in the fun at the Capegate Clicks Charity Run, which this year celebrates its 10th anniversary. The Capegate Clicks annual 5km fun run and 10km race will take place on Saturday, 1st October 2016 and all 5km proceeds will be donated to the Clicks Helping Hand Trust. Join over 3,000 runners and walkers for a fun morning in aid of a great cause. Pets, prams and large groups are welcome to enter the 5km fun run and walkers are also invited to complete the 10km event. The Capegate Clicks Charity Run offers R30,000 in cash to the first places in the 10km run as well as an awesome spot prize of R10 000 open to all, which will be drawn during the prize giving ceremony. Goodie bags and medals will be given to the first 3,000 people to cross the finish line. Food and beverage stalls, fun activities for the kids and musical entertainment at the finish will ensure the whole family has an awesome time in the name of helping others.

Groot Marico Bosveld Myl
The Groot Marico Bosveld Myl is a family festival which consists of sporting disciplines namely swimming, cycling and running. Some of these events are qualifying races which assist the more serious athletes with competing in other races held throughout the year. For the last three years there have been four qualifying events, mainly the running of the 42.2km Marathon and the 21.1km Half Marathon, as well as the swimming of the 3000m and 1600m.

Bedford Walk for Charity
The Bedford Charity Walk is held with the sole purpose of raising money and donating all the proceeds to St. Giles and the Avalon Association. Both of these are homes for people with disabilities. Lace up your takkies and take part in this walk for charity – proceeds will go towards St. Giles and Avalon Associations, which are homes for people with disabilities, so it’s for a great cause! The walk is only 5kms long and will take participants through the residential suburb of Bedfordview.

IMPI Challenge Obstacle Trail Run
The Impi Challenge is a muddy trail run for all athletic abilities to love! Exhilarating obstacles, mud, music and an amazing festival area. Social, fun and challenging. The Impi Challenge is about challenging yourself, challenging your friends and having a fun adventure through an obstacle trail run. 1km Mini for 6-10 year olds; Family and over 10's 5km Dash.

The Sportsman’s Warehouse 15km & 5km Fun Run
We look forward to hosting you at the Sportsman’s Warehouse 15km & 5km Fun Run on the 23rd October 2016 starting at 6.30am. The race starts at the East Rand Value Mall on the corner of Rietfontein and Madeley Roads in Boksburg. Race number collection will take place on the 21st October between 9am – 1pm at Boksburg Athletic Club situated at the Boksburg City Stadium, Jubilee Road, Boksburg or on race day from 4.30am until 6.00am.

It’s beginning to get lighter earlier in the mornings and darker later in the evenings, and the race calendar is starting to fill up with races every weekend. That’s because spring has arrived, and it’s time to get back to full training if you have been in winter hibernation mode, but before you head out, first read these 10 essential training tips to help you attain your goals. – BY RAY ORCHISON

1 PLAN AHEAD: Getting out of bed each morning and thinking to yourself, “What should I do today, 800m repeats or 60 minutes easy?” is a recipe for disaster. Instead, approach the season with a plan. Start by planning the structure of your training, and think about the races you want to do and what goals you want for each. Also, identify which races you are going to use as training runs and which races you are going to race hard.

2 INTRODUCE CHANGES GRADUALLY: Any change in your training means that your joints and muscles have to adapt to the new session, shoe, running form or strength session. If you introduce the changes too quickly, or change too much, you will invariably pay the price with injury, so build up to it gradually.

3 CORRECT MUSCLE IMBALANCES: Most of us sit behind computers or drive in cars all day. Our modern lifestyles leave us weak in the areas we need the most when it comes to running: Glutes, calves and core. So, in order to avoid injury, focus on and strengthen these areas before introducing quality and distance to your training.

4 ADD QUALITY: You only get faster by running faster. By gradually introducing quality sessions into your training programme, you will begin to train the body to run faster at different distances.

5 THE KNOCK-ON EFFECT: If you can teach yourself to run faster over shorter distances before building up to longer distances, then once you start introducing longer runs you’ve enhanced not only your running form but your running efficiency. A faster 10km time leads to a faster 21km time, which in turn leads to a faster 42km time, which ultimately leads to a faster ultra.

6 TRACK DOES NOT MEAN FLAT OUT: At school, a track session usually involved some teacher with a whistle and a stopwatch shouting at you to run faster. That is not a track session. Track sessions are designed to introduce your muscles and energy systems to new varying paces, and this never equates to a flat-out session.

7 ALTERNATE HARD AND EASY DAYS: Continuous hard training will wear you down. Alternate hard days with easy days in order to benefit fully from the hard training.

8 YOU DON’T GET FASTER BY RUNNING FURTHER: Countless runners finish Comrades each year with new motivation to go back the following year with the goal of showing Comrades who is boss, and invariably the plan to achieve this involves more mileage. Distance running makes you slower, and as a result you don’t get faster by simply doing more mileage. You get faster when you adhere to the previous four tips!

9 RECOVERY IS KEY: Rest days should be the first aspect you build into your season plan. The purpose behind training is to take your body to new levels through a constant cycle of stress and adaptation. If you’re only ever stressing your body and not allowing time for adequate recovery, then your body never adapts and you end up injured, or never reaching your full potential.

10 LISTEN TO YOUR BODY: The older you are in training years – for example, if you’ve been running for three years then your training age is three – the more aware you become of your body. Your body sends you signals all day long, and the more experienced you are, the more you become aware of those signals. If you’re pushing yourself too hard for too long, your body begins to give warning signals, like niggles or signs of a cold, indicating that you need more recovery. If you ignore these warnings, you will end up injured or sick. Having said that, you will learn to distinguish between the body crying out for recovery and your mind trying to take the easy route. In the case of the mind, fight it!

If you follow all these tips, your chances of running smoothly and smashing your goal times or PBs will improve greatly. Now get to it!

Ray Orchison is a Joburg-based USATF and NAASFP certified coach. Find him at www.runetics.com or [email protected].

With October looming large and the running calendar in full swing, what better way to kick start your running campaign than with some great events? Here at Modern Athlete we’ve got it all. From road running to trail running, 42km marathons and local 5kmn fun runs, we put it all in the palm of your hand! Take a look at these must do upcoming events.

1. Capegate Clicks 10km & 5km Charity Run
Gather the family and join i9n on the madness and excitement of this event. This year marks the 10th running of the Capegate Clicks 10km & 5km Charity Run. This year’s event will take place on Saturday, 1 October 2016 and is the perfect way to kick start your running in October. Especially if you’re a Cape based athlete. This week is the last week to enter before entries close so be sure to secure your spot. For more, click on the button below.

2. Groot Marico Bosveld Myl
The Groot Marico Bosveld Myl is a family orientated fitness festival which consists of various sporting disciplines such as swimming, cycling and running. If multisport is your forte, this is the event for you! Some of these events are labelled as qualifying races which is great assistance to those athletes that are more serious. Taking place at the beautiful Marico Bosveld-Dam, this beautiful setting just adds to the excitement experienced on race day. Click for more!

3. Bedford Centre Charity Walk
If fundraising gives you the satisfaction you seek, why not give this unique walk a bash? The Bedford Centre Walk for Charity is held with the sole purpose of raising funds and giving back. This casual 5km walk takes you through the beautiful suburb of Bedfordview, giving you a view of some of the most picturesque gardens and houses on the market. All proceeds from the event go towards St. Giles and the Avalon Association, giving back to people with disabilities. For online entries and race information, click here.

4. Impi Challenge Obstacle Trail Run #4
Calling on all Gauteng based trail running junkies. If a basic trail is not enough for you, you NEED to give this race a go! The Impi Challenge is a muddy trail run and caters for all athletic abilities. Whether you’re an avid trail runner or trying it for your first time, Impi has a spot for you. The Impi Challenge is about challenging yourself, challenging your friends and having a great adventure through this obstacle based course. It all goes down on Saturday, 15 and Sunday, 16 October 2016. More details below.

5. Sportsmans Warehouse 15km & 5km Fun Run
Boksburg Athletics Club looks forward to hosting you at their annual event set to take place on Sunday, 23 October 2016. The 23rd annual event will start at the East Rand Value Centre and caters for the whole family. Moms and dads are able to take part in the 15km race while granny and grandpa can look after the kids on a 5km stroll through Boksburg’s surrounding suburbs. Don’t miss it! It is all happening in less than a month! More details hidden in the button below.

If the events we have just mentioned are not enough and you’re looking for a longer, more challenging race or even a race that caters for the whole family, fear not, we are here to help. Simply click on the button below and take a look at the Modern Athlete events calendar and make your running plans today!

Just a few dark and cold weeks back it seemed like spring would never come, but it has arrived, and with it comes the start of the new running season. It’s time to take it up a gear, get the legs moving faster and build up to a few PB’s. – BY RAY ORCHISON

Once you’ve built your strength base, you can begin to turn your diesel engine into a petrol engine by gradually including speed work in your training. Now I’m sure you’ve heard coaches and other runners throw around the phrase, “to get faster, you need to run faster.” While this is very true, we often misinterpret exactly what this means – and end up running too fast, too often.

So what does it mean then? Well, slower, easier runs are a very important part of any training programme. They serve many purposes, such as helping us recover and develop our all-important aerobic engine. The bigger and stronger the engine the better we are able to rev it and floor it without blowing it up. Running faster therefore does not mean taking out the slower runs, or increasing the pace of them. Running faster means that you begin to incorporate different and faster quality sessions between your easy runs.

What it’s Not
Now that we have an idea of what getting faster by running faster means, let’s have a look at what it does not mean. For some reason, most of us have this perception that running fast or speed work means hitting the track and running as fast as you can, as many times as you can. The problem with this approach is that it usually only lasts half a session before you find yourself limping off the track and into the physio’s rooms, because you’ve torn a calf or hamstring.

Speed work is not simply an all-out effort. It is not a shotgun approach where you throw everything at your session, or yourself, and hope that something sticks. Speed work is a bit like dating: You don’t go on the first date and behave as if it’s your hundredth date. You start slowly. You talk about the weather, you ask about each other’s careers and interests and then gradually over time, as you get to know each other, you get more and more serious.

Easy Does It
When introducing speed work into your training it must be introduced gradually. This means that you start with short sessions at a pace only slightly faster than your current easy run pace. Keep in mind that you are teaching your body how to run faster. You have to give your body time to learn how to recruit more muscle fibres. You have to allow the muscles time to get used to the new running biomechanics that come with running faster. Getting ahead of yourself will only leave you injured and frustrated.

And of course, age plays an important role. A teenager can pretty much jump out of bed and sprint down the passage to catch the next episode of Glee. When you’re a bit longer in the tooth, however, you’re going to have to roll out of bed, do a short dynamic warm-up and then walk down the passage, only to find you’ve missed the first five minutes of Dallas. The bottom line is that the younger you are, the quicker you are going to adapt to speed training, and of course, the older you are, the more patient you are going to have to be.

Start With a Hill
If you haven’t already been doing so, the best place to start speed work is on a hill, because hill training is a great introduction to track work, as it includes both strength and speed. But because you’re running uphill, you are not able to hurtle to the top at breakneck speed.

Start with a short, steep hill. It doesn’t have to be very long – somewhere between 60 to 100m is perfect. After a good warm-up of 15 to 20min of easy running, run up the hill four times at a fast pace with a walk or slow jog back to the bottom before hitting the next repeat. The pace up the hill must feel hard but be run at a pace that you feel you can maintain for all the repeats. After you’re done, cool down with a 15 to 20min easy jog. As this becomes easier, you can begin to increase the number of reps and the speed at which you do each repeat.

Start with a hill session once a week for three to four weeks, and if there are no issues or niggles, then add a second quality session to your week consisting of a number of short bursts of speed. Fartlek is perfect for this type of work. Fartlek is Swedish for “speed play.” In other words, have fun and mix it up a little. Here’s an example of a Fartlek session. Start with 15-20min easy jogging, then for the next 10min run repeats of 20sec fast followed by 40sec easy, then 40sec fast followed by 80sec easy. Finish off with a 15-20min easy jog to cool down.

Do the Basics Right
You’ll notice that in both the hill session and the Fatlek session, I have stipulated a warm-up and a cool-down. This is a very important part of any speed work session. A good warm-up prepares the body for the tougher work ahead, while a good cool-down assists with the removal of metabolic waste which builds up during high intensity work as well as speeding up recovery after a hard session.

Within six to eight weeks you’ll begin to notice significant improvements and you’ll find that you’re able to push a little faster in your coming races. Happy running and enjoy teaching the legs to tick over a little quicker.

Following on with our weekly feature, we give you a sneak peek at some of the greatest events that are coming up. Trail Races for those die hard trail runners as well as road races for those road running junkies. We have got it all for you!

1. The Cochoqua 3-Day Trail Race
Amoija events is proud to bring you this gruelling 3-day stage race in the heart of Cape Town. Taking place from Friday, 23 September to Sunday, 25 September 2016. The picturesque Boschendal Wine Estate will play host to this year’s event. Runners will be challenged by some of the most rugged terrain and although distances might be shorter, watch out for that total ascent number…

2. KPMG Durban Relay 2016
KPMG Running Club is proud to bring you this exciting relay event! This race is a fantastic way to ignite team spirit and to put teamwork into action. Running teams of four and walking teams of three will compete in male, female and mixed categories in order to claim the title of the fastest relay team in Durban. This is a great opportunity for corporates, universities, clubs, schools and family and friends to battle it out. It all goes down on Saturday, 24 September 2016.

3. Capegate Clicks Charity Run
Gather the family and join in on the fun at this year’s Capegate Clicks Charity Run which celebrates its 10th year this year! The Capegate Clicks annual 5km Fun Run and 10km Race will take place on Saturday, 1 October 2016 and all proceeds from the 5km will be donated to the Clicks Helping Hands Trust. Join us with your pets and prams as over 3000 athletes take to the streets of Cape Town.

4. The Sportsmans Warehouse 15km & 5km Fun Run
The Sportsmans Warehouse 15km & 5km Fun Run will take place on Sunday, 23 October 2016 at the East Rand Value Mall in Boksburg. This race allows athletes of all ages and fitness levels to compete along a flat 5km and an easy, undulating 15km course. Boksburg Athletics Club along with Sportsmans Warehouse are excited to host you at this year’s event!

5. Old Mutual Soweto Marathon
The 23rd running of “The People’s Race” will take place on Sunday, 6 November 2016 and although entries are closed, we still need your support. The race will start at the iconic FNB Stadium in Soweto. The event comprises a Standard Marathon, Half-Marathon as well as a 10km. All entrants will receive a free, high quality technical T-Shirt with their entry as well as a commemorative medal on completion of the race.

For more information on these events, visit the Modern Athlete Events Calendar and ensure that you add these special races to your personal running schedule.

Four-letter words are considered taboo in polite company, and the word ‘walk’ is the ultimate four letter word for runners. The mere thought of walking during a race is enough to make some runners break out in a cold sweat, but including a bit of race-walking in your training may just be the key to racing success.

In a former life, I was a runner. I bought the shoes, read the magazines, ran the races and trained about 75km's per week. For my dedication, I ran times in the mid-17s for 5km. These days I’m perfectly content to zip through life as a race-walker, but occasionally I get a wild moment and enter a running race – just to see what will happen. And what usually happens is that I run in the mid-17s for 5km. No better or worse than in high school, but at least now I don’t waste my time with those 75km's per week of running.

Now don’t get me wrong; I treat the race just as seriously as everyone else. I’ll wear my favourite shorts and racing vest. I’ll lace up my best racing flats and take part in the same pre-race rituals as the other runners. I just don’t bother doing any more than about 4km of easy jogging per week – about 500 metres at a time – as part of my daily pre-race-walking warm-up.

How, then, can I run times that would place me among the top ten in most local fun runs? Natural ability? Hardly. Youthful energy? Please, I’m in my 30s now, for crying out loud. What then? I know you don’t want to hear it, but it’s the walking.

REAP THE BENEFITS
Race-walking is an unparalleled aerobic conditioner, yet it’s much easier on the body than running. By cutting back on their running mileage – and making up for the difference with quality race-walking workouts – many runners have remained injury-free and improved their running times dramatically.

Over the years I’ve taught dozens of injured runners to race-walk so they could train through their running injuries. Many of them have come back to me with stories of big PBs after weeks, or even months, of sharply reduced running training. I’ve also taught several ultra-marathoners to race-walk so they would have an advantage over their unenlightened competitors who inevitably must walk for long stretches during six-day runs. Again, huge PBs.

It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that race-walking is by far the best substitute activity for injured runners. But why wait for an injury? More than just being a very good for cross-training, race-walking is terrific crossover training. The two are similar enough that training for one will prepare one to achieve very
good results in the other.

This isn’t the case with most other sports. Triathletes, for example, couldn’t possibly train solely on the bike; they need to swim and run, too, because the individual disciplines are so different that there is very little crossover training effect among them.

Race-walking appears to be unique in that runners don’t seem to have to do much ‘re-wiring’ to convert their race-walking fitness to running fitness. Add to that the reduced chance of injury and you have the ‘holy grail’ that runners have been searching for – supplemental, low-impact exercise that can directly improve their running.

IT’S IN THE TECHNIQUE
The first step is learning exactly what race-walking is. When it first appeared in the Olympics in 1908 it really was nothing more than fast walking. But if you’ve ever tried fitness walking for speed, you’ve probably discovered that there’s a rather low threshold of pace beyond which technique can become
extremely awkward – so much so that most people can’t walk any faster than about a 7min/km pace, no matter how hard they try.

But race-walking is a different animal. It has evolved over the years from mere fast walking to become a speedy, fluid athletic event. Elite race-walkers can walk 5km in under 20 minutes, and a marathon in just over three hours. That’s faster than 4min/km!

The rules that prevent race-walkers from running are actually part of the reason why the technique is so efficient – and so much easier on the body than running. The first rule says that race-walkers must keep one foot on the ground at all times. Occasionally, an athlete may come off the ground a bit with each stride, but not so much that it can be detected by the human eye since judges are placed all along the course to watch for infractions. Because race-walkers stay so low to the ground, they’re much less likely to suffer the high-impact injuries that befall so many runners.

The other rule states that walkers must keep their knees straight from the moment the heel of the  advancing leg hits the ground until that leg passes directly under the body. That may sound a little strange, but the straight leg not only provides the leverage that propels race-walkers forward so quickly but also keeps the knee safe from many of the torsional injuries that runners commonly suffer.

GET THE FEELING
To get an idea of what race-walking feels like, simply stand in place with your feet together and your arms held by your sides with the elbows bent at 90 degrees. Now pump your knees forward and back while keeping your feet flat on the ground, with your weight on your heels. Each time you pull your knee back, your leg will straighten under your body just as it will when you’re race-walking.

Now all you need to do is add some stride length by stepping forward a bit with either foot each time you pump your knees. Just be sure to land on your heels, otherwise your knees will probably bend when your foot hits the ground. Concentrate on taking short, quick steps, rather than long, slow strides. If you do that, you’ll have an easier time keeping your knees straight, and you’ll expend much less energy. As you get stronger, your stride should get longer – but make sure the extra stride length is behind your body; keep it short in front.

Doing the knee pumps walk on a very gradual hill will make it even easier to pick up the technique. And once you have it, you can get faster by pumping your arms and driving your knees more vigorously to give yourself a longer, more powerful stride. Try it!

TRAINING TIME
Too much of a good thing can lead to problems, and where running is concerned that means injuries. There are a number of causes of running injuries, but running too many kilometres and running with a poor technique are the most common. Adding race-walking to your training programme may be a way to limit both of these risks while improving your overall fitness.

Stress and adaptation are the keys to success in an endurance activity like running. To improve as a runner, you must stress all the physiological systems your body will use during a race. Then you need to allow those systems to recover from the stress so your body can build itself up again, becoming stronger than it was before the hard training.

But too many runners push too hard on their easy days, pounding the same muscles day in and day out so they never fully recover. Without full recovery, you won’t be able to train as hard as you need to on your hard days. That’s where race-walking comes in. With race-walking you get a great cardiovascular workout without banging up your running muscles.

If you’re looking to improve your muscle ability to produce fast, powerful movements, plyometrics is the type of exercise you should be focusing on. Generally used in explosive sports such as rugby and soccer, plyometrics improves the functions of the nervous system and is, therefore, beneficial to runners of all disciplines and distances. – BY KERYN DUNCAN-SMITH, BIOKINETICIST

A plyometric movement involves the muscles being loaded then contracted, quickly and repeatedly. It makes use of the strength, elasticity and nerve supply of the muscle and surrounding tissues (tendons and fascia) to jump higher, run faster, throw farther, or hit harder, depending on how you use the exercise training. Plyometrics is used to increase the speed or force of muscular contractions, providing explosiveness and injury resistance.

The benefits of Plyometrics include:
1. Improved muscle strength.
2. Continued strength for the finish of a race – it gives you that final kick down the finish straight.
3. Strength and stamina for effortless trail running.
4. Toughens tissues and trains nerve cells, which allows you to generate the strongest contraction possible in the shortest amount of time. This results in improved running economy, for example, you will use oxygen more efficiently while running.
5. Added to these are the benefits of improved balance, stride length and range of motion.

Muscles have a myotatic reflex, which means they contract automatically when the stretch receptors are stimulated. The knee-jerk reflex is a perfect example of this. This means that the muscle must lengthen during the loading phase (eccentric muscle action) to be followed by an explosive shortening, and all of this must happen in a fast, rhythmic manner.

BEWARE OF INJURY
While performing plyometric exercises, you are at a higher risk of injury because of the explosive nature of the movements. Before adding plyometric training to your weekly regime, you should have good levels of physical strength, muscle flexibility (because of the stretch phase preceding the contraction phase) and proprioception, which is the awareness of your body in space. It is an important component of the balance, coordination and agility that is a requirement when starting plyometrics. Note: This type of training is not ideal for those who are new to sport and running, and athletes should not attempt it while injured.

THE HOW TO…
Plyometric training is high-intensity work and should not be done when you are very tired or stiff. It should be done a maximum of twice a week, and you should never do speed work, hill work and plyometric training in the same week, and never on consecutive days.

So how do you include plyometrics in training? There should be a rest or light running day on either side of your plyometrics day, and you should take a two-week break from all plyometric training every eight weeks. Your training week may look as follows:
Monday: Recovery run
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Plyometrics
Thursday: Easy run
Friday: Tempo
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Long run

To warm up for the session, jog for at least five minutes, followed by another five minutes of light skipping, jumping jacks and high knee prancing. Try to find a soft, even surface for your workout. It is best to perform these drills on grass, as it will provide some cushioning, and a sports field is ideal, provided it is in good condition. Launch into each drill with your feet hip-width apart and knees slightly bent – and never hold your breath!

FOUR PLYOMETRIC EXERCISES THAT WILL BENEFIT RUNNERS
• Alternate bounding: This is a very long running stride with exaggerated knee-lifts. Bound about 10 strides (counting on one leg only), then jog back slowly and repeat. Do four repetitions. As you adapt to the drill, increase to 15 strides and then to 20 strides.
• Big skipping: This is an exaggerated skipping motion. Drive your leading knee high until the thigh is parallel to the ground while popping off the ground with the other leg, toes pointed. Count about 10 skips (count on one leg only). Jog back slowly and repeat. Do four repetitions. As you progress, increase to 15 skips and then to 20.
• Split squat jump: Start in a lunge position and jump up and forward, pushing off the front leg. Land in the lunge position but with the opposite leg forward. This is an intense drill and requires maximal force with each repetition, so attempt no more than six during your first plyometric session. You can increase this to 10 repetitions and then 16 repetitions.
• Triple jumps: Standing evenly on both legs, swing your arms back, then forward as you leap. Jump as far as possible, landing on your right foot. Immediately jump forward again, landing on your left leg, then hop and land on both feet. Aim for the maximal distance the whole way! Take about a one minute break before repeating the drill. Do four repetitions. Build up to a maximum of 10 repetitions.

IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER
1. After the drills, do an easy run, or reduced volume speed session. Remember to have an adequate cool-down.
2. Athletes who weigh more than 110kg should be very careful and do only low-intensity plyometric exercises.
3. The technique is of the utmost importance and if you are unsure about a movement. Rather get someone to teach it to you before attempting it. All exercises can be done at 60% effort before doing the maximal effort repeats.
4. You should be well rested and not injured before attempting these drills.

Keryn Duncan-Smith is a biokineticist in private practice in Cape Town. She has multiple medals in the Two Oceans, Comrades, Puffer and Ironman.